Birth of an actor

In late July, William and Lance, who flew back to the United States for a vacation, went out to watch a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. Although they had already made disguises and wore baseball caps to cover up when they entered the stadium, because of the seats they were sitting in It was too obvious, so it was easy to be found by the media.

In fact, this is also unavoidable, because William’s game tickets are presented by sponsors who have a great viewing angle from his own agent. Hollywood’s larger brokerage companies have always had a tradition of sponsoring teams. On the one hand, they can use tickets to make love to various star singers and rich investors. On the other hand, sports brokerage has also flourished in recent years. Sometimes in sports years, major league star players or Olympic champions contribute to the brokerage company. The income is even more than that of Hollywood first-line stars, so Hollywood agencies have always maintained a good cooperative relationship with the top teams in the major leagues, especially these local teams in Los Angeles.

The Dodgers are just like other teams in Los Angeles. The area reserved for Hollywood sponsors is generally fixed. Where William and Lance are sitting now, a large number of superstars have been sitting in the past, even including Marilyn. Monroe.

During the two-and-a-half-hour match, the entertainment reporters in the media area or hidden in the auditorium kept taking pictures of the two, and the next day the representative photos were published in newspapers and magazines, including William Whispering and whispering with Lance, William and Lance looked at each other and laughed, William was engrossed in watching the game, the cheerleaders were dancing hard during the break, William and Lance were looking at each other's eyes and chatting leisurely on the stage, After the game, the two bowed their heads to avoid the scene where the media turned and walked away together.

More virtuous media, such as The Hollywood Reporter, will use headlines such as "William Bradley turns into MLB fan to watch Dodgers game at home", but less virtuous media, such as "National Enquirer" "New York Post" and "New York Post", their news headlines are much more sensational: "William Bradley Appears in the MLB Stands to Enjoy the World of Two Sitting Beside..." Many people think that William has caused a sensation Their new love affair was exposed, so they hurriedly bought a newspaper and went home to read it. After discovering that the new girlfriend they thought was actually a well-known same-sex friend, they wished they could mail bombs to the publishing house.

In August, two more important news related to William were revealed. One is that William appeared on the cover of the first issue of "Empire" magazine this month, and the other is that with the gradual improvement of the preparatory work for "Lord of the Rings", Word gradually spread that William might play a role in the trilogy.

"Empire" magazine selected a still from William in "Meet Joe Black". The death Joe played by William closed his eyes and fell on the forehead of the heroine Susan played by Claire Forlani. A large part of Franny's face was merged into the shadows, and the specific expression could not be seen clearly, but William's face was brightly lit, and the blond hair seemed to be covered with a halo.

The entire cover can be summed up in two words: aesthetic and artistic.

The tycoon Perish, played by Anthony Hopkins, does not appear on the cover, but on the inside, he has a photo with William, which takes up an entire page.

In the article on the inside page, besides briefly describing the film content of "Meet Joe Black", "Empire" magazine also revealed an important film information to fans: "Meet Joe Black" will be held in Los Angeles on November 11 It will be screened nationwide, and the release time in Europe will be about one to two months later than in North America.

"Empire" magazine chose the still photo of "Meet Joe Black" as the cover of the magazine, which was the first step of Universal Corporation's intensive publicity before the film's release, and the effect achieved was much better than their pre-estimated.

The main reason is that the selection of pictures in the magazine is so good!People are so new to blonde William!

"The first time I saw the poster of "Meet Joe Black" in a magazine, I was shocked. It turns out that the temperament of the black-haired Will and the blonde Will can be so different! The black-haired Will looks mysterious and mature, with a special face. When he is expressionless, he looks very powerful and cold, but with blond hair, he is exactly the ideal Prince Charming template of my childhood! So elegant and gentle, it seems like a fairy tale has come true." This is a certain fan who bought the magazine Speaking online.

Indeed, although William had blond hair before, like in "Gattaca", but because of the overall cold tone of the "Gattaca" film, the blonde hair is not obvious in the movie, at least not now in "Meeting Joe Black" It has such a big impact on people.

This also directly gave birth to the second news: Peter Jackson intends to invite William Bradley to play the role of an elf in the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy adapted from the original "Lord of the Rings".

The "National Enquirer" was the first to publish this news. Given that this tabloid has always had a bad reputation, the authenticity has also been doubted by many readers. Except for a few tabloids that reprinted it, it is popular among Tolkien fans and William fans. Aside from widespread speculation, major newspapers in the United States have maintained a neutral and wait-and-see attitude.

Until the end of September, Peter Jackson held a seminar in New York to read some script lines for Tolkien fans and solicit suggestions from senior fans. During the free questioning session, some fans couldn’t help but ask: "What is the story of the film?" Are the main actors cast? Who will play Frodo?"

"We are in contact with Elijah Wood's agent, and we are basically 80.00% sure, and we are currently discussing the details of the contract." Probably because he was facing Tolkien fans rather than media reporters, Peter Jackson There are not many scruples in answering questions, as long as there is a definite answer, he will not play tricks.

"The Daily Mail in the UK says Sir Ian McKellen will play Gandalf the Grey. Is that true?"

"Yes, Sir Ian is one of the first actors we confirmed. Everyone is very happy to invite him to join. In a short time, Sir Ian will fly to New Zealand to shoot a set of shots first. By then, everyone should You will be able to see his makeup photos, I can guarantee that it will meet everyone's expectations."

"Will William Bradley also play a role? Or is he just a producer on the film?"

"Uh..." Peter Jackson hesitated for a rare moment.

Some book fans have already caught some answers from his attitude: "There is no nonsense in the newspapers. Will he really play a certain role? Who is it, Aragorn?"

There are many characters in "The Lord of the Rings", but there are not many who are suitable for William Bradley in terms of appearance and temperament. Hobbits must be excluded first, and dwarves are also impossible. According to what Peter Jackson disclosed to the book club Judging from the content of the adaptation, the roles suitable for William Bradley are nothing more than Aragorn, the king of Gondor, Elrond, the king of the elves, Boromir, the eldest son of Denehao, the regent of Gondor, Legolas, the prince of elves, or The other sprites are gone.According to William Bradley's current popularity status, the first guess of Tolkien fans is the protagonist Aragorn.

But Peter Jackson shook his head and said: "I invited Will with the role of Aragon, but unfortunately, it is a very long process to finish shooting three films in one go, and the shooting period may last for a year or even longer. I haven't finished my studies at Harvard, so he can't stay on the set for a year or so."

Many fans who agreed to like William couldn't help but let out a voice of disappointment.If William can't play Aragorn, then he certainly can't play the other members of the Lord of the Rings, because these characters will run through the movie, and everyone's shooting period will be very long. Things that can be done by asking for two more months of leave may require a year off from school. For the current William Bradley, the "Lord of the Rings" contract is not enough for him to pay such a high price. It might be possible for other young actors.

Peter Jackson saw that the atmosphere in the venue was relatively sluggish, and couldn't help breaking the news: "However, Will has promised me that if the schedule allows, he will play a guest role. Now I am looking for a role that suits him."

Tolkien fans and William fans were satisfied with this answer, and they began to eagerly put forward their ideas to Peter Jackson, no matter which aspect of the movie, Peter Jackson accepted the suggestions of book fans with a smile on his face— ——If the "Lord of the Rings" movie wants to be successful, it must first be pleased with Tolkien's book fans. If they oppose and protest on a large scale, it will undoubtedly be very detrimental to the future of the movie. Fortunately, everything is currently In normal development, Peter Jackson and his studio have won the recognition of most Tolkien fans, and they are also looking forward to him really adapting the "Lord of the Rings" movie into a magnificent epic.

After the discussion meeting with Tolkien fans, of course, some people could not bear to spread all kinds of news from the meeting. At first, they shared it with other book fans who couldn’t attend. Later, some people broke the news to the media. Several newspapers This news was published, and it created a heated discussion among Tolkien fans and William fans all over the world. There are also speculations—there are too many characters in "The Lord of the Rings", but they are in line with William in terms of age and image. Except for the group of the Guardians of the Ring, there seems to be not many cast members. Taking into account the fact that they are just cameos, there are too many choices. Optimistic movie fans naturally hope that William can play the elf at least once. "Meet Joe Blake" has amply demonstrated how charming the blond William is, but if it's going to be the role that ruins the image...think William can't do it.Fans can only hope that William never dies.

……

The premiere ceremony of "Meet Joe Black" was extremely disproportionate to the film investment, and the scale was not spectacular-among the premieres that William had participated in, it was even inferior to "Scream".

Even the theater has changed from the original Chinese Theater to the smaller Spotlight Theatre.

This may have something to do with Universal Pictures' recent polarizing attitude toward "Meet Joe Black," or it may have something to do with the film's previous lackluster performance at the Venice Film Festival.

The Venice Film Festival two months ago was the last negotiation between director Martin Brest and Universal, and it was also his last fiasco - Martin Brest was still dissatisfied that Universal cut his film from three hours When it reached two hours, he felt that it greatly damaged the aesthetics of the film, so he negotiated with Universal through Ms. Stacey Schneider, the head of Universal's Los Angeles area, and said that he would use the three-hour version of "Meet Joe Black" to participate in the international trilogy. Venice Film Festival, one of the major film festivals, if the film wins at the awards ceremony, then Universal will change the version of the film released in the United States in November. If the film does not win, then Martin Brest will agree with Universal Any changes made to the video.

Universal approved Martin Brest's proposal, which is no loss for them, and it will only be beneficial if the film comes back with a trophy in Venice.

So Martin Brest set off to Europe full of confidence—William had already gotten into trouble with Martin Brest because of his insistence on cutting the three-hour film, so he decided to There was no entourage—and then the festival closed on Sept. 9, and "Meet Joe Black" was a no-brainer in Venice.

What is more worrying is that while the film has failed to produce any results, the film's reputation is also somewhat mixed.

After the film held a small-scale premiere in Venice, the French "Cinema" praised: "This is an American film about the true meaning of love and death. Although it was shot in Hollywood, which is famous for its highly industrialized film production, the film It is not Hollywood at all, on the contrary, it is very soothing and romantic, Martin Brest's shooting technique is calm and atmospheric, and his lens brings people a sense of peace of mind."

The British "Empire" magazine criticized mercilessly: "Anthony Hopkins plus William Brandley plus 9000 million US dollars in investment, death plus the old man plus beauty plus discussions on the nature of love and death, luxurious configuration plus wonderful The subject matter was turned into a mess by Martin Brest. There were major problems with the structure of the film. There were too many suspense settings in the first hour and a half, and the rhythm development was too slow. Disorganized, Martin Brest lacks the grip of a multi-line narrative, and the film's prospects are worrisome."

And the old Italian film magazine "White and Black" said after the film missed all the important awards of the Venice Film Festival: "Meeting Joe Black is a film with many advantages, but it is not very suitable for Venice films. The appetite of the festival jury. As we all know, the Venice Film Festival prefers serious art films and experimental avant-garde films. "Joe" is a brilliant film that combines business and art. Perhaps compared to Venice, " Joe" is more suitable for Cannes."

——The Cannes Film Festival, the second of the three major international film festivals in Europe, because it has the largest film trading market in Europe, does not only pay attention to art, but also prefers films with outstanding commercial attributes.However, the Cannes Film Festival is held every five years, and now even if Martin Brest and Universal want to, they will not be able to keep up.

The trip to Venice suffered a failure, which was a major blow to Martin Brest, as well as to Universal. Brest is the director, and the fate of the film is closely related to his fate. The expectation of "Meet Joe Black", but the movie didn't make much splash in Venice. Now, while the whole world is disappointed, it seems to be worried that the future of the movie will be cast a shadow.

This is exactly the reason why Universal held a low-key movie premiere: the premiere is large-scale, and there are many media, once there are criticisms, it is easy to form a wave; Easy to press down.

There were only dozens of media invited to participate in the premiere of the film, and they didn't even fill half of the red carpet, but from the scene, there was a crowd of people cheering and cheering, and it didn't seem deserted at all.

When Anthony Hopkins and his wife Jennifer Annington walked down the aisle, there was immediate screaming from both sides: "Professor Hannibal!!!"

The influence of "The Silence of the Lambs" is still there today, and even stole the limelight of tonight's movie. Although the role of "Professor Hannibal" has brought countless honors to Anthony Hopkins, but he is too famous at the same time. There are also troubles, such as role constraints, and his face has the effect of intimidating disobedient teenagers to sleep in some families in the United States: "Disobedient children will be eaten by Professor Hannibal". Parents threaten their children like this.

William originally thought that he would not have such treatment, because he felt that he should not have a role that was as unforgettable as "Professor Hannibal" to Anthony Hopkins, until he walked on the red carpet with his agent and assistant. For a moment—William’s standard equipment for attending movie premieres has always been an agent plus an assistant. Sometimes he and Leonardo and Toby would also cheer each other up. There is a trend called "Bachelor Gang", and more and more people are walking the red carpet not with their girlfriends but with their good brothers and partners at the recent Hollywood film premieres-from the blockbuster "Will! "William!" "VIVI!" Amidst the cheers of "Carl!"

"What the hell is VIVI?" William really didn't know when he had such a nickname.Maybe that wasn't calling him?

"Vivien's nickname?" Danny Byrne said reflexively.

"Vivien Leigh?" Amon Goffman said.Indeed, when the name "Vivienne" is mentioned, the first thing most people think of is of course Vivien Leigh.

William: "..."

"Vivienne? Hahahaha!" The agent was the first to react: "I have to see which movie fan is such a genius, who actually thought of using—oh, Will, it's your fan club!"

"I have a fan club?"

"You still have a fan website!" The agent noticed William's eyes: "No, I didn't build it, it was created by fans! I do know who the creator is, look, it's the young man with dyed hair Green, the one in the purple T-shirt—does it look like a clown?"

William followed the manager's gaze, but found a group of very eye-catching movie fans on both sides of the red carpet. They were wearing the same style of purple round neck T-shirts—God, every T-shirt has William printed on it. The head portrait of Marilyn Monroe is still the pop version. It looks similar to the pop head portrait of Marilyn Monroe that was printed on various commodities in the [-]s and became popular for a whole era.

Some movie fans noticed William's gaze, excitedly shook the arms of the people around him and screamed back at him, and faced dozens of "selves" who were worn on their bodies at once, and the head portraits were so realistic. William's feeling... can't be put into words, it's a bit like walking into the shooting scene of a science fiction movie.