The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1086: Loyalty Is Offended

The cafe was still noisy and busy. Edgar lowered his voice slightly and his expression was serious. Although his breathing had not yet fully adjusted, it could be seen from his eyes that he was not joking.

"Anson, their project, James Kitcher has been preparing since 1993. It was originally planned to be filmed as a series, but because the script was so bad, it was finally condensed into one episode."

"Unfortunately, the content of that episode was not very interesting and failed to create any sensation."

"At that time, Johnny Cash and June Carter were still alive, and they had always wanted to move forward with the project, and James Kitcher was the producer, but unfortunately there was no progress."

“I’m not sure if you know this, but there’s an unwritten rule in Hollywood.”

“We don’t make biographies while the person involved is still alive.”

“It’s not that we don’t shoot at all, but we try to avoid it as much as possible because things can be tricky.”

"Very few people are willing to calmly analyze their own successes and failures in life, whether positive or negative, let alone a film crew telling them what to do with their lives."

"In the end, it can often turn into a flattering article that tells a story for the person involved, and the movie turns into a mediocre biography of a great man that is praised. Not everyone has the courage of Frank Abagnale Jr. to turn a blind eye and let the crew play freely."

"What's more, this movie was pushed by Johnny Cash himself. I haven't read the script, but I guess he is not prepared to objectively examine his life and show all the embarrassment and ugliness to the audience, right?"

Anson understood immediately.

The most typical example is "The Social Network", a film focusing on the history of Facebook's founding, adapted from the autobiographical novel of co-founder Mark Zuckerberg.

After the movie was released, Mark Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit, directly sued the crew and demanded that the movie be stopped immediately.

It was precisely because of these sensational off-field disturbances that they became the entry point for Harvey Weinstein to fan the flames. Ultimately, the latter brought down "The Social Network" and pushed "The King's Speech" to top the Oscars that year, becoming the biggest injustice in the Academy's public relations since the new century.

"The Social Network" is a positive example, and it can be regarded as a subversive breath of fresh air among countless biographical films. It does not shy away from the strengths and weaknesses of biographical characters, and presents them in a cold and cruel way. Almost every real person in the movie is irritated.

Except for the original author of the biography.

No one wants to be dissected and criticized in public. No one.

It is precisely because of this that Hollywood is very keen on making biographical films, but the prototypes of most biographical films have already passed away.

Anson, "I haven't read the script yet, but they just told me that they don't want to shy away from the dark side of Johnny Cash's life, but rather focus on the impact of that dark side on his music."

Edgar was slightly surprised, "Really?"

Anson nodded in the affirmative.

Edgar frowned slightly. "If that's the case, it's not impossible. At least I can face those scars bravely. But..."

Edgar hesitated for a moment, but Anson did not urge him. He believed that Edgar's aversion to this project must be due to more than just an unwritten rule in Hollywood.

Edgar continued, "There's another possibility. The movie may have tried to glorify the love between Johnny Cash and June Carter."

"You know, when Johnny and Joan met, they were both married, and Joan's husband, Edwin Nix, was a friend of Johnny's."

"I don't mean to delve into other people's marriages or condemn them condescendingly. Some people are trapped in painful marriages, and choosing to separate is the best choice for both of them. But the fact is that their love did happen when their respective marriages were still intact, which also brought them a lot of controversy." Anson was quite surprised. "Why? I thought people should be familiar with such scenes in Hollywood, getting married, divorced, and remarried. Here, if you haven't been married two or three times, you'd be embarrassed to say that you're a member of Hollywood."

Edgar, "They are all very religious people."

Anson suddenly realized.

Edgar, "So, maybe the purpose of the movie is not to glorify Johnny, but to glorify their love. June Carter's love saved Johnny Cash like a life-saving straw. Their meeting was destined."

Anson pursed his lips and raised his chin slightly, "So, this is a bad thing?"

Edgar, "No, I don't know. Maybe it's nothing serious, maybe it's terrible. This biography project is actually promoted by Johnny Cash and June Carter. The couple has a determination and always hopes that the project can be successful. That's why I have such a guess."

"The point is, all of Hollywood thought this was a bad idea."

"From 1993 until now, a full ten years, more than film production companies have rejected this project."

Anson did not conceal his surprise.

Edgar nodded slightly. "Although I haven't read the script or the project outline, I think this incident should prove some clues."

"Moreover, there are many large companies among them, such as Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Paramount; there are also small and medium-sized companies that specialize in producing independent art films."

"My guess? They were so eager to embellish their love that they took out the most beautiful and happiest things in their memories and wrote a script."

"In their eyes, it's romantic to the core. A sunny woman saves a prodigal son who has fallen into the abyss. It's simply the end of a love movie. But for others, the story may be different."

Anson was not surprised. "People always say that we should trust our own memories, but in fact, we will modify our memories. Some people may erase the pain and darkness, some may deliberately magnify their wounds; some may only keep the beautiful and romantic parts, and some may selectively forget their mistakes."

"Ultimately, we are all saving ourselves, modifying our memories as a survival mechanism so that we can continue to survive."

"So, the same thing may appear completely different in the memories of different people."

Edgar snapped his fingers.

“It is for this reason that biographical films often present not the truth but only one side of the story.”

"When the subject is still alive, it's hard for a biographical film to escape the bias of the first-person perspective, which can lead to the film becoming a self-congratulatory disaster."

"Think about it. Johnny Cash and June Carter are both stars who hold an important place in the history of American country music. Johnny Cash's monthly album sales during his peak period could easily suppress the Beatles, and he was active until the 1990s. However, no one from more than 30 production companies was willing to film his biography?"

"Over the years, James Kitcher has been running around, hoping to promote the production of the film..."

Anson interjected, "Wait, who is James Kitcher?"

After going around in circles, Anson still doesn't know who Kitcher is.

Kitcher: ...

(End of this chapter)