If there weren't the advantage of reincarnation, the aesthetic taste of both the agent and the actor would be crucial. In the sea of projects in Hollywood, choosing the right scripts and planning a career path requires wisdom and strategy—and taste. You can't lack any of these elements. That's why top superstars are one in a million.
For this reason, actors and agents need to get in sync. Sometimes, an agent's poor taste can ruin an actor's opportunity. Burt Reynolds, a two-time Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actor, was the first choice for Han Solo in the "Star Wars" series. However, his agent deemed it a bad role and turned it down citing scheduling conflicts, which ultimately led to Harrison Ford's rise.
Other times, it's the actor's own limitations that cause them to miss golden opportunities. Sean Connery, the original James Bond, became interested in science fiction in the late '90s. His agent gathered a bunch of scripts for him, including "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix." However, nearing seventy, Sean didn't choose any because he "couldn't understand them."
Similar cases happen daily in Hollywood.
Russell Crowe turned down "Wolverine" and recommended Hugh Jackman to the team instead.
Tom Cruise was the first choice for "Iron Man" for nearly a decade, but he believed the project was destined to fail, so the team eventually went to Robert Downey Jr.
Denzel Washington thought "Se7en" was "too dark and evil for anyone to like," which led to Brad Pitt's iconic performance.
Examples like these are why people always say hindsight is priceless.
Now, Anson needs to get in sync with Edgar. This is a whole new challenge.
Although Anson has memories of the next twenty years, he needs Edgar to help him find the movie projects he's interested in.
Looking at these five scripts, Anson can glimpse a corner of Edgar's aesthetic, which surprisingly aligns with Anson's personal taste.
This is a positive start.
"50 First Dates," a purely simple romantic comedy, tells the story of a man who falls in love with a woman with short-term memory loss.
The female lead, due to a car accident, suffers from short-term memory loss and forgets everything that happened the day before each morning. So the male lead must make her fall in love with him anew every day.
In real life, this might drive someone to the brink and lead to a breakup. But movies are movies, and approaching this from a comedic angle brings a different feel. Each encounter becomes a fresh start, like a first love, falling in love over and over again—a portrayal of romance at its peak.
In twenty years, in an era when people no longer believe in love, such movies have disappeared. But in the early 21st century, "chick flicks" still have a broad market, and such films can even be called a different form of pure love.
In its previous life, the movie starred Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, both frequent faces in comedy films. Adam, in particular, has been playing the same clumsy yet funny character for thirty years. Because of Adam, the film fell into the stereotypical "Adam Sandler movie" category, with comedy outweighing romance, so professional critics' ridicule was to be expected.
Critics' score: 48.
Clearly, its quality was unsatisfactory.
But the audience bought it.
Regardless of its reputation, many viewers found it a film that made them believe in love and yearn for it—a success in its own right.
In the end, the movie grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. However, due to Adam's high salary, the production cost was nearly $75 million, so the movie didn't make money and actually lost.
However, the plot twist is that Sony Columbia made a big profit through DVD sales and rentals, proving the market potential of romantic comedies once again.
In Edgar's view, this script could establish Anson's image as a devoted lover, and a handsome guy being funny can always win more women's hearts.
And from Anson's perspective, the value of this project lies in the opportunity to challenge comedy—
After having a taste of drama in "The Princess Diaries" and "Catch Me If You Can," he could genuinely challenge comedy, exploring his comedic side. Undoubtedly, it's an adventure, an exhilarating and thrilling adventure.
This idea isn't bad.
Provided there's no other script.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." At first glance at this movie title, people often scratch their heads, unable to grasp what the film is about. In fact, there's some trivia behind this name.
This script is the work of Hollywood's maverick screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who delivered a mind-bending narrative structure in "Adaptation" this awards season. His script left audiences dizzy. Beyond that, his body of work includes "Being John Malkovich," "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," "Synecdoche, New York," and "Anomalisa," among others.
Charlie Kaufman is a screenwriter who loves philosophical reflection and exploring the value of memory, self-existence, and more. His scripts are often mind-bending while leaving audiences in a fog.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is arguably his most perfect balance between art and commerce, philosophy, and popular appeal.
The movie title, when translated directly from English, means "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," inspired by a poem by the English poet Alexander Pope, which was based on a 12th-century French love tragedy.
Such a literary title, after translation, was based on a poem by Eastern Han poet Cui Yuan. During the process of its transmission, the word "暗" (dim) was misrecognized as "暖" (warm), and gradually "暖暖内含光" (Warmly Contains Light) became the familiar title.
Accurately speaking, "暗暗内含光" would better align with the ambiance conveyed by Charlie Kaufman's original movie title, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
This movie tells the story of a couple who have been in love for years. One day, the man discovers his girlfriend has no memory of him. Upon investigation, he learns she erased all their memories at a clinic. Heartbroken, he also goes to the clinic to erase their memories, only to regret it as the memories fade away, desperately trying to hold onto their past.
The movie uses a unique method to depict the collapse and fading of memory, while also providing different perspectives on relationships and the value of memory, once again showcasing Charlie Kaufman's boundless imagination as a screenwriter.
The so-called "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" refers to the eternal ray of sunshine in a perfect memory that can illuminate happiness in the depths of memory. Perfection isn't necessarily perfect; that ray of sunshine is.
Life shouldn't only consist of happiness; pain and joy are equally worth cherishing.