"Roman Holiday," Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck—
A meeting of minds is a meeting of minds.
Scarlett was slightly taken aback. When she looked up, her gaze met Anson's deep blue eyes, and a smile silently crept onto her lips and brows.
"Oh, that's great. I've gone from Cinderella to a princess in one go. What about you? Does this mean you're going to be demoted?"
"Whether it's a prince or a reporter, they're all knights, supporting characters in these stories." Anson gave a slightly unexpected but, upon closer examination, perfectly logical answer.
They exchanged a glance and both laughed.
Then, Anson looked across the street. "I think it's not just me who needs to clear up this misunderstanding..."
Scarlett immediately realized what was going on and burst into laughter. "Don't worry, Adrian will understand... haha, he definitely will."
Anson and Scarlett returned to the other side of the street. Seeing Adrian standing there looking utterly dejected, Anson offered his right hand to help, but Adrian wasn't having any of it. He glanced at Anson out of the corner of his eye and asked, "Are you a reporter?"
Anson: "...Have you ever seen such a handsome reporter?"
Adrian ignored Anson's right hand and stood up on his own, rolling his eyes. "Gregory Parker is a journalist too."
This is a meme?
Anson and Scarlett exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.
Adrian, confused, tried to explain his joke, "I was talking about the movie..."
But Scarlett stopped him. "Adrian, let's go back to work now."
Adrian immediately became alert, thinking that his sister was up to her old tricks again.
Scarlett didn't explain. "Didn't you say we needed to be in a hurry? I've already wasted so much time, we should get there as soon as possible."
Adrian retorted irritably, "You even know that?"
At this point, Adrian had no time to continue his confrontation with Anson and took the initiative to walk towards the parking lot.
But after taking only two steps, he felt frustrated and turned back.
Looking at Anson's composed and upright face, Adrian couldn't bring himself to say the words that were on the tip of his tongue; but saying nothing would feel particularly pathetic.
After much back and forth, Adrian finally said, "That was just an accident. I wasn't prepared, so you caught me off guard."
"Accident!"
After emphasizing it again, Adrian turned and started walking, quickening his pace as if he were worried that Anson might say something else.
Anson was serious; he felt that it was necessary to save face a little.
So, Anson looked completely innocent and obediently shut his mouth.
Scarlett winked at Anson, mouthed "thank you" silently, and then quickly caught up with Adrian, jogging over to him.
After watching the Johnson siblings' car leave, Anson continued with his work, pushing his cart into the theater.
The Hayworth Theatre is a building sponsored by the legendary Hollywood star Fonda family. The same building also houses an acting academy and a large theater, where performances are staged daily and weekly.
The Hayworth Theatre, which can only accommodate 180 people, is a bit special, mainly targeting young actors, independent theater, and experimental productions.
Despite consistently poor attendance throughout the year, the Fonda family has never given up on sponsoring the project, encouraging more artistic creation and giving more opportunities to unknown creators and artists.
The entire theater is like a small theater, with a low ceiling and dark red wooden seats arranged neatly in three sections: left, center, and right, reminiscent of an old-fashioned movie theater.
The stage is only 40 centimeters high and is zero distance from the audience seats, which means that the actors and the audience are basically on the same level, making the whole performance atmosphere and the scene environment feel exceptionally intimate.
—The audience's expressions, eyes, and movements are all clearly visible.
For actors, the feedback is direct, vivid, and also brutal.
Pushing open the door, Anson could immediately see the actors confirming the stage setup and detailed movements. James and Seth were both focused, gesturing and directing with great enthusiasm, as if they were preparing for a Broadway performance.
Chris walked over and casually stuffed his phone into his pocket. "Why did it take you so long? I thought you were lost."
Anson made a half-joking remark, "I ran into Princess Anne."
Chris didn't react immediately. "Shouldn't it be Prince William?"
Chris casually took the bottled water from Anson's hand. "The show is about to start, but the audience hasn't shown up yet. Are you sure?"
"Be patient, Chris. Even if you don't have faith in James and Seth, you should have faith in their agents," Anson reassured him.
Chris smirked. "On the contrary, I have confidence in James and his team, but not in the agents. An agent has seventy or eighty clients, and they probably can't take care of James. They might not even remember the show here."
This isn't pessimism, it's just an objective observation.
The first lesson in Hollywood is: never have too high expectations; no one is indispensable.
However--
Anson is right.
Although "Freaks and Geeks" was canceled due to poor ratings, the show was the starting point for the second generation of geek gangs and ushered in a new era in Hollywood.
What is the "Rogue Gang"?
In short, to counter the dominance of Jim Carrey, a superstar, in the 1990s comedy film market, a group of actors led by Ben Stiller came together to form a loose comedy organization.
They employed a cost-effective, large-scale strategy, supporting each other, making cameo appearances for one another, and forming a cohesive group. Although they never managed to shake Jim Carrey's status in the industry, they still produced a series of popular comedy films, establishing their own unique style.
Ben Stiller was the first-generation leader of the Rascals Gang, while the second generation of the Rascals Gang began with Judd Apatow's self-directed and self-starring "The Forty-Year-Old Virgin" in 2005, and then became an indispensable part of the North American comedy market in the first two decades of the 20th century.
"Freaks and Geeks" is where the second generation of the Freaks began. Judd Apatow served as director, and the main actors, including James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel, all later became core members of the Freaks.
The biggest characteristic of the gang of scoundrels is that they stick together and help each other.
There was no reason for the second generation of scoundrels to be absent from James and Seth's play. Judd was the first to arrive and show his support, followed by the rest of the cast of "Freaks and Geeks".
Then, the agent's connections proved their power, with newspaper reporters, producers, casting directors, screenwriters, and so on appearing one after another.
Ten minutes before the performance officially began, the Hayworth Theatre was already easily over 60% full, which is quite remarkable for an independent play like this.
Chris, who was in charge of distributing commemorative merchandise to the attendees this afternoon, was so busy he couldn't stop, and he couldn't help but marvel at it, looking at Anson with a face full of surprise:
Is this for real?
The only problem is—
How many of these are truly ordinary audience members who came to appreciate the play? How many of them bought tickets out of curiosity or concern?
One? Or two?