Hollywood Domination Chapter 238: The feeling of Monroe

"This is hell!" In the "Daily Mirror" pantry, the photojournalist - or, as he is most commonly called, the paparazzi Shef took an angry puff of his cigarette, complaining about his Colleague William complained, "It's totally unbelievable-she has been in London for a week, and we don't know where she is until now!"

", his colleague echoed sullenly, "the whole of London is almost being searched now, have you heard? The News of the World even got through the internal telephone of Kensington Palace , they suspected that Jefferson asked the royal family members for help and directly lived in the property under their name."

"Whimsical." Xie Fu snorted disdainfully, "Can't you see it? "News of the World" has completely fallen into despair, and they are purely rushing to the doctor!"

"It can't be said that this guess is unfounded," William said thoughtfully, "The prince and she are of the same age, at least close to the same age, and we did take pictures of the prince going to the movies, you know, "The first Five Sally." And, Salvi Tucci?"

"Yeah?" Shef was also aroused. He stood up straight and took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"He and William are classmates at Eton." William pointed out, "they are about the same age, he may be a year or two older than the prince, I don't know, but his father is a relative of the royal family, so—"

"s..." Xie Fu lowered his voice with a cigarette **** in his mouth, and suddenly realized, "This is indeed a connection—"News of the World" called the call, and the result?"

William shrugged, "Of course they didn't say that."

Of course there is fierce competition between newspapers. Whether a photo is exclusive or not will greatly affect its value. In front of the real exclusive breaking news, each other will also intrigue and block the news from each other. In the beginning, when they stopped by Jennifer Jefferson at the airport, it was a very simple follow-up in the eyes of everyone, so everyone was able to cooperate tacitly, but after Jennifer had been missing for several days Under such circumstances, her whereabouts became a rare resource, and tabloid reporters began to keep their secrets. Rare things are more valuable. Now that everyone knows that she has come to London, the newspapers are also promoting her new film, as well as her relationship with her. When the ex-boyfriends broke up embarrassingly, Jennifer was like Agatha Christie who ran away from home. Whoever can find her first will undoubtedly control the newspaper sales and become the winner of this competition and game .

"Let's go." Throwing the cigarette butts into the trash can, Shef took William back to his seat and picked up the scarf and hat.

The "Daily Mirror" is not as bold as the "News of the World". Although they have bribed insiders, they are only used to detect scandals within the royal family. This kind of irrelevant news clues are not within the service scope of the other party. Nei, besides, neither Shef nor William has any inside contact information. They specialize in star lines and have nothing to do with the royal line. Even if Jennifer really lived in Kensington Palace or similar royal properties, they have no way to prove it. If that's the case, the Daily Mirror will just have to sit back and watch the News of the World get another scoop.

William asked stupidly, "Where are we going? Are we going to guard outside the gate of Kensington Palace like this?"

"Don't be silly," Scheff snorted, "Kensington Palace must have been put out by the News of the World, she couldn't live there - it's too famous."

"So what are we going to do, just wander around London like that? Hoping to run into Jennifer Jefferson walking the sidewalk?"

Shef gave him a contemptuous look, "Stupid head, go stare at those bugs in the News of the World, we couldn't get the clue, and they did—isn't that the most obvious choice? "

Ignoring William's sudden realization and aggrieved muttering, while wearing a down jacket, he said viciously, "I don't believe she can never show up, "Michael Clayton" has been released in the United States, these few days She will be in the UK one day, won’t she come forward to do a little publicity?——wait and see, once we catch her tail, she will know what a real freelance reporter is..."

As soon as the door was opened, the wind and snow swept over. The two paparazzi immediately clenched their clothes and rushed towards their second-hand car cursing. Writhing dramatically, he quickly disappeared around the corner and into the shadows.

#

Shef does know Jennifer's recent movements well - while he was talking about the premiere event of "Michael Clayton" in the United States, "Michael Clayton" has passed through a large scale On the first weekend of its release, the number of openings in 2,000 theaters was not small for an Olympic film, and the final box office figures were also calculated: more than 700,000 for the midnight show, 6 million for the first day, It rose to 7 million on Saturday the next day, fell back to 6.5 million on Sunday, and was close to 20 million in the first weekend. On the eve of Christmas, this result could not get the first place. No, the first place must be won in the first week The $70 million "I Am Legend" belongs to the cartoon "Muscles" and even the romantic comedy "P.S.: I Love You", but among the Oscar nominees for best picture, "Michael Clay Dayton's box office performance is already impressive: the box office of 20 million in the first week, plus the good imdb score and the reputation of Rotten Tomatoes, all indicate that the trend of this movie will be quite strong, and the domestic box office of 40 million is definitely There is no problem. If there is an Oscar blessing in the later stage, it is not impossible for the local market to exceed 100 million. Not to mention that the buyout copyright fees sold around the world have already paid back for investors. As far as a literary film is concerned, this achievement is already beyond everyone's expectations.

'It's thought-provoking. This is not a movie that can make the whole family laugh, but it can inspire your feelings and thinking. After reading the movie review, I walked into the movie theater with doubts about Jennifer Jefferson. It's a serious film, and I was afraid she'd ruin it all - but I was wrong, she's as good as the critics say it is, and indeed, the whole film is. The Venice Film Festival has a discerning eye and has given the two leading actors and actresses the honor they deserve. Both Daniel and Jennifer's performances are exciting. I was the one who booed Jennifer Jefferson when she got the Oscar, I mean, sure, she didn't have much competition that year, but she was really good in The Fifth Sally Does it deserve this award? If we had to choose someone, I would rather choose Reese Witherspoon as the consolation prize, and now I think the same, Jennifer really shouldn't have won the prize in 2006, so she can rely on " Michael Clayton" is closed.

Closer to home, I gave it 9.5 points, and the deducted 0.5 points are only because it is slightly lacking in entertainment. In the whole two hours, there are very few relaxing moments that make you smile. Couldn't laugh at all, so I felt tired and heavy after watching the whole movie, and even lost the motivation to watch another light-hearted comedy. In that sense, it ruined my weekend. Regardless, it's still a masterpiece. ’

On the imdb page, the number of ratings is soaring rapidly, and the highest-ranked movie review is from the well-known imdb user 'Entertainment to Death', who has been a member for 6 years and has reviewed thousands of movies. He gave such a review, and it The useful number is also quite high. The audience of "Michael Clayton" is very happy to write film reviews and discuss with each other. This is a very good phenomenon. From past experience, it means that the film's box office trend is quite optimistic, even Maybe it will form a small miracle on the Internet, causing the trend to reverse in the next week-this is what some bold data experts predict, and the general opinion is that in North America, "Michael Clayton" will maintain a stable trend, and the harvest will go 8 With a box office of around 10 million, if one counts the star effect that some film critics jokingly call the "Jefferson Coefficient", then it is not inconceivable that the box office in North America will exceed 100 million.

The box office in North America has exceeded 100 million. What is the concept of this for Aoti films? This means that among the five best picture candidates, "Michael Clayton" is very likely to be the highest-grossing film-yes, this is a bit embarrassing topic for the Oscars, but it is true, generally speaking It is said that the box office of a movie that can be selected for the Oscar for best picture will not be too high. For a movie like "The Devil Wears Prada" that is more commercial and has a less clear core, no matter how high the box office is, it is impossible to be selected for the best Oscar movie, and those movies that are eligible for selection are usually niche in addition to their depth Well, it would be a surprise to be able to get 50 million in the country - just this has to be the halo of the Olympic award, and even the candidate films with a domestic box office of 30 to 40 million are very common.

In this regard, "Michael Clayton" has gained a great advantage in the competition for the best film Oscar. After all, Olympic judges usually prefer films that are both artistic and commercial, and tend to choose such films as winning films. And, no matter how you look at it, "Michael Clayton" is not only relatively the most powerful among this year's candidate films, but also has the best audience reputation. This year is a small year for the best film department. Among them, the core of "Juno" is not serious enough, the theme is not clear enough, it is just out of novelty in the theme, and its values ​​are also favored by the judges. " is a contestant who competes for the championship, but according to the practice of the Olympic Awards, it should be satisfied if it can get a nomination.

In addition, "Atonement" has a poor reputation among film critics. "No Country for Old Men" is a western crime film with a horror and noir style. It is already an accident that it was selected for the Oscar. Although the film critics have a good reputation, its influence among the public is very low. The selection of this category is also considered to be an important sign of the aging of the Oscar jury: According to the past tastes of the judges, the possibility of this style of film being selected is very low, but "No Country for Old Men" has a lovable core, which explores the feelings of the elderly. Spiritual return, so it has been recognized, and its Oti is also regarded as a good embodiment of Paramount's operational ability.

As for "There Will Be Blood", it can't compare with "Michael Clayton" in terms of box office, topicality, and film critics' reputation. It can be said that this year's box office has not been high, topical, and its core is deep enough. , a big production that appeals to both tastes and tastes. Among the five films, "Michael" has the highest overall score. It is not without weaknesses. It was once deducted because it was the director's first work and the male and female protagonists could not come forward to promote it. It scored a certain score, but now, with its excellent commercial performance and the audience's enthusiasm for discussion, it has once again returned to the forefront and has become the best film award in the eyes of film critics.

"If at this critical moment, Michael or Jennifer can come forward to participate in a few promotional activities, then this Oscar is almost in their pocket." Many film critics who are inclined to "Michael" are so anxious Thoughts, "It's such a pity. If I were working in a production company, I might have gone crazy with anxiety. Neither of these two leading actors would go to Hollywood to participate in the promotion. If Daniel is because of conflicting nominations As for the avoidance, if it is justifiable, Jennifer Jefferson seems a little selfish. She refused to return to Hollywood completely to avoid the media, although it is understandable that she does not want to be disturbed by the media , but "Michael" is so short of breath, it would be a pity if the pr companies of the other films took the lead and caused the Oscars to fall..."

Even film critics know how to think this way. Doesn't Time Warner understand the importance of leading actors' publicity? With the announcement of the film's box office, they are more optimistic about the film, and they have gradually tilted their public relations resources: Time Warner has not had a film break into the Best Picture category this year. It was collected into the distribution team of "Michael Clayton", and its public relations budget is also increasing. Many PR experts are lobbying the Oscar judges and accompanying them to enjoy the movie, but even so, after all There are still many promotional activities that require the main creators to show up. Without two big stars, "Michael" will be eclipsed in this field-Daniel Day-Lewis can't be counted on. He has been in a bad mental state recently and is recuperating at home, so even if it is just a , two business activities, they also eagerly hope that Jennifer can come forward to participate.

However, to the great disappointment of the team, Jennifer ruthlessly rejected all promotional activities, relying on the long-standing agreement between the two parties, and even refused to attend the London premiere, which was just around the corner, as if she didn't care at all. How far can this movie go in the Oscars? For this unreasonable statement, Time Warner's distribution team can only try to understand after being frustrated: after all, she has just been cheated and broke up. What's even more frightening is that this incident was made public by the public media and became a topic of discussion among people across the country. Although Jennifer's team was vague, it is conceivable that Jennifer must be in a very bad mood now. Maybe she has a mental breakdown. Unable to deal with the media and the crowd, he can only hide in a foreign country, waiting for time to heal everything...

#

London's winter is always cold and humid. However, for Los Angeles residents, this kind of snowy weather is quite fresh. At least Mary and Claudia have been here for a week and don't miss Los Angeles. Instead, they are a little bit reluctant to leave Feeling - it just snowed heavily yesterday, today they got up early, built a snowman in the backyard, and then went back to the house laughing and laughing, baking soaked gloves and socks in front of the fireplace, making a fuss The whole room smelled of burnt wool.

"We can go to the grocery store later." The bedroom door was not closed, and Claudia's voice came up through the stairs. Although it was weak, she could still hear her enthusiasm, "buy Some marshmallows, the British don't seem to like to roast marshmallows on the fire, which is really a great waste for the fireplace..."

After doing a few more yoga poses, she ended her morning exercise. Jenny listened to Claudia and Mary's chat, and smiled warmly, but she did not choose to go downstairs to join the conversation, but Walking into the bathroom, she sat in the bathtub that had just been filled with water. While enjoying the comfortable feeling of hot water slapping her skin, she also admired the snowflakes falling outside the window. This strong sense of contrast made her feel more comfortable. Tranquility and a greater sense of security, she couldn't help enjoying it for a few more minutes before re-entering the performing arts space with a thought.

Compared with their original plan, the start of filming was delayed by a week to half a month. This is a joint decision between her and Salvi. The specific time to start filming depends on her feelings: Jenny At the beginning, the way of interpreting Monroe was completely based on the lead of Golden Finger. Now it is necessary to change the performance technique, and it is also necessary to adapt and try to figure it out for a long time. In addition, Simon is also a complete newcomer. Salvi hopes that after completing the suspension procedures, he can receive simple guidance for a few days, learn a few terms commonly used on the set, and how to follow the director's instructions to move positions and how to look at the camera. Wait, then even if you turn it on now, it's just a waste of time if the hero and heroine are not ready. Therefore, Jenny has an extra blank schedule to concentrate on figuring out the role. Salvi is very firm about this. He is willing to give Jenny "all the time you need", if Jenny still feels that she is thinking about it when Simon is ready. If she is not mature enough, the crew will shoot some shots of Simon first, and will never rush the duck to the shelves, and drag her to the set when her performance is not full enough.

And this half month is exactly what Jenny needs urgently, and it is even the necessary preparation time. According to her long-standing style of work, she will definitely attend the British premiere of "Michael", but this Once she refused without even thinking about it. During this period of time, she basically stayed at home, completely immersed in her inner world, looking for the elusive inspiration, looking for the resonance between herself and Monroe.

Of course, although she wants to play Monroe with a new technique, it does not mean that she will give up using her golden fingers, not to mention the advantage of time flow in the performing arts space, but the particularity of the role of Monroe. It was determined that Jenny must use empathy to figure out the role. After all, Karen is a completely fictional character, while Monroe has existed in real life. There are still many people in Hollywood who have worked with her, thousands Tens of thousands of Americans have seen her films. Apart from certain artistic exaggerations and distortions, there are some basic elements that she cannot fail to respect. Salvi did not ask her to completely abandon the old techniques, but instead Find the point that belongs to Jenny's self, achieve the "harmony between man and nature" between herself and the character, and inject "Jenny" into Monroe-but after all, a large part of this role belongs to Monroe.

Jenny doesn't know how other actors choose roles, but for her, she is destined to be unable to accept the script according to her preferences and resonance, and relying on illusory inspiration to figure out the role does not make her much safer Therefore, she did not foolishly wait for the inspiration to come in anxiety. Instead, after analyzing the process of her acting Karen, she began to find the common ground between herself and Monroe through constant empathy and thinking. As her thought journey deepened, she gradually discovered that the greatest role of the empathy system was probably not to help her quickly enter the drama in reality—in other words, she had always been lazy... The empathy system is really not supposed to be used like this at all.

In the darkness, she chose the film "My Week with Monroe", and then quickly adjusted to the part where Monroe and Arthur Miller were being interviewed, and turned on the empathy function—but , Jenny did not replace Michelle Williams to read the lines, but closed her eyes and carefully experienced Monroe-the real Monroe, the empathy model that all biopics related to her will point to , the emotion at this moment: in stark contrast to the smiling face and the deep love between husband and wife, there is a surge of boredom, loneliness and anxiety in her heart, even though she is at the peak of her career and married again. The most talented man in the United States came to the UK with an enviable momentum and received state-guest-level sensational treatment, but surprisingly, all of this could not please the young and beautiful Marilyn Monroe at all. It is complicated, it can even be said to be divided into several levels. What Jenny first felt was the cold exhaustion, and then the almost suffocating loneliness. It seems that the more lively and flattering the place, the more uneasy she felt, and she felt She doesn't like the way reporters look at her. They are not looking at her, but at a commodity, a symbol, a carefully packaged Barbie doll.

However, she can still feel that Monroe doesn't seem to like her emotional reaction. She keeps telling herself: You should be happy, there is nothing to be unhappy about, girl, and the negative thoughts in your heart Fight it, fight it, don't let it ruin you like it ruined your parents, drive it back, get excited, you're happy, you have a husband who loves you, you have the admiration of the whole western world , a man is obsessed with you, isn't this exactly what you once dreamed of, and is it the attention you desperately long for? Enjoy it, work your magic and make the world go crazy for you.

When she was no longer distracted by walking and reading lines, but focused on experiencing Monroe's feelings, her emotions became more delicate and clear. Although there was still no clear inner activity, Jenny could learn from these She can understand her thoughts in the vague ebb and flow, maybe it is a bit nasty to say so, but indeed, in the continuous empathy, she feels that she and Monroe have reached a rather tacit understanding, like a confidant across time and space, she Formed a one-sided friendship with her, understood her, sympathized with her, felt kindred warmth and sadness for her, empathized with her pain, admired her efforts to pull herself together. In the empathy again and again, this feeling slowly took shape and emerged. For Monroe, what she learned was no longer her charming style, but her naive sexiness. No, what she learned was Souls that are very similar to her—at least on a certain level, they are all extremely oppressed by fame, and the only difference between them is that Jenny may still be able to precariously maintain her balance with a little bit of luck , but Monroe's outstretched hand is doomed to fail. At every accidental moment in life, when she accidentally sees herself in the mirror, when she sees the eyes of others, when she feels a trance in the flashing light... in these countless In moments of constant awareness, she is falling, she is getting further and further away from health, all recovery seems to be a sham, all struggle is futile, she is destroying herself, the only thing that can be done The only thing to do is to accept this fact.

And this is the fear shared by every actress standing on the top of the world when they face the mirror. Pretending to stand naked in front of the mirror, trembling with haggardness and exhaustion, asking myself: 'Who really understands me? Who really loves me? Who really loved me but was hurt by me and missed by me'——

Jenny suddenly returned to reality, and she found that she was trembling involuntarily—even though the water was still warm, the aftertaste of Monroe seemed to still be wrapped around her limbs, making her blood cold and unable to feel it at all. to the warmth from outside.

"Jane, Jane—" The voice that brought her back to reality sounded again, Mary knocked on the door, opened it and walked in. "You want something for lunch--"

Following her surprised eyes, Jenny raised her trembling hand and wiped away the tears on her face. She sniffed and shook her head to deny Mary's unspoken suspicion, "No, I'm not because of reality. And cry—really, Mary, I can't lie to you."

She took a breath, calmed her breathing, and said with a sense of accomplishment, pride and regret, "I just... I think, I just finally found the feeling of Monroe."