Chapter 741 The Lonely Genius
Charlie Kaufman has always been hailed as a genius, and his talent is undoubted; however, his screenwriting works have deviated from what is acceptable to mainstream audiences because they are too wild and unconventional, and the market has The response has always been mediocre, and no film in his career has exceeded $100 million at the North American box office.
Don’t say 100 million, even 50 million is difficult.
"Warm and Containing Light" is no exception.
When this movie was released in 2004, it won applause from film critics and lovers of literary and artistic works. The comprehensive review from the media reached a score of 89 points, and it aroused widespread heated discussion among senior movie fans.
Subsequently, she was nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars the following year, and won the Best Original Screenplay statuette for Charlie Kaufman.
There is no doubt that this is a classic that has not faded even after twenty years. Instead, it shines with pure light due to the polishing and precipitation of time, proving once again that classics, like fine wine, become more fragrant with age.
In 2024, singer Ariana-Grande released her latest album "Eternal Sunshine", which attracted widespread attention. At the same time, "Warmth and Light Within" also returned to the public eye again. , this movie is obviously very unfamiliar to the younger generation born after 2000. This opportunity allows them to re-examine these classics.
However, when the movie was released, it was never able to open up the situation.
This work, with an investment of 20 million US dollars, finally only achieved a box office of 34 million US dollars in North America. Even including overseas regions, the global box office was only 73 million US dollars.
This is the highest-grossing work of Charlie Kaufman's career.
To some extent, Charlie Kaufman is somewhat similar to geniuses like Van Gogh.
They were trapped in their own thoughts. The worlds they saw, touched, and felt were completely different, and were finally expressed through art forms; however, people of that era were unable to decipher the codes of their thoughts. So their works were considered not worth mentioning, and it was not until many years later that people began to realize the value of their works.
Of course, Charlie Kaufman was lucky. Van Gogh was not recognized until his death. He never received his own recognition during his lifetime; but Charlie did not need it. He was nominated for four Oscars and once at Cannes. He competed with the Venice Film Festival and won a statuette for Best Original Screenplay and a Venice Jury Prize. He was seen.
Unfortunately, the general public seems to always treat him as a madman.
In the full twenty years since "The Light Within," Charlie had only four works come out, and since no director could represent the world he imagined, he began directing himself, but finding investment became increasingly difficult.
Reality is so cruel.
However, every gain must have a loss, and similarly, every loss must have a gain.
"Nuan Nuan Contains Light" failed to get corresponding recognition in theaters, but after the DVD was released, it accurately found its target audience and spread its own style in the sales and rental markets without any delay. charm.
Anson likes Charlie Kaufman.
In the list of Charlie's works, Anson likes the lighter and more absurd "Puppet Life", and also likes the more profound and sad "New York Metaphor". Of course, he also likes the romantic to the bone "Warm Heart" Containing light".
In the previous life, this movie was joined by two top stars, Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. The two actors contributed crazy, neurotic but sad in this imaginative movie. and bitter acting.
To be honest, the Academy’s nomination of Best Actress to Kate Winslet deserves applause and recognition; but ignoring Jim Carrey also deserves condemnation.
In the final analysis, the Academy just looks down on Jim Carrey's comedy performances, and even uses stubborn prejudice to deny Jim Carrey's contribution to comedy performances -
"The Truman Show" did not Nominations, "Man on the Moon" was not nominated, and "Warm and Inner Light" was not nominated either.
In Anson's view, this is not Jim Carrey's failure, but Oscar's loss.
But now, the script "Nuan Nuan Contains Light" appears in Anson's hands. Should he fight for it? Should he replace Jim Carrey in the role?
More importantly, does he think his performance can surpass Jim Carrey? Or to put it another way, not to transcend but to interpret your own characteristics and give the characters and movies a different color? Is he confident that he can bring a different charm to the film?
For a moment, my thoughts were raging.
Across the way, Edgar did not disturb Anson, but he kept observing.
Anson simply flipped through the first few scripts. As he said, the first three pages and the last two pages were enough to confirm the idea. But this script was different. Anson read it very seriously and fell into deep thought.
Waiting patiently for a moment, Edgar interrupted Anson's immersion.
"Do you like it?"
The words are questions, but the eyes and expressions are particularly affirmative.
Anson nodded and smiled, "Who can resist Charlie Kaufman?"
"In fact, in Charlie Kaufman's scripts, the actors have a state of detachment, and the screenwriter has a real sense of presence. So powerful that the actor becomes a puppet in the hands of the screenwriter, following his pull into his world."
"No actor wants to be a puppet."
"But at the same time, Charlie Kao. Fuman's script also requires the actor to delve into the inner world of the character and explore deeper thinking with unbridled imagination. This tests the actor's wisdom."
"Not only the acting skills, but also the understanding of the character and the script. Thoughts on life ”
"So, this is a test."
"If the actor can understand his own thing, he will be able to shine; if not, he will become Charlie Kaufman's puppet and tell Charlie -Everything Kaufman wants you to say."
"God."
"Isn't that a funny thing?"
At this point, still. What words are needed?
Looking at Anson, who was beaming and eager to try, the answer was obvious.
This is the first time Edgar has seen Anson like this.
If possible, Edgar also hopes to see more Anson like this in the future.
The corner of his mouth slightly raised, Edgar gestured to another script in Anson's hand, "What about it?"
"50 First Dates"?
"It's good, it's very good, and I can understand why you picked it, but it's not Charlie Kaufman." Anson's answer made Edgar chuckle.
In fact, Edgar is slightly more inclined to "50 first loves", which is relaxed, simple and purely romantic. They can create a perfect dream lover image.
But then I thought about it, this image of the dream lover is still a standard vase; and it is too natural. From Hugh Grant to Richard Gere to Ashton Kutcher, etc., they are now on the market. There are simply too many actors targeting this audience to highlight Anson's individual characteristics.
"Warm and Bright" is an adventure, an alternative type of romantic love. If it can bring the impression of artistic youth like "When Harry Met Sally", it would be perfect. , which is why Edgar brought this project.
To be honest, Edgar was expecting Anson to pick a work, but he had no hope and was not in a hurry for the time being; he did not expect that Anson actually picked a project.
Lifting his gaze again, Edgar carefully looked at Anson's face, his thoughts swayed left and right, and he made a choice in a flash.
“So, we should go all out to fight for it?”
(End of Chapter)