[US Entertainment] Actor

In October, the temperature was slightly lower than in September. Ebert would put a coat in the car to keep out the wind when he went out in the morning and evening.Although "The Dark Knight" has been released for more than 10 months, the outside world's discussion on this movie has not dissipated, but it has become more and more popular.

The most important reason is that the total box office of the film has reached 6 million US dollars, which is only one step away from the box office record set by "Titanic". Not only the crew of "The Dark Knight" is praying, but the whole Hollywood is looking forward to that The result appears.

Titanic is undeniably a great movie, but for all of Hollywood's aspiring record-breakers, it's a huge mountain to climb.For more than 10 years, Hollywood has produced countless classic commercial masterpieces, but whether it is the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which also won numerous Oscars and outstanding box office, or the superhero series "Spider-Man", or It is George Lucas's classic "Star Wars Episode" series, and no film can break the record set by "Titanic".

It is like a mountain that stands in front of countless filmmakers. The longer the time, the more difficult it is to overcome. During this period, James Cameron has evolved into a mythical director.

Of course, if inflation is taken into account, even if "The Dark Knight" surpasses "Titanic" in terms of box office data, the dollars earned by the movie are definitely not as valuable as they were back then.

According to media reports, James Cameron's new work "Avatar" has been filmed and is being edited in the later stage. Although he was taken aback by Cameron's generous spending of money, considering the eccentric director's record 20th Century Fox, whose finances are somewhat tight, decisively invested a large sum of money in Cameron.

Everyone understands the principle of high investment and high return.

Since the beginning of the new century, 20th Century Fox has also produced many excellent commercial series, including "X-Men", "Night at the Museum", "Ice Age" and so on. It is difficult to occupy a favorable position in the year-end box office inventory every year.

Universal has the "Spiderman" series, Disney has the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, and Warner Bros. has the "Batman" series. "The box office of the series has always hovered between 3 million and 4 million. It lacks a movie that can really shock the box office market, similar to the "Dark Knight" produced by Warner this year.

The only one who can do that is James Cameron.Therefore, no matter how high the investment and cost, 20th Century Fox did not hesitate to write a large check.

During this period of time, Ebert didn't go out too many times.After returning from China, he was detained at home by his agent to lose weight. In the first week, he consumed more than half of the fat that he had brewed after eating several delicious meals... Although it is indeed a joy to see that he has regained his figure However, he always felt that he had let down the tasty food.

Moreover, looking at the recipes for vegetable, cucumber, and radish soup without even a mouthful of egg soup every day, Ebert felt that his whole body had become a dry vegetable.

Life is no fun.

Of course, after learning about Leonardo's experience, Ebert suddenly found himself very lucky.

"At least you still have greens to eat." Leonardo was full of bitterness, "I have two movies to promote this year, and you can't imagine my agent's expression when he saw me at first sight—he was like A frog who saw a prehistoric troll stared at me dumbfounded and I thought he was going crazy."

"Since then, I have been deprived of the right to eat high-calorie food." Leonardo wiped away tears that did not exist, "At least you still have vegetables and radishes... I am not only in the gym, but also in the gym. Drinking water, I can't even eat a bite of salad. I have tasted something as delicious as hot pot, but now I can't eat anything, I just want to cry."

Ebert silently shed tears of sympathy for Leonardo, and after a while, he asked softly, "Leo, how much did you lose?"

Leonardo immediately turned his head to look at him, with sharp eyes and complex expressions, with an emotion that Ebert couldn't explain clearly: "Is it so easy to lose weight? Even if I only drink water, I will grow Meat, because it is a part of my body and I cannot give it up easily..."

Leonardo's voice became lower and lower. Under Ebert's bright gaze, he slowly lowered his head: "1.5 pounds."

Well, gaining about 10 pounds and not losing 2 pounds, no wonder his manager is freaking out.

"What about you?" Leonardo stared at Ebert with burning eyes, expecting his answer.He looked at Ebert carefully from top to bottom, but found sadly that it seemed impossible for him to let Ebert share his joys and sorrows.

As soon as the weather cools down, the preparations for the awards season are about to begin.The schedule of Ebert's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" filmed this year has been confirmed. In December, this is David Fincher's masterpiece to fight Oscar again, and it is also a luxury presented by Paramount Pictures to the Oscar judges. Feast.Although the drums of war have not yet sounded, the battles have already begun for those works that are trying to reap the rewards of the awards season, such as Kate’s "Life and Death Reading", an internal preview meeting was held in early September, and since "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" There is no large-scale release, and it is planned to take the same route.

Ebert and Leonardo are no longer glued together all day long.The agent also moved out of Ebert's house after Ebert's weight returned to normal. Of course, before leaving, the agent did not forget to complain to Ebert: "If you are not worried about you My face is round like a balloon again, do you think I would like to live in this crappy place? Nothing! Only books and discs, I can't find any other form of entertainment other than watching TV, it's horrible!"

Ebert felt that he should find a way to give his manager a vacation, otherwise he would have enough energy to explode every day.

Awards season is fast approaching, and busy lives are starting all over again.Ebert's performance in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has received a lot of praise, and film critics and film practitioners believe that he can be nominated for another Oscar for his lifelike, age-crossing performance, and there are even many. Few media believe that Ebert will be the favorite of this year's Best Actor Awards.

But in any case, he is only 28 years old after all, even if he will be under 29 when the Oscars ceremony is officially held next year, even the judges who admire him most will not let him hold two statuettes before the age of 30 .

"It's a pity that it is difficult for Albert Dawson to have the opportunity to play a supporting role. Otherwise, in the supporting actor department where the competition is not so fierce, he can completely beat his opponent and win a statuette. The judges should not mind." Sunday night, A certain film critic said so on a show about awards season predictions.

"Then he can only act in a movie with a female protagonist. He can be nominated for an Oscar for supporting actor, but in the movie he is definitely the number one male."

However, things like statuettes have always been more difficult and more rewarding. The benefits of being nominated for a best actor are even better than winning a male supporting role.The former is enough to prove an actor's leading role in a movie, and the latter can only show that he has done a good job in supporting roles, but whether he can really control a movie is something that the film company needs to carefully consider.

In other words, actors who have played leading roles and been nominated for best actor can prove themselves in any movie, but actors who have only played supporting roles still cannot reassure film companies and investors.

"The Pentium Age" is Ebert's first male lead movie. Before that, he only had supporting roles in "White Night" and "Pirates of the Caribbean". The character got his hands on it, and luckily, he did it right the first time.

And after "The Pentium Era", no one has ever questioned him as the leading actor, because he has already proved himself.

So, no matter what, it is meaningless and worthless for Ebert to be a supporting statuette now. A male supporting statuette will not help his career much, so he would rather go on a rampage in the highly competitive awards season, even if It does not hesitate to be knocked down by the opponent.

Screenings, publicity meetings, public relations banquets... after one set of procedures, Ebert felt like a spinning top that never stopped, and he didn't even have time to drink his saliva and catch his breath.Fortunately, he has already won the first Oscar in his life, and the pressure is not as great as in previous years.Although his performance in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has received a lot of praise this year, he has almost zero hope of winning another statuette. He is not Tom Hanks, and this year's advantage is not that great.

Leonardo was a bit miserable. His performance in "Road to Revolution" and "Body of Lies" did not fully satisfy the film critics and judges of major awards, especially "Road to Revolution", the sharp Critics directly criticized Leonardo's performance in the movie was completely overshadowed by Kate Winslet. It is indeed expected that the two will cooperate again after "Titanic", but Leonardo wants to rely on such performance to fight In awards season, it may not be easy.

Compared with Kate's performance in "Life and Death Reading", she is still slightly inferior in "Road to Revolution", and Leonardo's performance is more immature, not even as good as Michael Shannon who played a supporting role in the movie.

The most important thing is that the smoke of the male actor department in this year's awards season is still fierce."The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" starring Ebert is amazing. David Fincher has changed his style and adopted a warm and philosophical route. Ebert's acting skills have reached his highest level. He won an Oscar, and he has a great chance of winning this year's awards season.

Sean Penn made a comeback with his new work "Milk". Sean Penn's fiery temper is well-known in Hollywood, but his acting skills have also been affirmed by professional judges. Afterwards, Sean Penn's performance in directing and acting has become more and more outstanding, and he is also a big hit in this year's awards season.

In addition, Mickey Rourke of "The Wrestler," Frank Langella of "Conversations with Nixon," Javier Bardem of "Midnight in Barcelona," and Colin Farrell of "Killers No Vacation." ...

Although the tastes of each award are different, some film critics and judges may appreciate Leonardo's performance more, but Ebert is not optimistic that Leonardo can win his first statuette this year.

In terms of works, "Revolutionary Road" and "Body of Lies" are not very good. David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", Ron Howard's " Films such as "Life and Death Reading" are stronger in terms of word-of-mouth. Without the support of works, the possibility of actors wanting to break through is not very high.

If the work is not good enough, the space for actors to play is much smaller.

I don't know if he is used to it, but Ebert found that this year Leonardo was very indifferent throughout the awards season.

This kind of indifference is not pretended, but instead reveals a meaning of seeing through the world through a thousand sails.

Ebert felt very curious, and he didn't hide it, and asked Leonardo directly.

"Because I think this year's hope is really small." Leonardo spread his hands, "The opponent is too strong, and I don't want to admit that I did pick the wrong script."

Both "Revolutionary Road" and "Body of Lies" had in-house previews, the former was alright, at least with a little splash, and the latter seemed to be forgotten by critics throughout awards season, barely Get the favor of any award.

Compared with the embarrassment of Ebert and Leonardo in the leading actor department, Heath Ledger is much better. The "Joker" he plays is almost invincible. The male supporting role of the big awards is very popular. Although many awards have not yet been awarded, it is a certainty that Heath Ledger will have them in the bag.

Ebert did not forget to call him to congratulate him, and Heath Ledger also responded enthusiastically. Although he was too busy with public relations work to make him want to vomit blood, but if he can win the first Golden Globe in his life Or Oscar, no amount of hard work is worth it.

"You...have a good relationship with that Australian?" As soon as he hung up the phone, Leonardo's face was stretched longer than that of a donkey, "I'm annoyed when I think of his face , I'm so frustrated and miserable, and that damn Australian is always happy."

Ebert: "..."

"Sorry Leo, I really don't see any frustration in you."

Leonardo cast a dangerous look at Ebert: "You didn't notice it because you didn't care, you were busy congratulating your rumored object, hum, Ebert Dawson, I suggest you Put away your stupid actions, otherwise I can't guarantee that I will do anything."

... Heath Ledger turned out to be his gossip.

Albert was silent.

"I should have taken the initiative to grab the chance to shoot "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", damn Ebert." He muttered and complained to Ebert, leaving a deep tooth on Ebert's arm by the way. After printing, Leonardo winked at him, "Have you noticed, the busy actresses this year are much more interesting than the male actors!"

"You mean fame?" Ebert touched his chin. "Almost all the nominees this year have both popularity and strength, and the male actors are much less famous."

Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Penelope Cruz... this list of star-studded names is active in Representatives of a small number of actresses in Hollywood, it is no wonder that after the first announcement of the nominees for various film critic awards during the awards season, the media have exclaimed that this year is a year of explosion for actresses.

When he was busy running around the major awards, Ebert did not forget one thing.

Leonardo's 34th birthday.

Leonardo was born on November 1974, 11, a very interesting time.Ebert sometimes doubts whether Leonardo's emotional experience is really related to his birth date. After all, he was not married until he was in his 11s in Ebert's previous life. In this life, their relationship Although it is stable, it is difficult to be open to the public.

"I'm one year older." He sighed silently, went to the bathroom to get a mirror, and carefully took a look at the wrinkles on his face, "Time flies, when I first met you, I was only 26, 7-year old."

"Even I'm 28 years old." Ebert squinted and smiled, and when Leonardo finished blowing out the candles, he each cut a piece of cake and put it in each other's bowls, "I can't eat cake, but Today is your birthday, so make an exception."

When I first met Leonardo, he was still a fledgling young actor. In the blink of an eye, he had already completed the goal he set 7 or 8 years ago. He never thought that one day his life would be the same as The person in front of him is tightly connected.

So, life is really interesting sometimes.

Ebert was still in a daze, and unexpectedly, a cool thing with the smell of fresh milk suddenly touched his face. He looked up and saw Leonardo waving a finger, which was stained with fresh cream , Smiling proudly at him.

"Ebert, you haven't said happy birthday to me yet!"

Ebert smiled slightly, stood up, leaned close to Leonardo's ear and blew lightly, seeing that his earlobe was flushed with his movements, Ebert smiled deeper, and took the opportunity to kiss him on the face Take a sip.

After eating the cake, the two of them were lying on the sofa with a pillow in their hands to watch the variety show. Ebert was watching the variety show engrossed, when he suddenly felt a line of sight resting on him.He rubbed his eyes, suddenly felt a little sleepy, and looked at Leonardo with a confused look: "Leo, what's wrong?"

Leonardo shook his head, before speaking for a moment: "Ebert, I want to tell you something. I have already told my mother about us, and she wants to see you."

Ebert was a little stunned. After a long time, he nodded slightly: "Why... tell her now? What does she mean?"

Leonardo exhaled: "Maybe it's my birthday today, I feel like I'm getting old."

"She fully respected my opinion. You know, she always felt that her failed marriage with my father affected my view of mate selection. She was not satisfied with my romantic life in the past few years because I showed that I didn't believe in marriage at all. In the past few years, there have been no reports about my relationship in the media, and she didn't ask me why, but she was actually very worried in private."

Ebert sighed silently, he stood up and patted Leonardo on the shoulder: "Leo, I think you have caused me a problem."

"Are you worried?" Leonardo frowned slightly, "Worried that she will stop us, or are you not confident?"

"No, no, as long as you have confidence, I have confidence. What I worry about is that your mother may not want you to be with a man."

Leonardo also stood up, with his arms around Ebert's waist: "I love my mother, but I love you too. I don't know if she can fully accept you, and I can't rule out the one percent possibility Sex, but even if she doesn't accept it, I still love you, and that won't make any difference. We are all individuals."

The temperature and touch on the chest were very clear, Ebert silently tightened his hands, and put his lips on Leonardo's: "Are your love words an early vaccination? Or is it just a birthday benefit for me? But that’s probably not enough.”