Chapter 1777: 1777 Arrogant Genius
Standing in front of this cafe called "Love Letter", Paul Thomas Anderson couldn't help feeling a little irritable. The tension in his heart made him feel uneasy. Throat, scratched his head again for a while, finally turned around, walked to the red mailbox next to him, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit one, and began to puff.
Paul thought he wouldn't be nervous. He was never the type to follow the rules. He was expelled from school in the sixth grade for bad behavior. After the film company filmed "Casino Vertical and Horizontal", because of conflicts with the editing concept, the company directly fired him and refused to release his director's version...
Starting as a TV assistant on the set and music video director, Paul has been rolling in the Hollywood industry for nearly five years, and he has seen many top stars-"Casino" is directed by Gwyneth Paltrow, Starring big stars such as Samuel Jackson, he has also met many industry authorities - he used the tuition refunded by New York University to shoot a short film that was well received at Sundance, and he also experienced many setbacks And the test--"Boogie Nights" has gone from being unattended in the filming stage to suddenly becoming popular and then temporarily stranded... Paul claims that he is used to Hollywood under the spotlight.
The fact is also true, when today's meeting with Hugo Lancaster was finally confirmed, Paul didn't feel anything, he just hoped that this nightmare would end soon - he hoped that Hugo would give an answer, accept or reject , and then determine the actors, and immediately put into the shooting of "Boogie Nights". To be honest, he doesn't mind who plays the role, as long as he is an actor above the standard, he is confident that he can make this work well.
On the way to Long Beach just now, Paul kept complaining, thinking that Hugo was really too troublesome, and actually asked him to drive all the way to Long Beach just for a meeting. If it wasn't for New Line Films' insistence, he would have given up his burden long ago. He would rather go to the office of the Screen Actors Guild of America to shout twice, maybe he will have good luck.
However, when he was actually standing in front of the agreed coffee shop, Paul couldn't restrain his inner irritability. This feeling was really bad. When he realized that his irritability at this time came from nervousness, it made him a little angry— —He didn't even have any special feelings when facing a film master like Mike Nichols. He firmly believed that only Stanley Kubrick could make him tremble.
"He's just an actor, an actor who has achieved some box office results and won two statuettes. Apart from that, he has nothing else." Paul shrugged and muttered to himself. In this way, Hugo is really nothing, because he doesn't care about the box office, and he doesn't have any special fanaticism about the statuettes, "so he is no different from other actors, just an arrogant guy who has made some achievements and started playing big names That's all."
Paul curled his lips, thought about it seriously, and found that what he said was very correct, which made him nod his head in satisfaction, and took a deep puff of the cigarette. His anxiety was finally calmed down under the comfort of nicotine, and he was sure that he was doing well. When he was ready to enter the cafe, Paul turned around and started walking.
However, after taking a step, Paul was taken aback. Instead, he took half a step back, and the cigarette in his hand was almost dropped on the ground. Looking at Hugo with an awkward smile in front of him, Paul didn't know what to do - because Hugo's expression was obviously saying: Hugo heard what he said just now. A surprise, Paul was immediately stunned.
Hugo did hear what Paul said just now. If necessary, he could pretend not to hear it, but he felt that there was nothing wrong with being so frank. No one is perfect, and no one can be liked by everyone, at least Paul didn't curse him, which is a good thing.
The Paul in front of him looked really young. The baby face that was originally very immature now looked more like a young man who hadn't graduated from college because he shaved his beard clean. That face that has not been sculpted by years of wind and frost still carries the youthfulness that has not faded away. Compared with the talented director who was sought after by the industry later, his eyes are still bright and sharp, with vigorous ambition and flamboyant personality. It is clearly visible, outlining his arrogance bit by bit.
Of course, Paul has always been like this, even in the era that Hugo knew. However, after the precipitation of time, Paul's sharpness has become introverted, and the personality in his bones is no longer extroverted, that's all.
"So, are we going to meet inside or outside?" Hugo raised his eyebrows slightly and asked politely. But Paul didn't seem to react, he just frowned and showed doubts. Hugo quickly explained, "Sorry, I seem to be late. I'm Hugo Lancaster—the guy who plays big cards." Playing big cards starts with being late.
Seeing the apologetic smile on Hugo's face, Paul didn't know why he suddenly wanted to laugh, inexplicably wanted to laugh, so Paul stretched out his right hand, "No, you are definitely not late, in fact, you are not late before our appointment I've got ten minutes to go. Nice to meet you for the first time, I'm Paul Thomas Anderson—the bitch who says bad things about people behind their backs."
Hugo showed a smile, with a sudden realization in his eyes, nodded his chin, and then held Paul's right hand, "Nice to meet you. The thing is like this, I want to express my apologies to you, and I have decided to take the filming There is another work, so I can only regretfully reject 'Boogie Nights'—although I really like this work, especially the setting of the male protagonist." Hugo pursed his lips and said sincerely He nodded, but it was obvious that there was something in his words, so Paul, the screenwriter, understood immediately, and the smile on the corner of his mouth was outlined, "But due to my reasons, the time for you to start filming was delayed, and it was postponed several times in a row. Meeting, so I thought, I owe you an explanation, and an apology. I didn’t expect, but because of my personal reasons, I asked you to drive to Long Beach. It seems that my apology should be endless.”
Paul froze for a moment, but then laughed out loud, and had to say, he likes Hugo like this, "Wait, so you said, you like my script, are you serious? I mean, Except for the talent part of the male lead."
"Of course. I've read it several times, but I think the actor's personality is still not subtle enough. You know, many times some small details can make the character full. Maybe it's just a shot or two. It's like Eddie When he first appeared on the stage, I felt that his lines could be changed, and the way he got along with other people paved the way for his arrogance, self-confidence and transformation..."
Before Hugo finished speaking, Paul nodded, "Yes, yes," and then took over, "You mean, showing the vigorous vitality of Eddie's personality."
"I think it should be more detailed, the self-confidence caused by excessive inferiority complex-he must use self-confidence to cover up his inferiority complex. I once thought that a man like Eddie can hardly accomplish anything and has no education. , no family, no skills, and even bad eloquence, but like all young people, he hopes to make a career and hope to be favored by other women, so he must show that kind of self-confidence, but ..."
"But it seems that I don't have enough confidence." Paul took Hugo's words again, and this time Hugo nodded with a smile, "Yes, that's what I mean. So, later on, Eddie's personality change when he faced difficulties, not only It will become more convincing, and at the same time, it can give actors more room to play and make the plot of the movie full. Of course, this is just my personal opinion. From the standpoint of actors, every actor hopes that he can have Play space, no?"
"Of course..." Paul nodded, pondered for a while and looked at Hugo carefully, then showed a big smile, and said again with certainty, "Of course!" Paul couldn't help tightening his right hand, excitedly After shaking it, it was only then that he realized that he was still holding Hugo's right hand, so he shook it vigorously twice, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lancaster."
"Hugo, Mr. Lancaster is now in Wyoming." This sentence made Paul laugh again, and then he let go of Hugo's right hand. It was only then that Paul noticed that he was still holding a cigarette in his left hand, and it was rumored that Hugo had never been too cold about cigarettes, so he quickly threw it into the sewer next to him, "Sorry, please forgive my rudeness."
"This is a public area, that's your right." Hugo said with a smile, then pointed to the coffee shop next to him, "That's why I made an appointment to meet here." There was a big "No Smoking" sign hanging on the door of the coffee shop The brand is very conspicuous. Paul couldn't help laughing awkwardly.
Hugo looked around, and said politely again, "Well, I think I have conveyed my meaning, you must be eager to go back to work, so I won't bother you. I hope this time, I won't be rude. Opportunities to work together that affect our future."
Paul was somewhat flattered by Hugo's humility, but it was more of a surprise—because the two of them had met for less than five minutes, and it ended like this, which really made Paul completely unexpected. Seeing the back of Hugo leaving, Paul stood still and thought for a while, and couldn't help but chased after him again, "Hugo, hey, wait!"
Paul ran up to Hugo, looking seriously into Hugo's eyes, "I wanted to say, I originally expected you to be the leading actor in my work... at least that's what New Line Pictures expected—but It seems obviously impossible now, I wonder if you can solve the big problem of our crew?"