The unspoken rules of corruption in the film and television industry may have become a self-evident fact in people's minds. There have been many ways to pay bribes: cash, women, shares... This is not only a problem in China, but a global ill. At the Hollywood Highland Center, where the Oscars are held, a luxurious sofa (Casting Couch, Hollywood's notorious "auditing sofa") has attracted countless tourists. It's no secret that the metaphor in the words "Road to Hollywood - Some of us are so successful" across the audition sofa.
Today's major film and television companies always have a superhero. I believe that everyone has fantasized about a superman who stands up to the sky and punches gods and demons in his childhood. In the hearts of Americans in the 1960s, he was the second-generation Superman actor George Rivers (the film was set as the first-generation Superman actor). His death caused a sensation in the United States, caused extensive discussions and investigations, and was eventually stamped with suicide by the police. The film's director, Alan Coulter, is the generation that followed George's Superman, and through the integration of a series of investigations, combined with the original interpretation of this breathtaking film.
"Faster than a bullet", George on TV can go to the sky and teach rogue robbers a lesson. He is powerful, wise and brave, and is a hero in the eyes of children. He waved his hand across the window, and he could also cause the children to cheer and scream with excitement.
However, behind the scenes, his life experience is far less simple than the surface: as an actor, George and MGM boss Eddie's wife Toni maintain an incestuous love; as Toni's lover, in While out, he had a relationship with Leroel, who had just met. He plays a child's hero on TV, and his personal indiscretion and smoking habits are disillusioned in minutes.
This is a film based on true events. The film begins with the fall of "Superman" and follows the protagonist private detective Louis step by step to investigate the truth about George's death. In tracing the cause of his death, a private investigator, Louise, unearths his life experiences. Through a two-line narrative, Lewis's explorations overlap with George's personal life, making one feel involuntarily immersed in it.
George, a little-known actor, dreams of appearing in big productions all day long, and it is his daily life to be in the same frame with headline characters. By chance, he played Superman. Ironically, this role, which he disliked from the beginning to the end, brought him to the peak of his film and television career. The fall of a generation of superstars has become the focus of the United States.
The unknown little detective, Louis, lives a boring life every day. He is eager to investigate a case that grabs the headlines, but he lives by a small business that helps people track down an affair. Although he has no face in front of his ex-wife and son, and lives a poor life, he does not forget to put on a pose in front of outsiders. The chewing gum and swear words in his mouth are his weapons of provocation.
After discovering the secret relationship between George and Toni, Louis tried to get close to George's fiancee Lelore, trying to get evidence from her that he killed George due to jealousy or dissatisfaction; to discovering that George had always abandoned Toni, Louis began to look for an opportunity to talk to Toni, hoping to hear the clues of murder from her words; and then found that George's mother, who hired him, had committed a crazy act of killing her father and abandoning her son, so she pointed the finger at her; Eddie's resentment against George, Louis pressed Eddie what to do with George... The intricate relationships around George make the whole case confusing.
Although the open ending of the film does not tell the audience the so-called truth, the answer seems to have surfaced when stepping into George's heart step by step. The conjecture of going from suicide to murder and back to suicide doesn't seem abrupt.
The leading actors, Alan and Ben, have superbly portrayed an actor with two faces, who is unrestrained and unrestrained in front of people, trying hard to play him in the hearts of others, laughing and joking all day without heart, and the occasional gloomy eyes add to this character. Lots of sadness. He finally got his wish and gained a prominent position, living a life that seemed to be suave, fame and fortune, but could not escape depression and destruction. People only know that he is an invincible superman, but no one cares about the real joys and sorrows under his solid shell.
In the end, everyone knew that he was flying high, but no one asked him if he was happy or tired.
From the many details in the film, such as George insulting himself in Superman costume like a fool, or complaining to Toni after playing Superman for the children, it is not difficult to see that George does not enjoy playing Superman. But on the other hand, he enjoys the praise and adoration he gets for playing Superman, and the feeling of being recognized and needed makes him flutter.
But when the image of Superman was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the outside world began to regard George as the incarnation of Superman. The superman in front of him gradually became George's "false self", and George deeply understood that the real him was just an actor blinded by the shadow of Superman. The gap between the omnipotent superman image given by others and the true self who accomplishes nothing is a gap that he cannot bridge.
When the children tried to use the superman's standard to demand George, and when people saw George, they called out "superman" reflexively, and Superman became George's burden. He found that in front of the public he lost his ego, and even lost his career, and others no longer regarded him as an actor who could handle various roles.
Ben Affleck won the Best Actor Award at the 2006 Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for his role as George, and the 2007 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. To say why people like this supporting role so much, it's probably because he played the struggles of small people and big stars at the same time.
Before he became famous, George was eager to gain attention and the camera in front of the media. He was complacent that he could be in the newspaper the next day, and he did not forget to pretend to be light in front of others; He was stunned, and the trembling words revealed fear and panic; when he was entertained by the superhuman role in the new movie broadcast, he bowed his head, and his eyes were full of unwillingness and humiliation... . .. Ben brings these complex emotions to the fore.
The complicated development of the film is closely related to the audience's heartstrings, but there are also disadvantages of plot arrangement. As the protagonist of the film, Lewis also occasionally has storylines related to him during his investigation, such as his love affair, conflict with his son, and dispute with the detective. Although the shadow of George's life experience can be found from these events, because it is not closely related to the main plot, it is difficult for the audience to guess the intention of these episodes. Often when the plot develops to a tense moment, the sudden interlude of the Lewis line will inevitably appear abrupt, causing the audience to be out of touch with the plot. The film contains the story of two tragic men, and the finished product gives a clearer view of George's bleak life. Only by clearly understanding the background and development of the two lines during the viewing process can the deep meaning of the film be discovered.
When Louis racked his brains to think about who killed George, George's best friend gave him a videotape. In the video, George is wearing a white robe, practicing karate alone, falling down and getting up several times, with a frowning smile on his face. When he found out that his mistress couldn't help him realize his dream, his fiancée made a mess of his original life, he moved forward and finally got the position he dreamed of but was disappointed... The punch he punched was for the enemy? Or yourself?
At the end of the film, Louis wanders around George's home. He saw George finished singing a lonely song, got up and went back to his room after whispering good night, and bowed to the invisible audience on the stairs, as if it was a curtain call for his life. The warm light of the party that night complemented the cool color of Louis wandering in the abandoned mansion. The faces of the two were superimposed in the picture. The shared sad expression was a dialogue between life and death.
Looking back at today's film and television industry, it is not like in the movie, everyone is in danger, chasing fame and fortune among the sensual dogs and horses. Why do people now miss the charm of movie stars in the 1970s and 1980s, because at that time, making movies was just a profession and a hobby, not a tool to help people reach the sky today.
In the film, Lewis said to his son, who was acting abnormally because of Superman's suicide: "What you see on TV, some cowboys or astronauts. It's all fake." This seemingly comforting son's remarks also alludes to reality. .
Nowadays, many celebrities and idols, as public figures, are paid sky-high prices, but they evade tax and evade taxes. They occupy a lot of film and television resources without acting skills. It has a negative impact on the establishment of young people's three views. Nowadays, many children only want to be celebrities and internet celebrities when they grow up, and dream of falling pie in the sky, which is really embarrassing.
If there is an actor who can truly gain the respect of the audience, it must be someone who has not forgotten his original intention and has played the role as hard as a day for decades. The reason why the Superman played by George in the film can always live in people's hearts is because he never gave up playing everyone's Superman. Even if there is an accident that the Wia is broken during the shooting, he can desperately stand up and fly again.
As amateurs, we are not movie stars, and life is not Hollywood Vanity Fair. But have you ever seen your own shadow in Louis, who is also a mortal? He prides himself on being extraordinary, attracts attention, and has dreamed of getting ahead for a long time, but in the end his wish is to repair a broken family.
When people enter and leave the society, they cannot avoid fame and fortune. Material desires flow in the world, fame and fortune are like drugs that produce hallucinations, people can't stop when they get on it, until the poison penetrates into the body unconsciously and makes people forget their true self, inner values, and everything will become a thing of the past. Why is the beauty of life so poor since ancient times? Worried and troubled? The obsession with fame and fortune will only add to the burden on your shoulders. Don't wait until you break your head in pursuit of fame and find that there is no one behind you to feel that ordinary life is the most precious.
The world of adults is in turmoil, while the eyes of children are only black and white. Both Superman and their father can be the indomitable existence in their eyes, and once this illusion is shattered, it will be difficult to bond. Whether it is a movie star or an ordinary person, the purpose of one's own duty is to maintain the glorious image in the hearts of others, but also to not lose oneself.
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