Bullfighting under the blazing sun
HBO has a rolling broadcast mini-program called "Hollywood One on One," which introduces new American movies that have just been released in theaters within the week. It was from this program that I saw an introduction to the movie "Frost/Nixon." The story goes: three years after the "Watergate Scandal" ended, Nixon, who had remained silent all along, suddenly agreed to be interviewed by British talk show host David Frost. It was a confrontation filled with domination, mockery, teasing, resistance, and insults. Nixon started off being particularly disdainful: "Why should I give an interview to some guy named David Frost?" His aide said: "Because he's offering 500,000 dollars." "Really?" The former president became interested. When they first met, Nixon firmly shook the other person's hand while pointing his finger at the other's nose: "Don't think I'll say one word about Watergate!" Once the cameras were set up and the director shouted "three, two...", Nixon suddenly asked first: "Have you really never cheated on your wife?" Frost was momentarily speechless.
Interestingly, the old actor Frank Langella, who played Nixon in the movie (and won the Tony Award in 2007 for portraying Nixon in a play), deeply grasped the essence of President Nixon. He had a gloomy expression, spoke in a low tone, and had an intimidating presence. No matter how the host of "Hollywood One on One" tried to joke around (this host had also seen many things, remembering the last time he interviewed Clint Eastwood), he remained completely still, only answering "yes" or "no", as if ready to walk away at any moment. This was another confrontation outside of the movie.
Generally, interviews where the interviewer and the interviewee are like family, laughing and chatting freely, aren't very interesting to watch. This implies flattery and tepidness, sometimes even being fake. I have a friend who is a sports journalist. Once, a Chinese female international chess player became the world champion, so my friend called the champion, but she was resting, and her mother answered the phone. My friend asked: "What did you eat tonight?" The answer was: "Wontons." "Alright!" The phone hung up, and my friend quickly wrote a vivid exclusive interview. A famous saying of my friend is: "What would they say? They all rely on me to write it!"
Naturally, I still prefer watching those interviews where the interviewer forces the interviewee to say something after a struggle and negotiation. The documentary "Marlene" presents just such an instance. It was Australian film actor and director Maximilian Schell attempting to interview German actress Marlene Dietrich, forcing the star, who concealed her impoverished origins, had an unclear sexual orientation, and claimed all reports about her were false, to confess the truth. But it was like a bullfight under the blazing sun, with Dietrich being the bull. Schell gradually approached, preparing to kill this bull. Dietrich insisted she had forgotten the name of the street where she lived as a child, refused to admit she was good at seduction, cursed several times, and her words were full of hostility. Later, when Schell began reciting a poem that the actress's mother loved most, the actress finally couldn't control herself and started sobbing, just like an old bull suddenly appearing in the bullfighting arena.
I eagerly look forward to such confrontations every day. So, on the day Lang Ping resigned from her position as head coach of the U.S. volleyball team, I went to interview her. After all, she was an athlete given religious significance in the 1980s. However, she wasn't used to revealing her innermost thoughts. When asked about the joys and hardships experienced during her youth at the sports school, she suddenly scolded: "What magazine are you from? Why don't you ask something related to health?" (This interview originated from her becoming the spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson), and Johnson & Johnson's public relations representative appropriately stepped in to forcibly interrupt the interview. I got up and left. On the way back, I suddenly remembered how Elizabeth Taylor in her later years similarly scolded visiting Vanity Fair reporters; the elderly star didn't want to talk about the past: "The things before I became famous happened too long ago, I don't remember!" That reporter didn't leave, he sat there, and later they talked a lot. I couldn't help but reflect, am I too lacking in persistence?
Harvey Milk was shot
In the first few months of my sister studying abroad in the UK, she was troubled by how this country produced so many homosexuals. She kept complaining: "At home, I know who is homosexual, in the UK, the problem is I don't know who isn't!" This group indeed has unique charm: combining male inclusiveness with feminine beauty, no longer chauvinistic pigs, breaking the iron rule that opposite-sex friendships will inevitably cross boundaries. Engaging in art, writing novels, are all specialties of these people, making up for women's insufficient attention to the world while being sensitive enough to details, both melancholic and childlike. They can be teased by Woody Allen: "Being homosexual is great, Saturday date invitations double!" However, if they harbor ambitions to mainstream and seek total acceptance, they often end up disappointed.
30 years ago, there was an American who hoped to legalize homosexuality through political means. His name was Harvey Milk (Harvey Milk). In the homosexual community, his status is equivalent to Martin Luther King's to African Americans. Recently, the biographical movie "MILK" was released in the United States, starring Sean Penn, reportedly having a promising chance to win an Oscar. Even without Hollywood embellishment, he himself was a legend. Born and raised in Long Island, moving to New York as an immigrant banker, and then settling in San Francisco, he suddenly became a political enthusiast. He ran for government positions three times and eventually became a municipal director of San Francisco, making him the first openly gay public official in U.S. history. His frankness, even by today's standards, was quite bold, often joking about his own sex life. Once, a Puritan criticized homosexuals for not being able to reproduce, Milk replied: "That is indeed a problem, but God knows, we've been trying." He even hung a large picture of a man's buttocks on the window by his balcony.
It was the 1970s, and television still enjoyed broadcasting scenes of homosexual bars being raided, with the people inside covering their faces as they filed out, as if it were a moral victory. One year after taking office, Harvey Milk was shot by a former public official. During his term, the political rights he fought for for homosexuals weren't many - he helped pass California's Proposition 6 - lifting the ban on homosexuals serving as teachers, and promoted the establishment of anti-AIDS organizations. That was all. The psychological impact of his assassination far outweighed his political demands.
The memory of Harvey Milk's life gradually faded, but "Harvey Milk was shot" robustly survived, seemingly becoming a stable public office, its influence growing stronger over time - he became a sacrifice and spiritual symbol for all American homosexuals fighting for their rights. Ironically, the person responsible for this transformation was the killer.
His name was Dan White, a former municipal director, who probably killed Harvey Milk out of resentment for losing his position. He loaded his gun with bullets, chambered it, sneaked in through the basement window to avoid metal detectors and bodyguards, shot the mayor first, then searched the entire building for Milk and shot him. However, during the trial, his defense lawyer claimed that eating too many sweets and drinking too much soda the previous day led to depression, so the original charge of premeditated murder was reduced to the less severe charge of voluntary manslaughter, with a sentence of seven years and eight months, later reduced to five years. Later, this case became the source of a legal defense term in the American judicial system - the "Twinkie Defense". After the verdict, the anger of the homosexual community made "Harvey Milk was shot" reach an unbearable peak of psychological suggestion. The crowd attacked City Hall, smashing city hall and police cars while shouting: "We've all eaten too many sweets!"
Although Kate Winslet's first screen appearance wasn't in "Titanic," she left an impression on most people as the aristocratic girl Rose. Before uttering "You jump, I jump" with Jack, she was undoubtedly a sweet and plump natural beauty, bright-eyed and toothy, her long skirt swaying gracefully. However, if the British novelist Somerset Maugham, who loved sarcasm, encountered her, he might have said: "There's no doubt she's a very beautiful and lovely woman, but if you're not careful, you'll get too fat." Later, Kate did indeed let herself get too fat, playing in several top-notch films ("Little Children," "Finding Neverland"), but she left another impression in a second-rate movie - "The Holiday." She played the kind of girl she actually was: from a remote British town, with a big butt, not good at dressing up, but extremely kind and witty, a literary young woman who was particularly adept at hanging out with old writers and screenwriters. Regarding love, she was a bit confused, silly, but this silliness was a stubborn naivety that refused to conform to the secular world. Kate Winslet has been nominated for an Oscar five times but hasn't won a single golden statuette. This award season, she has double insurance (or possibly because of box office分流, she might lose twice), starring in two new films - "The Reader" and "Revolutionary Road." The original novel of the former was published in Chinese, translated as "The Reader," even including a reading version CD, quite fitting. Although the story involves life and death, it's a sorrowful and desperate wartime love. If summarized in the news headline format of current portal websites, it would be: "Half Summer Blossoms, Nazi Sister-Brother Abnormal Love (Multiple Photos)."
The 36-year-old "Nazi" Hannah couldn't read, but liked to have a 15-year-old boy read classics to her when they met by chance. They spent a short holiday combining spirit and flesh. Decades later, Hannah was tried for being a concentration camp guard and committed suicide in prison. In this novel narrated in a teenager's voice, Hannah has little psychological description. Her sole value lies in being the target of the teenager's desire projection - seducing him, abandoning him, increasing his fragile misfortune. From the start, Hannah was undressed by the eyes of the boy and readers: "My gaze couldn't tear itself away, couldn't leave her neck; couldn't leave her shoulders; couldn't leave her chest - her underwear, more than covering, seemed to be pregnant with her breasts; couldn't leave her buttocks - when she rested one foot on the knee of the other leg, then perched on the chair, her underwear tightened on her hips; couldn't leave her thighs - initially exposed, looking pale, and then shining with silk-like light once stockings were worn."
Originally, Nicole Kidman was supposed to play Hannah, but the actress accidentally got pregnant, and the role was changed to Kate Winslet. Subsequently, someone remarked, wasn't this role tailor-made for her - a middle-aged illiterate woman with a desirable body. I wonder if Kate Winslet feels a bit wistful, after all, she was once a "Woody Allen girl." The bespectacled director excels at discovering girls who possess both bountiful bodies and neurotic minds. Although Kate declined the role, being chosen by Woody Allen seems to instantly confer the title of "intellectual actress." In reality, she appears to love literature and literati; she married Sam Mendes, the director of "American Beauty." "Revolutionary Road" is directed by her husband, almost bringing back the original cast of "Titanic" - Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and "conscientious rich woman" Kathy Bates. But the story is dispiriting - the desperate lives of a middle-class middle-aged couple living on an island. These two actors fit the roles well; DiCaprio has gained weight, while Kate has successfully slimmed down. Not long ago, she appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair, very beautiful, but this beauty isn't the youthful beauty of a green apple, but rather the intimidating beauty of a mature age. By the time waves of nostalgia for "Titanic" bring viewers to watch "Revolutionary Road," they may realize that this dream couple on screen is reminding us - 11 years ago, you watched us in our youthful vigor, and now, we still retain our charm.