The café remained noisy and bustling. Edgar lowered his voice slightly, his expression serious. Despite still catching his breath, the intensity in his eyes made it clear he wasn't joking.
"Anson, this project—they've been working on it since 1993. James Keach started developing it back then. It was originally supposed to be a TV series, but because the script was so bad, they condensed it into a single episode."
"Unfortunately, even that episode flopped—it didn't make any impact."
"At the time, Johnny Cash and June Carter were still alive. They always wanted to push the project forward, with James Keach as the producer. But it never gained any traction."
"I'm not sure if you know this, but there's an unspoken rule in Hollywood."
"Don't make biopics while the person is still alive."
"It's not that it never happens, but they try to avoid it. Things can get complicated."
"Very few people are willing to objectively dissect their entire life—successes and failures alike, let alone allow a film crew to nitpick their every move."
"Usually, it ends up being a flattering portrayal of the person, and the movie turns into some boring hero story. Not everyone has the guts like Frank Abagnale to let the crew take creative liberties with their life story."
"Besides, Johnny Cash himself was the one pushing for this film. I haven't read the script, but I doubt he's planning to air all his dirty laundry for the audience to see, right?"
Anson suddenly understood.
A prime example of this is The Social Network, the movie about the creation of Facebook, adapted from the autobiography of Mark Zuckerberg's co-founder.
After the movie came out, Mark Zuckerberg filed a lawsuit against the production, demanding the film be pulled from theaters.
This controversy gave Harvey Weinstein the perfect opportunity to stir things up, ultimately leading to The Social Network being overlooked at the Oscars in favor of The King's Speech, one of the biggest PR upsets in recent Academy history.
The Social Network is a rare exception in the biopic genre. It doesn't shy away from portraying the good and the bad, showing its characters in a raw, unflattering light, which infuriated almost everyone involved—except the author of the source material.
No one likes to be publicly scrutinized and criticized. No one.
That's why, although Hollywood loves biopics, most are made about people who have already passed away.
Anson nodded. "I haven't seen the script either, but they just told me they don't want to shy away from the darker aspects of Johnny Cash's life. In fact, they want to focus on how those struggles influenced his music."
Edgar raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Anson nodded again, confirming.
Edgar frowned slightly. "If that's the case, it's not impossible. At least they're brave enough to confront the scars. But..."
Edgar paused to think, and Anson waited patiently. He knew Edgar's reluctance had to be about more than just an unwritten Hollywood rule.
Edgar continued, "There's another possibility. The film might try to romanticize Johnny Cash and June Carter's relationship."
"Did you know that when Johnny and June met, they were both married? June's husband, Edwin Nix, was even one of Johnny's friends."
"I'm not here to judge their marriages, and sometimes people get trapped in unhappy relationships. Splitting up might be the best thing for both parties. But the truth is, their relationship began before their marriages had officially ended, which caused a lot of controversy."
Anson was surprised. "Why? I thought people in Hollywood were used to this—getting married, divorced, then remarried. If you haven't been married at least twice, you're hardly considered part of Hollywood."
Edgar replied, "They were devout Christians."
Anson suddenly understood.
Edgar continued, "So, maybe the film's goal isn't to glorify Johnny, but to romanticize their love story. June Carter's love is depicted as a lifeline that saved Johnny Cash. Their meeting is portrayed as destiny."
Anson raised his chin slightly, a subtle smirk on his lips. "So, that's a bad thing?"
Edgar sighed. "I don't know. Maybe it won't be an issue, or maybe it'll be a complete disaster. This biopic was a passion project for both Johnny Cash and June Carter. They were determined to see it made, which is why I have my suspicions."
"The point is, the entire Hollywood industry thinks this is a bad idea."
"From 1993 until now—over a decade—more than 30 production companies have turned this project down."
Anson didn't hide his surprise.
Edgar nodded lightly. "Even though I haven't read the script or the project outline, I think that fact alone tells us something."
"And that includes big studios—Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount—as well as smaller, indie production companies known for making artistic films."
"My guess? They're too eager to romanticize their love. They've taken the best, happiest parts of their memories and written it into a script."
"To them, it's a deeply romantic story—an upbeat woman rescuing a lost soul. It's like the ultimate love story. But to others, it might look very different."
Anson wasn't surprised. "People always say to trust your memories, but the truth is, we edit our memories. Some people erase the pain and darkness, while others exaggerate their scars. Some only hold onto the romantic moments, and others conveniently forget their own mistakes."
"In the end, we're all just trying to save ourselves. It's like a survival mechanism—altering memories so we can move on."
"So, the same event might look completely different depending on who's remembering it."
Edgar snapped his fingers.
"Exactly. That's why biopics rarely show the full truth—they only show one side of the story."
"When the person is still alive, it's hard to escape the bias of the first-person perspective. This can turn the film into a self-indulgent disaster."
"Think about it—Johnny Cash and June Carter are two of the biggest stars in the history of American country music. At his peak, Johnny Cash's albums were outselling The Beatles, and he stayed relevant into the '90s. And yet, over 30 production companies didn't want to make a movie about him?"
"For years, James Keach has been running around trying to get this movie made..."
Anson interrupted, "Wait, who's James Keach?"
After all this back and forth, Anson still had no idea who Keach was.
Keach: ...