In October, the weather across the United States turned colder, and the streets saw a noticeable increase in people wearing leather jackets and wool coats.
But this did not include one type of person: female celebrities.
As everyone knows, female celebrities are immune to the cold, especially when walking the red carpet.
And today, at the ArcLight Theater, MGM was holding the premiere of yet another new film.
It was "bohemian rhapsody," which had been in preparation since April of last year.
At that time, Eric specifically bought the rights to Queen and even invited Joaquin Phoenix to star.
Joaquin Phoenix said that he needed three months to learn how to sing.
However, despite saying that, it actually took nearly eight months to prepare, and filming only began at the start of this year.
Because the more he learned, the more Joaquin Phoenix felt that his gap was too large.
He is also an actor who pursues perfection to an extreme, even having a bit of an obsessive-compulsive disorder. He would not give up until he could perfectly embody Uncle Ya.
And Eric didn't want to change actors; looking across all of Hollywood, or even the global film industry, there were truly few people who could interpret this role well.
Then the time was extended indefinitely, dragging on until the beginning of this year.
However, facts proved that thorough preparation was effective.
Once the crew truly started operating, Joaquin Phoenix was the one who made the fewest mistakes, almost all his scenes could be done in one take, while other actors slowed down the pace.
Now Eric just wanted to know if "bohemian rhapsody" could still cause a viewing frenzy like it did in later generations.
As for "transformers 2," it has already finished its run in North America, but is still showing in some countries.
Currently, its cumulative global box office has reached 1.095 billion US dollars, and it is charging towards its next target, "the lord of the rings: the return of the king."
"the meg" has also landed in Europe and some countries in South America, and the audience and market reactions are similar to those in North America; monster disaster movies have always had a loyal following.
Currently, the global box office has accumulated 145 million US dollars.
In terms of Chinese film box office, it is second only to "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero."
And judging by the current trend, it should not be a problem to earn another 50 million US dollars at the box office.
If the final box office can reach 220 million US dollars, it can claim the title of the highest-grossing Chinese film in history.
Old Han even called a few days ago, hoping that MGM would quickly expand its global distribution network.
Undoubtedly, Jason Statham and Xu Jinglei both became winners.
Especially Xu Jinglei, who went to Europe for promotions after finishing her promotions in North America.
Thinking about the price she paid, it was worth it.
After all, through this film, she truly stepped out of Asia.
In the future, when people mention Chinese actresses, in addition to Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, etc., she will also be on the list.
Moreover, a sequel to "the meg" might be filmed next year, which means another wave of popularity; she could wake up smiling just thinking about it.
In the cinema, besides the stars who came to support, almost everyone else sitting there today were die-hard fans of Queen and Uncle Ya.
If they weren't die-hard fans, who would be willing to watch a movie at midnight?
The early part of the film was relatively calm, unfolding from Uncle Ya's perspective.
To be honest, even with makeup, Joaquin Phoenix still looked different from Uncle Ya in terms of appearance.
However, the fake buck teeth he wore were very accurate, made 1:1 by the props team.
"My front teeth are very big, so my mouth opens wide, which leads to my wide vocal range."
A burst of soft laughter immediately erupted in the cinema. These die-hard fans were very familiar with Uncle Ya's life, and they viewed Joaquin Phoenix's performance with a bit more approval.
Subsequently, Queen, as remembered by people, officially formed and began its legendary life.
With Uncle Ya as the core, their fame gradually grew.
They sold the second-hand minivan that had been driven for who knows how many years, successfully signed a contract and recorded their first album, and began to appear on mainstream stages.
Uncle Ya also met his girlfriend Mary, successfully proposed to her, and put a ring on Mary's finger.
Unfortunately, in that era, he still couldn't truly accept himself.
Afterward, the plot developed rapidly, and sharp editing conveyed the process of Queen's gradual rise to fame, giving birth to that golden song that cannot be ignored in the history of rock and even world music.
It took Uncle Ya seven years to finally complete "bohemian rhapsody."
And the moment the song was born was also the moment he truly began to accept himself.
Is this the real life
Is this just fantasy
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
... In the shot, Joaquin Phoenix fully displayed the results of his eight months of training.
His voice was inherently gifted; even if he were to pursue a career in music, he could still carve out a niche for himself with good works.
At this moment, he completely immersed his spirit into Uncle Ya's state, pouring all his effort into expressing Uncle Ya's voice and singing style.
Coupled with the ingenious lighting and atmosphere, the emotional impact was immense.
In the cinema, the audience spontaneously hummed along to this timeless classic.
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, woo
Didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters
Too late, my time has come
Many fans had tears in their eyes when they sang this part.
Because those who knew Uncle Ya understood that the song was actually about his own life.
"Mama, I just killed a man."
The inner meaning of this lyric is that Uncle Ya killed the normal sexual orientation within himself; "man" can refer to people in general, or specifically to a male, representing that he could no longer hide himself.
Indeed, as "bohemian rhapsody" resonated, the film's plot continued to advance.
Uncle Ya began to accept same-sex love and distanced himself from his wife Mary.
His abnormality was also noticed, but as the saying goes, if he were decades later, he could openly declare his sexual orientation, but not at that time.
Suppression, bewilderment, entanglement... When a person's pressure exceeds their mental capacity, a path of degradation begins to unfold.
Coupled with Queen's great success and the constant praise surrounding him, Uncle Ya inevitably became arrogant.
At this time, Uncle Ya's life was a mess, but despite internal quarrels, the band continued to move forward.
They created a second timeless classic, "We Are the Champions."
It is that famous song that has been cited countless times by the World Cup, the Olympic Games, and various sports festivals.
In the cinema, as the song began, the second mass sing-along started.
Queen was completely deified!
But contrary to the band's deification, Uncle Ya's personal life and mental state became increasingly fractured.
Constantly questioned by the media about his sexual orientation, he became sensitive, fragile, arrogant, and his temper also grew, becoming more self-centered.
Mary had completely distanced herself from him, and he also began to distance himself from the band.
Unable to resist temptation, he sold two solo albums for 4 million US dollars, which was essentially going solo.
Although he outwardly claimed he would only make two solo albums before returning to the band.
But those familiar with the music industry know that two albums often take three to five years to make.
Return?
By then, things would have long changed.
After leaving Queen, his manager Paul, who had always encouraged him to go solo, prepared a new team for him.
The new team was entirely centered around Uncle Ya; his word was law, and even fundamental mistakes were never questioned. Everyone only praised him.
Paul also constantly found new male companions for him, while artificially cutting off all information about Mary and the band to ensure Uncle Ya lived in the information cocoon he had woven.
But this decadent life, naturally, could not last too long, and so Uncle Ya contracted HIV.
Humans are strange animals; sometimes it's only when they are close to death that they truly understand the meaning of their lives.
Mary still came; very worried, she personally came to visit Uncle Ya.
In the pouring rain, seeing Mary outside the door, Uncle Ya quickly brought her in.
Although they no longer had love, they still embraced.
"Fred, I'm so worried about you, my dear. I had a terrible nightmare."
"I dreamed you lost your voice, you could no longer sing, or even speak to people."
"I was so scared, I worried it was all true."
The two confided in each other. Just then, his manager Paul returned with a few young men, intending to entertain Uncle Ya.
Seeing this, Mary naturally turned and left.
In the heavy rain, Uncle Ya chased after her tightly, hoping Mary would stay and talk to him.
Because he felt an unprecedented loneliness; everyone around him only treated him as an ATM, and no one cared about anything else.
"Please! Please don't leave!"
Facing Uncle Ya's pleading gaze, Mary said, "I'm pregnant, Freddie."
This news was like a bolt from the blue, but Uncle Ya knew clearly that he was the one who had truly made the mistake.
At this moment, Joaquin Phoenix displayed unparalleled acting skills.
His eyes held despair, relief, regret; you could read various emotions from them.
But in the end, everything still turned into a blessing.
His voice was somewhat distorted: "I'm happy for you, Mary."
"Really, that's wonderful news."
"It's just... it's just... I'm scared."
Mary stared intently at him: "Fred, your family still loves you, your band is still waiting for you."
"And this place doesn't belong to you. Go home!"
This conversation in the heavy rain was the final turning point of the film. Uncle Ya drove Paul away, apologized to the members of Queen, and also revealed his sexual orientation to his family.
The actress playing the female lead, Mary, was the great Cate Blanchett.
Although she was the female lead, her screen time wasn't actually that much, but it demanded very high acting skills; an ordinary actress truly couldn't handle it.
Cate Blanchett gladly accepted the invitation after reading the script.
Then she cleared three months of her schedule, but Joaquin Phoenix's schedule didn't align.
After waiting another two months, the film still couldn't start production.
Cate Blanchett could only continue to turn down requests for other scripts.
Ultimately, for "bohemian rhapsody," Cate Blanchett had nothing to do for a full eight months, just waiting for the film to start.
On the last day of filming, she punched Joaquin Phoenix hard as revenge.
On the big screen, the movie had reached its final stage.
The jewel of music history, the Live Aid concert, began.
Joaquin Phoenix once again transformed into Uncle Ya, delivering an unparalleled performance.
He sang live throughout, and for non-die-hard fans, his recognizable voice was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
In the cinema, the third mass sing-along also began.
For nearly 20 minutes, in nearly 4,000 cinemas across North America, millions of people opened their throats at the same time.
Whether they sang well or poorly, no one was concerned about vocal quality; everyone gathered for a single belief.
At this moment, the songs of Queen resonated through the sky.