American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 54 Lily is a fun person

Ireland and Northern Ireland are two different places.

The former refers to the small, independent country of Ireland, located in the south-central part of the island of Ireland in Western Europe; the latter, together with Great Britain, forms the United Kingdom. Their relationship… well, it's just so-so. Or rather, in the eyes of the old London Union Jack, Ireland was just a run-down rural area where people only knew how to grow potatoes, grow potatoes, grow potatoes.

However, these stereotypes are all adults' grievances. Before the mobile internet truly took off, the negative atmosphere in society had a relatively small impact on children. Because of this, as HP became popular, the children here also started reading the globally bestselling fantasy novels. After HP appeared on the big screen, the trio instantly became idols in the hearts of children.

"Oh! Dad! Can you hurry up?!"

"It's already 10 o'clock! 10 o'clock! The movie theaters are open! Tickets for 'The Voice' are on sale!"

On Christmas Day, in Galway, a port city in western Ireland.

Thirteen-year-old Yara Carson was standing in front of the car in her yard, urging her father, who had been absent for a long time, to come.

"Here I am, here I am, here I am~ My darling~"

The girl's call spurred a middle-aged man out of the house.

Perhaps it was launched hastily.

He was wearing a down jacket with the zipper not fully closed, his chest half-open, revealing his sweater.

The cashmere hat was worn askew on his head, and his nose was a little red, probably because of the cold weather.

Even so, he rushed out of the house and gave his daughter a big hug. He raised his head and rubbed his chin against her cheek. The girl instinctively flinched because of his unshaven stubble, and the way she leaned back made the man laugh out loud.

Not embarrassed at all, he let go of his daughter, closed the door behind him, and said, "Yara, don't worry, it's Christmas today, a lot of people will be sleeping in, not many people will go to the movies."

Hearing this, the little girl's pretty face fell, and she exclaimed loudly, "Dad! You're wrong! There are definitely a lot of people in the movie theater today! Because 'The Voice' officially opens today! All my classmates say they want to go see it!"

"I don't want to fall behind! Because I'm the only one in my class to receive a reply from Isabella! Everyone envies me! If I hadn't seen the movie right away, they would definitely have written to Isabella saying that my love wasn't sincere!"

Before she could finish speaking, a voice of agreement followed immediately.

The mother, who had climbed into the car because of the cold, said, "Yes, besides The Voice, Leo's Catch Me If You Can also be released today. Oh, it's been so long since I've seen one of his movies in the theater. The last time was Titanic."

"He hasn't made an interesting movie like this in a long time, you guys have to watch it with me today!"

"Oh~ Honey, you probably mean that Leo hasn't played a handsome and charming role like Jack Dawson in a long time, right?"

As he closed the door, the man also coaxed his daughter into the car, and his wife's words suddenly stirred his emotions—

"Oh~~ Jack~~"

"Oh~~ shredded pork~~"

"I will be with you forever~~"

"I will always be with you~~"

"..."

The affected imitation made the mother in the passenger seat squint.

"Today is Christmas, so do you want to reunite with the Lord?"

"hahahaha~"

The man laughed and slammed the driver's side door shut. As he fastened his seatbelt, he said to his wife, "Honey, I'm going to watch Leo with you seven times today, because we watched Titanic seven times five years ago. I still remember how we left Yara at her grandpa's house so we could see the movie."

Mom stopped talking.

The sudden recollection made her purse her lips.

The little girl sitting in the back row stared wide-eyed, “So…”

She felt she had discovered something incredible.

Before she could even speak, the man turned around and said, "Don't rush, baby. We'll watch Leo with your mom seven times first, and then after we bring her back, we'll watch The Voice eight times by ourselves. Trust me, I love you more than I love your mom."

“I will never let your classmates say that your love for Hermione Granger is not sincere.”

"..."

The mother and daughter both fell silent.

The next second, Mom punched Dad. That guy's mouth is too gossipy!
The daughter rolled her eyes, thinking her mother did the right thing and that her father was really a bit crazy.

Amidst their playful bickering, the family of three dashed out of their small courtyard and headed towards the cinema in the city.

Yes, the reason they went out on Christmas morning was to go to the cinema, and they planned to watch two movies in a row: The Voice and Catch Me If You Can.

The reason for looking at the former is very simple—

That's because the little darling Yara Carson is a huge Harry Potter fan and a fan of Isabella. To show her identity and see if she can meet any like-minded people, she went out today wearing a Hogwarts robe.

The reason for looking at the latter is simpler—

When Titanic grossed $18 billion worldwide, Jack Dawson's global fanbase must have been no less than 100 million. Many girls were captivated by his good looks and were saddened by Leonardo DiCaprio's reluctance to take on younger roles after The Big Ship. But now, he's playing a handsome character like Jack Dawson.
Wow~
The stunning beauty in "Catch Me If You Can" brought back memories for many.

As for the conflict that has been hyped up by the outside world?
They certainly saw it too.

But they didn't want to discuss it before watching the movie.

Because any normal person would think it's a bit far-fetched for Hermione Granger to fight Jack Dawson.

It's definitely a game of capital.

We entered the city and went into the movie theater.

There were already some people in the cinema waiting area at 10:30 a.m.

The whole family is most likely watching "The Voice of China";

When male and female best friends go out together, they are most likely watching "Catch Me If You Can";

As for those who are all alone?
almost none.

After all, today is Christmas.

Buy tickets and enter.

Although Dad is a chatterbox and Mom really likes Jack, the first thing the family watches is still "The Voice".

As everyone settled in, the screen in the theater lit up.

As usual, the production company's logo appears before the film's official screening. First comes WB, Warner Bros., followed by 1492, Columbus's company, named after the time Columbus discovered the New World. Of course, Chris Columbus has no connection to the Columbus who landed in America. The third one is—

After 1492 disappeared, the huge screen went dark.

A second later, a knocking sound, like knocking on a door, suddenly appeared.

Immediately afterwards, a small opening appeared in the center of the dark screen, as if a door had been opened.

Suddenly, a cute little animal with a round head peeked out from behind the curtain.

He waved his right hand and greeted the audience.

"Hi~"

The next second, the glittering golden 'Coypu' appeared below the cute animal.

(Illustrative diagram)

As soon as the animation started, a chorus of frogs filled the dark theater—

"Wow~ That's Hermione's voice!"

"Is that a baby beaver on the screen? It's a baby beaver!"

"Oh my god~ this little beaver is so cute—"

"So Coypu is Isabella's company?"

Since Isabella is part of the production company, her company logo will naturally be displayed at the beginning of the film.

The little beaver on the screen was designed by Isabella at her sister's request, and Columbus asked Pixar to make it. It cost a total of one million US dollars and was inspired by the little otter emoji that went viral on the internet in her previous life.

Although otters and beavers are not the same species, that doesn't matter, right?
If she doesn't tell, who would know?

Not to mention, being cute is all that matters!
In this world, cuteness is justice!

"Oh~~ Why does Isabella's company seem to be run like an animation company?"

Coypu's logo evoked some emotions in my father.

"It doesn't seem quite...serious?"

"No way!"

Yara Carson, who had already started eating popcorn, rolled her eyes at her father and said, "I think Isha's company logo is pretty good, because I can tell it's her company without media reports."

"The name of a company should be simple and easy to understand! Who would recognize a weird name!"

Since his daughter had said that, the father just smiled, shook his head, and remained silent.

Coypu was the last logo; after it disappeared, the screen went dark again.

After a two-second pause, a melodious voice came from the theater's sound system.

The movie has begun.

"In yesterday's class, I led you in reciting 'God So Loved the World,' written by Sir John Steiner after he received God's grace. I believe you practiced very well yesterday. So today, I will lead you to experience the beauty of this hymn through singing..."

The aged voice brought out a colorful composition.

Inside the magnificent church, a priest dressed in purple robes stood in the center.

On both sides, behind tables made of solid wood, dozens of boys dressed in the same color stood in order.

Everyone was holding a stack of white manuscript paper.

As the priest spoke, they would sometimes turn the pages, sometimes look up, sometimes raise their eyebrows and widen their eyes, as if they had grasped the mystery of the hymn, and sometimes frown, as if they could not understand the priest's teachings.

The foolish imagery represents worldliness.

After fully capturing the essence of ordinary life, the camera instantly cuts to—

On the east side of the church, a little girl in a pale yellow dress appeared on the screen. Her dazzling figure made the children in the theater's eyes light up. As the camera panned down, her exquisite profile, bathed in holy light, made countless people's eyes sparkle.

"Oh~~ Hermione~~"

"She's so beautiful~~~"

"Is she eavesdropping on the priest's lecture?"

Ah—she's so cute when she gets serious—

As soon as Isabella appeared, murmurs arose inside the theater.

Oh well, what can you do? Isabella is beautiful. Good-looking people are always the center of attention.

Hee hee~~~
However, the audience didn't have much time to reflect, because "The Voice" has a lot of content, so the narrative pace is quite fast. After fully depicting Lily Zeller's apprenticeship, the conflict in the film suddenly appears:

The old priest had intended to lead the choir in singing "God So Loves the World," but to his surprise, the children hadn't reviewed the song properly the day before, which made the singing process very stumbling.

This fact greatly angered the old priest, who directly said that they did not respect the Lord and had no reverence for Him.

He wanted to punish those children severely.

Then, he pointed out the worst student in the choir and tried to slap his hand. At the same time, the choir's top student, who is also the first boss that Lily Zeller has to face, Cole Carter, played by William Mosley, stepped forward.

Cole Carter did not want the priest to punish his fellow priests, because laziness is human nature, and admitting one's mistakes and not repeating them is enough. He also pointed out that the Bible says that believers should not be angry, so the old priest's anger in the church was disrespectful to the Lord.

So, if he can be disrespectful to the Lord, why can't they be disrespectful to the Lord?

If they cannot be disrespectful to the Lord, then the old priest must also repent.

Her heroic appearance earned the admiration of the other boys in the choir, enraged the old priest, and made the little girl who was secretly learning from her at the door burst into laughter. Her voice, like a lark's, could be clearly heard in the magnificent hall.

The next second—

Just as the old priest was looking for a target to vent his frustration, he suddenly turned around and roared at the direction of the voice: "Lily Zeller, is that you? You're here again! I've told you so many times, the Lord welcomes you to church to pray, but the choir is really not a place for you! The choir has never accepted girls; this has been a rule for a thousand years!"

The laws of our ancestors cannot be changed!
With a roar, the old priest brought to the forefront the contradictions that existed in reality.

At the same time, his act of changing the subject also fully revealed the ugly nature of his attempt to avoid the main issue.

He couldn't answer the top students' questions;
He cannot be strict with himself and lenient with others;

Upon realizing he might have made a mistake, his first reaction was to evade the question and talk about something else.
This behavior...

The girl rolled her eyes, scoffed, and ignored him.

That dismissive response only fueled the old priest's anger. He angrily threw down the hymn book, rolled up his sleeves, and tried to drag Lily Zeller, who was hiding in the shadows, out. He cursed and said that he would make Lily Zeller apologize before the icon.

This situation made the little girl realize that her attempt to learn from the master had come to an end, so she decisively fled the church.

But during this process, she did not directly demonstrate the advantage of youthful physical strength. Instead, like a slippery fish, she lured the old priest along, leading him around the church in circles.

Just when the old priest thought the young girl was acting rashly and that he was about to succeed, she suddenly led him to a corner of the church, then abruptly stopped, turned around, and changed direction...

"what--"

The old priest strained his back.

The pitiful cry spurred the little girl out of the church like the wind. At the same time, she made a face at the panting figure behind her, clutching his lower back. Her Jerry-like mischief and agility drew cheers from the theater.

"Cool!"

"Oh~ Isha is so cool~"

"Hahaha~ That priest is such an idiot~ He can't even catch a single person~"

"That priest is so annoying! This Isha is so cute!"

Just one scene was enough for everyone to feel how interesting the movie was!

"Oh~Mom~Why do I feel like I'm watching 'Home Alone'?"

Yara Carson shared her impressions with her mother with a smile on her face.

"I also have this feeling."

Mom nodded.

While they were talking, she also snatched a handful of popcorn from the snack bucket in front of her daughter.

They ate it with gurgling sounds.

"But I think it's pretty good, because I'm different from your dad; I don't like watching those dull movies."

"Especially since today is Christmas."

That's right.

Although *The Voice* is positioned as a drama film, and its road movie core emphasizes the protagonist's spiritual growth through a journey, Columbus and Isabella never intended to make it a melodramatic or tragic movie from the very beginning. Children wouldn't like it, and Isabella's fans are mostly children.

In this situation, saying no to your core supporters is truly a sign of being out of your mind and having too much money.

Therefore, from the very beginning, they decided to incorporate certain comedic elements into the dream-chasing journey of "The Voice of China".

Of course, this integration wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the result of careful consideration. When Lily Zeller's persona is that of a little sun, then she can naturally bring a certain comedic element to her character.

And once Lily Zeller proved to be a source of joy, the rest of the story unfolded in a lively, rhythmic fashion:
The little girl, who believed in revenge, returned home. Just as she was about to push the door open, the curses coming from inside made her pause.
Her incessant outpouring of emotions caused her to instinctively squint, turn her body, and lean against the windowsill of the first-floor kitchen, gazing into the house.

My mother, wearing an apron, was cooking at home. Because she had prepared a lot of dishes, she asked my grandfather, who was lying on the sofa in the living room, to come and help. But after calling him several times, he did not respond. This situation made my mother very angry, so she went over to investigate.

Then, Grandpa, who was dead in Mom's eyes and completely drunk, vomited a few times as Mom shook him.
"Yes, Grandpa, facing Mom, vomited it out."
When the "vomiting" sound elicited a thousand-decibel scream, the little girl who had been peeking out the window suddenly tensed up, covered her ears, and crouched down. Her decisive escape made many children burst into laughter.

"Oh—did Isha see Grandpa throw up all over Mom? That instinctive reaction is just so cute—"

"Her little face looked grumpy as she squatted down! I think she regretted spying on me!"

"If it were me, I would regret it too! Watching someone vomit is just too disgusting!"

"So Hopkins plays an alcoholic? And his mother is a housewife? This design... feels like it will create a lot of contradictions."

As the audience discussed the scene, the images on the screen flashed by in an instant:

After discovering a bomb was planted in front of her house, Lily Zeller wanted to get away from the trouble.

So she prepared to enter the house through the side door, which is the garage door next to the main entrance. However, just as she was about to push the door open, the opposing voices came from behind the door again.

This time, the roar came from a male voice. After hearing the roar, the little girl looked puzzled and climbed onto the garage shelf, then leaned over the high glass window connecting the garage and the house, peering inside with a questioning look.

Then she saw her uncle scolding her sister. He said that the noise her sister made while playing video games was disturbing his thoughts. If it weren't for the loud noise, he would have already solved the Hodge conjecture.

In "Little Miss Sunshine," the uncle is a madman researching the Proust effect, while in "The Voice," he becomes a mathematical 'genius.' As for why this change was made...

"Oh! Rayleigh! If it weren't for you spending the last few years calculating those stupid formulas day and night, writing your lousy numbers everywhere, even on my paintings, I would have been accepted into the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts long ago!"

"I've never caused you any trouble, so why are you causing me trouble now?"

"Okay! Since you insist that I make myself clear, then I'll tell you today: I've been annoyed with you for a long time! I've been annoyed with you ever since you came back! I've wanted to lose my temper for a long time! I haven't done so not because I'm kind-hearted, but because Dad told me to give in to you!"

"Dad told me not to argue with you!"

"but now--"

"Ah--"

"M-Fxxk!"

"You useless piece of trash who can't graduate!"

"Get out of here, mom!"

My sister slammed the door shut.

The "thump" sound elicited a "thump" wail.

The first "bang" was the sound of my sister slamming the door and hitting my uncle.

The argument between the two took place right at the doorway of the older sister's bedroom.

The moment the door closed, my uncle's nose made intimate contact with the door.

Then, the future Batman, Bruce Wayne, became Furniture Man, Jackie Chan, ahead of schedule.

The second "thump" was the sound of my uncle covering his nose and backing up, bumping into the garage door.

Well, my uncle's madness is meant to match my older sister's.

Why are people who study mathematics considered crazy?

This scene takes place in the middle of the movie.

The series of impacts made Lily Zeller's teeth ache.

"Oh... Isabella's expression is so funny..."

"I could feel her uncle's pain even through the screen—"

"Her acting seems pretty good! Her expressions are so rich!"

Since she couldn't get in through the side door, Lily Zeller had no choice but to go home through the back door.

The children cautiously made their way back to their rooms, their stealthy actions bringing smiles to the faces of many of them.

Locking the door, I simply leaned back in my chair, basking in the joy of freedom—a feeling perfectly captured in the sigh of relief.

I put on my headphones, wanting to shut myself off from the world, and a game poster I picked up next highlighted the movie's title—

The Voice of the World

The eight-minute opening sequence satisfied many movie fans!
Because the theme of the film is already clear—

After Lily Zeller sneaks into the church to learn music and is kicked out by the priest, even though the director doesn't say what she's going to do, the public can guess from the final poster that she's going to keep pushing forward on her musical journey.

Because the emotions of the film have already been evoked—

The priest didn't like her, and her home was a mess. When she had nothing, every upgrade was a bonus.

"Wow, this movie looks really interesting!"

I love this opening!

"So what's next? Resolve the family conflict, and then participate in the competition? Go, little beaver!"

Any director of average skill can capture a wealth of information through the lens.

A good director will make their storytelling visible and understandable to the general public.

Just as the director had piqued the audience's interest, and everyone was eager for a more engaging plot, a child's voice suddenly rang out from the theater's speakers—it was Lily Zeller's voice coming from her headphones.

“Doctor actor lawyer or a singer~”

(Doctor, actor, lawyer, or singer)

"Why not president be a dreamer~"

(What's wrong with being president? Be a person with dreams.)

"You can be just the one you wanna be~"

(You can be anyone you want to be)
　Notes: ① John Steiner was a renowned British composer and organist. He composed a great deal of music throughout his life, most notably the Passion Symphony. "God So Loved the World" is one piece from this work. Furthermore, he was a member of the St. Paul's Cathedral choir in his youth, so after he became famous, his music was widely sung in British churches. ② The song is "Be What You Wanna Be".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)