American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 56 Family, Love, Career

Because the narrative length of a film is limited, it is impossible to cover all the details during the narration.

Therefore, after pulling the father, a dreamer who hadn't actually fallen into hell, back up and illuminating his image in the family photo, a series of montages appeared in the public eye—

The family decided to accompany Lily Zeller to The Voice.
Since there are six people in the family, and Dad's car can only seat five, Dad volunteered to go out and borrow a car.

After dinner, Grandpa went back to his room to rest, Mom cleaned up the dining room, and then the little girl's uncle and sister came to her bedroom one after another to express their apologies to Lily. They said they did not mean to upset Lily and gave her gifts with blessings.

Then--

An anthropomorphic little beaver has appeared.

And then--

Lily Zeller was surprised.

"Oh—such a cute girl...it's me?"

"Yeah~"

"My goodness, when did you draw this?"

"Uh...last year?"

"So could you tell me why you painted this picture?"

Lily played with the oil painting with great interest, and pointed to the little girl's mustache in the painting, saying, "Why did you draw a mustache on me? It's not that I don't like it, I just want to know where this idea came from?"

"Oh, no problem. This is a baby beaver."

The older sister smiled and nodded, saying, "Last year, didn't our family go to see 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' in the theater? You said you really liked Hermione Granger then. And then, Mom, Dad, Uncle, and Grandpa all thought you looked a lot like Isabella Heywood. Besides, Hermione Granger's nickname is Miss Beaver."

"So... uh... inspiration just came."

"What I was thinking at the time was, what would you be like if you played Hermione?"

"But what I want to say now..."

"I hope you can achieve the same success as Isabella."

"Oh~~~ Thank you~~~"

Although her older sister's words were a bit long-winded, Lily understood them.

After she raised her eyebrows, smiled, and happily accepted the painting...

A burst of laughter erupted in cinemas in the UK and the US.

"OMG—this line is hilarious—'Such a cute girl…and it's me?' How did Isabella come up with this plot? Am I praising myself for being cute?"

"Ohhhh... I really want to see the behind-the-scenes footage of this scene... I really want to know what Isha's mental state was like when filming this scene... I don't believe Isha didn't burst out laughing!"

"Okay, okay, okay, now I believe that Isabella herself wrote the story of 'The Voice.' Only the person involved could write such a crazy, self-aggrandizing plot. This is really... hahahaha..."

The team structure of "The Voice of China" is actually very simple:
Losers who have lost hope in life are gray, while winners who are full of longing for everything are colorful.

Over.

Once this opposition emerged, the storyline style of "The Voice" became quite clear.

When the loser's scenes appear, the overall tone of the film becomes rather somber.

The moment the winner's scenes appear, the overall viewing experience of the film becomes much brighter.

Therefore, after the father, the "loser," was brought to life, the plot of "The Voice" instantly went from hell to heaven.

The gloom disappeared, and laughter filled the world.

A comedic unfolding—that's Lily Zeller's signature style.

Because she is a little angel who can bring joy and hope to everyone.

After the apology scene ended, the screen flashed again.

The next day, we set off—

The family officially embarked on their road trip, and soon the scenery of the English countryside came into view.

The stunning scenery delighted the British audience and astonished the American country bumpkin. It inspired Lily in the car, who began writing songs with great effort. Meanwhile, the old man, now sober, reminisced about the past.

Since the grandfather's character has yet to be fully developed, the film's tone has once again turned gray...

The view outside the window made Grandpa reminisce about the past prosperity of the British Empire. He said that when he was young, Britain was invincible, but now it has been ruined by those scoundrels. As soon as he said this, Uncle was immediately dissatisfied. He said that Britain is great now too.

Once a conflict arises, the story begins.

Then, the audience learns from the argument between the two that the uncle was once the pride of the family.

Many years ago, my uncle, who came from a small village, was admitted to Cambridge University with his outstanding intelligence. Not only that, after graduating with his bachelor's degree, he was also successfully admitted to the university for his master's and doctoral studies. This fact made him the most dazzling star in the family.

However, just when everyone thought that his uncle's future was immeasurable, and that with his talent he could become a scientist at the very least, one day a few years ago, he suddenly returned home with his luggage.

The reason is simple: he did pursue a doctorate, but he couldn't graduate.

Because his doctoral dissertation focused on the Hodge conjecture, one of the most counterintuitive problems in mathematics.

"Rayle, can you tell me why you're researching this topic?"

Grandpa and Uncle's conversation piqued my sister's interest. "If a math PhD's dissertation is to study the seven unsolved problems, then I believe there wouldn't be any math PhDs in the world. So, why did you choose it?"

"Because Oxford, which is next door, has a PhD student whose dissertation is on the Riemann Hypothesis," my uncle explained.

"What???"

This answer baffled her sister. "Does someone else's doctoral dissertation research the Riemann Hypothesis, so your doctoral dissertation must research the Hodge Hypothesis? What kind of logic is that?"

"I don't know!"

"Can't you change your research topic? Something easier to graduate from?"

The older sister tilted her head, squinted her eyes, and tried to peek at the truth of the matter.

Her question made her uncle purse his lips and fall silent, as if he had been asked the question.

But at the same time, a look of panic flashed in his eyes, as if he knew the answer but dared not say it.

Such behavior surprised the painter sister, who had a knack for capturing details, and also made the grandfather sitting next to Lily snort and say, "Because Riley wants to be the center of attention."

“From a young age, he was admired by everyone.”

“When he was in primary school, he was the focus of the school, and it was the same when he entered secondary school. But when he went to Cambridge, he found that something was wrong. There seemed to be many people who were just as smart as him.”

"He wanted to change all of this, so he kept reading and reading and reading, and then..."

"Ah--"

"Although I don't understand mathematics, I do know about the subject. Many problems that people can't solve in their entire lives are just a casual scribbling over afternoon tea in the eyes of true geniuses."

"He can't just write whatever comes to mind, and he can't accept his own mediocrity."

"So he chose an extremely difficult task and longed for God to descend."

Before Grandpa could finish speaking, Uncle's cheeks suddenly swelled up like boiled shrimp.

He stared at the old man in disbelief, his fists clenched tightly as he breathed heavily; it was clear that his secret had been exposed.

A moment later, he frantically pulled on the car door handle, trying to get out and escape.

Upon discovering that the car doors were locked from the inside, he decisively rolled down the window and leaned out.

This situation made the whole family extremely nervous, and they jumped up. The little girl was also at a loss, following behind her mother, sister, and grandfather, trying to persuade her uncle. Meanwhile, her father, who was driving, was also very concerned about the situation behind them, and then…

"Bang!"

He didn't notice what was in front of him and crashed into a big tree.

The sudden stop of the car caused my uncle to fall headfirst into the grass by the roadside, bringing our road trip to a standstill.

Because the uncle had bumped his head, the family decided to take him to the hospital for a check-up. During the bandaging process, the mother kept comforting her younger brother, while the father went to the grandfather, hoping that he could behave himself and beg him not to bring up everyone's sad memories.

Grandpa nodded and readily agreed.

But the next second, when the family was ready to set off again, they discovered that Grandpa was gone.

The cries of "OMG, OMG, OMG!" kept coming out.

Everyone scattered and began searching for Grandpa.

They searched from dusk till nightfall, and finally, Lily spotted her grandfather on a hillside.

Grandpa leaned against a big tree and didn't respond to Lily's calls. When she ran over, she found that Grandpa had started drinking again and seemed a little dazed. But that wasn't the point. The point was that he was holding an old pocket watch in his hand.

Inside, there was a photograph.

She was a young and beautiful woman.

This situation caused Lily Zeller's eyes to flicker, and the old man also suddenly came to his senses. Upon seeing his granddaughter arrive, he instinctively fastened his pocket watch. With a snap, the screen went black and then lit up again, showing the family had arrived in the city where the competition was being held.

Yes, the abrupt change of scenery means that the first leg of the road trip is over.

As for what it actually said?

Most of the audience in front of the screen understood it.

Columbus's cinematic language is very straightforward. He directly tells everyone that the uncle's failure is not a real failure. His failure is because he is proud. Of course, to put it negatively, this is called having unrealistic ambitions. The grandfather's despondency is not a real despondency, but because a beautiful woman lives in his heart.

After these two pieces of information appear—

"Oh! I think I understand why Isabella suddenly decided to make a music-themed movie!"

"Because music can awaken the soul!"

Amidst the audience's speculations, the father, who had regained his former confidence, was rapidly explaining the competition process to everyone—

The process for the city-level competition is very simple: contestants take turns going on stage, and the judges score them directly.

If your score is higher than the best player who went on stage before you, then you can stay in the competition. If you can keep going until the end, you will qualify directly for the county competition. Otherwise, you will be eliminated.

While waiting for the competition, everyone noticed that Cole Carter, a young boy in the choir, was performing exceptionally well.

He was the third to appear, and then became a regular on the field with a score of 96.69.

However, just when everyone thought he had it in the bag, Lily Zeller took the stage amidst the blessings of her family—

The girl first followed the procedure and introduced herself to the judges.

Then, under questioning from the judges, she announced her song, "Tears In Heaven".

Following procedure, the judges asked her why she chose this song.

Then--

The traditional entertainment of "The Voice" has emerged—

Lily Zeller is starting to enchant her singing!

"Because 'Tears In Heaven' is a song about remembrance, and my whole family misses my grandmother very much."

"Your whole family?"

The judges felt that the girl might have used some incorrect words.

“Yeah, it’s my whole family.”

The little girl nodded and said, "My grandma left me three years ago. She was a very kind and gentle person. When she was alive, she was very good to me and the whole family. I still remember that when I was little, she would often take my sister and me to play in the fields of the village. She would mend our clothes and make lots and lots of delicious food for us."

"Because our family lives together, to ease Mom's burden, Grandma would help with the housework. Sometimes she would appear in the kitchen, sometimes in the cellar, sometimes on the edge of the field, and sometimes she would even pick us up from school..."

"She's like the Flash from DC Comics, she's everywhere."

"She also had a very good relationship with her grandfather. Because my grandfather liked to drink, especially red wine, my grandmother would make wine herself every year. But because the weather in England changes very quickly, making wine is actually a very difficult thing. So she would be very tired every winemaking season, but she never complained because she loved watching my grandfather drink."

"I especially love seeing my grandfather give her a thumbs up and say that the wine she makes is delicious."

"Because for a long time, her presence was in every corner of our lives, so after she passed away, our whole family felt that the whole world had changed."

"That's why I chose 'Tears in Heaven' today."

"I want to use 'The Voice of China' as a platform to tell my grandma that we miss her very much."

"Of course, I also want to tell Grandpa that we know his pain, because he has been drinking ever since Grandma passed away. Perhaps, when he gets drunk, he can see Grandma again..."

“Ohhhh…” The two female judges in the audience were already sobbing with emotion.

"So, darling, your grandfather is here today too?" a male judge asked, holding up the microphone with a complicated expression.

"Yes." The little girl pointed in the direction of her family.

At this moment, Grandpa's eyes were already red.

The other family members looked at Lily with complicated expressions.

"My grandfather is there, and he was the first person in my family to support me in participating in this competition!"

"Of course, my family came too."

The whole family cheered them on, prompting the judges to stand up and acknowledge them.

As the accompaniment began, the singing started—

"Oh—this is so touching—"

In front of the screens in cinemas across the UK and the US, many people were already blowing their noses. "Lily will definitely win, right?"

"You're sure to win, right?"

"She absolutely has to win!"

Ok.

Isabella chose the title "The Voice" because "The Voice" is suitable for storytelling.

cough cough-

Okay, she admits that she does have some stereotypes about the "The Voice" brand.

However, this is not important, because a movie is a narrative told through light and shadow. No matter how good your special effects are, no matter how strong your fight scenes are, in the end, what will remain in the public's memory will always be the initial beautiful moment.

Therefore, Isabella copied the key to the "The Voice" IP.

Then, there's another reason why she copied the "The Voice" format: Westerners are very susceptible to emotional appeal.

In her previous life, many people said that "The Voice of China" was actually "The Good Story of America." This analogy is not wrong, but the emotional manipulation in mainland Chinese programs is simply not enough in Europe and America. "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "America's Got Talent," and "The Voice of America" ​​are hundreds of times more emotional than those in mainland China, and often they are even forced emotional manipulation.

then……

The viewership ratings exploded.

Because emotional storytelling is very popular in Europe and America, many viewers who are already invested in the story are already holding their hands in anticipation of Lily Zeller's outstanding performance in the city competition after she achieves a perfect score...

"yeah--"

"Lily is so great!"

The sudden cheers became the main theme in most British and American cinemas.

With Lily Zeller's success, her grandfather's image was also illuminated.

Then, the second leg of the road trip began—

Since the county-level competition was held in Manchester, the family embarked on another journey to pursue their dreams.

The bustling cities that appeared during this process also made my mother sigh with emotion.

Because she hadn't left the countryside for many years;

She hasn't been to a big city for many years;
She hasn't traveled alone with her father for many years.

The reasons for all this include the trivialities of life—

Her grandmother, who helped her with her daily burdens, has passed away.

And there is also selfless love for one's partner—

My dad had a dream, and my mom unconditionally supported him in pursuing it. She always looked forward to my dad's success, but that day never came, which made her very disappointed, powerless, and aggrieved.

So……

Under the dazzling neon lights, my mother gazed at the glitz and glamour of Manchester with teary eyes.

The silent, pervasive sorrow gave her life.

After Lily Zeller gave her dad a hard push, urging him to go shopping with her mom and mentioning that her grandpa, sister, and uncle would help her prepare for the competition, their inseparable figures under the starlight tinged her mom with color.

then--

In the second county-level competition, Lily sang "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough".

"Oh, if I remember correctly, this is a song from ten years ago."

"This song was incredibly popular back then, I think it was number two on Billboard? It was sung by Patti Smith and Don Henley, the lead singer of the Eagles. So, can you tell me why you chose this song that's only two years younger than you?"

The judges at the county-level competition looked curious.

The little girl then smeared love powder on her spear—

"Because I want to dedicate this song to my dad and mom."

"They've known each other for many years and been married for many years, but recently... or maybe not recently, but without our knowledge, their relationship has encountered some problems and troubles."

“My dad is very busy with work, and in his daily life he also has his own hobbies. He likes to write. In order to pursue his dreams, he may have neglected the needs of the people who love him the most.”

"This fact is actually quite unfair to my mother."

"But my mom didn't complain, which made me think she was really great."

"And today, they put everything aside to come with me to Manchester. I am very grateful for their love, so I want to use The Voice to tell them that I love them too."

"At the same time, I'd like to say one more thing to my dad—"

"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough."

"Sometimes, love alone is not enough to sustain a relationship."

"Sometimes, Mom, I also crave your hug."

“Wooooooow——”

The judges of "The Voice of China" shed tears on the spot!

Mom and Dad hugged each other tightly!

The audience in front of the screen was also deeply moved!
Many parents even hugged each other, which made the child caught in the middle feel—

"Damn it, was I some kind of freebie that came with a phone plan?"

cough cough cough.

Just kidding, just kidding.

Most of the children also found Lily's words very touching.

After Lily Zeller finished her performance, the "bang bang bang" of the buzzers secured her a place in the finals with a unanimous vote!
Immediately afterwards, the family set off from Manchester to London, the venue for the finals.

As the third leg of their road trip begins, the story of the older sister and uncle unfolds in its entirety—

No wonder!
Since the first two road trips in "The Voice of the World" focused on family and love, which already constitute the entirety of a family's emotional fabric, any subsequent story about the sister and uncle, regardless of the emotional theme, would feel repetitive.

Therefore, when designing this plot, Columbus gave Isabella a suggestion.

Since my sister and uncle's lives have just begun, the reason they feel like failures is simply because they only had their careers in the first half of their lives, and they treated their careers as their entire lives.

In this case, their story can be told from the perspective of their careers.

Then, the audience in front of the screen discovered that after entering London, because everyone wanted to help Lily, the little sun who was maintaining the stability of her family, achieve a good ranking, they all used their own methods to find out information about the finals.

Then, Grandpa somehow got hold of a manual with introductions to all the contestants.

Open the manual...

An introduction with an even wilder origin than the manual suddenly appeared.

Power-up illustrations resembling those from anime and games appeared on the screen.

Each finalist has a pentagonal shape representing their vocal timbre, singing ability, aesthetic sense, vocal intelligence, and popularity. Lily Zeller has excellent vocal timbre and popularity, but the others...

He is severely unbalanced in his studies.

They look like they're just there to make up the numbers.

Moreover, the manual also contains a pentagonal warrior.

That was the bob haircut that the public called the "Great Demon King".

When introducing the bob haircut, Columbus even inserted a scene, using a voice-over to describe the bob haircut's ruthlessness in the first two competitions, how her strength was so formidable that the judges knelt down in admiration during the auditions and the subsequent competitions.

This fact left the Zeller family speechless.

This left everyone looking at each other in bewilderment, unsure how to plan the competition.

The young girl didn't seem to care too much. After reading the information, she said she understood. She also said that before coming out, everyone's goal was just to have the experience, so she didn't care about the final result and said she wanted to go out and see the world.

Although she had a smile on her face and spoke lightly, everyone felt that she was very sad.

This--

"Snapped!"

The uncle tapped the table, rushed out of the dining room where the meeting was taking place, caught up with his niece, and wanted to talk to her.

During this process, the uncle finished telling his story.

Just as Grandpa said, the reason why Uncle made solving the Hodge conjecture his doctoral dissertation was because he realized that he was just an ordinary person in the Oxford and Cambridge circles, which made him feel a little uncomfortable, having heard praise all the time since childhood.

He enjoys the feeling of making a name for himself and being the center of attention, but he can't do it.

So he chose to deceive himself.

To be a clown.

The reason why the uncle admitted his cowardice at this moment was that he hoped Lily would not be too demanding of the final result.

Because there are many geniuses in this world, and among geniuses there are even more geniuses.

Therefore, when you discover that your talents have limits, sometimes accepting and embracing them may be the best decision.

but……

"Rayleigh".

"Ok?"

"I don't actually think there's anything wrong with what you did."

"WW...What?"

The uncle was dumbfounded.

Lily, who was strolling along the Thames with him, looked up and smiled, saying, "No one doesn't aspire to be the best, so your choice seems perfectly normal to me."

"In other people's eyes, you've been a failure these past years, but in my eyes, you've been a success because you were doing what you wanted to do, even though you didn't succeed..."

"You didn't affect anyone else, did you?"

"What's wrong with risking your life to pursue your dream?"

"It's like the older sister. Although she has temporarily put aside the idea of ​​taking the exam and doesn't want to do anything, is this behavior wrong? No. Because who says that people must study until they die from the moment they are born?"

"If your sister doesn't want to study right now, it's probably because she's tired and wants to take a break. We'll support her, right?"

"And I also believe that once she has rested enough, she will set off again, because she is still painting now."

"And I've always thought her paintings are fantastic."

"I absolutely love the little beaver she gave me."

"So, Rayleigh, if you want to change your research topic now, I congratulate you."

"Because it means you've embraced a different dream."

"For example... like Mom... pursuing a better life?"

When Lily tilted her head back and smiled at her uncle, her figure under the golden sunlight was dazzling.

The uncle, who was looking at her, was like a forsythia that had left the cold winter and was gradually gaining its own color.

At the same time, the older sister not far away also pursed her lips.

Well, she followed her uncle out shortly after he left, and she overheard their entire conversation, which made her…

Turn around.

Leave.

On the streets of London, people were buying all sorts of materials with real pounds.

After she stayed up all night to finish making the support outfit for her sister,

My sister's figure also gained its own color.

The final match was intense, but there was no suspense, because the little girl brought out "The Climb," which she had prepared for many years.

When the judges asked her why she chose to sing an original song in the national competition, saying that such an act was actually very dangerous, she was met with resistance.

she says--

"Because I want to."

"My uncle and my sister are both the kind of people who always strive for the best in everything they do."

"I want to be like them."

"cool--"

Lily Zeller's fearless speech sparked endless cheers!
With the end of the performance, the emergence of the number one winner, and the arrival of the World Championship invitation, the entire movie came to a close.

The screen went black, and the end credits rolled.

And the first one to emerge was—

Story by Isabella Haywood
(End of this chapter)