"Wait, what? What exactly happened?"
Seth was brimming with question marks, watching Renly and Will enter the room, feeling a bit out of sync. Renly was truly unconventional; from the moment he appeared today, Seth felt like common sense had been repeatedly shattered, and he couldn't fathom Renly's every move.
Yes, he could understand Renly's desire to communicate with the screenwriter about ideas and concepts, but why talk alone with just two people? And leaving the other co-stars aside, what was that about? Shouldn't an actor's first task upon joining a production be to develop chemistry with their scene partners?
Judging from the amount of screen time they had together, his cooperation with Renly was the most extensive. They needed to portray the unspoken bond behind their friendship, which was no simple feat.
In terms of chemistry, the collaboration between Anna and Renly was the most challenging. Anna would portray a psychiatrist engaging in conversations with Adam, a bit awkward yet tender.
In terms of disparity in their scenes, Bryce was the one Renly needed to converse with. She would play Adam's girlfriend who later betrays him, resulting in their breakup. The shifting emotions between these lovers were a vital aspect of the subplot.
In other words, the entire film revolved around Renly as the central character, radiating a circle where each element was closely tied to him. But now, Renly had cast aside everyone else, focusing on a conversation with Will and even refusing to let the other actors join in. It was truly bizarre!
Seth turned to Anna, Bryce, and the others, casting inquiring glances, but each one wore an expression of confusion, unable to provide answers. Seth shot Bryce a glare, as if saying, "Aren't you supposed to be his girlfriend? Even if they're talking alone, it should have been you first." He was referring to their roles in the film.
Bryce spread her hands helplessly, looking at Seth. How could she possibly know?
Thinking back, Renly had been defying convention since their phone conversation. Otherwise, how could anyone in their right mind be willing to step up and take on such a low-budget independent project at a time when the Oscars were looming, complete with shaving their head?
Thinking this through brought Seth some solace.
Nathan walked out and casually closed the room door, cutting off everyone's prying gazes. As he turned around, he realized he had become the center of attention, causing a shiver down his spine. "Uh... I need to use the restroom." Sometimes the best strategy was to retreat.
Renly looked around the room—it was simple and elegant with wooden furniture, devoid of excessive decoration, plain and unadorned. The beddings were in cool blue tones, and on the desk lay some work materials neatly arranged.
"Is this similar to the style of your own home?" Renly inquired.
"Yeah, pretty much the same," Will nodded in affirmation. But then he recalled something and added, "However, these things aren't mine. I repurchased everything."
Renly chuckled quietly, taking a seat at the desk. He noticed Will still standing a short distance from the entrance, somewhat reserved. Oddly enough, Renly seemed more like the host, and Will the guest in comparison.
"Merely from this small detail, it could be seen that Will wasn't skilled in social interactions, and he was also rather reserved. Even during their brief interaction just now, their pleasant conversation owed much to the atmosphere of the moment, and Seth's presence was helpful.
"Please, take a seat," Renly extended a friendly invitation, "Before we formally read the script, I'd like to talk to you about it, or more accurately, I'd like to talk to you about yourself."
Will's motion of sitting down paused slightly, displaying a puzzled expression.
Renly had to clarify, "Seth told me that this script is adapted from your personal experience." Will nodded, confirming the fact. "I believe that the script's details and plot will be incredibly genuine, authentically portraying the entire journey of facing cancer. But what I'm even more curious about is what kind of person you were before finding out about your illness."
The main theme and core of the entire script of "50/50" revolved around "cancer treatment," with all the subplots and events unfolding around this theme.
This was both an advantage and a drawback of the script.
The advantage lay in its authenticity and subtlety. From the moment of diagnosis, through acceptance, undergoing treatment, and the subsequent emotional fluctuations, each plot's depiction of states was incredibly authentic, entirely devoid of dramatic embellishments, presenting Will's emotional journey in its entirety. One could say this script easily touched the audience's hearts, awakening resonance.
The drawback, however, lay in the characters' limitations. Since the focal point was cancer itself, and the script deliberately showcased the impact of cancer on life, there wasn't much room left to develop the characters. Each character in the script was only given a basic setup, extracting a distinct aspect of their personality and amplifying it. Relatively speaking, the characters were rather simplistic.
From the perspective of a screenwriter and director, this wasn't problematic. The dramatic tension of the work was already sufficient, coupled with its status as a comedy, sprinkled with some witty and humorous moments. With a runtime of a hundred minutes, there wasn't much space left. A more concise script indeed boosted the completion of the work.
The previous "50/50" was just like that. The overall quality of the work was good, but for actors, it wasn't necessarily good news. This was because the room for actors to shine was quite limited.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance was truly commendable. Several powerful scenes brimmed with tension, earning him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. However, those scenes were unrelated to his character but tied to cancer.
In simple terms, what the audience saw was a person's emotional fluctuations and even breakdown when faced with cancer, but they didn't see Adam himself. This "person" could be replaced by anyone.
This also meant that when actors performed, they lacked a foundation. Their performance might be brilliant, but it was ultimately a mirage, a castle in the air. The character wouldn't hold up to scrutiny.
Joseph's performance in "50/50" had numerous highlights worth praising. However, from an acting standpoint, if you compared it to his role in "(500) Days of Summer", there wasn't much difference. One could almost say that the two similar characters were merely copy-pasted into different works, with the distinction lying only in the different situations each character encountered.
Or one could say it's the same person, experiencing a breakup story made into "(500) Days of Summer", and later falling victim to cancer, made into "50/50".
However, Renly wasn't Joseph Gordon-Levitt; his style of acting and interpretation were entirely different from Joseph's. Renly had no intention of imitating Joseph's performance, let alone copying the performance from "(500) Days of Summer".
Renly was acutely aware that different people, different personalities, would react differently when faced with cancer. The variations in behavior in such sudden circumstances were, in fact, a manifestation of the facets of character.
Whether method acting or interpretive acting, delving deep into the character was an essential aspect.
Comparatively, method acting tended to be more meticulous. Interpretive acting placed more emphasis on the precision of acting, while method acting focused more on the character's experience. It could be understood that the former concerned itself with the self, while the latter concentrated on the character. Although this description might generalize to a certain extent, the overall trend leaned in this direction.
Even though Will wasn't extensively described in the script, he used himself as a blueprint while writing. To further delve into the character and provide the elegant castle in the air with a stable foundation, he needed a deeper understanding of Will.
It was Adam who got cancer, not Chu Jiashu or Renly. It was Adam depicted by Will Reiser.
"Me?" Will couldn't help but laugh at this question, finding it somewhat unexpected and leaving him a bit flustered. "I'm just a very ordinary person, without any distinguishing features. I'm standing right in front of you now, you should be able to see that clearly."
Renly chuckled lightly, "Will, relax. I'm not a psychologist, nor am I your date. I just want to have a conversation about the script." This teasing remark slightly eased Will's tension. "I mean, if the character doesn't have any distinctive traits, then he couldn't become the protagonist of the script, right? So, I need to delve deeper into the character."
Will paused for a moment. He understood Renly's intention, but upon closer consideration, when he was writing "50/50", he didn't specifically conceptualize the character. That's because all the events were drawn from his personal experiences. After the secondary creation by his mind, the words flowed naturally... and so on.
At this point, Will finally caught Renly's true intention. However, what should he say? He didn't know what made him distinctive. As the protagonist of a movie, did he have any noteworthy aspects? Furthermore, what traits did the Adam he penned down possess?
Will suddenly felt baffled. The script hadn't delved much into these aspects. Broadly speaking, Adam was a calm individual who, despite hardships, refused to give up, always maintaining a positive outlook...
Will suddenly realized that Adam indeed was a character without edges. Using such an ordinary character as the male lead, would anyone be willing to step into the cinema to watch?
This left Will momentarily dazed. Although he came from a screenwriting background and had been steadfastly writing scripts, he had predominantly worked in television and radio. "50/50" was only his first screenplay for a film. Will's confidence began to plummet.
Unaware of this, Renly continued. In just a few seconds, Will's mind had already undergone tremendous shifts. Renly further explained, "What I mean is, what do you enjoy doing apart from writing?"