Although November in Los Angeles can only be regarded as a slight chill, in the mountainous area of County Wicklow in Ireland, November seems to have entered the depths of winter, and the winter in Ireland is humid and foggy, quite overcast and cold - but in Daniel. The interior of the estate where Day-Lewis and his family live is of course well heated, so that it does not freeze to the two young children, and his wife, who is from across the ocean and is accustomed to the perfection of the Americans, who has almost a luxury heating system.

Daniel himself was not against central heating, but he preferred the roaring fire in the fireplace, a traditional and primitive way of heating him reminded him of his teenage years - when he was locked up in boarding school by his father, the old school library was so cold every winter that the heating was almost a figurative glimmer of warmth, and he and his classmates competed for a limited spot in front of the fireplace, snuggling up to each other to read his father's poetry books, Shakespeare's plays, which seemed too profound for a middle school student. But at that time, Daniel was so subservient and elegant.

After entering middle age, life in boarding school was like a dream, like his father who died young, and the traces left in Daniel's life were almost minimal, only the penchant for fireplaces and carpentry continued, doing carpentry made Daniel feel calm, and every time sandpaper grinded over the surface of the wood, it reminded him of a hidden memory of the past, a meaningless glimpse, a flashing picture, a loud laugh from his youth- This information can help Daniel to withdraw from the role and regain control of himself little by little, which is the best way for this methodist master, who reinvents his personality every time he plays a role, is the best way to grasp the balance in the intricacies of his inner world and not lose it completely.

Today he is going to make a chair, the most basic wood is almost finished, and he can start carving the wedge, Daniel picked up the tape measure, and measured the size again along the ink line, although he is already a very experienced carpenter, but the habit left from the first time to build furniture has always been with him: before the real start, you must confirm the size many times, the carpenter is not like a show, the performance may be repeated, but the scrapping of a good piece of wood cannot be saved.

All sorts of numbers and calculations floated through his mind, suppressing another nightmare phantom from "Blood is Coming", lately, these difficult memories have appeared less and less, and Daniel even felt a little reluctant - he didn't know how other actors dealt with acting, Daniel didn't have many friends in the same class, for him, every time he entered a role, he would set a personality for that role, his life, the ins and outs, and many short stories of full personality, And the only way to get out of the role is to forget these details and say goodbye to the character. Sometimes for his cherished character, it's like saying goodbye to an old friend, and worse than saying goodbye to a real-life friend, no one but Daniel will mourn their loss.

Chiseling, tapping...... Like the sound of an axe chisel from an oil construction site, another Daniel seemed to come to life in such a voice, and a vivid look of anger appeared before his eyes—Daniel shrank and put down the chisel in his hand: Daniel. Plainview is a character who resonates with him very much, so it is also extremely difficult to get rid of, like a wisp of ghost that haunts him.

Walking out of the carpentry room to the bathroom, Daniel wandered into the living room, where his wife, Rebecca, looked up from her book and smiled at him, not commenting on his premature departure from the carpentry room, "Honey, you have a call from the United States--Rob. Marshall wants you to call him back. ”

"Didn't Lucy tell him?" Daniel was a little confused, "I'm not ready to start building Contini yet." ”

Contini is the male protagonist of "9", which is a plump and complex character, and it does make Daniel a little itchy, but there is still a long time before the start of the show, and he is still in the stage of stepping out of the previous role.

However, even so, Daniel, who is in the 'recovery stage', has always been very cooperative, and after settling the current time in the United States with Rebecca, he still called Rob back, "Rob, I hope I didn't disturb your lunch......"

He and Rob. Marshall met very early, and when Daniel starred in a play on the West End, he was just as nobody as Rob was at the time. Marshall had lunch together, and Rob also introduced him to a well-known psychiatrist from the United States - Daniel, who had a relatively serious mental disorder when he was young, and often hallucinated at his worst. Over the years, the two have maintained frequent contact, mainly because Daniel is shy and introverted by nature and does not have many friends, especially after being sexually expedient. Lust driven, fanatical pursuit of meat. After that period of physical pleasure, he was more inclined to a life of reclusion, content with the pleasure of the small world, and social interaction was sometimes an unbearable change in his world, and Daniel was too busy maintaining the balance of his inner world to afford such an activity.

"Of course not, I'm looking forward to your call, Daniel." Rob laughed on the other end of the phone, but Daniel could sense that Rob's mood wasn't too bright right now—he felt that Rob's tone was a little hesitant.

"What's going on, Rob?" He didn't like to go around the bush, so he asked directly, "Is there a problem with the project's funding?" Has the female lead actor changed? ”

"No, it's not, the project is going well." Rob hurriedly said, "I just wanted to ask how you've been feeling lately, you know, have you come out of the role - I'm reading the script for '9,' you know, I want to talk to someone about it." ”

"Ahh Daniel is also relaxed, he doesn't like to socialize, but he likes to talk about his chosen role with his bosom friend, and there are very few people in the world who can carry this kind of conversation. "Yes, I read the script the other day, and the 9 has been adapted so beautifully, and that interlaced and repeated feeling, like fabric, isn't it, the warp and weft are intertwined, weaving Contini's personality, it's like a rigorous math game - it's very cute indeed."

"Yes, that's impressive," Rob's tone relaxed, "the influence that every woman has on Contini is reflected in his personality and, of course, his midlife crisis - Contini is a very special and very universal character, his talent makes him extremely special, but his midlife crisis makes him as confused as everyone else......"

They relaxed about Contini and his midlife crisis, Rob seemed interested in gossip, Daniel was a little confused, and finally he honestly said, "I haven't started to figure out Contini yet, Rob, maybe we'll need to answer your question in a few months......"

"Of course, of course, no problem......" Rob's voice sounded more uncertain, as if he was thinking about something, and Daniel couldn't help but be more confused - and finally, Rob finally made up his mind and asked, "Daniel, have you experienced a midlife crisis yourself?" I mean- of course you're middle-aged, maybe a little bit of a change in your psyche -- "

Although he had a hunch that Rob might have some difficult questions to ask, Daniel was still dumbfounded when Rob finally asked about it...... Of course, for all normal people, whether rich or poor, middle-aged, it is impossible not to have a sense of crisis going downhill, but the problem is that for Daniel, he has never lived a normal life.

Middle age, when does it start? A few years ago? Or did it start after he won the actor? Is he really middle aged?

The jumbled mind tangled up in his mind, and Daniel found himself unable to answer the question for a moment, and he honestly said, "Rob, I'm afraid—I don't know, I don't have an answer to this question." ”

"yes." Rob didn't sound disappointed, if anything, he had some final affirmation, "It's okay, Daniel, we still have a long time to prepare......"

#

On the other side of the ocean, on the snow-covered streets of New York, Rob sat at the window of his study looking at the empty intersection, unconsciously spinning a pen in his hand, and using the meaningful silence on the other end of the phone to calculate his own thoughts: Jennifer and Cesare were right, maybe Daniel is the best actor in the world today, but there is no doubt that he is still some way from the role of Contido.

"Contido is a very delicate character, playing him is like a surgical operation, and the influence of the nine women on him must be reflected in Contido one by one, and this information must be transmitted to the audience, so that they can understand Contido's psychological state and the reasons why he is in a midlife crisis." Jennifer's analysis now seems to make more and more sense, "And Lewis's prime of his career came after he won the Oscar, which is actually a paradox - any middle-aged Hollywood actor who is still active in front of the public and has excellent grades is very difficult to suffer from a midlife crisis, especially Daniel, whose family has been very stable in the last decade or so." ”

Rob himself has to admit that Jennifer and Cesare's statement is very reasonable: he himself is like this, even before "Chicago", with excellent professional skills and a good income, he does not have the feeling of midlife crisis, and now that he has reached the peak of his career with "Chicago" and "Memoirs of a Geisha", he is a long way from a midlife crisis, of course, Daniel is the same, besides, Daniel's main psychological obstacle over the years has been that it is difficult to play, and it has nothing to do with the midlife crisis at all.

Of course, actors don't need to kill to imitate what it feels like to kill someone. De Niro had never driven a taxi before filming "Taxi Driver", and of course Daniel could experience life in various ways and restore his midlife crisis, and Rob also had a lot of confidence in this, but-

In fact, there are two major difficulties for the actors to restore Contido, they need to have a deep understanding of the midlife crisis, but also a deep understanding of Contido's artistic character, but for Lewis, first of all, he is likely to know nothing about the midlife crisis, and secondly, he also needs time to cut off Contido's personality from himself, Contido has no mental disorder, and his dialogue with his deceased mother in the script is more like a symbolic device, if Lewis plays in his true colors, this role will undoubtedly go astray. "9" is a very big project, Rob, you need to deal with the narrative angle of 10 big name actors, Lewis can't barely get up to the mark, in fact, he can't even be just 'good', he has to be otherworldly to press down and really bring out the intricacies of Contido's inner world. And if you allow Lewis to understand Contido at his own pace, he is likely to find out his form – and perhaps he will be confused by Contido's similarities with him. ”

Cesare. Although Vigeri is young, Rob has always been very optimistic about him, in his opinion, Cesare's taste is undoubtedly trustworthy, and his vision is frighteningly accurate, his desperate fanatical pursuit of "Chicago" makes Rob remember it vividly to this day, and his relatively less enthusiastic attitude towards "9" (Rob knows very well that Jennifer will agree to star in "9" just to repay his favor), and it has also become a shadow in Rob's heart, he will not give up this project for this, but every time he thinks of Cesare's reservation, There will be a faint haze in my heart. He had a feeling that Cesare did not convince him to give in to this rhetoric, on the contrary, it was precisely because of this rhetoric that he was not so interested in "9", and did not even actively recommend his other actresses to audition.

Judging by Daniel's attitude, it is true that he has no understanding of the midlife crisis, and this cannot but make Rob a little uneasy - in fact, there is another point that Cesare's words make him mind very much: Lewis decided to take on "9" because "9's Contido" reminds him of himself in some way.

For Rob at that time, he was of course ecstatic to find such a top actor to perform the extremely difficult "9", and he would not care so much, but now that he has got Lewis, Rob's mentality is different: Contido is by no means Lewis, Contido is not mentally ill, and some of his abnormal performances are just exaggerated expressions of his midlife crisis. If Daniel had followed this line of thought to shape Contido, there would be no doubt that he had gone astray.

Lucy said he hadn't come out yet, and that it was a simple math problem...... It took him a year to get into his last role -- and we're not trying to disparage Daniel in "Blood Is Coming." Plainview, but his personality complexity is not comparable to that of Contini...... Even if all goes well, Lewis may need more time to get into the play, and at his usual pace, it's hard to imagine that in two years he'll surprise you with Contini. Cesare's or Jennifer's voices mingled and rumbled in Rob's ears, "Maybe you need some supernatural means to help, a little bit of madness." ”

"Michael. Clayton is a very suitable over-the-top character, his personality is relatively simple compared to Contini, at least there are only a few contradictions in front of the audience, and the most important of them is that Michael is in a deep midlife crisis. ”

"In terms of echo, Michael's dirty work at the beginning of the film also echoes "Blood is Coming", his confusion echoes "9", and of course, in the end, his self-redemption coincides with "9".

"This role may help Lewis understand the midlife crisis, he doesn't have to deal with two problems at the same time, this will be his first midlife crisis role, and after he gets through it, he will understand Contido's anxiety in '9'."

"In terms of time, he also had plenty of time to shoot Michael, and after the shooting, you have plenty of time to discuss the artist side of Contido."

"It's certainly going to be a win-win on all three fronts – if Lewis gets interested in Michael, then the magic can happen." Jennifer's voice was full of confidence, "Talk to Lewis, Rob, and see if he really understands the midlife crisis and understands the ...... of Contido"

Incredibly, Rob found himself really convinced, and he called—and then was even more surprised to find that Jennifer was right, they were right, and Lewis didn't really understand Contido—and that Daniel was right. De-Lewis was incredible, but Rob still had to say: if he went down the line of thought now, maybe ...... Contido would be a very rare miss for Daniel.

For Daniel, a miss will not affect his career, but Rob can't bear his hard work, and the team of All-Olympic award-winning actors who have worked hard to put together was finally ruined by Daniel's miss, he filmed "9" not to win awards, but to create a masterpiece of art, another peak in his art musical films, another masterpiece, even if this is just an idea, a possibility, it also makes Rob feel heavy, and what makes him even more anxious is that according to Daniel's introverted and stubborn character, The communication between the two was destined to be cautious, and it is likely that even if he realized the deviation, he would not be able to correct it.

Of course, even if Daniel was open and willing to cooperate, Rob didn't know how to help him. When De Niro experienced life, he was engaged in the very common profession of taxi driver, and where did Rob find a world-class director who was in a midlife crisis to experience Daniel? In addition, some characters with strong professional characteristics may be able to make progress by experiencing life, but it is extremely unlikely that a purely psychological and individual problem such as a midlife crisis can be enlightened through two to three months of actual experience.

In fact, generally speaking, when there is almost a two-year gap in the schedule, the director rarely interferes with the actor to take on the film again, or to contact the actor in the middle to take another job, which is also very common, just because Lewis is in a special situation, the gap between the two years is not very long for him, Rob will feel hesitant, otherwise, according to his friendship with Cesare and Jennifer, matchmaking is just a matter of one sentence, but when it comes to his own works, no favor can cross this red line, If the Jenche duo played the emotional card, he would rather offend the two with deep backgrounds than agree - in fact, even the short time he listened to their explanations, Rob also had a kind of unhappiness about being offended by his exclusivity, but in the short time he was on the phone with Lewis, his mood fluctuated violently, and now he had really begun to consider the 'win-win' statement: at least, it was not a theory that the two of them had made up in order to break through their own joints...... Although I don't know why Jennifer would say so confidently that 'if it goes on like this, Contini will be Lewis's Waterloo', it is true that such a danger cannot be ruled out.

"It's okay, Daniel, we've got a long time to prepare......" He thought quickly, made a decision, and kept talking so that Daniel wouldn't hang up the phone - how reclusive was Daniel? Just look at the difficulty of talking to him on the phone, if it weren't for Rob and he have known each other for a long time, this phone call may not be able to get through today, first of all, Daniel generally does not disclose his residential phone (he does not have a mobile phone), but only contacts the director through his agent, secondly, even if he gets a residential phone, he is often not the one who answers the phone, and Rebecca will not let him answer the phone, and what is even more terrifying is that even if she relays it to Daniel, Daniel will not call back, and his contact with the director is always one-way, He can contact the director at any time, but the director can't reach him...... In fact, today Daniel will take the initiative to call back, which makes Rob a little flattered. If he ends the call now, he won't be able to reach Daniel next time.

"Yes, Rob, I may need a little more time......"

Perceiving the tendency to hang up the phone in Daniel's tone, Rob finally made up his mind: maintain the status quo, there is a high possibility of screwing, in this case, it is better to really do something crazy, maybe there will be a turnaround, anyway, "Michael. Clayton was only going to shoot for nine weeks, and Daniel had plenty of time to prepare for 9......

"Actually, I had another thing to call, Daniel." There was no time for hesitation or lingering, and he spoke, "You know Jennifer. Jefferson? She recently worked on a very interesting project, "Michael. Clayton - originally Michael's actor George Brown. Clooney suffered from depression and had to quit halfway through ......"

"But......" Daniel's surprise and bewilderment were clearly expressed in his voice, and he paused-privately, Daniel had always been shy about expressing his will, "Rob, you know my habits, I need time to deal with each character-"

"That's true, but I think the character of Michael might help you understand Contini......" Rob explained carefully, "Besides, I've seen Jennifer's performance." ”

He paused, and a faint regret drifted through his heart: Jennifer is too young to play a husband and wife with Daniel, otherwise, the position of the heroine of "9" must be her. What's even more embarrassing is that he had to prepare for "9" for the next two years, couldn't be distracted from directing "My Week with Monroe", and missed the opportunity to work with Jennifer...... He's not obsessed with Jennifer, but every director who has seen Karen footage will surely feel the same way.

“…… I watched Jennifer's performance material. He regained his attention and continued, "Maybe you should check it out, Daniel, I don't know, maybe that girl's performance will help ignite your passion and get you out of 'Blood is Coming......"

#

"What's wrong?" When Daniel hung up the phone, Rebecca. Miller also walked back to the living room from the kitchen, she had just gone to the kitchen to make tea, so she missed the second half of the call, "Dan, it sounds like the director has done something that confuses you." ”

"Indeed......" Daniel admitted with a frown, "Rob made a rare request...... But I'm going back to carpentry now, and he sent you an email, Rebecca, can you do it for me...... I don't know, it seems to be called 'Annex', can you show it to me after we've had dinner?" ”

"Absolutely." Rebecca laughed, "By the way, that thing is really called an attachment, and I'll download it." ”

Daniel, as dazed by the new terms, nodded haphazardly and returned to his carpentry room, absentmindedly doing chores while pondering Rob's requests: a rarity for a director he worked with. He knows that he is a difficult actor to date, and it is rare for directors to connect with other films when they have a joint project ahead.

And Jennifer. Jefferson, did Rob have a bit of a bad reputation for her? Daniel also watched "The Fifth Sally", Jennifer's acting skills are of course very good, but in his opinion, the switch between roles and roles seems to be a bit stiff, he doesn't know how to describe it, but Jennifer's performance doesn't seem to have caught that point, at least, he himself doesn't have too many scenes with her*.

Continuing to do the carpentry absentmindedly, after dinner, Rebecca gave him a script, and half an hour later pulled him into the audio-visual entertainment room.

"You should see her perform." With an expression of annoyance and admiration, she said, "Of course, I don't approve of you starring in two plays in a row in a short period of time...... But I can't stop you from reading this material - I know that if I do, one day you'll hate me for it. ”

Daniel was a little surprised, but Rebecca made a 'quiet' gesture, turned on the projector, and turned off the lights.

With the rustle of machinery, a piece of material appeared on the white screen of the home theater, which was obviously not cut and only roughly stitched. The top of Jefferson's head appears in the camera, and then the camera slowly descends, and her half-closed eyes, as if she are about to suffocate, grab Daniel's attention at once-

In silence, the camera slowly rotated, Jennifer's character - Karen? Just leaning quietly against the toilet partition, breathing lightly and quickly, her face was full of pure, unreserved panic, but not exaggerated, these emotions were restrained in her half-closed eyelashes, hidden in the frequency of her gasping - no lines, no need for knowledge of the script, nothing to understand, just looking at her to understand, her gestures and expressions were already telling her own story -

After a rustling noise, another shot begins, George. The male lead played by Clooney (Michael. Clayton? Karen's face to face with Jennifer across a coffee table, Michael had a nervous smile on his face, he squeezed his eyes - he wanted to express an emotion, but Daniel couldn't tell what it was, he felt George nervous, but he wasn't sure if it was a script requirement, after all, he had just done a rough reading, in Karen's comparison, Michael looked pompous and distant, he didn't seem to want to laugh, but for some reason, he just had an unnatural smile on his face, as if he couldn't control himself, It was as if it was radiating from his eyes.

As for Karen, she looked so desperate, but in an instant, she was back in a professional, aggressive, and domineering state, "You're late. ”

"I know," said George, his tone sluggish and slow, as if he couldn't remember the lines accurately, but then jumping too fast in the next moment - this was definitely not Michael. Clayton, George's performance was surprisingly poor-

Rebecca put a piece of paper in Daniel's hand, he looked down, but didn't look at his wife, no, Daniel didn't have the heart to think about his wife, real life, or even Daniel who had just ended. Plainview, now all of these things have faded into invisible phantom bubbles, and the only thing that matters is the movie, and the only thing that matters is Karen - the vivid and jumping Karen on the page, only the scene full of tension -

Daniel said to Karen in the picture, "I know. ”

His expression was annoyed, not to Karen, but to the mess at hand, and of course to the unkind Karen, "I'm sorry, things are a little complicated...... No, that's not going to happen......"

His tone grew heavier, and he grew more and more impatient with Karen, just as Karen was getting impatient with him, and the information was not in the script, not in the lines, but in the communication between him and Karen, the two creatures they had created from the script.

Lewis stretched out his hand, Rebecca silently put the next page of the script in his hand, he glanced at it quickly, and his tone was low again, as if he was trying to restrain himself, "But you didn't hire him because he had depression, you hired him because he was the best, he was intelligent, and he was crazy about his career......"