Chapter 284

"We expect next week; progress on this side is delayed by about three days."

"Alright, I'll wait for you in Los Santos."

Bingdao, a place that ranks high among the world's popular tourist destinations.

Shooting here, the entire crew is suffering and enjoying it at the same time.

Not only can they feast on the beauty of nature, they can also be whipped along by the devil director Xu Can.

"Cut!"

Xu Can holds a megaphone, mercilessly unloading on Anne Hathaway.

"We emphasized this in the previous take—your emotional layers aren't rich enough, the performance stays on the surface. This take shows zero improvement!"

"I…"

Anne Hathaway is quite aggrieved.

"I don't know either."

This scene is exactly the moment after the spacecraft has weathered hundred-meter towering waves, when the male and female leads learn that the ship needs 1 hour to drain, but in reality it will take over 20 years.

Anne Hathaway's performance just now can only be counted as sad and upset, feeling guilty that her companion was swept away by the giant waves.

But she cannot convey that despair of instantly losing 20 years, of having her psychological defenses ruthlessly torn apart by time.

When Xu Can acts opposite her, he always feels something is missing.

Logically speaking, Anne's performance is already enough to rival the original *Interstellar*.

But with Xu Can's perfectionist nature, this still isn't enough.

In the original *Interstellar*, Anne Hathaway's performance was indeed criticized by some harsh film critics.

Compared with the male lead Matthew McConaughey, she was simply left three streets behind.

Even the other female lead, "workhorse sis" Jessica Chastain, gave a richer performance than hers.

This is also one of the reasons *Interstellar* never rose from "great" to "legendary."

As for this world, Xu Can might be what Thanos calls "cursed by knowledge."

With the "god-tier director" buff, it's easy to spot any tiny flaw.

He can no longer ignore these tiny flaws now,

so he can only force Anne Hathaway, squeeze out her potential, make her break through herself, and become a higher-level actress.

Perhaps seeing that Anne's expression looked rather aggrieved, Xu Can softened a little, turned back and addressed the crew:

"Let's take a 10-minute break."

Then he pulled Anne into the trailer on set.

In this private space, perhaps she could more easily let down her guard.

"Anne, I believe in you—you can break through yourself."

"No, I feel my talent might be limited, I can only do this much."

Anne sheds tears, gently shaking her head.

She can get what Xu Can is asking for, but she believes that even if she gives it everything she's got, she cannot do it.

Maybe Meryl Streep could,

maybe one of Xu Can's girlfriends, Emma Stone, could.

They are both Oscar Best Actress winners, certified by the little golden statuette.

Anne Hathaway herself? She just lost to Stone Sis at the Oscars—this is the only Oscar nomination in her acting career.

She might not have felt it before, but ever since losing to Stone Sis, Anne has grown somewhat insecure.

She lost to Stone Sis in every respect,

even her eyes aren't as big as the other's!

Thinking of this, Anne feels even sadder, her big eyes misty.

Xu Can is a bit speechless,

I didn't say a single harsh word, how come you're crying now?

But simply comforting her is useless, it can't help Anne Hathaway improve her acting 0.....

How can he make her quickly empathize with Dr. Brand, be ruthlessly torn apart by time?

A flash of inspiration struck Xu Can, and he suddenly thought of a vicious scheme. Perhaps cruel enough, but it might just work.

Seeing Anne still wallowing in self-pity, Xu Can sighed inwardly, then instantly became expressionless.

Mobilizing his Best Actor-level performance, Xu Can was simply flawless.

"Enough." His tone was very stiff, with a hint of impatience mixed in.

"What?" Anne looked up through teary eyes, only to meet Xu Can's disgusted gaze.

This made her heart jolt!

"I said, enough. Honestly, I hate women crying nonstop the most."

The always composed, calm, gentle and refined Xu Can had never shown such an irritable demeanor.

Anne Hathaway couldn't react for a moment.

"Before I just couldn't bear to say it, I felt you had some value, but now I see it clearly—you're only at this level."

"I…"

"You think when we filmed that romance last time, I really liked you?" Xu Can sneered with disdain,

"Just going through the motions, sis. Who told you to get into character so deeply."

Anne Hathaway still couldn't believe it, instinctively reaching out to grab Xu Can's arm, only to have him ruthlessly shake her off.

"Please, you're 6 years older than me, that's pretty old, okay? How could I possibly really like you—at most just playing around."

"Think about it—twenty years from now, you'll already be over forty, and I'll have just turned forty, right in my prime. How could I possibly be interested in you?"

"Have some self-awareness. Instead of wasting your efforts on me, think about how to fix your acting. Don't waste my film."

"Am-I-clear? My meaning is clear enough, isn't it?"

"I'd advise you to really get into this character. When you go out in a bit, I don't want to see you crying. I'm your boss, not your partner."

"Feel it for yourself."

Xu Can cast an impatient, ruthless glance at Anne Hathaway. Once he confirmed she believed him, he left the trailer without looking back.

Seeing her ashen expression, Xu Can truly couldn't bear it,

but this might be one of the few ways to stimulate Anne.

With her outwardly soft but inwardly tough nature, she wouldn't be broken down by Xu Can's ruthlessness.

Instead, she would unleash a terrifying fighting spirit, breaking through her own limits… hopefully.

If he just completely cut ties with Anne like this, becoming mere strangers in a purely professional relationship,

Xu Can would feel bad, but he wouldn't particularly care about it. He cared more about Taytay and Sister Stone.

One was his first love, a soulmate with perfect chemistry,

the other was someone Xu Can had loved across two lifetimes, the moonlight in his heart;

Giving up on either of them was something Xu Can truly couldn't accept.

As for everyone else, he could only say he'd leave it to fate and do his best.

A moment later, on set.

Xu Can looked at the limited-edition Patek Philippe on his wrist worth a million dollars—the minute hand had already moved ten minutes past.

Just as he thought Anne wouldn't show up, Anne walked onto the set in an astronaut suit, expressionless.

Xu Can observed closely that the tear tracks at the corners of her eyes hadn't faded—she must have had the makeup artist hastily touch her up.

It was obvious she was truly heartbroken.

"Everyone's here, let's begin!"

"Scene 43, Take 7, Attempt 3!"

"Action!"

Anne and Xu Can exchanged a glance. The adoration from the 1.9 days was completely gone, vanished like a walking corpse.

"Armchair strategist—your survival skills aren't even as good as a Boy Scout's." Xu Can swiftly slipped into his acting state.

"We've already reached the limits of human capability."

"It's not enough. We're trapped here—fucking trapped for twenty years!"

Next came the most emotionally complex line, the one Anne had always gotten stuck on before.

Perhaps Xu Can's words kept echoing in her heart, perhaps the six-year age gap made her feel the cruelty of time.