Chapter 116: I Can't Take It Anymore

Cao Yang had previously given Sean Penn and Tim Robbins two "Immersive Acting" experiences each, and he didn't know how they were doing now; he opened the system, wanting to see if he could discern the situation.

Host: Cao Yang

Current Prestige: 1,406,785

Available Prestige: 306,785

Immersive Acting: +0

Film in Production: "Milk"

Lead Actor: Johnny Depp

……

The two pending figures are gone; what is the situation now? Could the four Immersive Acting experiences have been wasted?

Cao Yang felt a bit regretful; had he known, he wouldn't have been so impulsive, wasting prestige on Immersive Acting experiences for nothing.

Even if those Immersive Acting experiences had been given to Gao Yuanyuan, it would have been enough for her to win another Best Actress award.

Impulsiveness is the devil; next time, he must try his best to control his temper and not be too impulsive in his actions. With the acting skills of Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, one addition was enough; adding more was a bit of a waste.

No, he still had to call the casting agency to provide more names. Damn it, he wanted people who would become famous in the future. It didn't matter if they fit the role; as long as the other party was willing, even playing a bit part would do.

All kinds of gay roles—arrange them for them all.

Right, he also had to add more passionate scenes for these people in the script.

"Ah..."

Sean Penn woke up from a nightmare once again, sitting up in bed.

With trembling hands, he felt his body over several times. Thank goodness, thank goodness, it was a dream; he hadn't actually been shot.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

The woman beside him was startled awake by Sean Penn and sat up as well.

Because they hadn't worn any clothes after their passion last night, two naughty little things bobbed and swayed as she sat up.

Sean Penn turned a blind eye to all of this. He didn't answer, nor did he pay any mind to the woman; he got out of bed alone, opened the sliding door facing the pool, and sat on the sofa, staring blankly outside.

The woman also got out of bed, wearing nothing, and walked over just like that.

She hugged Sean Penn from behind, kissed his ear, and asked, "Honey, did you have another nightmare? You must be under too much pressure; you'll be fine after a good rest."

"Maybe."

Sean Penn looked outside and said distractedly, "Maybe it's because I was thinking about taking the role in 'Milk' a while ago and looked up a lot of information. Lately, I keep dreaming that I've become that guy."

The woman was stunned, then showed an interested expression, with a hint of excitement on her face. "They say that guy was a gay man. You also dream that you've become that kind of person?"

Sean Penn closed his eyes, seemingly lost in memory. Likely startled, he hissed before saying, "According to the information I found, that guy wasn't a gay man at all. He was just using the guise of being gay to win over the votes of those people."

The woman leaned into Sean Penn's ear and asked softly, "Didn't they say he had a boyfriend?"

Sean Penn seemed to think of something and was thoroughly disgusted. He gave the woman a light push. "You go to sleep first; I'll sit for a while longer."

After hesitating, he added, "I'm not coming over tomorrow. I want to go home and see."

Perhaps he could sleep more soundly at home?

The situation did not improve.

For the next few days, Sean Penn kept having the same dream. Each time, he embodied Milk, experiencing Milk's life.

Finally, he would be shot to death in his office by someone, and then wake up from the dream in a fright.

Sean Penn was tortured quite severely. He changed several psychologists, but none could solve the problem, saying it was because he was too invested and had become too immersed in the role to get out.

But there was no need to be nervous; find some fun, do some happy things, and he would slowly recover. Do you think I don't know that, you damn useless people?

Sean Penn thought self-deprecatingly that if he were to act in "Milk" now, he could probably bring the character to life with his eyes closed.

He knew that this state of his was also a form of being immersed in a role. The ridiculous thing was that the role he was immersed in was the "Milk" he had rejected.

Why the hell did I reject this role in the first place!

It was too late to turn back now; he had stood Cao Yang up and thoroughly offended that young director.

Sean Penn had had many similar experiences; he knew that as long as he persisted for a while, he would slowly emerge from the role and recover.

But the sad thing was that he had become so deeply immersed this time.

He attributed it all to his own desperate desire to win an Oscar.

A few more days passed, and the tortured and miserable Sean Penn, combining the words of certain psychologists, changed his thinking.

He felt that his desire to win an Oscar was one aspect, but the main reason was the disconnect with reality.

To be a despicable and shameless politician, yet packaged as a pioneer of the equal rights movement and a hero helping the weak—this was simply a huge joke.

!

Perhaps it was because he didn't identify with the character that it led to such serious consequences.

Then Sean Penn thought of how most psychologists told him that to completely resolve the hidden trouble, one had to find a way from the source.

What was the source?

Cao Yang had been very busy lately. At night, he had to write scripts—not "Milk," but other scripts. During the day, he had to interview actors; even for unimportant supporting roles, he had to see them personally.

This made Bellman very confused. Why did he have to do this himself when he could just leave it to the casting director and the casting agency?

Of course, Cao Yang wouldn't tell him that he was collecting "stars."

Through the recommendations of the casting agency, Cao Yang had already finalized over a dozen people; these were all supporting roles with quite a few lines.

Furthermore, under the witness of the guild, he had already signed acting contracts with these people.

Most of them would have scenes involving hugging, cuddling, and passion.

These people were all members of the gay community who helped Milk.

Future movie fans would be happy; they would be able to see their idols in their green years and also see their idols' passionate scenes. Isn't that exciting?

Isn't that stimulating?

Just wait to count the stars, you lot.

In movies, the actors playing villains usually look either fierce and menacing, have an average look but a gloomy face, or look a bit perverted.

In "Milk," Cao Yang insisted on choosing a simple-looking face for Dan White, the man who shot Milk—the kind that didn't look like a bad guy at all.

After the audition, he finally chose Mark Ruffalo, the guy who would later play the Hulk.

For Milk's boyfriend, Cao Yang chose Casey Affleck.

For the other boyfriend who committed suicide, Cao Yang chose Benedict Cumberbatch, who was still performing in open-air theaters—the future Doctor Strange, "Curly."

For the rest of the gay community with screen time, Cao Yang found many potential stocks who were not yet famous or only slightly famous.

Matthew McConaughey, Tom Hardy, James Franco, Pedro Pascal, Ryan Reynolds, Henry Cavill, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Bradley Cooper, Cillian Murphy, Zachary Levi...

That should be enough to surprise future movie fans.

(End of chapter)