American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 19 Degradation is the Noblest Praise

What did the poster for Harry Potter 1 look like in her previous life? Isabella couldn't remember.

But in this life, she thought Warner Bros. made a really nice poster for Harry Potter 1.

The background image of the movie poster depicts the scene of the mischievous children's first arrival at Hogwarts:

The upper part is a pitch-black night, with brightly lit English castles standing tall in the mountains;

The second half is a wide river, where people carry lanterns and sail towards their dream destination.
The dividing line between the two is a white cloud;
In the very center, the light brown 'Harry Potter' logo is clearly visible.

The second poster featured Hedwig, who was soaring through the air with an envelope in her claws. Even though there was nothing on it, any Harry Potter fan would recognize it as the Hogwarts acceptance letter that everyone longed to receive.

The third poster is of Harry. He is wearing a Gryffindor uniform, his arms are crossed, his face, which is wearing glasses, is slightly tilted upwards, and his gaze is not looking straight ahead, but rather like a little adult gazing into the unknown distance.

The fourth poster finally featured Hermione, also in Gryffindor uniform, with her arms crossed, but unlike the others, Hermione was holding a stack of thick books and facing the camera with a smile.

That slightly upturned corner of her mouth, that sweet face, that cascading blonde hair...

Oh~My~God~
How can I be so good-looking?
"Hollywood film giant Warner Bros. today released the movie poster for the world-renowned fantasy epic 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,' depicting Hogwarts as mysterious and beautiful under the cover of night!"

Hedwig makes a surprise appearance with her Wizarding World Pass!

"The official character photos for the bestselling legendary Harry Potter film adaptation have been released today. Harry is incredibly lifelike and adorable, while Hermione's beauty is beyond imagination, and her sweet smile is unforgettable."

"The well-behaved young boy Harry! The stunningly beautiful young girl Hermione!"

"An unexpected casting choice, but a satisfying result."

"..."

Movie posters and media reports appeared together, so while peeking at the wonderful sights, some people casually read the news headlines in the newspapers. Although only a portion of the articles were related to Hermione, that didn't matter, right?

The overwhelmingly positive reviews made Isabella purse her lips, and the unreserved praise made her smirk.

She's not a vain person, well, even just thinking about it makes her feel guilty.

Honestly, who doesn't like to hear compliments? Who doesn't like being praised? All that overwhelming praise made Isabella happy! It made her incredibly joyful! If she hadn't been 'modest,' she would be...

"Oh, Isa~ Just laugh when you're happy~"

"Aren't you feeling uncomfortable holding it in?"

"Look at Daniel, his smile is practically reaching his ears!"

Indeed, despite the overwhelming praise from the outside world, Isabella's facial expression remained somewhat restrained.

Sigh, well, that's what happens when someone is taught in their past life not to be too proud in interpersonal relationships.

You can be happy, you can be flamboyant, but don't go overboard.

Because the appropriate level of subtlety is difficult to control, many people end up being rather shy.

Isabella admitted that she felt the same way.

Chris Columbus couldn't stand her reserved demeanor.

You're clearly happy, so why put on airs? Are you trying to maintain composure? Or are you trying to project an image of maturity? Oh well! Even if everyone knows you and knows what kind of person you are, it's perfectly normal to feel a little smug after being praised.
Swah——

As soon as Columbus spoke, everyone crammed into the office turned their attention to Isabella.

Immediately afterwards, everyone took in the 'serious' look on his taut face.

Isabella's happy but silent demeanor made her even more adorable.

But the fact that she became the focus of attention also caused Isabella to lose her composure.

"Oh—Director—"

She smiled and shook her head, revealing two shallow dimples on her fair face.

"I admit it, I'm happy, okay?"

"Since everyone already knows about this, there's no need to say it out loud, right? This really is..."

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Can't I pretend for a bit?"

"Can't I just use an expression that says 'I knew it' to explain things logically?"

"hahahaha~"

Chris Columbus's expressive face and affable mannerisms turned his office into a sea of ​​joy.

And after shedding those constraints...

Oh~
Isabella admitted that readily accepting praise and readily expressing joy was indeed very satisfying.
hee hee~
After the laughter subsided, everyone turned their attention to Chris Columbus, because they had noticed something.

"Director, are there only four posters?"

Rupert did not find himself in the materials.

"Yeah, yeah? What about our official photos? Isn't Warner going to release them?"

The young master also raised his head.

"Oh~ there's a process to revealing all the movie posters, today is just the first batch."

Columbus explained with a smile, "Warner asked me to tell you that they will have all the posters out before Christmas. And don't worry, everyone on the set will get a poster."

"For example, the day after tomorrow, Sunday, Warner Bros. will release a poster of Ron, and Professor McGonagall will appear alongside him. Then on the 8th, which is next Friday, Draco Malfoy will appear with Snape..."

No matter how much the child actors in the crew like Harry Potter, everyone is a Harry Potter fan, but after officially joining the crew and getting a role, what everyone cares about most is actually themselves.

Therefore, when everyone discovered that they were not featured on the poster released by Warner, a wave of disappointment washed over them.

But when Columbus said that everyone had a poster, it was just a matter of first come, first served in terms of publicity.

The arrangement of distributing benefits equally made everyone happy again.

What is worrying is not the scarcity of wealth but the inequality of wealth.

Although adults know that there is a difference in status between the main character and the supporting character, children don't care that much, do they?
It is precisely because children's world is different from adults' that Warner Bros. decided that everyone should have a HP poster.

This is actually the most professional Hollywood approach: first find the project's true audience, then tailor services to that group. As long as that group is satisfied, word-of-mouth will become a powerful force for attracting new users.

But the truth is...

Well, Isabella didn't know the truth either.

Because she can't see public feedback.

This is not only because the internet is still in its infancy and the future of being able to chat on TikTok with just a phone is not yet a thing of the past; it is also because after filming began, producer David Heyman emphasized that no media would bother them before filming wrapped and a release date was set. Once they no longer had to give interviews to the media, the traditional way of transmitting information would disappear.

Therefore, at this moment, all that everyone can see is—

today:

Ah, the poster for Draco Malfoy has been released! Young master, you're really handsome, but not as handsome as Snape!
Laugh~
tomorrow:

Oh, Ginny's poster was released alongside Dumbledore's? You two standing together really look like grandfather and granddaughter!

Laugh~
Over.

Honestly, their lack of access to information makes their joy seem somewhat like self-amusement. Once Warner started to exert its influence, how could their press releases possibly contain any derogatory remarks? So, whether the public likes you or not? Nobody knows.

However, this kind of protection is actually a good thing for the children in the film crew.

Children are sensitive; if they receive too much negative information, the film might not be able to be made.

But there are always exceptions, aren't there?

For example, there's the "Isabella" commuter bug.

When the crew isn't filming night scenes or on business trips, this guy will rush home, and then...

12 month 19 day.

Three days after Warner Bros. released the poster for Harry Potter 1.

Isabella suddenly noticed that her sister's mood was a little off.

"Keisha? What happened to you? Did you catch a cold?"

At six o'clock in the evening, the family was having dinner at the table as usual.

After winter sets in, the temperature in London has dropped considerably. It usually doesn't fall below zero, but it hovers around two or three degrees Celsius. In addition, there has been continuous rain recently, and it snowed last week. However, the heating and fireplaces are on indoors. Therefore, if you frequently go in and out of the room, you are more likely to catch a cold.

"you're uncomfortable?"

Vivian also looked at her eldest daughter.

He then put down his knife and fork and asked with concern, "Shall I call David to come and take a look?"

David is their family doctor; they see him whenever someone in the family is unwell. Unlike the typical family doctors in middle-class European and American households who only chat and socialize, the family doctors in Mayfair are licensed anesthesiologists. They can perform minor surgeries directly at the other family's clinic. Of course, the fees are also quite high; the consultation fee alone is three thousand pounds a year.

Only after you pay this money will the other party come to your door within fifteen minutes of you asking for help.

"Oh, I'm fine."

Catherine was brought back to her senses by her family's concern. "I'm not sick."

"So you're unhappy? Because your Christmas trip was canceled this year?" Isabella continued to guess.

When her adoptive father was alive, her family would take a Christmas trip every year.

Last year I went to Norway, the year before that I went to France, and the year before that I went to Croatia.

This year, however, it's not so easy for them to go out.

Although the Harry Potter crew will give everyone a long Christmas holiday in accordance with British law, from Christmas Eve to January 5th, and their current income is enough to support the trip, Vivian wants to go to the cemetery on Christmas Day.
Then, December 28th is Maggie Smith's 66th birthday. She had sent Isabella and her family an invitation a month earlier, hoping that Isabella could come to their house with her mother and sister to have a Christmas together.

Finally, Hermione Granger's poster has been released, and Isabella's appearance has been revealed. Even if she is not yet a household name, if she were to appear in a busy area without any disguise, people would be curious and strike up a conversation with her within five minutes. This would mean that her family would soon have to spend more money, namely, hiring bodyguards.

Currently, their security is handled by Warner.

Warner Bros. has a bad reputation among movie fans, but they are genuinely rich.

When a bunch of messy things are tangled up and can't be sorted out...

The new trip will have to be postponed.

"Oh, Isa! What are you thinking about?!"

The absurd question made Catherine roll her eyes and say loudly, "Do you think I'm the kind of person who lacks a sense of the bigger picture?"

"Then tell me what's wrong with you!"

Isabella raised her voice, "I noticed you were unhappy after I sat down, and since you didn't say anything, I could only guess—"

"It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well."

Catherine sighed. "I've been thinking about starting a new painting lately. I have an idea but no inspiration, so I'm a bit frustrated."

"It's that simple?"

"Of course!"

Isabella didn't believe it and glanced at her mother.

Vivian shook her head, her meaning very clear: 'Since your sister doesn't want to talk about it, don't ask.'

Since her mother had already adopted this attitude, Isabella simply lowered her head and ate her food. However, not asking doesn't mean she couldn't find out, right?

Isabella was a little worried about her older sister's condition, so after dinner, when she noticed her sister had gone back to her room without saying a word, she quietly crept over. She lightly pressed the doorknob; luckily, the door wasn't closed. She pushed it open a crack and poked her head inside.

Immediately afterwards, she saw her older sister sitting in front of the computer, staring at the screen with a serious expression.

"Pfft, pfft, Keisha? What are you doing?"

Isabella asked quietly.

“Oh shit——”

Catherine was terrified!
He jumped up and landed heavily.

She turned her head sharply, glaring angrily, "Oh—Isa—when did you open the door—"

"Just now."

Why didn't you knock?!

"Because you didn't lock the door."

"Just because I didn't lock the door doesn't mean you can leave it unlocked without knocking! Oh—which bedroom in our house is locked???"

In Western culture, once children develop a sense of privacy, they will indeed lock their bedroom and study doors when they want to be alone. But they don't need to do that in their family, because neither Vivian nor Eric would barge in.

Yes, Isabella's name was on the 'list of people who won't randomly enter' before, but now?
“Uh… Keisha… I know you’re upset, but… I didn’t come in…”

Isabella pushed open the door.

Then, a comical movement came into Catherine's view.

At this moment, Isabella was sprawled out on the doorframe like a spider, her entire body outside. She hadn't actually entered her bedroom, but her head... well, those trying to peek in were practically stretching their necks out like Luffy's...

"I was just asking if I could come in."

This self-deceiving and inactive behavior made Catherine's vision go black. She rubbed her forehead and sighed, "Come in."

"Eh~"

Isabella skipped over to her sister's side, glancing at the unsuspecting screen—

She understood why Catherine was unhappy.

At this moment, Catherine's computer screen was displaying Yahoo's entertainment section, which contained a lot of content related to Harry Potter. Ignoring everything else, just looking at the titles, the small interface prominently featured the Alliance and the Horde.

Well, to put it bluntly, some people like the casting for Harry Potter, while others hate Warner Bros.' posters. This is actually quite normal, since everyone has different tastes. However, many of the dislikes stem from her.

"Oh dear~ I thought something had happened to you~"

Isabella leaned forward, placing her hands on the back of Catherine's chair. "So you were upset by the media?"

Why did you hide this from me? Are you afraid I'll be unhappy if I find out?

“Mmm,” Catherine said through her nose.

As Isabella's older sister, Catherine naturally paid close attention to her younger sister's work. Or rather, when Isabella entered the industry for the sake of her family, Catherine would only be extremely cold-blooded and completely unaware of her younger sister's work progress.

So, after learning that Warner Bros. was going to release a poster, she took note of it.

She was very happy when she first saw the poster because Warner Bros. had made Isabella look very beautiful.

This made her very satisfied and a little proud.

This is my sister!

But after a few days, her mood gradually declined. As the posters spread and the news spread, some media outlets jumped out and said that Isabella was too beautiful and did not match the original character.

This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

However, she wasn't actually angry at the time.

She's telling the truth, and she's not an unreasonable person; she acknowledges that.

But in recent days, as all the posters were displayed, her anger kept rising and she could no longer suppress it.

Because many media outlets, in their summary and commentary, turned their criticism towards Isabella—

The claim that she is beautiful is the biggest flaw in all the posters;

The other characters are generally consistent with the descriptions in the original work.

It's said that her beauty made Rowling's insistence a joke;
Previously, Rowling fought Columbus to the death, appearing righteous and awe-inspiring in upholding the original work. But now? Hermione's actress looks completely different from her own description, which is simply hypocrisy.

Saying Isabella is beautiful would ruin the whole movie;
The magic world should showcase magic, not appearance.

Honestly, the barrage of criticism made Catherine want to fight those bastards.

"MFxxk! Is it wrong to be pretty?"

"We didn't steal their rice!"

"Moreover, I saw them all during the final interview, and all of Hermione's candidates were good-looking; not one of them was ordinary-looking!"

"So why do they say that your good looks will ruin a movie? Huh??"

Catherine couldn't understand it.

And Isabella...

To be honest, she felt a little uncomfortable too.

A kind word warms the heart for three winter months, while a harsh word chills the heart for six summer months.

However, being judged and criticized by others is something that any celebrity will encounter; it's unavoidable.

Of course, Isabella wouldn't say that to her older sister.

With a soft sigh, Isabella bent down, rubbed her cheeks together, and while thanking her sister for protecting her, she also started playing the mouse.

She clicked on the link, read a few lines, and soon found a way to comfort herself.

"Oh my, these people are posting this on purpose, they're just jealous of me."

"Huh? What did you say?" Catherine didn't understand.

Isabella pointed to the opened webpage and said, "Look, all the media outlets that are slandering me are from the United States."

"The Houston Chronicle said my appearance didn't match the original story; the Boston Globe said my beauty made J.K. Rowling's insistence a joke; and USA Today said my beauty would ruin the movie."

"When all these media outlets are from the United States, isn't their motivation for speaking out very clear? Have you forgotten that Warner Bros. initially wanted to make an American version of Harry Potter?"

"If Warner had succeeded, all of Harry Potter's media resources would have been monopolized by these American media outlets. But now, they can only watch helplessly as our media and Warner headquarters exclusively enjoy the information sources."

"So, if you were them, what would you do when you discovered that the casting for Harry Potter was exceptionally good?"

"You'll definitely try to find ways to attack Harry Potter too, won't you?"

"At this point, the only point you can attack is me, because I am very excellent. And who in the media doesn't know that in a movie, the prettier the female lead, the more fans she attracts?"

Indeed, Isabella's consolation strategy was to label the media outlets that criticized her as malicious slander.

There's nothing we can do about it; they all come from the United States.
Of course, Isabella herself knew that her conclusion was somewhat outrageous. When Harry Potter was under close scrutiny by the British government and was a co-production between the UK and the US, how could the British media possibly say anything bad about it?

They're not sick!
But does that matter now?
Isabella didn't care, but Catherine...

"So...that's how it is?"

Catherine hesitated.

"Of course that's true!"

Isabella switched web pages, and the information source officially marked by Yahoo softened Catherine's gaze.

"These people are truly disgusting! When they can't win a project, they resort to these kinds of tricks!"

"So watch less of this kind of stuff."

Isabella immediately closed the webpage. "Spend less time online and more time reading. If you're bored, come to my room and play with me. Oh, speaking of which, it's been so long since we played together..."

Isabella can't shut people up, but she can make her sister read less junk news.

So that very night, she dragged Catherine to her room to watch a movie.

As for whether Catherine has figured it out?
All Isabella knew was that the sun rose as usual the next day.

Perhaps the film crew was isolated from the outside world? Or perhaps they were afraid that rumors would affect the filming schedule. When Isabella discovered that people were criticizing her, she became more cautious during filming, watching to see if anyone was talking about it, and then…

The film crew was as quiet as a chicken.

This made her feel more comfortable.

However, when she returned to work after Christmas, she still sensed something was wrong.

This is normal; when the kids are on holiday and out of their cages, you'll naturally hear rumors.

Then, unable to hide their emotions, the way everyone looked at her became a little strange.

Is it comforting?
Sympathy?
Are you resentful?
It's very complicated anyway.

Just as everyone was trying to find a reason to communicate with her...

"Isa, come here for a moment."

On the first day back to work after the New Year holiday, Chris Columbus had a private chat with Isabella.

The other party's meaning was very clear: she should not care about what others say.

Firstly, everyone knew she was excellent and hardworking, and knew she would definitely become the beloved Hermione Granger;
Secondly, HP fans generally don't read commentary news, so the criticism from American media won't have a significant impact on her. Besides, the US is Warner's home turf, and Warner will deal with those who don't know what's good for them.
Thirdly, that is...

“Isa, you need to understand one thing: in our circle, only successful people are scrutinized and nitpicked. All losers are simply eliminated. So… please continue being yourself, okay?”

"The media's denigration only proves one thing: we chose the right person."

"Now, you're just one step away from real success, and that is making a good movie, okay?"

"Okay."

Isabella laughed. "Director, I think you've been talking a lot today."

"Because everything you just said can be summed up in one sentence: 'Degradation is the noblest form of praise.'"

Isabella winked at the other person.

"Uh—Yeah~~~"

Chris Columbus paused for a moment, but the next second, a huge look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Oh, Isa, to be honest, you are excellent, very excellent. Although Joanne and I have some conflicts, I still like you quite a bit. This is not flattery, because... we can work together on other things in the future, if there is an opportunity."

"Thank you~ But let's talk about the future later~ Right now... shouldn't we just focus on the present?"

"You're right, so... shall we begin?"

"You're the director, so you're in charge."

(End of this chapter)