Chapter 85: Lingering Excitement

Busy, a kind of busyness where your feet barely touch the ground.

Some busyness is purely mechanical, like a walking corpse, mechanically completing tasks, like beginner-level quests in a video game.

But some busyness is full of life, because you know you're creating something, changing something, and your steps naturally become more lively.

The current situation belonged to the latter.

They had been busy for a full two hours, yet time seemed to have flown by unnoticed. Then, Gretel glanced at Bruce, who was still pressing the shutter, capturing each moment.

A bit helpless.

"Bruce, are we not done yet?"

"Although I really don't want to interrupt you, and I appreciate your enthusiasm and effort, we're only supposed to shoot for two pages, just two pages."

The June issue of *GQ* was star-studded—

With the summer blockbusters approaching, a wave of top-tier stars and major productions was coming, and the magazine's pages were already packed with no extra space.

Gretel liked Anson—a lot—but that didn't change the fact that he was still a newcomer. He could only have two pages.

Bruce wasn't an idealist.

"I know," Bruce replied, looking at Gretel.

"But I want to keep these for myself. Maybe one day in the future, if I have my own photography exhibition, I'd love to have a section dedicated entirely to Anson's photos. This is undoubtedly my best work this year."

Gretel was stunned; this was not the answer she had expected.

Bruce then offered a suggestion.

"Maybe you guys could consider it too—perhaps there's an opportunity to release a behind-the-scenes special in the future. I believe today's work won't disappoint you."

Gretel pondered this.

Bruce didn't delay Gretel's work any further. "I'm wrapping up here. You can proceed with the interview; there should be enough time."

Gretel snapped back to reality—

They had rented the studio for four hours. Initially, they thought they had ample time, but from the start, it was a series of surprises and concerns. One major worry was that their time would run out before they finished. That would be a disaster.

The options would be to reschedule the shoot or rush to finish. The worst-case scenario would be that there wouldn't be enough time for reshoots, and the results wouldn't be satisfactory. In the end, they might just cancel the feature altogether—after all, the June issue was already packed, and dropping a feature would clear some space, which other editors would eagerly pounce on.

But!

To their surprise, after just over two hours, the work was done.

And they had exceeded expectations.

Gretel let out a long breath of relief. She enjoyed working with people like this. Despite the surprises and challenges, they were always willing to work together toward the goal, and they actually produced tangible results.

Stepping forward, Gretel approached Anson with a big smile.

"Thank you for your hard work. It's all done."

Anson raised his arms, "Finally!"

A cheer erupted, and the surrounding crew burst into laughter.

Anson shrugged slightly, "No offense to anyone, but I honestly thought today's shoot might never end. This job was like a nightmare."

Ha.

Gretel chuckled too, and there were even whistles from nearby—

No one can resist the joy of wrapping up.

Gretel continued, "Next is a brief interview, don't worry, it won't take long, I promise."

She handed Anson a folder, "You can answer now if you'd like, either written or spoken. If you need some time to think, that's fine too. You can email your answers to me later—deadline is Thursday."

Anson opened the folder and skimmed through it—

Ten questions.

Very basic, very simple questions that could apply to any newcomer. Just a slight adjustment to the questions related to *Friends*, and the same set could be copy-pasted for the next newcomer.

This was as expected.

After all, this wasn't an exclusive interview; it was just a brief Q&A that came with the modeling shoot opportunity. Standard questions were the norm.

---

In Anson's case, readers are entirely unfamiliar with him, so it's at the stage where self-introduction is necessary. Naturally, the interview questions are very basic, just to give readers a simple impression of him.

So, as Gretel said, this is indeed a brief interview.

Gretel also mentioned that Anson could take the questions home and reply via email, which is quite common.

For newcomers, if they have signed with an agent, the emails might be answered by the agent instead, meaning the thoughts expressed aren't the actor's own, but are written by the agent. This is part of crafting the actor's image.

When readers go through a magazine, they often roll their eyes at the repetitive questions and the stiff, formulaic official answers. It's as if everything was produced on the same assembly line. Don't doubt yourself, because that judgment is accurate.

From the questions to the answers, the magazine was never intended to dig deep.

Those truly interesting interview Q&As usually come from magazine features.

However, from another perspective, magazine readers don't have the time to read through text; it's the colorful, vivid pictures that are the magazine's essence. The words painstakingly written by the editorial team are often in vain.

Anson gently lifted his chin. "No problem, I'll write it for you now."

Seeing Anson so straightforward, Gretel felt a bit reluctant. The short two-hour collaboration seemed grand and eventful, and ending it so abruptly—wouldn't that feel incomplete?

She pondered.

Watching Anson bow his head and write his answers, Gretel suddenly became curious—not about the interview, just pure curiosity. "So how did you manage to land a role in 'Friends'? What happened during the audition?"

It's very rare for a newcomer to guest star in "Friends," so it's no wonder there have been so many rumors in Hollywood.

The correct answer is Darren Star.

But obviously, that answer can't be revealed. Although the real insiders in Hollywood probably already know the truth, they should still keep it to themselves.

Anson made a joke: "Jennifer Aniston."

Gretel: ...

Then.

Gretel saw Anson look up with a calm expression and a smile at the corner of his mouth. Only then did she realize it was a joke. If he had something to hide, Anson certainly wouldn't make such a joke—he might accidentally spark rumors again. Precisely because it's false, Anson can joke about it.

Ha.

Gretel chuckled softly. "So Brad sees you as a thorn in his side."

Anson shrugged slightly, not confirming or denying it.

Gretel was clearly joking, but Anson didn't respond, nor did he refute it. This...

The smile on Gretel's face completely spread.

Only then did Anson continue, "Actually, the truth is, during the audition, I told a true story about a divorce, which caught their attention in an unconventional way. They thought maybe I could bring some surprises."

Gretel hadn't expected such an answer at all and was left with a head full of questions. "A divorce?"

How many more surprises does this man have?

First chapter. OMG, Matthew Perry has passed away… RIP.