This film, like "Nanke," is a Chinese-foreign co-production in its premise. The protagonist is a Chinese-American child who grew up at the bottom of American society. His father died from a drug overdose, his mother is also an addict, and he suffered all kinds of bullying at school. As an adult, he becomes a ruthless serial killer.

The script touches on many sensitive topics: racial discrimination, drugs, school bullying, and illegal immigration. When it was released, it sparked considerable controversy.

All the other members didn’t return to the dorm because of their work, but ironically, the usually busiest Ethan Carter had a gap in his schedule because of this unresolved film, so Brian Foster took advantage of his break to dig out and watch Adam Bennett’s movie.

0901 couldn’t help but speak up: “Mr. Foster, with such precious time off, aren’t you going to catch up on some sleep?”

Brian Foster put down the cookie in his hand: “0901, the way you say that really gives off a dad vibe.”

0901 fell silent.

The script he had only briefly sketched out had finally become a real movie. Brian Foster felt a small thrill, but what he was most curious about was Adam Bennett’s performance in it.

The entire film’s tone is a somber realism, almost perfectly realizing what Brian Foster had envisioned during the planning stage—surprisingly so.

The movie uses a flashback structure. The protagonist, Chris Chen, is interrogated by the police as a criminal. Adam Bennett is the film’s main lead and the only Asian actor. To fit the character, he lost so much weight he was almost unrecognizable. Sitting in the chair being interrogated, he looked like nothing but an empty shell, his hollow eyes like bottomless black holes.

The whole film constantly jumps between interrogation and memories, with the interrogation dialogue serving as transitions. At first, Brian Foster could still snack on cookies while watching, but halfway through, he couldn’t eat another bite.

It wasn’t because of any gory scenes—actually, the film is very realistic—but precisely because it’s so real, almost like a documentary. Especially the scenes of Chris being bullied from elementary to high school, all presented through the abusers’ malicious recordings: violence, verbal abuse, being stripped, food dumped on him… Scene after scene, so real it’s terrifying, making one’s skin crawl.

He really couldn’t imagine how Adam Bennett managed to finish acting in this film.

At the end of the movie, the middle-aged Chris is pushed deeper into the prison by guards, a slow smile appearing on his face. The shot gradually overlaps, montage-style, with the child carrying a shabby backpack into school. The two smiling faces merge, oppressive and chilling.

That one smile alone is enough for Adam Bennett to win an award.

The words he once used to describe Adam Bennett’s acting now seemed shallow in the face of such a genuine performance. Aside from the interrogation scenes, there was barely any dialogue, but the genuine pleasure in killing, the fear on his face when bullied, the self-loathing when classmates pinned him down and called him “Ching Chong”—all of it was fully brought to life.

At 21, that level of acting—he’s definitely a natural.

After watching the film, Brian Foster felt the impact of cinematic art and couldn’t recover for a while.

To act alongside someone like that must be amazing. Honestly, at first, he just wanted to complete the task, to use his own abilities to get this collaboration and get close to Adam Bennett. But now, he really did feel, just a little, that he wanted to create something soulful together with him.

Thinking this, Brian Foster opened Weibo and was surprised to find that “Nanke” was trending. Clicking in, he saw that those marketing accounts had posted new Weibo updates, but this time they explicitly mentioned David Parker’s name, along with photos of both Adam Bennett and David Parker, and the film’s registration.

The content was the same as before, but this round of hype seemed much more confident than in the morning.

Brian Foster opened the comments.

【You Are the Clearest】: Taking my dear Chengcheng home, waiting for the official announcement~

【Onlooker Zhang Dachui】: Not saying whether it’s true or not, but these two have zero CP vibe. Btw, I’ve always admired Adam Bennett’s taste in scripts.

【Enthusiastic Citizen Aunt Chen】: Not a fan of either, just want to say, David Parker does have a bit of a youthful vibe, but with such a cheerful look, is he really suited for an art film? (No offense to his looks, he’s very cute)

【Chengcheng Is the Best in the World】: Please don’t bait fans, ahhh TAT

【Did Adam Bennett Marry Me Today】: How does that side have the nerve to say it’s fan-baiting, clearly self-hyping…

【True Love Chengcheng】: If you say it’s self-hype, show proof. Whoever self-hypes is a jerk!

……

Ah, a bit scary.

And this is just David Parker. If it were a top-tier traffic star like Ethan Carter, he couldn’t imagine how fierce the fan wars would get.

Actors like Adam Bennett, who are young, successful, and have a good reputation, rarely have fans who fight, but because of their status, they really hate being associated with others for hype. Traffic stars’ fans are a different breed—the more popular, the more drama, the more experienced and battle-hardened the fans. For someone like Ethan Carter, his fans have all grown up in the crossfire.