Wearing his headphones, Gilbert was the first to listen to Avril Lavigne's "Don't Tell Me."
Avril Lavigne stood nearby, waiting for Gilbert to finish listening before immediately asking, "How do you feel about it?"
Gilbert took off the headphones and expressed his satisfaction, "Not bad. Very pleasant to listen to, and the lyrics fit the theme of the film well."
Avril Lavigne was very happy to hear that. She was a straightforward person, unlike Natalie Portman, who always had a hundred little schemes running through her head.
She thought Gilbert had great taste: "You're someone who really understands music."
"Am I?"
Gilbert shrugged. He was tone-deaf and didn't understand songwriting. His way of judging a song was simple whether it sounded pleasant enough.
With the song confirmed, Avril Lavigne soon performed "Don't Tell Me" for the first time on a show, effectively promoting the film in advance through the song.
During the show, Avril Lavigne naturally talked about her first impression of meeting Gilbert.
"Tall, always dressed appropriately, very polite and kind like a well-behaved man," Avril Lavigne said.
"Isn't a man like Gilbert unwelcome among you punk rock girls?" the host asked.
"Not at all," Avril Lavigne said she admired Gilbert very much: "He's a great person. I really like his films.He also understands music. I think I'll give him a copy of my album."
"Have you seen his new movie yet?"
"Not yet, but I already know roughly what the story's about. I'm really curious to see how Gilbert will shoot it. Everyone, don't forget to go to the theater to support this film!"
The show ended quickly. As a rising new singer, Avril Lavigne had already built up some popularity in North America.
With her excellent looks and talent as a songwriter, she had gained quite a few fans.
Among those fans, many were also fans of Gilbert's films or had at least seen his work.
So this mutual collaboration was a real surprise for many, sparking heated discussion online.
"I really like Vivian's music, and I also love Gilbert's movies."
"Man, next you'll get to hear the song and see Gilbert's new film at the same time."
"By the way, aren't Scarlett and Vivian the same age?"
"Yeah, bro, they were both born in 1984. Vivian is even two months older than Scarlett."
Because of Gilbert, these two similarly aged girls were often compared online. But for now, former child star Scarlett still had the edge.
"Don't Tell Me" quickly climbed the Billboard charts, shooting into the Top 50.
The song and the film truly complemented each other while the song promoted the film, the film, in return, promoted the song.
Of course, the biggest winner was Avril Lavigne. This cross-promotion gave her, already somewhat well-known, a big boost in popularity.
One online comment was very candid: "I don't know whether Vivian's singing is good or not, because I haven't listened to much. But at the very least, I know she's a sweetheart."
A reply under that comment read: "Dude, just so you know, Vivian was a tomboy as a kid. She used to fight boys at school totally rebellious."
"Wow, that's even cooler. I love it..."
Avril Lavigne also posted a picture on her social media of her and Gilbert in the recording studio. Standing beside Gilbert, the punk princess gave off a bird-in-hand kind of vibe.
There were tons of comments below some praising her beauty, some urging her to release a new album or film, and some just plain jealous.
Of course, the most jealous one was Scarlett. Just after Avril Lavigne posted that photo, Scarlett quietly updated her own social media.
Her homepage featured several photos of her and Gilbert together, meant to showcase her close and long-standing relationship with him.
Scarlett and Avril had more than just age in common. They were both the same height 160 cm. Compared to the generally tall-legged European and American actresses, both belonged to the shorter group.
But from actual experience, Gilbert felt that if Avril Lavigne wasn't wearing height-increasing insoles, she probably wasn't over 160 cm.
When Gilbert got back, Scarlett playfully pouted, "Can we not have that Avril sing the theme song for our movie?"
"???" Three question marks popped up over Gilbert's head. He patted Scarlett's head and asked, "Why?"
Scarlett replied very honestly, "Because she's too pretty, so I don't want to work with her."
"What kind of logic is that?" Gilbert was speechless. He knocked lightly on Scarlett's head and said, "She even wrote a song for our new movie and took part in the promotion. That's a big help to us."
"Oh please, she obviously got more fame and benefit out of it than we did," Scarlett shook her head and brushed Gilbert's hands off.
Even though Scarlett repeatedly showed her displeasure, Gilbert wasn't the kind of person who would burn bridges after crossing them. When promoting Flipped with its two leads on various shows, he still mentioned Avril Lavigne.
"I've listened to her albums, they're really good. I recommend fans of punk rock give them a try you'll definitely get your money's worth," said Gilbert.
The host deliberately stirred things up: "So, between Scarlett and Vivian, who's more talented? Who do you like more?"
Scarlett's ears perked up, listening carefully for Gilbert's answer, but he was slick and didn't give anything away.
"Both girls are amazing one's an actress, the other's a singer. You can't really compare them. But Scarlett's someone I watched grow up, so personally, of course I like Scarlett more."
There was nothing wrong with what Gilbert said. Everyone in Hollywood knew Scarlett had grown up around him, and the two shared a very special bond.
Scarlett was overjoyed after hearing Gilbert's words. She decided she'd find time to talk to Avril Lavigne and let her know just what kind of place she held in Gilbert's heart.
Avril Lavigne had no idea Scarlett harbored any hostility toward her. Among girls of the same age, it's usually pretty easy to get along.
Right now, Avril was focused entirely on her music career, busy touring in various cities and preparing for her new album.
The two girls might have more interactions in the future who knows? Meanwhile, Flipped held a small premiere in Los Angeles.
As a modestly promoted indie film, Flipped did have its own premiere, but it wasn't on a big scale.
The film had already gone through two rounds of test screenings beforehand. Critics gave it an average score of 81, theaters rated it an A-, and audience members gave it an A- too.
Compared to the Lord of the Rings series, those scores weren't exactly amazing. But for a low-budget production, they were pretty good.
The early November release window wasn't a crowded one, so Flipped opened in 2,800 theaters.
A lot of Gilbert's fans were blockbuster lovers. If Flipped hadn't been directed by him, many of them probably wouldn't have been interested.
But since it was directed by Gilbert, and it was also Scarlett's first time properly starring in one of his movies, many fans still showed up to support the film.
.....
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