The first appearance wasn't Saoirse Ronan, but Sarah, played by Dakota Fanning.
The little girl was sick and couldn't attend the premiere in person. However, she recorded a video sending her blessings for the movie's success.
Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning as father and daughter had great chemistry. The girl was very expressive and also quite cute.
Peter wasn't just watching the film; he was also taking notes, writing down the movie's strengths and weaknesses in his notebook.
The opening was quite plain, but handling such simple scenes really showcased the director's skill. Gilbert was precisely one of the most capable directors in Hollywood, and the audience couldn't help but smile at these moments.
Ilian held his mother Naomi Watts' hand, watching Dakota Fanning on screen, and asked, "Mom, this sister is so pretty!"
"Really? Do you like her? Should I invite her over to our house?" Naomi Watts teased.
Nicole Kidman, standing nearby, joined in: "Hey, Ilian, isn't your sister Suri pretty too?"
"Pretty, yes, Sister Suri is also very pretty," Ilian replied.
"Hahaha," the two moms laughed softly, and then Naomi Watts asked, "So, Ilian, which one do you want, the sister on screen or your Sister Suri?"
Ilian tilted his head, thinking for a moment, unable to decide. He suddenly thought of how his dad, while having his mom, also had Aunt Michelle, Aunt Sally, Aunt Jacqueline, Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Scarlett.
Ilian decided to follow his dad's example and shouted loudly, "I want them all!"
In that instant, everyone's attention was drawn to Ilian. Gilbert turned back, frowning: "Ilian, mind your manners."
Ilian quickly apologized: "Sorry, Dad, sorry everyone, please continue watching the movie."
Naomi Watts also stood up hurriedly: "Sorry, my fault. Everyone, let's focus on the movie!"
Being family of director Gilbert and a child, the audience and fans didn't mind.
Soon after, the film's story took a sharp turn, quickly pulling everyone's attention back in.
Naomi Watts breathed a sigh of relief and quietly said to Ilian, "You're young, but your heart is pretty big."
Nicole Kidman didn't mind, instead encouraging him: "Ilian, if you want it all, you must be as capable as your dad."
Hearing this, Ilian's gaze grew determined: "Aunt Mary, don't worry. I will be as capable as Dad."
Ilian's little thoughts were just a side note; the audience focused back on the film. After about five minutes of Sarah celebrating Joel's birthday, the story quickly reached its first mini-climax.
Tommy, played by Jude Law, appeared. The city erupted in chaos, with some mentally unstable people on the streets, biting anyone they saw—completely frenzied.
Joel and Tommy carried Sarah to escape, but the car broke down midway, forcing Joel to carry Sarah on foot. Tommy drew away a group of infected to protect them.
When Joel reached the checkpoint, soldiers were guarding it. Joel asked them to let them through, but constrained by orders, the soldiers opened fire.
Thankfully, Tommy arrived in time, but Sarah had already been shot.
From the start until this scene, nearly fifteen minutes had passed, and the film's opening hadn't even appeared. The audience was silent; some emotional fans quietly wiped their tears.
Peter, seeing this, wrote a note: children should watch cautiously.
If he remembered correctly, the movie was rated PG-13, but Peter thought the scene where Sarah was shot should have warranted an R rating.
It could be said that Warner and Disney's collaboration was too strong for the MPAA.
The seven MPAA committee members were essentially Hollywood's seven moguls, setting industry rules. Though unofficial, this organization was even more powerful than China's censors.
China's censors issued nearly a hundred documents trying to control fan culture chaos, yet fans remained wild. But a single MPAA ban could make a movie struggle in North America.
Generally, films are not allowed to show children being killed. But based on Peter's understanding of the industry, they actually do this sometimes.
So when audiences saw this scene in theaters, no one was surprised—this was just how the industry worked.
However, after the film's release, the military might have been unhappy, since some scenes were unfavorable to them.
Gilbert kept this scene for the sake of storytelling. Without Sarah's death, how could it be explained why Joel risks everything to save Ellie at the end?
Only by losing someone do you understand how precious everything else is. Joel could not afford to lose again.
As the beautiful music of The Last of Us played, accompanied by news reports of fungal outbreaks worldwide, the film's title appeared—only at this moment.
And in the blink of an eye, twenty years had passed.
Twenty years later, Joel was doing menial work in the quarantine zone, burning corpses and cleaning sewers. He also worked with a woman named Tess on smuggling operations.
One day, Joel and Tess received a job from the Fireflies: to escort a little girl to Boston. Ellie, played by Saoirse Ronan, officially appeared.
Earlier, Tom Cruise's performance had been remarkable, especially the scene of Sarah's death, showcasing his Oscar-level talent.
Fans of Tom Cruise remarked, "Only in Gilbert's films does Tom Cruise stop showing off and truly become the perfect Tom Cruise."
Even Tom Cruise's own fans acknowledged that Gilbert was truly his benefactor. Without Gilbert, Tom Cruise would never have had a chance at an Oscar in his life.
What the fans didn't know was that without Gilbert, even Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's careers together might have faltered.
Previously, Dakota Fanning had portrayed a well-behaved, adorable child. Ellie, played by Saoirse Ronan, was far from that.
Audiences quickly realized that this girl not only swore using words like "fuck," "bitch," and "shit," but also wielded a knife to stab people—far less obedient than Sarah.
Some viewers frowned, thinking the girl a bit annoying, not as cute as Sarah.
Peter, however, found it perfectly natural. Ellie clearly appeared after the fungal outbreak. At that time, social order must have collapsed, and any well-behaved child would have seemed abnormal in such an environment.
In short, after some back-and-forth, Joel and Tess took Ellie out of the quarantine zone, setting out on the road to Boston.
Marlene, the Fireflies' leader, played by Halle Berry, said Ellie was immune to the virus and could be the key to developing a cure.
At this point, Joel did not yet understand what developing a cure meant for Ellie. He and Ellie had not formed an emotional bond yet.
The journey was extremely perilous. The three encountered infected, as well as survivors outside the quarantine zone. These survivors were often more terrifying than the infected, killing each other over scarce resources.
Joel's heart had hardened; he had become accustomed to all this. For the sake of acquiring supplies, he and Tess even robbed another group of survivors.
Ellie said, "Can't we just let them go? They're only trying to survive."
Joel answered harshly, "Survival—everyone is trying to survive. We are too. That's the world now."
On screen, Ellie thought deeply, and so did the audience. Indeed, in the apocalypse, selfish people seemed to discard humanity's best qualities.
Kindness brought no help, only a series of cautionary tales, like that of the farmer and the snake.
....
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