I have a strange and frequent dream in which I am assigned a lead role in a major musical production and eagerly agree to take it on — knowing I can’t sing or act my way out of a paper bag, and knowing I’d rather be anywhere but front and center onstage. The dream always ends before the production starts, to the benefit of my self-respect, the unlucky director’s reputation, and my potential audience—who no doubt would have fled at the first note.

I chalk it up to my one and only experience in such things, my high school’s production of South Pacific, a musical I’d so loved as a teen I could not resist auditioning (试镜) —not for a major role, but as one of the chorus of island women raising our arms in the background.

I was cast immediately, a fact I attribute (归功于) to my olive skin and then long black hair, which overcame any doubts the director might have had about my voice. I could pass as an islander. Not only that, but my mother sewed a skirt for me, a beautiful, vividly colored, and artful feat of sewing. The opening night was a triumph for all. But I haven’t set foot on a stage again.

In his elementary school years, my grandson took a shine to attending live theater with me. But he demurred when I suggested he audition for local children’s productions. “It’s not me,” he declared, even as one of his close friends went from a local stage production to a Broadway role.

But the source of these dreams, decades later, still confuses me. The dreams never give me a hint of why I’d been chosen for a starring role once in an Italian opera without having any singing or acting talent or even an audition, or why I’d decided to go for it, knowing I was completely unequipped and unprepared. I suspect (猜想) these dreams will get me as close to such a reality as I’ll ever be.

For now, I only hope I keep waking up before I have to try an opening note.

Still remember the films which have made you thrilled? Here are some recommended ones by the BBC in 2019.

Brie Larson stars as Marvel's latest superhero, Carol Danvers, who discovers her powers as Captain Marvel. Set in the 1990s, the story has Danvers searching for her true identity while tying to save the earth during a war between alien races. The film Avengers may get more pre –release attention, but Captain Marvel might be the fresher film in the release.

Quentin Tarantino's films always make noise. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the fading star of a television Western and Brad Pitt is his stunt (特技) double, in a story set in 1969, soon before the Manson murders. All those stars don't come cheap: the film reportedly cost $95 million. With its name similar to Once Upon a Time in the West, this film clearly has big ambitions.

Disney gives one of its most beloved animated films a high-tech remake, using lifelike computer images. James Earl Jones, once again the voice of Mustafa, was apparently the only irreplaceable actor from the 1994 film. Here Donald Glover is the voice of the adult Simba. The theme singer Elton John has reworked songs from the original.

Disney gives one of its most beloved animated films a high-tech remake, using lifelike computer images. James Earl Jones, once again the voice of Mustafa, was apparently the only irreplaceable actor from the 1994 film. Here Donald Glover is the voice of the adult Simba. The theme singer Elton John has reworked songs from the original.

The Crawley family and their servants all return, except for the characters who have been killed off. The story picks up around 1927, after the series ended on a happy note, with no one in prison and romance all around. Writer Julian Fellowes must have cooked up some disasters. The film's new characters include Imelda Staunton as Lord Grantham's cousin.

The film Hacksaw Ridge tells a story of World War II hero Desmond Doss, who saved lives without ever firing a gun. The film stars Garfield as Doss, and is directed by Mel Gibson. The film is based on the 2004 documentary. The Conscientious Objector produced by Terry Benedict. When he was just 10 years old, he first knew about Doss. After becoming a filmmaker, Benedict approached Doss, encouraging him to tell his story.

Hollywood had been knocking on Doss's door for many years, but Doss wasn't interested. “He didn't want to mention his life in the war,” Benedict explains. But when Benedict insisted on making a documentary about his life, Doss finally agreed. Then Benedict spent the next three years interviewing Doss and his fellow soldiers in World War Ⅱ.

Not long after the documentary's debut, Benedict met with the then president of the 20th Century Fox. The two wanted to make Doss's story into a film, Hacksaw Ridge. Then Gibson signed on to direct. Benedict shared his knowledge of Doss with the director and the leading actor Garfield. Benedict took Garfield on a road trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee where Doss lived most of his adult life.

In the film Hacksaw Ridge, in a hard-fought battle in Okinawa, Doss repeatedly ran into the land controlled by the enemies to rescue friends and get them down the hill to safety. Even when the rest of his troop abandoned the battlefield, Doss stayed, searching for survivors and pulling his tired body to get as many of his men home as he could.

“Doss was a very consistent man of faith. He was a rock,” Benedict says, “He was the same in the war. He was the same all the way up until the day he died. He set us a good example.”