The Best Director

Chapter 318: The Big Winner! (Vote for Monthly Ticket)

“Oh, this is truly incredible!”

Roar roar roar—the helicopter’s rotor blades spun rapidly, creating a thunderous noise as it slowly flew through the azure sky. This was Xunyang County in Shaanxi Province, China, where the “Firefly” production crew was engaged in aerial photography. From high above, the county town nestled among green mountains and rivers had a unique topography, with winding watercourses surrounding it, resembling the shape of a Tai Chi symbol; thus, it was also known as the “Natural Tai Chi City.”

As the director had not revealed much of his intention and had a limited understanding of Eastern Chinese culture, few among the helicopter’s film crew understood the significance of this location. They only found it beautiful. Holding the camera, Harry George asked, “What does this mean?” Fastening his seat belt, Wang Yang stood by the cabin door, looking down at the Tai Chi City and replied with a smile, “Good and evil, just like this Yin and Yang… Keep filming! Get a diving shot.”

He needed this scene of Tai Chi City to express the culmination of “Firefly’s” viewpoint: what kind of world is a beautiful world? The Tai Chi symbol is part of this viewpoint: pure goodness and pure evil are both inhuman. This concept had indeed been touched upon in classic films like “A Clockwork Orange” and “Se7en”. Are people inherently good or inherently evil? Perhaps the coexistence of both is human nature. Of course, those not familiar with Chinese culture wouldn’t immediately grasp the meaning of the Tai Chi symbol, but he needed it.

In order to achieve a fusion of cowboy and Eastern elements, his approach was bold and unrestrained. The theme was unified but the mood was distinct, and the visual scenes leaned towards the poetic, allowing the characters and story to enter; rather than making too many eclectic changes that would result in a misshapen ‘Creature of Incompatibility’. He wanted that “still as a maiden, swift as a fleeing rabbit” feeling. The Tai Chi City was part of the “stillness,” part of the East. Many things didn’t need explanation, yet they were there, waiting to be unearthed by others.

It was now August 2004, and after completing location shooting for Tai Chi City and the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi Province, Wang Yang continued leading the crew to Zhangjiajie, Hunan, to capture its beautiful scenery. The choice of China as a filming location for “Firefly” had puzzled many media and fans. What connection was there between the plains and deserts of Western cowboys and the very different environment of Chinese mountains and rivers? Naturally, the presence of Magic Yang also attracted the attention of numerous Chinese entertainment media, hoping to get interviews to satisfy the demands of fans.

However, this trip to the Divine Land was not for promotions, visits, or leisure. The crew’s schedule was tight, and Wang Yang also had to hurry back to take care of Jessica, so he didn’t accept many interviews. He only did one entertainment special interview with NetEase, saying hello to the fans; in Zhangjiajie, he appeared on the front page of the entertainment section of the “Xiaoxiang Morning Herald” with another interview, which in fact asked almost the same questions as NetEase.

“What does ‘Firefly’ have to do with China?” was inevitably one of the questions. In the coffee shop of the Zhangjiajie Sunshine Hotel where he was interviewed, journalist Hou Jian posed this question.

“Yes, ‘Firefly’ will contain many ‘Chinese elements.'” Wang Yang nodded and lifted his coffee cup for a sip, then continued smilingly, “You will see Chinese characters, Mandarin, and so on. The beautiful scenery we’re filming now, including the peaks of Zhangjiajie, will appear in the movie, but you might not be able to recognize which ones because we’ll make post-production modifications and transfer those peaks to another planet. Actually, the entire backstory is inseparable from Eastern culture.”

“This should be your first attempt to incorporate more Chinese elements into a film you’re directing. Why is that? What does this change signal?” Hou Jian quickly noted down the director’s response and then asked another question.

Wang Yang gave a small shrug and began to explain earnestly from the beginning, “When I first got Joss Whedon’s draft of the script, that was his set-up, a world where Chinese and American cultures influence and merge with each other. Joss Whedon and his wife lived in China for a while, and he greatly appreciates traditional Chinese culture. These Eastern elements can make the story and the future world more mysterious. He’s right, and then this is my forte. I like the script’s story, and I have many new ideas. There’s no need to say more about Chinese culture; it has fascinated me for a long time, so I’m very happy to try this. It’s really great.”

“I know ‘Firefly’ broke many of your personal records: highest production cost, longest filming period, largest number of participants…” Hou Jian listed several records, then looked at Wang Yang and asked, “But at the same time, you’ve faced a lot of pressure and criticism. Will ‘Firefly’ be your film to prove yourself anew? What do you think?” Wang Yang immediately shook his head slightly, “I’m not thinking about that much right now. I just want to make sure the film is done well, and to spend more time with my family.”

Reflecting on the journey he had travelled this year, he laughed and said, “However, there really was greater pressure this time, but only a small portion of it came from external voices; most of it came from the film itself. For me, it posed unprecedented challenges. As for breaking records…” He laughed heartily, “I hope it will continue to break many more personal records! The direction is upwards, definitely not the lowest.”

“Haha!” Hou Jian also laughed for a while, glanced at his notes, and then asked, “Not long ago, your wife Jessica Alba was so overwhelmed with fatigue that she came down with acute kidney illness. Later, it was said that you took over the remaining action scenes for her. This is a topic of great interest to everyone.”

“Yes, first of all, thank you everyone for your concern. She has recovered very well,” Wang Yang expressed his gratitude, took a sip of coffee, and with a laugh about the arduous action scenes, said, “It’s not quite taking over, as I played a different male character. We just adjusted the focus of the shots. I think this is also a Chinese element. Everyone must go to the cinema next year because I indeed fought impressively and coolly, haha.”

After a few more questions and answers about ‘Firefly,’ Hou Jian moved on to the essential questions, “Zhang Yimou’s new movie ‘Ambush from Ten Sides’ was released on July 16th. During your time in China, have you gone to see it?” Wang Yang shook his head, “No, the crew’s schedule is tight, and I haven’t had the chance to see it yet. But I know it’s preparing for next month’s Toronto Film Festival, which I will attend. Also, Zhang Yimou is a fantastic director. He uses visuals so beautifully.”

“What is your impression of Hunan?” Continuing with the essential questions, Wang Yang responded enthusiastically, “Hunan struck me as very beautiful, with a rich historical and cultural heritage. I haven’t visited other places, but Zhangjiajie is a city that is very impressive and enchantingly beautiful.”

Space Cowboy! Not fresh enough? Add the mysterious East! Just as the ‘Firefly’ crew finished filming in Zhangjiajie and was about to depart back to Los Angeles, the official website suddenly published a detailed background of the world: Earth migrants colonizing a new star system, China and America forming a star alliance government, war breaking out, the defeat of the independents, the mysterious emergence of marauders… This time, as the background was vast and complex, the promotional work for Firefly didn’t remain as secretive as ‘District 9’. Instead, it was widely publicized to leave a lasting impression and generate interest among more people.

However, accessing more details about characters like River and the Blue Gloves, as well as more comic concept art, behind-the-scenes photos, etc., on the official website still required some participation in viral marketing games, which also served to encourage the enthusiasm of fans. Currently, Jessica Alba attracted the most popularity, with the highest number of people participating in the viral marketing game to unlock River’s character details. Following her were celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Wang Yang, “Heath” Ledger, Michael Pitt, and others. Depending on popularity, the difficulty of the marketing games naturally varied.

Now, having revealed “Cowboy + East,” fans finally understood why the Serenity had Chinese characters on its hull, why they went to China to film, Daniel Wu’s role, and even the purpose of Wang Yang’s character… However, they didn’t understand what it all meant. ‘Shanghai Noon’? In the list of science fiction adventure films, there were no space cowboys, let alone any space+cowboy+East combination. Even the media critics who wanted to disparage it didn’t know where to begin.

“This is truly absurd and hilarious! Can you imagine rough cowboys wearing cheongsams? I heard this was initially Joss Whedon’s idea, a smart man who knows what appeals to his audience, and he has utterly ruined the proud and arrogant Wang Yang,” Jeffrey Westhoff mocked in his typical style on his blog, attracting clicks and curses from fans as intended. He wasn’t the only one ridiculing; a number of critics with a negative stance on Wang Yang made snide remarks: “It seems like Wang Yang is in a feverish state.” “He has no idea what he’s doing…”

“I’m really looking forward to it! It’s a setting full of novelty and fun, and I believe Wang Yang will bring us a big surprise,” a netizen Chris F commented on the official website. Most fans were bursting with enthusiasm because the director was none other than Wang Yang, the man who ‘makes everything work.’ Cowboys? The East? They had confidence in Wang Yang! Frye T wrote, “What’s the point if it’s like ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Star Trek,’ or even ‘Stargate’? At least now ‘Firefly’s’ setting is quite innovative and unique! Can’t wait to see the trailer!”

No amount of background setting, concept art, or photos can compare to the intuitiveness of a good trailer, which usually has a significant impact. However, the teaser trailer for ‘Firefly’ was not coming out so soon. Apart from the Mei Hua Lin location, the crew had just officially wrapped up; it was clear that the visual effects team still needed quite some time to complete the effects. Wang Yang had submitted detailed demands early in the preparation stage and would continue to supervise the work, but after leading the team for over four months, he finally had the time for a vacation.

As the end of summer approached, the quadrennial Olympic Games were taking place in Athens, Greece. Seeing that Jessica’s physical condition had fully recovered and was fit for leisurely travel, Wang Yang invited his and her parents to join them for a trip to Athens to watch the Olympic events. Meanwhile, Joshua was busy maintaining his relationship with dates while he and Alexis both had some free time, so he did not join them.

The Olympics had kicked off on August 13, and once Wang Yang and his group arrived in Athens, they began their joyful Olympic journey. On August 19, emerging information technology stock Google landed on the NASDAQ at an offering price of 85 US Dollars per share, closing the day at 100.34 US Dollars, which was an 18% increase on the first day. This IPO raised a total of 1.67 billion US Dollars. Confident in Google, Wang Yang, the IT community’s best cameo figure and a Google bull, did not sit idly; he invested some spare cash. His personal brokerage team became one of the most active in the market on the first day, successfully joining the ranks of hands-off shareholders.

If the “IT world” background had brought Wang Yang more respect in Hollywood, having money and an IT company didn’t mean one could make a good movie. Just as Bill Gates wouldn’t be a director, the miraculous Yang, who excelled in both “interest” and “hobby”, seemed particularly capable. However, in Silicon Valley, although Wang Yang made his first bucket of gold through an online “Ghost Virus Marketing” and discovered the gem that was Blogger, besides a few individuals, many people looked down on him with contempt. IT wasn’t something a film guy could just get good at, and Blogger was just a stroke of luck. His deriding Yahoo revealed the level of this Hollywood director. Miraculous Yang still fell short of Jerry Yang.

While Yahoo was at its zenith, the newly-listed Google was showered with cold water. Influential advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, pointed out 21 governance flaws in Google, and in their “corporate governance quotient” where the full score was 100, they rated Google at 0.2, almost zero, which was lower than all other companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

The SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) was still investigating the matter of 31-year-olds Sergey Brin and Larry Page being interviewed by “Playboy,” an action that might have violated regulatory rules. Therefore, Brin, Page, and the entire Google were thrown into the “doghouse”; companies are required to maintain a “quiet period” before going public. Even if they wanted to say a few words in explanation, they were unable to speak.

Meanwhile, Wang Yang, not yet a Google shareholder and a 24-year-old filming in China, returned to his room after completing an interview with “Xiaoxiang Morning Herald” and stayed up until the wee hours talking to Jessica over video call while blogging his bullish stance: “I’m delighted to see Google’s corporate governance quotient is 0.2; if it were 0, it would have been even better! Hasn’t everyone seen it? With a six-year development leading to an 85 US Dollar offering price, this is not a company with terrible, chaotic, and antiquated management, but one that has broken all conventional rules and is ahead of every other company in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index. This is called youth, power, Google!”

Of course, endorsing a stock while planning to purchase large amounts of it lavishly was unwise. Yet Wang Yang figured it was perhaps an occupational hazard or maybe he just enjoyed speaking out after too many interviews and award ceremonies. He didn’t believe that by singing praises, hordes of people would rush to buy recklessly.

Inevitably, many still believed he was planning to short the stock; moreover, Google was a rather arrogant company. Most analysts believed its stock price would fluctuate significantly due to public shareholders’ lack of control over the company’s future development. Google’s founders, management, board members, and employees held shares with ten times the voting power of public shares. The founders Brin, Page, and CEO Schmidt together controlled 37.6% of the voting rights, and collectively with the management and board, they held 61.4%. This essentially meant they took your money without letting you have a say in matters. Furthermore, Google was not prepared to give financial forecasts, explaining with high-sounding words, “The company will make decisions based on long-term interests, not short-term gains.”

While many shareholders were annoyed by this, Wang Yang was pleased; he had no intention of joining Google’s board of directors. His purchase of Google was purely an investment to generate funds and provide stronger support for the development of the Flame Group. Money was never-ending, and beyond a certain number, it was all the same. He already had a lot and didn’t want to deal with IT and search businesses every day; that was just too bothersome. However, fully aware of Google’s vast potential, Wang Yang was happy to see others making money for him. Thus, he eagerly bought a golden egg, and a new Google shareholder was born.

Wang Yang didn’t just buy shares for himself, he also shared the good investment opportunity with his family, and some friends interested in investing. However, Natalie Portman said she would rather buy shares of Flame Movies.

Indeed, many people wanted to buy shares of Flame Movies, the independent film company with dazzling industry achievements. In the six years since its inception, all its widely-released films had never failed to turn a profit; they continuously created box-office miracles. The medal table for the Athens Olympics changed daily with champions, runners-up, and bronze medalists emerging in various events, while the final North American box office champions for the summer of ’04 also took their places.

The champion for July 30 to August 5 was bestowed upon “The Village,” distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and directed by the “genius director” M. Night Shyamalan. The film, with a budget of 60 million dollars, grossed 69.14 million in its opening week, seemingly ensuring a profitable return. However, after debuting with “The Sixth Sense,” followed by the decent “Unbreakable,” the disappointing “The Omen,” and now receiving a mere 43%, 48% Tomatometer score, and 59% audience rating at 34, Shyamalan was amid sighs of disappointment, ridicule, and pity. The name “genius” dramatically fell, and he was stamped with the label of a past-his-prime director.

The higher one climbs, the harder they fall, as they say, and “meaningless,” “idiotic,” “another overrated, mediocre, and insane work by M. Night Shyamalan.” Media outlets like the New York Observer, Salon, The New Yorker, and others did not mince words. Everyone knew that if the wondrous BABY from the IT world, “Firefly,” showed even the slightest disappointment, it would inevitably be met with a storm.

The champion for the week of August 6-12 went to “Collateral,” starring Tom Cruise; for August 13-19, it was “Alien vs. Predator”; for August 20-26, “Exorcist: The Beginning” took the lead; the Athens Olympics closed on August 29 with the United States, China, and Russia taking the top three spots on the medal table, Google’s stock price climbed daily, and the final week of the summer box office from August 27 to September 2 saw the champion snatched by Zhang Yimou’s “Hero,” distributed by Miramax Films, with a box office of $23.72 million.

From the ramp-up in late April, through the start in May, to the end in August, anyone looking at this year’s summer performance chart would find several “Flames-Films,” with the passion of flames releasing “Ice Age 2,” “Furious Cars,” and “The Hangover 2” in this peak summer. They seized the North American weekly box office champions for May 7-13, June 11-17, June 18-24, and June 25-July 1, a total of four times, accounting for 23.52%, and even boasted the success of winning three consecutive weeks.

The big winner! These four weekly box office champions positioned Flames Films at the top of the list this summer, followed in order by Warner Brothers, DreamWorks, Sony/Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Buena Vista, and Miramax Films. For an independent film company and a strategy that focused only on releasing three high-quality films, could there be any more stringent demands? Who wouldn’t want to buy shares in Flames Films?

Since the shares couldn’t be bought and the market couldn’t be monopolized by any single player, investors and producers had other methods. However, copycat films like “Flying High” and “Lucky Card Player” met with disastrous results. Another flop for Warner Brothers was negligible, but the once king of cinema MGM sank deeper into the mire. Both the blockbuster and independent filmmakers had their ups and downs, but the cloister of the somber couldn’t find Flames Films among them.

Not counting marketing, copies, transportation, and other distribution costs, the production costs of the three Flames Films combined were $195 million, divided into $75 million, $70 million, and $50 million individually, yet they each swept the globe in a frenzy of similarity!

“Ice Age 2” earned $230 million at the North American box office, $500 million overseas, and $730 million globally, with Blue Sky Studios once again declaring its powerful resurgence; “Furious Cars” raked in $190 million in North America, $350 million overseas, and $540 million globally, creating a lucrative series that has become extremely popular worldwide; “The Hangover 2,” with an incredible opening, earned $254 million in North America and $327 million overseas for a global total of $581 million, making an absolute fortune despite its average word-of-mouth and diminishing subsequent momentum.

Looking at this report card, everyone felt like they were going crazy—Flames Films and the theaters were ecstatic, while the other filmmakers experienced a mix of emotions. With a total production cost of $195 million, they harvested $1.851 billion at the global box office! And this wasn’t even the final figure, as “Furious Cars” and “The Hangover” were still adding change from their ongoing screenings.

Next summer, Flames-Films has scheduled massive screenings of “Kung Fu Panda,” “Firefly,” and “Assassin’s Creed.” Will they be as lucky again?

Right now, no one knows. But without a doubt, this summer’s movie slate stimulated many people. As time entered September, the Toronto International Film Festival was about to open on September 9, showcasing 100 films premiering from outside North America and 81 premieres within North America, totaling 328 films. Among the myriad hopefuls for distribution, both gems and chaff were hidden, waiting to see who had the discerning eye.

This time, Flames Films, Lions Gate, Miramax Films, Fox Searchlight, Focus, Newmarket, and others have all been preparing for a long time. (