The Best Director

Chapter 332: It Must Be Spectacular!

YouTube’s beta version was scheduled to go live in December, with a plan to wave the banner “Eliminate Showyourself, a New Era of Video Sharing Has Arrived,” launching the first wave of promotional activities with the “Firefly Trailer Spoof Contest” to boost popularity. The event would be divided into two categories: in addition to re-editing other movies for parody, there would also be a segment for re-editing self-shot video footage. If the event successfully grabbed the public’s attention, it would be a win-win promotional strategy for both Firefly and YouTube.

Of course, there would also be “Merry Christmas” selfie comedy short video activities that didn’t require complex editing skills to participate, thus encouraging the public’s enthusiasm for filming and sharing videos.

Before that, there was still a lot of work to do, with the main task being the establishment of the new company. Fortunately, IT companies like garage startups or restaurant startups aren’t so troublesome. Wang Yang had already had his private team, including Paul Emery and others, start to acquire a bunch of domain names such as YouToBe and Facebook. They were also finalizing partnerships with Chen Shijun, Chad Hurley, and others. Some details were still to be settled, but they were already coding in a garage in Silicon Valley.

Evan Williams wasn’t specifically involved in the revamping and development of YouTube; there was plenty of work at Blogger, too. The simple reason he held a 5% stake was that he and Blogger were important parts of the plan, key components of a future integrated giant entity.

Just as Sean Parker had persuaded Mark Zuckerberg to drop out of Harvard University and continue with The Facebook’s business, without ever giving up; Wang Yang had told Evan Williams and Chen Shijun early on, that they weren’t website entrepreneurs aiming to sell, but were to develop these potentially infinite projects for the long term, for profit, and going public—that was the big plan. If they really needed the money, then go ahead and sell. After all, he was the chairman and wasn’t going anywhere.

What was this big plan? In reality, Wang Yang was more often trying to stabilize these people to fight alongside him; there weren’t that many grand schemes, but neither were there none.

Perhaps he indeed had some Silicon Valley business talent. From the earliest manual directories to later news reports, online auctions, job hunting, online gaming, online travel, and shopping, Yahoo provided a dazzling array of services. It always dreamed of an online entertainment empire, and in 2001, when Terry Semel became Yahoo’s CEO, this guy—who had spent 24 years as the CEO of Warner Brothers—clearly proposed Yahoo’s future direction: to build a digital Disney park.

An internet-era theme park that encompasses news, movies, music, sports, games, and more, Yahoo aimed to satisfy any online consumer’s needs.

This was Yahoo’s grand plan, as it was Google’s. But Yahoo always seemed to struggle in a thankless endeavor. On one hand, during its initial phase, as it poured effort into building roller coasters and Ferris wheels, it didn’t properly consider how to sell tickets. Apart from advertising revenue, Yahoo had no significant source of income, which wouldn’t have been an issue if the dot-com bubble had not burst. The burst left Yahoo, which had expanded aggressively but was weak internally, with substantial losses. Its stock price fell from $250 US Dollars in January 2000 to $11.38 US Dollars in January 2002.

Having barely caught its breath, on the other hand, few of Yahoo’s diverse services captured any significant demand. Paid services were still rarely bought, and it inadvertently “raised Google as a rival” allowing the outsourcing search service to grow rapidly and rise.

That’s the story of Yahoo; more of the story is that it never gave up trying to develop in the field of entertainment videos. In 1999, Yahoo acquired the online broadcasting website for $5.7 billion in stock, making one of its founders, Mark Cuban, a mega-rich man; he bought the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks in 2000 for $280 million US Dollars. In 2001, Yahoo launched the online financial video site FinanceVision with little success; the same year, it launched a major video service, Yahoo-Platinum, a subscription service that offered users programs including CBS Sports, ABC News, and National Geographic Channel, only to ultimately fold due to lack of users.

Early on, Yahoo partnered with Firefly, Artisan Pictures, and Fox TV, offering their movie trailers, interviews, and other related content online, a popular free service.

Having just dabbled in the video sharing blog business, why didn’t Terry Semel, Jerry Yang, and others develop video sharing to the fullest, making Showyourself run away in panic? Apart from the new era of video sharing not yet arriving, maybe they made another miscalculation, underestimating Google, assuming platforms like Showyourself and the upcoming YouTube had no profit potential.

However, these stories still taught Wang Yang something: the paid video model of online cinema didn’t work—without the concept of “online video” becoming widely popular. Only when Showyourself and YouTube changed people’s life-styles and mindsets with free video sharing, making online videos increasingly popular and paired with smooth broadband speeds, could one push online paid video cinema with the flag of “providing the best quality service.” Movies, TV series, music videos… It’s somewhat like only after a person has a full belly will they start considering whether the food is delicious.

So the plan was to take it step by step. Once YouTube achieved success with free video sharing, they would then roll out the online cinema project, spearheaded by the Firefly Group, enlisting allies like Lionsgate, NBC, and Empire to open up the market. The only issue was that the emergence of the online video on-demand sales model would inevitably threaten traditional movie and music distributors, and there might be a need for good communication with cinema operators and DVD sellers when the time comes.

It seems like Google has learned from all Yahoo’s experiences and mistakes, focusing on search services and various free utility search services without unrealistically aiming to sell tickets from the start. The park was open for free! This move attracted countless visitors, and the Google-Adsense advertising system maximized ad revenue with its long-tail theory. More clicks and traffic meant more ad revenue; as for when to sell tickets, maybe that would be when Google became the market dominator.

If a new website had high user potential, Google would acquire it. They had always wanted to acquire Blogger as the main blog service, but Wang Yang didn’t agree. Google’s own blog service hadn’t taken off, and to prevent Blogger from leaning towards the still-thriving Yahoo or the coveting MSN, unable to refuse Blogger’s use of Google-Adsense, Google had to look on droolingly in partnership. One can imagine if YouTube took off and exploded, Google would certainly play the part of a benevolent Santa Claus, presenting a seemingly generous acquisition proposal to consume it.

Though he was a shareholder in Google, Wang Yang would definitely not agree. He had only one thing to say: “Get lost!”

His grand plan was to build a sharing and interactive playground. Blogger, YouTube… They may not make the most profit, but user traffic would be very, very high. These platforms would become indispensable in people’s lives, like moving telephones, televisions, and such into the network. If each website was well-maintained and could hold its ground, naturally, there would be a grand plan.

Online pay-per-view cinemas launched, video blogging exploded, YouTube’s beta version went live in December 2004, and the YouTube company was founded…

The course of reverse-engineering seemed to be, Chen Shijun and others programming in Silicon Valley, while newly recruited designers worked on page design; Wang Yang proposed some functional ideas at the same time, busily engrossed in his beloved film editing. Whether it was Marg or Lee Smith, the editors he partnered with could feel his dedication and passion. Despite having many tasks and occasionally taking some calls, he was always fully committed.

On Thursday, October 28th, the sixth episode of “The Big Bang Theory” aired on NBC channel on schedule, and according to the Nielsen ratings report the next day, it attracted 21.26 million viewers with a 14/22 ratings share; and after six episodes, its average audience was 20.85 million.

Such stunning viewership in its debut month was naturally linked to its high quality. The third episode showcased characters from CIT, with Harry Shum Jr.’s character Freddie Lee and colleagues making their appearance through a physics competition; the fourth episode brought the college bar and comic book store to the forefront, with Raj using The Incredible Hulk gloves and a Green Lantern power lantern to bribe Sheldon into helping pick up girls, delivering non-stop laughs; the fifth episode celebrated geek culture, with Sheldon comforting Penny who had just gone through another breakup, leading to her addiction to online gaming; the sixth episode demonstrated the nerds’ power when Howard and Raj used high-tech means to locate the models from “America’s Next Top Model”… Judging from the overwhelmingly positive reviews from the audience, it was clear the show was getting better with every episode.

On the other hand, it was also due to NBC’s vigorous promotion, which NBC couldn’t avoid as it seemed that suddenly there was only one sitcom left on the channel. Tuesday night’s animated comedy “Proud Father” averaged only 7.3 million viewers, “Scrubs” took a dive again in its fourth season, down to an average of only 6.9 million; “Will & Grace” on Monday also plummeted from the previous season by more than 5 million, leaving it with an average of approximately 10 million viewers; most pitiful was the much-anticipated failure of “Joey,” which indeed failed. It aired five episodes on Thursday following “The Big Bang Theory,” from its first episode that attracted 18.55 million viewers, to 15.37 million for the second, 14.87 million for the third, 13.59 million for the fourth, and 12.83 million for the fifth… averaging 15.04 million with a 5.6/16 ratings share! Heaven knows how many grandparents this show gathered.

NBC, having preemptively bought the entire season, was at a loss. With its reputation stinking to high heaven, viewership declining irreversibly, and still trailing behind “The Big Bang Theory,” which had 20.85 million viewers! According to this trend, how many episodes will it take before “Joey” falls below 10 million viewers? It seems not more than five. However, with this detestable report card, it was still NBC’s second-best sitcom! If they could, they truly wished “The Big Bang Theory” could air back-to-back episodes every week.

Without any other options, NBC had no choice but to rely completely on “The Big Bang Theory,” and in the eyes of NBC Television Group chairman Bob Wright, president of entertainment Kevin Reilly, and others, Wang Yang was now a true gem among treasures, a major player among major players; if anyone upset Wang Yang, they would be the first to not let them off the hook! With “Prison Break” averaging 22.6 million viewers in its second season, “Desperate Housewives” climbing to an average of 24.23 million viewers, and unknown game show scores… they had no choice!

They couldn’t afford to be careless with Wang Yang, for if CBS, ABC, FOX knew they undervalued him, they would definitely cheer and then fight fiercely over him. The competition on the television screen was intense, but the competition on the movie theater screen was even more varied from week to week. Following the American version of “The Grudge” taking the weekly crown from October 22-28 with 32.45 million viewers across 488.6 million theaters and winning 40%/24% freshness and 57% audience liking, the calendar hit Friday, October 29, the release date for “Soul Men,” “Rebirth,” and “Saw II.”

“Two tickets for ‘SAW2’!” In the hall of the cinema, several ticket counters had short lines, and following these young couple’s request, the middle-aged white female ticket seller collected a dozen or so US dollar bills and handed over two tickets. “SAW2” tickets were selling fast today, and this show seemed almost sold out. The next young girl in the queue held up three fingers, “Three for ‘SAW2,’ please.” The ticket seller took the money, handed over the tickets, and the young girl laughed and chatted with her two female friends as they went to buy popcorn and Coke to enter the theater: “Really looking forward to what trailers they have”… “Will there be any scenes of Wang Yang?”… “I heard he has a fight scene…”

“One for ‘Soul Men.'” “I want two for ‘SAW2.'” “Give me four ‘SAW2.'”… The queue kept changing faces, and after handing out four tickets to a family of four for the animated “Shark Tale,” she then encountered a young couple wanting to see “SAW2,” but the ticket seller realized that show had sold out: “Only tickets for the 9:50 PM showing are left now, do you want them?” The young couple was obviously upset with an audible, oh, and a buzz of disappointment rippled through the queue—this evening wasn’t just about seeing “SAW2”! How could they miss the premiere trailer for “Firefly”? But they couldn’t afford to miss out on the entire evening! The couple quickly replied, “Of course! Two tickets!”

In the 3235 North American theaters screening “Saw II”, time was still left before the movie started, but the seats were already filled to capacity. There were even young people who had bought tickets to other screenings like “The Grudge” and “Soul Men” who snuck in to watch the commercial segment. They were all here for the debut teaser trailer of “Firefly”! The anticipation had been too long for this science fiction adventure epic, having had a budget of 200 million US dollars, and starring popular actors like Robert Downey Jr., “Heath” Ledger, Michael Pitt, and Jessica Alba, as well as Daniel Wu, Ellen Page… The cast may have received mixed opinions, but the most awaited aspect was Wang Yang’s direction!

“Cowboy-style space sci-fi is quite novel, but I don’t know if it will work,” “It seems like there are a lot of Eastern elements too; the posters even have Chinese characters on them,” “I really want to see a new sci-fi movie, I want to witness it go from birth to becoming a classic like ‘SW’ and ‘ST,'” “It’s 2004 already, our era should have a new space adventure type sci-fi classic!”… Young audiences from various places were buzzing with discussion. Was there anyone who didn’t know about the amazing Wang Yang? It seemed not.

Not only did they know about the amazing Wang Yang, but they also had varying degrees of familiarity with “Firefly’s” backstory, with some simply thinking, “This is a sci-fi film by Oscar-winning Best Director, the amazing director Wang Yang,” and others, “200 million investment, Wang Yang definitely has high expectations,” even, “Cowboys and the East combined, could the amazing Wang Yang be doomed?”… The more they knew, the more likely they were die-hard film enthusiasts. Evelyn and a few friends were among them, and at that moment she was staring at the still silent big screen, murmuring nervously, “Amazing Yang, it’s got to be thrilling!”

The well-known blogger and film critic Clair was also among them, her heart beating fast: “Amazing Yang, if you mess this up, I’ll suffer too! Good luck!” Many pro-Yang film critics were anxious; Nancy Reno was anxious too. About the topic of “whether Wang Yang has become commercially vulgar,” she had debated with classmates many times, but she believed, “Absolutely not! ‘Firefly’ is definitely spectacular! From the first teaser trailer, I can shut them all up!”

Was it just because of the embarrassment? Perhaps, or maybe it was more because they didn’t want to see Wang Yang looking downcast; they wanted to see that handsome guy who was at ease while talking and laughing on the Oscars’ stage.

There were also many people waiting to see a laughably unfathomable teaser trailer on television, from Yahoo, Showyourself, and other websites. The worse it was, the happier they would be! For example, the Olsen sisters had been longing to see Wang Yang embarrass himself for a long time, and film critics like Jeffrey Westhoff did not look forward to having to praise Wang Yang as “amazing” next year when “Firefly” was released, pretending nothing had happened: “Amazing performance! Congratulations on your return!” Let the kid fall hard, a real belly flop!

But it wasn’t just the audience with different perspectives and mentalities who were focused on the trailer; many of the cast and crew involved in the production of “Firefly,” both in front and behind the camera, had yet to see how this unprecedented space adventure sci-fi film, blending Western cowboys with Eastern elements, would reveal its first glimpse.

Playing a small supporting role and considered insiders, Megan Fox and outsider Kaley Cuoco, both leads of “Girl Boss,” were also in the “Saw II” screening room. Natalie, who was free on the weekend, grabbed a large bucket of popcorn and settled into her seat, popping popcorn into her mouth and muttering with each piece, “KO ‘Star Wars Prequel III,’ not KO ‘Star Wars Prequel III,’ KO ‘Star Wars Prequel III’…”

“Shush!” Suddenly the whole theater quieted down, the trailer began to play! The suspenseful and tense music started softly and gradually intensified…

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