The Best Director

Chapter 169: Grand Introduction: The Magical Director Wang Yang

Good, very nice, looking sharp…” In the photography studio, accompanied by the clicking sounds, photographer Michael Cliff pressed the camera shutter while Wang Yang, standing in front of a white backdrop, adjusted his expressions and poses according to his directions. Then Michael turned to a staff member nearby and said, “Move that camera next to Yang and let’s take a few more shots.”

Soon, Wang Yang had one hand on the black camera, looking at the lens on the other side, smiling and saying, “Michael, I’m shooting you now.” As Michael pressed the shutter, he chuckled and replied, “Then go for it, hey Yang, can you be a bit more serious? You know that recently both you and ‘District 9’ have been quite serious.”

I don’t think so, I’ve been pretty funny lately,” Wang Yang shrugged with a smile, he just didn’t want to be that serious, which was why he had requested not to wear a suit this time; now, he was wearing a youthful and fashionable set of clothes. Over there, Michael Cliff laughed and said, “Then be cooler, cool!” Wang Yang still went along with his request and put on a serious face, after all, on still photos, Michael was the professional, and he said lightly, “OK, I like cool.”

This was a shoot for the cover photo for TIME magazine coming out in two weeks, and it was also his second time gracing the cover of TIME. When he received the invitation, Wang Yang was a bit surprised; it made sense for entertainment magazines like People or Vanity Fair, but TIME magazine had always been “cool” towards him. Was it because this time ‘District 9’ had the potential to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie in history? Had it caused many people to suffer nightmares?

Regardless, he had agreed to it, as it was a great opportunity for the promotion of ‘District 9¹ in its later stages.

However, to people like Michael Cliff and others, it seemed quite normal for the marvelous Yang to be a TIME cover figure again; otherwise, that would have been strange. His first TIME cover was in September 1999 due to the great success and social impact of ‘High School Musical,’ and he was hailed as a “phenomenon-level marvelous director.” The cover slogan of TIME back then was: “The Next ‘King of the World’.”

Now, three years had passed, and the former DV kid had already proven himself, and the public consensus was that he wouldn’t be James Cameron, wouldn’t be Steven Spielberg, and wouldn’t be Robert Zemeckis… he would only be another great director, the perpetually marvelous director Wang Yang.

In those three years, whether it was creating the classic biopic ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ at the age of 20, causing a sensation again that same year with ‘Juno,’ or becoming the youngest nominee for Best Director at the Golden Globes, he had had enough achievements to grace the cover of TIME, but that had not happened back then.

But now, the magnificent work ‘District 9/ which had put the entire planet in a state of oppression, marked the strong return of the marvellous Yang after a “disappearance” of two years. The terrifying subtext, the top-selling R-rating, the great film…the editors of TIME could no longer sit idly by, or else how could this publication be called a historical record?

When was the first time you shot something?” In the reception room, interviewer Dennis Waller and Wang Yang were sitting on the sofa facing each other. He was interviewing the young director for the second time, but unlike the previous interview, which mainly asked about “attitude after success” and “prospects for the future,” this time he seemed particularly interested in the marvelous Yang’s childhood and growth experiences. This was also a biographical interview.

Wang Yang was immediately intrigued; the first time shooting something? An old black-and-white scene flashed through his mind, with a guy carrying a small camera strolling around… Thinking back on the past amusements, he couldn’t help but smile; how could he have forgotten? Looking at Dennis Waller, he grinned and said, “At age 12,1 shot a clip of pedestrians coming and going on the street with a Super8 camera.”

Back then, there was no Mini-DV, so I was actually known as Super8-Boy. Hearing him say this, Dennis Waller laughed heartily. Those who knew the marvelous Yang wouldn’t be unaware of DV films and ‘Paranormal Activity,’ which were two of his tags; it was his very first appearance as “marvelous Yang.” He jotted down notes rapidly on paper, laughing and saying, “It looks like this is going to be the cover slogan for this issue.”

Talcing a sip of coffee, Wang Yang smiled with a reminiscing curl of his lips and said, “Back then, I had been dreaming of being a director for several years. That Super8 I bought at a flea market, a Nizo-148XL, white shell with a black lens, very cool; I also bought two reels of 8MM film. Oh my! They took all my savings, 300 US dollars.”

Wang Yang shook his head, smiling at the memory of his excitement back then; he sighed, “I feel like I was scammed now, but at the time, I was very, very happy and excited. Wow!” He mimicked holding a camera and laughed, “With this thing, I could be a director, I could make movies! I put all my savings and thoughts into it, ready to do something big! I thought up a story, I called a few classmates, and then…”

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“What happened in the end? The camera broke?” Dennis asked with a frown. Wang Yang nodded reluctantly and said, “It broke suddenly with a pop just after a few days of shooting; I think it was broken all along, and I was just lucky to have it work for a few days.” Dennis gave a regretful smile and inquired, “So what did you do? Did you take it for repairs, or ask your parents for help?”

No, I don’t like asking my parents or family for help.” Wang Yang chuckled; it was indeed annoying back then, his passion stifled, he sighed and said, “I was out of money, so I decided to fix it myself. I thought taking it apart and cleaning it would do the trick, but it only got worse. It was really heartbreaking.”

Dennis asked with great interest, “Is that Supers camera still around? And those two reels with your very first work on them? They must be so precious. Wang Yang laughed lightly and nodded, “They’re in San Francisco. Although I hate it, I wouldn’t throw it away.” As Dennis continued to take swift notes, he commented, “So you started playing with shooting pretty early.”

Wang Yang nodded again and said, “After that time, whenever I wanted to film something, I would rent a Super8 to shoot some 8MM short films.” He shrugged and added, “Then it was ‘Paranormal Activity’.”

How would you describe your childhood?” Seeing that the topic had ended, Dennis Waller asked a new question.

Wang Yang rolled his eyes upward in thought and said, “Hmm, my childhood? Childhood means before the age of 12, right? So that would be before the Super8 incident, haha!” He laughed a few times before continuing, “It was great, carefree—practicing Kung Fu, watching movies every week, playing sports, hanging out, and fighting. You know, there were always a few bullies in school, but sorry, I wasn’t afraid of them.”

When I was in school, those annoying guys would often hit my head,” Dennis Waller sighed, looking back with displeasure, and asked, “So, are you saying that your childhood was spent happily?” Wang Yang widened his eyes with a look of incredulity, as if to say “how could that be,” and explained, “There were always some childhood troubles and regrets, I was no exception. But you could say I grew up happy.”

Okay then…” Dennis Waller nodded, then with a gossipy tone, chuckled and asked, “What kind of role did Jessica play in your childhood?” The first time Wang Yang was interviewed for the cover of TIME, he had spoken about their relationship as kids, and everyone thought they would break up soon, but now it had been over three years. Now doing a second cover interview with Wang Yang, he didn’t forget to ask about this aspect.

Oh!” Wang Yang exclaimed as if electrified, he sat up straight and seriously said, “What role? I don’t know, I need to think carefully about this question, can’t let her get angry or disappointed. Dude, don’t write that down, okay!” Dennis Waller immediately raised his right hand holding the pen and chuckled, “Don’t worry!” Wang Yang thought about it and then said very seriously, “A crucial role, she gave me more opportunities to fight, I loved her.”

Both of them laughed out loud. Wang Yang pointed at the notebook in Dennis Waller’s hand and said with a laugh, “Just write that down. Plus, Jessie was my best girl friend at the time, we could talk about anything. But then she transferred schools and left, and I was really upset at the time.” He frowned as he recalled the misunderstanding that she didn’t consider him a good friend, “How could she just leave? But she did, all of a sudden, without a word to me, without leaving a single note.”

Really, that happened? Dennis Waller asked with curiosity, “What happened? Wang Yang spread his hands, laughed spitefully, and said, “It’s like with Wikus and his wife. Actually, she did leave a farewell letter for me, but some jerk stole it, and I never saw it. Since then, I always misunderstood her, thinking, ‘What did that girl consider me? Some insignificant passerby? An idiot?’ That is one of the less happy things of my childhood.”

So we understand why you dealt with Wikus and his wife that way?” Dennis Waller asked with a frown and a smile, his ballpoint pen racing across the paper. Wang Yang shrugged and laughed, “Maybe, but Wikus had it much worse than I did.” Dennis Waller hummed in acknowledgment, looked at him and asked a key question seriously, “What do you think the impact of your childhood was on you?”

His face full of contemplation, he said, “Other than ‘extraordinary,’ we don’t know how else to define you. You can make the vibrant and sunny ‘High School Musical’; the touching ‘The Pursuit of Happyness,’ about never giving up on your dreams; and the warm and humorous ‘Juno,’ all so happy! But ‘District 9’ is as oppressive as a nightmare; ‘Paranormal Activity’ can scare people to death…”

Actually, it’s not easy to define anyone; we’re all complex beings. Facing different things, we also have different moods, and what you think at 20 can change by 25, or 30.” Wang Yang thought about it and continued, “I like to become different people experiencing different stories. Sounds a bit like an actor, doesn’t it? Ha! A happy and beautiful childhood leads to an optimism in life that outweighs the pessimism.”

After Wang Yang finished his cover interview with TIME, a few days later, the screening week from August 9 to 15 came to an end. In the second week of August, four new films were released: Sony Pictures Entertainment’s $70 million budget action crime film ‘xXx,’ independent film company Rialto Film Company’s $38 million budget action comedy ‘Spy Kids 2,’ and Warner Brothers’ $50 million budget action crime film ‘Blood Type Puzzle.’

With three action new releases in one breath, showing in 3,374, 3>3O7> and 2,525 theaters respectively, they all seemed ambitious, as if aiming to conquer the end-of-summer market. In their first week, they took in $35-21 million, $15.75 million, and $8.94 million in box office, ranking second, fourth, and sixth on the weekly chart. Fifth place was the comedy ‘Austin Powers’ with $10.44 million, and third place was ‘The Omen’ with $20.85 million.

In those two weeks, critics and the movie-going public liked to use words like “cliched,” “dull,” and “boring” for the new releases, including this week’s three new films; they also liked to use words like “novel,” “astonishing,” and “great” for one particular film.

That would be ‘District 9,¹ which continued to top the North American box office weekly chart, strangling the three new releases in 3,758 theaters. This week, the number of its screening theaters increased by 208, and it continued to sweep across North America with a storm-like force, causing more audiences to curse “FUCK!” and rate it on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, where it still held scores of 8.9/8.8; audience approval dropped to 87%, with some angry fans throwing the occasional scathing review.

I truly regret watching this movie! It felt like eating an apple rotten with maggots, and the worst part is, those damned maggots keep wriggling around in your stomach!” Alan K, who gave a scathing review, commented like this; and Ian W, who gave it one star, directly blasted the director: “Best Director wants the whole world to taste what it’s like to be in prison with him! What a surprising bastard!”

Amidst praise and curses, ‘District 9’ swept up a box office of $74.38 million in its second week! Its North American total box office climbed to $205 million, which also catapulted it to the fourth spot in the R-rated movie total box office charts, with the front three scores at $234, $232, and $216 million respectively. Judging by the current situation, ‘District 9’ is set to become the top-grossing R-rated film of all time, needing just one more weekend.

The number of critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes has increased to 240, with 10 rotten reviews and 230 fresh, bringing the freshness score for the general public down to 95%, while it remains at 95% for top critics.

The reason I don’t like ‘District 9¹ is because its world looks terrible and ridiculous, not innovative at all, and both humans and aliens in it are equally foolish! Moreover, if this sort of thing really happened, Wang Yang, living in Beverly Hills, would be the first to spit on the prawn’s homes.” — Michael Fox, The Baltimore Sun; “‘District 9’ is like an eight-legged monster that seems to want to say something, but ends up saying nothing at all. It’s a comedy with absolutely no enjoyment to be had.” — Kyle Smith, New York Post…

However, the overwhelming praise has completely drowned out those few buzzing mosquito-like ridicules.

After a summer of movie-watching, ‘District 9’ is a very timely antidote.” — David Hoffman, San Francisco Chronicle; “The most heart-wrenching, convincing, classic sci-fi parable. I’m talking about ‘Planet of the Apes’ in 1968, as well as ‘District 9¹ in 2002.” — Scott A. Mantz, Access Hollywood; “If you’re looking for a movie to shake your heart and soul, humans, this is it.” — Ken Hanke, Cinema Signal…

And naturally, the second-week overseas box office of ‘District 9’ has come out, with audiences from over 40 countries and regions spending another 104 million US dollars, bringing the overseas total to 291 million; the global total now stands at 496 million! This has also broken Wang Yang’s personal box office record, with the previous highest for his four films being ‘High School Musical’ at 411 million, and this number will continue to increase.

Aside from joining the “2 Billion Global Box Office Club,” Wang Yang will soon add a few more directing titles and records, such as “Youngest Single Film 500 Million,” “Youngest Single Film 600 Million,”… and there are plenty of media voices calling out for “Youngest Oscar Best Director Nomination.”

The rave reception of ‘District 9¹ in the critical community is visible to everyone, and these praises are also published in the media newspapers. This leads to another topic of interest: at next year’s 75th Academy Awards, what kind of performance will the masterpiece ‘District 9’ display? But first, as a cult film, a sci-fi film, what nominations will it receive?

Best Visual Effects? Best Sound Editing? Best Sound? The Oscars have, for decades, fobbed off many excellent science fiction films with these technical awards—is this the foreseeable destiny for ‘District 9’?

But media that last year said “It’s likely a miracle already if ‘Chocolate’ isn’t the Best Director, let alone getting nominated” now have a totally different voice: “‘District 9¹ will definitely be a hot favorite for next year’s Oscars, it has the credentials and the right!”

The sorrowful, tense, and bleak score, can’t move the old ears of the Oscar jury? Robert Downey Jr.’s tear-inducing, genius performance, can’t moisten the old tear ducts of the Oscars? And the script, stemming from Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis,’ that permeates with sadness, can’t touch that old heart?”

As for Best Picture and the “presumed” Best Director for Wang Yang, Yahoo Entertainment is more excited and analyses it quite rationally. In recent years, there have been many great works in the sci-fi genre that are significant and influential to the system setup of sci-fi films—like ‘Terminator 2’ and ‘The Matrix’, etc.

Some of them are commercial films, and it’s normal for the Oscars to shut them out; whereas, aspects like ‘The Matrix’ discussing the illusion of reality, also aren’t mainstream topics that win various awards.

But ‘District 9,’ while novel and unique, is filled with a plethora of mainstream topics. The entire movie explores human nature, including aspects of good and evil; it can also be seen as another of the Oscars’ favorites, anti-racism; there are also traces of societal habits, freedom, anti-war, etc., all of which, together, create an indescribably powerful, sad impact.

District 9′ is like a lavish buffet where you can taste humanity, try a bit of anti-racism, and various other delicious dishes.” — Charles Hewitt, Empire Magazine; “How’s this for a suggestion? Everyone must go to the cinema to watch ‘District 9,’ to make this world a better place.” — Chris Baumbray, Movie Market.

The editors at Yahoo Entertainment wrote: “There’s no doubt ‘District 9’ is grand enough to earn the nominations it deserves, I’m talking about Best Picture and Best Director.”

It’s just the shaky pseudo-documentary camera work, the insane B-movie gore, and sci-fi film… No matter how excellent it is, these “Oscar taboos” still exist. So can it help the sci-fi genre return to the Oscar Best Picture nomination list after 20 years since ‘E.T.’ in 1983? Could the 23-year-old Wang Yang become the fourth person after Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg to receive an Oscar Best Director nomination with a sci-fi film?

Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Yahoo Entertainment ended with a quote from Wang Yang last year, which is also what Forrest’s mom said.

However, as “District 9” was about to become the champion of R-rated movie box office in North America and its global box office surged like a super blockbuster, some media jokingly but factually said, “As everyone knows, the Oscars don’ t really like movies with too high a box office. If Wang Yang still wants to get Best Director, ‘District 9’ better be pulled from theaters right now!”

Naturally, this was an impossibility. The days of summer passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the screening week of August 16th to 22nd came to a close. With some schools starting the new semester, the total box office in North America for that week had fallen by 23.5%, amounting to only $162.17 million.

Within this big pie, the smallest slice went to the Rialto Film Company’s re- release of the 1952 Italian movie “Tears in the Wind,” which earned $653 in one theater, ranking in the 125th place; ranking first was still “District 9,” which continued to dominate the August movie market with a box office of $48.67 million in 3770 theaters. From August 2nd to the 22nd, it had been the box office champion for three consecutive weeks.

Following in second place was “xXx” with $20,153,400 and the newly released “Blue Crush” at $19,948,700. This $25 million romance movie starred Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez. As good friends, Wang Yang had also sent a text message to Michelle congratulating her; then, in fourth place was “The Omen” with $15.67 million.

$48.67 million brought “District 9’s” total North American box office to $253 million! It officially surpassed “Beverly Hills Cop” with $234 million, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated movie in North American history! Of course, if adjusted for inflation, “District 9” wasn’t yet the outright champion, but it had only been in theaters for three weeks.

Professional analysts from Fire Movie predicted that its final North American box office should be within the range of $320 million to $350 million; but “Beverly Hills Cop” did not have a three-week overseas box office of $358 million, its total overseas box office was $81.6 million.

The third-week overseas box office for “District 9” was precisely $67.12 million, and combined with the North American box office of $358 million, the global total reached $608 million! Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, the alien prawns would climb to the height of $700 million in total box office. This was also market analysis from Fire Movie and competitors; good movies combined with viral marketing once again achieved a comprehensive victory.

Age 22, highest box office for a single movie at $608 million, a total box office of $2.1 billion for five directed movies, averaging $420 million per movie… All these insane numbers added up to Wang Yang. His fan base naturally soared rapidly, with daily clicks on his blog skyrocketing, and IP addresses coming from all over the world, generating various messages in different languages: “You’re So Amazing!” “I love your movie! Can you give me a kiss? I love you!! “Tueres grande!” /cliffihVc!”…

As entertainment media were also competing to report this kind of “miracle reality show,” the latest issue of TIME magazine hit the shelves, with none other than Wang Yang on the cover, wearing a shirt and jeans, one hand resting on a camera. After much thought, TIME ultimately chose the nickname that the public was most familiar with as the cover slogan: “Mr. Magic-Young.”

Jessica leaned back on the fabric sofa, holding an issue of TIME and avidly reading Wang Yang’s interview. She suddenly came upon content about herself, her eyes lighting up, and after reading she looked up at Wang Yang playing with Danny across the room, asking with a beaming smile, “Yang, were you very angry at that time? I mean, when I suddenly left.”

What?” Wang Yang turned his head to glance at her, seeing her bright smile, he couldn’t help but smile as well, and with a frown, he asked, “Are you really happy?” Jessica playfully rolled her eyes before nodding and saying, “Yes, I am quite happy!” Him being angry meant he cared; if he didn’t care at all, then what did that make her? She asked with a curious smile, “Did you ever curse me out or anything?”

Haha, seems like someone wants to be cursed at?” Wang Yang laughed as he patted Danny’s head, then walked towards the sofa, and while laughing he said, “Well, maybe, I had almost forgotten. But now that you mention it, it all comes back to me, I used to curse every day ‘that damn J ASS

ica!!

JASSICA? Jessica was momentarily stunned, then she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Holding the TIME magazine, she hit Wang Yang, who had just sat down beside her, laughing, “You are so petty! But haha…” She barely managed to stop her laughter, then, gritting her teeth, she said with a laugh, “I’ve also cursed you out a lot, that damn…”

As she was thinking, Wang Yang shrugged again with a laugh and said, “JASSICA!”