The Best Director

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

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Inside the “Sweetheart” cafe’s restroom, Jessica looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. She slapped her face with her hands, feeling the coolness of her palms.

She didn’t know why she had lost her temper so badly just now. In that moment, she only felt an urgent sense of irritation, and then she couldn’t control herself anymore… Why? She knew it definitely wasn’t because of Mark Ronster’s joke; that was just the trigger. Perhaps it was because she felt unintentionally isolated, or because Wang Yang didn’t choose her for the lead role, or maybe it was Rachel making her feel inferior…

With a bang, the restroom door opened and Rachel walked in. She stood next to Jessica with a friendly smile on her face and asked, “Jessica, are you doing okay?”

Jessica gave a forced smile through the mirror at Rachel and said, “Thanks, I’m fine. I’m really sorry, just now I… was incredibly rude.” She stroked her long hair by her ear, looking very annoyed with herself. “I don’t know what came over me, suddenly I was like a crazy person.”

“It’s okay, Jessica, don’t worry about it, everyone is really concerned about you,” Rachel consoled her, then asked, “Is it because of the movie’s leading role?”

Jessica shook her head, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’m just feeling a bit unwell.” Her childhood experiences made Jessica very wary of strangers, and she kept her guard up with new friends too. Having known Rachel for less than two hours, she naturally wouldn’t confide her deepest thoughts.

Rachel smiled subtly; she knew how to handle this situation. She had many friends in Toronto, and when they felt upset, they would come to her to talk. She was a great listener and had seen many cases like Jessica’s, clearly something was upsetting her and it was hidden away.

The thing to do was to get them to talk about it. However, Rachel knew that they wouldn’t speak unless you spoke first, so she said, “Sorry, just now I got carried away talking to Yang about the movie…”

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” Jessica interrupted her, but as she recalled how absorbed Rachel and Wang Yang had been in their conversation about the movie, leaving her feeling like an idiot on the sidelines, unable to join in, Jessica’s heart tightened again, and she sighed, “That’s just my own problem. Maybe, maybe I shouldn’t have come today.”

“I know that must feel awful. I’ve tried it many times; sometimes my friends are discussing a topic and I have no way to chime in, feeling as if I’ve been left out,” Rachel spoke with self-deprecating tone, then shrugged and laughed brightly, her voice contagious, “But, I know they don’t do it on purpose. They only act like that when they feel they’re really good friends with you, without purposely taking care of your feelings.”

Jessica’s mood seemed to lighten considerably at Rachel’s words.

“Besides, you can see how passionate and dedicated Yang is about filmmaking. I met a lot of people like him in university; they are just crazy about it.” Rachel rolled her eyes, then made a “popping” sound with her mouth, continuing with a laugh, “Wow, when they talk about movies, about anything related to movies, they can go on for days and nights without stopping for a minute.”

Rachel laughed, “That’s just the way they are, movies are in their cells.”

“Yes, I know,” Jessica finally smiled broadly, almost proudly, “Yang is definitely the most obsessed one. Ever since he was very young, he set his goal to become a great director and has been pursuing it ever since. In fact, amongst all my friends, he’s the most passionate about movies, he hasn’t changed a bit.”

Seeing her finally speaking freely, Rachel knew it was an opportunity to open up the conversation and asked curiously, “Since you were very young? So, you and Yang have known each other since childhood?”

“No, not from childhood,” Jessica considered, then explained, “Um, we were in second grade, I transferred to Yang’s school, and then we became good friends. But it was only for a short while, after that I moved to Los Angeles.”

Jessica turned, resting her hands on the sink and smiling happily, “Until recently, we unexpectedly reunited. It’s just that we’ve both grown up now.” She glanced at Rachel a bit sheepishly, deliberately using the word “recently” and not specifying that she and Wang Yang had only reunited less than a week ago.

“Wow, that sounds quite romantic,” Rachel said with a smile.

“Maybe,” Jessica replied nonchalantly, shrugging, “Los Angeles can be quite small at times.”

“Yang helped me a lot when I was a kid, and I’ve always been grateful to him. But now when he is facing difficulties, I can’t help him, and I hate that,” Jessica’s mood suddenly dropped again, adding, “Maybe that’s what I’m upset about.”

Rachel took up the conversation with confusion, “Difficulties?”

“Yeah, difficulties. But these things are not for me to tell you, you can go ask Yang if you want to know,” Jessica shook her head, “Anyway, I feel so guilty, I am of no help, utterly useless.”

She laughed bitterly, “Now everyone who sees me says, ‘Wow, you’re so beautiful!’ But what’s the use of being beautiful? There are so many beautiful girls, and I’ve failed auditions over a dozen times in a row, everyone says I’m not good enough, sometimes I wonder, am I really that bad? Were the few acting roles I got previously just good luck? And now that my luck has run out, I’ve become my true self again.”

Rachel comforted her, “Jessica, don’t think like that. Life is always like this, with its peaks and valleys, right? If God has arranged it this way, He must have His intentions. We need to calm our hearts and listen.”

“Yeah, Rachel, you’re right,” Jessica nodded, feeling enlightened. Perhaps this was God’s test for her! She smiled at Rachel and said, “Thank you, I feel much better now.” Rachel smiled back, “It’s nothing.”

Looking at Rachel, Jessica’s expression suddenly became serious again, and she said, “Rachel, there’s something I want to ask of you.”

“What? Tell me,” Rachel said.

Looking into Rachel’s eyes solemnly, Jessica said, “You must promise me to put your all into Yang’s film! This movie is extremely, extremely, extremely important to him! He told me that the ten thousand US dollars is all he has, he cannot fail! Absolutely cannot fail!” She clasped Rachel’s hands, pleading, “So you must perform well, okay?”

Rachel nodded earnestly, saying, “I will. Jessica, don’t worry. Even if you hadn’t asked me, I would have done so.” She was a professional actress who equally loved movies, and she never took her work lightly.

“That’s good,” Jessica said with a happy smile. Then she added, “Let’s go outside.”

The two girls left the restroom and returned to the cafe outside, where they saw the table where Wang Yang was sitting crowded with people, all there for the audition. The female auditionees quickly left with disappointed faces upon hearing that the female lead had been cast; the male auditionees, aside from the ones who were physically unfit, each performed one or two live scenes according to Wang Yang’s instructions.

“Hey, Jessica!” Wang Yang stood up and called out when he saw Jessica, asking with concern, “Are you okay?”

Jessica shook her head with a smile. “Just feeling a bit under the weather.” Although her mood had improved a lot after her conversation with Rachel, her emotions were still a bit unsettled, and with so many male auditionees looking at her, she didn’t want to stay there any longer and said, “Yang, I’m going to leave now. I’m not much help here anyway.”

“Oh! Then you go home and rest well, be careful on the way!” Wang Yang was too busy to say more and hurriedly said goodbye before focusing back on the auditionees performing. The number of actors coming for the audition had spiked in the afternoon, and if it weren’t just the male lead needed, Sweetheart Cafe would have been undoubtedly packed to the brim.

Jessica picked up her purse from the chair, said “Bye” to everyone, gave Rachel a smile, gave Wang Yang a few glances as he was intently scrutinizing the auditionees, and then turned to leave.

“Sorry, you’re not what I’m looking for… Next,” Wang Yang said and, instead of watching the disappointed auditionee leave, seemed to remember something. He looked around and spotted Rachel, who was sitting at a nearby table, and hurriedly called out to her, “Hey, Rachel, remember to let me know if you’re leaving, we haven’t exchanged contact numbers yet. I can’t afford to let you slip away.”

“OK!” Rachel from the other table smiled, raised her coffee cup, took a light sip, and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t have anything else to do this afternoon. I’ll just stay here and see who gets to be the male lead.”

In the queue of male auditionees, many of them started to whistle, their blood boiling at the sight of the elegant and beautiful Rachel, thinking if they could land the role of male lead in the movie, they would get to know her better!

But in the end, everyone in the line left, no one was able to stay. Throughout the afternoon, actors had been coming continuously for the audition; Wang Yang had auditioned at least three hundred men, excluding the girls who left immediately, and yet he had found no one suitable.

Actually, Wang Yang’s requirements for the male lead were not too high, at least they were much lower compared to those for the female lead. Because in “Paranormal Activity,” the male lead didn’t have much screen time, as he was the one holding the DV, so most of the time he was off-camera but speaking. The role required minimal performance, just to react with surprise.

Therefore, Wang Yang was no longer evaluating the male auditionees’ understanding of the script; as long as their acting skills were passable, it would be fine. If they didn’t perform well during the shooting, Wang Yang would directly convey his requirements and have them act accordingly.

Yet even with this requirement, no one was up to par. Most of the actors who came for the audition, members of the actors’ guild, had only done extras work and never played a role with lines or individual scenes, so it was not surprising they didn’t meet the standards.

“Young director, you need to make a decision quickly,” Mark Ronster tapped his watch, urging, “There’s not much time left! The scheduled audition time ends at 5 o’clock, and it’s now 4:20. Haven’t you noticed that the number of auditionees is dwindling?” He said helplessly, “Actually, I thought that Thompson a while ago wasn’t bad. He has a great look, and his acting was passable.”

Thompson? Wang Yang shook his head and commented, “His appearance and acting are fine, but he looks too fierce. He’s more suited to play the quarterback in a campus comedy. But what I need is someone tall and with a friendly face.”

“Please, why are your requirements so many? Get Tom Hanks to do it then, darn it!” Mark Ronster said with some dissatisfaction, “You have to understand, the pay you’re offering is only four thousand US dollars, not forty million.”

Wang Yang shrugged and said, “No matter what you say, I still need to find an actor that satisfies me. My movie only has 2 actors. If the male lead is botched, that’s 50% ruined.”

“Hey, Yang, look over there!” Rachel, who was sitting beside Wang Yang, suddenly laughed, looking in the direction of the cafe entrance, and said, “Does that guy count as tall and with a friendly face?”