The Best Director

“OK, April 28,” Mark Slant nodded, noticing that Wang Yang wasn’t speaking off the cuff, and asked with some curiosity, “What day is that?” Wang Yang smiled and said mysteriously, “A big day.” Mark Slant uttered an “oh” and did not press further; he picked up a chart from the conference table and said, “Let’s see what movies are premiering around that time.”

As he looked over the chart, he explained, “On April 23, the main one to note is 20th Century Fox’s ‘Sky Traffic Jam’; and on April 30, there’s also Fox’s ‘Stealing Heaven Trap’ and Columbia’s ‘Idle Hands.'” With a smile at Wang Yang, who shrugged and replied, “Very good,” Mark Slant continued, “Then on May 7th, wow, ‘The Mummy’! An ambitious big-budget film with 80 million, isn’t it; um, then comes May 19th, yes, ‘Star Wars’ is here.”

Simon Willis shared his opinion, “Without a doubt, this ‘Star Wars’ prequel is going to be a massive hit, but we don’t need to worry. People who go to the cinemas will still watch other movies.” He looked at Wang Yang and added, “Besides, ‘High School Musical’ is a different genre, has different selling points, and a different target audience than it, so the impact won’t be that significant.”

“I guess that’s true, what’s most important is to focus on ourselves,” Wang Yang leaned back in his swivel chair, spread his hands, and said with a puzzled look, “Maybe we could beat ‘Star Wars’ on its opening weekend? Ha, just kidding!” It was only a joke; the influence of ‘Star Wars’ was incomparable, and this prequel was hailed as this year’s ‘Titanic,’ already destined to be the box office champion of the year.

The conference room erupted in laughter, and Mark Slant said with a chuckle, “Well, ‘The Mummy,’ ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,’ they are tough competitors. Oh, of course, our current goal is just to break even; we don’t need to compare ourselves with them.” He paused, then continued, “But if we want a wide release across the U.S., we’ll need to make some achievements beforehand.”

Wang Yang nodded and said, “We definitely must carry out the promotional work well.” Mark Slant smiled and said, “Of course, ‘Paranormal Activity’ taught everyone a lesson—just how powerful marketing can be.” Everyone laughed again as Wang Yang too smiled, opened up the marketing plan created by the distribution department, and said, “So viral marketing is a must, it’s the magic weapon for success.”

The plan book outlined the strategy clearly: one month before the movie’s release, the distribution department would escalate the promotional efforts, setting off that “bomb.” Online, more and more school forums would join the discussion about the movie, ensuring students’ attention was firmly captured; in reality, there would also be campus blitz marketing, with premiere-attending schools as a focal point. The promotional posters for ‘High School Musical’ would plaster these campuses everywhere—corridors, cafeterias, even classrooms—as long as it was a space for a poster.

The cost of this plan was about 5 million or more, together with the estimated final production cost of 8 million and the screening fees for copies, the total film cost would be over 15 million. With ‘At The Movies – Paranormal Activity,’ Wang Yang had made a post-tax profit of 35 million, and he had spent over 3 million at the company so far. If ‘High School Musical’ failed, he would lose half of his fortune, but he would still be a millionaire.

But it wasn’t just about the money—’High School Musical’ carried not just his own hopes and efforts, and it affected more than just his own future. It bore the hopes of many people; it would affect the futures of many. He simply could not let the movie fail, if only for Jessica, to rid her of the stigma of being “brain-damaged.”

Looking at the promotional plan, Wang Yang nevertheless felt something was amiss; he always had the feeling that these strategies alone weren’t enough. This was different from the deceptive antics of ‘Paranormal Activity,’ these were just the regular pitches for a movie, merely telling people, “This movie is great, believe me, go check it out at the cinema!” This type of marketing could only let people know that ‘High School Musical’ existed; but how would it pique their interest? If someone wasn’t interested, even if you plastered the poster on his home’s wall, he wouldn’t go to see it.

Moreover, while bombarding the audiences is one thing, we absolutely cannot let the students develop a sense of aversion; a rebellious mindset can twist a person’s thinking. A good movie could be criticized as garbage by them.

Wang Yang expressed his concerns, and Mark-Slant replied helplessly, “My boss, there’s nothing we can do about it. To pique people’s interest, it’s enough to have male and female leads who are big stars; but as you know, the biggest star of ‘High School Musical’ is the director, and that’s you.”

“I know, but that’s not enough,” Wang Yang frowned, organizing his thoughts. “High School Musical” is an idol movie, and it’s important to establish youthful and sunny idols; “idol director” might still work, but it’s the actors who appear on the screen. It’s natural to get a better effect by getting everyone interested in, and liking, the lead actors…

What method could be used to make the lead actors familiar and liked by everyone so that their popularity would skyrocket?

“Increase their exposure,” Mark-Slant answered Wang Yang, “This is from my experience as an agent. If you always appear before the public with a good image and have works to show off, you will become an idol. To get attention, you need to create some topics, but…” He shrugged and said, “Right now there’s no topic suitable for our protagonists. Scandals won’t work; our movie’s main market is students, and they won’t like it if their idols are involved in romances. So,” he looked at Wang Yang with a grin, “Boss, you’ve got to be careful.”

Everyone laughed, although they had no clue who this young boss might be dating. But who would think that a young and wealthy man had no girlfriends?

“You’ve reminded me of this many times,” Wang Yang rolled his eyes. Sometimes Mark-Slant acted like his agent, wanting to manage everything. What could be the solution? A sunny and youthful image, appearing before the public, exposure… Wang Yang thought long and hard until a spark of an idea flickered in his mind, then suddenly a plan popped up. His eyes snapped open, and he exclaimed, “Mark, contact the TV stations!” Mark-Slant asked in confusion, “What?”

Wang Yang organized his thoughts and slowly explained, “We could collaborate with TV stations to launch a short segment teaching dance, lasting 10 minutes or even just 5 minutes each day. For a month, we teach the audience some very simple basic dance steps. Of course, it would be Tom, Jessica, and the other main actors teaching, wearing outfits from ‘High School Musical’, smiling, healthy, youthful, sunny, idols!” By the end, he was smiling with satisfaction.

Mark-Slant spread his hands indifferently and said, “Yang, a 10-minute or 5- minute spot every day, even on local Los Angeles channels, isn’t cheap; and if you’re talking ABC, NBC, forget about it, it’s prohibitively expensive.” Wang Yang shook his head, “Not advertising, a collaboration.” Mark-Slant was unmoved, “The TV stations probably won’t see this as a ‘collaboration.’ Why would they let the cast of ‘High School Musical’ go on to teach? They can find their own people. Yang, this is basically advertising, unless you’re willing to pay a hefty advertising fee, no one will bother with you.”

Wang Yang fell silent for a moment, and upon calm reflection, he indeed realized he had been too wishful in his thinking. Television networks were never short of programs and viewership, but “High School Musical” lacked exposure. After pondering for a while, Wang Yang finally said, “Let’s make contact first and see how much it costs, if the price is right, then it’s feasible.” Simon-Willis asked, “Boss, what’s your budget?” Wang Yang said, somewhat uncertainly, “Five million?” Mark-Strang immediately shook his head and cooled his enthusiasm, “Yang, with that budget, you might only get one minute a day for a week.”

“OK, Mark, we’re just testing the waters.” Wang Yang closed the promotional plan with a huff and stated decisively, “Let’s just try it, even if there’s no cooperation with the TV channels, or if the cost is too high. We are still going to produce this program and broadcast an episode on the official website every day, then promote it through viral marketing.” He turned to Simon-Willis and instructed, “We should also get in touch with those schools that participated in the test screenings, to broadcast it on their campus TV stations, which I expect won’t cost much, right?”

Mark-Strang laughed and said, “Boss, that sounds more realistic.” Simon- Willis also nodded in agreement, “That should be no problem.”

The preliminary promotional plan was set, and the specifics would be handed over to the distribution department. Today’s meeting about “High School Musical'”s distribution strategy was nearly at its end. Mark-Strang looked at Wang Yang and asked one last question, “Yang, you know that after the movie is edited, it needs to be sent to the MPAA for review, and then copied and transported, so we need to finish editing by mid-April. Yang, is three months enough?”

Wang Yang smiled and answered, “I don’t know, the editor is very important.” He asked the production department manager, Sandy-Pikes, “Sandy, how is the contact going?” Sandy-Pikes replied, “I’ve already called the Editors Guild, and they’ve recommended some candidates, we can schedule meetings tomorrow.” Wang Yang sighed, “Oh, looks like we’re about to get busy again.”

The meeting then moved on to the financial status of the company, and only at the brink of dozing off did Wang Yang finally see it conclude. Leaving the company, he drove to Ms. Robert’s recording studio to pick up Jessica for dinner and a date. Jessica, Rachel, and other lead actors were there continuing their singing training, especially practicing the songs from the movie, preparing for upcoming recording sessions.

In the parking lot outside the recording studio building, Wang Yang saw Jessica standing prettily, waiting. He slowed the car down and eased up beside her, opening the car door and smiling, “Hey, beautiful, coming in?” Jessica glanced at him and seriously shook her head, “No, I’m waiting for my boyfriend.” Wang Yang shrugged, smiling, “I think that’s me.” Jessica smiled sweetly, “Seems like it.” With that, she got into the car.

Wang Yang wasn’t in a hurry to start the car. Watching her comb her hair, he smiled, “Jessica, the release date for ‘High School Musical’ is set.” Jessica turned to him, her hand pausing in her locks, curious, “When?” Wang Yang playfully suggested, “Guess?” Jessica’s eyes spun in thought, smiling, “Hmm, I think… I can’t guess.”

“April 28th,” Wang Yang laughed.

“Oh!” Jessica nodded, then suddenly frowned, and muttered to herself, “April 28th, April 28th…” It dawned on her that that was the day of her long-awaited 18th birthday. Her face lit up with surprise, “Yang, really?” Wang Yang nodded, smiling, “Of course, it’s one of your birthday gifts, you got to know early.”

Jessica’s heart instantly filled with sweetness, and she leaned over to give Wang Yang a peck on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck, happily giggling, “Yang, thank you.” Then she looked concerned, “But is that release date suitable?”

Seeing her so happy made Wang Yang feel delighted as well. He held her waist, laughing, “Of course it’s suitable, perfectly suitable, just in time to beat ‘Idle Hands,’ ha ha!” Gazing into Jessica’s eyes, he earnestly said, “Jessica, thank you for your decision.” This was the first time he had seriously talked to Jessica about ‘Idle Hands’. The girl’s choice had moved him deeply.

“Yang…” Jessica shyly looked away, admitting, “Sorry, I did hesitate. I didn’t know what to do and almost got persuaded by Miranda… God, I feel so foolish!” Her cheeks reddened slightly.

“It’s okay, Sweetheart. But in the end, you chose me, didn’t you?” Wang Yang smiled at her reassuringly. Seeing she was still somewhat troubled, he tenderly added, “Come here, I want to kiss you.” He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other tenderly cradling her face, leaning in to kiss her lips softly. Jessica smiled back faintly, her lips parting to meet his, slowly growing more passionate.

Just as the two were about to lose themselves in a deep kiss, Wang Yang suddenly caught sight of a suspicious figure ahead and stopped abruptly, alert, “Jessica, I think there might be paparazzi!” Jessica was taken aback, “Where?” She followed Wang Yang’s gaze and indeed saw a middle-aged man with a long-lens camera around his neck not far in front of the car, who appeared to be searching for something.

Wang Yang took another look at the Caucasian man, remembered something, and said, “I recognize him, I saw him under my apartment this morning, damn, he’s been following me! I have no idea if he’s caught anything yet.” He instantly rolled down the car windows, thankful that the car was fitted with one-way glass; otherwise, if the kissing scene with Jessica had been captured, it would definitely be the entertainment headline tomorrow, which could disrupt the promotional plan for “High School Musical”.

Since the outside couldn’t see in, Wang Yang kissed Jessica fervently once more, then started the car, speeding away quickly.