The Best Director

Wang Yang followed Natalie into the coffee shop, where few customers were present, and no one noticed or recognized either the “phenomenon-level director” Mystical Yang or the “Star Wars Queen” Natalie. The two sat down in a somewhat secluded comer, ordered two cups of coffee, and then looked at each other in silence.

“Your forehead is bleeding,” Natalie said calmly, looking at him. His forehead had a large gash, from which blood continuously flowed, staining his eyebrows red. A not-so-fierce contest? She was actually very curious about what had happened, but she didn’t want to ask.

“Oh…” Wang Yang felt it too, burning hot, probably because the high-speed run had caused the wound to split open again. He wiped it and said, “It’s okay, it will stop if I press on it for a while.” Looking around, he picked up the blue- striped napkin on the coffee table, wiped the blood off his face, then rolled it up and pressed it to the wound, shaking his head with a smile, “I haven’t been injured for a long time. I was really careless this time.”

Natalie said nothing but muttered to herself, Does this guy get into fights often? It seems he was expelled from the University of Southern California for fighting, leading to wrongful accusations. Looked at Wang Yang again, she thought, “What a hothead.” Yet, she felt a peculiar yearning as if an inner voice was saying, I wish I could be beaten to a bloody pulp too!

With his left hand pressing the wound on his forehead, Wang Yang opened his black briefcase with the right, pulling out a thick stack of paper bound together, and said to Natalie, “Miss Portman, this is the script for ‘Juno’.” “OK,” Natalie said, taking the script with interest. The reason she came here and waited an hour for Wang Yang before leaving was to see this script. She was very interested in the topic of teenage pregnancy. In fact, just a few days before, she had received another invitation for a film called ‘Sweetheart’ by Fox Company, also about teenage pregnancy. Seventeen-year-old Novalee, pregnant for some time, elopes with her boyfriend to California but is heartlessly abandoned by him en route in Oklahoma. The strong-willed Novalee gives birth in a Walmart store… That story was intriguing and tempting to her, providing a completely different life experience.

So when Natalie heard about the story of ‘Juno’ on the phone from Wang Yang, she found it interesting. Two films about teenage mothers had sought her out one after another, almost as if it were fated.

Opening the ‘Juno’ script, Natalie began to read seriously, slowly turning the pages, getting so engrossed that she didn’t even notice when the waiter brought their coffee.

Wang Yang waited quietly, sipping his slightly bitter coffee, watching Natalie’s face, feeling a bit bored, thinking, “She seems to have grown up all of a sudden, yet she’s not as cool as Mathilda from ‘Leon: The Professional’…” His gaze shifted away, and he yawned while supporting his forehead, feeling somewhat sleepy-not from tiredness but out of sheer boredom. He took another sip of his coffee, but it didn’t seem to have a refreshing effect; on the contrary, it made him even sleepier…

The dialogue was interesting, and Juno’s character was even more appealing… The more Natalie read, the more interested she became. The story and style of ?Juno’ were completely different from ‘Sweetheart.’ ‘Sweetheart’ mainly revolves around Novalee’s life after the birth of her child, with themes like a woman’s strength and courage, respect and love for life, discovery of beauty, and happiness around one; while ‘Juno’ focuses on the entire pregnancy period, which is also Juno’s coming-of-age story.

What fascinated Natalie even more was the character of Juno. Compared to the strong, kind, and beautiful Novalee, Juno stood out as unique. She loved gory horror movies and rock music, was straightforward and careless, unmindful of others’ gazes… Her every act and mannerism was interesting and had a special charm, seemingly a whole new image on screen. This was something Natalie had never encountered before, which made her eager to try.

“Mr. Wang, what do you mean by how Juno should be played?” Natalie looked up at Wang Yang across from her and paused in surprise, seeing him leaning on his hand with his eyes closed, dozing off. She watched him silently for a moment, noticing he was sleeping soundly, then called out again, “Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang.” Wang Yang suddenly jerked his head up and said with his eyes wide open, “Oh, what? I’m here.” Natalie chuckled a bit and said, “Mr. Wang, did you come to New York to sleep?”

“I was just thinking,” Wang Yang said shaking his head with a smile. He had just been watching ‘Black Swan’ in his mind. He gulped down a large mouthful of coffee and asked, reenergized, “I got a bit too engrossed. What did you just say?” After Natalie repeated her question, Wang Yang explained, “Well, Juno is a fascinating girl, her tone of speaking should be a bit rough, but not too much; she’s the kind who talks big and tough but is soft inside…” He gave some more explanation, but feeling it wasn’t clear enough, he simply said, “I’ll demonstrate, just watch.”

Wang Yang cleared his throat, gestured with his hands, and performed in a high-pitched voice, “Babies already have fingernails, fingernails!” Although he tried hard, his acting was still terrible, let alone trying to play a unique girl, so the outcome was predictable.

Natalie across from him listened attentively, watched earnestly, but couldn’t help but want to laugh at his comical performance, although she understood roughly what he was aiming for. After he was done, Natalie nodded and said, “Right, I’ll give it a try.” She flipped the script back to the first page, read a line of dialogue, then knitted her brows, and acted out in an irritated tone, “To hell with it, Bananafish, can you shut your mouth?” Afterwards, she exhaled a bit irritably.

“No, it’s still not enough,” Wang Yang shook his head, giving his opinion, “The expression is still a bit too demure; the tone needs to be more impatient, but not irritable; a bit ruder, more candid…” He shrugged and said, “Let your other side come out!” This was also one of the reasons he considered Natalie, knowing that this girl had a quiet side, but also a crazy one that would slowly reveal itself, like in ‘V for Vendetta’ when she shaved her head—that was just one example.

Anyway, what he needed to see was the other side of this Gemini girl; not the Natalie Portman of the past. But not too much-no need to reach madness, just a suitable degree would be fine.

My other side? Natalie’s heart skipped a beat, as if she felt seen through. She silently glanced at Wang Yang, feeling an urge to ask “What is my other side like?” After thinking for a while, she started her performance again with an expression full of impatience and annoyance, scolding with a voice that seemed angry, “Damn it, Banana, can you shut your mouth?!”

Seeing her expressions grow richer, Wang Yang nodded and said, “That’s almost the feeling, you just need to let go a bit more…” Natalie then performed twice more and adjusted to the effect he wanted. After that, she spoke several lines in the same context, all very impactful, making him reflect, “Truly a genius-level actress.”

“Right.” Just as Natalie was eagerly wanting to continue with the audition, Wang Yang suddenly remembered something, picked up a briefcase beside him, opened it and took out an unopened plastic tobacco pipe, an important prop that highlighted Juno’s character. Handing the pipe to a somewhat puzzled Natalie across from him, he said, “Try it, Juno likes to keep a tobacco pipe in her mouth, even though she doesn’t smoke.”

Natalie nodded, took the pipe, tore off the packaging, fiddled with it a bit, then put it in her mouth and playfully bit it, performing an indifferent expression. The feeling was not bad; it had her unique flavor. Wang Yang watched her, as if encouragingly saying, “Swear a bit, erm, that vulgar word, you know, the one that describes a woman as very…” Natalie directly stated flatly, “Bitch.” Wang Yang spread his hands, “Yes.” With one hand supporting the pipe by her mouth, Natalie looked at Wang Yang and said indifferently, “You’re such a sleazy bitch.”

“Oh, thank you,” Wang Yang replied innocently with a smile, then seriously suggested, “Try the part where Juno tells her parents she’s pregnant?” Natalie seemed to be in character as Juno the whole time, holding the pipe, casually flipping through the script on the table, and gave an OK.

Since Wang Yang was an hour late, they didn’t talk long before it was time for lunch. The two went to a restaurant on the same street for lunch, and talked for a long time in a coffee shop in the afternoon before ending the meeting. No definite result was reached; Natalie Portman returned home with the’ Juno’ script, while Wang Yang went back to the hotel where he was staying.

As for whether Natalie was suitable to play Juno, Wang Yang would say she was. Certainly, her acting style differed from Ellen Page’s, but he never had the intention of “finding a copy of Ellen Page.” The charm of great actors lies in their uniqueness-there is only one Ellen Page, and only one Natalie Portman. This is like two directors making a movie from the same script, or two editors editing the same film; the outcomes will never be exactly the same.

If he were to proofread against Ellen Page, there wouldn’t be anyone suitable; the comparisons should only be made in terms of acting ability and understanding of the role. In the brief half-day, Natalie demonstrated aspects of the role that were the best of the thousands of girls he had auditioned. In terms of acting, she easily grasped what he was looking for, and in her understanding of Juno, she was particularly convincing. She brought up many of her own ideas and opinions, not fully agreeing with his suggestions- perhaps this was the depth of an outstanding actor.

In any case, Wang Yang couldn’t deny that among the actresses he had worked with, Natalie was the most impressive. Rachel fell a bit short in terms of acting skills; and Jessica… it was somewhat understandable; in his head, back in the world of 2011, Natalie had won an Oscar for Best Actress, while Jessica had won a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actress. Wang Yang shook his head, breaking his own train of thought, and told himself, “My sweetheart is still young; as long as she doesn’t take on bad scripts, just keeping on improving slowly is fine.” After taking a hot shower and changing into a set of clean, comfortable clothes, Wang Yang took out the medicine he had just bought to treat his wound. The disinfection was so painful that he grimaced and cursed, “Damn you, Cole, bastard, scumbag…” Soon after dressing the wound, he received a phone call from Mark Strong.

Standing on the balcony, looking at the street scene outside, as night was nearly upon them and the streets were more crowded. Hearing Mark Strong inquire about the results, Wang Yang leaned on the railing and said into the phone, “It’s alright, she’s not my ideal Juno, but she is an ideal Juno. She has her own style and interpretation.” He suddenly felt oddly compelled to ask, “Mark, why are you so tense? You’re not getting Natalie’s commission. “Haha,” Mark Strong laughed on the other end, saying, “Actually, both my wife and I are fans of Natalie Portman. We really like that girl, haha, she was terrific in the ‘Star Wars Prequel’.”

“So you’re such a fan of Natalie?” Wang Yang couldn’t help rolling his eyes and said in mock seriousness, “Mark, don’t bring personal preferences into work.” “Boss, you’re wronging me. Isn’t Natalie an outstanding actress?” Mark Slant grinned as he denied this, adding mischievously, “Actually, there’s an even more important reason. Boss, you’ve had a scandal with Natalie, and that’s good for the publicity of ‘Juno’. With Natalie playing Juno, we won’t have to worry about a lack of attention.”

Scandal! The word soured Wang Yang’s mood and he said sternly, “Let me make it clear in advance, no matter who plays Juno, I will not fabricate a scandal to hype the movie. It’s the most boring way of promotion!” He paused, then added, “That kind of tactic will never, ever, be part of the publicity plan for any of my films.” But he understood that if Natalie played Juno, a scandal wouldn’t need to be manufactured, the media that grasped at straws would naturally spin it convincingly.

In the same New York night sky, in a beautiful neighborhood in Long Island, at the Hershlag home (Natalie’s birth surname is Hershlag; Portman is her grandmother’s surname), Natalie sat at the desk in her room, puffing on that plastic pipe, frowning at the two scripts laid out in front of her, one was “Sweetheart” and the other was “Juno”.

To her, the script for “Juno” was more attractive, more interesting; “Sweetheart” was also a good script, but the character and image of Novalee seemed so ordinary-kind, strong, optimistic, etc., a sweetheart who embodies many positive traits but faces adversity, and ultimately still finds happiness; Juno felt fresh, Juno’s casual behavior, her way of speaking, all made her eager to try it.

However, Natalie was very clear about one thing, which her agent had told her numerous times: a script is just one aspect, and it can be deceptive. Many times, what looks like a good script and character turns into a terrible film when made; and sometimes what appears to be a dull, surpriseless script can become a good film.

The reason is simple, a film is not equal to a script, it’s not just segments of text, it’s not just a few spoken lines. It includes the shooting of scenes, the performance of actors, improvisation on set, post-editing, scoring… everything can affect a film, and sometimes the script just feels pale. Hence, whether it’s a good script or a bad one, there are piles of them in movie companies, and the same script can result in two completely different films.

Ultimately, it depends on who is the director, it depends on the director’s ability.

Looking at the segments of text in the “Juno” script, Natalie bit down hard on the pipe, and the image of that young face covered in blood vaguely appeared in front of her-Wang Yang, the Chinese-American director just a bit older than her. Did he have the ability to transform this script into a good movie? She remembered “High School Musical”, although the content and story were boring, and the actors were so-so, the entire film had a consistent style, was very sunny and comfortable, and was shot very well…

Natalie then recalled the advice from her agent: “Wang Yang is a very talented young man, and he currently has a high popularity. Given his age, even if the film fails, no one will really blame him, let alone you. But with your current fame, you could totally get safer film offers. Working on Magic Yang’s film will neither benefit nor harm your career-it’s up to you to choose. However, I must remind you that you have a scandal with Magic Yang, and if you take the role in ‘Juno’, the scandal is sure to be never-ending.”

“Scandal? Boring…” Natalie grimaced, clearly disdainful. She didn’t care about any scandal—it was purely a boring matter. She would not include “worrying about a scandal” in her factors for considering film roles, and besides, she didn’t care. She didn’t even know if she would stay in the acting business long term, as there were too many other things she wanted to do.

Of course, right now acting was her favorite thing to do. She loved good, interesting stories, and she yearned to be part of those good stories. If there was a role she really wanted to play, and it was snatched away by someone else, she’d go crazy. Besides, college was about to start, and she wasn’t planning to take any roles, except for one reason—”interest”.

Natalie propped her chin with her hand and stared unblinkingly at the two scripts on the desk, clearly mesmerized by the subject of a girl’s pregnancy and even more captivated by “Juno”.

What would happen if she took “Juno”? Suddenly, Natalie thought it was also important whether she could get along with the film’s director. She didn’t want to be bossed around by someone she disliked. In fact, this year she starred in another film for the 50-year-old Chinese-American director Wayne Wang, “The World of Heart”, which was a very pleasant experience; Wang Ying was like a father to her. But these two seemed unrelated, could she get along with Chinese-American directors?

Natalie reflected on her encounter with Wang Yang that day: tardiness, violence, rudeness to women, dozing off… a bunch of bad impressions but why did she feel somewhat amused? It was almost as if a voice echoed in her ears, “Release your other side!” She muttered to herself, “My other side? Juno, maybe…”

In the hotel, Wang Yang comfortably lay in bed under the covers, with the telephone receiver in hand, and a hint of smugness in his voice, “Jessica, today I got into a fight.” Jessica’s voice came through, full of surprise, “What?! Yang, are you okay? How did you end up in a fight?” Wang Yang laughed nonchalantly and said, “Ha, it’s a long story, I’ll tell you slowly. But first, guess who I fought with? It was Cole!”

Now that he talked about it, he felt a sense of relief, saying, “The son of a bitch, I knocked out at least three of his teeth, haha!” Jessica, however, sounded very worried, “Yang, did you start the fight?” Wang Yang paused for a moment before hesitatingly mumbling “hmm” and said, “Don’t worry, we don’t have to be afraid of him. Jessica, what happened today was really infuriating; given another chance, I would knock out five of his teeth…”

The very next morning, Wang Yang got up as usual, and after exercising, he headed to a street newsstand. Looking at the variety of magazines and newspapers, it was dazzling. He casually flipped through the latest entertainment newspapers and let out a sigh of relief; there was no news about him. Wang Yang casually bought a few movie magazines and then returned to the hotel.

All morning, Wang Yang was working on the storyboard script for “Juno,” which made him lose track of time. Before he knew it, it was already afternoon. As he continued to work on the designs intently, his cellphone rang. Wang Yang pulled out his phone and saw it was a call from Natalie Portman; he answered, “Hello, Miss Portman.”

“Hello, Mr. Wang, I think I have made a decision.” Natalie’s voice sounded firm and confident, “I am willing to take on the role of Juno.” Hearing this, Wang Yang couldn’t help but smile, stood up and walked to the balcony, responding with a cheerful “Oh, that’s great!” Natalie then said, “But Mr. Wang, you know, I have to start university at the end of the month, and I don’t want to miss any classes, so I hope the shooting for ‘Juno’ can be postponed to June of next year.”

“What?” Wang Yang stopped in his tracks, frowning tightly—shooting during the summer break next June? It seemed he needed to look for someone else. He pondered and said, “Um, Miss Portman… that’s really unfortunate.”

On the other end in Long Island, Natalie’s brow also furrowed, and she felt a twinge of anxiety. From the moment she made her decision, she realized how much she longed to play the role of “Juno,” but pushing back the filming wasn’t just about attending school. Her tone slowed, “Mr. Wang, listen to me, the reason I want to shoot in June next year is more important— I need time to study the character of Juno. She’s unique, and quite challenging, and I want to do my best.”

Natalie’s voice was sincere. Wang Yang reflected seriously as Natalie continued, “But honestly, Juno’s personality, her psychology, the evolution of her mindset, her behaviors, and so on—I need to analyze and research all these aspects. In the next six months, I will try to portray this role in my daily life, and I believe that after half a year, I will become Juno.”

In the end, she stated with confidence, “So, I am hoping to get this role, I am confident I can fully embody her.”

Wang Yang was silent, but Natalie’s words reminded him of something. Why had he auditioned so many actresses but failed to find the ideal Juno? Probably for this reason—Juno was a challenging role. To play her well wasn’t a matter of a day or two, nor could it be achieved by his mere guidance. Even Ellen Page, who took close to half a year to prepare, spent that time befriending pregnant teenagers to talk to them, study and mimic their walking postures, and so on-site came close to getting pregnant herself.

Damnit! Wang Yang frowned, wondering if he had been too presumptuous before. “Juno” wasn’t a handheld-camera film like “Paranormal Activity” that could be done in a week; nor was it an idol movie like “High School Musical” that did not emphasize acting skills. “Juno” relied too heavily on its protagonist, but the actresses who could play her had to be young and their experiences and acting skills immature. Even a genius-level actress would need ample time to grasp the character.

If he rushed the production, even Ellen Page might not perform well, right? As these thoughts crossed his mind, Wang Yang hesitated. Could it be that he really had to wait nine months before shooting “Juno”?

PS: For the missed update yesterday, Wo Li once again offers sincere apologies. Also shamelessly asking for monthly tickets, as I’m about to fall to seventh place, such a tragedy. Everyone, give Wo Li a boost! Give Wo Li a boost!!