The Best Director

Dusk had fallen, and the streets were brilliantly lit. In the balcony of a hotel room, Wang Yang sat in a wicker chair, forehead slightly furrowed, twisting the little Rubik’s cube in his hand, but obviously, his mind was elsewhere, merely fiddling aimlessly with it.

A month had passed since the crew of “The Pursuit of Happyness” began shooting. Over the month, the crew had shuttled between San Francisco and Oakland, advancing the filming of outdoor scenes and portions involving transportation vehicles every day. The overall progress of the film’s shooting had also reached nearly halfway. Although both were film movies, compared to “High School Musical,” the difficulty of shooting this movie was much higher in every aspect.

For scene settings, “High School Musical” was mostly contained to the school, homes, and a few other places, without street scenes, city chases, or the use of buses, taxis, subways, and other transportation means; whereas “The Pursuit of Happyness” incorporated all of these. The difficulty that these scenes brought was first manifested in the filming conditions: the crew needed to block off roads, shoot in the subway, and even replace the blue seats on the bus with beige ones… All of this required communication with street vendors, subway companies, and so forth.

During shooting, these shots were a completely new experience for Wang Yang. Sitting in the camera car, following the driving taxi, the camera was shooting Will Smith inside the vehicle, twisting the Rubik’s cube. To help Will master the cube, the crew even had a Rubik’s cube expert come teach him; regarding the acting aspect, it went smoothly. Will Smith and Terry Smith had a real father- son relationship, their warmth didn’t require acting, it would naturally reveal itself in front of the camera; Terry Smith really acted in his true colors, often “performing” even better than his dad, Will Smith.

To get a more emotive performance from the two, Wang Yang first completed all the scenes involving Chris’s wife “Linda,” and then Jada Pinkett Smith took Jaden Smith back to Los Angeles ahead of time, creating the atmosphere of Will and Terry being “abandoned.” However, today during the filming of a scene in the subway station bathroom with Chris and his son, despite many takes, Wang Yang was not satisfied. He always felt something was lacking. Will Smith’s expressions and mannerisms seemed to be in place, but Wang Yang felt that Will wasn’t invested enough, that he could perform better.

Putting down the Rubik’s cube, Wang Yang took out his phone and dialed a number. Gazing at the faintly visible moon above, the moment the call connected, he smiled and said, “Hello, Mr. Zemeckis, this is Wang Yang.” Instantly, a hearty laugh from Robert Zemeckis came from the phone, “Ha ha, Yang! What’s the puzzle this time? Or just looking to chat?” Wang Yang laughed softly and said, “Actually, there’s indeed a puzzle.”

Ever since they met at a charity dinner, where Wang Yang got to know this Best Director and his personal idol, whenever he was puzzled about something related to filmmaking or directing, he would often communicate with Robert Zemeckis. Robert was always very enthusiastic, guiding him without reserve like a teacher. Recently, because of the shooting, Wang Yang had consulted Zemeckis several times, and he was like a free remote producer, letting Wang Yang learn a lot.

“It’s like this, I want to ask, how can I make an actor’s emotions more invested?” Wang Yang posed his question and then explained, “Today I filmed a set of shots where Chris comes to the lowest point in his life, unable to pay the rent, he and his son have to spend the night in a subway bathroom… I always feel Will’s performance lacks that little something, maybe because of his level of emotional investment. I’ve explained a lot, but it’s been useless.”

Robert Zemeckis on the other side thought for a moment and said, “Kid, that little something you think is lacking might not be related to acting at all. You know, in a film shot, there’s not just the actor. Sometimes a prop can play a bigger role than an all-out performance.” Wang Yang listened intently and responded, “Mm, like the feather in ‘Forrest Gump.'” Zemeckis laughed, “On the scale of a whole movie, acting is just one element, the editing of the shots, the music, all these give value to the performance. We’re not in the era of silent films anymore. Try watching a movie with the sound off, you won’t feel as much.”

“Also, an actor’s performance is often in our hands. We communicate with the cinematographer, with the editor, a front close-up shot, and he gets the Oscar; a side close-up, he gets a Razzie.” Zemeckis joked before continuing, “Why is a movie directed by the director? Because we control the entirety of the film. I don’t mean to say acting isn’t important. We all know the importance of acting; but don’t think that you’ll have the best film effect on the shooting site. That’s impossible. The little thing you feel is lacking is outside the site.”

Wang Yang nodded silently. He seemed to have indeed relied too much on individual performances and forgot that performance is complementary. This was true for biographical dramas as well; a film doesn’t end with the actor’s performance. The design of the shots, the language of the camera, post-production editing, these are all part of the director’s “performance,” with the director in control of the entirety of the film.

“Of course, the better the performance can be, the more we should strive for excellence. That’s our duty as directors.” Robert Zemeckis chuckled before answering Wang Yang’s initial question, “You asked how to make an actor more invested? Since no matter how you explain it, you still feel that Will isn’t invested enough, you might try getting him to stop thinking about Chris and just think about his own life, about the things that are worth being sad about, as long as it’s the emotional effect we need. Oh, you’ve tried this, haven’t you?” Wang Yang nodded, “Mm, we’ve tried it.”

There was silence for a few seconds from Zemeckis, then came a new idea, “Play music!” Wang Yang was startled, “Play music?” Zemeckis laughed as he explained, “Yes, take a recorder or something and play it on set, select appropriate music to drive Will’s emotion.”

Play music? Wang Yang’s eyes lit up. Music can definitely drive emotion; “Gloomy Sunday” could even lead to suicide; this method sounded really good! He laughed, “Alright! I’ll try that tomorrow. Thank you, Mr. Zemeckis.”

The two chatted for a while longer before ending the call. Wang Yang put down his phone with a smile, stood up, stretched his arms and yawned, feeling very good. He found that every time he talked with Robert Jimenez, he gained new insights and understandings, both in experience and in his grasp of cinema. He was far behind by comparison.

At that moment, his phone rang from the wicker chair. Picking it up, he saw it was Jessica calling. He answered the phone while walking over to the railing, saying, “Hi, Jessica? Good evening.”

“Yang, good evening.” Jessica’s pleasant voice came through, her tone brimming with excitement. “We’re wrapping up shooting tomorrow.” Wang Yang exclaimed, “Wow, I’ve still got at least a month to go.” He then heard her happily say, “Yang, I’ve noticed that the number of NGs I’ve had is much less than it was for ‘High School Musical 1’. Do you think it’s because my acting has improved, or because Sara’s demands are lower?” Wang Yang laughed heartily and said, “It’s definitely not the latter, I’m very sure! My outstanding performance, in such an insignificant role, and still Sara NG’d me 10 times. She’s much stricter than me.”

Jessica laughed joyfully for a few moments, then paused. Suddenly, in a soft voice, she asked, “Is it okay if I come to San Francisco to see you?” Wang Yang thought for a moment, then agreed, “OK, you come. But Jess, you know I’m the producer and director, I have to take care of almost everything on set, so I won’t have much time to spend with you.” Jessica quickly clarified, “I know, I just want to see you. You needn’t worry about me, I’ll leave after one day. Yang, I miss you. It’s been a month and a half since we’ve seen each other.”

As he listened to her tender voice, Wang Yang could almost see her sweet features before his eyes, and he felt a warm sensation in his heart. He spoke into the phone, “A month and a half? You mentioning it now makes me realize it, how terrifying…”

In the subway station restroom, paper towels were strewn over the tiles near the door, surrounded by a scanner, suitcases, and other items. Will Smith sat against the wall on the paper towels, with Terry sleeping on his lap. In the small restroom, aside from Valery Fest shooting close-ups with his camera, only Wang Yang was there, holding a recording device that was playing a gentle and sad instrumental tune.

Will Smith looked dazed with slightly reddened eyes and his mouth trembling slightly. Wang Yang lifted the other hand holding a walkie-talkie, his voice extremely soft, “Knock on the door…” The restroom door was then knocked loudly from the outside. Will Smith looked at the faded restroom door with a look of bewilderment and agony on his face, covering his son’s ears with his hands while bracing against the still-knocking door with his foot. His head jerked back and forth, and tears streamed down from his bloodshot eyes.

Wang Yang’s heart skipped a beat. Watching Will Smith’s silent weeping performance, he clutched the recording device tightly, exclaiming inwardly what a great shot it would make! Unlike the original version, Will’s silent weeping could be captured in a close-up rather than a wide shot hastily ending the scene. It wasn’t until Will Smith was tear-streaked, his head resting against the wall as he looked up at the light fixture above, that Wang Yang happily shouted, “Cut! That was fantastic!” He also excitedly praised, “Will, that was an award-winning level performance!”

Valery Fest, receiving the cue to stop shooting, pressed the camera and also grinned with praise, “Will, I’m almost moved to tears myself; your acting is very touching.”

“Hey!” Will Smith said with a laugh as he wiped the tears from his face, let out a long sigh, and said, “Just now, I felt completely like I was Chris, fully in character, man. It’s the first time I’ve felt like that!” He looked at Wang Yang and, with a thumbs-up, smiled, “The music is great!” Terry, lying in his arms, asked curiously, “Dad, are your tears real?” Will patted his hair and replied, “I think so.”

Wang Yang chuckled and said, “See that, Terry? That’s what’s fun about acting, what’s fun about movies.” As he spoke, he walked further into the restroom, calling out to Valery Fest, “All right, let’s shoot some more wide shots!” He then instructed Will Smith, “Will, just like before, finally look up at the light fixture. That shot was good.”