The Best Director

The lobby of the Redstone Theater was as lively as if there was a party going on, with men in suits and women in evening gowns, everyone looking like movie stars, and of course, some of them were. Wang Yang and Mark Strong had just walked in when they immediately saw the familiar Lionsgate team, CEO Jon Feltheimer in his black suit, and acquisitions manager Tom Ortenberg, among others.

Jon on the other side saw Wang Yang as well. He smiled and waved, then walked over with Tom and the others, laughing, “Hey, Yang, where were you last night? I didn’t see you.”

“Hey, Jon! Aren’t you seeing me now?” Wang Yang gave Jon a light hug and then turned to face Tom Ortenberg, extending his hand, “Hey, Tom, long time no see, how have you been?” Tom shook his hand and smiled, “Not too bad. How well I’ve been doing lately all depends on the haul from this film festival.”

Everyone let out a chuckle, and, after exchanging pleasantries, headed into the lobby. Wang Yang and Jon were leading the way, with Jon curiously asking, “Yang, seen any movies you’re interested in? Planning to attend any premieres?” Wang Yang slightly shook his head and said, “I don’t know, I need to check today’s premiere list first. I haven’t looked at it, but ‘You Can Count On Me’ was pretty good last night.” He glanced at Mark Strong, who adjusted his black-framed glasses and took over the conversation, “If the price is right, we’re ready to buy it.”

In reality, both knew that the likelihood of ‘You Can Count On Me’ ending up in Flame Film’s library was very slim, unless their bid remained higher than companies like Paramount, but that would mean exceeding 5 million dollars. Besides, neither Flame nor Lionsgate could hide their intentions because independent producers or investors would leak the news and hype it up, to better negotiate and attract more attention. So there wasn’t much for them to be concerned about.

“‘You Can Count On Me’? That movie is good.” Jon agreed first, then frowned, “But the price is already a bit high, 3 million? Not worth it.” Walking towards the display area, Wang Yang joked, “You could buy it if Lionsgate wants an Oscar nomination.” Jon laughed heartily, as if he didn’t truly care for the movie and said offhand, “Laura Linney is excellent in it, she might indeed snag a Best Actress nomination, but Lionsgate’s top consideration is profit.”

Watching Wang Yang chuckle and chat with Jon, Tom Ortenberg couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. He remembered the scene in the company’s screening room less than two years ago vividly; the young man’s nervous yet confident demeanor, his persuasive words, and his trembling joy when he finally burst into tears. Back then, this young man was seeking distribution for his own film, and now he was distributing for others.

“I hope to get a share of the profits; your company doesn’t need to give me a dollar upfront!” Tom Ortenberg recalled that voice again, and each time he remembered it, he couldn’t help but let out a self-deprecating chuckle. ‘Paranormal Activity’ was his most successful acquisition, and also could be considered the most failed, — for the sake of reducing a risk by a few hundred thousand, he accepted that bizarre profit-sharing scheme and ultimately lost tens of millions. Truly foolish!

Arriving at the booth, Wang Yang picked up the list of today’s premieres and started looking through it, the booklet featured posters, synopses, and detailed information about the directors and actors. He flipped the page and saw a poster of a girl wearing boxing gloves, eyes fierce, throwing a punch — ‘Girlfight’! It was the debut film of female director Karyn Kusaina, budgeted at 1 million, with an unknown newcomer, Michelle Rodriguez, in the lead role… Michelle Rodriguez? Wang Yang looked at the girl on the poster, furrowed his brows for a moment, and then he remembered who she was—Trudy, the female pilot from ‘Avatar’! He really liked the wild, fierce vibe that actress brought, very untamed and attractive. After scanning the film’s synopsis, he turned the page to the next movie, which seemed to be a series of overlapping photographs on the poster, titled ‘Memento’, directed by Christopher Nolan. Wang Yang’s eyes suddenly lit up. If he remembered correctly, the director of “Inception” was Christopher Nolan. He searched his memory and confirmed it was true. Moreover, “Memento” was in the film library. He had not seen it, but the movie had high acclaim and was also a box office success, taking in $25.54 million in North America and $39.72 million globally. However, in its opening week, it was shown in just 11 theaters, and at its peak, it was only in 531 theaters.

“Yang, got any ideas?” Jon Phil DiMeo, who was also looking at the list, asked. Wang Yang put down the booklet in his hand, and since there was nothing to hide about which movie to watch, he replied with a smile, “I’m planning to see ‘Memento.’ The introduction to the film seems very interesting.”

Jon looked at the information in his hand and said, “Oh, ‘Memento,’ a thriller… Not bad, I’ll go see that too. I like horror films.” He looked up at Wang Yang with a smile and added, “It always brings luck to Lionsgate.” Wang Yang shrugged and walked ahead with Mark Strong, while Jon told Tom Odenkirk to see another movie, and he went to see “Memento” with a film rights acquisition marketer.

“This is Christopher Nolan’s second film; his first, ‘Following,’ cost $6,000. Wow…” Jon exclaimed in surprise, looking at the information in his hand, “How did he manage that? Oh, there were no actors’ fees; it was all his friends acting during weekends, and it took a year to film. The movie had a good reception at film festivals, and Newmarket invested $5 million in him, and then ‘Memento’ happened. $5 million?” Wang Yang nodded and said, “5 million.”

This meant that to purchase all rights for ‘Memento,’ including theatrical distribution rights, DVD rights, and so on, one would have to pay at least $5 million to Newmarket. For an independent movie, that was no small sum, and the price was unlikely to be just $5 million. Newmarket would definitely be looking to profit before selling, so the price would be at least $6 million or more, which was certainly a prohibitive amount for film companies. From the information in Wang Yang’s mind, he knew that Newmarket ended up distributing the film, evidently because no other distributors were interested.

“$5 million, unless the movie is fantastic and very suitable for screening, I wouldn’t fight you for it,” Jon said with a shake of his head and a smile. Wang Yang laughed it off indifferently, “That’s good then!”

While talking, everyone walked towards the auditorium where ‘Memento’ was premiering.