The Best Director

At the 72nd Academy Awards, just as most media had predicted, “American Beauty” became the big winner, sweeping up the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. It garnered nearly all of the most eye-catching awards, making Sam Mendes the sixth director whose debut work won the “Oscar for Best Director”. Additionally, at the age of 34, he also became the second youngest in Oscar history, just behind Norman Taurog, who won at 32 for “Skippy”.

Two years earlier, no studio was willing to invest in “American Beauty”, but it was Steven Spielberg’s keen eye that recognized its potential. DreamWorks’ investment allowed the film to proceed smoothly. Now, having triumphed, it became another classic in film history, and Sam Mendes rapidly ascended to stardom. Mendes’ face was seen on the front pages of nearly all cinema newspapers and magazines. The image of Spielberg smiling as he personally handed the Oscar statuette to Sam Mendes even became a cover photo for many.

The media had already begun dubbing him “Steven Spielberg’s successor”. Mendes’ brilliance overshadowed Hollywood for a time, with limitless prospects and the label of the next great filmmaker… However, some media pointed out that for Sam Mendes, what really mattered was what he would choose for his second film, to prove he wasn’t just a “one-hit director”—a serious challenge he couldn’t avoid.

The top-grossing film of 1999, “Star Wars Episode I”, failed to win a single award, losing out to “The Matrix”; and another big sell, “High School Musical”, left empty-handed as well. The award for Best Original Song went to “Tarzan”. David Lawrence could hardly mask his disappointment, while Wang Yang didn’t really care. He had guessed as much. How could the serious and conservative Oscars possibly hand over a little gold man to a youth campus film, even if it was just for Best Original Song?

Before attending the Oscars, Wang Yang felt excited and hopeful. But after the experience, he never wanted to do it again. He spent the entire day outside the venue, dealing with the media and participating in events. In the evening, he sat through the entire night at the Kodak Theatre. Everything should have ended well with the award ceremony, but then came the “Vanity Fair” Oscar dinner party. Almost an unavoidable event to attend upon receiving an invitation, all the winners, nominees, and invited guests would go. It had become a “tradition.” Not attending was not only an offense to “Vanity Fair” but also disrespectful to the winners for your absence to congratulate them.

Wang Yang knew he had no thoughts of disrespecting anyone, but others didn’t know this; there was no need for his image to become that of “the proud loner”. He was a producer, a director, he needed to interact and get to know people from all walks of the industry. So despite mentally shouting “I just want to go home!”, he still attended the Oscar dinner party with Jessica, who was equally exhausted.

The saga didn’t end there. Although famished enough to devour several big hamburgers, in front of the lavish food at the banquet, Wang Yang, Jessica, and all the other stars and celebrities, including Best Actress winner Hilary Swank and Best Actor winner Kevin Spacey… no one started eating. Being surrounded by media journalists meant that any “ungainly” eating could be captured at any moment and be reported on with demeaning headlines like “starving ghost” or “lacking in manners”, causing a big blow to one’s personal image.

Wang Yang didn’t aim to be an idol star, but personal image triggers a chain reaction, affecting the company’s image and movie publicity. Until he reached the level of “I’ll die if I don’t eat right now”, it was better to hold back! Once the dinner party ended, he and Jessica couldn’t wait to get back into the stretch Lincoln and awkwardly devoured the family meal pack bought from a nearby McDonald’s by their assistant. They ate ravenously while muttering, “To hell with the image!”

Next, attend another celebration party? Have a sleepless night? That was indeed the choice of many stars, but Wang Yang chose to go home, lie down comfortably in bed, and get a good night’s sleep, before continuing the post-production of “The Pursuit of Happyness” the next day.

Editing with Margaret, creating the score with Jan Kaczmarek, and making some manual adjustments to the light and color of the images with Valery Pfister, Wang Yang lived every day in busyness. By mid-April, all the post-production work finally ended within the expected timeframe. The 120-minute theatrical version of “The Pursuit of Happyness” was born, and the total production cost was ultimately locked in at 32 million US dollars.

These 120 minutes were infused with the effort and dedication of countless individuals. Compared to the original, the overall structure of the story hadn’t changed much. It still revolved around Chris Gardner’s struggles to make ends meet, his desolation, and his final success. But the rhythm and details differed significantly. Chris’s time spent homeless was given more emphasis, along with more real-life details and emotional evolutions that made the overall story feel natural and full-bodied, devoid of any rushed conclusion. In the scoring, Jan Kaczmarek truly deserved the title of “Best Score.” His grasp of the imagery and emotions were of a master’s level. The lively strings, the tender and melancholic piano, as well as a few strokes of genius with a children’s choir, all elevated the design of the scenes and the actors’ performances to the maximum.

In terms of color grading, the well-coordinated Valery Pfister knew exactly what Wang Yang had in mind. The two adjusted everything according to the style they had set from the beginning. At first, the imagery was like the sun on a clear autumn morning, slightly yellow, warm yet with a hint of solitude. It then gradually became darker, slowly brighter again, until finally, when Will Smith, with tears in his eyes, walked through the crowd, overcome with unspeakable joy, it was as if the sun had broken through the clouds, and there was nothing but warmth and happiness in the sunlight.

There were also the heartfelt performances by Will Smith and his son, the meticulous recreation of the streets and attire of San Francisco in 1981… and Wang Yang’s own emotions. This film not only portrayed the life and heart journey of Chris Gardner but also his. In the scene where Chris seeks payback from Wayne, Wang Yang added a line where Wayne shouts at Chris, “You’re a loser, we all are. Forget about the 18 bucks, man, find the job you’re supposed to and stop dreaming.” It echoed the words that Harry George had once yelled at him.

Wang Yang felt that the current version of “The Pursuit of Happyness” was the highest level of work he could produce thus far, and the story now was the highest level of narrative and expression he could communicate. He gave himself an A+, Will Smith an A+, and everyone in the crew an A+.

Once everything was completed, Fire Flame Film Company, as usual, sent the finished film to the MPAA for rating. There was no swearing, violence, drug use, or sexual content in these 120 minutes. However, Wang Yang’s wish to receive a G rating was not granted; the MPAA assigned it a PG rating, suggesting parental guidance. The reason was the presence of scenes involving blood donation, a car accident, and seeking shelter – moments that could cause emotional distress to children, hence the need for parental support to understand them.

In reality, whether it’s G or PG made no difference to “The Pursuit of Happyness” because its target market was not children, but adults who understood what happiness and dreams are. Wang Yang’s desire for a G rating was just a greedy mindset of “pursue it if it doesn’t compromise the quality of the film”; upon receiving the PG rating, he wasn’t disappointed. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and decided not to worry about ratings from the start next time.

In early April, Flame Films had released the official trailer, which still featured Will Smith’s son prominently, along with scenes of the entire family appearing together. There were more dramatic scenes, such as Chris getting detained and hit by a car, making it even more exciting than the teaser trailer and raising fans’ expectations even higher. Another 30-second trailer aired on TV screens during the commercial break of the NCAA Championship final, Michigan State University vs. University of Florida; it only played twice, but Flame Films had to pay the broadcaster two million US dollars.

Wang Yang and Jessica excitedly watched the whole game on their living room sofa, rooting for the underdog, University of Florida, who had made it to the final. Wang Yang’s top four predictions had only left out Cincinnati University, and he had successfully bet on the dark horse Florida, earning a thumbs up from Jessica and convincing fans who followed his blog online. However, they were disappointed that the University of Florida didn’t make it to the end, ultimately losing the match 76 to 89, with Michigan State University clinching the national championship for the second time.

Regardless, the promotion of the movie was a success, nearly reaching a national viewership of 20 points, with the two long commercials during the breaks watched by audiences of 10 points—an extremely large group of viewers.

The Pursuit of Happyness’s aggressive advertising involved more than one aspect, with posters of Will Smith and his son displayed in transit and subway stations in key cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. While the posters didn’t cover every inch, they were almost at the point where “you could always see one somewhere,” naturally, the cost was not low. Together with the two million for the trailers and some city LED advertisements, the budget for the full aggressive campaign was eighteen million.

The total promotional cost for the movie was twenty-five million, with the remaining seven million spent on soft advertising. This included online viral marketing, Chris Gardner’s autobiography, and TV talk show appearances. The viral online marketing was the usual fare, stirring up conversations on various forums and communities about Chris Gardner and the movie. As Chris Gardner’s speaking tours grew in success and his autobiography topped The New York Times weekly bestseller list, the snowball effect became larger and uncontrollable. In the last surge before the release, Wang Yang, Will Smith, and other key personnel began making talk show appearances and doing interviews with newspapers and magazines. The distribution department at Flame Films was busy contacting outlets every day with a single goal: more interviews, more talk shows!

On Late Night Talk Show, Wang Yang and Will Smith, both dressed in casual outfits, were sitting on a red couch, with host Conan Obrien behind a wooden table beside them. Suddenly, Obrien asked with a laugh, “Will, how does it feel to receive the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor?” The audience immediately uttered a collective “Oh,” as Wang Yang and Will Smith both smiled. The talk show aimed to entertain, and teasing was one of the tools they used.

“I feel great, it’s a significant milestone in my acting career. I’ve placed the trophy in a display cabinet in my bedroom, hey buddy, it’s beautiful!” Will Smith said earnestly as if the Golden Raspberry were a great honor, his reverse response eliciting laughter from the audience. Conan Obrien wrinkled his nose and shook his head, saying, “If it were me, I’d throw it away, or at least not keep it in the bedroom. That smell would affect my sleep, now I feel like eating some berries, does anyone feel the same?”

The audience laughed and cheered, Will Smith smiled, and Obrien gestured with his hand to calm them before turning to Wang Yang with a smile, asking, “Yang, what was your first reaction when you heard Will got the Worst Actor award?” He immediately put on a shocked and scared face, changing his voice as he said, “Oh my God! Oh no, it’s over, my movie’s lead actor just got a Razzie, wow, what to do?”

“No, no…” Amidst the audience’s laughter, Wang Yang denied it repeatedly with a smile, spreading his hands and laughing, “I don’t want to talk about the Golden Raspberry anymore! OK, in fact, I had no reaction at the time, just one thought.” He glanced at Will Smith beside him, remembered those 120 minutes of footage, and figured, what’s there not to say? He laughed and said to the audience, “Is there any leading man who nabbed a Raspberry this year and gets an Oscar next year? I think there will be.” The audience burst into laughter and gasps, and Will Smith also pretended to be shocked while Wang Yang loudly said, “I know how amazing Will’s acting is, and you’ll soon find out too!” “Oh! Wait a minute, hold on!” Conan O’Brien raised his hand to stop the clapping audience, looked at Wang Yang with interest, and said, “What did I just hear? Yang, are you saying Will could get an Oscar? Is that your expectation for ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’?”

Having said that, if ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ failed, both he and Will would become the butt of jokes; but would it fail? Wang Yang nodded confidently and said, “Yes, that’s my expectation! I could say more, but I’ll leave more for the movie theaters.” Conan O’Brien uttered several impressed ‘woahs’, pointed at Wang Yang, and said to the audience with a smile, “This guy is cocky, I like it— I’m not worried about my ratings now!”

Wang Yang shrugged nonchalantly with a smile, and Will Smith grabbed him and whispered with a laugh, “Director, let’s take it easy!” After watching the movie as soon as it was completed, he was very pleased and confident in his own performance. He laughed and said, “But if we spill it all now, there won’t be any surprise, right?”

The audience immediately laughed and gave a non-stop round of applause, and many people whistled. Conan O’Brien looked serious and said, “Oh, such confident men! I can’t wait to see the movie.” Then, leaning forward and half-covering his mouth, he whispered, “Tell me, was what you just said true? Is the movie really that amazing?” The laughter from the audience grew louder, and Wang Yang and Will Smith laughed too. After a few seconds, Conan continued, “Alright, it’s time to talk about personal life—my favorite part! So, Yang, how are things going with Jessica?”

‘Late Night Talk Show’, ‘Tonight Show’, ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’… For recording these talk shows and interviews with various newspapers, Wang Yang, the Smith father-and-son, Chris Gardner, and the rest of the crew were running all over the place—spending a few days in New York, then off to Chicago, and afterward to Canada…

“It’s Wang Yang, that amazing kid!” Watching Wang Yang, Will Smith, and others on the small TV screen, Aaron Johnson was full of excitement. Being a black man himself, he had always liked Will Smith and also had a good impression of Wang Yang for saving little girl Brianna and now making a film about a black person’s biography. Watching the talk show, he would burst into laughter now and then. He turned to his wife on the other side of the couch and asked, “Hey, that guy is not bad! When is ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ coming out?” Without hesitation, she answered, “The 20th.”

“Oh, the 20th is just in a few days. Let’s go watch it!” Aaron Johnson picked up his five-year-old son sitting next to him, lifted him up high with both hands, and said with a laugh, “Hey, little man, we’re going to see this movie, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’.” Little Aaron immediately cheered excitedly, shaking his fists and saying, “Awesome! We get to go to the movies! We get to go to the movies!”