The Best Director

After spending a night at Mount Sinai Hospital, Wang Yang felt like he was back to himself, even though an annoying cold seemed to just be getting started. But that wouldn’t affect his actions; wearing a mask, and led by Rachel, Wang Yang arrived at what she called “the best place.” As he toured half of the small town and the little high school, he couldn’t help but excitedly proclaim, “This is it, the birthplace of ‘Juno’!”

The little town was indeed lovely, with countryside-style architecture that didn’t appear sparse. The width of the streets was also very suitable for the filming crew. As for the high school, it was quite ideal too. Although small in size, its environment and playground were serene, exactly the scene ‘Juno’ needed.

Rachel treated him in a very natural way, without the hot and cold attitude of before, just like before the Thanksgiving phone call. Wang Yang didn’t deliberately do or say anything special; he continued to approach her as a “good friend,” just like Michael Pitt, Zachary, Annie, and Natalie—speak when you should speak, laugh when you should laugh. That had always been his goal, to be a good friend.

However, those zealous phone calls he used to make, discussing various topics with her, Wang Yang wouldn’t dial anymore. He understood this; the girl he should be looking for now was named “Jessica.” As for Rachel, he didn’t think his charm was so great that this girl would keep being unable to find the feeling of love, always the “back-up.” Time would allow them to become real good friends.

A day later, Rachel went to Los Angeles ahead of time to prepare for the promotion of ‘High School Musical 2.’ Wang Yang also welcomed the ‘Juno’ crew in Toronto, including members of the production team and other staff, as well as main actors like Natalie Portman and Michael Pitt.

In terms of the production team, the photography, lighting, and sound departments were all from ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ crew, while positions like art director, set design, and makeup artist, Wang Yang chose some old buddies from ‘High School Musical.’ The cinematographer for ‘Juno’ was naturally Vale Fest again. After two movies, he went from an unengaged cinematographer to a somewhat famous one in Hollywood. To a certain extent, he was very grateful to Wang Yang, and the pleasant collaboration and built rapport made him turn down several film offers, just waiting for ‘Juno’ to start shooting.

As for what style and tone to use for filming ‘Juno,’ Wang Yang and Vale Fest had discussed it long ago. ‘Juno’ was to tell a serious story—a girl’s pregnancy, her experiences, her life decisions… But the way to express it couldn’t be serious, not even solemn, or else it would be ‘Sweetheart,’ or some other similar failed material. For instance, if ‘Juno’ were a book, even if it contained the Bible inside, the cover must be a hippie-style skull.

The original version of ‘Juno’ had many sub-themes, but one core element was about “celebrating women,” praising the strength and tolerance of women and the “bastardness” of men. Women mature earlier than men do; Juno and Paulie, step-parents Vanessa and Mark—they understand love, know how to give love, leading men to grow and move forward. This was also what Juno learned through her pregnancy; that’s why, in the end, she forgave Paulie and proactively gave her love… Anyway, Wang Yang wanted to shoot a different theme, and he didn’t believe all men were bastards. Men could also understand love and learn to give it.

Why was ‘Juno’ successful? What was its winning formula? The most important wasn’t the story or its core theme. In a way, its essence and that of ‘Sweetheart’ were no different. “Sweetheart” Novalee was just as strong and tolerant; abandoned by her bastard boyfriend, cheated by her deceitful mother, but she always knew about love and giving, eventually reaping her own happiness. Why was ‘Sweetheart’ praised but not a box-office hit? Because it was too solemn, it wasn’t cool.

The fact was that an ordinary audience member going to the cinema isn’t there to “receive a baptism” or with the mindset of “what I should learn,” they simply want to watch a terrific movie, and it’s a bonus if they can have some realization after watching it.

What makes a movie wonderful? The story, characters, visuals, music… it’s the entire film. To have its inner beauty discovered and appreciated, one must first deliver on these manifest wonders. And most ordinary audiences won’t delve into the interior; they will just say “it was very insightful,” yet those insights are merely platitudes that everyone knows very well and can recite at a moment’s notice, like ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and its dreams and pursuit of happiness, or the original ‘Juno’ and its strong and tolerant women.

What a movie needs to do is figure out how to interpret and package this simple message so that the audience feels “very insightful” after watching it. That’s the charm of cinema; that’s the role and ability of a director. Whatever ideas and thoughts you want to convey, don’t talk about them directly; everything should happen quietly, through the story, the characters, good music, editing, etc. Only then can it become a classic film.

The story of “Juno” isn’t complicated or legendary. What if you put Novalee into the flow of “Juno” and had her tell the story in her gentle way? It wouldn’t be interesting. The interesting and cool part is the character “Juno” herself— unique, full of personality, sharp-tongued, overflowing with an alternative charm. When she came to life on the screen, no matter what scene she was in, the audience would be captivated.

Therefore, the two most important aspects of this teenage pregnancy movie are, first, no matter what theme you talk about, don’t be serious and earnest; be cool. Second, is to sculpt and act out Juno well. As for the character of Juno, after seeing Natalie Portman’s latest performance, Wang Yang was not worried at all; the first point isn’t the actor’s responsibility,—every aspect of the film’s production should serve this goal, like the trendy and humorous lines in the script, and the film’s visual style and color tone on celluloid.

The outcome of the discussion between Wang Yang and Valerie Faris was still “sunshine.” The color tone of “Juno” should be like a winter-day’s sunshine- soft and textural light, which would lessen the severity of the story and warm the hearts of viewers. For the choice of shots, with the experience from “The Pursuit of Happyness,” it was tentatively decided to use a lot of close-ups and medium shots, naturally to highlight Natalie’s acting, and at the same time, this was the film’s style—small and warm.

“No, that’s not the right feel,” Wang Yang said, shaking his head as he looked at Natalie in front of him. He said to the stylist, Ellie Harper, “I need her to look very special. Right now she’s just…” His gaze returned to the mirror, to the Natalie with her long hair draped over her shoulders, “She is just Natalie, without the flavor of the character. How about trying bangs parted to the side, with a ponytail at the back?” Ellie Harper agreed and started to work on Natalie’s hair.

In the spacious makeup room, character styling was underway. Since “Juno” is a contemporary real-life drama, this task was relatively simple. There was no need to design customized costumes or props, which is why they could tackle it just a few days before shooting. These days were also used for the actors to get familiar and coordinate, to arrange shooting permits for the locations, extras, and other tasks, including the current styling.

The styling for actors like Michael Pitt and Anne Hathaway was easily decided, but Natalie was facing problems. She changed hairstyles several times and Wang Yang was not satisfied. A character’s styling is essential—it affects the camera work and the acting. A good hairstyle can elevate acting, while a bad one can ruin it. If Juno was to be cool, then she needed a “cool” hairstyle.

Soon, Natalie’s hairstyle was transformed into an Ellen Page-like style, but with a much larger ponytail. Wang Yang had her stand up to try different shooting angles, frontal, side, etc. Again he shook his head, “No, it still makes your face look a bit big.” Natalie frowned, “Is my face really that big?” Wang Yang scrutinized her and said, “A little bit, yes, and your forehead too.” Natalie glanced at him, shrugged, and said, “Unless we’re shooting ‘Leon: The Professional’ now, it’s as big as it is.”

Ellie Harper smiled without joining in the banter and asked, “So, director, what do we do now? Shall we try a short haircut?” Natalie’s eyes lit up suddenly, and she excitedly said, “Guys, I have a great idea!” Wang Yang asked, “What?” She said seriously, “I’ll shave off my hair, then wear a mask like yours. How about that, cool, right?” Then she burst into laughter.

“Wow, that’s really cool, it sounds good!” Wang Yang tugged at his own mask and said, “But you won’t get this mask. It’s a limited edition. Ellie, shave her head!” Ellie laughed and said OK, picking up the scissors from the makeup table, while Natalie nonchalantly gathered her ponytail and handed it forward. Wang Yang chuckled, “All right, I think that’s too cool now; save it for when you do a horror film.” He looked at Ellie Harper and said, “Ellie, find a way to make her forehead and face look smaller. Maybe try some scattered bangs, and still keep some down the sides…”

Before long, Natalie’s hairstyle had changed again. Wang Yang, resting his chin in his hand, scrutinized her carefully. The bangs nicely concealed her forehead, but the long hair still made her look too femininely beautiful. He said, “Cut the hair at the back shorter, cutting it to a medium length to see.” Ellie Harper asked, “Are you sure? Once it’s cut, going back will require a wig.” Wang Yang nodded, “Yes, I’m sure.”

The sound of snipping echoed as Ellie Harper’s scissors gradually shortened Natalie’s hair. Wang Yang observed the process, commenting, “Shorter, a bit shorter…” Natalie blinked, feeling that he seemed more like a stylist.