The Best Director

“This is motion capture technology,” Professor John Wolf said as he watched the staff member demonstrating in front of him, making hand gestures. “First, we attach sensors to the actor’s body, then according to the script’s demands, have him perform a variety of actions.” He pointed and continued, “The cameras capture his movements, which are then transmitted to the computer, so we can see the effects in real-time.”

The vast, empty studio was filled with dark backdrops, and in the midst, a Caucasian man in a black form-fitting suit covered in white sensors was dancing under the dim yellow lights. Around him, three infrared cameras were arranged in a triangle, capturing his every move.

Wang Yang and about ten other students followed him to a computer nearby. Professor John Wolf sat down on a chair, clicked the mouse a few times, and on the software window on the screen appeared a green three-dimensional model that was moving, mirroring the actions of the man in the black suit. Professor Wolf said, “This is just the beginning. If you’re aiming for animated characters, you’ll need to use other drawing technologies…”

It was mid-March by then. By mid-February, the 73rd Academy Awards nominations had been announced, and as the media had predicted, Natalie Portman was nominated for Best Actress, becoming the first post-80s actress to receive an Oscar nomination. Overnight, she received countless praises, not only seeing a surge in her fan base, but she became America’s new sweetheart. If not for her studies, she would be the most popular and sought-after girl in Hollywood right now. Even so, she effortlessly graced the covers of several magazines, running neck and neck with “presumptive Oscar winner” Julia Roberts.

In the Best Actor category, Will Smith was smoothly nominated, competing for the honor of Best Actor against his two main rivals, Russell Crowe and Tom Hanks. Will had always been extremely popular, particularly among teenagers, and this result naturally thrilled his fans. Just last year Will was trampled by the Golden Raspberry Awards, but he did not falter; he quickly made the best comeback: an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

His fans were clamoring, “Will should take home the little gold man”; Fire Flame Films’ PR department was also not slack, and with Will Smith’s personal connections, many newspapers and media outlets joined Will’s camp, rallying support: “His performance is flawless!” “This is the legend of the Black community, the best portrayal of the American Dream, the stories of Chris Gardner and Will Smith are moving…” “He will end the years of white dominance in the Best Actor category at the Oscars, becoming the second Black Best Actor after Sidney Poitier!”

Apart from the Best Actor nomination, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ also garnered nominations for Best Art Direction, Best Original Score; ‘Juno’ received nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song.

Missing out on a Best Director nomination, Wang Yang caused a small upset. Although many media outlets and the public had already guessed this outcome, many were still very dissatisfied, denouncing the Oscar jury’s antiquated conservatism, unchanged for decades.

In 1989, the 26-year-old “wunderkind director” Steven Soderbergh won Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival for ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’, but at the Oscars the following year, the 27-year-old prodigy only received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay; in 2001, 21-year-old “Baby Director” Wang Yang similarly followed suit, despite being the youngest nominee for Best Director at the Golden Globes.

However, this year’s 38-year-old Steven Soderbergh, once a prodigy, set records at the Golden Globes and then at the Oscars with two films, ‘Erin Brockovich’ and ‘Traffic’, earning two nominations for Best Director, becoming one of the hot favorites; does this mean that the magical Yang will also have to wait 11 years to impress the Academy voters? By then he’ll be 32, still able to tie the record for the youngest winner.

Other nominees for this session included directors Ang Lee, Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”), and Stephen Daldry (“Living Out Loud”).

The United States doesn’t have only the Golden Globe Awards and the Oscars — the multitude of different sizes of film awards can be mind-boggling. Those contenders who sweep the awards often can’t even keep track of how many they’ve won. Starting with various associations’ awards, there are the Producers Guild, Directors Guild, Screen Actors Guild, American Society of Cinematographers, Writers Guild… plus numerous critic associations from Los Angeles, New York, broadcasting and others, along with an assortment of awards like the Saturn Awards and the Young Artist Awards.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” and “Juno” both raked in many award nominations, almost mirroring the Oscars; on a personal level, Wang Yang also received at least a dozen Best Director nominations from various associations, with the weightiest being from the Directors Guild, which serves as the most important bellwether for the Oscars Best Director. In the 53-year history of the award, its recipient has only differed from the Oscar winner four times, and this year the winner was Ang Lee.

Regardless, Wang Yang was out of the running for Best Director at this year’s Oscars — but what about next year? Naturally, that would depend on the films he released this year, but to the disappointment of movie fans, the man known for “high-speed production of quality films” abruptly stopped to return to his studies at the University of Southern California, seemingly without any intention of directing. Of course, he still had a new production plan, a youth dance movie “Sweetheart,” which was exciting news for movie fans, especially those who loved musicals.

“A really cool girl, a bunch of cool young people — I believe ‘Sweetheart’ will be loved by all,” Wang Yang said. When fans read this statement and then, just a few days later, saw Flame Films announce that Jessica would take the lead role of “Sweetheart,” their expectations soared. Surely, Wang Yang wouldn’t let his girlfriend star in a bad film, right?

However, some gossip media assertively claimed that Jessica was very angry because Natalie won an Oscar nomination for “Juno,” and Wang Yang’s production of “Sweetheart” was intended to appease his girlfriend’s emotions. “From the name of the movie, you can tell that it’s their love show. But clearly Wang Yang doesn’t have much confidence in this movie, which is why he chose not to direct but to produce instead,” they said.

Indeed, Wang Yang wasn’t sure if “Sweetheart” would be a big hit, but he was absolutely confident and would give his all in production. Regardless of whether he was trying to please his girlfriend, he wouldn’t allow himself to mess it up, which is why he chose not to direct. But in that month, he racked his brains every day to refine the script of “Sweetheart” and visited many hip-hop bars and other places for ideas, all while recalling the paths to success of similar movies in his mind.

The script and tone of “Sweetheart” grew closer to completion day by day. When March 1st came around, progress suddenly slowed because the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts was officially inaugurated. As one of the sponsors, Wang Yang happily attended the opening ceremony; and the following day, he swapped his suit and leather shoes for a trench coat and sneakers, returning to being an ordinary college student, spending his days on the University Park campus and evenings back at his home in Beverly Hills.

Digital effects and movie technology were the main areas Wang Yang wanted to learn about. Of course, he was a director, not a special effects artist or programmer, so he wasn’t there to learn specific computer software techniques, but rather how to craft and shoot a movie. This knowledge provided inspiration when creating storyboards, enabling a director to consider what special effects techniques could achieve certain visuals, as well as how to cooperate with special effects artists.

In just a couple of weeks, he had understood and learned loads of special effects techniques, such as miniature model shooting and image compositing, which he was already familiar with. But his real gain was getting to grips with both new and old digital technologies. Digital technology represented a revolution in film, genuinely freeing the director’s mind — in this era, practically any scene could be produced with the right budget.

Computer graphics, motion capture, virtual filming… yet he didn’t just immerse himself in the Digital Art Center. With no intention of pursuing a degree, sometimes he would stroll over to the post-production center sponsored by George Lucas and named after his wife, Marcia Lucas, to audit and learn. Although the University of Southern California is most famous for its directors, it didn’t prevent him from learning many other things. Filmmaking is a collaborative art, and the more you know about the whole, the more control you have as a producer and director.

After half a month, he found it incredibly beneficial; he felt like Mario who had just eaten a super mushroom and leveled up. If he suddenly wanted to make a blockbuster with special effects, he wouldn’t have any cluelessness about how to direct it.

“Jessica, have you noticed that you have a few mannerisms you like to do when you’re acting?” Wang Yang, sitting on the couch, looked at Jessica intently, his eyes gazing upwards as he said, “This is the first one.” Then he twisted his neck from side to side and laughed, “This is the second, but you’re more flexible than I am.”

Jessica laughed with a look of puzzlement, “Isn’t that a good thing? I never pay attention to those things; it’s just how I act.” Wang Yang laughed heartily and said, “That’s not surprising; you do the same when you talk normally. It’s not about good or bad; it depends on the situation. When crafting different characters, you can’t use the same little gestures all the time—where’s the distinction then?” Jessica silently nodded, then rolled her eyes with a slight shrug, “I know, I think I need to work on my facial expressions skills.”

“Look, there it is again! Your eyes, and…” Wang Yang laughed, shrugging as he said, “That’s the third one.” Jessica furrowed her brows and held her head with both hands, widening her eyes as she exclaimed, “It seems I have to do this!” Wang Yang chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, saying, “Jessie, cutting back on some of your body language can make you appear more natural, and I think you know this better than I do. What I mean is about the power in your performance…”

In the past month, every evening they would play their little “director and actor game,” where he supported her acting training, offering personal suggestions and opinions; they also discussed “Sweetheart,” jointly developing the character and transforming her from a heap of text into a silver screen persona. After a month, whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that Jessica’s acting skills had greatly improved; of course, as she herself had said, she had been pretty good even a month ago, although not as astounding as Natalie, and certainly different from her time in “High School Musical” over two years prior.

After practicing a bit more, they wrapped up their game for the evening. Wang Yang picked up the remote and switched on the TV, which blasted with energetic voices the moment it turned on. The screen showed basketball players passionately thumping their chests, “NCAA National Championship, the first round has officially kicked off! Who will continue on the path to the championship…” Wang Yang turned to Jessica excitedly and said, “Oh, that reminds me, USC is playing against Oklahoma State at home tomorrow, let’s go watch!” He sighed with anticipation, “Wow, this year is really exciting!”

He loved basketball, the NCAA, and USC. Having been back to college life for half a month, his passion for this trio had suddenly returned. It was the first time since his enrollment at USC for the Trojans to make it to the national championship. It would also be his first time experiencing the thrill of March Madness firsthand.

He had already made his Final Four prediction on his blog earlier in the year: Michigan State, Illinois, Stanford; and for the East region, he didn’t choose the heavily favored Duke, but rather USC. This pick was partly emotional but also rational; USC had not made it to the championship round for several years, and all Trojans had been champing at the bit. Returning to the top 32 this time, the team’s morale was high, and they were sure to achieve great things.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Jessica replied with a warm smile, looking at the TV screen with interest, “I’ve never been to an NCAA game live. I was invited to a UCLA game before but turned it down.”

“What, UCLA!?” Wang Yang suddenly exclaimed in shock. Jessica stared at him blankly and said, “I didn’t go.” Wang Yang nodded solemnly, then burst into laughter, patted her shoulder and said, “Good for you! Never support UCLA! Those sons of bitches…”

USC and UCLA have always been bitter rivals in the same city, competing in every aspect and each believing itself superior to the other. Especially in sports, whether it’s football, basketball, or others, the relations are intensely adversarial. In the week leading up to the annual football game between the two schools, UCLA would dub it “Beat-SC Week,” and both institutions would bolster their defense to prevent their school symbols from being vandalized by the other side. This has happened before, with USC’s Trojan statue and UCLA’s bear sculpture being doused in paint the color of the rival’s school.

There were plenty of other crazy antics and the verbal sparring never ceased, as when UCLA students termed USC “University of Second Choice.” Initially, Wang Yang just found this amusing and dismissive, because, in his mind, USC was the best college for film, with UCLA not even being the second choice, not when the New York University film school was better. He didn’t react much, though, because he thought everyone was there to learn, and facts spoke for themselves.

But a few years back, before he had been expelled, he had been openly mocked by a group from UCLA for USC’s basketball team failing to make the national championship. Although they could also mock UCLA’s football achievements, as a basketball fan, it was from that point on that he became sworn enemies with UCLA in the realm of sports.

Remembering those loud jeers, Wang Yang felt a surge of anger in his chest. He took a deep breath and said to Jessica, “Now you’re part of USC, remember, only Trojans! This will be our tradition!”

“Only Trojans!” Jessica nodded earnestly. She was aware of the rivalry between the two universities, even if she hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from him. But with her boyfriend being a USC man, she naturally supported USC too. She held out her palm to him with a look of contempt and shouted, “To hell with UCLA!”

With a slap! Wang Yang and she high-fived forcefully and he said with a laugh, “That’s right! We’ll take them down in the Elite Eight; unless that lousy bear team gets eliminated by another school beforehand…”

In the end, both USC and UCLA smoothly advanced past the first round. That evening at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC triumphed over Oklahoma State, 69 to 54. Wang Yang and Jessica screamed their lungs out in the stands and joined the victory celebration on the USC campus before joyfully returning home.

A few days later, USC was set to head to Boston to challenge Boston College on their home court for the second round of the competition.