The Best Director

Hearing Natalie’s resolute voice on the other end of the phone, Wang Yang couldn’t help but burst into laughter while he continued his stroll down the shaded path, laughing heartily, “Thanks, but… don’t believe in me. Really, don’t, haha! I can’t do it. I’ve just found out that over the years, only three people have been nominated for Best Director for a sci-fi movie, and here I am trying to shoot a sci-fi film! Damn!”

He loved studying film, but he wasn’t that concerned with the historical details of the Oscars. He continued to laugh and said, “Who were those three people? Stanley Kubrick, wow! 2001: A Space Odyssey! You know that movie, its spaceships, computers… how should I put it? It’s incredible, incredible! Then George Lucas, oh! Star Wars! Hello, Her Majesty Queen Padme! Incredible, incredible, I’m actually on the phone with The Queen…”

“Ha!” Natalie suddenly laughed as well, then seriously said, “But you’re not bad either, you’re Magical Yang! Padme tells you, brave Naboo people never say ‘I can’t do it’, never!”

Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile to the phone, “Sorry, Your Majesty, I’m just an ordinary Earthling.” They both laughed for a while, and he slowly calmed down, smiling, “Well, everyone is encouraging me, so what the heck! I’ll eat this box of chocolates, I eat, I eat, I eat, and eventually one of them will be Best Director.”

“That’s right, just go for it! Actually, winning an Oscar doesn’t really matter, um, I mean for someone of your caliber, not mine.” Natalie said with a sinister giggle before she seriously continued, “Yang, don’t put too much pressure on yourself, okay?” Wang Yang hummed in agreement, about to say thanks, when he heard her add, “Psychological pressure will make you age prematurely, turn you ugly, and even lead to a ‘really can’t do it’ situation.”

Really can’t do it? Wang Yang kept walking, his brow furrowing in confusion. Natalie continued on the other end, “Actually, I kind of hope you end up like that, then get dumped by Jessica. Me? I don’t care about appearances, 8-pack abs are great, but 1-pack is fine too; I could do without sex, might even save a lot of trouble.”

Wang Yang understood what she meant, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes, laughing, “You know why I treat you like a gay friend?” He paused, then exclaimed loudly, “That’s why!” Natalie laughed carelessly, then said, “Buddy, your voice right now is making me happy, I’m going to use that line!” Wang Yang laughed, “OK, happy birthday! You’re one year older now, be good!”

Natalie made a cheeky whistle and said excitedly, “One more year! After one more year, I can go to nightclubs and drink openly, I’ll drink, I’ll drink, I’ll drink… fuck those bitches up!”

“Your Majesty, please watch your image!” Wang Yang quickly exclaimed with a laugh, then shook his head, wondering how to describe her. He laughed, “No more talk, I have to go to work now, thanks for your lame encouragement!” Natalie on the other end said, “Hmm, bye, come visit New York when you have time.” Wang Yang declined with a laugh, “No thanks, I was locked up in New York for a month last year, that was enough, I’ll go there to complete the ‘releasing’ procedure in September. My friend, goodbye!”

Despite all the external commentary about the Best Director issue, Wang Yang still maintained his attitude that doing his job well was most important! And the most pressing matter at the moment was the acquisition of a special effects company. He held his phone, dialing a number when he suddenly furrowed his brow again, spotting a paparazzo not far ahead with a long lens camera snapping photos of him.

“Hey Mark, have they arrived?” Wang Yang looked expressionlessly at the paparazzo while listening to Mark Strant’s words on the phone. After a while, he nodded, “Okay, I’m on my way.”

Finding a suitable special effects company to invest in was a recent focus for Flame Films, which included putting out feelers in the industry to attract suitors, actively making contacts, and after careful selection and inspection by Wang Yang, Mark Strant, and Blue Sky Studios President Chris Wedge, they finally set their sights on a Canadian company called “Image-Engine.”

In 1995, Greg Holmes and his partner Christopher established Image-Engine in Vancouver. Its scale is not large, mainly handling visual effects for TV commercials; its only film and TV work is the TV series Stargate SG-1. But since Stargate started airing in 1997, it has received rave reviews, and its special effects have also been praised by fans. Image-Engine’s work included some post-production compositing and modeling, among other things.

Its main compositing software was Digital Domain’s Nuke, the rights to which they had purchased. Maybe they weren’t using it as well as Digital Domain, but their redevelopment and use of Nuke were definitely commendable. In terms of modeling, the first step of turning 2D drawings into 3D animations, Image- Engine had considerable experience not to be underestimated.

But all in all, it was still a very small company. Although it was called ” Image – Engine”, it lacked a powerful 3D visual engine and didn’t have technologies like hair and skeleton generation… it wasn’t capable of handling the special effects for District 9.

That being said, this was normal. If they directly acquired a capable special effects company, the price would definitely skyrocket, and others might not be willing to sell. They were interested in Image-Engine for its potential for growth; its current staff came from all over the world—Canada, America, New Zealand, China… from over a dozen countries with very diverse backgrounds. They continuously recruited talent from all over, showing that the company was willing to innovate and explore.

Company founder Greg Holmes wasn’t some tech maniac, but a person adept in the art of management. Years of work had given him a wide network of contacts, including many rising stars in the industry like The Matrix’s senior technical director Sean Walsh, motion graphics company director of computer graphics research Peter Wools. In his words, “I could spend a month to recruit a mature, film-capable visual effects team and a top-notch technical development department. But I need funding.”

And Flame Films could provide the funds; Blue Sky Studios could share technologies such as 3D engines and hair and skeleton generation, along with Chris Wedge’s network. The two companies could complement each other and jointly establish a super 3D special effects animation technology research and development department.

Therefore, Wang Yang decided to acquire Image Engine and infuse it with capital, to recruit and build a top-tier team, purchase existing software technology, and expand it into a thriving and emerging special effects company.

Greg Holmes was naturally very pleased with this, as with the funding, he could carry out the development plans he had long contemplated. Originally, according to his plan, Image Engine would need at least five more years of steady accumulation before it had the chance to slowly develop. But now, with Flame Film’s abundant funds and ambitious acquisition, Image Engine was propelled forward by five years, or even ten.

He also brought his company’s team from Vancouver to Los Angeles to discuss the specifics of the acquisition and investment. The investment part didn’t require much discussion—once Flame Film became Image Engine’s largest shareholder, it wouldn’t simply neglect it, contradicting its own purpose for the acquisition; the key lay in the details of the acquisition, including the proportion of equity, the purchase price, whether to relocate the office, the future salary and benefits, and whether there would be any layoffs.

The plan from Flame Film was for Image Engine to be an independent subsidiary post-acquisition, operating independently, with improved salary benefits and no layoffs; regarding the office location, it would remain in Vancouver, as that’s where the newly-started filming stage was constructed. With a host of post-production studios there for editing, scoring, and more, coupled with Image Engine’s special effects production, there would be no need to commute back and forth.

However, a new joint venture company (Blue Sky and Image Engine) or the technical research and development department, would be established in New York.

Greg Holmes and others were very satisfied with this plan, so now the focus on the negotiating table was the purchase price. Flame Film aimed to acquire 85% of the shares for less than $6 million, also bearing the diluted partnership shares resulting from the recruitment of talents, but not exceeding 25%; $6 million might not seem much, but it was quite fair for Image Engine’s current situation, and the real expenditure was in the post-acquisition investment expansion, naturally making the original shareholders’ stocks more valuable.

Despite the fairness of the price, finalizing the negotiations still required time; it wasn’t something that could be resolved in a day or two, firstly because contract details had to be hammered out slowly; secondly, because of a normal behavior — “playing hard – to- get.”

“Hey, Robert!” Standing before the floor-to-ceiling glass in the study and looking into the dark night outside, Wang Yang smiled into the handset, “What do you think? I’m currently negotiating an acquisition with ‘Image Engine.’ Interested in joining us? We could use a big shot like you to hold the fort.” The person on the other end was indeed Robert Zemeckis, this time attempting to persuade the Best Director to join the special effects company.

“Haha!” Robert Zemeckis laughed heartily, “Yang, I’ve seriously considered it, but I think I’ll pass.” Wang Yang let out a disappointed “Oh” upon hearing this, and then Robert jokingly said, “I’m pretty happy with my life now; the older you get, the less you want change. Hahaha! Kid, you know I want to take some time to rest, spend time with the family, and think about my next movie project.”

His tone became a bit excited as he continued, “I’ve told you about my plan to make a full-length 3D movie shot entirely with IMAX film; now I’ve got a new idea, to capture actors’ performances with motion performance capture technology, and then fully transform them into 3D animations with CGI technology! Real performances, but it’s animation… Kid!” He sighed before laughing, “That’s really cool!”

Wang Yang nodded in agreement, “Yeah, obviously.” The first full-length IMAX film with live-action capture converted to 3D animation was indeed cool; this was what was termed “playing with technology.” Robert no longer needed to prove anything to the world; he just needed to enjoy the fun of filmmaking.

Robert Zemeckis then said from the other end, laughing, “I’ve been talking to Warner Brothers these past few days, they’re very interested in my plan and are willing to invest up to $200 million. But I still don’t know what story to shoot!” He laughed heartily for a moment and then added, “I think it should probably be a children’s story? But there’s no rush, I need to enjoy my vacation now. If your special effects company needs it, I can introduce you to some people; they’re authorities in the industry.”

“Of course! That would be wonderful.” Wang Yang couldn’t help but smile gratefully, as having Robert join the company would undoubtedly be very beneficial, as his network would directly benefit the company; even though now it was just an introduction, it would still be extremely helpful. He said with a laugh, “My company needs so many things, especially talent in motion capture…”

The two chatted for a while longer before ending the call. Wang Yang then browsed some special effects information on the computer for a while; seeing that it was late, he left the study and went to the living room, where upbeat hip-hop music was playing. There, he saw Jessica focusing intently on practicing street dance. The weather was hot and the exercise intense, so she was dressed very lightly, a white crop top and checkered shorts adding to her sexiness.

“Hey, Jessica!” Wang Yang called out with a smile, clapping his hands a few times, “You’re doing great!” Jessica turned and smiled at him, continuing to dance to the rhythm of the music, flipping her hair and swaying her curvaceous waist. Watching her, Wang Yang stayed put, a thought suddenly striking him, recalling Natalie’s words from that morning. No way? Impossible!

His eyes shifted, and he walked over, feigning confidence, “Babe, as the ‘Dance King’ here, I can tell your moves could be better! Stop for a sec; let me show you how it’s done.”

“Since when were you the Dance King?” Jessica asked breathlessly, eying him with skepticism. Wang Yang pretended to be shocked, moving casually, “I’ve always been! Didn’t you know? I had the nickname ‘Prince of the Dance’ in high school!” And with that, he moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her; Jessica immediately understood his real intention and brushed his hands off her waist.

She turned to glare at him, laughed, and said, “Get out of here! Don’t distract me; I still have half an hour of practice left! Go away, or I’ll lose to Scarlett in tomorrow’s competition.”

Seeing that she was serious, Wang Yang helplessly bit his lip, kissed her fiercely, and then retreated back towards the study, pointing at her and saying with a laugh, “Just you wait, I’ll be back in half an hour!” Jessica blew him a kiss, waving and laughing, “Bye-bye!” She then continued to dance.