The Best Director

Later, I want those tin houses to fall apart first, the roofs to be pulled up, followed by a mushroom cloud, and then the smoke starts to spread…” Wang Yang, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, looked at the tin houses and explained in detail the effect he wanted. Wendy Lusco, the head stunt technician, nodded from time to time. When Wang Yang finished, she said, “OK, I understand, no problem.” Wang Yang patted her shoulder in satisfaction.

Wendy Lusco walked towards the tin houses, commanding her stunt team. Wang Yang looked around; not far away Donnie sat in a folding chair reading the script, Valery and Harry and other cinematographers were discussing the upcoming shoot, and actors playing soldiers were getting positioning directions from the assistant director… He could join in on any one of these tasks, but instead, he noticed at the far edge of the set’s perimeter, between patrols of bodyguards, five or six black children under seven years old standing there, curiously watching.

Gazing at their innocent faces, Wang Yang walked over to Donnie, picked up a light blue canvas bag, and made his way towards the children. As he approached, the kids exchanged wary and surprised glances. Wang Yang pulled out some candies from the bag, handed them to the children with a smile, and said, “Hey, these milk candies are really tasty, try them! I hope you like them. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

South Africa has 11 official languages, including Zulu, English, Afrikaans, and countless more slang languages in the slums, but the children all nodded. The area chosen by the crew was one where the people understood English.

And, well…” Wang Yang dug into the bag again, chuckled, and like performing a magic trick, produced many little animal toys—woolly mammoths, squirrels, saber-toothed tigers… all character models from “Ice Age.” He said with a smile, “Here, have some cute animals.”

Ice Age” had finished its production, editing, and was in its final stages of dubbing. The release date was set for May 10th of the next year in North America, leading Flame Film’s charge into the 2002 summer box office. Despite skepticism from the market and media—given that animation companies not named Pixar, Disney, or DreamWorks found it tough going, with Fox and Sony taking losses—the idea of something from Blue Sky Studios wasn’t highly regarded.

However, Flame Film wasn’t paying attention to the naysayers. The promotional efforts for “Ice Age” were moving forward methodically. Introducing these toy models to the market was one of the steps, and the distribution department was also discussing the possibility of a tie-in with McDonald’s, such as an “Ice Age family meal deal.”

The children accepted the candies and toys, and when the first boy, about six years old, tore open the candy wrapper and put a milk candy in his mouth, the others let out an “Eish!” and cheered, all joyfully tearing open their candies and laughing merrily.

They’re all for you.” Wang Yang grabbed all the candy from the canvas bag to give away, and the children cheered jubilantly as they stuffed them into the pockets of their tattered clothes. He smiled as he watched the children’s delight, preparing to head back to the crew. Just then, the first boy who ate the candy suddenly asked with a smile, “Sir, what do you do?”

His face was somewhat dirty, with big round eyes that were huge and clear, filled with curiosity. Bending down to tousle the boy’s fluffy hair, Wang Yang smiled and said, “Director. I’m Yang, what’s your name? What are all your names?”

I’m Suo Duo!” the little boy shouted with a smile, and the other children also happily replied, “I’m Sao Wu.” “Aria!” Suo Duo looked curiously at the crew, wondering why there were so many people, the big trucks, the airplane… He looked up at Wang Yang and asked, “What does a director do?”

Well, a director is, um, someone who makes movies.” Wang Yang paused slightly, wondering how to explain to a child what a director is. He’d once thought that the projectionist was the director… He pondered for a moment and tried to say, “A director is like the supervisor of a movie, has to do everything…” A girl in a blue dress, named Aria, blinked in confusion and interrupted, “What’s a movie?”

Suo Duo, equally curious, said, “Yeah, what’s a movie?” Sao Wu and the other children also asked this question while eating their candy.

You’ve never seen a movie?” Wang Yang frowned, and seeing that the kids all shook their heads saying, “No,” Aria followed up with, “What’s a movie?” He fell silent for a moment—what is a movie? He didn’t know if there were any movie theaters in Soweto. Many people around there lived decently, with cars, television, computers, and phones; the towns had asphalt roads and shopping malls…

But the real slums, like this area, with their uneven muddy roads and tin houses, might only have one electrical device inside, a light bulb, or perhaps not even that. These children were only a dozen kilometers away from the prosperous Johannesburg city center, yet they had never seen a movie.

Wang Yang looked at the children’s curious eyes, smiled, shook his head, and said, “What is a movie? Sorry, I can’t answer that.” He patted Aria’s head and continued, “You’ll only know once you’ve seen one. But I can say this, movies are a beautiful thing.” He chuckled and added, “You all should watch a movie, every child, everyone should have the chance to see a movie…”

The children seemed to understand but not quite, while Aria was still pondering; Suo Duo opened another packet of milk candy, munching away as he asked, “My mom said you’re going to blow up our house, is that right?” His face was full of confusion, not understanding what an explosion was; just something that went boom, and then the house would be no longer livable.

Wang Yang nodded, replying, “Yes, but don’t worry, you’ll have a better house to live in.”

To speed up filming, the crew didn’t choose to build tin huts themselves; instead, they used the locals’ dwellings directly. Unexpectedly, the next house set for the explosion was Suo Duo’s home. Of course, Stephen Cauley had already negotiated with their parents, and the compensation was enough to build a new, single-story brick and tile house. They had already cleared out their belongings, squeezing into a relative’s place nearby.

Previously, for shooting some demolition scenes, such as using a bulldozer to crush the houses flat, or burning down illegally proliferating dwellings, the crew had destroyed many tin huts, but the locals hadn’t shown any hostility. Instead, they eagerly volunteered their homes, hoping to earn that handsome compensation.

Suo Duo!” Just then, a black woman emerged from the tin huts not far away. She saw the children and Wang Yang together and hurried over. Suo Duo, seeing his mother, happily ran towards her, pointing at Wang Yang with a laugh, “Mom, he gave us lots of candy!” Suo Duo’s mother, seeing the sweets and toys in the children’s hands, was immediately full of gratitude and said, “Sir, thank you! Thank you for the gifts, and sorry for disturbing your shoot.

It’s nothing, they’re lovely,” Wang Yang said with a smile, reaching into his canvas bag and pulling out a candy. He grinned at the kids, “Eish! I actually had one more, saved for myself.”

Aria, Suo Duo, and others all laughed heartily. After Suo Duo’s mother expressed her thanks multiple times, she led the children away. Watching the children walk a few steps away, Wang Yang suddenly had an impulse and called out to them, “Hey, guys, interested in seeing how a director makes a movie?”

The children turned their heads back in unison, jumping with joy and shouting back, “Yes!” and “I want to see!” Wang Yang couldn’t help but smile broadly and waved them over, “Then come on over, but you all have to be on your best behavior!”

With two bodyguards and Suo Duo’s mother accompanying them, the children stood behind the film crew, peering curiously at the people and things around them: the big man in fancy military gear, the heavyset man lugging around a black machine, a green-faced oddity… and then there was this guy coming over with a bandage dripping with ‘blood’ on his arm, beaming, “Hello, kids, call me Uncle! Uncle has candy for you… Where did I put my candy?”

In the open space in front of the tin huts, over twenty actors playing MNU soldiers were lying or standing, some hidden behind miscellaneous items and trees. At the sound of “Action!” from the loudspeaker, they immediately squeezed the triggers of their guns, the muzzles sparking with fire, a rapid “tat-tat-tat” of gunshot sounds ringing out, with casings strewn over the dirt.

These were prop guns firing blanks, naturally lacking any lethality, but they produced the sound and light effects of real bullets. This scared some children who were watching from afar, though Suo Duo and Aria watched with eager excitement. Suddenly, some soldiers stopped, rolling around and screaming in extreme pain. In the storyboards held by the special effects team’s animators, they were either being blown to bits of flesh and blood by mechs or left with half their bodies struggling.

These were quite graphic and violent scenes, but on-set, the children found it amusing and laughed. After they finished the performance, Wang Yang lifted the microphone and said with a smile, “CUT! Very good, that’s a wrap.” Suo Duo also laughed and yelled, “CUT!” as did Aria. Wang Yang couldn’t help but turn back and give them a thumbs up with a smile.

After completing that scene, they moved on to today’s most important shot with an explosion. The stunt team was all set, with explosives placed in a row of tin huts and devices behind them ready to create a mass of gray smoke.

Everyone, please take your positions and move beyond the safety line, watch out for your safety!” Wang Yang kept repeating into the microphone, checking each person around to confirm everyone was in the safe area. He also confirmed that five cameras, including those operated by Walley-Feist and Harry-George, were ready. He nodded his head, saying with a smile, “Alright, there’s going to be a big explosion, so cover your ears, Action! Starting the countdown, ten, nine…”

Everyone except the crew members in work mode, like the actors Donnie and the children, covered their ears and stared intently at the tin huts ahead. Suo Duo felt a nervous twinge in his heart as he listened to the countdown near one, wondering what an explosion was…

Boom

Boom

The mecha’s missiles locked onto the soldiers hiding beside the corrugated iron house, the missiles were fired, and that row of iron houses instantly exploded in a huge blast, metal flung in all directions, the shed roofs shot up into the sky, and a fierce flame spread out, shrouding the burning rubble in gray smoke.

CUT, very good!” Wang Yang shouted with a smile, clenching his fist; Donnie, Gordon Chin, and the rest of the crew applauded happily. If this shot had to be redone, it would’ve taken a lot of time and effort.

Even though they covered their ears, the children seemed to be frightened by the tremendous explosion and the sight of the demolition, Suo Duo suddenly cried out with a “wa” and clutched his mother’s clothes, crying, “Mommy, that’s our home!” Suo Duo’s mother tried to comfort him, “It’s alright, we have a new house to live in, daddy is already building it.” But Suo Duo still cried incessantly, causing Aria, Sao Wu, and the other children to start crying too.

Oh my God!” Hearing these cries, Wang Yang immediately turned around. Was it a mistake to let the children see such scenes? They might not understand the concept of a new house, home is home… He frowned and gestured for everyone to continue, then said, “Prepare the next shot.” After that, he walked over to the children and said with a smile, “Hey, Wakka Wakka! Guys, why the tears?

Suo Duo glared at him and, sobbing, said, “Is this what a director does? Is this what movies are like?” His look was full of disappointment and anger, struggling to hit Wang Yang, “You baddie, you blew up my home, blew up my home…” Suo Duo’s mother forcefully pulled her son away, scolding, “Suo Duo, I already told you this gentleman is a good person. Stop making a fuss, or I’ll spank you.”

Yes, we’re all good people,” Donnie said earnestly, nodding his head as he tried to calm them, “Kids, trust me. We haven’t hurt you! The baddies don’t look like this…”

Looking at the faces of Aria, Suo Duo, Sao Wu, and others, etched with doubt and anger, and that question “Is this what movies are like?” Wang Yang took a deep breath and shook his head, “No, no! Movies are not like that, and a director doesn’t come just to blow up someone’s home.” He suddenly had an idea and spread his hands with a smile, “Why not watch a movie? You’ll understand after you see one. How about I take you to the city center to watch a movie in a few days?”

Really!?” Aria’s eyes instantly widened with excitement. Could she see what a movie is? Find out what these people were doing? Suo Duo also forgot his tears and happily said, “Go to the city center to watch a movie?” Sao Wu and the other kids were also surprised and delighted. They already knew how beautiful and prosperous the city center was; it represented fun and happiness!

Mhm, yes!” Wang Yang laughed heartily and nodded vigorously. In a few days, the crew’s filming work in South Africa would be mostly finished, and they were also planning to return to the US for Christmas. Before that, he could take these children to see a movie. Seeing that Suo Duo’s mother was also happy, he turned to the children and said, “Guys, tell your parents that the director will take you to the movies!” Donnie, standing by, shrugged and added, “And that male lead.”

The children all cheered with a resounding “Eish.

Her dad won’t let her go!?” On the muddy roads of the slums, two buses and four armored vehicles were parked front and back, with the children all walking onto the buses, their faces beaming with smiles. It wasn’t just Suo Duo and a few other kids; upon hearing that “the American director was taking the kids to the city center to watch a movie,” many children from the area hoped to join, but because these corrugated iron houses were so sparsely located, there weren’t many people around.

Wang Yang simply nodded in agreement, but asked them not to spread the word further; Soweto had a population of over a million, and it was impossible for him to take all the children there. But Aria couldn’t go? Wang Yang frowned tightly, looked at Suo Duo’s mother—the only parent accompanying the group —and asked, “Why? Why won’t her father let her go?”

Suo Duo’s mother helplessly replied, “I don’t know, he says you’re lying, that you actually want to harm his daughter.” Wang Yang didn’t know what to say, covered his head with a laugh, and said, “Oh, please! Why would I want to harm Aria? He can’t do that, he just can’t!” Recalling the excited and thrilled look on Aria’s face that day, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger and slammed his fist against the side of the bus, cursing, “That bastard!”

There’s more,” Suo Duo’s mother continued, “He says he wants to talk to you in person, to find out if you’re a liar.” Wang Yang furrowed his brow and hummed in thought, then asked, “Where does Aria live?”

Accompanied by ten armed bodyguards, Wang Yang arrived at Aria’s front door, a plain blue tin house, with some of the surrounding residents looking at him. Five bodyguards quickly scouted the area before and after; two bodyguards knocked on the door, then entered the tin house with their guns drawn, causing a man’s voice to ring out from within, “Hey, what are you doing!?” After a while, the two bodyguards shouted, “All clear, you can come in!”

Wang Yang walked into the tin house, noticing a wooden bed, some kitchen utensils and sundries against the wall, a ragged wardrobe in the corner, a brand new football next to the wardrobe, and a large light bulb hanging overhead. Aria sat beside the bed with a dull expression on her face, but her eyes lit up when she saw him come in; a black man in his thirties stood in the center of the room, a flicker of nervousness passing through his eyes.

Hello, Mr. Kaluba,” Wang Yang said with a slight smile, extending his right hand, “I am the director, Wang Yang.” Kaluba immediately snorted, shaking hands firmly, “I know you! If you’re here to harm my daughter, then get out!

Maintaining his smile, not wanting to frighten Aria, Wang Yang patiently explained, “Mr. Kaluba, I have no reason to harm Aria, and you know that; everyone here knows that.” He raised his index finger, “There are over a hundred kids going to see a movie! We’re only missing Aria now. Once she gets on the bus, we’ll head downtown to tour Johannesburg, then watch a movie at the cinema, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’; afterward, we’ll have dinner before bringing them all back, happy, joyful, and safe! No one will get hurt.”

But,” he sighed as he spoke, glaring slightly at Kaluba, gritted his teeth, “it would be a real harm if you don’t let her go! If you truly love her, you should let her go. I’m telling you, you have to let her go!”

Kaluba turned to look at his daughter, her face filled with longing, expectation, and pleading. He seemed to ponder for a moment, then covertly made a finger-pointing gesture to Wang Yang. Wang Yang furrowed his brow in confusion, “What?” Kaluba spoke softly, “US dollars.” Wang Yang froze, then a great rage welled up inside him; he wanted to punch the man in the face or have the bodyguards whisk Aria away… but he couldn’t do that.

OK!” Watching the crestfallen Aria, he could only suppress his anger, whispering to Kaluba, “I’ll give you a hundred US dollars for her to go, how about that?” A flash of joy crossed Kaluba’s face, but he shook his head. Wang Yang took a deep breath, his voice cold, “Three hundred US dollars, no more. I’m telling you, even if you disagree, I can still take Aria away, and I will give you a beating!”

Aria!” Kaluba suddenly shouted, looking at his daughter with a smile, “You can go now!” Aria immediately jumped up excitedly, hurriedly asking, “Really? Really? Dad, can you go? Wow, wow…”

Seeing her utterly thrilled reaction, Wang Yang also broke into a smile, beckoning, “Hey, we’re just waiting for you, let’s go!” He laughed as he bent down to give Aria a high-five, walking out with her while quietly telling the bodyguard, “Give him three hundred US dollars.” Turning to Aria, he smiled again, “Why don’t you kick that football?” Aria looked up at him and laughed, “I, I can’t bear to.”

Kaluba grabbed the three US bills handed over by the bodyguard and clenched them tightly, watching his daughter bouncing out of the house, he revealed a happy smile and murmured, “Aria, how could Daddy not let you go to the movies?” If things went south, he would plead with the director to take her; but now, his family had three hundred extra US dollars to buy new clothes for her.

Hermione Granger.” Hearing her name, Hermione stood up nervously, saying, “Oh, no, okay, don’t be nervous!” At that moment, Ron said to Harry, “She’s loopy, weird.” Harry nodded. Hermione walked up to the stage, climbed onto the stool, and donned the Sorting Hat. The wriggling hat pondered aloud, “Right, yes… okay, Gryffindor!”

Below, the students of Gryffindor House burst into cheers and applause. Watching the magical world on the big screen, Suo Duo, Aria, Sao Wu… all the kids were completely mesmerized, eyes fixed without blinking. Wang Yang glanced at the children on the big screen, then at those beside him absorbed in the movie, and remembered how he could go to the cinema every week as a child; he felt truly fortunate and grateful, believing that everyone should have the opportunity to see movies.

Is this what movies are? Did you make this?” Amidst her excitement, Aria turned to ask him. Wang Yang shrugged, laughing, “Not this one, but yes, this is a movie.” Aria looked at the big screen for a while, then suddenly asked again, “How can someone become a director? How can someone be like you? At this, Suo Duo also turned back to reality, equally hopeful for an answer.

Hmm,” Wang Yang paused for a moment, patting their heads from side to side, laughing, “Study hard! You have schools where you live, right?” Both kids nodded, and he looked at the big screen, softly saying, “Remember, study hard. It might be hard, but never give up…” (To be continued. To find out what