The Best Director

Although Wang Yang decided to buy the film adaptation rights of “The Devil Wears Prada,” especially after Jessica’s audition for the female lead role, her excitement and joy made him not allow for any unexpected changes to occur. Even if someone offered ten million to compete with him, he would follow without a second thought because he also wanted to make this story, which he believed had the potential to be a box office hit.

However, he didn’t let out a whiff of “Best Director Yang’s plans,” but had Flame Movies make contact with Lauren Weisberger, precisely because he did not want to attract bids from other film companies. Besides, he also needed to continue preparing for “MIT-21-TEAM” and producing “Prison Break.” Nevertheless, to ensure that the progress could proceed as planned, he instructed his company not to fuss or probe but to make a reasonable high offer directly, just like how they quietly acquired the adaptation rights for “Las Vegas.”

When Flame Movies offered a seven-figure sum to Lauren Weisberger and her publisher, the savvy retired devil was pleased but did not immediately agree. The news quickly spread throughout the industry. Many people speculated that Wang Yang was interested in this book, as he was always energetic. Apart from big special-effects productions like “District 9,” he was releasing almost one movie every half-year, with “MIT-21-TEAM” coming this summer, but nothing for the Christmas season.

Anyway, whatever Flame Movies wanted to buy, whether or not it was Best Director Yang’s idea, there would always be someone to contend with first. This time, companies such as 20th Century Fox, Empire, and Miramax Films all stepped in; but those who knew Flame’s style were aware that if they really wanted something, they would go all in, and in the end, the big companies would usually give up because without Best Director Yang, who knew what use the acquisition would be?

The New York Times bestseller list has a new book nearly every week, and a fair number of them end up on the big screen later on. Some of them sell well, some lose their shirts, and the risk of adaptation is not much less than writing a brand new screenplay. So even with competition, generally, the price would not be driven up to an outrageous level.

Negotiations with the retired devil continued, but what shocked global mass media was that blog entry by the newly minted Golden Globe Best Director, those sprawl photos! What in the world was going on? Wang Yang’s popularity was at an all-time new peak. As soon as those sprawled pictures were released, portals and entertainment gossip websites reposted this set of images the next day, and the entertainment print media likewise published them in droves.

Yahoo Entertainment’s headline: “Best Director Yang’s Crazy and Astonishing Move.” The Los Angeles Times, which featured a picture of him sprawled on top of a trash can, put a big question mark: “What is Best Director Yang Doing?” Daily Entertainment, displaying his trophy sprawl photo: “He has given us an unexpected piece of Chocolate!” “Best Director Yang Destroys His Image to Please His Girlfriend,” “He has gone mad!”…

“He is trying to turn Jessica’s fall into an extreme sport,” according to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times. Wang Yang had been discussing this new sport with the first batch of fans on his blog in recent days, establishing the rules and name for the sport, and they conceived several names for voting, such as Stumbling, Bendover, and Planking, among others, with Planking coming out on top, and its Chinese name being the sprawl.

The rules involve lying face down in various places on various objects, with the standard posture being face down, the body in a straight line. The Chicago Sun-Times concluded: “Can Best Director Yang start a sprawl craze? We don’t know, but we have seen a real, 22-year-old Best Director, you can’t expect Martin Scorsese to play the sprawl. A century after the birth of cinema, we have finally met such an interesting, magical guy.”

Those with extraordinary talents who were also approachable and quirky were naturally the most popular, but behind the “fun” and “funny” voices, many people also ridiculed, waiting to see him make a fool of himself. This wasn’t the normal makeup play of viral marketing but something called Planking, who would be so stupid? Best Director Yang wants to play big in real life? Wait for a dismal ending, and then never dare to mention it again!

But many movie fans tried to be the first crab out of the bucket, from America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Taiwan… fueled by Blogger’s homepage feature, in just a few days, over ten thousand people uploaded their own sprawl photos; among them, there were many celebrity figures, NBA star Shaquille O’Neal sprawled in the stadium, locker rooms and other places, Golden State Warriors star Gilbert Arenas even sprawled on the floor of a women’s restroom…

Performing arts stars consider their image and can’t mess around, but Michael-Pitt responded, Zachary Levi responded, even middle-aged men like Robert Downey Jr. responded… However, their sprawls were beautiful; they did not choose toilets, washing machines, and such objects, but rather things like garden chairs, flower pots, and the like.

This “very stupid, very cool” extreme activity quickly gained a foothold and spread rapidly.

During these days, the preparation for “MIT-21-TEAM” also made new progress; as Caesar’s Palace Hotel agreed to provide a venue, like a dam bursting, other hotels and casinos were individually won over after the crew’s repeated contacts and benefit analyses, then under the logic of “Look, Caesar’s Hotel has agreed” and “Look, Flamingo has agreed”, the well-aware managers gracefully agreed to let them shoot away!

MIT finally demonstrated its prestigious status by changing its initial decision, allowing the film crew to enter the campus. Spokeswoman Patty Richards said, “We initially refused because we were worried the movie would give people a bad impression of MIT, thinking ‘it’s the place where people are taught how to count cards and gamble’, but Wang Yang convinced us again with his script. The Blackjack Team is a part of our real history, and that’s the reason we agreed.”

The issue with the venue was resolved, and the film crew was assembled. The cinematographer was Valerio Fest, who had worked with Wang Yang many times, and the set designer was Gordon Chin; the costume designer’s role was critical since the team members in the movie change appearances frequently, and in the end, Lindy Hemming (Tomorrow’s Empire, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Casino Royale, Batman series) was invited to take on the role, arguably a big name.

She was invited before Wang Yang had won the Golden Globe for Best Director, but now, with the aura of the Golden Globe award in addition to his “magic”, undoubtedly it was easier to attract these Oscar-level professionals to join. At the same time, his own regular team was present, art designer David F. Klassen, property master Drew Petrota… Harry George returned as the assistant director while Joshua was diligently handling the sundry tasks of a production assistant…

The MIT-21-TEAM crew could assemble at any moment to head to Boston or Las Vegas to start formal shooting. But with the Chinese Lunar New Year approaching, Wang Yang decided to start filming after the festival, and there was still one unresolved issue: the casting of a Chinese female card-counter for the Blackjack team.

Since the release of this information and reaching out to agencies like CAA, many potential candidates had been sent to Wang Yang’s desk, and some actresses had contacted him through various channels. For instance, Zhang Ziyi inquired about the possibility of her participating, but naturally, it was not suitable. Her demeanor and English proficiency did not match the requirements.

In fact, after a fruitless search, Wang Yang had already lowered his requirements. It didn’t have to be a person of pure Chinese descent; a mixed-race individual would suffice as long as the audience could tell she was of mixed heritage. Hence, the list suddenly filled with many mixed-race candidates, and he eliminated those girls who, even with dyed black hair and dark contacts, did not possess an Eastern charm. The remaining candidates had yet to audition.

For this supporting role, Wang Yang was truly at his wit’s end. The character did not have much solo screen time; she was mostly seen during group actions, but as a card counter, she had the most scenes, including many close-ups and lines. She had to be more than just a pretty face. Astonishingly, he had spent more time and energy on this role than on the female lead! Of course, the female lead was just a phone call away.

He had aggressively slammed his hand on the table and issued a final ultimatum, “Solve this casting issue!” Yet, how to solve it still required his personal intervention.

However, clearly, everything should be paused for now, as the Lunar New Year was upon them. Preceding the festivities was January 30th, the day of the 55th Directors Guild Award ceremony. The nomination list featured the same five directors as the Golden Globes, and the ceremony was to be held at the guild’s headquarters, the national ‘Directors Guild’ building. Wang Yang, as a Golden Globe winner, naturally was one of the favorites, and Jessica, donning a black knee-length dress as his date, was looking forward to a truly perfect night!

But to Jessica’s great disappointment, and the dismay of Wang Yang’s fans, the Directors Guild Award was ultimately given to Rob Marshall, the director of Chicago. This outcome made the Best Director accolade at the Oscars even more uncertain, as there had only been five instances where the Directors Guild Award winner did not secure the Oscar.

Although the Oscar nominations would not be announced until February 11th, it seemed almost certain to the media that the magical Wang Yang would be shortlisted. Of the six Best Directors aged 30-39 who won the Golden Globe, five went on to claim the Oscar, and all seven were nominated. Why would this year’s Oscars reject a young and highly acclaimed miracle director like Wang Yang? Besides, if Wang Yang got nominated, the public wouldn’t object; but if he didn’t, the objections would be substantial.

So, will this year witness the sixth incongruity between the Directors Guild and Oscars? And even if this were the sixth instance, would it definitely involve the miraculous Wang Yang? Now, betting agencies didn’t even know how to set their odds anymore; they had been wrong twice already, with Wang Yang at 6-to-1 odds winning unexpectedly and failing to win despite being a 1.5-to-1 hot favorite, while Rob Marshall was at 3-to-1.

The day after the Directors Guild Awards ceremony, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Wang Yang and Jessica headed to the airport early in the morning, catching a flight back to San Francisco’s Chinatown to celebrate the festival. (