The Best Director

As he pondered, his phone suddenly vibrated. Wang Yang took it out and saw a strange number on the caller ID. “Hello?” he answered. Hearing the voice on the other end, he immediately smiled and said, “Yes, you’re not disturbing me. Nice to meet you too, Joss!” The caller was Joss Whedon. Wang Yang had previously received a call from his agent, Paul Emery, that Joss Whedon wanted to work with him. Naturally, Wang Yang agreed to the contact.

Born on June 23, 1964, in New York, Joss Whedon came from a family of scriptwriters. His father, Tom Whedon, and grandfather, John Whedon, were famous TV scriptwriters. His brothers were also screenwriters. He was one of the scriptwriters for “Toy Story,” as well as a writer and director for the popular TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” granting him a large fanbase.

“Yang, here’s the thing. I read your interview in the newspaper some time ago where you said you wanted to shoot a science-fiction movie with a spaceship theme.” After the greetings, Joss Whedon got straight to the point. Hearing Wang Yang’s “Yep,” he continued, “I have a spaceship sci-fi story that’s perfect for you. I had it prepared for a TV series last year, but Fox canceled the order. I don’t know if you’d be interested or if it’s possible to turn it into a film?”

Wang Yang was already aware of this from the call with Paul Emery and was very interested. Nodding, he said, “Oh, of course! I’m very interested. What’s the story about?”

“Well, let me give you a brief summary,” Joss Whedon started without surprise, as it’s necessary to see whether it’s a fit or not. He pondered for a moment before introducing, “The world is set hundreds of years in the future when humans are capable of interstellar pioneering and colonization. Instead of discovering aliens, it’s just humans. In the future, America and China are the world’s most powerful countries, and these two mainstream cultures of the East and West have fused to form the face of human society.”

“America and China lead the formation of the Star Alliance. The Alliance starts with the banner of freedom and a better life to unite leadership over all the governed worlds within the known galaxies. However, the planets on the edge of the galaxy all refused to join the Alliance, leading to war.”

Listening quietly, Wang Yang couldn’t help but think of the recently ended Iraq War. Looking at the bustling New York, with its clean streets and hurried yet stable, well-dressed pedestrians, this was the city center, the heart of the Alliance. With these thoughts, he asked all at once, “Is the Alliance’s cause genuine, or is it for self-interest? Both? And those star fringe countries—are they like Iraq or Denmark? Is it the people who refuse to join the Alliance, or the governments?”

“Both are present. Some are purely for profit, while others do believe they could lead better,” Joss Whedon had prepared for this, and he answered, “They aren’t as advanced as the interstellar center, but life is still decent; different factions among the people—some indifferent, some believers in the Alliance, others staunch oppositionists. Independent parties even after defeat.”

Wang Yang acknowledged with an “OK” and walked towards the sofa in the room, saying, “So, the protagonist must be from the independents, right?” In a spaceship-themed story, the dramatic appeal would diminish significantly if the protagonist were a soldier of the Alliance.

“Heh, yes, the war caused great destruction, and the Alliance won,” Joss Whedon continued explaining, “The protagonist, Mal, was an independent soldier. After the defeat, he could have accepted a new position arranged by the Alliance, but he refused. He bought a spaceship, gathered a few companions, and engaged in smuggling, theft, and robbery between the stars. One day they took on a brother and sister as passengers…”

The sister was a superhuman child secretly wanted by the Alliance, involved in their secret research and experiments. Her arrival would bring significant changes to their ship, called “Serenity.”

Joss Whedon briefly presented the background and story, and then, with his half-baked Chinese, said the word “Serenity,” explaining with a laugh, “I and my wife lived in China for a while, a charming place. I believe it will definitely become a country influencing the entire world. I really like Chinese culture—the language, characters, those crafts, and architecture… I think it would create a new sci-fi world. The star fringe is like the Wild West—it can be shot in the style of a western but fused with Chinese culture, Kung Fu, Mandarin…”

“Hmm.” Wang Yang immediately became more interested upon hearing this. He was currently uninterested in the clean and stylish aesthetic of “Star Trek,” but a rugged and expansive space cowboy style with the poetic and picturesque flavors of Chinese culture… He noticed Joss Whedon was talking about “a fusion of the West with Chinese culture,” meaning bringing elements suitable for western cowboys. However, he wondered if a real fusion of the two was possible?

Moreover, this was a world of imagination, of advanced wonder within a sci-fi setting. What would happen to the space cowboys and Chinese culture under the development of technology? For instance, Kung Fu… Intriguing!

As Wang Yang thought about this, he heard Joss Whedon laugh on the other end, saying, “I think it suits you well. You’re like that world.” Wang Yang laughed with a “Ha,” leaning on the sofa, saying, “But I’m not a cowboy. Joss, then what’s the theme of this story?” While the setting is one thing, the content and theme are another—especially for a movie, the latter is more crucial.

“I was inspired by Michael Shaara’s Civil War novel ‘The Killer Angels’ to think of this story. Many who lost the war were deeply affected, even having their lives ruined,” Joss Whedon said calmly, frankly stating, “This ‘Firefly’ story is still just an unfinished TV series script, with many untold stories of the Serenity crew’s life in the universe. My idea is, maybe you can adapt it for the big screen? Or might you be interested in investing in it to make it into a TV series?”

Firefly? Wang Yang frowned slightly, vaguely remembering something… He shook his head with a smile. Those affected by the war were also on his mind of late, but there were other aspects as well. Knowing it couldn’t be thoroughly discussed over the phone, he said into the handset, “Joss, let’s meet at a café this Sunday evening to talk in detail. You know I’m currently filming in New York.”

“Yeah, sure, looking forward to it,” Joss Whedon agreed cheerfully.

After ending the call, Wang Yang fiddled with his cellphone in his hands, muttering, “Firefly, Firefly…” Suddenly, a rush of information surged through his mind. Last year, Joss Whedon had pulled in investments and turned “Firefly” into a TV series, which aired during the fall on Fox. But now, there was nothing. It seemed the butterfly effect had truly changed a lot.

Wang Yang silently put down his phone. The information in his mind indicated that the “Firefly” from some world had aired 14 episodes. Due to reasons such as Fox’s chaotic broadcast schedule, the series had low viewership and was cut mid-season. However, after its DVD release, it gained a large following of die-hard sci-fi fans, who even raised money to buy its rights and continue filming.

This did suggest that there was a market for the space cowboy style, and that the script must be interesting. But Joss Whedon had just mentioned that it was a TV series script ready for possibly dozens of episodes. The advantage of TV series is the length—they have over 40 minutes each episode to slowly and meticulously present the future world’s scenery and tell interesting little stories from life, which also makes it easier to gather a following of fans.

If it were made into a movie, however, no matter how many sequels were planned, the first one had to be a huge success. With a duration of at most 2-3 hours, it had to clearly explain the story background, display the world’s details, forge the characters’ personalities, tell a complete story, and convey its own thematic ideas… This was definitely not a simple or easy task, especially since even the TV show was canceled.

Wang Yang browsed through the information about “Firefly” and “closed” it. He hadn’t seen what that 14th episode was like; he wanted to read the script first and then consider other things. Scripts provided him with some “first impressions” and ideas, including how to tell the story, what to say, and how to blend cowboy and Chinese culture in the sci-fi setting, set decoration, props, and visuals…

Although these tasks were teamwork—art directors, set designers, prop masters, costume designers, cinematographers, etc., would all need to be involved in discussions—they were a reflection of the director’s requirements. It was the director who decided which direction the spaceship would fly. And what Joss Whedon talked about was assimilative integration, not the “feeling” he got the moment he heard the concept.

“Cowboys, guns, Eastern aesthetics, Kung Fu…” Wang Yang thought and couldn’t help but laugh. Both ruggedly masculine and exquisitely natural, such a world was genuinely fascinating. He was already envisioning some unrelated still images. Regardless, if he was really making such a unique film, the first thing he had to do was to sort out his own feelings and ideas. However, if he made such a spaceship sci-fi film, one thing was for certain—the budget would inevitably be in the hundreds of millions, maybe even two hundred million.

As for other aspects like whether it could be successful, he was already a multi-millionaire and had won the youngest Best Director at the Oscars. He didn’t feel the need to follow the rules or be overly cautious—he was only 23! It had nothing to do with capability. Whether success or failure, bravely and diligently pursuing the film he wanted was what made sense and brought happiness. Who said it would fail?

Standing by the glass window, Wang Yang looked at the pedestrians on the street, once again pondering over the previous question—how could he get Jessica to perform well as Andrea in the third phase?

From project initiation to commencement of filming, his demands only grew higher, expectations Anne Hathaway’s version hadn’t met. He didn’t doubt that Annie couldn’t perform; it’s just the character’s progression in that version was very subtle, with no inner monologues from the script to the camera work, leaving Andrea’s transformation abrupt and underdeveloped.

Now, this version of Andrea was closer to the novel and could better express the character’s struggles, but it stumped Jessica.

“Why is that?” Wang Yang scratched his head and picked up his phone to look at her headshots, each one full of bright, charming smiles. In those less serious performances, she was lively and engaging, but only if the whole movie and other characters maintained that same vivacity so she wouldn’t seem out of place, like in “Sweetheart.” However, once faced with calm narrative scenes, she was skating on thin ice.

He had realized long ago that the tomboy tough girl was her best fit. More fighting scenes, fewer narrative scenes and dialogue, an overall lively style or an expressionless face, showing off specially designed expressions in key scenes—that maybe the best way she could currently perform.

“Ho ho ha ha…” Wang Yang uttered nonsensical sounds, the challenge of portraying Andrea still needing a solution.

Initially, he had thought to let Jessica be generally lively and foolish until an abrupt change at the end, but that idea lasted only a few seconds before vanishing. Then, he thought to bring in some natural emotion, but she seemed devoid of any. While the director could describe the scene, it was up to the actor to empathize and enact. If the actor couldn’t perform… it was the director’s job to find a way!

The key question was, why couldn’t she immerse herself in the emotions? She had tried very hard in her performance. Wang Yang looked at the photos on his phone screen and whispered to himself with a chuckle, “She always smiles.” Suddenly, he paused, vaguely grasping at something—Method Acting… Although she found it hard to immerse herself in roles, if she hadn’t actually experienced those emotions…

“That’s it!” Wang Yang’s eyes rolled upward, recalling his time at the University of Southern California and then an idea struck him. With a stern face, he looked out at the brilliant city that never sleeps, pondered for a long time, and finally nodded decisively.

It might be a lousy idea, but he had to ensure the film was made well; he wanted to help her, to make her happy, and to fulfill her double-insured birthday wish. Despite her reluctance to reveal her wish during that day on the yacht, he could almost guess. It was likely to perform well in this role and in this film!

Suddenly, his cellphone vibrated. Wang Yang checked it—it was a text from Jessica: “In your room? Can I come over? I’ve thought of a new method.” They didn’t stay in the same room, and with work the next day, they kept things professional. Wang Yang typed a few characters in response: “No, I’m a bit tired. Let’s talk at the set. Goodnight.”

(To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please visit . There are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)