The Best Director

Viewers across Greater China can watch the “Phoenix TV” program on Phoenix Satellite Television’s Chinese channel. On the television screens in their homes, the host, Ke Lan, gestures with her hands, and the screen behind her shows images from the premiere of ’21.’ Amid the flash of cameras, Natalie Portman and Rachel McAdams stand on either side of Wang Yang, all three smiling brightly for a group photo.

“A few days ago, we watched the premiere highlights. Today, we’ll quickly bring you the exciting trailer of the movie, to see what a high-IQ gambling film looks like.” Ke Lan said with a smile, then gestured to the audience to watch. The TV screen showed a green gambling table, with playing cards being dealt and Daniel Wu intently calculating… The MIT team high-fiving each other, laughing and talking on campus, reveling in the debauchery of Las Vegas, mocking the casinos, the female detective…

Once the edited clips finished playing, the screen returned to the studio where Ke Lan continued with a smile: “This film scored 85 overall from the media, with an ‘A’ rating from Yahoo. The New York Times commented, ‘The content of the film stood out with unbelievable professional skill, loyalty and friendship among the team, and a clash of brilliant minds. With its talented production, it achieved an explosive effect.’

Ke Lan smiled after reading the quote and said, “As for what everyone thinks, you’ll have to see it for yourself to know. I haven’t watched it yet, but audiences in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will soon be able to enjoy this film in cinemas on August 16.” She lifted a finger and said excitedly, “Oh right, you probably all know this already, but Wang Yang will be coming to China for promotion next week, and Natalie Portman and Rachel McAdams are also expected to join him.”

“This is the amazing Yang’s first official visit to China, and I’m personally very excited and hope to meet this genius director in person.” Ke Lan chuckled and continued her report, “Daniel Wu and Karen Mok returned to Hong Kong yesterday to attend a promotional event, which set off a frenzy among the fans. Azu mentioned that he got the role all thanks to his kung fu skills, and he even revealed a little-known habit of Wang Yang, which is…! What could it be? Please watch the following report.”

The sounds of cameras snapping, flashbulbs going off, and the screams of Hong Kong fans shouting “Azu!” “Azu!” filled the screen as they held up signs filled with slogans. Fashionably dressed Daniel Wu and Karen Mok stood together in black suits, smiling and waving to the crowd. The program’s female voice-over said, “Daniel Wu and Karen Mok attended the Las Vegas press conference yesterday in Causeway Bay, drumming up excitement for the August 16 release.”

“Speaking of his Hollywood journey, Azu said.” On the screen, a group of microphones surrounded Daniel Wu, including TVB, ATV, Phoenix Satellite Television, and others. Daniel Wu, speaking in less-than-fluent Cantonese, said with a smile, “I was very surprised that day, my agent suddenly told me Wang Yang invited me for a leading role audition! I first thought it was a kung fu action movie, but Wang Yang said it wasn’t.”

“During the audition, they asked me to deliver nearly a whole page of dialogue in one or two minutes.” He laughed ruefully, “I thought I was a goner, but I managed to speak it out. It’s related to kung fu, after all; I’ve practiced enough to speak so quickly, and then I passed the audition.” A reporter asked, “Did you encounter any discomfort returning to America for filming?” Daniel Wu shook his head and laughed, “No real obstacles, but there were many differences; the crew took good care of us.”

“And when Azu talked about Wang Yang, it seemed like he was quite bullied.”

Following the narrator’s words, Daniel Wu on the screen frowned and smiled, “He’s a martial arts fanatic. During those months of filming, I’ve forgotten how many times he asked me to spar with him. No, no, it wasn’t serious, just like tai chi pushing hands.” The footage appeared to be edited, as he continued to laugh, “Wang Yang practices his martial arts every morning. I can only manage two or three times a week when I’m busy, but he practices every day.”…

Without needing a reminder from this program, after one or two months of promotion and eager media coverage, Chinese movie fans and netizens were already well aware of ‘Las Vegas’ and that the amazing Yang was coming to China. Now that the film has been released in North America, captured the opening weekend crown, and garnered rave reviews, the audience is naturally even more excited for its release and eagerly anticipates the amazing Yang’s visit to China.

“If you have any questions or something you’d like to say to Yang, please write it down! We will compile some common questions and randomly select a few to pass on to him, excluding any abnormal questions.”

Entitled to attend the fan meeting in Beijing with the opportunity to meet Wang Yang face-to-face, the “Amazing Yang Chinese Fans Association” immediately posted on their official website and forums like Tianya to express their excitement and collect questions from netizens as soon as the news was confirmed.

In America, there are people who adore Wang Yang, and there are those who despise him; the same is true in China. Tens of millions, perhaps even hundreds of millions of young people, see the Best Director, the youngest billionaire, as an idol, or at least someone they like; while there are just as many netizens who target and attack him for every imaginable weird and varied reason. “Having done time in prison” is a major point of attack, with replies to posts asking questions like, “What kind of food is there in prison?” and “Do you eat, drink, pee, and poop all in the cell?”

Because he is an ABC, this has also attracted some insults such as, “I hate bananas the most!” and “Three bananas have come to China to make money!” Initially, Daniel Wu wasn’t being cursed, but he got dragged into the fray as well.

However, those slightly familiar with Best Director Yang know that he is a “Sinophile,” speaks fluent Chinese, understands the characters, and has a thorough knowledge of cultural history, which is much better than Daniel Wu’s broken Mandarin + not knowing Chinese characters; moreover, his attitude toward China is very friendly and kind. Thus, many netizens retort, “Wang Yang is the pride of Chinese people worldwide, I can’t understand those who insult him!” and “Thank you, Best Director Yang! I’ve seen enough of Jackie Chan and Jet Li! Really looking forward to this film!” and “You better never watch films by Wang Yang or Daniel Wu, never listen to Leehom Wang’s songs”…

To the joy and delight of Wang Yang’s fans, after several days of North America screenings, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television finally approved “Las Vegas Heist” for release without a single cut—a rare occurrence. Spokesperson for China Film Group Corporation, Weng Li, said, “This film is very healthy and excellent; it criticizes gambling and casinos, which is the right message. Those MIT students were like Spider-Man punishing the bad guys, it looks very exciting.”

Film fans don’t care about educational value or ideological correctness; they just know that an uncensored release means they can fully appreciate the film, its praised “sharp and cunning” editing unspoiled by those bloated bureaucrats.

“Will you go to the theater to watch the soon-to-be-released ‘Las Vegas Heist’?” In this hot poll on the Sina Movie Channel, 35,132 people participated in the voting, with 75% of netizens choosing the must-watch anticipated work; 17% said they would decide later; 8% were not interested.

Following was an additional survey question: “How much box office do you think ‘Las Vegas Heist’ will take in mainland China? (Unit: Chinese yuan)”

On the leaderboard of mainland China’s box office history, standing at number one is the 1998 “Titanic,” which with 360 million yuan, has remained unbeaten for 5 years, seemingly untouchable for the time being; followed by last year’s blockbuster viewing craze “Hero” with 250 million yuan; the third is another domestic film released in 2000, “Life and Death Decision,” with 120 million yuan. Then came “Pearl Harbor” from 2001 with 105 million yuan and “True Lies” from 1995 with 102 million yuan.

Next come the domestic films “Shaolin Temple,” “Mama Loves Me Again,” and “The Gunshots of the Confidentiality Bureau,” each reaching 100 million yuan. And “District 9,” which missed the optimal release time and only debuted on mainland China’s big screens early this year, is closely behind, taking in 82.6 million yuan and ranking in ninth place.

With less than five months since the Oscars and a fresh and sizzling release, how much will Best Director Yang’s “Las Vegas Heist,” especially with the main actor coming to China for promotion, ultimately earn?

13% of netizens clicked on 0-100 million yuan; the most, 55%, chose the 100-200 million yuan bracket; 23% opted for 200-300 million yuan; 6% for 300-400 million yuan, and 3% for over 400 million yuan. Despite being directed by the best Chinese director, featuring a Chinese lead actor, and telling a story of a Chinese Gambling Hero… most people believe it will not break 200 million yuan.

The box office performance of “MIT-21-TEAM” in mainland China remains to be seen, whereas in North America, it has already established a hot-selling, profitable situation. When the curtain fell on August 1-7, the results for the last month of the 2003 summer season’s first-week box office rankings were in, and “21” continued its weekend champion status with an absolute advantage, as 3,354 theaters brought in 75.26 million US dollars, claiming victory.

“American Pie 3” unsurprisingly lost the first week, taking the second spot with 36.78 million US dollars from a weekly total of 248 million US dollars; in third place, “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” completed its comeback with 23.13 million US dollars, reaching a total of 210 million US dollars after four weeks, catapulting Keira Knightley to instant fame, while Captain Jack became the fervent obsession of countless fans; and with 21.3 million US dollars, “Extremely Small Spies 3” dropped to fourth…

The first-week victory of 75.26 million US dollars, coupled with favorable reviews, not only allowed “MIT-21-TEAM” to sweep all opponents on this new battlefield but also made becoming the number one box office hit for a gambling movie a predictable outcome when compared with 183 million US dollars for “Gambler Ma Huali,” 98 million for “The Buffinger Plan,” and 90 million for “White Men Can’t Jump.”

Yahoo’s weekly box office commentary said, “It’s no surprise that this movie took the crown; on the contrary, if Wang Yang’s film had encountered a box office Waterloo, I would have suspected someone was joking.”

After evaluating the film itself, editor David Furl wrote, “The most amazing thing about Wang Yang is that no matter what genre of film he makes, it’s bound to be a huge success and even sparks a revival of that genre. ‘The Hangover’ has led various studios to invest in R-rated comedies, and next summer we’re going to see a whole lot of crap; will ’21’ trigger a wave of gambler crime films? Let’s wait and see.”

In the “con artist” genre, the opening week of ’21’ also beat ‘Catch Me If You Can’ with $75.26 million to $57.7 million. But ‘Catch Me If You Can’ officially premiered on Wednesday, playing for two days before coming to its first Friday of the week, so if those two days’ box office were included, it took $76.29 million in 9 days, dropped 50.7% in the second week, ending up with $164 million in North America, $352 million worldwide.

Whether ’21’ can “set a new record for the genre” and surpass ‘Catch Me If You Can’ to stand at the summit of con artist films depends on the downward trend of its second-week box office, as well as its upcoming international release.

However, the “Chinese director” stock is already skyrocketing, and for a while, no one remembers ‘Hulk’, which was in its 7th week of showing and ranked 25th with a box office of $660,000 this week. Its $130 million total North American gross couldn’t change the fact that it was a big loss for Universal Films, facing a production cost of $137 million and marketing expenses, with Ang Lee in a downturn and resting.

It’s not just the “Chinese director” stock that’s soaring; Wang Yang’s personal “North American Box Office Directors Chart” numbers have also skyrocketed to $1.5 billion, making him the fourth director to have $1.5 billion in North American box office earnings, reaching $1.518 billion!

Although he still ranks fourth in history, it’s also expected that, within a week at most, he will overtake Chris Columbus with $1.5388 billion, known as the “Bedtime Storyteller,” and Robert Zemeckis, the “Cinematic Genius,” with $1.5418 billion, easily climbing to second place in history, with only Steven Spielberg ahead at $3.0884 billion.

Interestingly, both Chris Columbus and Robert Zemeckis were originally appreciated by Spielberg, who brought them into the Hollywood film world and ultimately dominated the top three spots on the box office charts.

Now the second place is about to change hands, to be taken by a 23-year-old. The news being revisited online, many movie fans exclaimed, “This is incredibly horrifying!” Wang Yang is still half the distance from Spielberg’s $3.0884 billion, but don’t forget that he made $1.5 billion in North American box office with 7 movies in 5 years; many naturally wonder, “In another 5 years, will he have $3 billion in North American box office?”

At 57, Spielberg is far from past his prime, and ‘The Terminal’ starring Tom Hanks is in preparation and soon to start shooting; 5 years later, even if Wang Yang doesn’t take the championship title, who would consider it a failure? He’ll be only 28 then, an age when other directors are just starting to make it to the big screen. Even if his current $1.518 billion were to stall, fans would only go, “OH! WOO! This guy is insane!”

“Unlike ‘Bad Boys II’, which blandly exploded for two and a half hours, ‘MIT 21 TEAM’ brought plenty of mental exercise, you’re having a math lesson while enjoying the thrills of the movie,” said Kevin Joseph, ; “This film and ‘Catch Me If You Can’ offer a similar viewing pleasure, excellent entertainment, delicious cat-and-mouse games, and incredible yet convincing content. Both are perfect escape movies, no thinking required, just sit down and enjoy 2 hours of good times,” said Richard Anson, Newsweek.

“‘District 9’ is like a main course, and it is a very tasty dessert. Crisp, professional, and refreshing,” said Mike Clark, USA Today; “Driven by Natalie Portman’s superb performance, it’s a lot of fun, one of the most delightful movies of the year,” said Rex Reed, New York Observer; “Crazy fun from beginning to end,” said Paul Filipp, Houston Chronicle…

“This is a sharp, technically brilliant film that shines with Wang Yang’s incredible talent and makes excellent use of his top-notch creative team—dialogue script, camera angles, editing music… so cool,” said Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle.

Whenever a film is released, Wang Yang feels surrounded by lots of things, lots of noise, and suddenly there are more paparazzi, too, which is normal. He thinks he won’t have much free time for a while; the company has already purchased the script for ‘Firefly’ with Joss Whedon, and these days, whenever he has time, he contemplates how to bring it to the big screen; in late September, ‘Prison Break’ is going to premiere on NBC; and he’s heading to China in a few days.

But what he felt was the most urgent and important was the proposal. Through some information gathered by Joshua in the past few days, he already had an idea for the design of the engagement ring, and was preparing to secretly commission a custom one. As for the method of proposal…

“That day, he took me to the best hotel in the area (built on a mountain, with beautiful scenery), and a horse carriage was waiting for us at the entrance.”

Wang Yang read with relish the “How Did Your Husband Propose?” column in Metropolitan magazine, seated comfortably on the spacious living room sofa. He turned a page and saw it written: “The carriage took us on a stroll in the hotel’s garden, then stopped next to a fountain and gazebo surrounded by flowers. He took my hand, led me to sit down in the gazebo, got down on one knee, and asked if I would marry him. He was so romantic!”

“That’s not surprising at all! Making it so grand and obvious from the start, anyone would know it’s a proposal!” Wang Yang thought as he shook his head and continued reading about someone who “found a vase with fresh flowers on the mantelpiece when I walked in, and a diamond ring on one of the stems!”

With a hum, he set the magazine down on the coffee table, thinking to himself, “Adjust your approach, adjust your approach!” It’s not about how he likes it, but how she does…

“Baby.” Wearing a casual T-shirt and jeans, Jessica walked over with a smile, Danny following her closely with his tongue sticking out. She sat down on the sofa and looked toward the coffee table. Wang Yang quickly laughed and said, “No, no, Jessica, I was just… the jokes in this magazine are really funny, you know, haha!” Jessica reached for the remote control, turned on the TV, and glanced at him, puzzled, “What? I didn’t say anything.”

“Um… Yes, you know I’m just so excited about the trip to China, I’m all over the place, wow! I have over a hundred million fans, 100,000,000! That’s unbelievable.”

Wang Yang cheerfully changed the subject. He truly was looking forward to this journey, fans in Asia, especially in China, were extremely passionate. The land of China helped him to find his complete self and experience the tranquility of the other half of his soul. With these thoughts, he laughed and pumped his fist, “Love them to death!”

“Next time we do a promotion, I’ll come too. Take my blessings with you this time!” Jessica nodded happily, suddenly curious again, “By the way, what was that joke you mentioned?” Wang Yang was slightly taken aback; he didn’t actually know of any jokes in the magazine. Keeping his composure, he smiled and said, “I was going to tell you a joke, not one from the magazine but a different one… Once upon a time…”

Soon, the living room burst into loud laughter from a woman’s voice, laughing heartily for a while before settling down to catch her breath.

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