The Best Director

With the recent blockbuster release of “MIT-21-TEAM,” card counting and the MIT group have become the focus of entertainment topics across America. The probability of hitting the jackpot on a slot machine is actually 1 in over 260,000? Many people are aware that slots are tough to win on; yet many don’t realize that the average person has a misconception, thinking that with only a dozen or so symbols, the worst odds for winning a prize should be a few percent, right?

“We’ve never tried to hide anything. Everyone knows that gambling is all about luck, just like buying lottery tickets. The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are over one in a hundred million! But everyone has moments of good luck, everyone has hope to win,” said Caesars Entertainment Corporation spokesperson Robert Stuart in an interview with The New York Times. On the movie’s “casinos-make-a-killing rhetoric,” he further stated, “Casinos, similar to bars, nightclubs, amusement parks, and movie theaters, are places of entertainment. People and families spend money to get joy from them. We casinos also need operating costs; we need to make a profit to survive. If you say we’re vampires, that would be very irresponsible.”

However, some citizens have suggested putting a warning label similar to “Smoking is harmful to your health” on the outside of slot machines, indicating the chances of the money-eating machine paying out, to let players know they are making a one-in-hundreds-of-thousands choice.

Casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City naturally ignored such suggestions, but even without the labels, from August onwards, slot machine’s revenues have been dwindling day by day. Meanwhile, the blackjack tables are bustling and overflowing, with the need to add more; and the once ever-popular slot machines suddenly lost a lot of their clientele.

Slot machines are a popular choice among ordinary tourists and family travelers, who come to play with nickels and dimes for amusement and fun. Now, among the visitors to the gambling city, there are surprisingly couples, friends, and families teaming up to count cards. The Thompson family, interviewed, tried their hand at card counting. The over-40 Mr. Thompson said with a grin, “It’s pretty interesting. We just used the high-low system; if the count is high, we’d bet big, if it’s low, we wouldn’t play.”

When asked about their success, the twenty-something Tom Thompson smiled and said, “We didn’t win much money, maybe about a bottle of champagne. We didn’t have this idea of making money; it’s just very interesting. Playing this spy-like team game as a family isn’t gambling, it’s fun.” Tom’s sister Bess added, “We created our own gestures and signals that only our family understands. It added a lot of fun to our trip.”

Such trendy families are not common, and the chances of winning big at the tables are even less likely. The casinos are not worried about the current situation at all. Now it’s only the eye of the storm; this card counting craze is bound to die down soon. The major difference between slot machines and blackjack is not the probability of winning but that they don’t require thought, it’s all down to luck, and the public will always prefer the thoughtless fun of slot machines.

Since the popularity of “The Hangover,” the number of tourists in Las Vegas has risen compared to the same period, with a significant increase in bachelor parties. Now, “MIT-21-TEAM” has thrown another log on the fire, with tourist numbers expected to rise again in the coming holidays. This contributes to the city too.

“We’re very thankful to Wang Yang for bringing us these two films,” Jeremy Handel, spokesperson for the Las Vegas Tourism Bureau said to the Los Angeles Times. “To show our gratitude for his contribution to our city, we are preparing to nominate him for an Honorary Citizen award and welcome him to settle here.” Meanwhile, Wang Yang and his team in China have not yet responded.

Not only the tourism bureau has spoken out, but also the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Now, it and its students have a new image of being “cool as ice.” As for the impact, good or bad, MIT spokesperson Patty Richards said, “Every January, MIT has its annual Independent Activities Period (IAP), during which departments offer a range of specialized topics that aren’t part of regular courses, allowing students to write research papers and take qualifying exams based on their interests.

“That is why MIT had the specialty subject ‘How to win if you must gamble?’ and the history of the MIT-21-TEAM. We encourage students to create, explore, and go beyond the classroom textbooks, to try all sorts of possibilities.”

Patty Richards’s final words were tinged with regret, “But card counting is just a not-so-clever statistical study. Easily acquired money brings a corrupt life and the loss of talent. Had they applied their smarts to other things, their accomplishments today might have been greater.”

The focus of numerous media wasn’t just on “MIT-21-TEAM”, Wang Yang, Natalie Portman, and other star creators; they were also digging into the real story behind this adapted movie and Ben Mezrich’s adapted novel, which is also what the public wanted to know.

“The Boston Magazine” and “The Boston Globe” both reported the differences between the adaptation and reality, such as the fictional recruiting of strippers to exchange chips, the existence of dozens of team members split into many groups at the same time, etc.; “The San Francisco Chronicle”, “The New York Times” also reported that MIT-21-TEAM didn’t disband until the late 90s, which is the period when the impressive Yang picked up a DV. The reason for the disbanding was that even cross-dressing couldn’t fool the casinos across America any longer, and uneven profits, nowhere near as carefree as in the movies… …

They all seemed to be saying that for the sake of making the story more exciting, the remarkable Yang and Ben Mezrich both made significant exaggerations in their adaptations. The difference between 100 people making 10 million in 10 years and 6 people making 10 million in 2 years is vast.

But do movie fans care? If historical epics can be adapted, why not a clearly positioned commercial film? As long as the technique is authentic, it’s fine as long as the story is excitingly adapted! So no matter how the mainstream media reported it, the screening rooms in the cinemas showing “21” were still packed, with increasing numbers of ratings on sites like IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, and its box office continued to surge daily.

As the week of August 8-14 became history, the media and public once again witnessed the power of a “phenomenal director”; “MIT-21-TEAM” saw a slight drop of 33% in its box office trend, taking in $50.42 million in 3,380 theaters and successfully defending its title as North America’s box office champion for the second week of August!

In its two weeks of release, its IMDB page score remained at 8.1 with 125,846 ratings; Rotten Tomatoes, after adding many new reviews, showed 215 public reviews with a freshness rating of 87%, a critic freshness of 90%, and an audience approval of 90%. The North American box office total for this gambling movie had reached $125.6 million, just $38.4 million shy of surpassing Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can”.

Maybe a week, two weeks… it was just a matter of time, the surprising drop in box office percent, the amazing achievements.

“The remarkable Yang found a nice release slot,” said Yahoo Entertainment, this week’s box office runner-up is the newly released “Anti-Terrorism Special Forces” with $45.5 million, third place was also a new release, “Freaky Friday” with $30.84 million, fourth was “American Pie” with $15.21 million, followed by “Pirates of the Caribbean” with $14.6 million… none posed much of a threat, especially since “Pirates of the Caribbean” was in its fifth week already.

Whereas “Catch Me If You Can” faced competitors like “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, “The Hangover”, “Mr. Hughes” … during the Christmas and New Year’s period.

But regardless, the previously hyped “remarkable Yang VS Spielberg” showdown now had an anticipated outcome. Yahoo Entertainment’s review said, “Just as he has turned many impossibilities into realities before, the remarkable Yang has once again proven that youth is filled with endless possibilities. He has kept his word and set a new genre record! We can only marvel, it’s the time for the young (it’s Yang’s time).”

“Well, although in every aspect the gap between the two men is still vast, this round, the remarkable Yang won,” Opal E commented on the message board of this news article, voicing the opinion of not just themselves but many netizens. Cynt C wrote, “It’s hard to say which one I prefer more, they are both classics with their own charms. ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is more elegant and enchanting, befitting Spielberg’s age; ’21’ is very reckless and wild, the result of the remarkable Yang + Las Vegas.”

“I lean more toward YOUNG’s comment about the gambling film genre, or blackjack genre. He has fully achieved it, after watching ‘MIT-21-TEAM’, I think it will be hard for me to be interested in blackjack movies in the future unless they can be as professional and exciting as ’21’.”

Flavia’s comment received widespread support, as many moviegoers shared the same sentiment. Garrison N, whose profile picture was of a young Caucasian male, wrote, “Whether the story is all about card counting at blackjack, or it’s just a part of it, I hope no one tries to fool us with the same old tricks from ‘Rain Man’ or ‘The Hangover’ anymore. It worked in the past but not now. Can’t do it? Then it would be better to just let him hit the jackpot on a slot machine, forget about it!”

“Does this issue really exist? Will there be any blackjack movies in the future?” wrote Waterly L, “What story or card counting team could be cooler than the MIT group?” Another user, Beld F, followed with, “No one dares to challenge ’21’ in card counting, that would be too stupid! At most, Caesars Entertainment Corporation might remake this story in the future, just watch.”

Ramona, whose profile picture was of a young Caucasian girl, wrote with a sigh, “What a pity! ’21’ got me really interested in card counting, and I wanted to see more movies about taking down those detestable casinos, but it seems Wang Yang has already taken it as far as it can go, why——!”

It wasn’t just the fans who thought this way. Roger Ebert, the film critic who gave ’21’ two big thumbs up, also said in his review, “Wang Yang has taken blackjack away with a handsome retirement package, to disappear from Hollywood forever. Well done!”

“This is what I call card counting, this is what I call a casino movie!” Roger Ebert seemed to have a special affection for Wang Yang’s films, praising a director for the seventh consecutive time, he himself found it unbelievable: “Now when I watch Wang Yang’s films, I always have high expectations and an even more critical eye. Yet, each time, he satisfies, making you want to curse him for doing nothing wrong.”

“This is a truly wonderful blockbuster. Watching that group of college students sweep through the casinos got me so excited my lips started trembling! This is much more interesting than those boring explosions by Michael Bay. I can’t believe he made ‘The Rock’ too, that was a terrible experience! Thank goodness for this young man.”

Old man Ebert continued with his acerbic style of film criticism, praising ’21’ while not forgetting to mock ‘Cradle 2 the Grave’, making it a point of comparison: “I feel really blessed. Wang Yang is like a haven with no bad movies, so safe. This film gave me a wonderful feeling of being young again, such a beautiful indulgence. The film technique inside is very meticulous, but what’s most charming is the movie’s bold spirit, the smart people controlling the world!”

“From the very first second, it tells a story right up until the end of the credits. What story does it tell? ‘High School Musical’ is like a well-behaved high school student, warm, sunny, and naive; while ’21’ is like a reckless, wild college student, fearless and ready to do anything, of course, within the bounds of the law—they wouldn’t dare play around with bombs and explosions. But it’s this type of rational madness, this calm audacity, that I admire the most!”

After praising various aspects of the film and the performances of the actors, Roger Ebert concluded his review with, “After watching this movie, I felt as thrilled as ‘that’, and it was like the ‘that’ you have with those porn magazines under your bed, Very-Good!”

The 15th marks the start of the third week of August box office rankings, with 4 movies making their big debut, the skateboarding movie ‘Grind’, the comedy ‘Hot Baby’; “Once young and magical,” Kevin Costner, who won the Best Director Oscar at 36 with ‘Dances with Wolves’, is directing and starring in the new Western romance ‘Open Range’. Is it going to continue to be a Razzie contender or will it be a comeback?

However, among the 4 movies, the one that has garnered the most attention from moviegoers and predicted by media to take ’21’s crown for the weekly box office champion is the horror action film ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ directed by Yu Rentai for New Line Cinema, where two iconic horror villains from the ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ series unexpectedly clash. Releasing in 3,014 theaters, it aims to carve a bloody path, and it seems like time for ’21’ to step aside.

It might be time to step aside in North America, but overseas it’s just getting started. The worldwide release wasn’t simultaneous since, after all, it’s not a big-budget film and there were market uncertainties like a lead character of Chinese descent. Overseas cinemas were reluctant to take the risk of distributing too many copies without seeing how it performs in North America first; and to pave the way for some business collaborations, Caesars Entertainment Corporation traded the distribution rights for ’21’ in certain countries to other companies.

As the 15th and 16th arrived, the MIT geniuses made their appearances in many big box office countries including the United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Germany… and of course, across the three regions of China.

How will “21” perform overseas, and can it surpass the $188 million international box office of “Catch Me If You Can”? What will be the box office take in mainland China where the promotion has been so aggressive? All of these topics that countless movie fans and aficionados are concerned about are still an unknown.

“Yang, are you really not coming home tonight?”

Under the night sky in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Jessica paced back and forth in the spacious living room, holding the telephone receiver. Even though they had been apart for less than a week and talked on the phone every day, she missed him terribly. Not only was she not allowed to pick him up from the airport, but she also had to self-quarantine… Hearing that Wang Yang, who was just in Beverly Hills, said he wouldn’t come back and needed to quarantine for three more days, Jessica immediately became anxious and said, “Come home! Right now! You’re safely in the country, how could you possibly have SARS? I don’t care.”

Just getting out of the car, preparing to head towards the hotel entrance, Wang Yang, hearing the word HOME, felt very warm inside and also had an urge to rush back home. But! Wearing a mask, his voice was a bit muffled, “But I care. I don’t want to put you at risk of catching SARS! Just to be safe, Jessie, I’ll stay away from you for three days, let those damn viruses go away, and then set off for a trip.”

“What virus, there isn’t any!” Jessica couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time, with a huff, she sat down on the couch, leaning against the back of it and said, “I’m not that frail, catching non-existent viruses. Look, even my cold is gone! Others have to quarantine for seven days, what’s the deal with you doing it for only three?” She laughed and said, “Counting down to the New Year, perhaps?” Wang Yang exclaimed in surprise, “Oh, that’s right, do I need to quarantine for seven days?”

“Come home!” Jessica said weakly, looking around at the familiar furniture, lying on her side near the sleeping Danny. Without him, it seemed she couldn’t muster any energy. Her face was full of tenderness as she softly said into the receiver, “I miss you.”

Wang Yang stopped in his tracks, holding the cellphone, looking up at the night sky and the dazzling street scene around him, with the sparse passersby coming and going. The assistant, Susan McCarthy, walking in front, also stopped in confusion. Wang Yang, suppressing the impulse in his heart, said gently, “I miss you too, but if I come back, I won’t be able to resist kissing you.” He chuckled softly and said earnestly, “Just tonight plus tomorrow, one more day of quarantine! Can we meet tomorrow night? Any kind of countdown is good—I’ll feel more at ease with some time to buffer.”

“Okay then, I’m going to bed, you should rest well too, sweet dreams, baby!” Thinking that he had been on a flight for an entire day, quietly ‘quarantining’ himself for a night might not be a bad thing. Jessica made a kissing sound through the receiver and laughed, “Bye!” Wang Yang said, “Bye!”

Having put down the receiver, she got up in her slippers and started walking upstairs.

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PS: Wow, wishing everyone a happy National Day! A new month has arrived, and Wow will work hard! These few days are the double monthly ticket event, which basically determines this month’s ranking. Please, everyone, I need your guaranteed monthly tickets! Help Wow gather some energy, let’s work together and see if we can break into the top 50? Thank you! (To be continued, for more, please visit . More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)