The Best Director

“Wang Yang joins forces with Joss Whedon to announce the mysterious sci-fi new project ‘Firefly’!”

News from the 61st World Science Fiction Convention, according to Rotten Tomatoes, Yahoo Entertainment, and other media outlets, was that the previous day at the convention, Wang Yang had revealed his new project “Firefly.” Later, during interviews with reporters, both he and Joss Whedon smiled and said that they couldn’t reveal too much information at the moment because the film was still in a nascent stage, but it would be a very surprising movie.

When it came to production scale, Wang Yang indicated that there wasn’t a clear budget set for the moment, but it would be what people call a “big production.”

As journalists had expected, the official website for “Firefly” quietly went live that evening. The content was sparse, with only official press releases, photos of Wang Yang and Joss Whedon together, and concept art from the science fiction convention; to the delight of sci-fi fans, there were two pieces of concept art revealed.

Aside from the media-reported “cliff-hanging spaceship,” another picture showed a desolate wasteland ablaze with wildfire where many soldiers in different styles of uniforms stood meters apart, authoritatively facing each other off. The soldiers on the right were in crisp and neat uniforms, embodying the traditional streamlined style of interstellar military science fiction; those on the left were ragged and dirty, resembling Western cowboys. Several military officers at the forefront of each faction seemed to be negotiating something.

The “Firefly” official website belongs to Flame Entertainment’s integrated account system. As soon as it went live and word spread, the message board swiftly filled with new comments from fans: “I’m so looking forward to this!” “This is really good news!” “Looking at the two concept images, is the story about the interstellar military? I really hate war right now.” “I just heard this news from a friend, and we can look forward to it with gusto!” …

User Hubbard F said calmly: “Joss Whedon is highly talented as a screenwriter, and his series are great; but the fact is, his directing and producing abilities are lacking. In ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’, the episodes he produced and directed were not the best. I don’t think he will be able to offer much help to Wang Yang on the big screen.” Curtis H said: “Joss Whedon is a newcomer to the screen, Wang Yang is not. The true soul of a film is its director.”

Augustine TI, whose avatar is a cat, pointed out: “Looking at the two concept images, the scenes in ‘Firefly’ are immense, and it features many different settings and a host of characters, which poses a whole new challenge for Yang.”

Since “Firefly” currently only has a name and concept art, with no information in other aspects, the network media have only reported on it briefly. It seems that the successful marriage proposal did not slow down Wang Yang. With “The Devil Wears Prada” just wrapped up, he’s about to start shooting a new film.

However, Yahoo Entertainment raises a point worth noting: given Wang Yang’s past pace, this effects-heavy film is very likely to be released in the summer of 2005, which means it could clash with “Star Wars: Episode III,” a head-to-head collision of the same genre of science fiction films! Wang Yang VS George Lucas.

Of course, it’s also possible that Wang Yang will take longer to film this time or choose to avoid “Star Wars: Episode III” by releasing it during the 2005 Christmas season or even the summer of 2006. If that happens, Yahoo editor Alison said: “I would be very disappointed; that wouldn’t be Wang Yang’s style.”

“What I’m worried about now is that everyone’s expectations for this film will be very high. Just like ‘The Matrix Reloaded,’ it will be unbearable,” commented Gabriela, who might or might not be using her real name, or she could be a fan of “High School Musical.” She wrote: “Without a doubt, Wang Yang is facing a tremendous challenge; a single misstep could expose him to harsh criticism.”

This also counts as a kind of disparate treatment based on skin color; mainstream media tend to be very patient and forgiving with white idols, lifting them sky-high with just a little achievement while being relatively strict with other ethnicities, even going out of their way to vilify and discredit. For example, Michael Jackson; and more recently, Indian-American director M. Night Shyamalan.

In 1999, at 29 years old, Shyamalan broke out with “The Sixth Sense,” instantly becoming a “wunderkind director” and a hot young star in Hollywood, with media and the public sparing no praise for him.

However, his subsequent films “Unbreakable” in 2000 and “The Omen” in 2002 were seen as mediocre, lacking surprises. Although audience approval was still passable, he was already facing criticism from many in the media: “He only knows a few tricks,” “A lousy poet,” “Completely devoid of talent,” …

If he lapses any further, the Golden Raspberry Award awaits him at any moment.

From the age of 18, with his “seven consecutive wins,” to now, at 23, having become the youngest Oscar-winning Best Director, Wang Yang’s fame and status in Hollywood and the film industry had become very extraordinary, so extraordinary that American culture had taken him as one of its pop culture icons, a representative of the proud American Dream… just like NBA’s new draft pick this year, LeBron James, who had been named “KING” before even playing an NBA game, and was expected to surpass Michael Jordan in the future.

The expectations and admiration for the marvelous Yang had accumulated to a tipping point, where the slightest shortcoming could trigger an explosion.

“I hope everyone treats ‘Firefly’ with a normal attitude! It might just be an ordinary but exciting entertainment film. Don’t put too much pressure on the marvelous Yang, I don’t want to see another ‘The Matrix Reloaded.'” After user Gil E left this message on the official website, he was immediately torn apart by those who followed, with Frey L saying, “If you treat the marvelous Yang with a casual attitude, he might be very unhappy!” Courtney C said, “Don’t worry, Yang won’t let us down!” Jenny said, “I want to hear him say ‘I’m going to win the 2006 Oscar!'”

Bliss J said, “I was at the science fiction convention hall, where they played an unreleased ending of ‘District 9,’ and it was truly distressing! But the marvelous Yang is about to get married, and he said he’s undergone a huge change and is full of optimism. So at least we don’t have to worry that ‘Firefly’ will be oppressive and tragic.” Kelly, however, continued, “I think it’s definitely not that simple; otherwise, why would it be nominated for an Oscar?”…

On August 30, the Hugo Awards ceremony for 2003 was held, and under the hosting of science fiction author Spider Robinson, the awards were presented one by one.

The Best Novel Award was taken by Robert J. Sawyer for ‘Hominids,’ the Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form went to ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People,’ with Joss Whedon losing to his own crew; and without much suspense, the Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form trophy was won by ‘District 9.’

After the Golden Globe nomination, Oscar nomination, and the 29th Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film among other honors, it added another prestigious award to its list, completing a grand slam by sweeping all the accolades a science fiction film could get.

Sci-fi fans were even more eagerly anticipating ‘Firefly.’ Why not? A Rotten Tomatoes poll asking “What are your expectations for Yang’s new work ‘Firefly’?” showed that 75% of respondents easily chose the highest level of “Exceeds Expectations,” 17% selected the second level of “Very excited,” only 5% who were non-fans looking for excitement chose the lowest level of “Don’t care,” and the remaining 3% of fans went with “Neutral attitude.”

“Mark, this is definitely going to be a big production.”

In the sunny office of the chairman of Flame Entertainment in Santa Monica, the computer screen on the desk displayed rows of script text. Wang Yang gently spun his chair and contemplated while looking at Mark Stant, who sat opposite him in a suit, and said, “I think the final budget… should be around 150 to 200 million. An initial 50 million in funding should be fine for now.”

At the moment, it was all very early-stage; he was unclear about the final figures, because no shooting plans had been set in stone yet—script, crew, cast… everything was still up in the air, and whether new technologies would be used during the shooting was also hard to say.

Robert Zemeckis’s ‘The Polar Express’ had started filming in March this year, the first full-length IMAX-3D film, made with “motion capture” technology for live-action animation. However, real 3D screens and IMAX theaters are still very rare globally, with only about seventy or so, and IMAX-3D camera technology is not yet mature, so Wang Yang did not think the time was right to go after 3D.

But in a few preliminary discussions about ‘Firefly’ with Valery Fidgest, Valery suggested trying to shoot some scenes, like those at the climax of the movie, with a 65mm IMAX film camera, currently the highest quality image capturing system, which allows shooting very large action scenes, because traditional film is only 35mm. Moreover, IMAX film is high quality, resulting in especially textured images.

In post-production, they would transfer the 65mm film shots to 70mm film; for the remaining shots taken with the 35mm ‘anamorphic’ widescreen camera, the technicians would modify the aspect ratio of the screen, in this way bringing it to the 70mm IMAX big screen. Conversely, in regular cinemas, 65mm would be downscaled to 35mm, but the unimaginable large scenes would still bring a new visual impact.

But the result of doing so meant a sharp increase in production costs, as the cost of shooting with 65mm IMAX film was four times that of 35mm conventional film; and there would be additional costs in post-production conversion and copying.

Sony and other companies were in the process of developing digital cameras, which, once released, many producers would choose over the less-clear digital filming to save costs. Now, apart from Robert Zemeckis, nobody was using IMAX film, which is usually for documentaries, to shoot movies. However, Wang Yang wanted better picture quality and a cooler way to present the climax scenes, and IMAX film was also a promotional highlight to attract the audience, so he had agreed to Valery Fidgest’s suggestion.

“200 million, the company’s finances can handle it,” Mark Stant nodded upon hearing this. After all, 200 million wouldn’t all be thrown in at once, there was plenty of room for financial maneuvering, but he still frowned and asked, “Are we investing independently?”

Last time, the production cost of $28 million for “MIT-21-TEAM” was still wholly invested by Flame Entertainment; only in some overseas countries did we choose to cooperate with major companies for distribution, which can be considered sharing a portion of the profits in exchange for favorable marketing and promotional relationships.

“I just checked the financial situation, there’s no need to pull in investment for the time being,” Wang Yang sat up straight, picked up the mouse, and began clicking, smiling at the screen, “I believe ‘Firefly’ will have no problem recouping its cost, and I am confident it will make a big profit. It won’t turn into a ‘Windtalkers,’ will it? No, it won’t.”

“My boss, the risk is primarily on your account, you’ll have to see to it,” Mark Slant gestured with open hands indifferently, now there was no need, no reason to persuade him of anything; this young boss had already demonstrated his incredible ability to double money multiple times—just hand him the cash! Even the largest companies would dare to take on these two hundred million; let alone some small independent companies, they would join forces to invest, not to mention Flame Entertainment.

However, each investment always carries risks and must be approached with caution. Mark crossed his arms and sat back, chuckling, “From my CEO’s perspective, a two hundred million investment is huge, bringing in 3-4 independent production companies to co-invest wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

“Just so happens I have the money, maybe I should register a Flame Entertainment 2, Flame Entertainment 3, Flame Entertainment 4? Then invest together, make money and lose money together,” Wang Yang joked as he pressed a few keys on the keyboard; Mark Slant shrugged, “Good idea.”

Recently, the company entered the fourth quarter; with the end of the summer season, the funds had been replenished to a certain extent. And the main projects, such as “Furious Cars” directed by Lin Yibin, which wrapped up filming in May and is nearing the end of post-production with a planned release in May 2004; “Step Up” directed by Annie Fletcher, which premiered in October; “Saw” to be released in November; and “The Devil Wears Prada” in December.

The company was about to start several large-scale new movies, “Mr. Hughes 2” and “The Hangover 2” were slated to be up next on the schedule.

Christopher Nolan had just turned down the director’s chair for Warner Bros’ “Batman.” Some time ago Warner Bros. decided to reboot the “Batman” series, instantly sparking a major campaign to select a director, initially with only Wang Yang as a candidate; Warner Bros. spokesperson Scott Rowe even claimed, “We are fervently inviting the magical Yang to take charge of Batman, and this is nearly complete!”

This excited the fans immensely; they had been looking forward to Magical Yang directing a superhero movie for a long time! But before the news could heat up, Wang Yang’s spokesperson clarified the rumor, Warner Bros. indeed extended a warm invitation to Wang Yang to direct, but his work schedule was full and he had not considered taking on “Batman.”

It turned out to be just Warner Bros. hype! While fans were disappointed, Warner continued its search for a director for “Batman,” listing Martin Campbell, Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan, and others as candidates, and Nolan was busy with the planning of “Mr. Hughes 2.”

Wang Yang did not express any opinion on this matter. In his mind, he had seen Nolan’s “Batman” series. “The Dark Knight” was a classic. If the directorship of “Batman” hadn’t fallen into Christopher Nolan’s hands, “The Dark Knight” script would certainly not have been written by Jonathan Nolan. But first, what would become of “The Moment of Warfare”?

He didn’t know. If Martin Campbell directed, it might turn out to be a cool 007-style film; Darren Aronofsky could potentially make it even darker than the Nolan brothers’ style.

Others might not necessarily produce a good film or a bad film; but one thing is certain, “Batman” would lose out on becoming a classic series. This was indeed very regrettable, but on the other hand, if Christopher Nolan went to make “Mr. Hughes 2,” he also had the chance to create a classic.

Because from the film “Mr. Hughes” itself, from the discussions with Nolan, Wang Yang knew that the first movie “Mr. Hughes: The Secret Life” was still in the process of testing the waters, much like “The Moment of Warfare”; the second movie “Mr. Hughes: Power, Money, and Madness” was very likely to make a huge impact. So, rationally and emotionally, he hoped Nolan would direct “Batman,” but he hoped even more that Nolan would make “Mr. Hughes 2.”

In the end, Nolan did not ask Flame Entertainment to postpone “Mr. Hughes 2,” nor did he pass the directorial role to someone else. He declined Warner Bros.’s invitation and did not participate in the directorial competition for “Batman,” because naturally, he wanted to complete the painstakingly prepared “Mr. Hughes 2.”

And so the sequel was elevated on the production schedule; if it could be completed as planned, it would debut in the 2004 Christmas slot, once again aiming for the Oscars.

“Yang, to be honest, missing out on ‘Batman’ is a real pity; I’d have loved to try such a big production, but screwing up ‘Mr. Hughes 2’ would be even more regrettable,” Nolan told Wang Yang on the phone, his light voice filled with determination. Wang Yang then had an idea and told him, “Flame welcomes your big production plans; also, if any superhero movies come up, we’ll make every effort to secure them and hand them to you.” Nolan simply said, “I know.”

“Is there a script called ‘Brokeback Mountain’ looking for investment?”

In the office, Wang Yang pointed to a document on the table. As Mark Slant picked up the file to read, he asked with a puzzled voice, “Brokeback Mountain? Seems like I’ve heard of it…” After glancing at the file, he suddenly frowned and exclaimed, “Brokeback Mountain, the gay cowboy theme!” Wang Yang nodded, and Mark became even more perplexed: “Yes, it’s looking for investment, and it has been for quite some time. So what about it? Wait! Are you interested?”

On October 13, 1997, a short story by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx titled ‘Brokeback Mountain’ first appeared in The New Yorker. Soon after, it was adapted into a screenplay by the famous authors Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, and since then it had practically been constantly in search of investment to hit the big screen. Yet even as a low-budget film, no one was willing to put their money into it.

It was like a hornets’ nest, or a hot potato, something investors were reluctant to touch. First, they were afraid of losing money as the market for gay films was very small, and what was more fatal was that many theaters simply would not screen it, so the audience couldn’t watch it if they wanted to; second, they feared the public opinion. It was a good script, but the more successful ‘Brokeback Mountain’ became, the more reaction it would provoke from society, and the more noise from conservatives and religious groups.

But Flame Entertainment never feared these two things. Investing logically and daringly in shining yet underrated potential was both their investment philosophy and their practiced action. That’s why FM Company had repeatedly achieved success with independent films, making other film companies green with envy.

“Yes, I am interested,” Wang Yang nodded with a smile. The movie was perfect for Ang Lee to direct, with a tenderness and delicacy that only he could capture so wonderfully, like a warm cup of water. Since ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was still seeking investment, Wang Yang did not want a butterfly effect to result in another director taking the helm. That would not only mean missing out on a classic but would also cause loss to the community of Chinese directors.

Unlike Nolan’s ‘Mr. Hughes 2’, which was likely to hit it big, Ang Lee was currently in a tight spot, so he needed to become the investor for ‘Brokeback Mountain’ to ensure Ang Lee could take the director’s chair. Thinking about this, Wang Yang said with a smile, “I’m very interested; have James Schamus contact me, I’ll take over!” James Schamus was the producer who was currently running around tirelessly and hitting walls trying to fund ‘Brokeback Mountain’.

“What? Why would you be interested in a gay-themed film?” Mark Slant couldn’t help but look curious, utterly baffled. Shaking his head with amusement, he said, “You are about to get married!”

Wang Yang pursed his lips and shook his head seriously, “I’m not, but I respect others’ sexual orientations, I believe love has no distinctions. Heterosexual, homosexual… love is the same for all. However, to be honest, I find it hard to accept bisexuality, it’s too greedy.” He laughed as he spoke.

Realizing his words were a bit off, Mark Slant shrugged and said, “I have many gay friends, you know. I mean you are about to get married, go on a honeymoon, and also shoot ‘Firefly’ – do you even have the time?”

“I’m just investing, maybe score a producer title?” Wang Yang raised his eyebrows interestedly. Besides insisting on inviting Ang Lee to direct, he also hoped for a cast lineup of future original members, Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway… To participate in these processes, having the power to invite and audition and have a say was essentially being a producer. He said with a smile, “I plan to invite Ang Lee to direct this movie.”

“Ang Lee? Wow.” Mark Slant was momentarily taken aback, even more surprised than when he heard Wang Yang wanted to take on ‘Brokeback Mountain’. After the debacle of ‘Hulk’, Ang Lee had become the most unpopular child, and nobody was willing to give him candy.

Of course, that did not include the magical Wang Yang, who was also Chinese… and moreover, Mark thought seriously, ‘Hulk’ only showed that Ang Lee was not suitable for commercial blockbusters. ‘Pushing Hands’, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, ‘The Ice Storm’ all proved the Chinese director’s mastery in dealing with emotions and ideological conflicts, his delicacy and depth.

“OK,” Mark Slant nodded, “I’ll tell James Schamus.”

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