The Best Director

In the spacious and bright café, where there were not many customers, James Schamus lifted his coffee cup, sipped it, pressing down the excitement in his heart with the bitter taste. This 44-year-old Caucasian middle-aged man wore black round glasses, his thinning hair graying, and his prominent hooked nose turned red with excitement. Though they had already confirmed it over the phone, Schamus was still overwhelmed with emotion now that he saw Wang Yang nodding in agreement in person.

For ‘Brokeback Mountain’, he’d been pulling in investors for so long! Apart from Focus Features showing some interest, other film companies nearly all avoided it like the plague, but Focus was only willing to invest three million. What could you shoot with three million? At least ten million was needed! He’d nearly reached the point of wanting to empty his own pockets to shoot it.

But as age comes on, one lacks that kind of impulsive drive to follow through, so he chose to continue pitching to Focus and other companies. Now everything was perfect; Firefly Films was taking over! And with an investment of fifteen million!

“Yes, I’m sure about investing. Whether it’s homosexuality or heterosexuality, they should both be represented in this movie,” said Wang Yang, who also took a sip of coffee and continued earnestly, “‘Brokeback Mountain’ is a very touching, excellent story and an opportunity for everyone to communicate. Homosexuals can speak their hearts, heterosexuals can learn about their hardships—it should be brought to the big screen.”

As he spoke, he smiled broadly, looking at James Schamus nodding in agreement, and said with a laugh, “And from a business perspective of investment, it will also be a film with great box office appeal and awards potential—I will make a profit! Ha ha, I’m not afraid of those public opinions.”

“Heh, that’s you,” laughed James Schamus, his cultured face wrinkling with amusement. This young man had turned taboo topics such as teenage pregnancy and abortion, like in ‘Juno’, into something openly discussed, and even managed to commercialize teen pregnancy. It was no surprise at all to him that Wang Yang would invest in ‘Brokeback Mountain’. Schamus smiled and said, “I also believe it will be the kind of film that is both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.”

“But I have a strong suggestion,” Wang Yang raised his right forefinger with a smile, saying something both sides would agree with: “Let Ang Lee be the director.” At that, James Schamus was very pleased, “Of course! Who else could be more suitable than him?” Wang Yang nodded and laughed, “Exactly.”

In fact, James Schamus could be said to be Ang Lee’s “other half,” having collaborated for many years with deep affection. If they were gay, they’d certainly be openly together by now. Beginning with Ang Lee’s feature film debut ‘Pushing Hands’, followed by ‘The Wedding Banquet’, ‘Eat Drink Man Woman’, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, ‘The Ice Storm’, ‘Ride with the Devil’, ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’, ‘Hulk’, Schamus had been one of the screenwriters on all but ‘Sense and Sensibility’.

He was also one of the producers on all eight of Ang Lee’s films thus far, with well-known producers often owning their own independent production companies, participating in a small portion of the investment to share in the profits. Schamus also owned an independent company called “Good Machine” which had produced a total of 32 films, eight of which were directed by Ang Lee. So once ‘Brokeback Mountain’ received investment from any major company or independent film studio, Ang Lee was the 99% preferred choice for director.

But there was still that 1% that Wang Yang wanted to ensure, who knew if James Schamus might suddenly go mad or fall out with Ang Lee? Not to mention the possibility of Schamus pulling out of the investment midway like some other producers before, transferring the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ script to someone else. Additionally, being able to invest in the production of such a classic film meant he really had made a profit.

“This news is too shocking,” exhaled James Schamus, a bit afraid that this miraculous young man would go nuts, joining the production and then refusing Ang Lee as director—unless the miraculous Yang directed it himself, which would make him consider whether to accept Firefly’s investment at all. Now that Wang Yang had specified Ang Lee as director, this young man was truly awesome!

He gave a thumbs up, exclaiming, “Investing in ‘Brokeback Mountain’, trusting Ang, very few have that courage and insight. Miraculous Yang, I must say, you’re incredible!”

“Thank you, but maybe, James, don’t praise yourself too much,” Wang Yang said with a smile and shrug, as James Schamus laughed out loud. Wang Yang then reiterated with a smile, “But to get ‘Brokeback Mountain’, Firefly Films is the lucky one, let’s do it justice.”

James Schamus nodded, took a sip of his coffee, and said, “The script has a harsh, desolate quality that I feel doesn’t suit the screen, like in ‘Juno’, hiding the seriousness within a warm and delicate touch, then the audience will like it.” He smiled, “But I trust Ang will handle it well… ‘Hulk’ was quite embarrassing, it was actually me who urged Ang to shoot it.”

“It’s okay, actually, I think ‘Hulk’ was quite good to watch.” Seeing Schamus wearing a self-deprecating expression, Wang Yang spoke earnestly, “The latter half of the film was excellent, without the lead-up it wouldn’t have had that effect.” He spread his hands, “But if we look at it now, the exciting plot points weren’t arranged well, superhero movie fans and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ audiences differ, ‘Hulk’ was just too unconventional, and the general public lacks patience.”

James Schamus nodded with a sigh, having already pondered why ‘Hulk’ failed, and said, “Now it seems that’s indeed the case; the plot was misarranged. If there had been a battle scene at the beginning, or some other expectation-raising, exciting scene, it would’ve been much better.”

“Hmm, starting with an explosion is good, but then how to maintain that excitement without tiring or frustrating the audience poses a new problem.”

Wang Yang fell into contemplation, not thinking about ‘Hulk’ but ‘Firefly.’ On his current movie script, it started with Captain Mal’s battle in ‘Serenity Valley’, one of the defensive battles before the Independents lost the war, which set the story’s background. There wouldn’t be too much footage of this battle; then it would skip many years to a robbery committed by Serenity, outlining Mal and some crew members through combat, inadvertently also stealing the box containing River.

Both ‘Serenity Valley’ battle and the robbery would bring many big scenes and actions, as long as the shots are fluent and the effects are top-notch, added with coolness, the audience will be stimulated from the outset and quickly engaged. If there is any tedium to follow, their impatience will grow; starting on a high makes pushing subsequent climaxes higher and differentiating them a challenge.

He already had a concrete idea; “Firefly” would definitely not be tedious. Humorous dialogue, continuous explosive battles, and beautiful visuals would make it captivating. But whether it could be done and what the outcome would be still needed to be verified.

After taking a sip of his slightly bitter coffee, Wang Yang’s train of thought circled back and he said, “Let’s leave ‘Brokeback Mountain’ entirely to Ang as long as it’s politically correct.” James Schamus nodded with a smile, “Sly political correctness, I’ve always thought ‘Juno’ should have been nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture.” Wang Yang smiled faintly, “Political correctness is just to get more people to accept the movie better; changing the world happens bit by bit; if no one watches it, no matter how incorrect it is made, it’s all in vain.”

“I completely agree,” James Schamus thought, getting more and more excited at the prospect of making “Brokeback Mountain.” He couldn’t help but laugh, “I can’t wait; I have to tell Ang the good news now.” Wang Yang smiled and raised his coffee cup, “Feel free.” James Schamus pulled out his phone from his pocket, dialed a number, and soon said cheerfully, “Andy! I have some good news for you; Yang, the amazing Yang, is going to finance ‘Brokeback Mountain’! We are all hoping you’ll come on as the director.”

At that moment, Ang Lee was in the backyard of his New York home, feeding a bunch of hens with corn kernels. Since the dismal failure of ‘Hulk,’ he had been living a semi-retired life, resembling a drifter content with his lot, occasionally hearing criticism or mockery. Amidst the clucking of chickens, his seldom-used phone rang, followed by James Schamus’s excited voice. Lee quietly said, “Oh, so I’m to be the director.”

He had heard about Schamus’s plan quite early on and, having read the original novel “Brokeback Mountain,” knew what the story was about. He hadn’t expected that now Wang Yang would take over. He had known the amazing Yang for a while; their relationship had always been like an acquaintance between gentlemen, not much interaction, but still well maintained. The last contact had been when he sent a message of congratulations for Yang’s engagement; before that, it had been Yang’s comforting call after ‘Hulk.’

Directing “Brokeback Mountain”? Ang Lee thought for a moment, then scattered another handful of corn, saying, “Oh, that’s not bad.” Soon after, he heard Wang Yang’s voice: “Hey, Ang.” Lee responded, “Yang.” Wang Yang’s laughter was hearty, “Seriously now, you’ve read the script, right? I have a few casting suggestions, Heath Ledger would be great for Ennis, and Jack could be played by Jake Gyllenhaal…”

Ang Lee scattered another handful of corn, and amidst the clucking, he said, “Oh, that’s nice.”

Although Flame Film had decided to finance “Brokeback Mountain,” James Schamus, Ang Lee, original author Annie Proulx, screenwriter Larry McMurtry, and Diana Ossana were all very happy and looking forward to it. However, Flame Film and they all kept the news quiet for the time being. Everything was proceeding quietly, waiting until after 9/11 would not be too late, as it was a sensitive time, and topics like same-sex love films were being low-key.

Of course, this matter could not be concealed and did not need to be. News was bound to leak out eventually through actor auditions, the start of filming, and so on. It was all a matter of timing. But this movie was not suited for a lot of pre-production publicity; first, because it was a small-budget film, and second, there was no need to start off by seeking media pressure. “Brokeback Mountain” was taking the route of being quietly made, gaining recognition at various film festivals, proving its worth, and then gradually promoting and releasing it in theaters.

However, the entertainment gossip media had not stopped. The news that Wang Yang and Jessica had gotten engaged in late September and would be married the following January had already spread. The two did not hide it and would announce it to anyone they met. Considering the wedding’s guest list numbered in the hundreds and the preparations for a wedding were many, it wasn’t surprising that the news had leaked and then been reported. But regarding the news itself, the media and the public were very surprised!

So fast! Where are the conflicts and obstacles the gossip magazines talked about? Could they have already signed an agreement? Fans who didn’t want to see the couple get married felt heartbroken; those who were happy for them sent their blessings. It seemed the childhood sweethearts’ fairy tale romance couldn’t be blown away even by a giant storm.

Inside the elegant and luxurious VIP room of the Mimiso brand boutique in Beverly Hills, Wang Yang and Jessica sat side by side on the white sofa, looking at a catalog and selecting an engagement ring; as for the wedding bands, they planned to discuss the design with Su Meimei after getting engaged and then invite Vera Wang to design the wedding dress. The catalog featured various rings, and they noted down their favorites for the clerk to bring out for a closer look.

“I like this one,” Jessica said with a happy smile, flipping through the catalog pages to a small, delicate silver ring with a hint of surprise. Wang Yang, who had his arm around her shoulders, nodded and smiled, “Okay, bring that one over too. Whatever you like, that’s what we’ll get.”

In the end, they settled on the silver ring for their engagement. After bidding farewell to Su Meimei in the store, they walked out onto the street, chatting and laughing under the warm sunshine. Awaiting them were seven or eight paparazzi who had been waiting a long time. As soon as they saw the couple emerge, their long focal length cameras flashed wildly, and a few videographers shouldered their cameras and booms, recording the couple’s every move.

“That’s no fun,” Wang Yang muttered, shaking his head slightly. Ignoring the flashes and camera lenses, he headed straight for the parking spot. Jessica, on the other hand, was all smiles, her happiness undiminished by the paparazzi. She boldly raised her left hand to show off the engagement ring on her ring finger. For a moment, the clicking sounds and blinding flashes enveloped her.

Such a rare opportunity! The paparazzi hurriedly snapped more photos. Putting aside the fact that this was an engagement ring reveal, Jessica wouldn’t have worn such a large diamond when she was out alone; besides, when alone, she was usually expressionless and icy, looking as if she was about to hit someone, rarely smiling so sweetly. She was only this happy when walking with the amazing Yang. Such a rare opportunity, indeed!

“Yang, Jessica, I heard you’re getting married in January next year, is that right?” a middle-aged Caucasian paparazzo in a gray fishing jacket asked eagerly, hoping to get some information while Jessica was in a good mood, as neither of them had responded to any rumors.

Jessica glanced sweetly at Wang Yang and continued to walk and laugh without answering. Another portly reporter followed up with another smiling question, “Can you share how Yang proposed? Tell us about your sweet moments!” Jessica simply responded with “Absolute romance!” without elaborating. The Caucasian reporter shifted his target, asking, “Yang, what about you? How did you win Jessica over?”

“Buddy, you’ve got to understand, if she wants to say something, she’ll say it, if she doesn’t, she won’t, and I don’t dare to mess with that,” Wang Yang said helplessly, pursing his lips. Looking at her beautiful smiling face, he couldn’t help but laugh, “I’m hen-pecked, she’s the BOSS.” Jessica playfully leaned closer to him, hooking his arm, her smile even sweeter and without answering the paparazzi’s questions.

The camera flashes continued relentlessly as the reporters followed the couple step by step until they climbed into their Hummer and drove away.

“What exactly did Yang do to propose?” “Yeah, what was the situation like? You have to tell us today.”

The minimalist living room, designed with a feminine touch, was softly lit. The LCD TV on the wall played images with the volume set low. The hostess, Roland Andersen, sat on the purple sofa, filing her fingernails with a nail file; Eileen leaned back against the sofa with an aloe vera face mask on her face; Jessica was gently grinding her fingernails with a nail file as well, occasionally glancing at the diamond ring on her left ring finger.

In a little over two weeks, Jessica and Wang Yang were going to be engaged. The number of bachelorette gatherings before the engagement was dwindling, and the three women chatted and joked while they indulged in beauty and skincare, occasionally paying attention to the TV.

“Absolute romance!” Jessica said with a smile, looking at Eileen and then at Roland. The sweetness in her heart seemed particularly intense in front of her best friends. She didn’t care about others asking, but sharing the joy with her sisters felt great. She stopped what she was doing and said with a laugh, “That day, we went diving at sea, a very ordinary diving spot…” She animatedly described the events, saying, “Then he pretended, saying it was a treasure chest at the bottom of the sea. When we opened it on the yacht, there were lilies, a ring…”

The face mask didn’t cover Eileen’s eyes. Seeing Jessica’s intoxicated look, she couldn’t help but feel envious. “Oh, that’s so fun! Jessica, you’re getting married before me.” Roland sighed softly, “Before me too.”

“Yeah, really fun.” Recalling the scene, Jessica seemed spellbound for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh right, there was also a sapphire necklace! He said it was the ‘Heart of the Ocean – Happiness Edition.’ You know, when we reunited in the movie theater, it was during ‘Titanic.'” She laughed, showing her teeth, and went on, “Wow, when I saw that fresh lily, I actually thought that chest had some sort of thousand-year freshness power, haha.”

She looked at her engagement ring with joy and said in a sweet, giggly voice, “Then Yang picked up the ring and proposed! He said ‘Jessica’… no, I can’t tell you his proposal speech.” She covered her chest, closing her eyes to savor the happiness, “That’s mine to keep.”

“It must have been so cheesy,” Roland commented while filing her nails and shaking her head with a chuckle; Eileen teased with a laugh, “Yang is a master of sweet talk, a director who is good at that.” Jessica murmured softly, “That was his sincere words.” She suddenly opened her eyes wide, continuing with a laugh, “The most unbelievable part is, after the proposal, dolphins appeared! They must have been attracted by the yacht, me and Yang’s shouting; but I believe they came to bless us, singing and dancing…”

Eileen and Roland were both surprised and seeing her so sweetly smitten, Eileen asked in disbelief, “Wow, really? Was it Flipper? So romantic!” Roland also expressed her amazement, “Oh wow, if someone else told me this, I’d think she was lying. It’s so romantic, so dreamlike.”

“Yeah! I don’t know if it was Flipper, it couldn’t have swum from Australia to the Bahamas, right?” Jessica tilted her head, pretending to think, then suddenly collapsed onto the sofa with a laugh, touching her two best friends with her hands and shouting, “Yay! Overwhelmed with happiness.” She lifted her left hand to look at the ring and let out a loud, exuberant laugh, “I’m getting married soon! I love Yang, this is just great—!”

“You crazy woman.” Roland covered her ears, frowning, “Look at you, lost completely in it! You can’t spoil Yang too much; he’ll start taking you for granted. Men can be so despicable sometimes.” Eileen agreed, “Right, make him work a bit for what he wants.”

Jessica laughed carelessly, the words of her sisters only made her feel happier and sweeter. She and Yang were so good together, without any of those suspicious thoughts. Gently stroking the ring, she smiled and said, “I know! I’m not an idiot, I’ve understood all these crappy things since I was young. But I just can’t help myself when it comes to Yang, it’s like an addiction, this is just me. Let’s not talk about this anymore, you wouldn’t understand, I’m willing to do anything for him.”

She grabbed a couch cushion and hugged it tightly, “I suddenly miss him so much!” Roland wore a blank expression, the corners of his mouth twitching as she said, “What if I got married to my first love, would I be the same?” Eileen shook her head and said, “I’ve had enough, Jessica, why don’t you just roll back home?”

“Shh shh!” Jessica shushed without any reason, looking at the TV screen ahead, suddenly she grabbed the remote control and pressed it, “Watch TV! Yang’s trailer!”

The volume was quickly turned up, and along with the suspenseful music, the NBC channel was showing the trailer for “Prison Break.” Bang bang bang! Miller, dressed in a suit, held handguns in both arms and pulled the triggers, causing a wave of screams in the bank hall! Employees and customers either ducked with their hands over their heads or just stood still in shock…

Days passed, and soon September 11th arrived. Different commemorative events for the two-year anniversary of 9/11 took place all over the world and across America. Al Jazeera broadcasted footage and recent speech recordings of Bin Laden and Zawahiri, the first and second in command of Al-Qaeda, declaring that they would launch larger-scale attack operations. George Bush, who was busy with the deteriorating situation of Iraq’s reconstruction, said he hadn’t heard anything about the Bin Laden and Zawahiri tape.

Politics continued, and cinema screenings also continued. From August 29th to September 4th, the North America weekly box office champion was taken by the new film “Cannibal Heart 2,” which continued to hold the champion title during the total box office week of only $86.37 million from September 5th to 11th; “MIT-21-TEAM” took in another $10.25 million in its fifth week, $5.25 million in the sixth week, with a North American total box office reaching $189 million, and the global box office rise to $356 million, basically running out of steam.

Having safely passed 9/11, Wang Yang was busy preparing for “Firefly” while cooperating with Jessica to arrange the upcoming engagement banquet. But arriving even sooner was the next weekend, and closely following it, Monday the 15th – a new challenger would join the autumn TV battle arena on NBC, “Prison Break.”

On online series forums and entertainment websites, viewers were, of course, highly anticipating this series. The buzz was already loud before its premiere, and stills from the show and photo shoots of actors like Wentworth Miller and Evangeline Lilly were widely circulated. Topics of discussion varied, but one question was of almost universal concern to series fans, Magical Yang’s fans, and NBC: What kind of ratings performance would “Prison Break” show?

A TV series created by Magical Yang, in his first foray into the small screen, would it be worthy of the name “magical”? This result might influence his future screen plans, and series fans felt that whether they could soon see the yet-to-be-seen situational comedy would depend on his mood.

“If ‘Prison Break’ fails, will Wang Yang be unwilling to accept it, and then immediately try another situational comedy?” Fields D initiated such a post, to which Sally replied, “That’s a stupid assumption. If ‘Prison Break’ fails, it’s not a question of whether Magical Yang is willing to accept it or dare to try a situational comedy, but whether the TV series he produced is good or not.”

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So, what were the expectations for “Prison Break”‘s viewership from those involved? Perhaps because it was his first time on the small screen, Wang Yang didn’t make any overly confident or bold statements to his fans this time.

“Classic question!” In an exclusive interview with “TV Series” magazine, when asked by journalist Nadia Laet about his “viewership expectations,” Wang Yang simply stated, “I hope that the premiere viewership can exceed 10 million and then maintain without dropping.”

Too modest! The amazing Yang is too modest. Fans were somewhat surprised, wondering why he only said this—was this a sign of his Chinese humility, or did he lack confidence this time? 10 million is not a low number or mediocre viewership, but it could only be considered decent, likely ranking between 30th and 40th. It wouldn’t become the trump card for a public broadcasting channel like NBC, let alone break into the top ten of the weekly rankings—where you’d need at least 14 million viewers!

If “Prison Break” only had 10 million viewers, it would still be a good show, but not one of Yang’s miraculous works. Fans were left pondering whether he was being modest or revealing weakness.

But what they didn’t know was that Wang Yang was indeed being modest. He simply felt there was no need to promise the sky, as no one knows what kind of chemistry might occur. His modesty stemmed from the fact that the original edition of “Prison Break” made its debut on August 29th, 2005, on FOX, and the first episode garnered an average of approximately 10.5 million viewers, the highest Monday viewership for FOX since September 1998.

With a premiere viewership of 10.5 million, the overall average audience for the first season eventually dropped to only 9.2 million, not rising with the climax of the plot but sliding due to the show’s emerging late-stage flaws, naturally driving away viewers. And that was in 2005, before shows like “Lost” had even come out, when the landscape of TV series was completely different.

For high viewership, it’s essential to clearly define market positioning and form a solid fan base targeting a large audience. Genres such as sitcoms, detective shows, and medical or legal dramas have the advantage of being family-friendly and suitable for all ages; whereas youth idol dramas or cool dramas like “Lost” and “Prison Break” need to attract young people’s attention. Housewives tend to prefer shows like “Sex and the City,” but “Prison Break” requires young people’s support, which makes Evangeline Lilly and the banner of the amazing Yang so important.

And according to the information available, FOX didn’t really value the original version of “Prison Break,” creating episodes while airing and only halfheartedly promoting it. Now, what’s different is that this “Prison Break” is of higher quality in every aspect and has a planned viral marketing strategy. With NBC’s emphasis and full effort in promotion, the circumstances are completely different.

Thus, in Wang Yang’s heart, the real expectation for this “Prison Break” is that the premiere can reach over 15 million viewers, and then maintain that average or even increase. Otherwise, it would be a failure without any excuses.

On the Chinese-language internet, netizens are equally looking forward to the premiere of this American TV series, which can be described as a highly anticipated event, thanks to the impressive efforts of the amazing Yang. Although NBC hasn’t done any significant overseas promotion, domestic websites like Sina and NetEase have spontaneously advertised for the amazing Yang and “Prison Break” in their entertainment sections, fulfilling the information needs of movie and drama fans.

In fact, netizens are not entirely new to American TV series. Mainland China’s television screens have been introducing American series since the 1980s. Shortly after American President Nixon’s visit to China in 1979, “Man from Atlantis” appeared on Chinese viewers’ TV screens, followed by “The A-Team,” “You have the right to remain silent” from “Hunter,” “My Favorite Martian,” “L.A. Law,” “The Pretender,” “Knight Rider,” “Growing Pains,”…

Many Chinese born in the 80s actually grew up watching American TV series. From the 1980s to the late 90s, China introduced close to a hundred American series, with 20-30 of them being widely broadcast and regarded as timeless classics by viewers. However, by the end of the 80s, with the normalization of relations between China and Japan, Japanese dramas started replacing American series on the air, and in turn, were replaced by Korean dramas.

Thus, the younger audience of today either stopped watching American series or are downloading and watching them online—shows like “Friends,” “CSI,” “24,”… But these are not within the mainstream field of vision, and the updating of resources and subtitles is often slow and limited. However, things seem to be changing. With the fame of “Prison Break” growing before it has even aired and with more people online reconnecting with their memories of American series, preparations are underway.

At the same time, numerous subtitle translation groups, both big and small, are also ready. The “Youthful” subtitle group, consisting of fans of the amazing Yang, was established quite some time ago to work on his interviews, TV programs, and translations of news reports, as well as his movies and the latest popular Hollywood films. Now that “Prison Break” is about to be released, they naturally took on the responsibility of translating its Chinese subtitles.

Many American series enthusiasts have also taken this opportunity to set up new subtitle groups. Drama fans applaud the emergence of these new studios, saying, “Whomever releases the resources first, I’ll watch their version!” “I’m so looking forward to this series!” “Everyone could collaborate to produce the best subtitles!”…

In the Chinese internet world, a trend of watching “Prison Break” and American series is brewing and could burst forth at any moment.

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PS: I’m embarrassed for the late update today, but this chapter has 8000 words—please forgive me! ^0^ Tomorrow is Monday, and here I continue to ask for recommendation votes, hoping we can return to the recommended list next week. Thank you everyone! (

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