The Best Director

In the audition office, Wang Yang’s voice was very calm, “In fact, we all inevitably make choices for others. From the moment we are born, we are accepting a whole set of choices given by others, a set of human rules on Earth that have been revised for thousands or tens of thousands of years—what is right and what is wrong, all our judgments stem from this set of rules. The way this world has operated until now is to bind the strong and support the weak in order to achieve social balance. Our core principle is ‘all men are created equal,’ no matter the race or civilization, all will develop in this direction, sooner or later. Perhaps it is human nature.”

“Perhaps it is the weak who have overcome the strong, and ‘all men are created equal’ is, in some way, beneficial to the weak. Why would the strong be defeated by the weak? Because above the strong there is stronger, up to God; because the collective strength of many weak can surpass that of one strong individual. The strong often compete with each other, while the weak can unite. The faith of the weak has conquered the faith of the strong, the faith of the majority has defeated that of the minority, to annihilate and replace it, but we see different rights and wrongs from different positions of interest.”

“The Independents lost to the Alliance because they were outmatched in armed forces; it was the weak losing to the strong. But in terms of belief, they advocated the same faith, just under different governments, a few different subdivided interests. But then came a new faith, a perfect beautiful new world. The Blue Glove’s idea is that there are no longer divisions between the strong and the weak, everyone is truly equal, devoid of all those negative aspects we currently see.”

“In that future era, today’s racial discrimination will be gone, but there will be new forms of discrimination, as if the people of Planet A say about the people of Planet B ‘a bunch of savages.’ The societal issues that exist now will still persist in another form, only the Earth has expanded to encompass a galaxy, with wealth disparity, power imbalance, murder crimes… Clearly, that’s not a good world, and The Blue Glove wants to change it. One could say that The Blue Glove is very compassionate; he is a good man, with a profound sense of empathy. Ideally, he would have been most suited for the roles of a priest, a pastor, a teacher, a doctor. He loves everyone, even if it’s the story of a wretch or a scumbag, he doesn’t think ‘this kind of person should die, should be eliminated from this world’ but rather ‘why? What is the reason that this story happened, what drove this guy to this point?'”

“He can cry! He pities and detests these scumbags and their deeds. You could also say The Blue Glove is a presumptuous man; he chose for everyone. He wants to save everyone, to pull them all up from that miserable well. So he isn’t a killer, he doesn’t follow the Nazi ideology, or rather, the targets of his Nazism are not races, but the souls of humanity. He is so resolute, so righteous, and everything he does is for the beautiful new world, his dream.”

“But the question remains, how can one essentially change the whole world? The Alliance provided an idea, to eradicate the evil in human nature, preserving only the kindness! They believe that once this goal is achieved, a truly equal, loving world will come.”

Listening to this, Joss Whedon, sitting behind the interview table, couldn’t help but nod repeatedly. He glanced at Wang Yang, who was taking a sip from his water cup, and internally marveled at how magically Yang elevated the messy script to a profound realm, full of depth and explosive power—whether it be the story, the characters, or the theme.

“Do you understand what I’m saying? You need to enter the inner world of The Blue Glove.” Wang Yang set down his water cup, looked at the pensive man sitting on the chair before him, and said, “All his actions stem from his pursuit of The New World, and this pursuit comes from his own faith. But make sure you do not mistake his faith for some pathological thought, or you won’t be able to perform anything substantial. I need you to be The Blue Glove! Understand?”

It was astonishing, this was the best role he had ever had the opportunity to play! The character’s behavior was full of contradictions, yet Wang Yang had a complete understanding of Blue Glove’s psychology, loving every single person… What an incredible character!

All along the way, listening to Wang Yang’s words, from Blue Glove’s childhood to the formation of his beliefs, Heath Ledger felt bursts of excitement in his heart, almost beginning to tremble, just like a gold prospector finding a gold mine, or a gourmet finding a delicacy, he had found the role of his dreams. These explanations had already shaped a complete image in his mind, Blue Glove… He wanted to play it, he needed to play it!

Oh damn! Looking at the calm face of the wondrous director who was even a year younger than himself, Heath Ledger suddenly felt a bit nervous, what if he didn’t pass the audition and missed out on this role?! Why wouldn’t Brad Pitt be interested? But he really should thank him for not being interested… Heath Ledger took a deep breath and nodded, saying, “Yes, I understand, I think Blue Glove is a man of the New World, a man of the New World that he imagines for himself,”

“No, he’s not, he knows he isn’t,” what made Heath Ledger’s heart leap was that Wang Yang shook his head and said, “In fact, he believes that without purification, no one is; yet everyone has the chance to be purified, any criminal can start anew in the New World. Yet when his dream is realized, Blue Glove will commit suicide.”

“Why? Does he think he’s at fault? Does he not forgive himself?” Heath Ledger couldn’t help but ask. This made Blue Glove’s mindset even more complex. What was he thinking? Wang Yang on the other side seemed not to give Ledger any time to think and smiled, asking, “What do you think?” He had no doubt about Heath Ledger’s understanding and grasp of the character, just like with other movies and other roles, there was room for the actor to shape Blue Glove.

Wang Yang, Joss Whedon, too, waited for an answer, looking calmly at Heath Ledger, while assistant Joshua also stared at him, wondering about this question: “By doing those bad things, was Blue Glove also struggling with inner pain?” Heath Ledger, however, didn’t believe it had to do with remorse or forgiveness, what could it be? Beliefs had no right or wrong, he was a good man… he loved every single person, naturally including those who had passed away.

After a moment of thought, a spark suddenly flashed through Heath Ledger’s mind, his eyes lighting up as he said, “Blue Glove wants to die along with the old world because there, in that hell, too many people are waiting for him.”

“Ha-ha! Very good, very good,” Wang Yang instantly “thrilled at the prospect” and laughed, looking a bit excitedly at Joss Whedon next to him and gave a meaningful glance: “How about that, have I chosen the wrong person?”

Joss Whedon too was pleasantly surprised. Initially, he too had this doubt and when asked by Wang Yang, “What do you think?” his answer was that Blue Glove felt his hands were covered in fresh blood and was unworthy of entering the New World. But Wang Yang said no, the New World was about saving all beings; its purpose was to make even evil-doers with blood on their hands turn into good-old boys. If you can’t forgive those criminals, forgive the Blue Glove organization, then isn’t that “evil”? What New World would that be?

They sincerely believed that anyone could enter the New World. So why would Blue Glove choose suicide? Wang Yang’s answer was: “Not only do we need to redeem the living, but also the dead.” Blue Glove was such a “great” person.

“Heath Ledger understood with just a little guidance; his ability to comprehend a role and understand a script was incredibly high and nuanced. Comprehension almost determines the heights an actor can reach in terms of performance. With innate talent, learning, and sudden insight, only those who truly understand their characters and immerse themselves completely can deliver a great performance.”

“Very good! It seems you’ve touched the heart of the Blue Glove,” Wang Yang’s pleased chuckle made Heath Ledger breathe a sigh of relief. Thank God! With such high praise, he should have passed the interpretation part, right?

Although Wang Yang was pleased, he was not surprised at all. Perhaps no one in this world was more aware of Heath Ledger’s madness, how far he could go in his acting! Describing him as a genius wasn’t an overstatement at all. In the coming years, not only would Heath Ledger deliver a brilliant performance in “Brokeback Mountain,” receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but his Joker in “The Dark Knight” would earn him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Having confirmed his role as Ennis, the male lead in “Brokeback Mountain” starting filming early next year, and with a two-month filming schedule, there was no conflict with “Firefly.” Thus, Wang Yang had invited him to audition for the Blue Glove. With “Batman” being directed by Darren Aronofsky, would the Joker still appear on screen? That was a regrettable question.

The Joker’s belief was that “the world is more fun in chaos, and that’s what brings about a new order,” his new world filled with evil and chaos, representing another kind of real “equality.” The constraints of the powerful were all lifted, and whether the weak lived or died mattered to no one; there were no laws of right or wrong, only human nature. The ugliest aspects were unleashed in the chaos, which he believed reflected true human nature.

Heath Ledger had brought such a Joker and his beliefs to life; what about the Blue Glove? Though the beliefs and the methods of portrayal were vastly different, Wang Yang believed that Heath Ledger had the capacity to craft and breathe life into the character of Blue Glove.

“OK, let’s start the audition! Joshua, go call Greg in a moment,” Wang Yang rose from his chair and walked over to the camera to start operating it; meanwhile, Joshua handed Heath Ledger a pair of blue gloves and a few pages of the script. He then headed outside to call Greg Cannom, the makeup artist for “Firefly” (known for his work on “A Beautiful Mind,” “Van Helsing,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” etc.), into the audition room.

Clutching the thick, dark blue gloves, a jolt of excitement shot through Heath Ledger’s heart as if the gloves had a connection to his soul, pointing to a new world. Put them on! Ledger narrowed his eyes slightly, eagerly slipping his hands into the blue gloves, tugging and adjusting them.

“You look good…” Wang Yang, behind the camera, silently nodded at the adjustments Ledger made to the gloves. “Heath, show me your front, left profile, right profile…” Soon, Greg Cannom entered, and Joss Whedon observed Heath Ledger on the screen, Whedon whispered doubtfully, “Doesn’t he look too young and sunny?”

This was also the only concern Wang Yang had about Heath Ledger’s appearance; but Ledger was no longer the naïve, fresh-faced boy from “10 Things I Hate About You” back in 1999. In this year’s “Ned Kelly” and “The Order,” he had matured considerably, helped in part by his beard, and the Blue Glove’s look had not been finalized yet. Wang Yang turned to Greg Cannom for his opinion, to which Cannom replied, “With the right makeup, he can play ages 19 to 30.”

“Well, that’s good.” Wang Yang observed Ledger, who did not need to be a 40-something uncle to play Blue Glove—25, 28, that was no issue at all; he just needed to have a certain chemistry with Robert Downey Jr. As for the youthful appearance, Heath Ledger’s smile indeed could be sunny and shy, but his aura was more than sunny, as both “Ned Kelly” and, even more so, “The Dark Knight” had proven.

Of course, it would also depend on how his performance translated on camera as the Blue Glove. After the basic part of the audition was done, Wang Yang looked at the screen, smiling, and said, “Heath, please show us your performance, try the first part.”

“Okay!” Heath Ledger touched his nose, psyching himself up while holding the script with the blue-gloved hands, having already read through it. He reviewed the first part again, immersing himself in the character’s mindset—a beautiful new world, devoid of all ugliness, more beautiful than heaven itself, everything for the sake of humanity…

With a faintly mocking yet calm smile, Ledger looked towards the camera and said, “You don’t understand, Mal, you’re just the captain of a tiny spaceship, concerned only about the people on this ship, about yourself; I think about the world, the universe.” Playing along, Joshua read his line: “It is you who doesn’t get it! You’re just a crazy fool, doing crazy things.” Ledger let out a laugh that was both mocking and heartful, saying, “You have no idea who you’re talking to.”

Wang Yang glanced at Joss Whedon, the corners of his mouth smiling silently as if asking, “How does it feel?” Whedon scratched his balding forehead, lifting an eyebrow: “Tailor-made?”

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PS: In Yang’s future information database, there is no news of Heath Ledger’s untimely death. (