The Best Director

On the big screen, Tom Hanks, playing Viktor, excitedly shouted the name of his homeland while watching the news report on the television screen. In the packed screening room of “The Terminal,” most of the audience watched with indifference, a few were emotionally stirred, and several yawned out of boredom; next door, in another equally lively screening room for “Furious Cars,” “Home, sweet home!” Two muscular men started the engine of a sports car and sped off, prompting the young viewers to sit up straight.

Peals of laughter erupted from the screening of “Dodgeball”; in “Harry Potter 3,” children were spellbound in their seats; “I want to go home! I want to go home!” Upon learning the truth about Viktor not stepping foot in New York, the hunchbacked old man with a mop stopped the taking-off plane, watching the old man get arrested by airport police, watching everyone trying to help Viktor get out of the airport to fulfill his father’s autograph dream, some viewers in “The Terminal” were moved with moist eyes; yet, a large part of the crowd burst out laughing.

Last-minute saving! Just like the typical Hollywood ending in “The Devil Wears Prada,” when Andrea finally lashes out at Miranda, it’s something many commercial films do. But Steven Spielberg really botched it this time, so stiff and obvious! At this moment, film critics across North America were quite dissatisfied, too trite and clichéd, the whole movie was full of contrivance and pretense.

It was like a great director doing a juvenile’s job! “Filmstrip’s” Jeffrey Anderson shook his head, so disappointing! Since “Saving Private Ryan” in 1998, Spielberg’s films over the past six years had declined with each release. If “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” had some touching moments, “Minority Report” had some novelty, and “Catch Me If You Can” was a tasty commercial flick, then what was “The Terminal” supposed to be?

“This is the worst movie Spielberg has ever directed,” thought Charles Taylor from , also known as Salon magazine. Speaking of the present, Spielberg seemed more like the person caught by the office building’s rules. After “Saving Private Ryan” earned him his second Academy Award for Best Director, he had slowly become incapable of even making a good commercial film, and now… gruesomely cheesy!

And then there was the magically popular Wang Yang, who had shot three commercial films back-to-back after his Oscar win, with the last one finally showing no effort, abandoning any semblance of a great director and going back to juvenilia. Andrew Sarris from “New York Observer” sighed in frustration, it was agonizing to watch bad movies every day. What on earth had gotten into both Spielberg and Wang Yang, one old and one young, both respected directors?

Several days flipped on the wall calendar, and the weekend of the 18th to the 20th came to an end. Every opening weekend when a new movie was released, Spielberg would lock himself at home, cut off all contact with the outside world, not answer phones, not check messages, not go online, not watch TV, not wanting to come across any information related to the new film’s performance. Everyone knew his habit, so they wouldn’t bother or irritate him for no reason.

This time was no exception for “The Terminal.” On Monday morning, Spielberg arrived at the DreamWorks headquarters, wandering here and there, and it was only when office hours began that he made his way to the distribution department. Seeing the staff not particularly thrilled, Spielberg felt a twinge of nervousness. Could it really be as the trial screenings had indicated? He asked calmly, “How is it? Did the film do okay?”

“19.05 million,” replied Jim Tharp, the distribution manager, stating the box office figures directly without elaboration. 19.05 million? Although not usually concerned about the company’s finances, Spielberg was sensitive and professional about box office figures, and he knew at once what that number meant: mediocrity. It might not even win the North American championship. Carrying a detailed exit poll report, Jim Tharp walked over, his voice heavy, “Third place for the weekend; also, the reviews… they’re not so good…”

Really… So it’s just like the reactions from the test screening? No hope for an Oscar impact, and not even viable as a summer blockbuster? The top spot taken by “Furious Cars” again? Spielberg’s expression turned somewhat silent and grim as he nodded and said, “I understand.” He didn’t look at the reports, instead turning to leave the distribution department and heading to his office. The film had already premiered, so it was time to focus on the preparations for “War of the Worlds”! He was determined not to let ticket sales or reviews falter; he did not want to lose out in the Best Director category at the 2006 Saturn Awards to George Lucas, to that young man.

After all, having been through many a storm over the years and being the holder of the highest cumulative box office among North American directors, the failure of “The Terminal” didn’t bring Spielberg much frustration. But this Waterloo, the fierce pursuit by the likes of Wang Yang, put some real pressure on him for the first time in many years—not financial pressure, but purely as a “director.” How many years had it been since he’d felt such heavy pressure? It must have been a decade…

Looking at the 2005 market release schedule in his hands, Spielberg sitting in his office chair couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. It was a bustling scene: April 29 with “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”; May 6, Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven”; May 19, old friend George Lucas’s “Star Wars: Episode III”; June 10, commercial film “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”; June 17, newcomer Darren Aronofsky’s “Batman”; June 29, “War of the Worlds”; July 8, “Fantastic Four”… and another one scheduled for June, the young man Wang Yang’s “Firefly.”

Old friends, newcomers, George Lucas, Wang Yang… See you next summer! Spielberg smiled as he turned on his computer and calmly browsed through the specific reactions to “The Terminal,” but what he really thought about was how to make “War of the Worlds” better so that he could face them, join in the lively scene.

Just reading critics saying, “‘The Terminal’ is a disgrace in Spielberg’s directorial history,” was enough to know how bad its reputation was—no lessons taught or learned, this was another great director stumbling on a light comedy. With 120 reviews collected, Rotten Tomatoes scores were 55% and 51%, both a pool of greenish rot; the audience’s approval rating didn’t save face either, a mediocre 72%, with an IMDB score of 7.0. This was just 1% shy of being labeled a “rotten” film.

“It feels like a perfunctory work without sincerity and full of platitudes.”—2/4 stars, Amy Bernard, New York Daily News; “A sweet and delicate comedy.”—3.5/4 stars, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times; “A rotten film, a real piece of rot.”—2/4 stars, Richard Corliss, TIME magazine; “Greasy and affected.”—2/4 stars, Glen Lovell, San Jose Mercury News; “The small pleasures it offers are entirely dependent on the audience’s unquestioning acceptance of credibility, immersing themselves in an unbelievable story. Believe me, immersion is necessary.”—2/4 stars, Peter Howell, Toronto Star…

In light of such terrible word-of-mouth responses and the genuine issues with the film itself, along with the lack of explosive appeal in its subject matter and narrative, the week of June 18-24 passed without any signs of a turnaround for “The Terminal,” as it settled for the third spot of the weekend with a take of 27.9 million US dollars.

This was Spielberg’s first summer release since “Minority Report” in June 2002, two years prior, and also the second time he failed to secure the top spot in the opening week. Since debuting “Jaws” on June 20, 1975, with a global box office of 470 million US dollars (adjusted for inflation to 1.8429 billion in 2011), sparking the concept of the Summer Blockbuster and summer release window, Spielberg had a total of 11 summer blockbuster releases with “The Terminal.”

The previous 9 were winners including: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in ’81 with 384 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation to 1.1115 billion); “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” in ’82 with 792 million (adjusted for inflation to 20.57 billion); “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” in ’84 with 333 million

(adjusted for inflation to 7.891 billion); “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” in ’89 with 474 million (adjusted for inflation to 9.45 billion); “Jurassic Park” in ’93 with 914.6 million (adjusted for inflation to 17.576 billion); “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” in ’97 with 618.6 million (adjusted for inflation to 10.72 billion); “Saving Private Ryan” in ’98 with 481 million (adjusted for inflation to 8.1 billion); “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” in ’01 with 235.9 million (adjusted for inflation to 3.317 billion).

A series of astounding record numbers came to end with the 10th film “Minority Report,” as it lost the first week to “Lilo & Stitch” by a margin of 3.74 million in box office, eventually grossing 358 million worldwide (adjusted for inflation to 490 million); then came the back-to-back failures with “The Terminal,” a defeat without any dignity.

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Previously, fans looking to stir the pot were left without a word to say; in terms of box office, awards, social impact, and other areas, Wang Yang’s achievements were far from Spielberg’s. To talk about succeeding or surpassing him, there was still a long way to go, and that’s without even considering becoming a Kevin Costner. However, many things are in the past now. When comparing “The Terminal” to “The Devil Wears Prada,” it seems the former doesn’t look like it could wildly rake in $500 million.

“Has Stephen Spielberg gotten old?” This was a question many people had, and it must be said, it was a big blow, causing a loss of confidence. However, according to “friend” rumors, Spielberg didn’t think so. A report from Yahoo Entertainment said, “He is now very angry and filled with fighting spirit, and he will reestablish himself with ‘War of the Worlds,’ and perhaps there will be another one next year.” It’s understood that “War of the Worlds,” with an investment budget of $130 million, is still in the preparatory stage and plans to start shooting in November.

Fans don’t mind Spielberg being full of fighting spirit at all; that’s exactly what they want to see! On one side, Wang Yang is fully energized, on the other Spielberg is also fully energized. It seems that the film critics’ rotten and fresh tomatoes are not entirely useless. Will the summer of 2005 be a great tide of moviegoing?

What can be known is that the summer of 2004 was already quite lively. The weekly box office chart from June 18-24 was topped by “Furious Cars,” which remained the North American champion with $40.26 million and had taken in $100 million in two weeks, with also impressive momentum overseas, reaching a global box office of $192 million. Flame Movies’s faith in it paid off, as promotion and nearly simultaneous releases were on the scale of a big movie. “Furious Cars” naturally did not disappoint expectations with raving reviews from all countries, lacking in deep meaning but definitely entertaining.

“Furious Cars” is set to completely surpass “Fast & Furious” 1 & 2, and Bruce Nash, an analyst at TheNumbers, even estimates it could soar to $300 million in global box office.

For Flame Movies, making $200 or $300 million US dollars on a movie seems like child’s play, but not for other movie companies. “Around the World in 80 Days” experienced a “Windtalkers” style disaster, earning only $14 million in box office in 2801 theaters over nine days. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scored 31%, 27%, 45%, and Disney had actually made a huge loss with a production cost of $110 million. Meanwhile, movies such as “Lilo & Stitch 2” and “Clone Wife” continued to struggle forward; but this week’s runner-up, “DodgeBall,” turned out to be a dazzling dark horse, with a single-week box office of $39.67 million. Rotten Tomatoes gave the raunchy comedy an okay score: 70%, 64%, 75%.

“The Terminal” failed, “Around the World in 80 Days” failed, and the PG-13 comedy “White Chicks,” with a Rotten Tomato score of 15%, 30%, 62%, raked in $7.5 million in box office on its opening two days. Now, there are no real-life comedies on the market with competitive power; this was a golden opportunity. “DodgeBall” could be said to be in charge, and if there were no new competitors, it might have created a box office miracle. However, its good luck only lasted for a week.

On June 25, in 3251 North American cinemas, “The Hangover 2” made its grand debut! The previous installment was the king of R-rated comedies, and with cast members like Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms, representing a new generation of raunchy comedy, it was released in the stunning summer from the wild success of Christmas with $617 million!

“Hahaha!” Despite the absence of the magical image of Yang, the primed promotion and huge popularity of “The Hangover” still had fans and audiences across North America flocking to movie theaters during the weekend, ready to have a hearty laugh. They were neither surprised nor disappointed. Halfway through the movie, the laughter was not as rhythmic and frequent as in the first installment, to the point of almost cramping one’s mouth. However, in the bustling theaters, not a single person left early or laughed less than once.

The “Hangover” series was one of Flame Movies’s major plans for the coming years. With the second part came the third, and even a fourth. With the first part already a jewel, and Flame having set “The Hangover 2” to follow the memory loss and people-searching framework, the details and humor still needed to be creative. For this crucial new behind-the-scenes creative team, Flame had gone through long selection interviews and organized fan voting events to eventually assemble the team.

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The director’s role eventually went to 41-year-old Paul Feig, who has been active in the TV series creation circle since the 90s. In recent years, he created and wrote for NBC’s short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, a comedy about a group of high school nerds that only lasted one season during the fall of 1999-2000 before it was cut due to poor viewership. This also caused NBC’s only worry about the viewership for The Big Bang Theory, fortunately, the latter features university professors and scientists, not high school students.

However, on the big screen, Paul Feig’s resume was a blank slate. The independent film he directed for “Walden Media,” called Sending a Letter to Copenhagen, was only released on DVD in 2003, and Lionsgate, which bought the distribution rights to the film, intended to test it on the big screen this year. But anyway, Paul Feig had already made his screen debut with The Hangover 2.

As for the writing team, besides Paul Feig, there was also Philip Stark. A native of Houston, Stark lacked the cowboy’s cool talent but was filled with a sense of humor. He had worked on the writing staff for South Park, and his most famous work was writing the screenplay for Dude, Where’s My Car?. This film, released in 2000, which made Ashton Kutcher a star, tells the story of two young men who wake up after a night of wild partying with memory loss, tattoos, and other comedic changes.

The two couldn’t even recall where they had parked their car, so they embarked on a journey to find it. Dude, Where’s My Car? is a comedy of the same type as The Hangover, only that the production company “Alcon Entertainment” shelved Philip Stark’s sequel script Seriously, Dude, Where’s My Car?, while Flame Film extended an olive branch.

Fortunately, Paul Feig and Philip Stark had good chemistry. The Hangover 2 naturally encountered numerous creative disagreements along the way, but the main creative team managed to solve them all. In terms of casting, they even invited Mike Tyson for a cameo, taking the hangover farce almost to the limit.

“Hahahahaha!” Amidst the audience’s bursts of laughter, The Hangover 2 was shown in theaters one screening after another, and movie tickets sold one after another. Soon, the weekend of June 25-27 came to a close, and unsurprisingly, The Hangover 2 unrelentingly claimed the opening champion spot. Looking at this latest box office chart, many filmmakers couldn’t help but sigh – who could stop Flame Film now?

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PS: Wow, I need monthly tickets, and recommendation tickets!! ^0^(.)