The Best Director

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: What Game Is He Playing?

“Wang Yang claims he will not authorize ‘The Amazing Director’, and the movie will reveal the crazy side of the Chinese genius that is little known to the public.” — Sina Entertainment Audio & Video; “Amazing Yang to take over Gotham Town? ‘Batman’ may see a new dawn” — Yahoo Entertainment; “Flame Films is interested in adapting the best-selling novel ‘Marley & Me’ for a film adaptation.”, “Flame Films is interested in remaking the Japanese classic film ‘Hachiko Monogatari'”, “Meryl Streep joins ‘Mamma Mia!'”, “Rumors suggest Warner Bros. is set to sell the film rights for ‘I Am Legend'”…

Since Wang Yang woke up, he has continued his “screen-dominating” spree even more fiercely. Over the past few days, the entertainment sections of various media have been flooded with news and rumors related to him, leaving movie fans and followers overwhelmed.

About the biographical drama ‘The Amazing Director’, which is based on his own story, Wang Yang had made it clear that he will not grant authorization, nor does he want to pay much attention to it. He said on his blog, “Although I have not seen it yet, I can be sure that its content is part fact and part fiction. What’s comforting is that I don’t have to worry about them using a flashlight as a DV camera, because this is not some sports competition.” He sarcastically pointed out common sense errors often seen in sports movies and even more derisively implied that ‘The Amazing Director’ was just a flash in the pan.

Wang Yang’s anger arose because it has been confirmed that the movie will be quite complex.

Producer Scott Rudin has successfully invited the renowned screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to craft the script. Sorkin expressed an unusual amount of enthusiasm to the media, “This story is bold, unconventional, and has plenty of depth for exploration; Wang’s personality is also very interesting. Many people don’t know that he hasn’t always been this friendly. From the information we’ve collected and looked into, he has many crazy past events; some are humorous, some are mean-spirited.”

44-year-old Aaron Sorkin’s film works include ‘Crimson Tide’ (Golden Globe nomination for Best Screenplay), ‘The Edge’, and ‘The American President’ (Golden Globe nomination), but his most famous work is arguably the TV series ‘The West Wing’, which started on NBC in 1999 and has since won multiple awards and nominations, including Emmys. However, his other TV series ‘Sports Night’, which debuted on ABC in 1998, was canceled after only two seasons. Wang’s words also implied a bit of teasing towards Sorkin.

This longstanding sharp-tonguedness seems to acknowledge those materials, yet regardless, now with the artistic Aaron Sorkin on board, ‘The Amazing Director’ is moving further and further away from youth films and inspirational movies.

“This is actually no secret. If you ask his classmates from the University of Southern California, you’ll know that back then he was a controversial figure,” Aaron Sorkin said, regarding those materials and the short stories by Ben Mezrich. “He was like an out-of-control lion with a strong aggressiveness, even to the point of destructiveness. You know he’s very intelligent, so he often had embarrassing words and actions. He gradually improved quite a bit, but soon after he was expelled.”

It is said that once Wang Yang gave a lecture in class on “How to Win an Oscar”, just as he bantered on the Oscar stage later on. But although it caused great laughter at the time, that overly aggressive satire led to a steep decline in his reputation, especially since he was already difficult to get along with on a day-to-day basis.

“Those weren’t wise moves,” Sorkin commented, but many movie fans were puzzled. After all, Wang Yang had a great reputation in high school, with teachers and classmates unanimously giving him the thumbs up, and now he was the epitome of a good man. So why, during that one year in college, was he notorious as a bad boy? Aaron Sorkin believed it was because Wang Yang and his high school sweetheart broke up. The pain of heartbreak drastically changed his personality, allowing destructive and explosive emotions to take control.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

According to a survey by the well-known polling firm Zogby International, only a mere 15% of Americans feel that they do not understand Wang Yang, and among people aged 18-49, this number is 3%; another impression survey revealed that the most frequently mentioned words were “magical”, “genius”, “humorous”, “cool”, “passionate”, “fun”, and “smart”, with absolutely no negative labels like “bad boy”; 84% of Americans believe his greatest achievement is his film career, with others including IT, charity, television, and changing the American perception of Asians.

It is safe to say that the artistic and commercial potential of “The Magical Director” are boundless, no wonder it became a major attraction for Paramount.

However, Wang Yang’s fans are even more eager for “500 Days of Summer”. It has now been confirmed as a romance film about heartbreak, and they all seem to understand Wang Yang’s intentions, reminiscing about his high school girlfriend! First, let’s see how the heartbroken Magical Yang goes crazy in “500 Days of Summer”! It’s just unknown whether Tom and Summer will get back together in the end. Wang Yang had said before, “It will be a comedy ending, everyone is fine, just like a sunny day.” As audience members, they tend to lean towards the pair reuniting. The question is, Wang Yang is now married to Jessica…

The news about “Hachiko: A Dog’s Story” and “Marley & Me” has once again showcased Wang Yang’s swift and decisive actions. The plane accident didn’t take away his usual way of doing things: today he announces a dog movie, and tomorrow there are two; but another piece of news shocked the fans even more! It couldn’t be that Warner Brothers maliciously released fake news, using it to boost the box office of “Batman Begins”, could it?

Magical Yang takes over Gotham Town?! And to continue the series of characters and stories from “The Moment of Warfare”?

“Has he forgotten the terrible performance of ‘Batman’?” “What game is he playing? I’ve never seen anything like this before! He first refused all invitations for the first movie, then hammered it to pieces, and now he’s making his entrance as the savior; everything is under Magical Yang’s control, WOO!” …

“Batman” fans are both perplexed and incredibly excited—it doesn’t matter what he’s playing at. Even if he’s not the director, as long as Magical Yang serves as the producer, the movie is guaranteed to be good. Gotham Town is sure to welcome a new era!

What a reaction! An explosively excited response! Warner Brothers harvested the expected fruits, so let the flames burn even more fiercely! Go ahead and stimulate the box office for “The Moment of Warfare”! Warner Brothers spokesperson Scott Rowe couldn’t be happier without any worries this time, as he eagerly told the media, “Yes, Magical Yang taking the helm of Batman is nearing completion! He will make at least one sequel, something we have long awaited! Currently, we are still in the stage of negotiating the specifics of the contract.”

Flame Movies did a good turn, immediately confirming the sensational news, causing an uproar among the residents of Gotham Town! Fans are fervently discussing Wang Yang’s plans—what enemy will he set against Wayne? What style will the film be? Which new actors will join? Who will be appointed as the director? Continue with Darren Aronofsky? Impossible, no one thinks Aronofsky can keep the director’s chair, then Justin Lin? James Wan? John Woo? … Clearly, it’s Justin Lin.

Because there were rumors again about Warner Brothers wanting to sell the film rights to “I Am Legend,” which was exactly the type of post-apocalyptic scenario where “I am the only human being left in the entire world” as described by Wang Yang, if they were to make a third movie, it would truly be considered cliché! The media and public easily made the right connection, Wang Yang took over “Batman” in order to get “I Am Legend!” Movie fans could only click their tongues in wonder, a project that had been shelved by Warner for years was very likely to become a classic in film history.

“Wang Yang’s actions show us that he must have hurt his head quite badly,” “Just want to say that sometimes overconfidence is very dangerous,” “He really should take a few months off to rest, otherwise, by the end of the year, he’s going to regret waking up,”…

Different reactions to the same news, even some of Yang’s fans felt worried and skeptical, let alone the mockery and curses from Yang’s haters, celebrating as if it were a carnival, it was really too ridiculous, Wang Yang had made a series of ludicrous decisions while in a state of dizziness and fever! Shooting a romance movie he was not good at, “500 Days of Summer,” while injured, willingly stepping into a quagmire that was beyond redemption, and to personally produce, direct, and write a project renowned in name only but never successful, what was this if not foolishness? What was it if not courting death?

The numerous Yang fans were only waiting for the news to be confirmed before they started cheering, and Yang’s haters were also waiting for their moment to cheer, but contract negotiations are not something that can be finished in a short while.

The main points of contention between the two parties included details such as the transfer fee for the rights, the budget for “The Dark Knight,” investment ratios, and the overseas distribution profit sharing for “I Am Legend”; at the same time, Wang Yang refused to reveal any details of his production plan to Warner Brothers, only saying, “If the global box office falls short by even a single cent from 600 million dollars, then consider me a failure,” and he firmly demanded absolute control over production, not allowing any meddling in his methods! Although people like Alan F. Horn felt 99% sure he would invite Justin Lin or a similar type of director to helm the project, they were still a little worried, why did it feel like things weren’t so simple?

No matter the reactions from the outside world, the package deal for “I Am Legend” & “The Dark Knight” was a must-go, and Wang Yang delegated the negotiation work to the company and his agent Paul Emery, as he really didn’t have the time or interest to engage in discussions. Having settled numerous matters in Los Angeles, Wang Yang once again entered the airport after many days, boarding a plane to San Francisco, with “500 Days of Summer” set to start filming on Friday.

“Phew—”In the first-class cabin, as the plane roared and shot straight into the sky, Wang Yang, pressed tightly against the seat back, let out a sigh, truly on the verge of developing a phobia of flying, now everyone in the family has become a frequent flyer! However, to mitigate risks, mom and dad were taking the next flight. Beside him, Jessica held his hand tightly and smiled at him comforting, Wang Yang shrugged and smiled back, “I’m fine.” The two did not choose to take the train, even though it would have allowed them to enjoy the beautifully scenic route, but it’s not possible to forever sever ties with planes.

Every time the plane encountered a slight bump, Wang Yang would naturally tense up and look around nervously, and Jessica would feel a pang in her heart. However, sometimes, while he glanced around, his gaze would linger on the graceful flight attendants, Jessica pretended not to notice—if this helped him relax his nerves, just let him look. Nowadays, she felt herself becoming fatter and uglier…

“Jessie…” Wang Yang suddenly looked at her somewhat hesitantly, and seeing his embarrassed expression, Jessica uttered a puzzled “Hmm?” Wang Yang stopped hemming and hawing and said seriously, “I have something I need to apologize for. The other day on the plane, there was a flight attendant with a really good demeanor, and I looked at her a few extra times, even chatted with her a bit, and then I drank a lot of beverages. It was right before the accident that I left my seat to go to the bathroom, and then I hit my head…”

“Hey!” Jessica interrupted him, gently caressing the back of his hand with a sweet smile, “How can you say that? Accidents aren’t anyone’s wish; it’s nobody’s fault! I know you, let’s not talk about this anymore.” Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re really sweet, you should be angry.” Jessica’s eyes playfully twirled, “Why should I be angry?” Wang Yang truly relaxed and whispered sweet nothings to her.

Fortunately, after a brief flight of just over an hour, the plane landed safely at San Francisco International Airport.

Breathing in the long-missed air of the Bay Area, Wang Yang exulted, taking deep breaths and encouraging baby to savor the ambiance of California’s most romantic city. Due to his injury and coma which disrupted their original plans, the couple had not yet bought or rented a place to settle into their new home, but after “classic scenes from Everybody Loves Raymond,” Wang Yang had finally made a choice. He decided to live in the suburbs of the Bay Area, far from the center of San Francisco, for weekend and vacation use, and Palo Alto Town, at the heart of Silicon Valley, was a nice pick—they could even visit companies like YOUTUBE when they felt like it.

For now, they headed with assistants and others to the hotel where the film crew was staying. The injury and coma had also disrupted the preparation progress for “500 Days of Summer,” and Wang Yang hadn’t even sat down with the key creatives and cast members for a proper talk, but now he finally could.

In the bright hotel cafe, Wang Yang met up with Natalie as arranged, while the other lead, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, had yet to arrive, so the three of them started with some casual conversation.

“Yang, I’m really curious about something,” Natalie said, lifting her coffee cup with an intrigued smile as she looked at the pair opposite her, “because I’ve been reading some news about ‘The Magic Director’ these past few days.” Wang Yang asked, “What is it?” Natalie took a sip of her coffee, her tone excited, “What exactly did you say in that classroom speech? ‘How to win an Oscar’? I really want to know.” Jessica, upon hearing this, was also intrigued, “Yang, what did you say?”

How to win an Oscar? Well, that was indeed something that happened… Wang Yang found it even harder to speak than before on the plane, but it was indeed quite funny at the time! He laughed, shaking his head, and said sincerely to the two ladies, “To be honest, it wasn’t a good speech and could hurt others. But believe me, I really wasn’t thinking that much at the time, I had no malicious intent, I was just too immature and acted on my emotions—back then I was also in a terribly crazy state… Looking back now, that period was really foolish, but that was once my life.”

Natalie and Jessica both nodded silently. The script for “500 Days of Summer” had many scenes where Tom goes crazy. What kind of magic powers did that Helen possess to make him so miserable? Natalie arched her eyebrows, wondering, “Compared to her, who’s the quirkier girl?” Jessica bit her lip, thinking, “What charm does Helen have that I haven’t achieved? What can I learn?”

“You haven’t told us yet?” both ladies asked simultaneously. (