The Best Director

Time flew and early June arrived. After over two months of frenzied activity, the well-prepared “Firefly” smoothly completed the studio shooting. There were laughs, and there were arguments. Arguments arose naturally from creative differences. Joss Whedon made every effort to execute Wang Yang’s instructions, offered his own ideas, and learned about filmmaking. He wasn’t the “most out of sync”; just like on “District 9”, Wang Yang and Robert Downey Jr. had multiple disputes.

Although the director is the ultimate authority on set, disagreements over creative details never ceased. Other main actors either followed Wang Yang’s orders obediently or had a great deal of freedom. However, when Wang Yang and Downey stood together, neither let the other have the last word. But now, one was a married man, and the other was a middle-aged man in his third spring of life, with both their women on the set. Thus, no fight broke out that would cause Heath Ledger a headache; they resolved their issues amicably like brothers.

After leaving the studio, the “Firefly” crew officially began their location shooting journey. The schedule was filled with various locations – Texas, Canada, China, and so on…

The North American box office champion for the week of May 21-27 was “Shrek 2,” which took in 143 million US Dollars after opening in a record 4,163 theaters, overpowering “Ice Age 2,” “Troy,” “Van Helsing,” and other films. With the massive popularity of the first “Shrek” three years prior, which had a global box office of 480 million, along with Paramount’s ample promotional resources and the sequel’s intrinsic merit, this feat was not particularly surprising.

Following that, “Shrek 2” retained its championship from May 28 to June 3. With an additional 111 million, its North American total reached 276 million. In second place was Fox Company’s new disaster film “The Day After Tomorrow,” which took in 100.6 million in 3,425 theaters with a production budget of 125 million, only to receive universally rotten reviews of 45% and 43% fresh and 57% liked. Victoria Snyder of “Movie Review” commented, “In the face of nature’s disasters, God is fair to every human being, but why can’t the audience stop laughing?”

Another source of laughter in the theaters was “Ice Age 2.” Despite “Shrek 2″‘s shining success, children didn’t forget the group of adorable prehistoric animals. In those two weeks, the film continued its box office reaping during the final phases of its release, earning 31.16 million and 17.44 million. Its North American box office total reached 179.8 million. Overseas, its momentum surpassed “Shrek 2,” and in two weeks the figures increased from 305.9 million to 424.9 million, making a global total of 604.7 million, and the Fire & Blue Sky train entered a luxurious club.

This was Fire’s third 600 million box office film, following “District 9” with 765 million and “The Hangover” with 617 million.

As for “New York Minute,” it was left with only 605 theaters reluctantly fulfilling their screening contracts, ending up with 8.67 million US Dollars over four weeks. Worth mentioning is that MGM had another movie that tanked, with a production budget of 16 million, which was probably considered a test. However, “The Hangover” also had only a 25 million budget. This week MGM’s new R-rated comedy “Soul Plane” debuted in 1,566 theaters, managing only to bring in 6.23 million at the box office, with dismal Rotten Tomatoes scores of 18%, 15%, and 45%.

“Assembled pieces are always lacking in genuine humor, it only has some clichéd and ludicrous behaviors,” commented Ann Hornaday from “The Washington Post.” Geoff Pevere of “The Toronto Star” doled out a string of negative descriptors: “Sloppy, inconsistent, vulgar, superficial, and often ridiculous.” “Tasteless, from start to finish, it only makes one wonder why a minute has 60 seconds of boring comedy,” stated Peter Hartlaub from the “San Francisco Chronicle” disdainfully…

Naturally, film critics exercised their full capacity to ridicule and mock; as for the casual moviegoers, they had hardly anything positive to say either. Ever since “The Hangover” came out, not only had the R-rated comedy market been revitalized, but it has also raised their level of discernment and standards several notches. Lauren D., who gave half a star, wrote, “Very, very unfortunately, I watched this movie. It has made it onto my list of the worst five films I have ever seen (‘Juno’ is the best). It’s not funny; it’s the boredom from hell. My brother thought it was hilarious, but he’s an idiot.”

“‘If screaming at a big butt can be considered funny, then the whole movie is a comedy,\'” christopherhenry29 said. Anthony F., impatiently remarked, “I really wish this plane would explode.” Anonymous-A appeared to be frightened, “What the hell is this! It’s so horrifying!” Nick X also gave it half a star and mocked, “Has MGM gone mad? Are they trying to go bankrupt or something? This film is not a comedy; it’s not even worthy of being called a butt movie. The only reason it could possibly be funny is if Magical Yang came to clean up this mess.” Clair added, “Trust me, taking out your ‘The Hangover’ DVD that you’ve watched five times and your ‘Juno’ DVD that you’ve watched ten times to watch again would bring you far more joy than watching this pile of dog poop.”…

After begrudgingly watching “Flying High: Like Never Before” for the sake of film criticism, Clair’s immediate follow-up task was to “detox” by going home and casually watching some highlights from “The Hangover” DVD, and she laughed heartily. However, like many others, despite the exciting and fiery summer release schedule, she began to miss Magical Yang, who not only had no new comedy released but didn’t even attend this year’s MTV Movie Awards ceremony.

The nominations for the 13th MTV Movie Awards were announced on April 26th. Last year’s popular gambling film “MIT-21-TEAM” was nominated for four awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Natalie Portman), Best On-screen Team (MIT-21-TEAM), and Best Breakthrough Male Actor (Daniel Wu). “The Devil Wears Prada” also received nominations for Best Actress (Jessica Alba), Best Villain (Meryl Streep), Best On-screen Team (Jessica Alba/Meryl Streep/Emily Blunt), and Best Breakthrough Female Actor (Emily Blunt).

With eight nominations for two movies, Magical Yang seemed to have proven his title as MTV Awards’ fan favorite once again, having held onto the elements that appeal to the young audience from the age of 18 to 24. This year’s single film front-runner with six nominations was “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“The award for Best On-screen Team goes to… ‘MIT-21-TEAM’!!”

As Keira Knightley announced the winner on stage, the full house of audience and guests at the Sherlan Theatre erupted in cheers and thunderous applause. The happy group walked onto the stage to accept their award. Although some members who were with the “Firefly” series did not attend, “21” had Natalie Portman, Alexis Bledel, and Jay Baruchel. From “TDWP,” Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt attended tonight’s award ceremony.

To the accompaniment of applause, the elegant and handsome trio, led by Natalie, walked onto the fancy and brightly lit stage and received the popcorn trophy from Keira Knightley, standing in front of the microphone looking at the thousands in the audience. Holding the trophy, “big sister” Natalie uttered a light “wow” in reflection. However, without any sense of humor, the audience simply smiled at them. Without Magical Yang there, could they be funny?

“It’s such an honor,” Natalie said with a laugh. She had no intention of being silly, nor did she think, “I’ll be funnier than Wang Yang.” It wasn’t about being timid; she just didn’t have the innate talent and enthusiasm for performing on stage. Looking at the faces in front of her, both familiar and unfamiliar, she said with a laugh, “Uh, hehe! I’m very grateful to Magical Yang. Without him, there wouldn’t be us, a team cooler than the South Pole.” Alexis and Baruchel nodded in agreement by her side.

Those who missed out on awards, such as Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson from “Starsky & Hutch” and Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore from “50 First Dates,” were not begrudging. Not to mention that MIT-21-TEAM had the advantage in numbers, they indeed formed a classic young team of film history. And the audience, who cast the votes, were very satisfied. If not to give the popcorn trophy to that passionate, talented, and sharp team of geniuses, why were they even sitting there?

“But he did the least cool thing ever, he got married,” Natalie’s comment still brought a round of light laughter from the audience. Juno was no dummy. Holding the trophy lightly, Natalie shook it and said, “Maybe that’s the coolest thing, he did something that surprised the whole world. I wish that guy and his one and only teammate eternal happiness!” The Sherlan Theatre immediately burst into a loud round of applause and whistles, and even Alexis, who was also clapping, felt a hint of sourness. Was there a touch of jealousy?

“Hehehe! Hahaha…” Natalie laughed, lacking any coolness, and she glanced at Keira Knightley beside her unconsciously. If Wang Yang had been there, they surely would have been teased. Recalling their earlier conversation, Natalie said with a laugh, “Before attending tonight’s ceremony, I called Yang and asked, ‘If we win the award, do you have anything you want to say?’ He said, ‘Of course. I was most afraid that the movie would make all those kids drop out of school to play blackjack. The movie’s over, right? Then it’s time to tell them the truth.\'”

The young audience immediately perked up their ears with interest, what did Wang Yang have to say? They heard Natalie mimic Wang Yang’s tone and rhythm, speaking solemnly, “Tell those kids, if you want to be good at blackjack, you must get into MIT! Even Harvard, just 2 miles away, won’t do!”

There was another burst of laughter in the Sheraton Theater, that guy wasn’t present but still offered a clever quip. Natalie said, “Thank you,” and handed the microphone over to Alexis, who happily expressed her gratitude, “Thank you Wang Yang, thank you to everyone on the production team, thank you to my parents, for providing me with so much confidence and help since I was young…” What she didn’t expect was that, because she mentioned Wang Yang first and didn’t say “thank you to my boyfriend,” Joshua got jealous for half a day, prompting Jessica, who was drawing a BABY room sketch, to inexplicably curse, “Keep a tight leash on your hubby, TOMADE!” Jessica’s response was: “Idiot!”

Watching “MIT-21-TEAM” win Best On-Screen Team, Drew Barrymore couldn’t help but think about her new starring film “Lucky Card Player” that was about to be released. Last summer, “21” swept the globe, sparking a poker craze—perhaps “Lucky Card Player” could continue the allure of blackjack this year? However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something about the movie didn’t quite add up, maybe being too close to the situation skewed her judgment.

After the recording of the MTV awards ceremony on June 5, the results for all the categories were announced. Best Dance Sequence went to Shawn William Scott from “American Pie 3”; Best Fight was awarded to Uma Thurman and Chiaki Kuriyama for “Kill Bill”; Best Kiss was snatched by Owen Wilson, Carmen Electra, and Amy Smart for “Starsky & Hutch”; Lucy Liu from “Kill Bill” won Best Villain; Sean Ashmore (“X-Men 2”) and Lindsay Lohan (“Freaky Friday”) took home the Best Breakthrough Male/Female awards; Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) and Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”) won Best Male/Female Performance, while Jack Black (“School of Rock”) grabbed Best Comedic Performance; and “The Lord of the Rings 3” predictably took home Best Movie and Best Action Sequence.

“Haha!” Evelyn couldn’t contain her amusement as she watched the parody films on the MTV awards on the TV screen from her living room couch. The clip included “MIT-21-TEAM,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” and the June 25 release of “The Hangover 2,” searching for the missing partygoer in various places like Boston, Las Vegas, Paris, with Wang Yang, Jessica Alba, and Natalie Portman taking turns appearing, one constantly changing into beautiful outfits, the other continually disguising herself… Suddenly, she laughed again: “Haha!”

But even though it was fun and amusing and the scene was still lively and joyful, Evelyn felt there was something missing from the award ceremony. She shrugged, not finding it hard to pinpoint: Wang Yang was not there to present or accept any awards. As his fan, she really started to miss his cameo appearances as a host.

She wasn’t the only one feeling this way; countless movie fans shared the sentiment, missing his stage performances and even more so, his exciting, thrilling, or moving summer movies. And many had found out from entertainment media like Yahoo that Wang Yang was currently leading a team filming the exterior scenes of “Firefly” in Alberta, Canada, working hard for next summer’s movie season. Alberta is a renowned “western” filming location, with films like “Brokeback Mountain” filmed there, further confirming the interstellar cowboy style “Firefly” would take on.

This year’s summer movie season wasn’t completely devoid of Wang Yang’s presence, though. If one could say the sequel “The Hangover 2” had no connection to him, then in the credits of “Furious Cars,” one could find his name listed as Executive-producer.

Since its start in the fall of 2002 until the summer of 2004, the production budget for “Furious Cars” finally settled at $70 million. The film had come a long way, confirming Justin Lin, a newcomer of Chinese descent, as the director, and Chris Morgan, a newcomer screenwriter to pen the script, with multiple contributions to the script’s revision and advisory opinions. They invited “box office poison” Eliza Dushku and the French newcomer Eva Green to play the first and second female leads, respectively; then cast the newcomer muscle man Chris Evans and the not-quite-famous old muscle man Dwayne Johnson for the male leading roles… The entirety of “Furious Cars” was built bit by bit by Wang Yang, and although he was not the line producer, not the director or the screenwriter, he was the real creator behind the scenes.

“Furious Cars” was an action-packed police chase and racing movie, featuring gunfights, explosions, car chases, muscular men, and sexy women; the story recounts a team plotting and pulling off a major heist in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Thanks to Wang Yang’s suggestions and inspiration, and because the director and screenwriter were Lin Yibin & Chris Morgan, “Furious Cars” could be described as a prematurely born, somewhat rudimentary but even more outrageous “Fast & Furious 5,” a peak commercial work of the car heist action genre.

In pursuit of authenticity and intensity, the production crew destroyed over 200 cars during the filming of “Furious Cars,” smashing them and fixing them up just to smash again, every scene filled with explosive force and speed. Fans and viewers who participated in the test screenings raved that it “makes every cell in your body boil.” And its promotional tagline was, “An extreme rush of pleasure.”

Fury set high hopes on “Furious Cars,” intending not just for the success of a single movie but to create a long series. Therefore, they spared no effort in its promotion, the most successful tactic being the application of giant 3D posters on the exterior walls of buildings in places like Los Angeles and New York, creating the jaw-dropping effect of racing cars flying off the buildings. Some were images taken and uploaded by the public, while others were part of Fury’s viral marketing campaign. These ingenious “Furious Cars” 3D posters were ubiquitous online.

However, due to 9/11, the poster also faced a lot of criticism, with people describing it as “imitating a terrorist attack” and “causing fear and unease.” Yet, this discussion actually led to more news coverage for “Furious Cars,” inadvertently making the promotional efforts even more successful.

When the week of June 4th to 10th came to an end, “Harry Potter 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban,” which premiered in 3,855 theaters, unsurprisingly claimed the weekly box-office crown. Its opening weekend box office, however, wasn’t as robust as “Shrek 2,” amounting to only 123 million; while films like “Shrek 2,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” and “Ice Age” continued to occupy spots on the charts.

The movie theaters now mainly screened films aimed at children/teens/family audiences, such as “Harry Potter 3,” “Shrek 2,” the withdrawn main-stage contender “Ice Age 2,” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” Meanwhile, “Mean Girls,” “Van Helsing,” and others, shown in less than a thousand theaters, either achieved success or failure, but were unable to fulfill the sensory requirements of young people and adults alike, leaving “Troy” merely struggling to advance. Thus, on June 11th, the week’s new releases included the sci-fi adventure “Interstellar Legends 2” starring the muscle-bound Vin Diesel, “Clone Wife” with the stunning Nicole Kidman, “Furious Cars,” and “Lucky Card Player” from Warner, as well as Fox Company’s comeback with the live-action animated film “Garfield.”

Who will take the crown among the five new films? Or will “Harry Potter 3” remain champion?

Originally, “Furious Cars” should have been the hot favorite, covered by the aura of the “Magical Yang,” but with the fiasco of a similar genre film “2 Fast 2 Furious,” a new Chinese-American director, and a new team, there were many unknowns; “Lucky Card Player” had already become a classic film that perfectly combines love and card counting, in its overwhelming promotion, vowing to pick up the banner from Magical Yang, leading blackjack to another dark-horse run, even surpassing “MIT-21-TEAM.” How much box-office draw does Nicole Kidman have? Can “Interstellar Legends 2” pioneer a new sci-fi series?

On June 11th, all five films opened across North America, with “Furious Cars” racing into the big screens of 3,025 theaters; on the other side, “Lucky Card Player” was playing in 3,051 theaters.

“Which movie should we watch?” In all cinemas across North America, many couples going on their weekend dates looked at the poster wall and made their impromptu choices, decisions that could affect their mood for the entire night and even their whole weekend or longer.

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PS: I’m begging for monthly votes!!! I’m calling for a rescue with monthly votes, guys. I feared bothering everyone so I asked for one less day, and just like that, I fell out of the top 50 of the overall list, oh no! Can everyone please throw me back up there? Thank you!! (