The Best Director

Chapter 435: Chapter 435 Double Champion of the Year (Please Vote for Recommendation)

The torrential rain poured down, with dark clouds hanging over the city of Pasadena in the greater Los Angeles area, casting a gloomy shadow over what should have been a joyous city, as if the weather gods were not in a celebratory mood.

The date on the new calendar on the wall was January 2, 2006. Today was the day of the 117th Annual Rose Parade Tournament of Roses.

This year, the event was not held on New Year’s Day because, by tradition, if New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, the parade is postponed to Monday. This custom dates back to the third parade in 1893. Locally, it was said, “We have an agreement with God that we will never hold the parade on a Sunday, and he will never let it rain on the parade.” However, according to the official statement from the Tournament of Roses Association, it was “to avoid the dreadful situation of horses being tied up outside local churches, thereby disturbing the worship of the residents.”

Now, it seemed that tradition was wishful thinking. Weather forecasts had predicted winds up to 72 kilometers per hour and 130 millimeters of rainfall for Pasadena. Unfortunately, the forecast turned out to be accurate. Although the executive committee did not cancel the tournament and the parade proceeded as scheduled, the bad weather created a messy scene! At this point, dozens of beautiful flower floats from around the world and across America, as well as military bands and cavalry units from the US, braced the heavy rain. The stands and spectator zones along Colorado Boulevard were sparsely populated, nowhere near as bustling as usual.

“Happy New Year, everyone!” Camille Clark, this year’s Rose Queen, waved from atop the slowly advancing Royal Rose Float. Wearing an elegantly beautiful white ball gown and a sparkling queen’s crown, her face beamed with a radiant smile. Being chosen as the Rose Queen is an honor and a joy as it’s one of America’s most important and traditional New Year celebrations. But how could she not feel disheartened? For 50 years, from 1955 to 2005, there had been no issues, but it was her luck to encounter this misfortune in her 51st year!

After months of anticipation, it had come down to this… Camille Clark wiped the rain off her face, her dress uncomfortably clinging to her body as she continued to wave, “Happy New Year, everyone!” Perhaps her idol Yang wouldn’t come to watch the event in person after all, what a pity! The six Rose Princesses surrounding her felt a mix of excitement and dismay, waving continuously to the crowd, some in raincoats and others holding umbrellas, saying, “Happy New Year!”

“Wow—look at that Oklahoma State float, it’s so pretty!” Joshua, clad in a raincoat, repeatedly pressed the shutter of his digital camera, aiming at the Oklahoma State Star float across the way. Its style was full of Western cowboy character. Alexis nodded in agreement and commented, “It’s very distinctive.”

“HOPE, sweetheart, look at the China Airlines float! WOO—” Wang Yang’s voice was filled with excitement. The China Airlines float was designed like a dragon boat, carrying performers dressed in ethnic costumes, either singing and dancing or beating drums and rowing. The dragon scales on the boat were meticulously crafted, adorned with gilded paint, and numerous lanterns of varying sizes hung above. The entire base of the float and its surroundings were filled with roses of vibrant red, white, and blue hues. The majestic dragon head rose high, and he exclaimed loudly, “It’s so beautiful!” Jessica, who was holding her daughter, was equally impressed, “Enchanting! HOPE, take a look.”

Although the large LCD TV screen wasn’t far away, Keke still couldn’t see clearly. She really wanted to sleep, but those two kind voices kept surrounding her…

“Dragon-Boat, dragon boat, dragon ship.” Wang Yang taught his daughter a few words, then continued to watch the next float. However, hearing the pitter-patter of rain outside and seeing the terrible conditions at the event, he couldn’t help but shake his head slightly, “It’s such a pity, why did it have to rain this year?” Jessica expressed regret, “It’s just this year.” The two had grown up without encountering such weather, and just a few days ago, they were excitedly planning to take Keke to the event. Today, they could only watch the live broadcast from home.

If it had been before Keke was born, Wang Yang might have been the first to head to Pasadena to join in the excitement. After all, think about it, it hadn’t rained for 50 years, and in 2006 there was a downpour! Isn’t that special? He wouldn’t bother with raincoats and umbrellas, but instead, enjoy the floats and parade in the rain. If he felt like it, he might even dance to a rain tune—how wonderful! But now, with a child, many things had changed. The word “Family” had taken on more meaning. With these thoughts, he murmured, “Let’s wait for the Rose Bowl in a couple of days.”

During the New Year holiday season, the four major college football bowl games—Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, and Orange Bowl—all culminate in their respective finales. This year, the Rose Bowl’s competitors were Texas Longhorns vs. USC Trojans. Since it also served as the 05-06 national championship (BCS), it would take place on the evening of the 4th. Both the Longhorns and the Trojans were the only two unbeaten teams in the NCAA’s IA division this season, the former being the defending Rose Bowl champions and Big-12 champions, and the latter being the Pac-10 champions. It was a super matchup of the titans!

How much attention did this game attract? Commentators said, “University of Southern California is in its best state in history,” and “Texas is a team that can win the game.” In the eyes of the media and public, this was the strongest and most anticipated epic showdown in college football history! This year’s Rose Bowl was one of the hottest topics of those days, and its viewership was sure to reach record highs, with an expected audience of over twenty million people watching the live broadcast.

Wang Yang was not a die-hard fan of football; if there was an equally important basketball game, he would choose basketball, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in football. On the contrary, if he was free, he would go support any major USC event. Compared to basketball, USC’s football team was simply too strong — the team that has participated in the Rose Bowl the most times, securing the championship 21 times out of 28. With the 29th battle in Pasadena just days away, he wouldn’t miss it.

Regardless of whether there would be a downpour that day, Wang Yang and Jessica were going to go, since they obviously didn’t plan to bring a baby just over 20 days old to the surely frenzied atmosphere of the Rose Bowl stadium. That day, Keke would be taken care of by Wang Yang’s mother, and Wang Yang planned to invite Nancy and a few other friends to enjoy the game together.

“Hey! What if our Flame Films also joined the Rose Parade float competition?” Wang Yang said with sudden interest, watching the glamorous floats on TV. Jessica raised an eyebrow, seemingly disapproving, “Um, oh, I don’t know. Does this help the company in any way? I’m not sure.” Wang Yang thought for a moment, and the whim faded away instantly, shaking his head with a smile, “No, we might as well invest the money in an independent film.” Jessica nodded with a smile, “YEP, I also think floats are quite luxurious.”

These Rose Parade floats were not cheap; from design to production, if you wanted something beautiful and elegant, the cost of a single float could be as high as several hundred thousand or even millions of US dollars, and then they were retired after parading around just once.

However, if Flame Films were to join the parade, celebrating the New Year and last year’s success, the media, colleagues in the film industry, and the fans… probably, nobody would think of it as “luxurious,” “unnecessary,” or “ridiculous.” Perhaps it was just too appropriate! The North American film industry in 2005 was like the current Rose Parade, experiencing a torrential downpour not seen in decades, or even unprecedented. Surprisingly, the champion of the year’s distributor box office market share ranking was snatched by an independent film company!

New Line? DreamWorks? Empire? Lionsgate? … Without a doubt, none of them — the new dominant force comfortably seated on the throne of the champion was called Flame Films!

From January 1st to December 31st of the past 365 days, Flame Films released a total of 9 movies/7 new films, reaping 3 Oscars with “Mr. Hughes 2” which ultimately earned $133 million in North America and $256 million globally, contributing $41.51 million to FF’s North American box office in 2005; likewise, “Crash,” winner of 3 Oscars, earned $62.31 million in North America and $109 million globally, with its North American revenue being $31.05 million that year.

On the scorecards of these two films, FF was undoubtedly the big winner, as their box offices were all within the set targets, and this year’s new films were even more surprisingly delightful!

“Kung Fu Panda,” which sparked the kung fu animation craze, finished with $229 million in North America and $603 million globally; the world-shaking “Firefly” garnered $650 million in North America, $1.167 billion overseas, and $1.817 billion globally; the dark horse “Assassin’s Creed” with $126 million in North America and $321 million globally; the sizzling “Step Up 2: The Streets” with $80.13 million in North America and $32.79 million in not yet fully distributed overseas markets; the first trilogy completed, “Saw III,” had already closed in North America with a box office of $113 million, and with the not yet fully distributed overseas markets, the global revenue was $184.6 million, with a strong hope to break through $200 million.

Entering December, “Brokeback Mountain” contributed another $16.55 million; the nine-day showing of “500 Days of Summer” raked in an impressive $142 million!

Since “500 Days of Summer” had already locked in the reigning weekly champion during the New Year’s week of December 30th to January 5th by a wide margin, FF ended the year with nine movies capturing 12 North American weekly champion trophies, accounting for 23% of the total 52 weeks! It even wildly swept up $1.45 billion in North American box office!!

The highest single movie revenue was $650 million, with an average of $161.1 million per movie; an average of $193.8 million per new film! Not accounting for marketing and distribution costs, FF’s new films had a total production budget of $465 million, earning $1.356 billion at the North American box office alone! Surpassing $3.2 billion globally!

Incredible! Fantastic, Implausible, Unimaginable… Firefly Movie’s accomplishments in 2004 already had the world’s jaw dropping, but in 2005, it escalated its efforts and underwent a completely insane explosion! With an absolute advantage of holding 15.2% of the market share, it forcefully seized the annual champion title!

Last year, the total box office in North America was ultimately pegged at 9.524 billion US Dollars, with Warner Brothers taking the second spot with 1.18 billion and a 12.3% market share; 20th Century Fox at third place with 1.15 billion and a 12.0% market share; followed by Universal Studios in fourth with 960 million and a 10.0% share; fifth place: Disney (Buena Vista) with 9.5%; sixth place: Sony/Columbia with 9.5%; seventh place: Paramount with 9.0%; eighth place: DreamWorks with 5.2%; ninth place: New Line with 4.4%; and in tenth place: Lionsgate with 2.9%, and “Paranormal Activity 3”, with a North American box office of 108 million, was its most exclusive film this year.

Falling into 11-16 places were Empire with 1.7%, Miramax Films with 1.7%, MGM/UA with 1.7%, Warner Independent with 0.9%, Focus Films with 0.8%, and Fox Searchlight with 0.8%.

Whether it be traditional blockbusters with a long history and the backing of large media conglomerates, or independent film companies with diverse management philosophies and unorthodox approaches, they all lost to Firefly Company in the past year, with no room for turnaround.

Since 1999, when Firefly Movie struggled to distribute its first film, “High School Musical”, not even seven years have passed until today, and it has already reached the pinnacle of the North American film market with a magical and stylish posture, becoming the most successful independent film company in history, bar none.

The top ten highest-grossing films in North America for 2005 (365-day calendar) were: No.1 “Firefly” with a box office of $650 million, ticket sales (calculated by average ticket price) of 100 million admissions, distributor: Firefly Movie; No.2 “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” with a box office of $380 million, ticket sales of 58.95 million admissions, distributor: 20th Century Fox; No.3 “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” with a box office of $277 million, ticket sales of 42.95 million admissions, distributor: Warner Brothers.

In fourth place was “War of the Worlds” with $234 million, Paramount; fifth place “Kung Fu Panda” with $229 million, Firefly Movie; sixth place “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” with $225 million, Walt Disney; seventh place “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” with $206 million, Warner Brothers; eighth place “Madagascar” with $193 million, DreamWorks; ninth place “Wedding Crashers” with $191 million, New Line; and in tenth place “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” with $177 million, 20th Century Fox.

Within the TOP-10, Firefly Movie, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox each had two films. The 2005 annual North American box office champion was “Firefly”, and it was also the global box office champion.

This marked Wang Yang’s personal career highlight, with his previous record being third and fourth place, and now he has reached the summit at once, achieving the double title of annual champion together with Firefly Movie!

He caused a massive global storm of “Firefly” viewings, driving passionate Asian film fans into a frenzy, his severe injury and coma left the world in shock for a week, he and his wife welcomed their first child, his “500 Days of Summer” continued to be hotly pursued and acclaimed…

“Yang + Firefly = Champion!” — Yahoo Entertainment; “Explaining Firefly Movie’s Path to Domination, Wang Yang’s Talents Shine Brightly” — Sina Entertainment; “The Embryonic Shape of a Future New Media Empire, Firefly Conquers Cinema” — The Wall Street Journal; “As 2006 Arrives, What Will Firefly Do Next?” — Los Angeles Times; “A True Myth, A Century-Old Dream of Independent Cinema Realized!” — The New York Times; “Wang Yang’s Worth Is Immeasurable, The Youngest Billionaire Spanning Entertainment and IT” — Forbes; San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, Toronto Star…

“Incredible! Firefly Movie was last year’s box office champion? Unbelievable!” Bruce G exclaimed in amazement. As this astonishing news quickly spread online, the die-hard fans of Firefly Movie burst into cheers and excitement. What a joyful New Year!

They logged onto the official website and other places to leave messages of support, expressing their expectations and opinions for 2006. MumbyK6 wrote, “Been looking forward to ‘Ice Age 3’ for so long! Hurry up and release it!” Reesķ’s message was filled with regret: “This year Firefly doesn’t have any big movies planned, and the amazing Yang has no new films, it seems they won’t repeat as annual champions.” Kristijonas wrote joyfully, “Fantastic! Keep doing it, punch those arrogant big production studios so hard they’ll be scrambling for their teeth to see if they dare to produce trash again!”

Jjnxn wrote, “Of the six new films from Flame Movies this year, I’m most looking forward to ‘Furious Cars 2.’ The craziness and excitement of the first film are indescribable! I haven’t found a racing movie that compares to it.” Wildaly said, “I want to see ‘Mama Mia!’. Meryl Streep dancing? Fun!”

Eric-A sighed and wrote, “Although it’s really gratifying that Flame Movies and Wang Yang won the championship (I’m a fan), is there really no new film from MY coming out this year? When will we get to see ‘I Am Legend’? Anyway, I wish ‘Firefly’ sweeps the Oscars this year!” Paul-T wrote, “I’m being a bit selfish here, but I hope Wang Yang, now a father, doesn’t stop and quickly makes more great movies!!”…

Media and fans alike are lavishing praise on this miracle. Moreover, they are also speculating whether Flame Group would become more proactive after such tremendous success in their core film business. What will their next business expansion be? Music? Gaming? The most popular demand from fans is undoubtedly music, with countless people saying, “I hope Flame can release some good music records.”

“We are truly grateful for the support for Flame Movies over the past year! It is with your trust and enthusiasm that we have created this unbelievable miracle.”

Fiona-Hassen, the spokesperson for Flame Movies, expressed her heartfelt thanks to the FF fans on the official website, with the usual sincerity and a slight official tint. She went on to say, “While we are proud of our achievements, Flame Movies will not be complacent. In 2006, we will continue to work hard! We will continue to adhere to our principle of demanding high quality in our films and satisfying our viewers! We will present excellent new movies and sequels one after another.”

In 2006, FF has already confirmed the large-scale release of six new films: the third sequel of Blue Sky Studios’ flagship animation comedy, ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’; the final chapter of “the best-selling R-rated comedy in history,” ‘The Hangover Part III’; a new musical comedy adapted from a classic and wildly popular stage play, ‘Mamma Mia!’; an action crime blockbuster filled with adrenaline and supercars, ‘Furious Cars 2’ for the summer popcorn flick; the signature R-rated horror franchise embarks on another journey, ‘Saw IV’; and a new mystery drama created by the Nolan family, ‘The Prestige’.

“All six films are carefully crafted by Flame, and I believe you won’t be disappointed. They will accompany you joyfully through 2006,” Fiona-Hassen concluded with her blessing, “Happy New Year!”

The cloud-filled sky gradually cleared, and a ray of sunshine peeked through the clouds. The rain had stopped.

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PS: This is the second letter!! Thank you all for your support; see the special second letter for details! Additionally, I’d like to recommend two books, ‘The Campus Belle’s Personal Ghost King,’ book number 2256786, a light and amorous urban story; ‘The Road to Promotion,’ book number 1472044, a serious urban officialdom tale. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)