The Best Director

Chapter 439: 439

As the week of January 6-12 came to a close, “500 Days of Summer,” in its third week of release, continued to dominate the North American weekend box office, hauling in $28.83 million from 3,401 theaters (averaging $8,476 per venue, with a box office trend of -56%), pushing its North American total over a milestone, rising to $208 million! With ease, “Summer” became Wang Yang’s sixth highest-grossing single film; since 1978, it held the second spot in the romantic comedy genre, with only a $33 million gap from the top holder, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

“Brokeback Mountain” expanded its release to 551 theaters (+219), adding $9.48 million to its total gross of $30.36 million, fully demonstrating its remarkable commercial strength.

However, the star of this week was undoubtedly “Hostel,” distributed by Lionsgate. This low-budget, R-rated horror film with a production cost of just $4.8 million, premiered in 2,195 theaters. Despite poor ratings from Rotten Tomatoes at 59%/38%/59%, it swept away $25.16 million in its opening weekend, guaranteeing a global box office sufficient to break even and make a tidy profit, becoming a modest commercial success par excellence. Undoubtedly, Lionsgate was once again esteemed with a horror film.

Compared to the invincible flame, Lionsgate still only has “Paranormal Activity” 1 & 3 and “Fahrenheit 9/11” as films grossing over $100 million in North America. This year, they have scheduled several films for wide releases, such as “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion,” “Employee of the Month,” and “Crank.” Among these, the one drawing the most attention and utmost care from Lionsgate is “Paranormal Activity 4,” which is slated to open on April 7th. Every member at Lionsgate fully understands that 2006 will be determined by this “magical legacy from Yang.”

Wang Yang’s name cannot be found in the credits of “Paranormal Activity 4,” nor the currently popular Chloe Moretz. However, following Wang Yang’s rescue last year, the series has been revived, with a large fan base now in place. The satisfactory market research data is proof of why Lionsgate is full of confidence.

Lionsgate Pictures is developing steadily, waiting for an opportunity to surge. So are other film companies, large and small, and the horror genre is often the breeding ground for low-budget, high-grossing films. As the creators of the “Saw” trilogy, James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s eagerly anticipated new project sparked a fierce competition among distributors.

The success of the “Saw” series needs no elaboration; it’s a veritable gold mine! Since completing “Saw III,” the “Saw” progenitors had been resting and planning for their new project, “Dead Silence.” In recent days, they finally reached a long-considered decision to collaborate with Universal Studios.

“Yang, we think this is the best choice for everyone,” James Wan and Leigh Whannell said with sincere and serious expressions in the bright, elegant cafe, where the atmosphere seemed a bit heavy. Wang Yang quietly sipped his coffee, filled with regret and discomfort. He had hoped they would settle with Flame, but perhaps they were right. He shrugged and smiled, “No worries, I understand. I really wish you guys could continue with Flame Film, but this is your choice, and I respect it.”

“Thank you,” James Wan nodded in gratitude, while Leigh Whannell raised his coffee cup to Wang Yang. How could they not feel some regret and reluctance in their hearts? Over the years, Yang and Flame Film had always treated them well, and it was with their own efforts, as well as the support of Flame Film, that they had gained their current fame and fortune. Yang had also always provided many ideas and suggestions for the “Saw” series, playing a crucial role in it. Otherwise, they felt they wouldn’t have been able to create such a successful horror trilogy so easily.

However, from a rational development perspective, handing “Dead Silence” over to Universal was indeed a better move, while also relieving Flame Film of a difficult decision. James Wan sincerely said, “I’m very grateful for Flame’s trust in ‘Saw’ and in us… Universal has a better opportunity offered.” Leigh Whannell nodded incessantly, “Me too.” Watching them, Wang Yang laughed heartily, “Please, it’s not like we’re parting forever. Why so serious?”

“Ha! Yang, what we worried about most was that you would be angry. But now, I’m truly relieved,” said Leigh Whannell, relaxing into a smile. James Wan also started to laugh joyfully, “That’s the most exciting part.”

The reason behind the split between Wan & Whannell and Flame Film was actually not complicated. The Flame Film production department had little faith in the script of “Dead Silence,” deeming its story and details trite and formulaic, devoid of commercial prospects. This included vice president Lin Wei, and the former Newmarket bosses William Tyrer and Chris Ball, who had invested in “Memento” and “Death Illusion,” were also against it, finding it somewhat bland and uninteresting. None of them could see a good reason to be optimistic about “Dead Silence,” other than its writers and directors being the “Fathers of Saw.”

Despite this, a production budget of 20 million US dollars is still too high. “Saw III” only had 10 million, so FF hoped that the production cost could be controlled within 15 million. Otherwise, FF’s first flop in its distribution history is likely to happen, reaping box office success but losing audience reputation, and the brand image that has been painstakingly built up over the years would definitely be damaged.

Wang Yang didn’t have “Dead Silence” in his mental movie library and didn’t know whether it belonged to the “future” or was a newcomer, nor did he know its visual appearance and performance. However, from the script, he wasn’t optimistic. In fact, the classic puppet theme was not without things to say. However, the issue with the “spirit revenge” story in “Dead Silence” was not that it was too clichéd, but too simple. It was like a composite of boring characters, mundane dialogue driving the plot, and throwing out horror details, then culminating in a twist ending that was completely unoriginal and unnecessary.

Compared to the surprises and investment in the “Saw” series, James Wan and Leigh Whannell obviously lacked conviction and explosive force in the story of “Dead Silence,” with no emotional threads connecting the narrative, including an ending clearly chasing the style of “Saw,” the “last three minutes save the film” kind of surprise. However, this time the entire script was full of patchwork and even a bit of showing off. They were determined to cram in as many horror elements as possible, regardless of plot holes and inconsistencies, incessantly telling the audience, “It’s so horrifying! It will consume your soul, so terrifying!”

But their voices were heard by the audience, and that wasn’t a good thing, not something the audience was supposed to hear, but to feel! Without psychological identification, no empathy, no emotional connection, even the most novel horror tropes would become bland, let alone the clichéd ones.

Had they not heard those stories and details before, perhaps they would have found them scary, but Wang Yang knew that most North American audiences have been hearing about those puppets and vengeful spirits a million times since childhood, especially during Halloween. This meant that the story itself had lost its mystery and suspense.

From a certain perspective, horror and mystery films are actually genres closest to the essence of cinematic art because cinema is ultimately about storytelling. To make a story engaging, it’s necessary to create suspense, as only suspense can bring about anticipation, excitement, and tension in the audience. Only when suspense is resolved are there feelings of surprise, satisfaction, and a sense of relief. Whatever the medium—film, TV series, novels, comics—as long as it’s storytelling, suspense is very, very important.

Alfred Hitchcock was the first to understand the crucial importance of suspense to cinematic language. He spent a lifetime making mystery movies, and his exploration of techniques like montage has had a lasting impact on cinema. In recent years, movies like “Memento” and “Death Illusion” have been exploring and challenging cinematic language, using novel methods to tell stories that are not particularly suspenseful on their own to achieve corresponding effects.

“Dead Silence” was positioned as a psychological horror film, but James Wan was still deeply influenced by “Saw” and couldn’t break free. He wouldn’t give up gore completely but wanted to incorporate it, which was an attempt; yet true horror comes from the psychological level, from an individual’s imagination, from scaring oneself. “Dead Silence” had neither emotion nor suspense, which was the worst part. With what could it move or frighten others? The entire script could be described as “ambitious yet fizzled out.”

Although “Dead Silence” had many problems with its script, Wang Yang was still unwilling to give up on it. After all, it was just a script, and a good director always had a way to turn a mediocre script into a good movie. But why not make it better from the script level? With some changes and adjustments, paying attention to the creation of a mysterious atmosphere with the camera work, pacing the film well, not assuming that a good ending could solve all shortcomings…

Wang Yang offered his suggestions on these issues, but James Wan and Leigh Whannell were confident: “Dead Silence” was a kind of folksy story filled with traditional horror charm.

BIG DEAL! They thought the problems weren’t so significant, it was a bit clichéd, but the visual effects were sure to be great! They had already moved on to contemplating the puppet designs, but of course, Wang Yang’s words caused them to be wary, prompting a serious reevaluation of “Dead Silence.” Indeed, there were plot holes and logical errors, but some flaws were tolerable in service of the story, right?…

They believed that with polished production, this old wine would exude a unique and tempting aroma. Perhaps they were a bit too arrogant, or maybe it really was that way. After all, the “Saw” trilogy had earned the company a lot of money, and with many other studios hungrily eyeing the opportunity, under their insistence, Flame Film agreed to an investment of 20 million, taking the risk for them. If the final film failed to impress, then it would be distributed by FM brand.

However, new problems arose: first, there was no guarantee of getting FF to operate it; secondly, assuming FF distributed it, the main battlefield for horror films was April Fools’ and Halloween. FF already had “Saw” for the Halloween slot, so what about April? Flame didn’t traditionally release horror films in April and didn’t want to clash head-on with one of its main allies, Lionsgate. “April horror film” was one of Lionsgate’s most important plans in recent years, and Flame couldn’t just barge in unannounced.

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“We think ‘Dead Silence’ has a brilliant concept! It’s going to be a huge success.” Universal Studios never ceased to extend an olive branch to the two of them, offering $20 million-plus an April release date, no problem, $25 million was fine too! And “Universal’s distribution capabilities are no worse than Flame’s”.

Their agents also said, “This is an entirely new opportunity,” they were so young, and they would always work with other studios, big and small. What was the possibility and obligation to limit themselves to Flame forever? Now was the time! By participating in the production of ‘Saw IV’, they could maintain their relationship with FF; ‘Dead Silence’ would be funded by Universal, and they were quite eager to try this change…

So before Flame Films and Lionsgate had settled on how to resolve the scheduling issue, whether to move ‘Dead Silence’ to a January slot or have it released in late April to follow Lionsgate… James Wan and Leigh Whannell had already decided to go with Universal. This was the main reason they were worried about Wang Yang getting angry.

“Who said I’m not angry?” Wang Yang said with a smile, taking a sip of his coffee. That statement was not entirely a joke, as FF had seen them as ‘one of their own’, thinking everything was negotiable, never expecting Universal to swoop in and propose successfully. Suddenly, James and Leigh didn’t know what to say, but Wang Yang laughed and said, “I like to look on the bright side of things. You got the deal you wanted, and Flame didn’t need to rearrange their schedule, which is good. But!” he said earnestly, “For the next movie, come back.”

“Okay,” the two nodded with a smile. They were well aware that Flame had been busy with ‘Dead Silence’, and now… they felt torn and moved. James thought for a while and then said, “Yang, Flame feels like home to me, whereas Universal is like a tourist spot that I visit on a trip.” Wang Yang couldn’t help but grin, and Leigh immediately agreed. “I feel the same way. If we mess up outside, we still have Flame Films to support us.” Wang Yang said with a laugh, “Exactly, who can argue with that?”

Whether ‘Dead Silence’ would be a success or failure, whether the box office would be high or low, people need to experience, reflect, and grow. Not everyone’s path is like his own growth track, and Wang Yang was very clear about that. As the ‘big brother’ figure of the naive group of Chinese directors in Hollywood, he should do his best to help both of them, to let James grow into an influential horror and thriller director, and even a master, to jointly change the image and status of Asians both on and off the screen.

And as their friend, Wang Yang didn’t want to see ‘Dead Silence’ go down in flames. Looking across at the two, he said, “I’m not angry anymore, let’s discuss the issues with ‘Dead Silence’, guys. Don’t think I’m alarming you, but don’t underestimate logical issues…”

James and Leigh listened intently, full of confidence in ‘Dead Silence’, but how could they not heed the teachings of Magic Yang? His words were always enlightening.

Plot logic, camera techniques, setting atmosphere… The three exchanged many ideas about ‘Dead Silence’. Perhaps this was their last discussion about the film.

After a long talk, the two made another request, “Yang, could you not publicly say you don’t like this movie?” Wang Yang nodded without much thought, knowing if he went around saying “I don’t have high hopes for ‘Dead Silence’, it would definitely be affected, even if it had a 91% chance of success it could drop to 50%. He laughed and said, “Of course, don’t worry! I will only offer my blessings, I won’t say anything else.” James & Leigh expressed their thanks with delight.

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“‘Saw’ creator leaves Flame Films, horror new work settles at Universal” — Yahoo Entertainment; “Flame Films loses a talented filmmaker, James Wan shifts to Universal” — FOX News…

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Big news, big news! As everyone knows, Flame Film boasts the “Three Musketeers of Young Chinese-American Directors”: Wang Yang, Lin Yibin, and James Wan. Now, suddenly, 28-year-old James Wan has left!

People have said Justin Lin, James Wan, and the talented Yang’s relationship is like that of Robert Zemeckis, Chris Columbus, and Spielberg. However, unlike them in their youth without DreamWorks, the talented Yang had Flame Film, annually sitting atop the box office throne. Flame Film’s well-known generosity and tolerance toward its team made it even more bewildering that they didn’t secure the highly sought-after new work of James Wan and Leigh Whannell. What happened?!

With the Golden Globe Awards just around the corner, this news certainly shocked the industry—it was the first time something like this happened at Flame Film!

The director of “High School Musical” 2&3, Sarah Schulman, doesn’t count because she lacks the ability to initiate projects as a writer or producer. Aside from making youth movies for Disney, this British director recently returned to the UK film and television industry. Moreover, she was already somewhat famous before directing “High School Musical 2”; Annie Fletcher, the director of “Sweetheart” and “Step Up” 1&2, is currently taking a break, and it is rumored that FF is already looking for suitable comedy projects for her. Justin Lin and Christopher Nolan’s schedules are booked solid…

How could the creators of Saw leave FF? Especially when they have a good personal relationship with Wang Yang, having collaborated on several funny YouTube short films together! Movie fans and followers couldn’t believe it. Could it be that talented Yang and James Wan had a falling out? He didn’t have faith in “Death Illusion”? Universal offered better terms?…

“It is a regrettable yet exciting decision,” said James Wan and Leigh Whannell on their official website. They revealed that the reason for leaving FF was failure to agree on issues such as investment budget and release schedules, while Universal offered “Dead Silence” better and more attractive terms; however, Wan will continue to serve as one of the producers of “Saw IV”. They left Flame Film on good terms, with no hard feelings, and it won’t affect “Saw IV”.

FF confirmed what the fathers of Saw had said through numerous announcements on their official website, official blog, and the “Saw” official website, not slandering “Dead Silence”, but merely stating it had “uncertain commercial prospects”. Spokesperson Fiona Hassan commented, “This is just the most normal personnel change. James and Leigh have brought us the classic ‘Saw’ series, accompanied us through three hair-raising Halloweens, and have contributed greatly to the development of Flame Film. We send them off with hearts full of gratitude and wish their new work continued success.”

Although Wan & Whannell also left “with hearts full of gratitude”, and it seems both parties parted on good terms, die-hard Flame Film fans were outraged. They believed the duo left Flame Film of their own volition, not because Flame Film treated them poorly or harshly. By leaving, they undoubtedly betrayed the trust and kindness of talented Yang and Flame Film.

Cristipado wrote, “Look at the attitudes of Flame Film and Universal, and you can guess what happened. What does ‘better terms’ mean? I’ve never heard of FF treating anyone poorly.” Leroy-T wrote with a sigh, “I’m a Flame Film fan, and this news is so bad. I was really looking forward to Wan, Whannell, and MY collaborating on a horror movie.” Marilee-A wrote, “Maybe it’s just me, but talented Yang must be very disappointed and sad. He once said, ‘WANG won’t shoot horror because there’s WAN,’ and now Wan has left him like this.”…

Universal Studios is the happiest party in this event. The commercial prospects of “Dead Silence” are indeed unclear, but how many movies have clear outcomes? Simply because Wan & Whannell are the creators of the Saw trilogy, this is a sound investment already!

“Universal is extremely honored and thrilled to produce and distribute ‘Dead Silence’. It has a truly hair-raising story idea, and we believe it will give everyone a real scare,” said Universal. Their marketing strategy is to portray “Flame Film losing to Universal”, making sure it doesn’t get tied to “talented Yang’s lack of faith” – to openly challenge his vision is just asking for trouble, even if he did take a fall with “Zathura: A Space Adventure”.

According to an announcement from Universal Studios, “Dead Silence” is set to be released next April; during that same release window, Flame Film has planned the action-comedy “The Green Hornet”, a movie initiated and produced by Wang Yang. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote, recommend, and support us. Your support is my greatest motivation.)