The Best Director

Chapter 440: Chapter 440 Progress

No matter how Firefly Films and James Wan & Leigh Whannell “peacefully parted ways,” no matter how they say “we are still the best of friends,” to outsiders, their move to Universal is definitely a sign of discord!

At the same time, FF’s new film projects for the next two years are mostly quirky, and Wang Yang has been using his top producers and directors indiscriminately. After achieving the unprecedented peak of becoming an independent film company’s double annual champion, what will FF’s performance be in the coming years? This question is even more elusive than this year’s award season. Will they start to decline, or will they maintain their miraculous strength and continue to overturn mainstream studios like Warner Brothers, Sony, Paramount, and Universal?

Being able to snag the founders of “Saw” from FF, Universal can’t help but feel a bit smug, almost as if they got half a miraculous Yang! Universal spokesperson Cindy Gardner said, “With the success of the Saw series as proof, why wouldn’t we look forward to ‘Dead Silence’?” Universal stopped just short of saying straight out that “Dead Silence” would be more successful than “Saw.” This horror film, with a production budget of 20 million dollars, is set to land in the April slot of 2007.

During the same period, there is no shortage of horror films, with titles like “The Punishment Room,” “Reaping”… At that time, Firefly Films also had a release plan. The action-comedy “The Green Hornet,” which was initiated, produced, and written by Wang Yang himself, might just put on a show of cleaning up “traitors” when it’s released.

As for why FF is always subject to skepticism, it’s because their projects are always so unusual. For example, “The Green Hornet” aims to be a superhero comedy, even bringing together Hollywood and Hong Kong’s “King of Comedy” Jim Carrey and Stephen Chow—two old guys who will be a combined age of nearly a hundred years old this year. But in fact, the early promotional effects of this project are very good, and comedy-loving audiences believe it has great potential. Both leads are the kind of stars who can make you die laughing without a word, and they are eager to get a glimpse of it and have a good laugh.

“It’s hard to imagine the chemistry that will result from their combined humor,” said more than one movie fan familiar with both Jim Carrey and Stephen Chow. In contrast to aspects like the plot and storyline of “The Green Hornet,” what excites people most is the anticipation of this element. Even film critic Roger Ebert expressed his enthusiasm when discussing movies for the next few years, “Carrey + Chow + Odecock + Marvelous Yang, God knows what kind of comedic effects these guys will bring.”

Since Steve Oedekerk joined, “The Green Hornet” has made significant progress. In the last quarter of last year, the three finished the screenplay adaptation, and now the movie is still in the pre-production phase. It will start shooting in May this year and wrap up before August, directed by Stephen Chow.

Stephen Chow’s fame in North America can be attributed to last year’s release of “Kung Fu Hustle,” which received 17.1 million dollars at the North American box office, and at its widest release, was shown in 2,503 cinemas across North America; it’s global box office was 100.9 million US dollars.

Though 17.1 million might seem modest, it has already reached the eighth position in the North American foreign language film box office charts (1980-present). The highest is “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (Taiwan, China) with 128 million, the second is “Life Is Beautiful” (Italy) with 57.56 million, and the third is “Hero” (China) with 53.71 million… Tenth place goes to “Iron Horse Grenade” (Hong Kong, China) with 14.69 million.

As someone who grew up loving movies and is multilingual, Wang Yang finds it difficult to understand why most North American viewers are so narrow-minded, uninterested in watching foreign language films with subtitles, and thus miss countless classic films. For instance, one of his beloved films, “Cinema Paradiso,” only grossed 12.39 million at the North American box office back then, and the market hasn’t changed at all in over a decade. But that’s just the way it is, after all, the poster walls of movie theaters always have too many popular English-language films to choose from.

However, even though “Kung Fu Hustle” managed to rank eighth, Wang Yang and the Firefly distribution department felt very sorry for it. If it were distributed by FF, they were confident they could have pushed “Kung Fu Hustle’s” box office to over 50 million.

Aside from issues of release timing, this April, Sony Classics made a significant error with ‘Kung Fu Hustle,’ lacking the patience they had with ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ or perhaps the astounding success of ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ made them oversimplify the process.

‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ started in just 16 theaters, maintained a release in fewer than 200 cinemas for 5 weeks, less than 1000 for 8 weeks, expanded to its widest at 2027 theaters in its 16th week, and ultimately ran for 32 weeks before ending in all theaters.

‘Kung Fu Hustle’ hastily concluded its journey after 19 weeks; in the first two weeks, it was only screen-tested in 7 cinemas, earning an average of $53,577 and $51,308 per theater respectively, compared to ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ which earned $41,450 and $34,798. However, ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ had not yet spread its outstanding 90%/85%/86% ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and had no impact when Sony Classics failed to boost the advertising. By the third week, they abruptly expanded to 2503 theaters (a 2496 increase), with the average per theater plummeting to $3,436—a classic case of rushing things.

‘The Motorcycle Diaries,’ with a box office of $16.78 million (2004-09-24), was shown for 21 weeks and never played in more than 272 theaters (during its 11th week); ‘Life Is Beautiful’ ran for 35 weeks, reaching a maximum of 1136 theaters (in its 25th week); whereas Miramax Films released ‘Hero’ (2004-08-27) across 2031 theaters in its opening week, earning an average of $11,680 per theater. That was a belated release, after it had already made a run at the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Although it failed to win either award, it gained a certain level of fame.

Now ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ is also vying for the awards season; it was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, but looking at the scale of its FYC ads and other promotions, Sony/Columbia had no intention of vigorously championing it. Especially since Stephen Chow’s new film ‘The Green Hornet’ belongs to FF; even if it won an award, it would only serve to benefit others. If FF had been in charge, there’s no doubt they would have heavily invested in marketing to maximize its potential to compete for Best Foreign Language Film.

It’s a pity, but this can only be a regret. If Sony/Columbia itself isn’t concerned, Fire Flames has no place to meddle. They should just focus on how to handle ‘The Green Hornet.’

Of course, ‘Kung Fu Hustle’ still has a chance to win the Golden Globe, although Wang Yang already knew it lost to Palestine’s ‘Paradise Now.’ But who knows if the world might change?

Besides ‘The Green Hornet,’ other Fire Flames projects are also progressing on their respective tracks. ‘March of the Penguins’ director, Luc Jacquet has agreed to take over the director’s role for ‘Hachi: A Dog’s Tale,’ and will work on the adaptation alongside Robert Sguli (‘The Lion King 2,’ ‘Sky High,’ etc.). With assistance from producers Todd Reibman and Robert Sguli, Jacquet’s shortcomings were remedied and his strengths were not compromised; FF has no doubt that ‘Hachi’ will become a film with incredibly high acclaim.

After several months, ‘Marley & Me’ has completed its adaptation by the two screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos. Producer David Frankel has invited David Frankel (‘Reckless,’ 6 episodes of ‘Sex and the City,’ 2 episodes of ‘Band of Brothers,’ etc.) to take up the megaphone and is currently in the stage of casting and preparation.

Both of these dog films are scheduled for a 2007 release. Since they are not effects-heavy blockbusters, they don’t require a long post-production, and a promotion gap would cause many negative effects; hence these two projects are not in a hurry. FF will give the creative teams plenty of preparation time. Despite their interest in the scripts, it will still take time for both directors to find the right directing approach and to coordinate with the crew. This process might take four months or even half a year, and possibly one day, due to conflicts, they may unexpectedly leave the project.

‘Hachi: A Dog’s Tale’ is expected to start filming in the fourth quarter of this year; ‘Marley & Me’ is likely going to start in the first quarter of next year.

The sequel ‘The Assassin’s Creed 2,’ set to release at the tail end of next summer, will no longer be directed by John Woo. Indeed, it was an amicable separation; John Woo poured all his energy and ideas into ‘The Assassin’s Creed,’ akin to someone finally letting out a long-held breath. However, once relaxed, he could no longer muster that same drive. Given such a short time frame to direct a sequel, Fire Flames was not optimistic about achieving both box office and critical success simultaneously; also, market research showed that the audience hoped for something new and exciting.

On the other side, John Woo demonstrated once again that his moniker “King of Gunplay” was no empty title. Having grown used to the warm and cold humanity of Hollywood, his heart was set on returning to Asia. He joined forces with companies such as China Film Group to produce a Mandarin-language film based on the historic Battle of Red Cliff from the Three Kingdoms period titled “Red Cliff”.

So while they parted ways, both parties remained cheerful. Flame Film had already extended a directorial invitation to 44-year-old “Russian John Woo,” Timur Bekmambetov, and received an affirmative reply. In addition, the sequel script, still under the primary direction of Chris Morgan, was nearing completion. Next, they would recall the original cast and crew to prepare… “The Assassin’s Creed 2” could potentially begin filming as early as the third quarter of this year, and at the latest, production would start in the fourth quarter; otherwise, missing the release date would be disastrous.

As for the possibility of investing in “Red Cliff” and becoming its North American distributor, Flame Film’s production department felt there were still matters up for discussion.

“Iron Man” and “I Am Legend” seemed much busier, showing their usual “marvelous style”. Jon Favreau, back from vacation, had immersed himself in the production. The writing team, led by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, was working on character development, dialogue, and story details based on the framework provided by Wang Yang. Since October of the previous year, the script had been close to completion; Robert Downey Jr. and Rachel McAdams had been confirmed as the lead actors. “Iron Man” was scheduled to start shooting in August, with an early summer release planned for 2007.

Currently, the script for “I Am Legend” had not yet been handed out to the various departments of the crew, which had not even been fully assembled. However, Wang Yang’s production preparations tended to progress very swiftly and smoothly. Unlike the massive undertaking of “Firefly,” “I Am Legend” had only one leading actor and did not require martial arts training, among other things. Wang Yang planned to commence official work in February, with an expected 5-7 months of preparation before starting shooting, aiming for a mid-summer release in 2007.

The production progress of other films, such as “Mamma Mia!” and “The Prestige,” was on track. “Saw IV” had entered the preparation phase, with FF deciding to appoint 27-year-old newcomer Darren Lynn Bousman as the director and writer. He was the director of “Saw” parts 2, 3, and 4 for Lionsgate. Bousman’s understanding and passion for “Saw” were sufficient to support him in crafting a remarkable sequel following the conclusion of the first trilogy and introducing a new wave of horror.

Nancy Reno would also serve as a planning producer and assistant director for “Saw IV”. Back during “Saw I,” she had followed the crew, handling various assistant duties, and her impressive performance in “500 Days of Summer” last year provided ample reason for her to be trusted. So when she expressed great interest in “Saw IV,” the production department at FF and Wang Yang did not need to think twice before agreeing. If she delivered an outstanding performance this time, and if Bousman lacked energy, she would be the prime candidate to direct “Saw V,” becoming FF’s third female director.

However, compared to Sara Schulman and Annie Fletcher’s youth, musicals, comedies… Nancy Reno making an R-rated bloody horror movie? It seemed quite bizarre, even more strange than an old man setting up traps, especially considering how beautiful she was. At first glance, one might think her the type of woman who faints at the sight of blood or screams at ghosts, then comes her stubborn confidence.

Who wouldn’t scream at the sight of ghosts? Perhaps only James Wan. Although already aware of the distinctive personality of this junior or senior, Wang Yang was still taken aback, “This is not ‘SEW,’ it’s ‘SAW.’ You’ve seen it, right? Are you sure? Sawing away at someone’s leg…” Nancy dismissed it with disdain, “In the past few years, I’ve thought up many interesting killing games, each more terrifying than sawing away at a leg. Some even involve ‘SEW.’ Do you want to hear about them?”

“Good, I admire your character!” What else could Wang Yang say? Didn’t she have any interest in youth campus films or romantic comedies? Nancy replied candidly, “You know my idol is you. Yes, I want to debut in the horror genre following in your footsteps. I’m truly interested in it, and we can talk about other genres later.”

Meanwhile, Mark Strant hadn’t forgotten the agent’s routine. He believed FF could collaborate with Nancy’s agent and agency to craft her image as an “idol-style director,” a talented and sexy director. She would easily knock out Sofia Coppola, Jodie Foster, Miranda July… After being seen alongside Wang Yang on ABC’s nationwide live broadcast, due to the Rose Bowl game, many people online began asking, “Who is that woman?” “The one with the cap next to Marvelous Yang!” “Has she been in any movies?” It was apparent that the idea would certainly work!

If she wanted to follow this career path, she couldn’t touch scary stuff like “Saw” anymore. Instead, romance-oriented material like “Step Up”, “Twilight”, and the like were more her speed—something that would appeal to men and women of all ages. Yet another bright sign on the directorial marquees of Flame Film. And now with “Twilight” selling like hotcakes, continuously topping The New York Times bestseller list for many, many weeks, it had become a super bestseller. The combination of “idol director” plus “idol actors” was a brilliant promotional gimmick.

“I want to be a director, not a Playboy cover girl. Otherwise, why would I go to USC? To be a highly-educated cover girl?” Nancy rejected this proposal unmercifully, and she was quite irate because she disliked people associating her appearance with her abilities.

Wang Yang remembered saying the same thing himself, “I don’t want to be a star,” but as of today, his popularity was no less than any other star’s. Although he still didn’t consider himself a star, as the saying goes, “If an animal looks like something, sounds like something, and walks like something, then it is that something.” To the outside world, there was no difference between him and a star, only he himself knew that wasn’t the case—making movies, attending promotions, participating in awards seasons, and then what? That was it.

Many things developed beyond one’s control. When Nancy began to wield the director’s megaphone on her own, how could the entire film’s promotion be possible without her presence? Naturally doing a few interviews, taking a few sets of photos for generic entertainment fashion magazines, and adding to that, as long as there was attention, the media and paparazzi would follow her. When the movie succeeded, even if Nancy didn’t wish to be an “idol director,” she would gradually become one, and “Beautiful Director” might just become her nickname.

“What do you think? I’m not lying to you.” Wang Yang shared all his years of experience with her, adding, “Actually, it’s nothing. The most important thing is to maintain your mentality, not to get lost in all that glitter and glamour, just know what you’re doing.” When Nancy heard this, she indeed felt that way, and instantly got quite agitated, “Now I kind of envy Harry George!” She was also very troubled, “No, the nickname ‘Beautiful Director’ is too silly. ‘Hot Director’, ‘Sexy Director’… I don’t want those! I got it, I’ll coin a nickname for myself first… Hmm… Hmm… Do you have any suggestions?”

Wang Yang couldn’t help but feel sentimental, “It’s really a girl thing.” Over the phone, Nancy suddenly laughed, “Aren’t we talking about this too early? It’s hilarious! It’s as if I’m going to walk the red carpet at the Golden Globes. Who would that be, after all?” Wang Yang said, “Your idol, Muscle-bound Director.”

The two first met in Park City, the venue of the Sundance Film Festival, a full six years ago in the year 2000. This year’s Sundance Film Festival was set to open on the 19th, with Flame Film’s acquisitions and distribution departments ready to explode onto the scene, hoping to land a major hit that could act as a main contender for the next awards season. However, everyone knew that such movies were rare finds, not just any “Crash”, and certainly not every “Crash” could be easily recognized.

Before this, the 63rd Golden Globe Awards ceremony held on the 16th would arrive even sooner.

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PS: Wow, I’m desperate for recommendation tickets! (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)