The Best Director - Chapter 430

Chapter 430: 430

“Yang—Yang!!”

In the solemn and reverent Catholic church, rows of long wooden chairs were filled with guests, and on the red carpet, Wang Yang in a black suit silently exchanged glances with Jessica in her wedding dress. An elderly priest was saying something when suddenly a series of booming noises made everyone turn their heads.

A woman was seen forcefully banging on the glass window on the second floor, desperately shouting something. Wang Yang suddenly shouted like a madman, “Benjamin—” Bang! The tall doors of the church were flung open, and everyone instinctively looked down again. “Coo, coo, coo,” a flock of snow-white doves took flight, and at the doorway stood a short-haired woman with an expressionless face. Wasn’t she just upstairs? Everyone looked up again, but the second floor was nowhere to be seen.

The woman dashed forward and grabbed the groom’s hand, sprinting outside. Behind her, Jessica called out in a daze, “Hey, hey!!”

“Stop them!!” The priest jumped around frantically, and the crowd immediately surged forward to intervene, but the short-haired woman pulled out a lightsaber and took down everyone, running off wildly with the groom.

The two hopped on a bus, laughing heartily at first, then exchanged glances for a while. As the bus began to move with a hiss, their expressions slowly turned blank, and the bus drove towards the unknown.

“Phew! Stop, no more of this dream!” In the stillness of the night, Natalie woke up drenched in sweat in her bedroom. Why did she have this bizarre dream again? How many times now? It shouldn’t be! She remembered after the premiere of “500 Days of Summer,” when the thunderous applause lasted a long time, and she hugged Wang Yang happily, confidently asserting, “I will find my Autumn.” Wang Yang’s voice seemed very gentle, “Yes, without a doubt.”

Breaking away from the memory, Natalie nodded, that’s right! She closed her eyes and drifted back into sleep.

“Is it possible for us to go grab a coffee, tea, or something together?” On the sunny beach, Natalie shook hands with a tall, handsome man with black hair, smiling, she said, “My name is Natalie.” The man nodded, smiling, “Nice to meet you, I’m Oh.”

“Oh—! Oh?” Natalie’s gaze was inquisitive, and she nodded, “OK, nice to meet you.” Following summer comes autumn, and after YOUNG comes OLD…

“Phew! Stop, no more of this dream! Such an awful name.” She woke up again and couldn’t help but shout, “What the hell!!” Tossing and turning in bed and unable to sleep, she simply grabbed her laptop and started surfing the internet under the covers to check out the latest reviews of “500 Days of Summer.”

“A clever, unconventional romantic comedy, ‘500 Days of Summer’ has a refreshing sincerity and loads of enchanting charm—it’s a true signature masterpiece for Wang Yang,” — RottenTomatoes.com; “Nearly the freshest romantic comedy in the past 20 years, it takes the best of other commercial movies and rearranges them in a uniquely beautiful film that is novel and entertaining without betraying its ambition.” — Rating: 4/4, The United Kingdom’s Young Times;

“A perfect performance, at once serious, fresh, warm, and full of surprises, this is the most unique date movie of the year. Terrific stuff.” — Rating: 4/4, Empire Magazine; “If it missed the mark of becoming this generation’s ‘Annie Hall,’ it is still deliciously refreshing, sweet, fizzy like a frozen fruit slush; but I think it has already become one of the icons for this generation.” — Trevor Johnston, Rating: 4/4, Time-Out…

After ‘500 Days of Summer’ was widely released, within less than half a year, Magic BABY once again quickly created a sensation among the film critics and fans worldwide! Praise for this $15 million budget film was unending.

As a romantic comedy that likewise employed a variety of cinematic techniques and shared a view of love along with a tribute-like flavor, ‘500 Days of Summer’ inevitably drew comparisons with ‘Annie Hall.’ Claudia Puig of USA Today regarded it as the contemporary ‘Annie Hall,’ the most romantic film with the ideal sentiment (Rating: 5/5), although she also said, “What is identical is the significance itself, not the film itself.”

Beyond being clever, unique, profound, and fun, the key descriptors for ‘Annie Hall’s’ temperament are hysterical, comical, biting, neurotic, humorous, and lively; whereas ‘500 Days’ is fresh, tasty, sunny, humorous, romantic, warm…

Wang Yang and Woody Allen are fundamentally two different kinds of people, with Wang often showing a lack of enthusiasm for romantic elements. ‘500 Days’ seemed almost as though it was forced upon him, but now no one dares to question or mock him.

The critical consensus has been that numerous critics agree ‘500 Days’ is the 21st-century ‘Annie Hall.’ For those who disagree, they still say it’s the closest anyone has come to achieving this in over 20 years. This is high praise and an honor, although ‘Annie Hall’ had only $38.25 million in box office revenue at the time (1977, without adjusting for inflation), it deeply influenced the film industry, fashion trends, and more, along with receiving Oscar awards for Best Picture, Best Director (4/5). It is a classic of the era; ‘500 Days’ is also a classic of the era.

Woody Allen was 42 years old during the time of ‘Annie Hall,’ and today’s Magic Yang is only 25, playing the game in record time even with injuries. Wang’s critics find themselves at a loss for words, yet Wang’s fans have many.

“After watching this film, you’ll leave the theater laughing joyfully, that’s our Sunshine Magic Yang for you. But this movie really isn’t the most romantic comedy; it has lots of realistic, tangible things that I’m sure everyone can relate to. It reflects on emotional issues, interpersonal relationships, life, and ways to solve them. I’m not entirely sure I got it, but if you ask me how it was? It’s the most moving, best romantic comedy I’ve seen,” praised Top Critic Shaun E from RottenTomatoes with full stars.

Letitia L also gave it full stars, excitedly acclaiming, “I feel like I’m falling in love! It’s just amazing, both my boyfriend and I want to marry Magic Yang!!” Eric A wrote with full stars, “One of the best, most unexpected films I’ve seen. Well done Yang! Great acting, great photography, great everything! It’s a film that never ages, it will still be a classic in ten or twenty years.” Idris K gave it four stars, writing, “The film is like a roller-coaster of various relationships and emotions—wonderful and funny, I love it!”

“There are many great reasons why I believe ‘500 Days of Summer’ is a nearly perfect film, a flawless romantic comedy. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Natalie Portman’s performances are impeccable, they have some of the best on-screen chemistry I’ve witnessed; Magic Yang has proven you don’t need adult scenes to tell a profound love story, to make a successful romantic comedy, heck! It breaks the Hollywood mold, and it’s good beyond expectations,” Katherine V’s review was full stars.

“This film pretty much depicts my life and all the hopeless romantics in it,” Paul O gave five stars, “Its reality is inescapable and just so heartbreaking. I’m obsessed with it because it makes me cry, and whenever I think about my own ‘500 Days of Summer,’ I still feel melancholic, but as it says, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Without Summer, there will be Amy, Kelly… Life goes on.” Liam G gave four stars, writing, “I had a Summer too, and then she literally threw shit in my face. The movie is a bit of nonsense; she dumped me and never looked back. But I find comfort in the fact that even someone like Wang who can hook up with five hot chicks in one night had similar experiences—it feels pretty great.”

“Before this, some people said that Best Director Yang couldn’t shoot a romance film, that he was foolish, blah blah blah… Now it’s one of my favorite movies, highly non-traditional, realistic, full of love and heartache, funny… I don’t even know how to critique it. During the whole watching process, I laughed, I cursed, I sighed, I pulled my hair out, I cried for a while, then I laughed again. If you like movies or romantic comedies or Yang, you absolutely must watch it,” Kelly T wrote with a full star rating. Alex M gave it four and a half stars…

It shattered all related doubts! It left Yang haters deeply heartbroken, while Yang enthusiasts were excited and uplifted!

If a movie fan opened the Rotten Tomatoes page for ‘500 Days of Summer’, they could be surprised, or have an ‘I knew it’ moment upon discovering that what meets the eye is a deliciously fresh spread of tomatoes, as Wang Yang conquered another film genre!

95% freshness from general film critics (144/151), 100% freshness from top critics (35/35), 94% audience approval (61,872 rating users)!

When was the last time we saw such a sight? ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ 76%/69%/69%, ‘What Women Want’ 54%/64%/60%, ‘The Whole World’s Enemy’ 69%/62%/65%, ‘Pretty Woman’ 62%/67%/68%, ‘There’s Something About Mary’ 83%/79%/59%; ’50 First Dates’ 44%/47%/68%… ‘Annie Hall’ 98%/100%/92%; the new sports comedy ‘The Ruse’ released just yesterday 40%/46%/72%, ‘Munich’ 78%/62%/78%.

In the span of a year, Wang Yang brought us two heavyweight movies. Unlike the sci-fi adventure with a production budget of $200 million, this time the $15 million romantic comedy achieved a huge victory, ending the critics’ war that ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ had begun in a most un-Hollywood fashion, with a triumphant stance, “Not that comedy was shot poorly, but this is how light comedy should be shot.” And now, this approach still managed to win the audience’s rave reviews.

How crazy are Best Director Yang’s fans? On the IMDB TOP 250 list, ‘Firefly’ still stands at the top with a score of 9.4, with other movie fans unable to bring it down despite their efforts. Perhaps they now have a new target, as ‘500 Days of Summer’ debuted on IMDB with a high score of 8.7 (17,020 Votes), tying for positions 20-32 on the TOP 250 list. Naturally, it will decline over time, but the media and public have been saying the same about ‘Firefly’ for half a year now. In any case, ‘Summer’ is now an absolute superstar.

Even though today is Christmas Eve, each time fans and avid filmgoers refresh the related page, the number of rating users goes up and new comments emerge, perfect, masterpiece, artistic, real, credible, like it, it doesn’t treat the audience like idiots, this isn’t your typical romantic comedy, strong and powerful…

Still, a small portion of the audience unanimously detested it. Chad D, who threw a half-star rotten tomato, said, “The chemistry created by the time jumps was marvelous, but it’s not enough to make up for the huge disappointment in the end. Wang Yang, I hate you!” Thomas P also threw a half-star: “The annoying Summer makes me sick! I never want to see it again.” Santos G gave it a poor rating: “This once happened in my life…” Becky Aidata gave it a poor rating: “A truly terrible movie, I hate it! I hate that the girl fooled him, hate, hate, hate this film.”

Melanie V gave two stars: “The most disappointing work from Marvelous Yang! This movie is terrible; it claims to be a comedy but offers only a few comedic scenes, while the rest is so sad! There is also an ending I don’t like, I won’t watch it again.” John R gave it a half-star: “It made my heart hurt to watch, yes, many say it reveals the cruel reality of life, the complexity of love of this era, who cares? Maybe I just can’t find pleasure in it.” David M gave it one star: “Boring, slow, and messy, this is an abusive movie. Friends say I don’t understand it because I haven’t experienced it. Thank God! I pray I never understand it, and it never happens to me. ‘500 Days of Summer’ will be overrated.”

Even though we’ve moved into the weekend and the Christmas holiday, fresh newspapers are still being published. Readers around the nation came across these positive mainstream media reviews of ‘500 Days’: Los Angeles Times score: 4/5, The New York Times score: 4/5, San Francisco Chronicle score: 4/4…

“The movie effortlessly charmed me, gave me plenty of smiles, and I could see that young movie fans around me loved it a lot.”

On the living room sofa, Jessica read the movie review in the newspaper several times, folded it tidily after finishing, and picked up another one. Her smiling face brimmed with happiness and contentment as she murmured approvingly, “Well said! Well said!” Indeed, she only loved reading the conclusions, but she fully supported others who loved the entire thing; otherwise, she would have gone crazy! Luckily for her, she finally saw the favorable reviews she knew in print once more, and she couldn’t help but chuckled, “Haha.”

“Haha, I’m going to eat you!” The spacious living room was filled with Christmas cheer, a large Christmas tree adorned with stockings, colorful bows, and other decorations stood by the wall. Wang Yang carried Keke around, amused by her adorable behavior, he couldn’t resist kissing and nibbling on her little cheeks, followed by her fists. Looking into her eyes, which were clear black and white, he exclaimed, “Oh my! How cute, Jessica! The piggy has double eyelids, wow, I just want to gobble up this little sweetheart! I’m going to swallow you whole!” Keke’s face was smeared with saliva, but rather than getting upset, she beamed with joy.

Turning her head to look, Jessica watched him gently nibbling on their daughter’s little hand. A sweet coolness filled her heart, just like what “The Dallas Morning News” described, “These sweet, adorable little things are like a cup of cold lemonade, easily cooling you down on a hot afternoon.” She warned with a smile, “Don’t kiss her too hard, be careful not to make her cranky.” Wang Yang continued to nibble nonchalantly, “My stubble is cleanly shaved, my teeth are delivering love, don’t worry, don’t worry…” But suddenly, Keke’s little mouth pouted.

“Oh my! Look over there, HOPE, look over there!” Seeing the situation turning sour, Wang Yang quickly stopped and rushed outside with her in his arms, “Santa Claus! Reindeer! Santa Claus has come! He’s here to give you gifts, take a look!”

“HEY, Yang!” As he ran out like a streak of smoke, Jessica couldn’t call him back. Remembering that this morning he hadn’t even gotten out of bed before clamoring, “Later, Keke is mine, otherwise once Grandpa, Grandma, Grandfather, Grandmother, and that uncle arrive… I need to gather all my energy for today.” She rolled her eyes. Honestly, how could he act like a bad cop? “I’m the good cop, I’m the one…” Jessica muttered something and got up to go outside.

“What!? You’ve got to be kidding.” At this moment, Wang Yang was incredibly surprised outside on the lawn, seeing an actual “Santa Claus” getting out of a car and walking over. Joshua, wearing a red suit, excitedly waved and greeted, “Good morning!! My dear Hope! Look who I am!?”

This was a total miscalculation! Keke’s first-ever Santa Claus was Joshua? That’s unacceptable! How could he do this to them! Why doesn’t he have his own daughter! Wang Yang felt as if the air around him had become still, the entire world seemed to move at a bullet-time slow-motion pace; before him was the “Santa Claus” who was supposed to be dressed as a reindeer, and behind him was… “YES!” Wang Yang quickly covered Keke’s eyes and dashed into the house. There was a Santa suit in the bedroom! The one he planned to wear tonight!

“HEY, Yang!” Seeing him rushing towards her, Jessica tried to call out to him, but he sped past her and up the stairs. She spread her hands, confused. Didn’t she just want to ask if the box office for the 23rd had come out yet?

Looking at the Santa Claus and Santa girl outfits in the closet, Wang Yang breathed a sigh of relief and then burst into laughter, “Hahaha—!” Little Keke blinked her eyes.

When the box office numbers for December 23rd were released, movie fans who cared about these figures and learned about them from media websites couldn’t help but exclaim, it was just as expected!

“This Christmas season basically had nothing good to see, one could only watch how the wondrous Yang strangled, beat up, dealt critical hits, tormented, and tortured those pitiful films.” … (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)