The Best Director - Chapter 438

Chapter 438: Chapter 438 We Made It

“Firefly Becomes the Biggest BFCA Winner” — Yahoo Entertainment; “Firefly Wins Best at BFCA” — Sina Entertainment; “Firefly Shines at BFCA, Magically Bagging Two Awards” — Tencent Entertainment…

The 11th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards concluded on January 9th, with celebrities and stars in their finest attire attending the ceremony in Los Angeles. A total of 19 awards were presented, and in the end, Firefly took home three major accolades: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Score; Brokeback Mountain won Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenwriter; the remaining fourteen trophies were divided among movies like Good Night, and Good Luck, Capote, and Walk the Line; both Brokeback Mountain and Firefly naturally made it into the annual TOP 10 movies (sorted alphabetically).

With a high score of 97 from BFCA, critics’ fondness for this sci-fi epic was evident, so it comes as no surprise that it won Best Picture and Best Director.

“One can’t say that Firefly will definitely win an Oscar, only that BFCA has selected it.”

Well-known film critic Katey Rich shared this perspective, as the Oscars are, after all, the Oscars, filled with uncertainties. As Wang Yang himself put it, three years ago he didn’t receive the BFCA Director Award but went on to win an Oscar.

Shall we take a look at the consistency between past BFCA and Oscar wins? 1996’s first session: “Best Director: Mel Gibson (40 years old), Braveheart √; Best Picture: Sense and Sensibility ×, Oscar went to Braveheart”; 1997’s second session: “Best Director: Anthony Minghella (43 years old), The English Patient √; Best Picture: Fargo ×, Oscar went to The English Patient”; 1998’s third session: “Best Director: James Cameron (43 years old), Titanic √; Best Picture: L.A. Confidential ×, Oscar went to Titanic”;

1999’s fourth session: “Best Director: Steven Spielberg (52 years old), Saving Private Ryan √; Best Picture: Saving Private Ryan ×, Oscar went to Shakespeare in Love”; 2000’s fifth session: “Best Director: Sam Mendes (34 years old), American Beauty √; Best Picture: American Beauty √”; 2001’s sixth session: “Best Director: Steven Soderbergh (38 years old), Erin Brockovich and Traffic √; Best Picture: Gladiator √”; 2002’s seventh session: “Best Director: Ron Howard (47 years old), A Beautiful Mind √; Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind √”;

2003’s eighth session: “Best Director: Steven Spielberg (56 years old), Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report ×, Oscar went to Peter Jackson, District 9; Best Picture: Chicago √”; 2004’s ninth session: “Best Director: Peter Jackson (42 years old) √; Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King √”; 2005’s tenth session: “Best Director: Clint Eastwood (74 years old), Million Dollar Baby √; Best Picture: Sideways ×, Oscar went to Million Dollar Baby”; 2006’s eleventh session: “Best Director: Wang Yang (25 years old), Firefly ?; Best Picture: Firefly ?”

Over the past ten years, the BFCA’s hit rate for the Oscars’ Best Director is 90%, with the only miss being the magical BABY Wang Yang. The hit rate for Best Picture is 50%; the performance in the last five years is 80%, 80%.

At 25 years and 11 months old, Wang Yang became the youngest Best Director in BFCA history. The average age of previous winners was 46.9 years old, with the youngest being 34-year-old Sam Mendes. Now the record has been suddenly pushed forward by 9 years. Yet, it is age that hinders him from winning his second Oscar for Best Director. If he were 45, or even 35, the likelihood of winning would be almost 100%, but at 25, and 26 by the Oscars in March… Will this most extraordinary young man cause the BFCA to make a second mistake with the Director Award?

“We can see that Flame Films is pushing hard for both movies.” Katey Rich pointed out that this is one of the reasons for the chaos in this year’s award season. If FF were to reduce the promotional efforts for one of the films, it’s quite evident that the other would gain the upper hand.

Every award season, to promote and campaign for their films, major distribution companies will place a large number of “For Your Consideration” ads in print media, outdoor advertising, and on websites. These FYC ads include posters, scenes from the films that are most impactful and memorable, as well as lists of awards and accolades received by the films or filmmakers, accompanied by high praise from renowned authority media critics.

For instance, placing a large-scale poster of Firefly in mainstream publications like The Hollywood Reporter or Variety, showcasing a scene from the movie like the standoff between Captain Mal and the children in the Serenity Valley plum orchard, emblazoned with the names of prestigious awards: “FYC: Best Picture, Best Director…” followed by praiseful quotes from leading film critics — TIME magazine, Richard Corliss: “In these times, hardly anyone can produce a better movie than Firefly! Wang Yang is a perfect director…”

From the volume of such advertisements, one can directly gauge the distribution company’s investment in a particular work. The purpose of the promotion is, of course, to catch the attention of award judges and make an impression, in hopes of garnering votes.

However, while money is being spent, the success of the FYC advertisements depends on their quality. Each film has its own positioning and timing; otherwise, too much can be counterproductive, especially for films with too high a box office, where too heavy-handed an approach can easily backfire. Therefore, “Firefly’s” promotional strategy is to leverage its innovativeness, its meaningful content, and its historical significance in cinema—the “artistic aspects”—rather than its box office success or popularity, to persuade judges that choosing it would be an enlightened decision, and not a blind following of trends or succumbing to public pressure.

This year, “Firefly’s” main FYC advertisements include scenes from “Return to Serenity Valley,” the moving moments of the “New Shanxi Battle,” and the exquisite performance of “Blue Hands,” as well as self-narrated creative processes from Wang Yang, Joss Whedon, among others.

All of these efforts cost money, in addition to sending out DVDs, hiring media relations experts in the distribution department for publicity, arranging specific PR events, lobbying for votes, etc. Everything hinges on financial investment. Now, FF treats “Firefly” and “Brokeback Mountain” equally, seeking to make the best of their resources and promotional strategies, resulting in the current scenario of the two tigers clashing.

Spending twice the money to compete for the same number of awards, is Flame Film being foolish? The question is how to ensure that the awards will be won between these two films?

If they chose to only promote “Firefly,” then “Brokeback Mountain” would definitely not hold up against films like “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Munich.” They would become the new tigers, and then, if judges choose academic art films, both “Firefly” and “Brokeback Mountain” would lose. However, if they only promoted “Brokeback Mountain,” its extremely sensitive subject matter could likely lead to its defeat in the competition for arthouse films, and the eliminated sci-fi film “Firefly” would be tossed aside without hesitation—”Firefly” would lose, “Brokeback Mountain” would lose.

“They left the decision up to the judges,” said Katey Rich, who understood this perfectly. Flame Film was in a dilemma, with every option having its own drawbacks, much like not wanting to put all eggs in one basket; however, operating both films could maximize the chances of keeping the trophies within their own battle. She also expressed, “If ‘Firefly’ wins another Golden Globe, it’s not out of the question that Flame Film will focus its promotional efforts on that film.”

Her idea is based on saving money, but as everyone knows, FF is addicted to spending—so who knows? And in her personal Golden Globe prediction list, Katey Rich answers, “Best Picture: ‘Firefly’; Best Director: Wang Yang.”

Yesterday, CFCA announced its winners concurrently. Chloe Moretz beat out Miranda July, Georgie Henley, and others to become the most promising actor; “Brokeback Mountain” emerged as the big winner with Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Director, and Best Film, in stark contrast to BFCA.

This interesting turn of events has become a hot topic among fans, even more so the gossip. It was understood that Wang Yang, who went on stage twice at the BFCA awards ceremony, had the audience in stitches. When he received the Best Director trophy, the E! Channel said, “Clooney became the subject of Yang’s comical teasing,” as he opened with a mini stand-up show, poking fun at George Clooney; then, at Best Picture, he invited Heath Ledger, Jessica Alba, and other attending “Firefly” cast and crew members to the stage, saying a few words like “We did it!” before passing the microphone to others.

“I can’t wait to see MY’s presence at the award podium,” isn’t just Suzanne-E’s sentiment. Many fans are eagerly awaiting the show to be aired on the 20th, yet a large number of them are not subscribers to the E! Channel! “My house doesn’t have E!, and the budget doesn’t stretch that far, such a shame. I hope I can watch MY’s acceptance part on YOUTUBE,” says Britney-J. Alenor-L says, “Guys, no need to wait until the 20th and YOUTUBE, the Golden Globes are being awarded on the 16th, and I think MY will definitely be on the winner’s stage.”…

Regardless, after “Firefly” clinched this most accurate Oscar indicator, it temporarily surpassed “Brokeback Mountain” and other films; in terms of the Best Director award, Wang Yang now has LAFCA, ASA, BFCA; Ang Lee continues with NBR, NYFCC. The next main battleground is undoubtedly the Golden Globes on the 16th. Can “Firefly” still allow them to joyously say on stage “We did it”?

Nobody knows; in fact, the current situation of the award season is something neither Flame Film nor Wang Yang expected. They indeed had great confidence in “Firefly,” but never anticipated it would unleash such tremendous power.

Wang Yang knew that “Brokeback Mountain” had won Best Director at this year’s Oscars and “Crash” had claimed Best Picture, even though “Crash” had been moved up to attend the previous year’s ceremony. The final ownership of the awards last year once again proved that nothing is predetermined. If “Firefly” hadn’t been in the competition this year, perhaps the Best Picture might have gone to “Goodnight, and Good Luck,” “Brokeback Mountain,” or “Munich”; and for Best Director, since he had become the first Asian award recipient, would the judges still have chosen Ang Lee, who had lost the novelty, or George Clooney, or Spielberg? It was all possible.

The safest and best approach was to run two movies simultaneously, and both the cast and crew deserved the opportunity to compete, then wait for the world to give its answer.

Wang Yang didn’t want to think too much about so many things, as attending various activities and socializing was tiring enough. He was planning a week’s vacation at the end of the month for their wedding anniversary combined with the Lunar New Year, not only to rest but also to say a swift goodbye to the directing emotions of both “500 Days of Summer” and “Firefly,” to empty himself completely, to ponder and feel “I Am Legend” and find the sensation he needed. And on the 10th, that day belonged to his precious daughter—Keke was a month old.

Following Chinese tradition, a baby’s first-month celebration included hosting a banquet to celebrate, as well as an opportunity for the baby to meet with family and friends. His child’s mother hadn’t observed the traditional postnatal confinement. He, she, and Keke had already been out on the streets several times, posing for a slew of street photos. The little angel had already met with many relatives and friends, which seemed to diminish half the point of the first-month celebration, but Wang Yang and Jessica’s family mission was to embrace all the happy traditions and festivals. So the BABY-SHOWER before the birth was essential, and the first-month celebration after birth had to be performed as well.

Moreover, he had missed the BABY-SHOWER—which was only for the sisters—last year, so they definitely had to have the first-month celebration! Guests were expected to bring gifts; anything would do.

So on this evening, family and close friends gathered at Wang Yang’s home for a celebratory dinner, where the lively and adorable chubby Keke became the absolute star, bringing love and joy to everyone.

Naturally, Keke was a bright and clever girl whose developmental progress was far beyond the average for a baby. However, as happy as Wang Yang and Jessica were, they did not let up in their efforts. The couple’s training and education for their daughter were no less intensive than the prenatal education during pregnancy. A baby’s senses need to be stimulated to promote the development of neural pathways in the brain. A lack of stimulation, which includes just feeding and sleeping, then eating and sleeping again, would reduce the number of brain neuron connections, leading to intellectual delays and emotional detachment.

If their greatest work of art, their daughter, were a film, then at this stage, it was only the beginning of production. Naturally, they wouldn’t allow this “co-best director” to miss out. No award was necessary except for “Best Parents.” They were determined to ensure Keke grew up healthy, lively, intelligent, and strong! Jessica was very firm in her resolve. “If Keke gets a B or an A- at school someday, I would have failed,” she said. Wang Yang glanced at her. “It doesn’t need to be that strict. I got Bs sometimes too. My SAT scores were pretty good, four digits…”

Regardless, they had devised a series of sensory stimulation charts for the baby, detailing training in areas like vision, hearing, touch, hand-mouth coordination, movement, smiling, and language acquisition, to help the little angel learn to express her feelings, “integrate into society,” and be more willing to interact with others.

A few days ago, Keke had already developed a social smile, learning to smile at people on her own. Now, the next milestone for the couple was for her to laugh out loud.

Because they used singing and listening to music as ways to train the baby’s hearing, this gave Wang Yang the perfect opportunity to show off his vocal talent. He constantly sang in English and Chinese, and could even throw in a few lines of Cantonese. Ever since Keke’s birth, Wang Yang felt his singing skills improving; maybe soon he could record an album and make it to the finals of “American Idol” or something. Simon Cowell would have to give a thumbs-up, “Unbelievable!” But Jessica didn’t quite agree. She thought she knew better than Simon Cowell. “You’re good with slow songs, but you go off-key with fast ones,” she said.

Wang Yang didn’t agree. He made a call to Simon Cowell and asked for his opinion in the style of an “American Idol” host. After singing, Simon Cowell’s opinion was, “Your lyrics are not bad, and your movies are very good.”

Keke was receiving a bilingual education, in English and Mandarin. Wang Yang had gone through the same process, so he wasn’t worried at all. He knew how to teach, what situations might arise, and how to solve them… That’s a nice way to put it, but in reality, he had completely forgotten how he learned to speak as a baby. He had no memory of it whatsoever; it was as if he had always known how to use two languages. Only through his parents’ recollections was he able to vaguely recall or perhaps even imagine some experiences.

At first, there might be some mix-ups, such as “I-WANT-TO eat an apple” or “I want to eat an APPLE,” and even a reluctance to speak one of the languages, but with persistence over time, everything became natural.

He also consulted doctors, bilingual education experts, and scientists. Furthermore, as an honorary fellow of the Royal Canadian Academy of Science, he understood a lot of science, and the newest scientific research had begun to prove his theory, “Just let it be!”

The adaptability of young children is extremely strong, and they have a very strong learning motivation. A baby exposed to bilingualism from an early age won’t fail to understand. To her, all languages are just different codes for describing things. A bright red apple? She naturally assumes that the object simply has two names, “Apple” and “苹果.”

And when the baby reaches 2-3 years old, without anyone telling her, she’ll be able to clearly understand that she is using two entirely different languages. Therefore, she learns to differentiate and consciously use the appropriate language in different linguistic environments, without confusion.

So a child learning more than two languages is nothing extraordinary. In some areas of Scandinavia, most children speak three languages. They develop normally without any language disorders or other intellectual disabilities. On the contrary, science shows that people who can manage more than two languages tend to perform better in intelligence tests. However, it’s also important to guard against stuttering and grammatical errors, with patience and proper systematic education being key.

Naturally, her weight was measured every day; she was getting chubbier day by day, and her hands and feet grew plumper. Although the plumper she got, the cuter she seemed, for health reasons, the couple still decided to take control measures.

“Ding ding ding dong—”

Keke, with her round, bulging eyes, looked up to see several wind chimes swinging above the crib. Suddenly, she saw two scary faces stretch out from the side.

“Hehehe!! Look at me—”, Wang Yang rolled his eyes up hard, sticking out his tongue; Jessica stretched her lower eyelids down with both hands and also swayed her tongue side to side, “Roar, look at mine!” Wang Yang glanced at her and said, “Look at mine!” Then he puffed out his cheeks, rolled his lips into a B-shape, and shook his head while making strange noises, “Hmm ahh hmm—”

“Look at mine…” Jessica gave him a glance, immediately grabbed her cheeks with both hands, and pulled and squeezed vigorously, moving her eyes here and there, “Gurgle gurgle ahh ohh—”. Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh out loud and immediately said, “Look at mine!” He pulled the parts around his nose and mouth in different directions and burst into wild laughter, “Wahaha—” Jessica also couldn’t help but giggle, bumped him with her hip, and continued to make faces, “Look at mine!” Wang Yang immediately bumped her back, opening his mouth wide for more faces, “Look at mine!!” …

“Woo woo woo!” Keke, who had been smiling all along, suddenly let out a laugh. Wang Yang and Jessica gasped simultaneously and exchanged glances, “Oh my God!!” At that moment, Keke swung her arms and laughed again happily, “Hehe woohoo!”

“Oh! My God! YEAH—!! We did it!!!” The two hugged each other ecstatically, jumping up and down and shouting loudly, “Haha! We did it—” They then quickly let go of each other and continued their face-making contest, “Ah oh ha—” From the first laugh, Keke, as if suddenly understanding, was thoroughly amused by their exaggerated and bizarre faces. She chuckled “hehe woohoo” from her mouth, now and then uttering a little sound, swinging her arms and kicking her legs, practically dancing with joy.

“Haha!!” Watching their daughter’s extremely cute antics, Wang Yang and Jessica finally couldn’t restrain their laughter, they embraced and kissed. Keke was also laughing, and the whole baby room was filled with joyful laughter. (To be continued. If you enjoy this book, you are welcome to vote at Qidian (), your support is my greatest motivation.)