The Best Director - Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Yang and Who?
“Mr. Wang, thank you for everything you did! You saved A-Pix Entertainment, which is called Flames Films now. However, please allow me to call it A-Pix for the moment. I can still recall how I was feeling when I started this company. It was a gratification beyond description. It was like my kid, bearing all of my hopes, all of my dreams. Afterward, I sold it to you. And only a few days later, I felt so regretful that I could not sleep at all. I kept telling myself that I would buy the company back, that I couldn’t leave it to a kid because it was like killing it. I picked up the phone and put it down, picked up the phone and put it down. I told myself ‘you must trust that young man’, that he would cherish the company and every employee because he promised that.”
“Seeing the current success of High School Musical, I feel extremely happy. I can finally have some good sleep! Mr. Wang, you did what you had promised. You are an outstanding young man. You have an admirable ability to make things happen and a strong faith. So, please hold on! I believe you will be more and more successful and A-Pix will be more and more successful. You will make one movie after another that will become a classic! Good luck! Regards, Chris Lynch”
Reading this email on the computer screen, Wang Yang felt happy. He did what he had promised. He did not let anyone down. That was amazing! Wang Yang showed a smile. His hands, which had been hovering over the keyboard, started to type. He was replying to Chris Lynch’s email. He could still recall Chris Lynch’s frustrated look when the latter had signed the contract to sell the company started by himself, and he could recall Lynch’s pleading voice as well. “Please treat your employees well!”
He did it. As High School Musical made a hit, Flames Films would not have to fire anyone anymore. Instead, it would recruit more staff to expand the business, and the studio would not go bankrupt. Instead, it would develop further.
After writing back to Chris Lynch, Wang Yang browsed through the other new emails in his inbox. It was his private email, so not many people knew it. All those were emails from his friends. While he was reading an email from Michael Pitt, the cellphone rang in his pocket. Wang Yang took it out and saw it was John Feldmeyer’s name displayed on the screen, which was quite a surprise for him. Both of them had been very busy, and they had not contacted each other for a long time. Wang Yang had only called John once to congratulate him when he was promoted to the CEO of Lionsgate.
Wang Yang picked up the phone call. Leaning against the back of the chair, he said, “Hey, John!”
“Hi, Yang. It has been a long time. How have you been?” John Feldmeyer’s laugh came out of the cellphone. Wang Yang smiled involuntarily. He said, “Great. I’m doing pretty well. My movie is selling well, and so is the original soundtrack. At least there is no risk of losing money.”
It was the sixth week after High School Musical’s initial release and its third week of the large-scale screening. It had pulled in $18,736,000 at the box office in the past three days. It could even end up breaking $30,000,000 again that week. And its total box office gross had reached $147,000,000. If this went on, it might pull in more than $180,000,000 in North America in the end. That would literally make High School Musical the second Grease.
As to the original soundtrack, seeing the first 100,000 CDs all snapped up by students, Flames Films gained a lot of confidence. In the second phase, they were going to distribute 500,000 records. In the current market, the CDs were still short of supply. The newly-arrived CDs were sold out as soon as they were put onto the shelves. The record company was making extra effort to complete the huge order.
After some small talk, Wang Yang asked directly, “John, what’s up?”
John regretted a lot. Of course, the shareholders of the Lionsgate regretted more. The current craze for singing and dancing made John involuntarily think if he had shown enough enthusiasm to collaborate with Wang Yang and invested in the production of High School Musical or joined in as a joint venture, then Lionsgate would have been substantially benefitted from the craze. However, at the moment, he had to call Wang Yang to seek cooperation.
He had sweated when he had seen the first week’s box office figure of High School Musical. He should have seen that coming! He should not have underestimated this young man! Others might not have known him well, but he knew it perfectly that the success of Paranormal Activity was completely thanks to this young man’s ideas, while he and the Lionsgate were more like an executor. This young man had thought everything over before signing the contract. He propositioned a very strange splitting method. Then, he turned to Artisan Entertainment to release Paranormal Activity ahead of schedule. And the promotion plan was also his idea. This young man was really smart, and he was not one of those who would be carried away by success.
However, John had made a stupid mistake back then. That was arrogance. And he’d missed such a great opportunity because of his arrogance.
John let out a long sigh to himself at the thought of this. Wang Yang’s question put him absent-minded. Then, he answered with a smile, “Yang, I suppose High School Musical will be distributed overseas as well, won’t it? Oh, of course it will. I’m just wondering whether there is any chance for the Lionsgate and Flames to cooperate. You know, our company has a sound overseas distribution system. We can put the movie on the big screen in Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, and even a few African countries.”
“Okay!” Wang Yang nodded silently. He had guessed the Lionsgate would want to seek operation as soon as he saw John’s number on the screen. And it was just as he had expected. He smiled. He said into the cellphone seriously, “Thanks, John, but no. Flames Films are able to deal with the overseas distribution of the movie. For the moment, we don’t want to find other companies to be responsible for High School Musical’s overseas distribution.”
If A-Pix, Flames Films’ predecessor, had left him anything valuable, the answer was not the copyrights of erotic films, such as Secret Games, shot by Wally Pfister; it was not those broken photography devices, either; it was its distribution system. Although its relation with theater chains in North America sucked, it did have the ability to distribute a movie, and it was able to distribute a movie overseas as well, also including Europe, South America, Asia, and Austria. So, they really did not need Lionsgate’s help.
In fact, Flames Films had started to prepare for the overseas distribution of the movie. With High School Musical’s box office figure in North America, any distribution company from any country would love to import this movie. European moviegoers would probably be able to watch High School Musical in the cinema in July. By then, the singing and dancing fever that had swept over North America would probably sweep over the whole world.
Knowing the cooperation in the overseas distribution was not going to happen, John said, “Got it.” disappointedly. He sounded as if he did not want to give up. “Yang, is there really nothing that you want to collaborate with Lionsgate in?”
“Hmm…” Wang Yang gave it a thought. There was truly nothing he could think of. He answered, half-joking, “There might be something we could collaborate in. We want to find partners to cooperate in peripheral operations like clothes and toys under the High School Musical brand. If you are interested, you can contact the studio, because I’m not the one in charge of that.”
“Clothes? Toys?” John repeated what he had heard, dumbfounded. He burst out laughing. “Yang, what Lionsgate sells is films, not clothes or toys.”
Wang Yang also smiled. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Then, there is nothing I could do. John, you know, it’s impossible for us to split our profits with Lionsgate for nothing.”
John laughed on the other end of the call. He said self-tauntingly, “I know. I knew it when I picked up my cellphone. You are a cunning guy. You won’t allow anyone to take advantage of you!”
Wang Yang burst out laughing as well. He said, “You can start another company to sell clothes or toys. Man, I’ll let you take advantage of me if you really do that.”
John said ungratefully, “Come on. You know my ambition is in the film industry.”
After laughing, both of them fell silent. Then, Wang Yang asked, “John, how is Paranormal Activity II going on?” He’d seen the news about Paranormal Activity II’s shooting a long time ago. The story of the sequel happened in an office. It was said Lionsgate had invested tens of millions of dollars into the movie. Then, he had been too busy to follow the news about Paranormal Activity’s sequel.
“Looks you haven’t been following Lionsgate’s news for a long time, have you?” John smiled. Then, he told Wang Yang, “The movie is already done. It will be released around this year’s Halloween.” Then, John sighed again. “Yang, to be honest with you, we regret a lot. We should have let you direct it. I hope you could forgive us for that.”
Wang Yang changed a posture to sit so that he could lean against the back of the chair in a more comfortable manner. Looking up at the ceiling, he smiled at his cellphone. He said, “It’s okay, John. I have never hated you. Even if you had let me direct it, I might have said no.” After a pause, he went on, “I’m actually not very interested in thrillers.”
“Well, great, if you don’t blame us for that.” John sounded happy. He did feel happy. Both Wang Yang and Flames Films were new superstars. If they wanted to shoot High School Musical II, it would be a sure win. Lionsgate and Flames Films were competitors, but they could be partners, too. Thinking of the second objective to make this phone call, John asked, “Yang, do you have any plan for your next movie? Do you think we can cooperate in your next movie?”
“The next movie? I haven’t thought about that yet. No plans yet,” Wang Yang said, shaking his head. High School Musical was still on, and there were new promotion events for the overseas distribution. He had to take care of many things. He did not have any time to think about the next plan. Besides… Wang Yang let out a sigh. Massaging his temple, he said, “John, I haven’t stopped working for a year. I’ve been busy every day, and I’m tired of this. I need a vacation from all this, living quietly without having to worry about anything.” He said in a low voice, “Reading, walking my dog… all right, I don’t have a dog. Spending time with my girlfriend, and watching a game in the evening…”
John was pretty surprised. He raised his voice, “What? You are so young, but you already feel tired?”
Smiling, Wang Yang said, “Young people get tired too. I need some time to think about some things.”
John said with pity, “I just got into my old role as a director. How long will your vacation last?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Wang Yang said, “No idea. At least one month, like a summer vacation.”
John was struck dumb. Then, he said in a blaming tone, “Come on. You just sounded you would like to rest for a few years.”
Wang Yang burst out laughing. He said, “No. Shooting movies is my way of living. If I stay away from that for a few years, I might not be able to live.” He sat up slowly. Looking at the daffodil on the desk, he extended his hand to play with it. He said with a smile, “But sometimes, you need to slow down to pay attention to the people and things around you to enjoy life. Honestly, I haven’t spent any time with my girlfriend for a long time. It’s unfair for her.”
“Yeah, you are right.” John agreed with him on the other end of the call. Then he added, “Yang, your girlfriend is a really great girl. You know that? She called me and pled me, ‘Mr. Feldmeyer, please trust me. His film is really great. He is the most talented guy I’ve ever seen…’” Wang Yang was dumbfounded. He realized John had misunderstood something. However, he could not say anything to stop John. So John went on, “Then, it was disclosed that you had been framed, and she called me again. ‘Mr. Feldmeyer, please help Yang. He was wronged!’ Yang, she treats you really well. You should cherish her!”
“It’s not what you think, John. It’s a misunderstanding.” After breathing out slowly, Wang Yang said shaking his head, “Rachel is not my girlfriend.”
John was struck dumb again. He blurted out, “What? It’s not Rachel? Oh, my God! I always thought… looks I made a mistake.” He laughed embarrassedly. Then, he said in a taunting tone, “Yang, who is your girlfriend then? It’s not Natalie Portman, is it?”
Wang Yang was instantly speechless. He’d had no idea John was so gossipy until then! Wiping the sweat off his forehead helplessly, he said, “No, that is a ridiculous rumor. I don’t know Natalie Portman at all.” Smiling, he said, “You want to know who my girlfriend is? I think you will know very soon.”
They talked a little longer before they hung up. Wang Yang stretched out. Then, he went back to surf on the internet. He opened Yahoo to read some news. However, he found a headline in the entertainment section. “Yang’s Love Confession to Natalie in 1994!” He opened his eyes wide involuntarily. He said to himself helplessly, “Which tabloid made up news again?”
Curling his lip, Wang Yang clicked the news link. It was still from Entertainment Daily. However, he was dumbstruck after a few glances. There was even a photo scanned from a magazine. It was allegedly the school magazine of his school. And the so-called love confession was from this page of the school magazine. The magazine published an article written by him, titled “Léon: The Professional, a Great Hitman, a Great Girl!”. Wang Yang frowned. It took him a long time to vaguely recall what that was about. It was true. Back then, he was a contributor for the school’s weekly newspaper. He needed to write a movie review every week for the magazine. This should be one of the reviews he wrote.
“D*mn. What did I write?” Scratching his head, Wang Yang was really amused. He was reading the text on the screen, “Natalie, playing Mathilda in the movie, is like a fairy who descended to the human world. She is so mature, so elegant, and so charming! Her wonderful rendition of Mathilda presents us with a pitiful girl, making people want to hug her and tell her, ‘Let me protect you!’ Natalie, I think she will be an Oscar best actress winner someday in the future!”
Good heavens! Wang Yang looked awkward. He kept exclaiming, “Oh, d*mn, d*mn…” He kind of recalled it. He was a great fan of poetry back then. As a result, he’d always intended to express his opinions in an elegant way in his movie reviews. So, there it was, the review Entertainment Daily found. Frowning, he murmured to himself, “How did Entertainment Daily find this school magazine? Even I don’t have it.”
He found the answer soon. There was an extra paragraph below the article. According to it, it was an anonymous schoolmate of his that sold the school magazine to Entertainment Daily. According to that schoolmate, Yang was obsessed with Natalie indeed. What he’d always said in that period was, “Man, Natalie is my dream girl!”.
Wang Yang gnashed his teeth in anger. It was all right that this schoolmate sold the magazine to the tabloid, but what was this made-up bullsh*t?! When was he obsessed with Natalie Portman? He did appreciate her acting performance in Léon: The Professional, but there were so many things that he appreciated and admired. He also appreciated Jean Reno’s acting performance, and he recalled he’d written something about that in that review as well. Did that also mean he was obsessed with Jean Reno?
“What the hell is this?” Wang Yang rolled his eyes, totally speechless as if he was dying. Then, he read the comments about the news. The comment section seemed to have been occupied by his female fans. “Yang, you can’t be with her! No way!””She is just a lucky girl. If I had gotten the chance to star in Léon: The Professional, I would have done as great as she did!””Natalie, b*tch! Stop stealing Yang away from me!”
Wang Yang gave the comments a rough glance. There were quite a few. Was this the influence of a phenomenal director? He shook his head self-mockingly. Then, he closed all of the webpages. He wondered whether Jessica had seen such sh*tty news. This time, there was even so-called evidence… at the thought of this, Wang Yang picked up his cell phone and input a number. He said into the phone with a smile, “Hey, Jessica, it’s me…”
It had been a while since the last time they had spent time alone. After the release of the movie, except the few interviews they’d been on together with the other members of the crew and the cast, they had not seen each other in private. This was because they were afraid that they would be photographed by paparazzi, and then unexpected problems would be caused so that High School Musical’s box office gross would be affected. However, they did not have to worry about that anymore, because the movie had won the market. No matter whose relationship was exposed, nothing would be affected.
Wang Yang and Jessica fixed a place to meet, and then Wang Yang left his apartment. There were five or six paparazzi waiting downstairs, including his old friend Cole. Wang Yang got in his car silently and circled around his apartment building routinely. He did not drive toward where he was going to meet Jessica until he thought he had gotten rid of all of the paparazzi. It was not because he was afraid that their relationship would be exposed. It was just that he and Jessica had not gone on a good date for a long time, and he did not want a group of paparazzi following them because that would be a real buzzkill.
Wang Yang parked his car in the parking lot near where they were going to meet. Then, he went there on foot. This part of the park was very quiet. There were no passers-by around. He saw Jessica standing by a tree from far away. Wearing a white T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a ponytail, she looked very refreshed. Wang Yang waved at her, smiling. Then, he walked toward her at a fast pace.
Over there, Jessica grinned as soon as she saw him. She walked toward him as well. When the two had met, looking at Wang Yang’s smile and seeing no one was around, Jessica could not help but wrap him with both arms, leaning her face against his shoulder. She said gently, “Yang, I miss you.” At the thought of the rumor between Natalie and Yang, and that “love confession”, she involuntarily held Wang Yang more tightly.
“Jessica, I miss you, too.” Wang Yang lowered his face to kiss her on the forehead. Feeling her emotion and her young, hot body, he could not help but lift her beautiful face and kiss her on the lips. Jessica smiled. Then, she responded to him in an enthusiastic manner.
They were kissing and looking at each other as a silent communication. The two warm hearts pressed against each other. They intended to release all of their yearnings for each other during these days through this kiss. However, while they were so absorbed in the kiss, they perceived some flashes on their faces. Then, they vaguely heard someone saying “Yes!” repeatedly in a thrilled, involuntary way.
Wang Yang was dumbstruck. That voice was like a bucket of cold water that extinguished the enthusiasm in his heart. Frowning, he glanced over the surroundings. He said, “Cole? Is that you?”
Jessica also looked toward where he was looking at. She asked him confusedly, “Who is Cole?”
Wang Yang said helplessly, “A paparazzo.” Gazing at a big tree far away, he felt it was right where Cole was hiding, so he shouted, “Cole, show up. I know it’s you!”
As expected, Cole walked out from behind the tree, laughing. Holding a camera with a long-focus lens, he kept taking Wang Yang and Jessica’s pictures. He said happily, “Yang, you are really smart! But this time, I got you.” Then, he approached the two. Crouching, he adjusted the lens and then took another photo. He said with an excited smile, “It’s not Natalie. It’s Jessica! Wow, the love story between the phenomenal director and his leading actress. I will be rich!” He took the photo of the two kissing. High School Musical was on and popular. This photo was priceless. It would be more than enough for him to buy a great new car!
Jessica flushed. She did not know how to respond. She covered her face with one hand. Looking at Wang Yang, she asked him in a low voice, “Yang, what do we do?” She had been followed by paparazzi lately as well since the success of High School Musical, but it was certainly the first time that she had been photographed kissing her boyfriend.
“It doesn’t matter.” Smiling, Wang Yang held her hand. He smiled at Cole naturally. “Hey, Cole, take a nice photo of us!” Jessica instantly felt relieved. Holding his hand tightly, she felt she finally did not have to hide the relationship between her and Yang. Thinking of this, she could not help but show a sweet smile.
“Got it!” Following Wang Yang and Jessica, Cole kept pressing the shutter release button of the camera. Holding Jessica’s hand, Wang Yang led her to the lake of the park. He said to her, smiling, “Let’s just ignore him.” Jessica nodded with a smile.
However, when the two had walked for a while, and Cole was still following them, holding his camera and ready to take a photo anytime, both of them felt quite uncomfortable. They could not even speak naturally or say something sweet and romantic. Wang Yang could not put up with him anymore. He stopped walking. Staring at Cole, he said, “Man, you already got the picture of us kissing. Could you let us have a quiet, undisturbed date?”
“No!” Cole answered immediately, smiling. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I want to shoot something more valuable, like a photo of you two going back to your apartment together. That kind of photo could upgrade my new car!”
Jessica tried to negotiate with him, “Then, could you keep a distance from us? Please don’t stay so close to us.” Cole said with a smile, “No. I’ll lose you easily if I stay too far. Besides, photos of your date are also kind of valuable.”
Wang Yang flew into a rage. He said, “Don’t be so greedy, Cole!” Jessica was helpless and angry as well. She was totally speechless.
“Hit me if you want. I’m ready,” Cole said with a smile, looking at Wang Yang. He took photos of the couple’s angry faces. Then, he said, as if it was a friendly warning, “But you two have to get used to this. This time there is just me. But what about next time? There might be ten or even twenty people around you. It’s only because you two are even more popular than the president these days!”
“Yang, let’s get out of here,” Jessica said to Wang Yang. Wang Yang nodded.
The two left the park. They got into Wang Yang’s car and wanted to get rid of Cole this way, but they failed. The beautiful date that they had expected for such a long time was thus ruined. However, Cole did not capture any photos of the two going back to the apartment together. That being said, the couple’s kissing photos were enough to explain everything.
The next day, a headline appeared in the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times. The photo Cole was so proud of was published with text explanation—Yang and Jessica, in Love!