The Best Director

Chapter 395: Chapter 395: Wise (Request for Monthly Votes)

“This is truly astonishing,”

The proposal from Firefly Films came out of the blue in the morning, and by the afternoon, Warner Bros had called an emergency high-level meeting, a significant event! With the exception of Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer, who was absent due to an event, all the related senior staff were present. They were almost all shocked by President Alan F. Horn’s news. Was Santa Claus finally delivering Warner a big gift by allowing them to profit from the sale of the lackluster “I Am Legend” rights and simultaneously resurrect the “Batman” franchise!!? Was there anything more wonderful than this in the world?

“Let’s hear everyone’s opinions,” Horn had just finished speaking when Jeff Robinov, the head of the production department, spoke up seriously, “I disagree.”

Looking around the entire conference room, he was the only one who wasn’t swayed by the news; all others were inclined to nod in agreement upon hearing it, eager to enter the stage of discussing details with Firefly! Despite everyone’s gaze, Robinov earnestly persuaded, “This is not a valuable deal. In the entire scheme, Warner only gets a sum of money and then hands over hundreds of millions of US Dollars and ‘Batman’ to Wang Yang, letting him play with it! What do we get?”

“We get an opportunity,” Horn’s light voice carried a decisiveness. He was generally responsible for the company’s film affairs, while Barry Meyer oversaw television program production and distribution.

Jeff Robinov internally held his breath in frustration, already harboring grievances against Horn. “I Am Legend” could have started filming in ’02 if it wasn’t for this damned guy’s disapproval, leading to another project delay. And now, he wanted to sell “I Am Legend”! Robinov couldn’t help but become slightly agitated, “But we’ve also lost an opportunity! With the addition of Gosman to this script of ‘I Am Legend’, we’ve been preparing for 10 years, and it’s about to go into production; why sell it now?”

“And that counts as preparation?” Horn retorted. The others wisely stayed out of the argument, but speaking of a 10-year preparation that always stopped before any real monetary action was taken, with every script differing greatly— from San Francisco to Los Angeles and now to New York— while times and markets kept changing, what’s the point of preparing for 100 years? It’s better to simply offload this burden! Even without the “Batman” bargaining chip, it still would be a good deal.

While Robinov complained about Horn disliking “I Am Legend,” Horn also had complaints about him fixating on this boring project, “Jeff, you should look further ahead and think clearly about which project is more important. Optimistically, ‘I Am Legend’ takes in 400 million at the global box office, its value isn’t as big as ‘Batman’.”

“But…” Horn’s words were not unreasonable, rendering Jeff Robinov somewhat speechless, but he suddenly realized a flaw in his reasoning and chuckled, “Why should we believe Wang Yang? He might not have the capability to resurrect ‘Batman’; without him, we can still do well, he was only 9 years old in 1989.”

The 1989 “Batman” was the first Batman movie and remains the most successful, with the highest box office to date. Thanks to a thrilling story of Batman VS Joker, it grossed 251 million in North America and 411 million US Dollars globally on a production budget of 35 million. Unfortunately, the good times did not last. The production costs of the sequels skyrocketed, while the box office returns struggled: 92’s “Batman Returns” had an 80 million production cost and a 266 million box office; 95’s “Batman Forever” had a 100 million and a 336 million box office; 97’s “Batman & Robin” had a 125 million and a 238 million box office.

And now, Wang Yang says 600 million!!! And he would be taking over the mess of “Batman Begins”! Thinking of Warner’s awkward situation, Horn’s anger rose so much that his neck turned red, glaring at “culprit” Robinov, his tone became heavier, “Yes! You already said that two years ago, what have you done for the company, Jeff? Why believe Wang? Haha, why don’t you go look at the box office of ‘Batman’, then look at the box office of ‘Firefly’?”

The atmosphere froze in the spacious meeting room, and everyone silently kept their heads down, Jeff Robinov unable to refute, was the one who facilitated the casting for “Batman Begins” and indirectly led to its unprecedented gritty style.

“Batman Begins'” colossal failure needed someone to take responsibility, and Darren Aronofsky couldn’t escape the label of “artsy director” and “box office poison,” and neither could Robinov avoid the company’s criticism of his merits and faults. Undoubtedly, his career resume was marked with a big red cross of failure.

God damn it! The son of a bitch! Horn was so furious his neck was turning red. “Batman” was Warner’s most important superhero brand, yet it was botched time and time again!

Look at Sony’s “Spider-Man” series, Fox’s “X-Men” series, it was infuriating! If it weren’t for the “Harry Potter” series, Warner would have become a complete laughingstock. This summer, they released six movies: “House of Wax” lost money, “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” barely broke even, “Batman” was a pile of crap, “Vanguard of Justice” failed, “Must Love Dogs” failed! Only “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” lived up to expectations.

From the beginning, Horn insisted that they needed to persuade Wang Yang to take over Gotham Town, believing the ultimate failure was due to the production department’s weak invitation effort. A few phone calls and that’s it? Because of Robinov’s misdirection, he missed out on Wang Yang! The company also made a fatal directorial choice—Christopher Nolan, Darren Aronofsky, were those guys material for directing a superhero blockbuster? Making it so heavy and depressing, nonsensical, who the hell would watch!

Even those magazines and newspapers knew why “Batman Begins” failed—it was too dark! Such a style was not suitable for a superhero blockbuster. Please leave human nature discussions to arthouse films, see how absolutely thrilling “Spider-Man” was!

Horn thought that if Michael Bay had been chosen, there might have been a good ending, although his direction of “Escape from Clone Island” had caused Warner Brothers, who co-invested, to suffer a big loss this summer. However, Michael Bay had already signed a contract with Paramount in May to helm “Transformers,” making it impossible for him to direct “The Dark Knight,” and Horn wondered which director Wang Yang would invite to take charge of the set. The best candidate would undoubtedly be Justin Lin! That guy has a thrilling style.

“The box office failure of ‘The Moment of Warfare’… I am responsible,” Jeff Robinov said, very gloomy and had already started to doubt his own “Batman” perspective, yet for “I Am Legend,” he shook his head and sighed, “Hopefully, we won’t regret it.” In the whole deal, Magic Yang and Firefly Films were the sure-win side, he was not the producer of “Batman 2” for free; and what’s more, if the promised results were not met, would he personally direct two blockbusters? Did the company want to lose more money?

Horn wasn’t a fool either, the preliminary verbal plan didn’t represent the final signed contract. He said to everyone, “Stop arguing, let’s think of a better cooperation plan to get the most benefit for the company!”

In fact, Horn already had a rough direction, very simple, to lower Wang Yang’s paycheck and prioritize box office revenue sharing, then let Firefly Films participate in the investment of “The Dark Knight,” maximally stimulating Wang Yang’s enthusiasm and allowing the company to avoid risks. As for the rest, no one would intentionally ruin the film, especially someone at Wang Yang’s level, and who in Hollywood had more box office draw than him at the moment?

“First, let’s release the news and see the reaction of the fans.”

In the chairman’s office of Firefly Films, Wang Yang leaned back in his chair, took out his phone and dialed a number, he was 99% confident that the Warner executives would agree to the deal. “I Am Legend” was not much different from them than “Escape from Clone Island,” yet “Batman” was one of their trademarks.

“Hey, Chris!” Once the call connected, Wang Yang greeted and, while gently spinning his office chair, smiled into the phone, “Something happened today, I’m ninety percent likely to become the producer of the ‘Batman’ sequel. It’s like the ’89 story of Batman vs. Joker, and I think you’re the most suitable director for it, so what do you say? Right, I need Jonathan to write the screenplay, and of course Emma is also the producer.”

Christopher Nolan didn’t know what to say, not excited but surprised. A sequel to “Batman”? As Emma said, after the failure at the box office, it would be difficult to continue this new series’s dark style, and any sequel would most likely be popcorn fare. He was actually a big fan of Michael Bay’s movies, but directing that style… Nolan questioned, “Oh, are you sure?” Wang Yang immediately responded, “Yeah!” Nolan seemed to face a big dilemma, “I don’t suit that style.”

“What? Come on, man!” Wang Yang laughed loudly, leaning back in his chair and kicking the desk exaggeratedly, “Who told you about style? Don’t worry about style. Batman vs. Joker, do you have a direction in mind?” Nolan on the other end fell silent, thinking, and then said, “Yes, I do.” Wang Yang laughed happily, “That’s great! I want the Nolan family-style ‘The Dark Knight,’ that’s the title. Just go with your own feelings about it, you’ll do a great job, it’ll be a good movie.”

“If that’s the case, I have no problems,” Nolan said, his tone much more lively than the moment before, Wang Yang nodded and smiled, “Of course, but don’t think too much about it now. Focus on making ‘The Prestige’ great, we’ll talk again once we’ve settled things with Warner. Right now, you just need to be mentally prepared.”

After ending the call with Nolan, Wang Yang then excitedly called Heath Ledger. How could “The Dark Knight” not have the Joker? And how could the Joker not be Ledger? The guy was just too crazy!n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

If one were to say Jack Nicholson’s Joker still had a hint of “cuteness,” Heath Ledger’s Joker was a pure high-IQ madman. Both Jokers had their own charms and reflected their respective eras and the distinct directing styles of Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan.

The 1989 version of “Batman” was the first adaptation of this comic. In that era, comic book adaptation movies had a style of fantasy, cartoons, and even a theatrical feel, just like “The Mask” in 1994. Nowadays, realism was sought after with realistic special effects and character stories, even if the superhero himself wasn’t realistic.

On the other hand, Tim Burton was a person with a child-like innocence. Underneath his dark and gloomy style, there was always sunshine and beauty. The Joker was a circus clown, a “I’ll be back” kind of cartoonish supervillain. The Nolan family was different; Christopher Nolan was rigorous and traditional in style. If he meant to be dark, he went straight to the heart, and the villain was depicted without a shred of sympathy. Hence, you couldn’t find the slightest bit of it; the Joker was a real terror king, real, complex, scary, manic, psychopathic, irredeemable, without any comic book hue.

This sort of extremely tense and extreme character was in fact easier for an actor to perform, and more likely to leave a deep impression on the audience. Heath Ledger thus fully unleashed his talent in this role. However, through “Brokeback Mountain’s” Ennis, he had fully proven that he could brilliantly portray a calmly restrained character; and the blue-gloved Joker was somewhere in between Joker & Ennis, a genteel madness, which he could also portray miraculously.

“Hi, Heath! Something happened today…”

After connecting the call, Wang Yang spoke to Heath Ledger about the reasons and then issued the invitation. The moment Ledger heard about the Joker in “Batman,” he was immediately excitedly exclaimed, “Oh, oh.” Not only did he know who the Joker was, but he was also a fan of Jack Nicholson. The role was so attractive! He eagerly asked, “Who’s the director?” Wang Yang introduced with a smile, “Christopher Nolan, trust me, you guys will be a perfect match.”

Heath Ledger didn’t even have to think about it; he really liked Nolan’s style in “Memento” and “Mr. Hughes,” and with an invitation from the incredible Wang Yang, was there a need to consider? He readily agreed, “All right! No problem, just contact my agent when it’s time to discuss the contract.”

“OK!” Wang Yang wasn’t long-winded either; he loved Ledger’s decisiveness! Just you wait, the Joker is going to impress the entire world! However…

He suddenly thought of something and became a bit worried. He furrowed his brows and cautioned in advance, “Heath, if you play the Joker later, remember not to get too absorbed in the role!” Heath Ledger, puzzled, asked, “Oh? Why?” Wang Yang’s serious tone indicated he wasn’t joking, “The character of the Joker is way too dangerous, many times more so than a blue glove. If you get too obsessed, it can cause a lot of harm to yourself and your family.”

The Joker is hundreds of times more dangerous than a blue glove precisely because he lacks any shred of goodwill; murder and arson are just to satisfy his own insane desires; all his resonance points with a normal human being belong to the dark side of human nature. If one is immersed in that darkness all day, then they become a dark person; however, when another part of oneself constantly reminds one “That’s not right,” “This isn’t real,” and the dark side mocks at the same time, a person who is too deeply into the role will feel torn, in pain, conflicted, irritable, depressed, and misanthropic.

If it were 1984, and Tim Burton was the director, there would be no problem; but now it’s the 21st century with Nolan directing. It would be fine to let an actor with a strong psyche play the role, but Ledger is sensitive and fragile and likes to deeply immerse himself in his characters; this could make it difficult to cast out the demons he had previously summoned.

Through the sparse peripheral news about “The Dark Knight” in the Future Movie Database, Wang Yang knows that Heath Ledger indeed became too engrossed in the role! During the film’s location shoot in London, Ledger struggled with sleepless nights. He told the media, “Last week, I averaged two hours of sleep a night. I couldn’t stop thinking. Even though I was physically exhausted, my mind was still racing.” He even said that he “desperately” took two sleeping pills, only to wake up and find that the clock had barely moved.

The news also mentioned that in order to play the Joker well, Ledger began preparations four months before shooting. As usual, he kept a diary to record all ideas that would help in understanding “Joker,” and even made a list of things “Joker” might like.

If it were someone else saying so, it could possibly be promotional hype for the film, but Wang Yang knew that Heath Ledger really could go that far! It wasn’t a good sign, getting too into the Joker role? Wang Yang curled the corner of his mouth, imagining how bad it could get. At best, there might be arguing with Michelle Williams, at worst, who knows what sort of craziness might ensue. Of course, Ledger would probably suppress his inner demons forcefully, which then meant internal suffering and insomnia wouldn’t be surprising.

“Yang, I’ll be careful, but I can’t make any guarantees.” Heath Ledger, on the other end, thought silently for a while before responding earnestly, “I enjoy acting because I like the feeling of getting into the role; otherwise, what’s the point? I think I’ll give it my all if I play the Joker, even more so since I like the character.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have invited him to play the Joker? Hearing Heath’s words, Wang Yang suddenly had a strange thought. Why? What he couldn’t understand the most was what caused Heath Ledger to stop acting after “The Dark Knight”? He wouldn’t lack offers; if anything, he might take a break or retire, but he was someone who loved acting. Or! Wang Yang thought about how he himself had nearly died a week prior. Could it be?

“Uhh… if you can’t get out, come to me.” Wang Yang straightened his brows, stopping the worrisome thoughts. He would take care of it when the time came! Worrying now was useless. He would keep an eye on the situation to prevent any tragedy. Heath Ledger acknowledged with a simple “okay,” and Wang Yang started to chat lightheartedly about family, “How’s Michelle recently? Is it tough dealing with an eight-month pregnant woman?” Heath Ledger’s spirits lifted, and he happily talked, “She’s doing well, still has her mood swings…”

A busy day! From early in the morning until the late afternoon, he had been occupied!

Wang Yang couldn’t help but admire his own wise decision, absolutely refusing the ideas of Jessica and his mother coming with him to work or visit the set; indeed, very, very right. Otherwise, they would have dragged him home before noon! Meetings, phone calls, today he made at least a hundred phone calls! “500 Days of Summer,” “Incredible Director,” “I Am Legend,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hachiko: A Dog’s Story,” “Marley & Me”… he really dealt with so many things.

Despite having rested for over two months in the dreamworld, his body didn’t seem to fully agree with that view. Back in the comfort of his home, as his nerves and soul relaxed, Wang Yang truly felt a bit tired and had a headache, with various movies buzzing around in front of his eyes…

Under the night sky, the atmosphere was even quieter, with a bright moon hanging high and the cool breeze bringing a rare freshness to the summer.

“Sweetheart, remember not to push yourself too hard, okay?”

In the cozy and elegant living room, Wang Yang leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed, as Jessica stood in front of him, gently massaging his temples with her hands. Wang Yang murmured a promise not to overdo it, enjoying this comfortable warmth; her faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils, adding to his pleasure. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, excitedly asking, “I remembered! These last couple of days, I’ve been trying to think of what I forgot. Sweetheart, what about the ‘surprise’ you mentioned before?”

Surprise? She was touched yet amused that he still remembered that, and while continuing the massage, Jessica rolled her eyes and said, “Forgot it.”

“Oh, no, please!” Wang Yang was immediately astonished and kept asking urgently, “You can’t forget!! It was that very thing that kept my will to live strong; I survived because of it! You can’t forget!” Jessica let out a clear peal of laughter, still playing with the temptation of forgetfulness: “But who told you to sleep so long? I was so focused on trying to wake you up that other things… snore, I really forgot!” Watching her mischievous smile, Wang Yang laughed and pulled her with one hand to sit on his thigh, back against him, and then began to kiss and caress her like crazy: “Then I’ll create my own surprise.”

“Stop, don’t… Mmm, don’t, you just woke up, and you had a tiring day.” “Don’t worry, life is about movement, and exercise is good for health.”…

The two of them were panting after the first round, and Wang Yang continued to remove Jessica’s blouse and bra with one hand and was about to proceed when.

“Has Yang returned? Jessica, I brought some chicken soup.” The sound of the door opening was masked by passion, and suddenly Wang Yang’s mother’s voice came from the entrance! The two of them stared wide-eyed in shock; what was happening! As Jessica cried out, Oh my God, she frantically searched for the loose T-shirt that had just been on her, only to find he had thrown it to the floor far from the couch! In order to protect the baby and not make any movements, Wang Yang, almost in a flash, made what was possibly the umpteenth wise decision of the day, grabbing a cushion to cover her!

Luckily, it was just Wang Yang’s mother alone who, upon sighting the scene of Wang Yang holding Jessica and Jessica clutching a pillow, paused, then turned straight toward the kitchen saying, “I didn’t see anything…Yang, Jessica, I’ll leave the soup in the kitchen for you to drink later.”

Wang Yang and Jessica exchanged a mortified glare, momentarily lost in the passion and forgetting it wasn’t just their world anymore; they had forgotten mom had a key too! Wang Yang looked towards the kitchen, lowering his voice to complain, “Oh heavens, why doesn’t mom call before coming over…” Jessica, with her face growing even redder, rolled her eyes speechlessly and said in a low voice, “This afternoon, mom told me she’d bring soup and check on you tonight, I… forgot.” Wang Yang was momentarily stunned: “Oh, you forgot.”

“I’m leaving now.” Wang Yang’s mother’s footsteps approached again. Without looking at the couple, she moved towards the door, but suddenly reminded them, “You both be careful, okay! Don’t be so vigorous…”

“Thank you!! Mom, you can go now!” Wang Yang turned and shouted, truly feeling like he was in an episode of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’—and it wasn’t funny! He knew that he had to buy a house farther away in San Francisco; there was no way he could live in the same community as his parents…

With a thud, the door closed with a deliberate heavy sound; mom had left! Both of them took a long, deep breath, Jessica threw the pillow away forcefully, looking at this careless man, Wang Yang shook his head resignedly, and while holding her sideways continued, sighing with a laugh, “Jessica, right now, you really seem like you’ve got a concussion.”

Jessica puffed up her cheeks and glared at him angrily; she pinched his chin and scolded, “It’s all your fault! With your wandering hands all the time, how could I remember anything?” Wang Yang suddenly let out an “Ah,” pressing his forehead in pain, and Jessica’s mean expression vanished, as she rushed to caress him worriedly, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Wang Yang, pretending to be in pain, couldn’t help but burst into laughter: “No, haha, it’s nothing—”

“Yang!!” Jessica called out in disbelief, furious! She took a deep breath, “Are you trying to kill me with anger?” Although before his eyes was a bewitching sight, Wang Yang suddenly did feel a real headache coming on and couldn’t help but cry out in pain: “Ah—”

“Again!!” Jessica glared at him, waving her fist, while Wang Yang looked pathetic: “This time, it’s real…” Jessica hurried again to gently caress him: “Are you okay? Are you okay?”…

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