The Best Director

Chapter 420: Chapter 420 Touch & Go

The azure sky was dotted with leisurely drifting white clouds, and the morning sunlight was especially warm and pleasant. Light streamed through the windows into the fresh and adorable baby’s room, where Keke blinked her large eyes, seeing some blurry halos above and hearing her favorite laughter.

A new day unfolded, with the Christmas atmosphere in the shops along the streets growing stronger. After a pleasant weekend, office workers continued buzzing back to their workplaces, awaiting the end-of-year holidays; students who had just finished their autumn terms were starting to enjoy their break, and young film enthusiasts found more time to follow cinema and entertainment news. When this year’s National Review Board Awards were announced in New York in the morning, those interested quickly learned the results through the network media.

Founded in 1909, the National Review Board initially served as a film censorship organization, but starting in 1929, it began handing out awards. The awards are announced in early December and are given out in January of the following year. They are determined by votes from 122 production professionals, movie historians, critics, and students in the New York region, through an open counting process. As one of the oldest film awards in America and an Oscar predictor, these awards are significant in the film industry.

“Best Picture: ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’; Best Director: Ang Lee for ‘Brokeback Mountain’; Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for ‘Capote’; Best Actress: Felicity Huffman for ‘Transamerica’; Best Supporting Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal for ‘Brokeback Mountain’; Best Supporting Actress: Gong Li for ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’; Best Original Screenplay: Noah Beumbach for ‘The Squid and the Whale’; Adaptation: Stephen Gaghan for ‘Syriana’; Best Special Effects: ‘Firefly’; Best Animated Film: ‘Corpse Bride’; Best Foreign Film: ‘Paradise Now’ (Palestine); Best Documentary: ‘March of the Penguins’…”

“Top Ten Films of the Year: ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ (Warner Bros.), ‘Syriana’ (Warner Bros.), ‘Brokeback Mountain’ (Focus), ‘Firefly’ (Focus), ‘Match Point’ (DreamWorks), ‘Munich’ (DreamWorks), ‘Capote’ (Sony), ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ (Sony), ‘A History of Violence’ (New Line), ‘Walk the Line’ (20th Century Fox)”

“National Review Board Awards announced, Magic Yang takes an early defeat.” “Ang Lee captures Best Director, Magic Yang’s limelight is suppressed” “Wang Yang loses out at the National Review Board Awards”…

Despite having two films in this year’s top ten, maintaining last year’s achievement, ‘Firefly’ only managed to grab Best Visual Effects out of the fifteen awards, with none of the six major categories crowned! Overall, FF garnered three awards.

“What kind of joke is this!” “There must be some mistake with the list!” “This is disgusting!” Many fans of Yang felt a chill in their hearts upon reading the headlines; opening the news only added to their dismay. Without a doubt, this outcome left them utterly dissatisfied and upset! How could Magic Yang not win Best Picture and Best Director!

“I’m only concerned about tomorrow’s Golden Globe nominations.” “This is the stage for movies with no box-office draw, it doesn’t belong to Magic Yang.” “Even my eighty-year-old grandma doesn’t care about it!” Fans who knew better about the award were aware that this was normal. The National Review Board has its aesthetic standards, and in fact, its “Oscar hit rate” isn’t very high, especially for Best Picture and Best Director. For four years running, there’s been no correlation, with the 75th ceremony (corresponding to the 75th Oscars), the Best Director was 53-year-old Philip Noyce (‘The Quiet American’), while the Oscar for Best Director went to 23-year-old Yang Wang for ‘District 9’.

So many people don’t care about this award at all. The National Board of Review is a hundred times more stubborn than the Oscars, and they would never give their award to a sci-fi movie. They probably hesitated for a long time before including Firefly in their top ten list. But, who cares? Let those New York folks stick to their traditions!

“That’s great!” “Miraculous Yang’s chances for the Oscars are looking up again!” “‘I’m actually glad they didn’t give me the award, and even if they did, I wouldn’t have gone to pick it up’ — YOUNG” A large part of Wang Yang’s fans were actually very relieved and couldn’t help but cheer and jump for joy, with Clair, Nancy, and others waving their fists in the air. Wang Yang, holding the trophy, would have found it hot to the touch; now, not having to hold it was even more delightful! Firefly had truly dodged a bullet!

Still, many of Wang’s critics were happy, especially those who didn’t understand the situation too well. The media had hyped up Firefly as if it was going to sweep the awards season, but now it was kicked out by the first critics’ association award. Wang Yang was finished! And surely he’d be done for at the Golden Globe nominations the next day too! It seemed a bit unrealistic…

“Miraculous Yang snubbed by the National Board of Review” — Yahoo Entertainment. Due to the lack of attention the award itself received, Wang Yang was still a hot topic, and media in North America and Asia alike reported on him, uniformly branding their stories with the Miraculous Yang label to increase click-through rates. Yahoo’s report stated, “It is worth mentioning that, with the strong support of the Flame Film, Brokeback Mountain could be produced, allowing Ang Lee to prove himself again. And Wang Yang himself was one of the producers of Brokeback Mountain. Now, they have become each other’s biggest rivals, a situation that will continue to play out in future awards such as the Golden Globes and Oscars.”

“What do you want from me anyway!? Not allowing me to feed the baby, not letting me change diapers either! I’m so frustrated—”

The outcome of the National Board of Review did not make Wang Yang angry, as this list was expected, and FF winning an award was a happy occasion. But Jessica’s monopolization of baby care nearly drove him insane! Ever since the baby was born, he had done so little for her! And after leaving the hospital, practically nothing! Jessica always said, “It’s a mother’s patent,” “It’s a mother’s job,” “That’s what mothers do” …

“That’s because you’re not the mother!” In the baby’s room, Jessica turned to Wang Yang, who was standing beside her, and smiled, continuing to change Keke’s diaper on the light blue baby changing table. Wang Yang, shaking the rattle in his hand, glared at her and muttered through clenched teeth, “I really should have forced her to follow the confinement…” Jessica, not hearing clearly, asked, “What did you say?” Wang Yang lifted the rattle to her ear and shook it vigorously, dong dong dong dong, speaking firmly, “We agreed, let me do it next time!” Jessica, engrossed in wrapping up Keke, couldn’t care less about him, “Depends on my mood, now step back, don’t mess around. HEY, keep my mood in mind.”

“All-Right, All-Right! All-Right…”

As Wang Yang agreed and walked away, Jessica curled her lips into a smirk – next time would still be a no! She was already addicted to taking care of Keke! Next-next-next-next-next… time, maybe! She couldn’t help but let out a stealthy laugh, when suddenly by her ear burst “dong dong dong—” She abruptly turned her head, only to see him running away fast with a “haha” laugh.

Despite Wang Yang’s efforts throughout the day, he still didn’t manage to get a complete turn at feeding the baby and changing diapers. He was often half-way through the task when Jessica would kick him out, even snatching away the seemingly trivial task of helping the baby roll over. Thankfully, there was still the important duty of waking up in the middle of the night to soothe the baby back to sleep.

As the sky’s darkness gradually lightened, it became the early hours of the 13th. The wall clock ticked away, and with the baby’s “wah wah” crying, it was time for feeding again. Since the nominations for the 63rd Golden Globe Awards were about to be announced, the two of them simply took Keke to the living room, as the whole family gathered to watch the live television broadcast.

Last year, the couple had a short nap after a fierce battle, lying on the large bedroom bed and receiving the call on their cell phone, learning that their film Flame had received nine nominations. This year with their first child, they wondered how many nominations they would get? At this moment in the spacious and elegant living room, Jessica was holding Keke on the couch. She held the milk bottle and fed her daughter, glancing at the TV screen from time to time. Feeding was supposed to be such a peaceful, satisfying, and joyful moment, yet now, she felt a bit nervous.

“Let me do it…” Wang Yang knelt on the couch, looking at Keke’s silly expression with both intoxication and growing anxiety. The baby would soon be breastfed, so his chances were even slimmer, but…n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

“No, it’s my turn this time. Didn’t you have the last one?” Jessica was unmoved and took a slow deep breath with something in mind. Today was her big day! How many nominations would Yang have? What about Firefly? Flame? Firefly, 500 Days of Summer, Brokeback Mountain, The Big Bang Theory, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives—each one was a hit! She felt even more nervous this year. If it weren’t for Keke, she might be screaming and jumping around by now. This time, she wasn’t just Yang’s wife, but also his partner! She was set to challenge the Golden Globes and Oscars with him!

She had figured some things out and adjusted her mindset, realizing that being a good wife and mother was the most excellent and pride-worthy thing. As for her career, it was best to just do her best and not dwell on what couldn’t be forced. And now, it was time to reap the rewards of her other efforts, together with him!

With these thoughts, Jessica couldn’t help but let out the breath! Her heart was pounding… Suddenly, lively music played, and the Golden Globe Awards logo flashed on the TV screen—it was time!

“But that’s half-way through the feed!” Wang Yang complained weakly, seeing her serious face and understanding how important this award season was to her. He empathized with her deeply, calmed his overflowing paternal love, and sat upright, giving her a hug and a kiss on her hair, cheering her on, “Sweetheart, let’s do this!” Jessica looked up at him, her radiant smile full of sweetness, and nodded, “Yeah!! You can feed her the second half of the bottle!” Wang Yang was a mix of surprise and joy, “Really?! YEAH!! Thank you!!”…

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Dakota Johnson, and we’re here at the scene of the 63rd Golden Globe Awards nomination announcement. Next, you’ll see the best film and television works of 2005 being honored.”

On NBC’s channel at the Hilton Hotel scene, this year’s Golden Globe Miss Dakota Johnson (the 16-year-old daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson) was dressed in a red low-cut evening gown, with long flowing blonde hair, looking very youthful and attractive. She walked over to the glass podium with an envelope in hand, behind her a large screen displaying the Golden Globe Awards logo. Dakota Johnson smiled at the audience and opened the envelope, “First, let’s announce the movie awards, they are…”

It wasn’t just the Wang Yang family watching this broadcast. Heath Ledger’s family had also gotten up, with Michelle Williams feeding their one and a half month old Matilda. Many others had also gotten up early, with Natalie wearing a faint smile. Could 500 Days of Summer bring her a fifth golden globe nomination? She believed it would. She was even more confident that he would get many nominations, once again storm into the Golden Globes with a science fiction film, and once again allow him to be triumphant.

In 2002, District 9 became the first science fiction film to enter the Golden Globe hall of fame since E.T. in 1982, rewriting a history that had been dormant for 20 years. Three years later, it was another glorious moment for science fiction!

The marvelous Yang had fulfilled the first half of the promise he made on the Oscars stage, “I will shoot another science fiction film and bring it here once again, stand on this stage again,” and now he was well qualified to take on the second half, with the Golden Globes coming first!

“The marvelous Yang will be nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, he can do it!” fans like Evelyn and Clair, as well as many other die-hard fans, were also waiting in front of their TVs, cheering on their favorite.

There were also the main cast of Firefly like Robert Downey Jr., Michael Pitt, the principal creators like Joss Whedon, Hans Jimo, and members of the creative teams of hot films like Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich, Capote, and senior management from production and distribution companies… A tangible tension enveloped film and fan circles across North America, and indeed enthusiasts and followers worldwide. The battle for the Golden Globe nominations was on the verge of breaking out!

“The nominees for ‘Best Original Song’ are.” On the NBC channel, Dakota Johnson read calmly, “A Love That Will Never Grow Old, Brokeback Mountain, composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Bernie Taupin; Christmas in Love, Joyeux Noël… Travelin’ Thru, Transamerica… Serenity, Firefly, composed by Joss Whedon, lyrics by Yang Wang… Wunderkind, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, music and lyrics by Alanis Morissette.”

As Dakota spoke, the large screen behind her displayed the names of the nominees one by one, without photos due to the sheer number, but to the keen observer, YOUNG-WANG was so conspicuous!

“YEAH——!!” “Fantastic!!” “One nomination!!”… (.)