The Best Director

Chapter 339: 339 The Flame Movie is really impressive now!

The Snowland Theater’s packed screening hall, amidst the somber and melancholic soundtrack, rolled out the credits. A burst of warm applause arose, as the audience participating in the premiere gave their praise to the team behind “Mr. Hughes 2,” truly a classic biopic!

The 2002 Christmas release “The Aviator: Secret Life,” with a budget of 65 million US dollars, eventually grossed 160 million worldwide, recounting the legendary tycoon Howard Hughes’s colorful early life; this year’s “The Aviator: Power, Money, and Madness” saw its production costs rise to 100 million US dollars, continuing the story into Howard Hughes’s latter years when he withdrew from the public eye and descended into madness—locking himself in a dark room where sunlight never entered, cutting his hair and nails once a year, becoming addicted to cocaine and other drugs, and developing his cleanliness obsession and OCD to a pathological extreme…

These were but minor details. “Mr. Hughes” clearly articulated the twisted formation of Howard Hughes’s personality and his inner torment; “Mr. Hughes 2” indeed ushered in a storm. Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan adapted Michael Zothning’s biography into something bleak and distinctive, offering a comprehensive exploration of the relationship among genius, power, money, and madness. The 126-minute film features Hughes’s crazy past, Jim Carrey’s exquisite performance, and the deep perspectives of the screenwriters and directors.

“Chris, that was fantastic.” Just like with the previous work, after the premiere of “Mr. Hughes 2” ended, the film’s main team, guest friends, and others gathered at a nearby hotel for a celebration dinner. The lively banquet hall was filled with laughter and chatter, with people either mingling and talking or enjoying the feast and drinks at the tables.

Unlike the increasingly popular idol director couple, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas’s attire remained unchanged. Nolan was still dressed in a suit, shoes polished, hair neatly parted to the side, his smile almost identical to two, four years ago; Emma Thomas wore a deep blue, low-cut long dress, still as talkative and passionate, laughing as she watched Wang Yang playfully punch her husband: “Remember what I told you? If you have confidence, so do I.”

“Thank you,” Nolan nodded. The talks at Park City’s Redstone Theater about “Memento” years ago, the visit to finalize “Mr. Hughes,” they might not have had much interaction due to busy schedules, but their friendship ran deep. If words come from the heart, “flattery” is not hard at all. He smiled and said, “The past few years working with Flame Films has really been a pleasure.” Emma Thomas also touched her chest in jest, laughing in gratitude: “Yang, thank you so much for your support. Sometimes when we talk about this…”

She glanced at Nolan, then continued with a smile: “…we just don’t know how to express our gratitude, you know you’re too generous.”

The budget for “Mr. Hughes 2” was initially set at 85 million, but eventually fixed at 100 million, exceeding by 15 million. One of the distinguishing features of the Hollywood production system is its meticulous budgeting—it’s one of the reasons why the preparation time for a movie is often longer than the production time. Every expenditure goes through strict auditing and control. The producer’s motto is to save money rather than to splurge. The studio couldn’t care less about striving for perfection—otherwise, if every film went over budget, what would that look like? Keep in mind that 15 million is enough to produce another low-budget film, or 2-3 small independent films.

So the meaning of striving for perfection is to do the best within that 85 million. If there’s anything better, it means ultimately saving 5 million, reducing the cost to 80 million.

A producer who can’t control the budget is a failed producer, especially when Christopher Nolan is not some privileged great director, nor is Emma Thomas some privileged great producer. However, when “Mr. Hughes 2” lost control and wanted to pursue another kind of perfectionism, Flame Films agreed without a word—perhaps all it took was Wang Yang’s phrase, “If it’s not enough, add more!” Of course, while being bold, Flame wouldn’t be blind; detailed accounts ensured that every penny was spent on the film’s production.

“`

Considering the mediocre commercial performance of “Mr. Hughes 1”, the treatment received by “Mr. Hughes 2” indicated that Christopher Nolan’s days were indeed very pleasant.

“We get the money, we have an obligation to earn it back for the film company; but Firefly is not just any film company, I don’t know how to put it, it’s just too cool,” Emma Thomas said, laughing, while Nolan, Wang Yang, and the others couldn’t help but smile. Emma looked at her husband with a smile, “Then we thought, what we can do and need to do most is to make a good movie, right? For the trust of Firefly Films and for ourselves, if in a few days we could get a Golden Globe nomination, we would be over the moon.”

Listening to such high praise for her husband, Jessica, who was holding his arm, couldn’t help but show a bright smile. She felt immensely happy and also a touch of admiration for Emma Thomas, who, while being a great mother and wife, also managed to take care of everything for her husband as a producer—simply amazing! Jessica couldn’t help but glance at Wang Yang, who wore a peaceful smile, “Believe me, it’s really no big deal, I should be thanking you for bringing these two “Mr. Hughes” films to Firefly Films.”

“Alright, no more thanks necessary,” Wang Yang said as he took a glass of red wine from a passing waiter’s tray, took a sip, and then asked with interest, “So, do you have any plans for new projects? We’re interested in shooting ‘The Green Hornet’, but you probably wouldn’t want to direct, nor is it quite your style, a comedy-action film.”

He had just asked the same question to Jim Carrey, who was also attending the dinner, about his thoughts on “The Green Hornet.” The comedy king said that he and his management team needed to consider it further, as it was a very bold comedic concept. Wang Yang knew that Jim Carrey was eagerly looking forward to mainstream awards recognizing his acting career, and if “Mr. Hughes 2” could offer an Oscar Best Actor nomination fulfilling his long-held dream, he might happily agree to star in Firefly Films’ “The Green Hornet.”

“Comedy? That really isn’t my thing,” Nolan said, shaking his head slightly without any real consideration, rejecting the idea. He didn’t think he had much of a funny bone. Emma Thomas smiled and took up the conversation, “He and Jonathan do have a new project in mind, about adapting Christopher Priest’s fantasy novel ‘The Prestige’…” She was about to introduce the novel when Wang Yang said he knew of ‘The Prestige’, which was not surprising as the 61-year-old British author Christopher Priest was a famous science fiction writer and one of his signature works, ‘The Prestige’, was the winner of the World Fantasy Award in 1996.

This saved Emma Thomas a lot of effort, and she said, “We’re in the process of looking for investment for this project, contacting Christopher Priest for adaptation rights and then making it into a film with a production cost of about 50 million US Dollars.”

Christopher Priest’s ‘The Prestige’ was inspired in part by real figures Cheng Liansu and Zhu Liankui, from London in the early 19th century during the Victorian period, when Chinese illusions were very magical and exaggerated. To enhance his allure and exoticism, the American William Ellsworth Robinson grew a Qing Dynasty queue and wore Qing Dynasty attire, posing as a Chinese man. Europeans at the time were not very clear about what Chinese people looked like, Cheng Liansu never spoke, and even hired a “translator” as part of the act, eventually becoming a star magician of the time.

However, he could not fool the globally renowned Chinese magician Zhu Liankui. It was Zhu who made illusions wildly popular in America, Europe, and London, and led to the emergence of “Cheng Liansu.” After the two met in London and a media scandal about the “true and false Chinese men” ensued, Zhu Liankui challenged Cheng Liansu with a letter: “If Cheng Liansu can perform ten out of my twenty tricks, or if I cannot perform any one of his, then I shall give him a thousand British pounds.” But the apprehensive Cheng Liansu never accepted the challenge.

Cheng Liansu’s signature act was the “bullet catch,” where audience members inspected and loaded a bullet into a gun, then fired at him, and he would catch the bullet and place it on a plate. Of course, the gun was tampered with; the gunpowder would detonate in a false barrel beneath the real gun barrel, and the bullet would not leave the gun, unless it did—and then it would be a fatal magic trick. In 1918, during one such performance, Cheng Liansu was shot with a bullet and cried out his first and last words in English: “Oh my God! Something’s happened, lower the curtain!!”

Possibly murder, possibly an accident, Cheng Liansu died just like that.

“`

“The Prestige” tells the story of Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, two extraordinarily talented young magicians who turn from fraternal companions into mortal enemies, culminating in a tragic tale of murder. Wang Yang had watched this film in the future film archive in his mind, with a narrative structure full of the Nolan brothers’ mysterious style. This structure sometimes affects the core exploration of human nature, but it also gives the film its unique charm.

“Flame Movies, ah!” Even more decisive than “Mr. Hughes,” Wang Yang’s hesitation-free attitude still left the Nolan couple in shock for a moment, and yet it was somewhat expected. What plan could possibly lead him to say “NO”? Wang Yang said with relish, “The story of ‘The Prestige’ is very interesting, and I really like magic; I can even perform a few tricks.” His joking made Emma Thomas chuckle a few times while Nolan asked, “Really?” Wang Yang shrugged, “Aren’t I called Magic Yang?” He laughed, “That settles it! We’ll get in touch with Christopher Priest first to secure the adaptation rights.”

Of course, the Nolan couple was delighted with this— it looked like they would continue to have a pleasant collaboration with Flame Movies for another two years.

“Do you really know magic? I mean, the kind of magic that’s magic.” After chatting for a while, Wang Yang and his wife walked towards the long dining table, and seeing him nod and say YES, Jessica asked with a laugh, “Bullshit! Why have I never seen you do magic?” Wang Yang looked at her oddly and whispered, gesturing large and small with his hands, “Aren’t I changing magic every day? I have something on me that is only this big, but with the help of my assistant, it can become that big; it can turn a plain on your body into a mountain, and then out comes a cute little kid! What a marvelous magic trick.”

The banquet hall was bustling with noise and people coming and going. Jessica looked at him stunned, her cheeks flushed as if with blush or embarrassment, seemingly recalling a particular magic performance; she rolled her eyes in feigned ecstasy, “Idiot.”

“The Prestige” was still an unknown, but “Mr. Hughes 2” had almost reached a consensus. After its comprehensive release on December 10, the next day it scored 8.4 on IMDb, with Rotten Tomatoes’ freshness ratings at 92%/89%, and an audience approval of 80%. It continued the momentum from the preview screenings and garnered unanimous praise from the critics. Flame Movies, recently lambasted for “Saw II,” quickly turned things around with a stunning comeback. David Ansen of Newsweek praised it saying, “This is a great epic about the life of the American tycoon, Hughes.”…

The weekend of December 10-12 quickly became history, with the box office rankings not to be determined until daylight on the 13th, but in the early hours, many people were woken up. The Golden Globe nominations were announced without a live television broadcast, with the organizers just having released the complete list of nominations to the media and the public.

Some were happy, some were sorrowful. As a barometer, the Golden Globe Awards would reveal the overall trends of the award season, with all the campaigning and accolades waiting for this moment to either bloom or wither.

In the television categories, popular series such as “Prison Break” and “The Big Bang Theory” did not receive nominations, which will surely make many fans curse, while fans of Flame Movies would be rejoicing. However, in the film categories, they didn’t find many reasons to be happy, even though the nominations belonged to Flame Movies and to his judgment. “Mr. Hughes 2” received nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor in a Drama (Jim Carrey), Best Director (Christopher Nolan), and Best Screenplay (Jonathan Nolan). “Crash” also made a dark horse run with nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actor (Matt Dillon), Best Director (Paul Haggis), Best Screenplay (Paul Haggis), and Best Original Song (“In the Deep”) making up five major awards.

What’s going on!? The many distributors who checked the list as soon as it was out all had to ask. Flame Movies swept away 9 nominations in one go! Out of the six largest awards for Best Picture – Drama, Flame Movies held two with “Mr. Hughes 2,” “Crash,” “Stealing Heart” (Columbia), “Finding Neverland” (Miramax Films), “Hotel Rwanda” (United Artists & Lionsgate), and “Million Dollar Baby” (Warner Brothers). They also held two out of five nominations for Best Director and two out of five for Best Screenplay.

Undoubtedly a sweeping victory! It’s the first time without any magic from Yang, yet there are so many nominations! Could it be that Flame Films is starting a full-on assault in the awards field beyond box office revenue? Are they taking all the good things for themselves?

“Damn it!” Many who had attended last year’s Toronto International Film Festival swore, was “Crash” actually a hidden gem? Were the judges really that fond of it? I knew it! I knew it! Could a film Yang had his eye on be bad? But knowing that was useless. No one thought “Crash” was a bad film at the time, yet who would dare to compete with the mad “black hole” for a buyout fee of 20 million US dollars, all the way up from a normal distribution fee of 3 million? Who knows if Yang, who never plays by the rules, would go up to 30 million?

Despite having “Paranormal Activity 3”, Jon Filtimel still felt a bit of regret. If only he had raised the price to 20.5 million to beat Yang… The Weinstein brothers were so frustrated they repeatedly said “We’re breaking off from Disney!” They couldn’t stand the suffocation any longer! But then again, they didn’t dare to offer 20 million either… because no matter how you look at it, “Crash” just wasn’t worth that price. The results would be known next week.

“Oh! Wow… nine nominations.” In the dimly lit bedroom, Wang Yang, who had just taken a nap, was woken by his cellphone. After hearing the report from Mark Slant, he glanced at Jessica, who was lying in his arms with a persistent rosy flush of confusion, too enticing for words. Tonight had turned into a rather intense session of magic; she was completely worn out. He asked again, “Are Natalie Portman and Jan Kaczmarek nominated?” Hearing that name, Jessica became much more alert, even more thrilling than the excitement of nine nominations. She languidly blinked her eyes, and hearing his laughter of delight, “That’s great,” she knew they both had been nominated.

Natalie Portman had earned her fourth Golden Globe nomination, for Best Supporting Actress (“Stealing Heart”), while Jan Kaczmarek had secured his third nomination for Best Original Score with “Finding Neverland”. It’s worth mentioning that Clint Eastwood, who personally took charge again following “Mystic River”, was nominated for Best Original Score with “Million Dollar Baby”, and also for Best Director; Meryl Streep, unstoppably, with her effortless performance in “The Manchurian Candidate”, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, though it was unclear how many times she had done so before.

“The Chorus”, “Ambush from Ten Sides”, “The Motorcycle Diaries”, and other films were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, while the highly controversial “The Passion of the Christ” was unsurprisingly eliminated.

“OK, thanks for the hard work, goodbye!” Wang Yang pressed the end call button and dropped his phone, clenched his fist, and looked at her with a smile, “Do you know now?” But Jessica wasn’t as excited as in previous years; she was even a bit unhappy. How could “Prison Break” and “The Big Bang Theory” not be nominated? She nodded, “I heard it all.” Knowing what she was thinking, Wang Yang shook his head, smiling as he pinched her cheek, “Smile! Smile!” He dialed a number with his right hand; it was courteous to wake up the nominees at such a happy moment. Once connected, he heard Nolan’s “Hello” and laughed, “Hi, Chris! Congratulations!”…

“Hi, Jonathan, congratulations!” “Hi, Jim, congratulations!” “Hi, Paul, congratulations!”… Listening to his cheerful laughter, Jessica, whose cheeks he was pinching, couldn’t help but smile as well, looking forward with great anticipation to the day when “Firefly” would also have people congratulating him. She sat up, pulled on a white lace sheer nightdress, and walked to pour him a glass of warm water to moisten his throat.

“Hi, Natalie, congratulations! A beautiful strike!” Hearing Wang Yang’s energetic laughter, Natalie, rolling around in bed, laughed, “Yes, congratulations to me! You’ve had two nominations, and I’ve had four.” On the other end, Wang Yang laughed, “Don’t be so arrogant, keep a low profile!” Natalie’s voice drew out, “OK— but it’s true.” Wang Yang laughed, “Congratulations anyway! Goodbye, I’ll keep on congratulating others.”

Wang Yang took the glass of water from Jessica, said “Thank you,” and immediately dialed another number: “Hi, Jan, congratulations!”…(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my greatest motivation.)