The Best Director

Chapter 393: Chapter 393 I Am Legend (Requesting Monthly Ticket)

“Weekend Report: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Takes the Box Office Throne, ‘Firefly’ Creates Market Miracle”——Boxofficemojo

The weekend of August 5-7, just passed, saw a total of 135 movies playing in North American theaters, with 2 new major releases.

Among them was a moderately budgeted action comedy dud. The TV series adaptation ‘Vanguard of Justice,’ which cost $50 million, received rotten scores of 13%/22%/58% on Rotten Tomatoes. It garnered $19.31 million in 3,785 theaters, averaging $5,104 per venue, a double failure in terms of both reviews and box office performance. This unimpressive debut dealt another blow to Warner Bros this summer, making Jessica Simpson’s first dramatic role on the big screen a poison for her fans, leaving them greatly disappointed.

However, another new movie, the jinxed and down-on-its-luck ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ actually burst forth with an impressive performance! The media and public felt that they shouldn’t be surprised; it was to be expected as long as the credits included “YOUNG-WANG,” it was never entirely without merit.

“‘Assassin’s Creed’ is a tightly-paced, crackling, and yet elegantly poised thriller, tailor-made for summer audiences,” summarized the official Rotten Tomatoes one-liner, capturing the essence of the movie well. It lacks any deeply profound thematic significance or pursuit of artistic content, yet it delivers almost 2 hours of extravagant popcorn fun. “Some excellent visual effects, astonishing action sequences, and some incredible performances—it will find its audience,” commented Richard Roeper of ‘Ebert & Roeper’.

This film isn’t all popcorn and soda. Elements like sister complex, vengeance, and fake mentorship, under John Woo’s direction, resonated with the classical flavor of martial arts drama. “Punches, violence, and emotion, not a minute wasted,” said Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, giving it a thumbs up.

“John Woo has emerged from the mire in a ferocious, intense, gory, and thrilling manner; not only has he found himself, but he has also unleashed unprecedented energy,” Joe Mogenstem of the Wall Street Journal praised. Elizabeth Weisman of the New York Daily News gave it 3.5/5 stars: “You can shut your brain off for two hours, but your adrenals will be busy.” Sam Adams of the Los Angeles Times scored it 4/5 stars: “It may predispose teenagers to an excessive amount of cynicism, but it will also hit most male viewers hard. It’s John Woo’s most unbridled work since he started directing, classic dual pistol shots!”

Of course, part of the credit goes to the meticulously crafted script by Chris Morgan and others, which was full of passion and free of any dragging.

Performance-wise, James McAvoy seized this career-making opportunity with an impressive interpretation that won praise from many film critics and fans. “Poison Ivy Queen” Halle Berry emitted a genuine sex appeal, as her FOX character was much more fitting for her than Catwoman. Rafer Guzman of Newsday said, “Once Halle Berry gets into the relentless fighting, you can’t take your eyes off her.”

“John Woo did not let down the trust of the magical Wang Yang.” “When it comes to recognizing and making use of talent, no one in the film industry today can compare with Wang Yang.” “Basically, give Wang Yang a trash can, and he can fish out gold.”…

In many reviews introducing the background of ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ apart from the comic book author Mark Miller, Wang Yang’s presence is ubiquitous. The planning of commercial films can vary greatly, and often the stylistic tone and suggestions set by them can result in two very different outcomes. Who can ignore the role he played? Outside of ‘Assassin’s Creed’ itself, it’s well known that this was actually Wang Yang’s firm support of John Woo, betting $100 million that the “King of Guns” could once again indulge in a youthful frenzy.

The media and public are very aware of this and are now marveling at it too; it’s precisely because of such bold and breathtaking audacity that the magical Wang Yang is so cool and irreplaceable.

Rotten Tomatoes currently lists 75 reviews for ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ with a freshness rating of 79%/83% from the public and well-known critics, and an audience approval score of 81% (from 94,827 rating users).

While it was not stunning and far from the peak of John Woo’s personal career with “Face/Off”‘s 94% freshness, compared to his previous “triple fail”—”Windtalkers” at 33%, “Bulletproof Monk” at 22% (as a producer), and “Paycheck” at 27%, and even the “quadruple fail” with “Mission: Impossible 2” being a box office hit but only achieving a 57% approval—the King of Guns finally tasted the flavor of fresh red tomatoes again after 8 years, and it was definitely a beautiful comeback.

However, without the “magic halo,” there were serious doubts about whether the various big and small film companies would dare to use him again; but at this successful moment, John Woo and Halle Berry had undoubtedly made a comeback!

Both seemed to have anticipated this. During the promotion phase of the film, every time John Woo was interviewed, he would tell the media, “I’m very grateful to Wang Yang for his trust and motivation. I’m almost 60 years old, and it seems strange to be motivated by a guy in his 20s. In fact, I had already lost the passion for shooting action movies. I felt I didn’t have anything to prove anymore, but Wang Yang reignited that excitement in me with a line from ‘A Better Tomorrow,’ and I still remember how I felt back then.”

Halle Berry would also joke about herself, “A few years ago, Magic Yang handed over the Best Actress trophy to me, and then the so-called ‘Oscar curse’ began. Agreeing to his invitation to star in ‘Assassin’s Creed’ should be the end of it, right?”

This weekend, “Assassin’s Creed” premiered in 3,105 theaters, averaging $12,156 per theater, and grossed a total of 37.74 million US dollars, ranking first on the weekly chart. It was not a very explosive success, but it secured the top position.

It also marked the worst opening weekend performance for Flame Films’ summer movies over the years. It seems that it did not have the commercial potential of “The Hangover 2” or “Furious Cars.” Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations said, “Audiences still have a significant fear towards John Woo and Halle Berry, especially with Berry being on many people’s blacklist. ‘Assassin’s Creed’ needs time to prove itself. Flame Films’ distribution strategy is very correct. By building a good North American reputation and cautiously distributing overseas, this movie will have a bright future.”

Leaving aside the ultimate box office performance of “Assassin’s Creed,” which no one knows yet, even if it all fails, Flame Films has enough capital to arrogantly state, “I can afford to lose that money.”

Entering its eighth week, “Firefly,” relying on the coma incident of Wang Yang, incredibly exploded with a continuous and amazing performance. With a box office trend of -5%, the movie played in 2,650 theaters (down by 255 theaters), averaging $2,814 per theater, and crazily swept away a total of 7.4575 million US dollars, ranking fifth. The North American total box office soared to 623.27 million! And overseas, “Firefly” continues to amass millions of dollars in Japan, striding towards a more distant location.

In its fourth week, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” averaged only $2,962 per theater; in its second week, “Must Love Dogs” only had $2,937; in its eighth week, “Batman Begins” made $528; and in its sixth week, “War of the Worlds” $1,829…

The initially touted 1 billion, 1.8 billion global box office rescue movie “War of the Worlds” now has a North American box office of over 200 million, but it’s just at the level of 200 million. Even with overseas box office added, surpassing 400 million is still far too short of that loud and ambitious target. However, it’s estimated that Paramount’s entire staff never truly believed “War of the Worlds” could reach 1 billion or 1.8 billion; it was just a promotional slogan. They are likely very satisfied with the current results.

“I won’t authorize it, Scott. Frankly, I don’t want to and will not be involved in any capacity.”

In the spacious and elegant chairman’s office of the Flame Films headquarters in Santa Monica, Wang Yang leisurely spun his office chair back and forth, holding the receiver of his landline telephone in his left hand, discussing the topic of “The Magical Director” with the caller, Scott Rudin.

Regarding “The Magical Director,” Wang Yang felt a mix of helplessness, sentiment, curiosity, and amusement—there was no anger or depression. He knew that this was almost an inevitable event. He had heard long ago that someone wanted to put him on the big screen. He had neither the ability nor the desire to control it. If movies like “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” could find producers and distributors, why not Magic Yang? As long as a film company believes there’s a profit to be made, movies like “Silicon Valley Legends” (Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates) and “The Magical Director” will appear.

The difference this time was that Paramount was serious, Scott Rudin was a notch above those third-rate producers who were only in it for a quick buck. However, Ben Mezrich had agreed to Paramount’s film adaptation without telling him, which seriously angered Wang Yang. Don’t you consider me a friend? Then, remembering that he had been in a coma at that time, he calmed down a bit, but no matter what, he would not give the official authorization for “The Marvelous Director.”

As an industry insider, Wang Yang knew much more about what a movie was than Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, and he was well aware of who Scott Rudin was. As John G. Dunn’s “The Producers and the Monsters” aptly put it: “Overweight, arrogant, scruffy beard, thunderous laughter, the enforcer among aides, unimaginable cruelty, unbelievable humor, a merry demon…”

“The Marvelous Director” was not a biopic or a documentary, but a feature film adapted from a short story. If Paramount thought the audience would buy into it, they might even treat him the way Jeff Ma was whitewashed in “Winning 21.” Such a film, aiming for a tone of “youth, restlessness, sex,” would become more complex after team discussions and artistic processing; deleting or altering to add drama and depth to the story was quite normal.

In short, the film’s beginning, development, and ending would align with reality, but all the details, including the characters involved and their personalities, would be dramatically crafted. That meant they could remove Jessica, they could swap out the female lead of “Paranormal Activity” for Rachel, anything for the sake of creative “it’s supposed to be like this,” for box office and awards. Wang Yang knew no matter what he said, the Wang Yang in “The Marvelous Director” would still be a product of the director, screenwriter, etc. If they needed him to be a playboy, he would be a playboy; if a geek, then a geek, although most likely he would be based on his public image.

“That’s truly a pity, Marvelous Yang. Your story is really compelling… I understand why you don’t want to be involved.”

Over the phone, Scott Rudin’s voice sounded genuinely regretful. This 47-year-old top producer had been prominent in Hollywood since the 1980s and had become one of the heaviest hitters among Hollywood producers, adept at both mainstream commercial films and controversial art films. In recent years, he had produced a slew of successful films including “The Truman Show,” “Wonder Boys,” “The Hours,” “Rock School,” “Stealing Heart,” many as the lead producer.

He had been working with Paramount for 15 years. Following a leadership shakeup at Paramount last year and the resignation of his close friend and former chairman and CEO Sherry Lansing, Rudin had decided to leave. However, he still needed to complete this film for Paramount since “The Marvelous Director” had been in the works for some time.

In Rudin’s view, “The Marvelous Director” was the kind of film that would do well at the box office and had the potential to be an Oscar contender, and this made him nervous. Scott Rudin then asked, “So, do you have any suggestions?”

“I suggest, I hope a Chinese actor will play me,” Wang Yang said with utmost seriousness. This country classified people as Asian, but of course, he would prefer a Chinese actor to play a Chinese role, as Koreans and Japanese would feel odd. Scott Rudin, however, couldn’t guarantee it: “We’ll do our best.” Wang Yang scoffed unhappily and continued sternly, “Also, very important! I know you’ve been gathering information about my high school days, and Mezrich’s novel mentioned my high school girlfriend. I went crazy after losing her, that’s not hard to find out, right? Ha!” Rudin immediately chuckled along.

Wang Yang laughed. In fact, his love life had already been thoroughly exposed by the gossip-hungry media, especially since “500 Days of Summer” began. The narrative of “white, her name is Helen, they had a good relationship” had morphed into various romantic escapades that were dug up, perhaps by some friend who had betrayed him. Helen’s cool face flashed before him, and Wang Yang warned in a stern voice: “I hope you won’t disturb her! She’s married now; don’t stir up trouble! As for the movie, I guess there’ll just be some flashbacks, so better to delete that character altogether!”

“Yang, you know these aren’t my decisions to make; the screenwriters and directors will decide later on…” Scott Rudin was still noncommittal, appearing feeble.

Actually, this gay fatso was “The Devil Wears Prada,” who once fired 30 assistants in 15 months. Just as Wang Yang was always on the “best bosses” list in the media, Rudin was always on the “worst bosses” list. His trademark was insane, rude bellowing, and cold, merciless mockery. However, being a slick, veteran producer, he naturally had his ways of dealing with big shots, and at this moment, Rudin was laughing heartily: “And it’s not very likely that she’ll be cut out; she’s a key point.”

“What key, Rudin! You understand that once the film is made, people will believe it’s all true. Don’t embarrass my wife, my friends, or past girlfriends, OK?” Wang Yang said angrily, sitting up straight. This was his biggest fear about the whole issue! “The Marvelous Director” wasn’t a Disney teen movie; it aimed for the Oscars, which could involve implications that he was still pining for Helen, that Jessica was a stand-in for his affections, or that he had a sexual relationship with Rachel…

You should know that in Mezrich’s story, unlike Steve Jobs with Bill Gates, the friendship, rivalry, romantic competition, deception, and betrayal between two impulsive young women might well become a focal point. Yang+Jessica+Rachel, isn’t that a gossip selling point that would attract movie fans? Moreover, following the dramatic technique where the successful side in reality belongs to the deceitful camp, the actress playing Jessica will need to practice her evil smirk.

A thought flashed by, and Wang Yang couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Seizing the moment when Scott Rudin was evasive, he said with utmost seriousness, “You’d better not provoke me because if you do, I won’t sit back and do nothing. At the very least, I’ll snipe it.”

“Magical Yang, I am so sorry! If ‘The Magical Director’ has offended you, I apologize right now,” Scott Rudin quickly tried to appease Wang Yang’s anger. The young master director’s ominous words had somewhat intimidated the golden producer. Just look at ‘Sin City’, which was unexpectedly defeated by ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ and couldn’t grab a single championship; “The Wrath of Magical Yang” was not easy to bear. Scott Rudin then sincerely said, “This really is a very good story, Magical Yang, you’re a legend! Seriously… you should get used to these things; it’s not just us who want to make a movie about your legendary story.”

Wang Yang helplessly scratched his head, propped his plaster-casted right hand on the office desk, and frowned, “Scott, I really don’t want to disrupt your creativity. I’m not that petty and narrow-minded. I’m actually curious to see how the movie turns out, and I’ll watch it with my family later.” He paused, then continued, “You understand? Personally, I don’t care, you can do whatever you like, but please don’t involve women in this.”

Scott Rudin agreed profusely but did not promise anything. Deflated, Wang Yang let out a sigh, knowing he was mostly speaking in vain. The other party wouldn’t be so easily deterred by a few threats, especially the cunning and ferocious Rudin, especially when ‘The Magical Director’ was backed by big companies and big investments. Just look at the portrayal of the villainous Bill Gates in ‘Silicon Valley Legends’! The only solace he could take was saying, “Some things need to be done in moderation; you have a family too.”

“Yes, yes, I understand your concerns, Magical Yang… our ultimate goal is to make a classic movie,” Scott Rudin diplomatically indicated no guarantees.

I knew it! Wang Yang rolled his eyes as his cellphone suddenly rang. He abruptly ended the call with a sense of finality, “OK, then there’s nothing left to say. Let’s leave it at that! I hope the Wang Yang on the screen will be handsome enough.” But in reality, Wang Yang didn’t think anyone could play him well – he’s that handsome… Thinking about the struggle of casting for ‘MIT-21-TEAM’, even if ‘The Magical Director’s’ casting call included the whole of North America and actors around 20 years old, maybe they would find someone suitable, and maybe not.

“What a pity! I got to know you too late, otherwise Natalie Portman would have also appeared on the big screen, how fun that would have been.”

Listening to Natalie’s laughter over the phone, Wang Yang shrugged with a smile, “If that was the case, Ellen Page could play you, that’s quite a good idea.” Natalie sighed, “Couldn’t a supermodel play me?” Wang Yang disagreed, “That would be deceiving consumers.” They laughed for a bit, and then Natalie curiously asked, “Did you give them any advice?” Wang Yang shook his head, “It wouldn’t have been any use; let nature take its course!” Natalie hummed in acknowledgment, then brought up business, “Shooting for ‘500 Days of Summer’ is starting this week, but I still have a lot of issues figuring out Summer’s mindset.”

“What kind of issues?” Faced with one question after another, Wang Yang discussed them with Natalie for a good while until it was time for his meeting, prompting another end to their call. Hearing about the meeting, Natalie instantly remembered something and asked excitedly, “What kind of dog movie is Flame Film making? Will it star a Yorkshire? How about my Charlie?” Wang Yang got up and walked out of the office, smiling into the phone, “It’s probably not a Yorkshire, this time we’re targeting large breeds.”

In the bright conference room, the top executives of Flame Film sat around a long table, with Wang Yang presiding as chairman at the head, and people like Mark Slant on either side.

“The filming rights for ‘I Am Legend’ are still with Warner Brothers,” said Mark Slant with a troubled expression. Wang Yang was contemplating something as he scanned the attendees, “Is there a way to buy them?” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)