The Best Director

Chapter 485: Chapter 485: Night View

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble—

A series of thunderous roars of helicopters echoed through the New York night sky, where the dark night was lit up like day by the dazzling lights of buildings; the area around the Brooklyn Bridge was abuzz with noise, not just from the usual traffic, but also because the filming of a movie had turned the shoreline and East River ferry terminal into a bustling market.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz…” Thousands of extras crowded the filming area. Even before filming had started, they were playing on their phones or chatting and laughing in small groups. A few young girls excitedly discussed among themselves, “I just saw Wang Yang, I called out to him, and he smiled at me.” “Really? That’s awesome!” “Do you think I’ll get a close-up shot?” “I can’t wait to see myself on the big screen!”… There was no atmosphere of escape; instead, it felt like a grand party was being held.

On the water, the Coast Guard patrol boat “Cutter,” utility boats, and a multitude of other vessels were all ready, their lights casting white gleams on the water’s surface; helicopters circled in the sky, some were “props” for scene shots, others were carrying film crew members; taxis, police cars, and other vehicles filled the roadways, and a few military Stryker armored vehicles stood by…

This was the first night of filming the evacuation scene for the crew of “I Am Legend”. Because a movie is made up of individual shots, and there is limited time for filming in one night, not all personnel and props would be on set at the same time. For instance, tonight’s plan was to film shots of the crowd moving, so the borrowed military Black Hawk helicopters and Coast Guard Dolphin helicopters were absent from the set. The crew expected to complete this massive scene within a week.

Despite not being fully assembled, it was still an absolutely massive undertaking involving, in addition to the extras, over two hundred crew members from the National Guard, anxious officials from various New York State and New York City government departments, and the media journalists, paparazzi, and even movie fans who had heard the news…

Such a massive effort obviously came at a cost, with the filming site set to consume over 5 million US dollars, and that’s before counting the cost of CGI special effects for scenes such as missiles destroying the Brooklyn Bridge. The production costs were soaring.

The aerial bird’s-eye view shots and top-down shots had to be filmed separately from the ground evacuation shots. Valerie Fishter led the team for the aerial shots of the scenery, which required no acting; they just followed the director’s choreographed movements of the boats and helicopters and aimed for the intended effects. Wang Yang personally controlled the camera on the ground, meaning, in other words, that tonight was an evening of separate shooting actions.

Filming such massive scenes was no easy task. Just directing the movement of the crowd was headache-inducing, especially when not using a mockumentary style. Wang Yang’s style of composition paid great attention to a sense of breadth, even more so after enjoying the IMAX giant screen. How to capture the entire evacuation scene? How to depict the atmosphere of panic, bewilderment, fear, and helplessness of a doomsday escape? How to reveal the humanity of people in desperate situations? These were all challenges for the director and the cinematographer.

However, this wasn’t their first time filming large-scale scenes; Wang Yang and his team were well-practiced.

“We must aim to complete this in 4 nights, we can do it! Do you understand?” At this moment, next to a camera set up on the side of the road, Wang Yang was rallying Nancy Reno and many other assistant directors with words of encouragement. They were off to instruct the extras, convey intentions, and manage different camera positions. Wang Yang also called over the lighting crew to give instructions, then he raised the high-power megaphone and, looking at the bustling scene before him, said earnestly, “Good evening, everyone, I am Wang Yang, and we’re about to start filming…”

Everyone fell silent to listen to the director speak, those young girls in the crowd stood on tiptoe, craning their necks, nearly pushing through the throng to burst into an early sprint, as if to preemptively perform their escape.

“Action——!” Soon, at Wang Yang’s command, the East River ferry terminal was instantly bustling with noise as the extras began to make sad and noisy sounds, moving forward along the planned route. Actors playing soldiers yelled loudly to keep order with guns in hand, Will Smith, wrapped in a coat, carried his daughter Willow, who held a small German Shepherd, with Jada Pinkett Smith following close behind, hurriedly walking under the escort of several soldiers…

Moonset at sunrise, sunset at moonrise, the towering Brooklyn Bridge stood as always.

The first night passed, the second night passed, Wang Yang spent the days shooting “The Deceased” and the nights filming “I Am Legend,” with a packed schedule. By the third night of continuous filming for this scene of “I Am Legend,” the entertainment media had been reporting the “spectacular” event, and photos from the scene taken by journalists were spreading. Many fans shouted spoiler alerts while browsing through them—Was the Smith family going to escape from Manhattan? Would they succeed?

“NO, NO——!!” Near the big bridge, under the night sky, only two hundred extras were working that night, with the camera focused on Will Smith looking up at the sky. A red Dolphin helicopter circled overhead as he held Sam, his face twisted in agony and madness as he yelled out, tears welling in his eyes.

“CUT!” At that moment, Wang Yang called for a stop. According to the script and storyboard, an out-of-control helicopter was about to collide with the Dolphin helicopter carrying Neville’s wife and daughter. He wanted the audiences to feel that bone-chilling pain, for it would make them empathize with the loneliness, despair, and oppression even more.

Even though Will’s performance tugged at Wang Yang’s heartstrings, he felt something was missing and immediately realized, “Not crazy enough, too rational!” Now that he had Keke, he fully understood the feelings of being a parent and could sense the immense sadness of Neville. The thought was unbearable. He approached Smith and said, “Will, you need to amp it up! More grief! And your yelling is too steady, remember to tremble!…”

Will Smith nodded expressionlessly, evidently still immersed in Neville’s grief. As a good father to three children, this part of the role didn’t require the director to analyze the character, and Wang Yang was aware of this. Will understood Neville’s feelings at the moment; the issue was just how to arouse and express them.

“No, Neville should completely lose his mind! He should throw himself toward them!” Wang Yang suddenly changed his mind. It’s true that Neville was a scientist, but he was also a loving husband and father. He shouldn’t just stand there frozen; the previous approach was wrong.

Wang Yang glanced around, not bothering to explain to the somewhat puzzled Gosman, and shouted toward Nancy, who was wearing a fisherman’s hat: “Get two military extras over here, and have them hold back Will later. Make sure they don’t appear in the wrong order!” He looked at the helicopter in the sky and continued, “Tell the helicopter to fly away!” He patted the head of little Sam in Will’s arms, instructing, “Will, let go later and let it jump down, we’ll shoot a few more close-up shots …”

“Okay!” Nancy, Will, and the others all responded affirmatively, and Wang Yang turned back to discuss with Fist the changes in shot composition due to the characters’ reactions, had a few words with Gosman, and soon, the set was alive with the sounds of “Action.” @@novelbin@@

“NO…NO—NO————!!” Will Smith’s face twisted, his mouth trembled, and tears surged out instantly. His face was ashen as he recklessly dashed towards the shore. Little German Shepherd Sam fell to the ground, several soldiers grabbed him, crying out sadly, “Colonel, Colonel!”…

The bright moonlight streamed into the baby room. For several nights in a row, Keke hadn’t seen the tall and beloved figure before bedtime; this was very unusual for the little baby. You see, every night, the family of three would burst into laughter, play with toys, play games, or teach speech. But these past nights, the Wang household was exceptionally quiet.

“Queen Regina would often ask the mirror ‘Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?'” Jessica sat beside the baby’s bed, telling the cliché fairy tale. Keke uttered a sound, she turned a page of the book, and continued with a smile, “The mirror said ‘Of course it’s you, Your Majesty! You are the fairest of them all!'”

In fact, no matter how late Wang Yang came home, his first course of action was always to check on the baby, to see her, to kiss her. However, little Angel wouldn’t budge from sleep tonight, but Keke just wouldn’t fall asleep. Jessica talked until she was parched and was about to drink some water when she suddenly heard Keke shout, “Daddy!” She blurted out, “Daddy’s working.”

What!? Jessica, realizing what happened, widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “Oh my! Little sweetheart, did you just speak?” Keke merely responded with a sweet chuckle, “WOO——” The very sure Jessica was ecstatic with joy, thinking that this would be a huge surprise!!

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that Wang Yang finally returned home to the Upper West Side, dragging his slightly weary feet through the living room. He was surprised to find both his angels still awake and couldn’t help asking, “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Welcome home!” Jessica, holding Keke, rose from the couch, her pretty face beaming with a triumphant smile. She said mysteriously, “Keke… can talk now!” Keke, being clever for once, shouted crisply, “Yaya—Mama!” Wang Yang burst out with a “Wow,” his entire being overwhelmed with joy. The repressive emotions from the night’s filming were swept away. He opened his arms and walked toward them, laughing loudly, “Haha, sweetheart, congratulations! She called you first! Good job, baby!!”

“No! That’s not it… Although I wish it were, she actually called daddy first.” Jessica quickly clarified. Oh God, why couldn’t Keke get it right? She saw Keke stretching out her little hands, seemingly beckoning him to hold her, crying out, “Mama! Mama!” Jessica looked bewilderedly at the baby, then at Wang Yang.

Wang Yang also stopped in his tracks, not hugging his wife and daughter, a bizarre thought crossing his mind: “She’s not calling me Mama, is she?” Clearly, Jessica had the same thought; with her left hand she held Keke securely, and with her right, she pointed to herself, “Sweetie, I am Mama.” But Keke shouted, “Daddy!”

This was a mess! Both Wang Yang and Jessica felt an urge to facepalm with a sigh; they had confused Keke!

“No, no, no, we shouldn’t doubt that she got it wrong. She is so smart; at 8 months old, she understands how to say daddy and mama!” Wang Yang quickly reassessed, deciding to be adamant that Keke was correct and to simply revel in the happiness, planning to correct it later. Jessica thought the same way. She exclaimed with overstated joy, “Oh, my heavens!! She can call both of us!” Both were finally able to express the elation they had been concealing for days, showering their daughter with kisses and praise, laughing and complimenting her non-stop.

Keke, tickled by their enthusiasm, giggled and cooed, her little face blooming like a beautiful flower. If only she were a bit older, she would surely ask, “What are you so excited about? It’s not the first time I’ve called you!”

Whether little Angel called daddy or mama first, whether she got it wrong or not, became a very controversial new topic at the Wang’s recently.

Meanwhile, in just four evenings, “I Am Legend” completed the massive scene of the evacuation of the citizens! Yet, for the night scenes still to be filmed by the crew, this was only the beginning. (