The Best Director

Chapter 490: Chapter 490: The 11th Wrap!

Under the azure sky, Mathilda gazed curiously at the many adults bustling about the park, transporting some large object. Despite having seen it many times before, her face still expressed wonder as she toddled over—Daddy was over there!

Today was a great day, as “The Deceased” wrapped up filming. After shooting a few simple exterior scenes, the busy crew would finally complete this incredible task.

For this occasion, both babies and their mother came to visit the set to join in on the excitement; Michael Pitt, who had finished his work early, also arrived with his fiancée Jamie Bochert, and everyone was just waiting for the moment of celebration.

“Yah yah—!” Seeing Mathilda walking with big strides, Keke, who sat in the baby carriage, became so anxious that she started crying out. Turning her head toward the tall figure chatting and laughing with others, she pointed at Mathilda and yelled, “Mommy, Mommy!” Michelle only then noticed that Mathilda had wandered off and quickly followed her, calling out “Sweetheart” with a laugh; Jessica squatted down to smooth Keke’s little face that was filled with confusion and anxiety, saying with a smile, “Mathilda is a month and a half older than you. When you’re 10 months old, mommy and daddy will teach you to walk.”

The little Angel had already learned to stand firmly on her feet, and was just one step away from learning to walk. However, Wang Yang and Jessica were not in a hurry to teach her, naturally to protect her bones. It wouldn’t be too late to start teaching her at 10 months, although Keke was naturally strong.

“Ah ah! Mathilda!” Keke, not sure if she couldn’t understand or just didn’t want to accept it, kicked her legs and waved her arms, as if wanting to jump out of the baby carriage. She pouted her lips, on the verge of tears, and kept fussing and calling, “Mommy, Mommy! Mommy uuuh…” She eventually cried out, though her clear big eyes had no tears.

Ever since Mathilda had been punched a few times, she had always been in a weaker position. If there was a leader among the babies, it was definitely the chubby Keke. While displaying her angelic side, she gradually started to show more of her little witch side. When Jessica held Mathilda, Keke would definitely vie for attention, yelling and punching angrily at Mathilda with strong possessiveness; but when Michelle held her, Mathilda didn’t dare say much, just looking pitifully at her mother, thus expressing her displeasure.

As a result, now that Mathilda was walking around with such an air of confidence, Keke felt uneasy. She wasn’t quite sure why she felt this way, but she wanted it to stop!

“Shh! Mmmma…” Jessica understood her daughter’s feelings, but walking couldn’t just happen because she wanted it to. She lifted Keke up and gave her a big kiss on the cheek, soothing her with a soft voice, “Don’t cry, daddy is working, and the film is about to wrap up.” Keke stopped crying but still pouted her little mouth, looking ahead in the direction her mother pointed. Hearing the call of “Action!” Jessica couldn’t help but smile and a long sigh of relief escaped her—this concurrent shooting period hadn’t messed up, and after wrap-up, he wouldn’t have to work so hard anymore.

The camera was rolling quickly, focusing on the somber face of Heath Ledger as he silently walked over and sat down on a bench, looking at the distant laughter and playing of children and revealing a complex smile.

This was Wang Yang’s style; no matter how oppressive, he always created a hint of warmth and longing. Without the power of beauty, how could one hate sin and mourn the passage of life? Yet, witnessing these untouchable joys often made those in the dark feel even more oppressed.

“CUT!” Wang Yang shouted loudly from beside the camera, raising the microphone high and looking around with a smile, “We’re done!” From July up until October, after battling it out for three months, the film finally wrapped up! All this work, interior scenes, exterior scenes, time differences, coordination… it really wasn’t easy! He felt a strong urge to shout out loud, and so he did, yelling, “YEAH!! Thank you, everyone—”

“YEAH!!” “Hoo hoo—” Everyone burst into exuberant cheers, sweeping away the gloom of the set. Goodbye to all that repression and loneliness! Held by their mother at the edge of the set, Keke and Mathilda also laughed joyously, what a delight!

The most silent was Heath Ledger, who hadn’t yet come out of his role. He even felt like swearing, thinking of that word which often appeared in “The Deceased”. But as soon as he saw his fiancée and daughter’s smiling faces, his aching heart quickly warmed. Realizing that the film had wrapped up, Heath felt both an empty sigh and a mishmash of thoughts, seemingly gaining a clearer understanding of himself, more so than what “Brokeback Mountain” or “Firefly” had brought him.

Because his chemistry with “Billy” was the strongest, resonating with him mentally and physically in many, many ways. He had the life “Billy” dreamt of; then why was it not completely satisfying? Why didn’t he know how to cherish it? There was much for Heath to ponder on, and for now, he only knew that his wedding needed to be scheduled soon, and that he would definitely have to do more boxing in the future…

“Thank you, Heath! Well done!” Wang Yang rushed over and hugged Heath, then laughed and continued running towards Michael Pitt.

Michael Pitt also had many emotions, “Colin” was the best and most selfless role he had ever played. He had enjoyed the true pleasure of acting by entering another person’s inner world; it was an extraordinary performance! He said to Jamie with a smile, “I have a feeling they’ll say I was stunning this time.” Before he finished talking, he was embraced by Wang Yang, then got a pat on the chest as Wang Yang said with a laugh, “Thank you, Michael! You delivered an Oscar-worthy performance! Perfect!”

“Huff huff—” Nancy was still cheering non-stop, gradually releasing the pressure from her body. Looking back, it was intense! After this job, she was confident she could schedule any film shoot perfectly, saving quite a bit of cost. As the first assistant director for “simultaneous shooting,” the miraculous Yang’s working schedule had been coordinated and arranged by her and various departments, as well as participating in desk work and running around on set. It had been like this for three months, and that too in coordination with another film crew!

Adding the previous preparation period, she was nearly worn out. In fact, in this last month, she had bouts of dizziness from time to time. Now that the film had wrapped, with the excitement fading, Nancy’s long-weary eyelids suddenly sagged, and she longed to sleep for a long time!

“Thank you, Nancy!” Wang Yang, who had come back, hugged this important assistant; without her outstanding performance, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. He said with a smile, “Thank you! Honestly, I don’t want you to become a director anymore.” Nancy was too exhausted to do anything but smile weakly, and Wang Yang patted her shoulder, “But you definitely will, with your talent and hard work, how could you not? Rest well this weekend, uh… for two days! Don’t forget we still have post-production work.” @@novelbin@@

“How could I forget?” Nancy covered her forehead, wincing in pain but also smiling. “Yang—!!” At that moment, Harry George opened his arms wide towards Wang Yang, his chubby face beaming with joy, feeling as good as ever after completing the photography for another film! Better, in fact! People under high-speed work have two states, one is being frantic and bad, the other is smooth and comfortable. With the director’s guidance, the entire crew found their rhythm, and the chubby guy was naturally in the latter.

“This has been a great film shoot, ladies and gentlemen, a great film shoot!” Wang Yang spoke loudly into the microphone, skillfully dodging the chubby guy’s bear hug, scanned the people around him, and continued with a laugh, “In these three months, we’ve faced many challenges, a fickle director, and two babies who were always fighting on set… But we did it, we created a miracle!”

“Hehe!” A happy chuckle rose from the crowd, and Keke, sucking her thumb, laughed obliviously, not realizing she was being teased. With so many people laughing, the leading baby laughed too, and Mathilda had no reason not to. Wang Yang spoke with anticipation, “The Deceased won’t be long before we see it, not in a year or two… No, in two months, before Christmas! Guys, there’s no Firefly this year; it’s our chance, every chance!”

Amongst applause and laughter, the crew of “The Deceased” was announced disbanded, everyone returning home with strong faith and good wishes for the film. Not Wang Yang though, he still had to shoot “I Am Legend” that night.

Just three months! “The Deceased” had wrapped up, and because it was part of “simultaneous shooting,” the actual total shooting time was estimated to be only a month and a half, roughly the same as shooting a low-budget horror film. It had to be said, the efficiency was frighteningly high.

The media were all expressing amazement at this news; the seemingly impossible tasks seemed like a piece of cake for the miracle Yang. Of course, after all the praise, there were plenty of sinister reports as well. Finishing shooting didn’t necessarily mean it was a good film; until “The Deceased” was seen on the big screen, it was nothing!

The higher this sentiment, the higher the fans’ anticipation, eagerly awaiting the look and performance of “The Deceased”! Fans in China were among the most expectant. “Infernal Affairs” had already set a release for December 22 to 29 worldwide, allowing audiences everywhere to see it in theaters by New Year’s Day.

WB’s version of “Infernal Affairs” included scenes mocking Chinese officials, as well as bloodiness, sex, and profanity, and thus failed to be introduced to the Chinese mainland market. This should “not happen again.” Wang Yang obviously didn’t include any scenes mocking Chinese officials in his version; there were hardly any gangster scenes, and given his sensitive identity, he couldn’t do that, nor did he have any interest. He believed Chinese officials wouldn’t be foolish to that extent, especially considering this is not some comedy movie.

Of course, with the film not yet finished, it hadn’t passed the review, but Flame Film wasn’t worried at all. Since “MIT-21-TEAM,” there hasn’t been a Wang Yang-directed film that hasn’t been released in mainland China.

After wrap-up, the related personnel immediately shifted to the post-production phase. With little time left for “The Deceased,” no one dared slacken even a bit, and its promotion had already started. (