The Best Director

Chapter 504: Chapter 504: The Miracle Continues

Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, landing on the faces of passersby in the streets, feeling cool and icy. On the 10th day of entering 2007, New York finally welcomed the season’s first snow, the latest first snow in 129 years.

The North American box office rankings for distributors in 2006 had naturally settled, and 2005’s overall champion Flame Film continued to perform miraculously, releasing 9 new films/12 films, without a single failure. On the contrary, astonishing box office numbers made others envious, and FF continued to carry the flag for independent film companies!

Last year, 155 film companies (+18) released a total of 610 films (+59). It must be said that last year’s good market conditions attracted more investors to the film market. Although it didn’t look as grandiose as last year, the total North American box office trend was on the rise, reaching a high of $9.72 billion.

Among them, Bullz-Eye productions made an unrated comedy film “The Essentials,” which received a box office of $783 in a single theater, becoming the double bottom-dweller of the year, and with the average ticket price in ’06 being $6.55, an average of 119.54 people watched “The Essentials” in front of the big screen—not even enough to fill one showing. IFC Films, which made a name for itself with “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” in previous years, went crazy this year trying out the release of 29/30 films. Unfortunately, not a single one was a gem. They took up a 0.1% share, with the highest-grossing one being the documentary “Wordplay” at $3.12 million.

Small independent companies are always fluctuating, rising, and falling. A bestselling movie can make them overnight millionaires, while a devastating flop can lead them to declare bankruptcy. A year has gone by; the mainstream distributors remain the same, with no supernova emerging.

Last year, there were 11 companies that received more than one hundred million in box office, with 4 companies having a market share of over 10%, also being the four that owned the $1 billion box office: Sony/Columbia at $1.56 billion, Flame at $1.426 billion, Buena Vista (Disney) at $1.412 billion, and 20th Century Fox at $1.079 billion.

Sony/Columbia continued to reign in terms of release volume, with 26 new films/33 films in total, ranking first in both categories; followed by 20th Century Fox at 22/26, Warner Bros at 20/26, Buena Vista (Disney) at 18/24, Universal at 17/21, Paramount at 17/20, Lionsgate at 17/19, Weinstein at 9/15, MGM/UA at 13/13, New Line at 10/13, and Flame at 9/12.

Compared to 2005, the landscape for distributors had, of course, changed. Focus, Fox Searchlight, and Warner Independent fell out of the billion-dollar club due to a lack of hit films; Miramax Films suffered a massive shakeup, falling to 16th place with nine new films garnering just $45.88 million in box office, hardly a success. Weinstein was slowly “returning” to the fore, MGM continued its stark decline, and New Line was increasingly struggling. DreamWorks and Dimension both closed their doors due to acquisitions; however, Rogue Pictures, bolstered by films like “Jet Li’s Fearless” and “Fearless,” among other four films, became a small nouveau riche, occupying the 12th place with a total box office of $65.44 million…

During the 365 days from January 1 to December 31 last year, tickets for Flame Film were being sold every day. In terms of old films, “Brokeback Mountain”, with a North American box office of $86.32 million/$1.85 billion globally, contributed $69.77 million in ’06; “500 Days of Summer” with $236 million/$397 million, added $93.82 million; and “Firefly,” which swept the Oscars and was re-released, recorded another $3.05 million in North American box office ($653 million/$1.82 billion globally).

With three old films standing tall and nine new films naturally not needing any introduction, as some fans put it, FF is a monster, and Jessica is a monster!

The joyfully amusing “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” earned $203 million domestically and $923 million globally; the hilariously crazy “The Hangover Part III” raked in $214 million domestically and $528 million globally; the singing and dancing “Mamma Mia!” eventually grossed $185 million domestically and $702 million globally; the wildly destructive “Furious Cars 2” earned $216 million domestically and $635 million globally; one of the “05 Sundance treasures,” “The Illusionist,” ended with a North American box office of $95.54 million and an incomplete international release of $68.09 million; the blood-spurting “Saw IV” made $98.75 million domestically and $192 million worldwide.@@novelbin@@

There were also three crossover films from the year before still in theaters. “Little Miss Sunshine” contributed $51.8 million; “The Prestige,” with a thirty-one-day run, brought in a nearly final $91.36 million; and “The Deceased,” after just ten days, grossed an impressive $103.5 million!

In total for the year, FF triumphantly took home $1.426 billion in North American box office earnings. The highest-grossing individual film made $216 million, with an average of $118 million per film; an average of $140 million for each new release! Undoubtedly the champion, FF easily retained its title. Without counting promotional and distribution costs, the total production cost for FF’s new films in ’06 (including the purchase fees for outright acquisitions) was $505 million, with a total of $1.26 billion earned from the North American box office! That’s over $3.5 billion globally! A hugely profitable business.

Even though FF lost the annual championship throne and became the runner-up, it actually maintained its peak level from ’05. As an independent film company, it astonishingly took second place with the smallest distribution among mainstream companies. How could that not amaze and incite envy in others!?

The North American box office Top-10 for ’06, although FF now had multiple positions, still did not break into the top three. The rankings were as follows: first place, “Pirates of the Caribbean 3,” $423 million; second place, “Cars,” $244 million; third place, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” $234 million; fourth place, “The Da Vinci Code,” $217 million; fifth place, “Furious Cars 2”; sixth place, “The Hangover Part III”; seventh place, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”; eighth place, “Superman Returns,” $200 million; ninth place, “Happy Feet,” $186 million; tenth place, “Mamma Mia!”

But talking about the global box office Top-10, the rankings shifted to: first place, “Pirates of the Caribbean 3,” $1.066 billion; second place, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs”; third place, “The Da Vinci Code,” $758 million; fourth place, “Mamma Mia!”; fifth place, “Furious Cars 2”; sixth place, “Casino Royale”; seventh place, “The Hangover Part III”; eighth place, “Cars”; ninth place, “X-Men: The Last Stand”; tenth place, “Mission: Impossible 3.”

According to the analysis and forecasts by media such as the Wall Street Journal, of course, without their elaborate explanations, the movie-going public knows that for a very long time to come, FF Films will be a gigantic flag in the US and global film entertainment industry, growing ever more robust along with its expansion. As for how long it can maintain this terrifying state of zero losses, no one knows. Because it is a unique Supernatural Phenomenon, even authorities like Forbes struggle to give a clear valuation for the Flame Group.

The 2007 film release schedule for FF Films is already packed. Eagerly anticipated by fans, our nine new films include: “The Green Hornet,” “Iron Man,” “I Am Legend,” “Assassin’s Creed 2,” “Bridesmaids,” “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale,” “Step Up 3D,” “Saw V,” and “Marley & Me.”

“Yay! SNOW! NO——!” With a thin, white layer of snow blanketing the garden and joyous laughter, Keke reached out to catch the dancing snowflakes—it was her first time seeing snow and she learned a new word.

The first snowfall was brief, but once it started, it paved the way for the second and third snowfalls. The spacious garden gradually gathered some snow. Danny lazily snoozed away, and despite the temperature drop, Keke dressed not too heavily, just a pink jacket, cotton trousers, and a pair of black gloves for playing in the snow. She ran around jubilantly and curiously glanced over at where her parents were not far off, wondering what they were up to.

“Darling, make it a bit bigger.” “We’re out of snow.” “Why not scrape some from the front yard over here?” “There’s hardly much, I think we’ll just make a mini version.” “Oh! This darn weather… My God, Keke’s first snowman.” “In a few days, we’ll go to Park City to play in the snow. Did you know that the El Niño phenomenon over the Pacific is the main reason for this year’s warm winter in the US, especially affecting the Northeast?” “Oh! How did you know that?” “Weather forecast show, don’t you pay attention?” “Isn’t that what you’re for? Haha!”…

Wang Yang and Jessica laughed and chatted while stacking the meager snow they had scraped together into a mini snowman. They had to hurry before it melted away. Keke ran over and examined the little snowy creature, stretching out her small hands to pat it and saying, “Pat pat, pat pat!” Wang Yang and Jessica both laughed. He explained with a chuckle, “Be gentle! It’s a snowman, your new friend. Its name is…” Jessica arched her delicate eyebrows, and Wang Yang immediately had an idea: “Diane! Diane Jackson.”

“Diane, Annie.” Keke repeated the words but her little face didn’t show much excitement. She didn’t understand the meaning of this two-layered structure made of snow?

“It’s not finished yet, so don’t destroy it, okay?” Wang Yang said with a smile, caressing the baby’s head, and after exchanging a few words with Jessica, he and Keke went off to find some branches to make arms and a nose, while she was in charge of finding eyes, a mouth, a scarf, and a hat. As they split up, Jessica asked with a puzzled smile, “Who’s that? Diane Annie?” Wang Yang replied, “A British director. Her animated short film ‘The Snowman’ was brilliant—I remember it got an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film, but sadly, she died of cancer over a decade ago.” Jessica’s face immediately filled with sorrow. “May she rest in peace in heaven.”

Soon after, their masterpiece was complete! A miniature snowman stood on the garden lawn. Keke circled around the shorter Diane, and seeing the snowman’s upturned mouth smiling happily, she suddenly laughed, “Hahaha!” She seemed to have discovered a huge surprise, looking back and forth between them and the snowman.

“Ha ha!” Watching Keke’s cheerful laughter, like a little bird, Wang Yang smiled, showing his white teeth. The feeling of making a child happy was truly fantastic! Jessica leaned on him, her smile as wide as the snowman’s.

As time went by, ‘The Deceased’ was now in its fourth week at the cinemas. During the New Year’s week of December 29 to January 4, it earned $44.82 million at the box office (-45%), failing to remain the North American weekly champion. The reason was that ‘Night at the Museum’ had a strong second week, earning $61.04 million (-22.8%).

The box office trend for ‘The Deceased’ was unexpected: with critical acclaim and a box office championship, a drop of -45% was the largest among the Top-12. Movie theater owners were also frustrated; box office saturation is inevitable, and obviously, Wang’s fans had all rushed to see it in the first week. However, in the third week from January 5 to 11, ‘The Deceased’ managed to sustain a -45% trend, becoming the film with the smallest drop in the Top-12. Yet the $24.65 million box office couldn’t stop ‘Night at the Museum’ with $28.55 million from continuing as champion.

After three weeks, the North American total box office for ‘The Deceased’ was $150 million. With this momentum, it had every chance to hit the $200 million club, especially if it could score at the Golden Globes and Oscars. Meanwhile, it was also doing fiercely well in the overseas market, particularly in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom, where it had substantial earnings. The overseas total for three weeks was $184 million, bringing the worldwide total to $334 million USD.

This also meant that the magical Wang Yang maintained a miraculous record—all 11 of his directed films achieved over $300 million worldwide! The lowest was still his debut, ‘Paranormal Activity,’ with $323 million.

“Rude, delicate, funny, and full of rich irreverence, the work of an artist who clearly understands what elements are needed.” — A+, Chris Vognar, The Dallas Morning News; “‘The Deceased’ displays a rough, nimble understanding, with Wang Yang drawing some sharp lines, and he and his crew know how to deliver those clever lines.” — 4/4, Lisa Kennedy, The Denver Post; “‘The Deceased’ has a great adaptation, it becomes even more exciting, more terrifyingly fun, with a more nihilistic edge. This kind of nihilism has a lasting impact.” — 4/4, Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle;

“Wang Yang enabled the actors to have a wonderful ensemble, with Heath Ledger and Michael Pitt delivering some of their best performances.” —— 4/4, Stephanie Zacharek, ; “What makes a Wang Yang movie magical? It’s not just a refresh, it’s the director conducting his actors, location, and energy; controlling his team and himself; plus, its underlying themes. Just like I always like to say, a movie isn’t about what it does, it’s about how it gets done.” —— 4/4, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times…

At the entrance to the Kingsbridge Armory in New York, overgrown with weeds by the “I Am Legend” crew, the set in its state of shooting was quiet, the staff members all watching Will Smith, who, with an M-16 rifle in hand, walked past with Sam.

“CUT——!” At this moment, Wang Yang, holding the director’s microphone, shouted loudly, raising his other hand, clenched in a fist, high in the air, looking around at the people with a laugh and shouting, “We are legends! Done! Incredible!” It all started last July, and then August, September, October, November, December, up till now, close to mid-January, the shoot had gone on for over half a year, six months, and finally wrapped! The 12th wrap!

“Whew!” “Wow—” Cheers and laughter filled the set, and the crowd either clapped or embraced each other in celebration, as if they had just won a war. The challenges of a lockdown shoot combined with simultaneous filming were incredibly tough!

Looking at the smiling faces of people like Will Fichtner and Akiva Goldsman, and seeing so many crew members, Wang Yang expressed his thanks, “Thank you, thank you everyone—” When everyone quieted down to listen to his speech, he simply spread his hands and laughed, “I am out of words, I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a long sleep.”

“Ha ha!” A light laughter rippled around, and Will Smith let out a deep sigh of relief with a great feeling of empathy, finally it was over! Finally, he could escape that lonely state. It was truly devoid of any fun, increasingly uncomfortable, and tough. Without a doubt, this had been his most unique performance, blockading well-known landmarks, clearing out six blocks for filming… Although he received many middle fingers, he thought it was really cool—cool because when Wang Yang yelled “CUT!” he could turn his head and see thousands of people outside the quarantine zone watching them, and it wasn’t the end of the world!

However, Will knew, this performance of his was very, very good, full of texture and emotion. In this aspect, Goldsman had given him a lot of help, but the most key person was, of course, Wang Yang.

“Hey!” The two of them hugged tightly, patted each other on the backs; words were superfluous. Wang Yang smiled and said, “Let’s work together again next time!” Will too beamed with a smile, “That’s exactly what I’m hoping for.” After Wang Yang continued to chat and thank the many crew members, he called out, “July! In the summer, everyone will see such a unique movie, yes, us!”

The set erupted again with cheers and applause. Wang Yang, laughing, handed the microphone to his assistant and raced to the edge of the set, lifting Keke up and planting a big kiss on her little cheek, “MUMA!!!” After putting Keke down, he kissed a grinning Jessica; everything was understood without words.

The journey never stops, and soon, the Wang family was on a plane back to Los Angeles. The post-production of “I Am Legend” would be completed in Los Angeles, and moreover, the 64th Golden Globe Awards ceremony was about to take place. (