The Best Director

Chapter 512: Chapter 512 Legendary!

“Wang Yang’s latest masterpiece presents the essence of ‘I Am Legend’ for the first time, far from a B-movie horror flick; it is nearly flawless.” — 4/4, Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter; ” ‘I Am Legend’ has terror and suspense beyond what the heart can bear, but it never wearies the viewer. When it finally fades out, a great film is born.” — 4/4, Rex Reed, New York Observer; “This is a concept not to be missed, and after decades of evolution, Wang Yang has turned it into a classic.” — 3.5/4, Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel;

“All the effort has created one of the most chilling spectacles to date, with devastated Manhattan being the ultimate claustrophobic setting, Wang Yang’s most terrifying masterpiece since ‘District 9’.” — 3.5/4, John Monaghan, Detroit News; “The magical director maintains an astonishing insight, one of Will Smith’s best performances, the film does not opt for the adorable savior, Neville is the new legend.” — 4/4, Desson Thomson, The Washington Post; “Finally, this is a unique sci-fi cult film, folks.” — 3/4, Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor;

“Even on its third adaptation, magical Yang still finds a way to hit the bullseye, unpredictable, sentimental to the point of collapse, without any wasted spectacle, a perfect piece for this summer.” — 4/4, A.O. Scott, The New York Times; ” ‘I Am Legend’ is that kind of best summer blockbuster, with an effectively entertaining run, but it raises questions that dig deep into our minds.” — 4/4, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times….

The azure sky is high with the sun blazing, its ferocious rays making it impossible to look directly at it, and in the scorching summer, a rarity of cool breeze is perhaps not the best way to cool down, but instead running into the cinema to watch ‘I Am Legend’!

The widely released ‘I Am Legend’ once again upholds the name of magical Pokémon, delighting Yang’s fans and sorrowing his haters, but in fact, there was never any suspense. After two lukewarm adaptations, ‘The Last Man on Earth’ and ‘The Last Man,’ Warner Brothers considered for many years and still decided to sell the shabby project, the pressure of simultaneous shooting, the lockdown on filming… all these were not a problem in front of 27-year-old Wang Yang!

215 critiques, Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating of 98%, renowned critic rating of 97%! Another masterpiece! 94% audience approval (with 325,412 participating users)! IMDb Top-250 list at 8.7 points, loads of A+, over 90, thumbs-ups…

Following the producer & screenwriter of ‘The Green Hornet’ and ‘Iron Man,’ magical Yang has again emerged triumphant in both film criticism and public opinion this year, across different genres, styles, and markets, with the same applause and cheers!

“How crazy is this? He can make people laugh until their stomachs hurt, be cool to the point of adrenaline rushes, and also make audiences feel so much heart-stopping suspense that they can’t stand it; regardless, their jaws are always dropping…” Film fan Marissa T said, and she added at the end: “I’m so glad I like magical Yang. As a fan of his, I enjoy it so much, I’m so happy.” Indeed, those who dislike him, hoping for his Waterloo, must not be very happy looking at this, right?

This summer, nobody could rival the craze of Pokémon! The crew of “I Am Legend,” once the target of much criticism, now received thumbs up from audiences around the world!

“Incredible!” This word was mentioned over and over again, including by “I Am Legend” original author Richard Matheson, who officially declared himself a Wang Yang fan: “I like this young man. After watching ‘I Am Legend,’ I’m convinced I’m a fan of Wang Yang.”

Clearly, this time, the 81-year-old was very happy and willing to have his name appear in the film’s end credits. He told The New York Times, “If I had to choose which adaptation of my novels I am most satisfied with, most fond of, it would be this one. The entire movie is filled with surprises. This is the ‘I Am Legend,’ the real Neville, I had imagined.” Speaking of “The Logans- Walson” years before, Matheson still felt unhappy, but after seeing “I Am Legend,” he remarked, “I have no regrets now, I have to thank that young man.”

Once again, flashbulbs surrounded Wang Yang from all directions, along with the voices of friends congratulating and praising him. Jessica naturally felt great, and Keke’s little face was always adorned with a happy smile.

Five years after “District 9,” the audience once again tasted that sense of loneliness, oppression, and sorrow in this unique summer blockbuster. Even though Magic Yang was more charming than he was five years ago, he inevitably drew dissatisfaction from many viewers — this time even more unpleasant than “District 9”! At least the former preserved a glimmer of hope. “I Am Legend” had nothing. Wait, Neville wasn’t killed by the mutants? They became friends? You must be joking.

Jackieort gave it three and a half stars on Rotten Tomatoes: “The movie is definitely good, I have to say, Wang Yang did a great job. It has some cool elements, many of which I didn’t expect. But I didn’t like it — it was all too sad for me, I could only watch as things happened. Not sure if I should recommend it.” Olya A., on the other hand, didn’t hesitate to tick off five stars: “This is a great movie! Definitely not a waste of your time! Maybe the ending is a bit sad, but it’s just shocking! I absolutely recommend it.”

“When Sam died, it was too sad. I hated Magic Yang for the first time; he won my tears,” Taylz6 also gave a full score; “I don’t care about any novel, any theme, it’s so terrible, so frightening!” Alisa K. gave half a star; “Wow, perfect! At the end, my eyes were tearful, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. The idea of loneliness, the acting… I love it!” Tim R. really liked it; “Will Smith gave an incredible performance, despite his dog stealing the show; Magic Yang was amazing, fantastic.” Maurice F. also gave it five stars.

In fact, the happiest and most excited were surely the post-apocalyptic wasteland aficionados. Unlike “Resident Evil,” unlike “28 Days Later,” this movie was damn good! Everything was unprecedentedly wonderful. Lorraine D. gave a full rating, praising, “This is the movie of my dreams, to see Manhattan being evacuated, to see the overgrown New York, I was so excited I couldn’t speak. It was thrilling all the way, visually stunning, with great development and conclusion, it should win the Oscar for Best Picture.”…

Meanwhile, reviews for “Transformers” also freshly rolled out. It flaunted a decent 89% audience approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes, but a mere 52%/61% critic freshness rating.

Of course, it couldn’t compete with the miraculous Yank sci-fi film “I Am Legend,” which had put Hollywood to shame, nor could it surpass the popcorn flick “Iron Man.” Tom Lang from The Detroit News gave it a B-: “Transformers might be the most spectacularly silly film ever made.” James Berardinelli from ReelViews scored it 1.5/4: “For Transformers fans, I suppose this is the movie of their average dreams. For everyone else, it’s a nightmare.”

However, Roger Ebert was quite satisfied with a 3/4 rating: “There’s a lot of stupid fun to be had, and the explosion scenes are truly good; plus, it’s self-aware of its own ridiculous absurdity and turns it into a valuable asset.”

Without much acting, thinking, or even a story, but as David Germain of the Associated Press said, “You won’t really stop to think, or how hollow and boring the story really is.” Still, with “a steady toss of fireworks,” Transformers indeed was a beautifully dazzling summer blockbuster, brandishing high fighting power on the box office charts.

Only, it was a tragedy for any film that encountered Pokémon…

As the weekend of July 6-8 passed, “I Am Legend” triumphed! As the week of July 6-12 went by, “I Am Legend” still reigned supreme!

$166 million! “I Am Legend” raked in a crazy amount at the North America box office, averaging $41,363 per theater across 4015 locations; while “Transformers” followed with $132 million, averaging $33,154 per theater in 4011 locations, also in second place. What a spectacle! The dazzling Autobots couldn’t beat the lonely last man on Earth, leaving other films no escape from being crushed by them. It seemed like during that week, fans only watched those two movies, with box office trends plummeting: -55%, -57%, -63%, -59%…@@novelbin@@

But amidst this box office clash, this week’s total gross set an all-time high of $402 million, leaving the cinemagoers’ bosses close to dying with laughter! They really wanted to kiss Wang Yang’s swollen face! Who would dare say this was a trashy project now? Following New Line’s footsteps, Warner Brothers began to regret selling the “I Am Legend” project to Flame Film. But there’s no cure for regret, and all they could do was watch the snowballing box office of “I Am Legend,” growing larger and larger.

When the week of July 13-19 had passed, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” took the North American champion spot with $155 million; “I Am Legend” descended to second place, grossing $66.07 million in its second week (-60.2%), with a North American total of $232 million and a global total of $507 million, sweeping the globe! “Transformers,” failing to secure a box office championship, ranked third with $54.25 million (-58.9%), and while Paramount was pleased, they were inevitably heartbroken.

For Warner Brothers, the only and best news was that after being hit by an airplane cabin ceiling, the miraculous Yang was still the same formidable force, having directed 12 blockbuster films since the age of 18 and produced 24 blockbuster films! They really didn’t have to worry about “The Dark Knight” anymore, as Wang Yang had rightly said, “If you understand why, then why would you hire me to do it?”

No one understood, but the whole world knew that 27-year-old Wang Yang had a bright and grand future ahead of him. His film career had just begun.

Media, fans, and industry insiders alike… Everyone was paying attention to Wang Yang’s new projects, because as usual, “Iron Man” wouldn’t rest, and surely another one was coming out soon? Of course, this summer there were three miraculous Yang bombs, with the R-rated comedy he produced & scripted, and Jessica’s comeback film “Bridesmaids,” set to premiere on August 3rd.

As time slowly moved into late July, “Firefly 2,” currently filming on location, wrapped up its work in Canada and the Wang Yang family returned to Los Angeles.

In the bright and warm morning sun, Keke carried a bucket of mud and sat down on the garden lawn. She poured out the mud and filled and shuffled it back and forth with a yellow plastic toy shovel, eventually building two tall, pointed mounds. Talking to herself, she said, “This one is Daddy, this one is Mommy…” Just then, Danny lazily wandered over and nosed the sand. Keke quickly tapped him with the shovel, “Don’t! Bad…you’re BAD!” Danny walked away, visibly dispirited.

“Wow, this photo is gorgeous!” “This one is so thoughtful!” “Oh! SWEET——” Wang Yang and Jessica hid behind the sycamore tree, continuing to press the shutter of their long lens digital camera, sneakily taking photos. (