The Best Director

Chapter 210: Unbelievable Part 2! (Vote for me)

As the 75th Oscar ceremony officially concluded, stars and journalists continued to hustle with various celebration parties, interviews, photoshoots, and immediate online news reports… Yet the newly-crowned Best Director was nowhere to be seen at these parties. While everyone was busy posing in front of backdrops and clinking glasses, Wang Yang was already half-reclining on his living room sofa at home.

With his coat hanging over the sofa, he loosened his black tie with a tug and took out his mobile phone to scroll through congratulatory texts and messages from family and friends. Wang Yang knew that many people longed for this; compared to attending those sham parties after the marathon of awards, lying at home leisurely and savoring the joy with loved ones was truly a pleasure; of course, there were also many people who would do anything for a ticket to those parties.

Anyway, everyone has their own business to attend to, just like Jessica, who had gone to remove her makeup and change her clothes. Earlier, Wang Yang had already spoken with his parents, who were enjoying a long holiday and thought he wouldn’t win the award, so they hadn’t come; Wang Yang felt that they just didn’t like overly formal occasions and they didn’t “value their son” too much, it had always been that way since his childhood: “As long as you’re happy, that’s good. The restaurant will always be yours.” “Mom is proud of you, keep up the good work!”

“Oh BOY!” he thought, smiling and shaking his head, what adorable characters they were! Now that he was some kind of billionaire, they cared even less. After reading through some text messages, Wang Yang played a series of voice messages, Will Smith, who had refused to attend the ceremony because of the war, said, “Hey, Yang! Congratulations on winning the Oscar! It’s such a surprise!” Rachel said, “Yang, you’ve done something incredible, congratulations!”…

Close friends from San Francisco, good friends from the film industry… one by one, familiar names from inside and outside the industry appeared, and of course, anyone who knew this mobile number was special to him. Joshua said, “Dude, you are so, so, so amazing! Ali and I congratulate you! Yes, we watched the ceremony together tonight! Haha―” Annie Darren said, “Congratulations! Director, I don’t know what to say, this is really unbelievable!” Helen: “Yang, congratulations, that was a great speech.”

“Helen,” Wang Yang muttered. She watched the Oscars tonight too? She usually didn’t pay attention to them: “I don’t need the Oscars to tell me which movies are classics or which actor did a great job.” He smiled at the thought, but suddenly felt something was amiss, as if he was missing someone’s message? A face flashed before his eyes, and he murmured softly, “Oh, Natalie?”

Not a single congratulatory word from a good friend who had won a major award? Could it be that she hadn’t watched the show or received the news? Wang Yang frowned slightly, then immediately thought of a possibility and laughed, “That sly person!” He dialed a number on his phone and, as soon as the call connected, he laughed, “Good evening, I’ve called!”

“Ha! Congratulations, Best Director!” Natalie’s voice came through very happily on the other end, she proudly stated, “Yang, my prediction came true! Well done! I said you’d break the record before 24, and it really happened, you are a madman!”

“You said that? Well, thank you then.” Wang Yang sat up, looking at the Oscar statuette on the coffee table in front of him, he recalled what he had said to Helen, “Of course, not winning an Oscar doesn’t mean a movie isn’t a classic. But I think those filmmakers are anxious about the Oscars because it represents a footprint of an era, at least there’s a chance that this footprint was made by oneself, right?” Helen had said, “Yang, it has nothing to do with you! Believe me, you should go to Stanford, don’t waste yourself!” “Here we go again, I told you I’m not going!”…

In 2003, the 75th Academy Award for Best Director went to Young-Wang… Wang Yang raised his eyebrows, took a breath, and with a smile said into the phone, “Seriously, when I heard Harrison Ford pronounce ‘yang’ tonight, I was very surprised!” Natalie interrupted with a laugh, “But we couldn’t see how surprised you were on stage; instead, you looked like you’d expected it!” Wang Yang shrugged and said, “Surprise doesn’t mean you have to get excited.”

“Buddy, winning this award was a combination of the right time, place, and people, how ridiculous is that? If it weren’t for the Iraq war, who knows what those Academy voters would have been thinking.” Wang Yang said cynically, to which Natalie laughed on the other side, “Why worry about that? Enjoy it! After all, you’ve got it now. If you don’t like it, just win another one.”

“Wow―you think it’s a Razzie Award, you can just grab it?” Wang Yang couldn’t help laughing, “And even a Razzie isn’t just grabbed!” Natalie said nonchalantly, “Maybe, but now you’re the youngest Best Director; however, who knows when your prediction will come true.” Wang Yang replied, “It will, maybe in a few years.” Natalie sighed, “But I am already a middle-aged woman; I can’t win the youngest anymore.”

The youngest Oscar winner for Best Actress was 21-year-old Marlee Matlin, a deaf actress who clinched the trophy in 1986 for her true-to-life performance in “Children of a Lesser God.”

“Then go for the oldest one!” Wang Yang said offhandedly. Natalie suddenly appeared interested and said, “Right, I just saw a news flash online. I heard you told a lot of talk show jokes backstage.” Wang Yang laughed and replied, “Nothing much, not the type you like.”…

After speaking for a bit longer, Wang Yang ended the call and proceeded to check other messages. A while later, he heard footsteps growing louder. Jessica, still immersed in joy, approached wearing a loose blue outfit, her wavy brown hair cascading over her shoulders. Her lips were quirked up at the corners, and her eyes were filled with a joyful glow.

“HEY.” Wang Yang greeted and approached Jessica, who bent her body and puckered her lips for a kiss. Wang Yang’s left arm wrapped around her waist as he kissed her lips. Jessica, in unspoken agreement, sat sideways on his thigh, and the sofa cushion sank under their weight. The room was filled with the sound of sizzling kisses and gradually more rapid breathing.

It was a while before their lips parted. Jessica hugged his neck and planted a firm kiss on his cheek, her breath still heavy as she said, “Yang, you looked so handsome tonight!” She laughed and said with pride in her eyes, “Kate Hudson said, ‘Oh my god, he was so funny on stage, so adorable.’ And Jennifer Lopez said, ‘Hard to imagine that’s a director, I thought he was some talk show host,’ and I said, ‘Yes, he is,’ haha! And there were more…”

“Wait a second!” Wang Yang chuckled to interrupt her, kissing the little mole on her chin. He laughed and said, “Do you know you sound like a certain annoying type of person in school? My house has this, my house has that… Wow, really? Wow, really? They’re just flattering you.”

Jessica rested her head on him, looking as proud as ever, “So what? I do have a magical, interesting, cool boyfriend, don’t I?”

“Me!” Wang Yang raised his right hand, chuckling at her playfully inquisitive smile. “I prefer the other comments.” Jessica’s head moved, tickling his neck with her hair. She asked with a laugh, “Like what?” Wang Yang grinned mischievously, “Like strong!” Jessica’s face lit up with a sudden revelation as she said, deadpan, “Or a log?”

Wang Yang was momentarily stumped and burst into laughter amidst her giggles, exclaiming in mock shock, “What? A log? Haha! I’m telling you, you’ve made me mad. I’m going to have to deal with you properly!” He tightened his grip around her waist with his left hand and scooped up her knees with his right, hoisting her onto the sofa. As she let out an “oh,” he quickly pinned her down, “A log, huh! Let’s see about that!”

“Ah, haha! You’re not, Yang, you’re not! Be gentle!” “Too late! Baby, you’re done for tonight!”…

In the garden, Danny propped his sleep-heavy eyes open, gazing at the moon in the dark sky. It was late, and he glanced over at the house, still ablaze with light.

Even though it was late, besides celebration parties and early online media coverage, the smokeless war of the newspaper industry had also begun, involving writing, editing, proofreading, printing… As the sky gradually turned from pitch black to bright, newspapers fresh off the press were being delivered to shelves and into the hands of paperboys around the world. The Iraq War continued to dominate the headlines as the conflict entered its fourth day. The coalition forces, initially expected to make an unopposed sweep, began to encounter difficulties.

Beyond the large-scale aerial bombardments, coalition troops continued to push towards Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. However, due to stretched supply lines and insufficient troop strength on the ground, America had already planned to deploy the 4th Division, which was intended for post-war control. Without eliminating Saddam in the initial bombings, the anticipated scenario where forces would defect at the sight of coalition power did not occur, and the resistance encountered in ground combat caused the plan for a quick victory through a “pincer move from north and south with a central breakout” to fail.

Several options lay before the Bush administration now: either stop the war, which of course was impossible, or continue the fight by increasing the troop strength and intensifying the firepower. At the same time, there was a need to modify the “decapitation” strategy, as the strong resistance in various regions showed that capturing Baghdad alone was not the endgame and now seemed unattainable. This aligned with the predictions of some military experts and the fantastic Wang Yang before the war, suggesting that using airborne forces and encirclement tactics might be the right approach.

Although the war was intense, yesterday’s 75th Oscars still stole some of the front-page headlines. The juxtaposition of war and awards might have seemed awkward, but it was indeed the current hot topic.

“‘Chicago’ wins Best Picture, Wang Yang and Adrien Brody set new records.” — Los Angeles Times; “35 years later, Chicago reignites the musical film genre by winning Best Picture.” — Chicago Sun-Times; “‘Chicago’ emerges as the big winner, with the birth of a 23-year-old Chinese Best Director.” — San Francisco Chronicle; “‘Chicago’ prevails, Nicole and Adrien win Best Lead Actor and Actress, Wang Yang works his magic again!” — The New York Times…

Regarding these major awards, opinions varied widely. Some were applauding, describing the Oscars that year as “young, anti-war, for peace,” while others said it was an Oscars “ruined by war.” Nicole Kidman’s win was not a big surprise, but ‘Chicago,’ which took the Best Picture, was criticized by some film critics and the public as being far inferior to ‘The Pianist,’ and even ‘District 9’ was considered a better choice.

Many netizens fixated on the title of “revival of the musical film.” Young people were especially upset; who could forget the craze from four years ago? When ‘High School Musical’ was in the heat of its success, ‘Chicago’ was just a famous stage play. ‘High School Musical’ grossed $201 million in North America, $411 million globally, whereas ‘Chicago’, not counting the week of the 21st to the 27th, was at $127 million in North America and had not yet released overseas.

Despite snagging the Oscar for Best Picture, which would inevitably boost its box office significantly, as well as sales from DVD and other associated markets, movie fans were skeptical that ‘Chicago’ could surpass ‘High School Musical’ in box office and sensation, even though it was the Best Picture. On Yahoo, Chloe D excitedly proclaimed, “High School Musical is the true king of musical film revivals!!!” Kaylee said, “Because of ‘High School Musical,’ I started to learn to dance; this is the best musical film!”…

Obviously film critics did not agree with this sentiment. ‘High School Musical’ indeed was a pioneer of the new wave of musical films, and the fantastic Wang Yang brought strong confidence to the market, but it didn’t make it the best simply for that reason. Yahoo Entertainment commented, “That was just Wang Yang’s naive film debut back in the day.” Hollywood.COM pointed out, “‘High School Musical’ is the best film of that era for middle school students, ‘Chicago’ is for the general public.”…

There was controversy over ‘Chicago’ winning Best Picture; there was also some dispute over Adrien Brody setting the record as the youngest Best Actor, but his performance in ‘The Pianist’ was indeed convincing. The controversy there was merely a quarrel among fans. The biggest controversy, however, was that Wang Yang had won Best Director! A 23-year-old Best Director?! It was sensational! Online polls showed support and opposition nearly split at 50% to 50%.

However, Wang Yang’s demeanor on the award stage was praised by media outlets as “the most humorous Oscar Best Director,” “the most vibrant Oscar Best Director,” among other accolades. His backstage interview revealed even more, and his new classic quotes were reported in full online. Due to limited page space, each print medium variously excerpted them, with the backstage answer to “How will you arrange the trophy?” becoming one of the most popular remarks.

The Los Angeles Times’s report humorously state, “Last night, the fantastic Wang Yang once again proved that he has the capability to host a talk show.” And there were gossip newspapers with headlines such as “The covert contest between Steve Martin and the fantastic Wang Yang.” What everyone agreed on, as after the Golden Globes, was that only a 23-year-old Best Director could act like this. On another note, he was surprisingly calm and mature on the award platform, devoid of the young person’s excitement and flurry.

“I said I was going to dislike the fantastic Wang Yang because of his arrogance; but now, I’ve been amused by him again…” Irina’s writing was quite contradictory. Isa said, “Last night’s Oscars ceremony, the most interesting star was Wang Yang, I laughed so many times.” Magill stated, “His words touched me, life should indeed be full of laughter, we can’t give up happiness because of sorrow, he strived to be funny all night, and that moved me.”…

Setting a youthful record, giving humorous and touching speeches… all these made many movie fans and followers like the fantastic Wang Yang even more, and his popularity seemed to be on an upswing. But the voices of skepticism were equally strong. Why would they give the award to a 23-year-old kid? Is the Oscars all about being young for the sake of youth?

Comments on Yahoo Entertainment were varied, with Spencer saying, “Just think about it! Stephen Spielberg, 2; Robert Zemeckis, 1; James Cameron, 1… Wang Yang, 1; so many people, 0.” Damian said, “The funniest part of this is that Wang Yang still says he’s going to bring a science fiction film to the Oscars again—he really has a great sense of humor!”…

Meanwhile, Roger Ebert, the film critic from the Chicago Sun-Times, successfully predicted the Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress awards this year, but he wrongly chose Rob Marshall for Best Director. He commented, “When I made my prediction, the world wasn’t like this, but anyway, when I saw the amazing Yang win Best Director, I was so shocked I blurted out ‘Are you kidding me!’ It’s not that I’m opposed to it. I’m just astonished. It’s incredible! I thought he would be at least 30 years old before winning!”

“This year, apart from Martin Scorsese, there’s no one whose award I would oppose. However, it’s so young for the amazing Yang to win an Oscar and so many honors. I hope he doesn’t stop there.”

The ever-speedy Wang Yang naturally wouldn’t stop there; amidst numerous media reports ranking below “MIT 21 Team” and “The Devil Wears Prada,” the newly-crowned Best Director’s next movie already had a lot of buzz: “Wang Yang intends to shoot a spaceship theme and hit the Oscars with a science fiction film once more,” “Wang Yang is set to direct a new ‘Star Trek’ film,” “Will we soon see Wang Yang’s second musical?” “Dancing on a spaceship? Wang Yang is creating a new film genre…”

As movie fans and followers scrutinized the myriad of news versions online, they were engulfed in a “convoluted and bewildering” suspense. Was he going to make a science fiction film or a musical? And what kind of content would it be?

On the other side of the planet, where night had fallen, the program director of CCTV6 Channel was experiencing a feeling of joyful contemplation akin to “finding fortune in misfortune,” having heavily promoted the “Oscar Night” program because of Zhang Yimou and “Hero,” and not expecting that “Hero” would be out of the running; instead, the remarkable Yang shined bright, becoming the first Chinese Oscar winner for Best Director! Now, those movie buffs lightly tuned in to the Oscars would definitely be watching.

This judgment wasn’t wrong; netizens knew about the news by noon, but without video footage—just photos and text. Since Wang Yang was on TV, they naturally didn’t want to miss it; numerous ordinary viewers unaware of the news also turned on CCTV6, ready to see Zhang Yimou.

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