The Best Director

Chapter 410: Chapter 410: Really Looking Forward to It

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After “500 Days of Summer” completed all its filming, the crew disbanded, and the film entered post-production, with Wang Yang returning to Los Angeles to busily oversee the process.

There wasn’t much time left for post-production, as the release date was set for December 23. After accounting for MPAA rating review and copy distribution, which were estimated to take some time, there were just over two months left, so every department had to race against the clock.

Another film that wrapped up on September 29, “Munich,” was also set to release on December 23. No wonder the media called it a “race between the magical Yang and Spielberg.” Now, Wang Yang’s North America box office totals had surpassed 2.5 billion US dollars, ranking him second, with an average of over 278 million per film; Spielberg had been at the top for years with 3.38 billion, an average of over 146 million per film; George Lucas was third with 1.743 billion, an average of 290 million per film; and Robert Zemeckis fourth with 1.723 billion, averaging 132 million per film…

At age 25, with a North American box office of 2.5 billion dollars, Wang Yang was only about 880 million dollars away from the top spot, and no one knew how much longer 58-year-old Spielberg would remain in his chair, three years? Five years? Ten years? The legendary transition was only a matter of time.

However, “Munich,” with its high production cost of 70 million dollars, was not a commercial blockbuster but an art drama targeting the Oscars. This was Spielberg’s comeback to the doubts raised by “The Terminal,” suggesting he “could never make profound films again.” The themes of terrorism, politics, and revenge fit perfectly with the awards season’s rhythm, making it one of the strong contenders for the 05-06 awards season.

Despite Wang Yang’s slogan to “destroy ‘Firefly’,” probably no one thought “500 Days of Summer” would be qualified, but that didn’t mean anything. The post-production team, led by Wang Yang, was full of fighting spirit.

For the editor, he once again teamed up with Margaret Goodspeed, with whom he had already reached the highest level of collaboration—an expert in editing his low-budget films. As for the composers, he found Love Kent (known for “Legally Blonde,” “Wedding Crashers,” etc.) and Mitchell Dana (known for “The Ice Storm,” “The Switch,” etc.), who were veterans in scoring such genre stories. Together, they would use music to narrate this journey of love.

The film’s duration was set for 120 minutes with a PG-13 rating. Unlike the 2009 version, from the scriptwriting stage, the character development and emotional portrayal were even more delicate, with the main perspective being Tom’s; however, Summer also had her moments, allowing her charm to shine enough for a shot at “Best Actress.” “500 Days of Summer” presented a fascinating editing challenge, like “Memento” in its narrative structure, telling the story in a disorderly yet ordered fashion through reverse montages and other techniques, contrasting the periods of passionate love and heartbreaking separation to create a microsecond psychological impact, examining the relationship from an unusual perspective.

Of course, its visual color palette was a warm, indie-style hue. Although named after summer, it would actually include the sunlight and climate of all four seasons—sometimes as gentle as spring, as vibrant as summer, as refreshing as autumn, and at times as bleak as winter, changing with Tom’s moods. It also featured a few surreal special effects shots, which were a breeze for the visual effects team and posed absolutely no problem at all.

The theatrical trailer for “500 Days of Summer” would premiere during the advertising slots before the screenings of “Saw III,” which was released on October 28. This was yet another “bundled sale” by Firefly Movies, following last year’s debut of the “Firefly” trailer alongside “Saw II.”

“This is truly exciting!” Fans of both SAW and Yang had every reason to feel lucky; who wouldn’t want to try out the Christmas dessert after the summer feast of “Firefly”? Yang’s secret of love! Definitely worth savoring with a significant other, starting with the trailer. And for the general audience seeking thrills on Halloween, this bonus alone would make them prefer watching “Saw III”; not to mention the die-hard Yang fans eagerly entering theaters to get an early glimpse.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Of course, this also depended on the inherent appeal of “Saw III.” As the final installment of the first trilogy, the story of Jigsaw would reach its conclusion, a climax eagerly awaited by countless SAW fans.

The original “Saw,” produced on a mere 3 million dollar budget, earned 80.65 million in North America and 145 million worldwide at the box office; this proved that Wang Yang had made a smarter decision than Lionsgate by not changing the main creative team. With the same crew and a budget of 5 million dollars, “Saw II” raked in 118 million dollars in North America and 195 million worldwide at the box office while maintaining excellent audience reception, 340 million from an 8 million budget—a phenomenon beyond a commercial miracle, a goldmine among goldmines!

Following the massive success of the first two films, the third installment, carrying high popularity and a budget of 10 million dollars, seemed virtually guaranteed to succeed. Firefly Movies targeted it to surpass 200 million worldwide at the box office. Fans and box office enthusiasts alike placed high hopes on “Saw III,” with the ability of Jigsaw to terrify the whole world! This called for even more enthusiasm in its distribution, with a promotional budget setting a new record for the series. Moreover, the release dates for the overseas markets were moved up to November and December for most areas, with a few markets to follow in February and March of the next year, to fully exploit its potential.

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With absolute confidence in the film and the inevitability of its continuation, even before “SAW3” had premiered, Fire Flame had already announced, according to tradition, that “Saw IV” would be released on October 27, 2006. However, the roles that key figures James Wan and Leigh Whannell would play remained a question.

“Yang, I want to take a break for a while. I need to sort out everything that has happened these past years,” James Wan said to Wang Yang, echoing Whannell’s sentiments. For them, the ideas related to “Saw” had been thoroughly explored through the trilogy’s storyline, and sticking around without that inspiration wouldn’t make much sense. They were both young and didn’t want to be trapped by the franchise; however, Wan expressed a willingness to serve as a producer for “Saw IV.”

Wang Yang naturally understood and supported their decision. Since the passion was lost, insisting they stay would surely turn out badly. Talking about future plans, Wan mentioned that they would take a break and contemplate new projects. After all, with a new “Saw” movie being released every year, there was plenty of downtime. He jokingly said, “I don’t even know what else I could film besides horror. A romance? I might end up having the male lead kill and eat the female lead.”

Unsurprisingly, horror was the genre the two brothers-in-arms planned to stick with, and they had already locked down a script based on a ghost story they had heard: “After a ventriloquist performer dies, her spirit lingers. She rips out people’s tongues and forever steals their voices.” Both thought there was a wealth of material to mine from the story and that ventriloquist-themed stories were rare in Hollywood. Plus, with the inclusion of doll props… they wanted to try some of the more traditional horror movie expressions and create an old-fashioned ghost story.

Not just Fire Flame was keeping an eye on Wan & Whannell—after all, how much of a money-maker was “Saw”! Who knows whether these two guys from Australia will strike gold with another new franchise? Major studios like Universal and 20th Century Fox were watching closely, but the duo stated that FF was their priority.

Excluding CGI animated films, FF currently had four major franchises: “Saw,” “Step Up,” “Furious Cars,” and “The Hangover.” Next summer, “The Hangover Part III” and “Furious Cars 2” were set to explode onto the scene. The former would see a temporary hiatus after the completion of the trilogy, and the existence of “The Hangover Part III” would depend on market reactions. While there are departures, there are also new beginnings. FF has always been committed to developing new gold mines. The hugely successful “Assassin’s Creed” was almost certain to go into production for a second installment, and moreover, the news about “Firefly 2” was undoubtedly the most eye-catching.

In fact, there wasn’t much information about it from external sources now. The ending of “Firefly” left clues like G20 planets, the marauders’ madness, the rebirth of the independents, the pursuit of Serenity by the alliance, and the people’s reaction to the alliance—all fertile ground for storytelling. However, what would the second movie primarily address, and what was the complete plan for the trilogy? Wang Yang and Joss Whedon didn’t want to rush things, and because of TV series work next year, Whedon was too overwhelmed. Thus, “Firefly 2” would need at least until 2008, or even 2009 to be released.

There wouldn’t be any adverse effects, as the normal sequel timeline for a blockbuster is exactly like this—not to mention “Firefly” is unlike other movies. Even after five, seven, or ten years, the fans wouldn’t forget it. Conversely, if the sequel was botched, it would be a regret lasting a millennium.

“Captain Mal” Robert Downey Jr. was now one of the most popular and charismatic actors, and his image as a good man who had married and had children proclaimed his genuine change. Whether for big-budget productions or indie films, studios naturally lined up offering contracts for collaboration. Wang Yang didn’t bother with the others and directly called him: “Robert, you know I’m making ‘Iron Man.’ Tony Stark is you—don’t say no.”

How could he say no? Ever since the astonishing Yang took over “Iron Man,” and with the announcement of Jon Favreau as the proper directorial choice, the role had sparked a fierce competition among Hollywood’s leading men. Public expressions of interest and private queries about auditioning flooded in—after all, who wouldn’t want to be the genius playboy Tony Stark?

Such a charming rogue was the perfect fit for Robert Downey Jr.! Susan Levin also highly recommended her husband, believing it to be the superhero role that could best showcase his charm! Of course, an invitation from Wang Yang alone was reason enough to accept, and Downey readily agreed to the lead role. When the news reached the public, neither the media nor the fans were surprised; they had already known that the amazing Yang had set his heart on sculpting Downey into his “Harrison Ford.”

But what everyone was more concerned about was whether Wang Yang would personally direct “I Am Legend” and who would star in it?

Because ever since the news of the deal between Fire Flame and Warner, there had been no definite news on this front. God knows whether he would suddenly say “No!” or whether the project would once again be subjected to a decade of cold storage. (