The Best Director

Chapter 27 Supernatural Phenomenon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The box office results for “Paranormal Activity” in the first week finally settled on the figure of $1,056,700. In the last few days, the cinemas that participated in the preview were packed for all three screenings, even for the 2 AM to 4 AM screening, which had an attendance rate of over 90%. Countless young people came to stay up late to watch the movie.

And with the $1,056,700 box office for the week, “Paranormal Activity” climbed to the 16th place on the North American weekly box office chart (July 31st to August 6th); holding the first place was Steven Spielberg’s WWII epic “Saving Private Ryan,” in its second week with a weekly box office figure of $36,612,000; and in 15th place was the still-screening “Titanic,” now in its 33rd week, with a weekly take of $2,022,000, bringing its total North American gross to $596.3 million.

Ranking just behind “Titanic” after 33 weeks is no disgrace, especially considering “Titanic” was still playing in 769 theaters; whereas “Paranormal Activity” was in just 25 theaters.

The 16th place might not look impressive, but the numbers “25 screening theaters” and the $1,056,700 figure have truly scared all the movie companies. My goodness, where did Liongate find this dark horse?!

Everyone at Liongate is now trying hard to suppress their laughter. The first week’s box office not only helped them recover cost but also resulted in a tidy profit. And most importantly, “Paranormal Activity” demonstrated such strong potential that it was definitely a blockbuster in the making. As a result, the movie went from a limited release to a wide release in its second week, with the number of theaters increasing to 750.

Despite “Paranormal Activity” already being labeled as a “dark horse,” its performance in the second week (August 7th to 13th) still stunned everyone. This dark horse was just too unbelievable… $37,517,600! “Paranormal Activity” topped the North American weekly box office chart, while “Saving Private Ryan” with $26,504,800 had to settle for second place.

It was like a bolt from the blue! The entire North American film industry and entertainment media were shaken, as were film critics and movie buffs, who were left speechless by the chart results. Many were even unclear about what kind of movie “Paranormal Activity” (Paranormal-Activity, translated as Supernatural Phenomenon, Paranormal Activity is a free translation) was. Sci-fi? Horror? Or was it a comedy?

The 750 theaters showing “Paranormal Activity” actually defeated “Saving Private Ryan” which was showing in 2,592 theaters—that’s a film by the great director Steven Spielberg! What kind of joke was this?!

Faced with these results, the management of Liongate had only one word: upsize! So, in the third week, “Paranormal Activity” increased to 2,142 theaters. Ultimately, the third week’s box office (August 14th to 20th) did not disappoint Liongate, as the horror movie continued to dominate over “Saving Private Ryan,” which took in $19,728,100 for the week, retaining the championship on the North American weekly box office chart with $48,769,300, bringing the total to $87,343,600!

Apart from Wang Yang, who had anticipated this, the results shocked Rachel, Jessica, and others, with Joshua constantly remarking in bewilderment, “My DV camera is worth a fortune now.”

As for this “Supernatural Phenomenon,” the news-hungry media could not possibly ignore it. In fact, as soon as the first week’s box office ranking was released, some media outlets started to pay attention to this film and reported on it, bestowing the title of “dark horse.” As “Paranormal Activity” took the weekly box office crown in the second week and continued to maintain the championship in the third week, the film also set off a craze across America.

“We are now outside the ticket hall of a New York cinema, and even though it is already late at night, it’s as lively here as if there was a party going on,” the NBC news channel reported, the screen showing a middle-aged white female reporter holding a microphone, and telling the camera: “These young people are gathered here, all waiting for the next screening of ‘Paranormal Activity,’ because the tickets for the first show have already sold out.”

The camera pans across the ticket hall to show the young crowd reading, playing cards, chatting, and some are even breakdancing.

The reporter takes a few steps and stops a white boy who has just come of age, pointing the microphone at him and asking with a smile, “Hi, are you here to see ‘Paranormal Activity’?” The boy excitedly tells the camera, “Yes, yes!” The reporter asks, “Why are you so eager to see this movie that you’re willing to wait here late into the night?”

The boy thinks for a moment, then shrugs and says, “I don’t know. But all of my friends have seen it, and they told me to come watch. If I hadn’t seen it, they wouldn’t even talk to me.” He then waves at the camera with a smile and says, “Hey, baby, if you’re watching, I love you!”

The studio cuts back to the anchor, who chuckles and says, “Let’s hear what the parents and the police have to say.”

The screen switches to an interview with a middle-aged white woman, looking both angry and helpless, who says, “My child has turned into a completely different person. He has always been home by nine, but now he has stayed out all night just for that movie! Oh my God, he is still a minor in high school, to be out all night! I’m really afraid he’s heading down the wrong path.”

The camera then cuts to an interview with a black male police officer who sternly states, “There are too many kids gathering around the cinemas late at night now, I’ve never seen this kind of situation before. But we will strengthen security around the cinemas to protect the children. They come to the cinema, watch the movie, go home, and there will be no accidents.”

NBC was certainly not advertising “Paranormal Activity,” but was reporting a social issue that had taken place across America in the last two weeks, famously known as the “‘Paranormal Activity’ Causes Numerous Youths to Not Return Home at Night” phenomenon.

Those focused on social welfare saw the aspect of youths skipping home, while those focused on movies saw much more. The biggest question for both media and movie fans was, what exactly was this film about? Where did this dark horse come from?

The “Paranormal Activity” craze continued online, and the media knew about it too, but they shook their heads with a smile, dismissive of the rumors. Demonic spirits murdering people? Real DV footage turned into a movie? Only naive students would believe that. The media immediately raised strong doubts about these rumors. Firstly, if there truly were DV tapes with clues to a murder, they would be important evidence for the police, not something you’d find at a film company. Furthermore, how could a true crime documentary pass the MPAA’s rating and be PG-13?

The media all rebutted the online rumors, “A real movie? That’s a ridiculous claim, only ‘Animal World’ is real.”

The media did not rest there; they began investigating the truth behind this “supernatural” film. Once determined to investigate, finding the truth was effortless—there are no walls without cracks in this world, especially when so many film companies had reviewed “Paranormal Activity”?

Thus, the “Los Angeles Times” immediately got to the bottom of it; the manager of the acquisitions department at Demon Gate Film Company said, “This is just a movie, shot with a DV camera, not edited from real footage. Kevin, Mel, they’re all played by actors, and the director of this film is a very young Chinese man, you see, the producer they showed at the end, it’s him, Young-Wang, maybe 22 years old? Maybe 20?”

Another film company, which wished to remain anonymous, had a distribution marketer say, “Oh, I’ve seen this movie, not in a theater, but in our company’s screening room. If we had just nodded our heads, this movie would have belonged to us, but you know, we ultimately rejected that young man. Honestly, we regret it bitterly now, and our manager has been suspended. Maybe I’m next.”

Then, the reporter went to the Screen Actors Guild and found information about the movie’s male lead, also known as “Kevin” performed by Zachary Levi, proving that “Kevin” was very much alive in this world. The reporter also interviewed Mark Strong, who was responsible for the actor auditions for “Paranormal Activity.” He said, “Oh, of course, it’s a movie. I even took a commission for signing ‘Kevin’ and ‘Mel.’ That young director was picky, from morning till night, he probably interviewed hundreds of actors before he finally made his choice.”

The evidence was conclusive, and as soon as the “Los Angeles Times” article was published, the online rumors fell apart.

Lionsgate and Wang Yang had been prepared for this; the spooky marketing tactic was only expected to work in the initial stages of the movie’s release because once the issue blew up, the truth would inevitably come out. As long as the first group of viewers were lured into theaters and the film received a huge buzz, the spooky act could then gracefully bow out. Now that the situation had developed to this point, even if viewers knew it was just a filmed movie, they would still enter cinemas.

Because people were more curious now, a DV movie with a production budget of ten thousand US dollars had already raked in over eighty million at the box office! The hype was palpable, and almost everyone was talking about it; how could they miss out? Young people don’t want to fall behind. As long as “watching ‘Paranormal Activity'” became a trend, there would be no lack of audience.

Therefore, the focus of “Paranormal Activity” promotion had already shifted to the tactic of “Do you dare to watch?” Lionsgate adopted Wang Yang’s suggestion and launched an activity on the official movie website called “Who Gets Scared the Most?” The participation was simple: take photos or videos with a camera or DV recorder of family and friends’ scared reactions while watching the movie, then upload them to the official website for two categories, photo and video voting. The audience would then vote for the top ten, and the winners could receive prizes such as a one-week trip to Santa Monica, a home theater system, or a DV camera.

This was viral marketing extended into reality.

So when the “Los Angeles Times” report came out, Lionsgate clarified the facts in an open manner. Distribution manager Jon Feltheimer admitted to the media that “Paranormal Activity” was a movie with a director and actors. The previous absence of this information on the official movie website was only to create an atmosphere of authenticity, and the same went for shooting those trailers.

When Lionsgate uploaded information about director Wang Yang, “Kevin” Zachary Levi, and “Mel” Rachel McAdams on the official website, everyone was “shocked” once more! My goodness, could it be? A director and producer who was only 18 years and a little over 6 months old?! Looking at Wang Yang’s youthful and spirited face, everyone was incredulous. Was it this kid who made a film with a budget of ten thousand US dollars that earned over eighty million at the box office!?

Oh, God! What was that Guinness record, “Hollywood’s youngest director”? Steven Paul, 20 years old; but now, this Wang Yang, at 18 years and a bit over 6 months, had indisputably broken the record. Not to mention, Steven Paul’s “To Fall in Love Again” did not have a box office of over eighty million.

Renowned American critic Roger Ebert described what was happening as a “miracle in the making,” a “supernatural phenomenon.” He praised “Paranormal Activity” as unparalleled, a revolution in film language, pioneering the mockumentary style and charting the way for DV films. The psychological horror tactics of the film were also pushed to the extreme, without a hint of the rookie director’s rawness.

“This film could scare you into a heart attack if you’re not just into ‘ketchup’ movies. Also, I do not recommend it for children, even with parental accompaniment, as it will leave a shadow on their childhood. Alright, I need to go sunbathe now, that will chase away the fear inside me.”

This film critic, whose influence could sway a movie studio’s decision to purchase a film and audiences’ decisions to watch a movie and to buy DVDs, called Wang Yang “Magic-Young,” praising his limitless future but warning him to maintain his youthful edge and to beware of losing himself.

In the end, Roger Ebert gave “Paranormal Activity” his exclusive, trademarked “Two Thumbs Up!”

In response to this review, Wang Yang joked with Rachel on the phone, “Hey, Rachel, watch me perform some magic, see that? My hand is reaching out from your phone, grabbing onto your hair.” Rachel was amused, laughing, “Wow, is this the content of your next horror movie?”

Wang Yang replied seriously, “No, I’m not making movies anymore. With all the money I’m going to divide, I’ll retire early, at 18, cool, right?” Rachel teased him, laughing, “Oh, that’s like a drunkard saying he’s giving up drinking, I don’t buy it.”

“Won’t you even give a drunkard a chance to reform?” Wang Yang said with a wounded tone. It seemed like Rachel was considering, then she laughed, “Hmm, I’d give others a chance, but you? No way.” Wang Yang laughed heartily and said “OK” a few times before he became serious again, “Seriously, I probably won’t make another horror movie. That girl scared me, and I don’t want to scare anyone to death.”

Of course, not everyone thought “Paranormal Activity” was scary enough to kill, and there were many media outlets that threw cold water on it, denouncing the entire film as a scam, a carefully planned campaign by Lionsgate, achieving high box office all by despicable means. What everyone needed to do was to ignore it, and it would disappear.

The film critic from the “Los Angeles Times,” Kevin Thomas (who later highly praised “The Promise”), called it “an utterly boring movie, like kids playing ‘pretend director and actor’.” This guy, sharing the same name as “Paranormal Activity’s” male lead, seemed quite angry with the film, his tone was venomous: “The performances of the male and female leads in the movie are terribly bad; seeing them on the screen is like a disaster. The youngest director? Oh, that’s just a lucky kid, and that’s it. In ten years, people might remember ‘Paranormal Activity,’ but not Wang Yang.”

Despite some film critics being vitriolic, and despite most people online knowing that the “Kevin case” was fake news, the box office of “Paranormal Activity” didn’t cool significantly, there was just a normal slowdown in momentum. Halfway through the fourth week, it had already netted over 15 million dollars, and it looked like touching 30 million a week wouldn’t be a problem; and on the total box office, it had already broken 100 million. To describe all this as a “miracle” seemed almost an understatement.

The manager in charge of acquisitions at Lionsgate, Tom Ortenberg, finally understood why he had a fleeting sense of unease when he signed the contract with Wang Yang. It was not a mistake to buy the movie; it was that the revenue-sharing contract was simply too unfavorable for Lionsgate! If they had insisted on a one-time buyout for 500,000 or 1 million dollars, then now…

Of course, this was just a momentary thought of greed. Most of the time, including Tom Ortenberg and all other Lionsgate executives, were already thoroughly pleased. They not only made a fortune, but also greatly promoted the name of Lionsgate. They accepted some media interviews, and through the promotion of “Paranormal Activity,” they advertised their company in passing, making fans in North America aware of a movie studio called Lionsgate in Santa Monica.

And now, they had received another piece of good news.

Jon Feltheimer recently had reasons to be proud, as his success in securing the distribution of “Paranormal Activity” earned high praise from the board, and he had the opportunity to be promoted to the company’s next CEO and even become a partner. Now he was meeting with Wang Yang in a café, he came to Los Angeles for work and took the chance to personally share some good news with Wang Yang.

“Hey Jon, what news is it?” Wang Yang looked at Jon’s mysterious expression, took a sip of coffee, and said with a half-irritated smile, “Come on, out with it! I hope the news is worth my cab fare.”

Typically, a month after a film is shown, theaters and distribution companies settle accounts, and then Lionsgate would distribute profits to Wang Yang. So, even though “Paranormal Activity” had a box office of over a hundred million by now, it momentarily had nothing to do with Wang Yang, his wallet was still dry. Naturally, he no longer had to skimp and save because he could use his credit card in advance.

Jon Feltheimer smiled and said, “All right, Yang, here it is.” He cleared his throat, feigning significance, “Buddy, we’ve been invited to ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show!'”

“The Oprah Winfrey Show? Oh my god! Really?” Wang Yang couldn’t help but be surprised, his eyes wide open. The Oprah Winfrey Show was America’s most famous talk show with the highest ratings, practically a symbol of American culture. He had grown up watching this program, and really liked “The Queen of Talk,” Oprah Winfrey, who had an unfortunate childhood but found success through hard work, and now he was going to be a guest on that show!

Jon took a sip from his coffee cup, nodding with a smile, “Of course it’s true. The show tapes next week, with the theme being ‘Exploring the hearts of young people who achieve success.’ You know, like talking about your journey, then discussing the meaning and impact, the usual Oprah stuff.” He took a drink of his coffee, then laughed again, “They’ve invited the creators of the film, you, Zachary, and Rachel, and me, this guy with exceptional vision; this Sunday, Zachary and I will fly to Chicago together; Rachel will come from Toronto.”

Going to Chicago to record The Oprah Winfrey Show… Wang Yang was excited, but also felt a bit anxious, as there was an issue that felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat, something he couldn’t avoid, especially now as he became increasingly the focus of the media, it was bound to come to light sooner or later. It could be said to be a “miracle” that the issue still hadn’t surfaced.

He furrowed his brows in thought for a while, then looked at Jon seriously and said, “Jon, there is something I feel it’s time to bring up.”

“What?” Jon, seeing the serious expression on Wang Yang’s face which was unlike jesting, immediately furrowed his brows too.

Wang Yang spoke calmly, “A few months ago, I was still a freshman at the University of Southern California, majoring in film and television production.” Jon was stunned upon hearing this, and then heard Wang Yang continue, “Then I was expelled, because of racial discrimination.” This time, Jon couldn’t help but exclaim, “What!? My God! Are you joking?!” Wang Yang pressed his hand to quiet him down, saying, “Don’t rush, let me explain.” Then, he explained the entire sequence of events.

After hearing his story, Jon fell silent, constantly drinking his coffee with furrowed brows, and it took a long while before he finally let out a long sigh and reproached, “Yang, you should have told us earlier.”

If I had told you earlier, would Lionsgate still release “Paranormal Activity”? Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

“This is a ticking time bomb, and there’s not much time left before it explodes,” Jon said anxiously, disregarding his demeanor as he grabbed his hair, his prior good mood gone.

Racial discrimination is a very sensitive issue, and if not handled properly, Wang Yang could be completely discredited, but that would only make him feel regretful at most; the problem now was that Lionsgate was being dragged into it as well, and he was, too. If this situation were not handled well in the end, Lionsgate’s reputation would be severely damaged. It wasn’t just about buying a film from someone accused of racial discrimination; the bigger issue was the previous “Kevin case” would be dug up for attacks, and fans’ attitudes would also shift, seeing Lionsgate as cheaters, defrauding consumers, and so on.

If all this happened, he could forget about becoming the CEO, let alone a partner. Jon tried hard to think of a solution and after a while, he asked, “Yang, are you sure there was no one else present at that time?”

Wang Yang thought carefully about the situation at the time once again, but nothing different emerged, and he still had no clues. He shook his head and said, “I can’t be sure, because all my attention was on Terrence Ben at the time; he pushed me, and then I hit him. When the teacher arrived, there was nobody else around.” He spread his hands helplessly and added, “I even went back to the whole school afterwards, asking all the classmates, but no one said they were there.”

Jon nodded silently, then asked, “It seems you weren’t very popular at school, were you?”

“Do I look like that kind of person?” Wang Yang rolled his eyes; he wasn’t introverted or antisocial, nor was he a malicious gossip. His popularity had always been good. He recalled the happy life in high school and smiled, “In fact, in high school, I had a lot of good friends, not just among Chinese students, but whites and blacks too.” After a pause, he continued, “But when I started university, you know, I went to class when there were classes and worked part-time when there were none, so I didn’t have time to make friends yet.”

He smiled again; the money he earned from his part-time jobs, he had planned to use to buy a video camera; in the end, that money was used to make a movie.

“Oh! That’s good news,” Jon’s demeanor softened a bit, and he managed a bitter smile, “Having black friends in high school makes things easier. If this comes out, we’ll help you. Just a few interviews with your high school teachers and classmates should be enough to prove what kind of person you are.” He laughed again and said, “Don’t worry too much. We’ll get someone to investigate the University of Southern California right away, to see if there was anyone else present at that time.”

“The University of Southern California should have done that, but they didn’t. They rushed to expel me.” Wang Yang shook his head lightly. Perhaps he was just unlucky, or perhaps… back then in the trustees’ office, he wasn’t as mature as he is now, and he irrationally snapped at the trustees in a moment of anger.

Jon smiled upon hearing this and said while drinking his coffee, “Then we should thank the University of Southern California. Without them expelling you, you wouldn’t have been able to make this movie, right?”

Wang Yang was taken aback, then a smile crept into his heart. It seemed that was indeed the logic. Without the expulsion, not only would he not have made this movie, but he also wouldn’t have experienced so much, wouldn’t have his current mindset, and would just be the “brash and foolhardy” Wang Yang as described by Old Man Wu. Did setbacks make one grow? Could it be that the University of Southern California’s ruthless expulsion inadvertently led to his success?

While Wang Yang was pondering these things, Jon stood up, patted his shoulder, and said half-complaining, half-jokingly, “I have to go. Young man, you really bring me too many ‘surprises’.” Wang Yang smiled and replied, “Oh, then should you be thanking me?” Jon laughed and said, “Forget it, Yang, you’re a cunning guy.”

However, what neither of them expected was the time bomb to suddenly explode. As night fell, Yahoo’s entertainment section suddenly posted a piece of news: “Chinese-American director once expelled from university due to racial discrimination!”