The Best Director

Chapter 337: The Source of the Erupting Energy

National Treasure, SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and The Incredibles, as expected, swept the top three of the North American box office chart for November 19-25; Saw II, in its fourth week, was left showing in only 1552 theaters, ranking ninth for the week with a box office of $6.89 million, raising its total box office to $100.77 million, becoming another R-rated horror film in cinema history and Flame Movie to break the $100 million mark in North America, and with a production budget of $5 million, it has already created a cost revenue ratio of 1900% for the producers, distributors, and theatre chains.

Of course, bills for promotional copies, transportation, and screening are not for nothing, and there are various taxes. Without a doubt, Flame has once again made a killing, with its fourth title this year to exceed $100 million at the box office, with a 100% massive release rate.

Following Thanksgiving, from November 26 to December 2, National Treasure remained the weekly box office champion. The Polar Express was not as dire as the media had predicted—due to higher ticket prices and audiences flocking to IMAX theaters, it only saw a 7.7% drop in its second week, earning $26.29 million, which means it likely won’t suffer a complete loss. This is also why Robert Zemeckis had the confidence to “trap” other major films.

Sony’s new $60 million budget film, Christmas Escape, didn’t garner many laughs, debuting weak at third place with a box office of $24.51 million. However, they should feel relatively relieved, as Warner Brothers’ $155 million epic investment, Alexander the Great, has brought tremendous pressure on the management. The Hollywood Reporter criticized it, saying “Silly narrative techniques are laughable.” With 16%/12% freshness and 43% approval ratings, director Oliver Stone was besieged by criticism from all sides.

Was this really a $155 million investment? Many media outlets questioned whether the production cost was inflated. If true, Warner Brothers is in for a rough Christmas, with a box office of $24.93 million from 2445 theaters nine days after its release on the 24th, following The Last Samurai and Troy as another one, with many moviegoers scoffing, “They said epic films are hard to make, so why keep going for them?” But at least others had decent box office performance; what does it have? Perhaps a shattered Oscar dream.

As December rolls in, not only does the Christmas and New Year atmosphere thicken, but the new film awards season also kicks off, with various critics’ association awards, guild awards, choice awards, Golden Globe Awards, Oscars…

Though Alexander the Great fell, turning to aim for the Golden Raspberry Award, the films eyeing the nominations for the 62nd Golden Globe Awards, to be announced early on the morning of December 13, won’t be few: Soul Men, Sideways, Hotel Rwanda, Finding Neverland, Jan Kaczmarek’s score received extensive acclaim… Stealing Heart, released on the 3rd; Mr. Hughes 2, on the 10th; Million Dollar Baby, on the 15th; Crash, on the 17th, and so on.

Mr. Hughes 2 has received high evaluations and feedback from critics’ screenings and audience previews, and it will compete for nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and other major awards; the well-reviewed Crash will also launch a comprehensive attack, determined to be this season’s dark horse.

And in this Christmas period, there are many explosive action blockbusters, fun family comedies vying for box office receipts: Ocean’s Twelve, Blade: Trinity, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Meet the Fockers…

By mid-November, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, organizer of the Golden Globe Awards, announced that they were rejecting “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” from contending for Best Picture. The reason being that “Fahrenheit 9/11” is clearly a documentary, and the Golden Globes do not have any documentary categories; and “The Passion of the Christ,” being entirely in ancient languages and dialects without a word of English, could only enter the competition as a “Best Foreign Language Film” according to the rules.

“The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit 9/11” were undoubtedly the most controversial movies of 2004, with religion raking in 611 million globally at the box office and politics boasting a proud 222 million, becoming a global focal point of attention.

Although Michael Moore dealt a heavy blow to the Republican Party and George Bush, George Bush still managed to defeat his Democratic opponent John Kerry amidst a whirlwind of controversy in the early November US presidential election, securing re-election. This result was naturally met with both support and opposition – the organizers of the Razzie Awards belonged to the opposition, and countless movie fans called for President Bush, who “starred” in “Fahrenheit 9/11”, to receive the Worst Actor award at next year’s 25th Golden Raspberry Awards. Of course, this would also include Worst Screen Combo for George Bush with Condoleezza Rice and George Bush with his pet goat.

Compared to political games, people were more interested in entertainment gossip, and the most spotlighted celebrity relationship gossip of the moment was the “Stealing Heart” drama performed by Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie. Recently, there have been persistent gossip rumors claiming that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had sparked something while filming “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” and Pitt’s marriage to Aniston was facing rough waters. Despite this, the couple’s spokespersons came out to completely deny these rumors, furiously branding them “ridiculous and shameless; their relationship is stronger than ever.”

In the face of the paparazzi’s ever-growing siege, there aren’t many secrets that can be kept from the world. Either this is all a publicity stunt drawing the public’s attention towards “Ocean’s Twelve,” with Brad Pitt recently attending its promotional events hand-in-hand with Jennifer Aniston, seemingly as affectionate as ever, or, given the “cast” of “Ocean’s Twelve” and Brad Pitt’s clout, they simply do not need nor would engage in such base promotional tactics. Besides, such marriage scandal gossip would deal a major blow to Pitt and Aniston’s “golden boy and golden girl, model couple” public image, damaging their popularity significantly.

Given their status, the kind of promotion one would expect should consist of wholesome news like “the couple are plotting to have children” or “spending Christmas together”. On the other hand, although Angelina Jolie has always portrayed tough characters on screen and turned her personal life around, actively contributing to charity work and improving her image, this kind of home-wrecker role, threatening the happiness of a family, is not so easily digestible, which is why she has been maintaining a low profile and silence for the time being. If this isn’t foolish publicity, then it’s either rumor or truth—perhaps the truth will come out soon.

As more phones with video capabilities emerge and the speed of information sharing increases, the era of paparazzi being everywhere is inevitably coming. Recently, a potentially historical event occurred—video sharing website YOUTUBE went live on December 5th.

Video sharing websites are nothing new. Prior to the launch of YOUTUBE, it had already been dismissed by Mark Cuban and a slew of well-known figures in Silicon Valley, as well as the scorn of countless others. Regarding Wang Yang’s public bet to kiss a donkey’s butt, Mark Cuban did not respond directly, merely saying “I’m not doing stupid, boring stuff,” as a double irony aimed at YOUTUBE and the bet. Wang Yang, however, retorted with sarcasm, “You just didn’t film it,” as he passionately urged netizens to “bravely pick up their cameras and show off themselves.” He also stated that the bet was still on, even if it was one-sided. If within two years YOUTUBE didn’t publish a video with over ten million hits in a single month, he would kiss the butt of a live donkey, capturing it on video and uploading it—a move that undoubtedly demonstrated his strong confidence.

“Cuban, when you lose this courage, you’ll know you’ve fallen behind in certain aspects,” the remarkable 24-year-old Wang Yang harshly rebuked the 46-year-old Mark Cuban, to the cheers and applause of fans and moviegoers. If Wang Yang couldn’t do it, he would have to kiss a donkey’s butt! As for Cuban? Aside from fans of Yang and Cuban, hardly anyone supported the guy. He had started the war and was too cowardly to accept the bet, and his disdainful attitude towards ordinary people’s videos was annoying.

“He’s got nothing but his mouth left now,” “Isn’t it nicer for an old lady to watch her little nephew dance than to see Cuban standing on the sidelines holding his head and yelling?” … The fans’ jeers were never-ending. This verbal battle naturally caught the attention of plenty of IT and entertainment media. It has to be said that Cuban’s tirade inadvertently served as a catalyst, making more people aware of the new website YOUTUBE, with many eagerly awaiting its launch.

This matter actually caused a small quarrel between Wang Yang and Jessica. Jessica was dissatisfied with his bet—it was different from the box office spat over “The Devil Wears Prada.” Not to mention that last year he didn’t say, “If the box office doesn’t reach this, I’ll do that,” only that this was a field he was familiar with and good at. Even if he had said, “‘TDWP’ will reach a global box office of 1 billion,” she would have had complete confidence and wouldn’t have worried too much; but the IT industry is full of unknowns, so why bother with that shit Mark Cuban? And to make a bet about kissing a donkey’s ass, what if he lost? She wanted to do it for him, but that was definitely not possible, so what to do?

It’s not an “SNL” parody skit or an MTV Movie Award—this is real! In any case, she didn’t want to see him humiliated; that would drive her crazy, hysterically crazy, just like a very long time ago in the equipment store, when someone bulled him, she would fight them!

Friends had mixed opinions about Wang Yang’s bet. Natalie was eager to say, “I admire this seemingly idiotic act of yours,” and Rachel said, half-mockingly, half-interestedly, “Make a preview, what will be next?” Donnie said, “Actually, you’re more rebellious than I was when I was young, be careful of your Jessica!”… And Donnie was right, he really hadn’t expected Jessica’s reaction to be so big, as if she had gone mad—what was it if not just adding a stake to the usual?

If he lost, he would accept the loss graciously—that was the risk he had to take to win the first round of the verbal fight. Besides, what’s the big deal about really kissing a donkey’s ass; did it harm the donkey? It was just for laughs, why live so rigidly? And he wouldn’t lose; not to mention ten million hits, he was confident in a hundred million.

The argument erupted after a debate over “should or shouldn’t,” “why,” “have you seriously considered the consequences,” and “it’s not that I don’t trust you,” with a helpless question from Wang Yang, “Are you afraid of losing face?” Jessica was suddenly infuriated, “Yes, I am afraid of losing face! Aren’t you?” Wang Yang was also annoyed, “Then I am very sorry, but there will be many more things that will embarrass you.” Once he employed his talent for sharp-tongued remarks against women, the consequences were severe. Jessica felt suffocated in her chest, struggling to breathe, “Think about the baby. Would she ever want to see her dad kissing a donkey’s ass?”

“It’s always ‘baby, baby.'” Wang Yang muttered, like a child who had lost favor.

Then the explosion happened! His original intention to compete with the baby for affection was misinterpreted as impatience with married life, being fed up, enough was enough, and maybe it reminded him of “Desperate Housewives,” Pitt and Aniston, or maybe it just hurt too much, and Jessica burst into tears unexpectedly, “Wuu wuu wuu…” She kicked and punched him, then locked herself in the bedroom and cried incessantly, no matter how he apologized or knocked on the door, she wouldn’t respond.

The reason it was called a small quarrel was that it was resolved immediately. The moment she suddenly cried, Wang Yang knew he was wrong, terribly wrong! The bet wouldn’t hurt the donkey, but it would hurt her, and more hurtful were these damn words. After knocking on the door without a response for a while, Wang Yang kicked the door down and went in, just like every time they fought and the time they “broke up.” He held her tightly, letting her hit, bite, and cry out, “Wang Yang, you’re an ASSHOLE!” without letting go or saying a word.

He waited until she calmed down, and they talked openly and frankly, clarifying all their thoughts. Suddenly, everything became clear, so that’s what it was! Wang Yang knew she was just too worried about him, and Jessica knew he thought she was supportive. Both admitted their mistakes and forgave each other, culminating in a passionate reconciliation kiss. This, in turn, became an amusing anecdote; they took a picture of the broken door as a memento before fixing it.

In fact, there were no rights or wrongs, love doesn’t come with perfect partners by nature, and both romance and marriage need constant adjustment and compromise. Each argument made them more understanding and loving toward each other, mutually adjusting to the most suitable frequency. That’s what makes the perfect partner and is also their way of managing their relationship with each other.

As for “kissing the donkey’s ass”? Wang Yang had thoroughly explained and analyzed the prospects of YOUTUBE to Jessica, whose doubts were alleviated by his confident words. Since the bet had already been made, she supported him wholeheartedly! However, after a joyful Thanksgiving, these past few days, Mark Cuban seemed nervous, and Wang Yang had even made additional one-sided bets, which caused Jessica to be sullen for a while.

On December 5th, Sunday, Eastern Time at 9:00 AM, the eagerly waiting netizens discovered that YOUTUBE was officially online! The interface was simple and beautiful, the speed was smooth, and there was that fresh excitement! You could choose to activate your old Showyourself account, use the transfer feature to move your old Showyourself videos over, with a daily limit of five; you could register as a new user and upload your own videos again, but regardless, the number of views would reset to zero, and everything would start anew.

Netizens logging into YOUTUBE found that the empty website only had one video—the preview trailer for “Firefly,” uploaded by the user “Flame Films,” in the film and entertainment category. Clearly, Wang Yang and the others did not want traces of Showyourself to affect the growth of YOUTUBE. They just needed to attract the user base and the video library; they did not want the impression that “YOUTUBE was merely a place for Flame Films to advertise” to take hold, so the trailer virus marketing campaign was not going to start so soon. At least, not until YOUTUBE had a sufficient number of various interesting videos capable of handling the browsing needs of visitors drawn in by the promotion activities.

“There’s something you must know, she is a very dangerous person, she holds some secrets you are not supposed to know…”

The Flame Films logo flashed across video windows on computer screens all over America, North America, and the world as the “Firefly” preview trailer was clicked and played by countless people. “I’m going to oppose them,” the counter broke a thousand, then ten thousand, “I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!” The stunning battle scenes, even off the big screen, still made people’s blood boil with excitement. The number of user comments was also growing, ten, a hundred, and the views were now thirty to forty thousand, “If I die, please take me back to Serenity Valley.” User Alice TUBE commented, “Amazing Yang is so cool! He completely outshines little Robert Downey Jr.!” User Paranj had a different opinion, “Downey is undoubtedly the most attractive actor in ‘Firefly.'”…

The viewing numbers for “Firefly” trailer kept rising nonstop, almost showing a significant increase with each refresh, building up explosive energy for next summer’s release; at the same time, because YOUTUBE implemented a zero-verification system and uploading and browsing only required a simple plugin tool, which was very convenient and easy to understand, plus the reputation brought by the old Showyourself users, the Mark Cuban vs Wang Yang spitting match, various pre-launch promotions, etc., user registrations and traffic soared like a tide, and those website category columns were gradually filled with corresponding videos.

“Hahahaha!” Evelyn was about to die laughing as she watched the video on the screen. It was uploaded by user YOUNGNG, titled “The Halloween Surprise I Gave My Wife,” categorized as a comedy short. She clicked on it simply because it was on the homepage. Who knew! This is a model couple! She picked up her phone and dialed a number, rewatched it while waiting for the view count to break ten thousand, just a few hundred shy, and yelled while laughing, “Hey, get on YOUTUBE now! Yes, the new video website, Amazing Yang posted his prank on Jessica, it’s hilarious! I’ve told the others, bye!”…

“Get on YOUTUBE!” “Get on YOUTOBE!” “Get on YOUTO!”… All similar domain names pointed to one place.

“Aaaaah!” The video window on the screen clearly captured the full panoramic shot of Wang Yang screaming from under the dining table and rushing out headlong, while Jessica, standing by the fridge, jumped up on the spot, screaming hysterically, “Aaaaah!” (