The Best Director-Chapter 468 - - The Plan

Chapter 468 -468: The Plan

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Almost no one would believe it, but the day after the Oscar ceremony, Wang Yang had traded his gala attire for casual wear and was back to work as usual, of course, not without taking the time to accept interviews from media all over America and the world, talking about his winning experience, future plans, work, family… As days went by, these heaping questions gradually subsided, and the follow-up reports on the Oscars’ side stories, comments, and interviews also came to an end.

Wang Yang sighed in relief at this. The lively award season had finally drawn to a close, and he could focus more on dealing with various projects: several movies to produce, two to direct and write, TV series, and a few companies. He felt like a spinning top, constantly twirling around. He was indeed like Captain TOP.

Compared to the well-organized preparation for “I Am Legend,” the American version of “Infernal Affairs” seemed to be in a rush. Wang Yang had met Alan Mak and Andrew Lau a few times to discuss some script adaptation issues. The story, set at a subtle midpoint in terms of the duration of the undercover operation, was neither as long as ten years nor as short as just one or two. Chan Wing Yan and Lau Kin Ming were at a crossroads where they wouldn’t panic to the point of neurosis, nor would they be cool and composed like Scofield, but rather like normal young adults.

“People, once they are forced to separate from the life they are familiar with, are destined for a tragic end.” This is what William Monahan wanted to say with “Infernal Affairs.” The theme runs through the entire movie, creating a difference between the two versions.

One could say that “Infernal Affairs” tells a story not much different from “Infernal Affairs,” with a similar cast of characters. However, its focus is not mainly on the goodness and evil of human nature but rather on the importance of identity. If you lose your identity, are forced to live a life contrary to your expectations, you’re finished, you become one of “The Deceased,” which is also one of the reasons why “Colin Sullivan” (Lau Kin Ming) died in the end.

To better achieve this theme, the tone of “Infernal Affairs” was set to be cruel and brutal, which is the style Scorsese excels in, just like his grossly vulgar and wild classic “Goodfellas.”

The script lacked warmth, and the writers had no intention of making the relationships between the characters too complex. As a result, Billy’s relationship with the police officer was very weak, and Sullivan was just a pawn for the mob boss. Therefore, Martin Scorsese aimed for a sense of “isolation” overall. Billy, having lost his identity, was in agony and constantly wanted to reclaim it. He was like a stray dog, a dog fallen into the water, but Leonardo had still overplayed it.

Similarly, aiming for coldness, the approach refrained from being melodramatic. For example, when Officer Huang falls to his death in “Infernal Affairs,” slow motion + flashback shots + mournful music were used, and Chan Wing Yan stood there stunned. At that moment, he was only saddened by Huang’s death. In contrast, “Infernal Affairs” splatters blood all over with a sudden crash, and Billy is in a panic. He is saddened by the officer’s death but also thinks of his own dire situation. This isn’t because the director doesn’t understand the use of emotions, but because the latter desires the audience to feel oppressed and terrified, not sad and sorrowful. That’s the difference made by various themes.

On the other hand, it focuses on painting the dark corners of the city, the dark corners of the state. There are intrigues between the FBI and mob bosses, and the finale featuring a rat. It seems to say, “There are rats all over this country,” and it also seems to say, “The rat has its identity; it is just a corner rat, so it lives.”

If “Infernal Affairs” is “Goodfellas,” following a rough and real route; then “Infernal Affairs” would be “The Godfather,” taking an artistic and poetic path.

Buddha said: “A sentient being in Avici is forever immortal; a long life signifies the greatest disaster in the hell of Avici.” Avici hell is the most torturous hell in Buddhism, suffering eternally without the hope of reincarnation. This describes the life of the two undercover characters in “Infernal Affairs” and the interpretation of the ending. It focuses on painting the internal world of struggle and pain of the two undercover agents, as well as various entangled emotions, with the theme being the goodness and evil of human nature and the consequences of actions.

The choice between good and evil is often a split-second decision. One thought leads to justice, and another leads to evil. Yet this single thought often determines one’s entire life. The so-called “One step wrong leads to every step being wrong; one piece wrong leaves the whole board in tangles.” The most painful thing in the world is “Once, a sincere love was before me…” — that choices and things can only be looked back upon and not redone, with no chance for any opportunity.

This was the cause of their dialogue on the rooftop, “Give me a chance,” “How can I give you a chance?” “I had no choice before, but now I want to be a good person,” “Yeah, go tell that to the judge and see if he lets you be a good person!” “Then you’re telling me to go die,” “Sorry, I’m a cop,” “Who knows?”

If one were to view Infernal Affairs with its original theme and emotion and then watch Infernal Affairs Storm, the latter would indeed seem like a lousy film, and vice versa. To appreciate both films, one cannot simply put them side by side for comparison. However, according to initial responses, a part of the Asian audience inevitably had preconceptions about Infernal Affairs; they identified elements in Infernal Affairs Storm that shouldn’t be there, such as gangland loyalty and brotherhood, etc.

That’s not surprising, as any adaptation and remake can lead to similar situations. Which version of Planet of the Apes is better? Which is scarier, the Japanese or the American version of The Ring?

Wang Yang knew that this would “happen again”. Asian audiences are more nuanced in thought and culturally have more “ties.” In gangster films, the line between good and evil is blurry. Even the bad guys have their code of honor; it’s not just simply “business is business”. They like to savor the ambiance rather than a film with 237 F-words and 22 C-words. In Infernal Affairs, Chan Wing Yan dies while Lau Kin Ming does not, which is also Eastern philosophy; the deceased are actually liberated while the living continue to suffer.

He also had more to say and portray, something in between the two extremes—neither too brash nor too poetic. He wanted to explore the inner worlds of both characters and create an atmosphere of loneliness and suppression.

For a stronger sense of immersion, Wang Yang did not plan to be deliberately tear-jerking, but some emotional details needed to be finely portrayed, giving the two male leads ample room to display their complex inner lives.

The framework for the screenplay adaptation was set. The time setting was fixed in 1980s New York, mainly to avoid modern high-tech elements and to give the film a specific sense of the period, unlike the nondescript “now.” Outlines for some of the main characters and scenes had been drawn up, enough for various departments to start preliminary work on location scouting, set decoration, props, costumes, etc. As for character dialogue and scene details, these could be filled in and revised gradually.

The key was for him to clearly articulate his concept and intentions to all departments, so everyone understood what he wanted. However, the title for this FF American version of Infernal Affairs was still not decided, and the distribution department was very anxious.

No matter how busy, a spinning top must come to rest at some point. Wang Yang would not allow himself to neglect his family.

“Yang, how about we have another BABY next year?”

Under the night, in the fresh and cozy baby’s room, at Jessica’s hopeful words, Wang Yang, who was playing with his daughter, was surprised, “Next year?” Keke, picked up from her baby bed, blinked her large eyes and babbled in baby talk. Jessica glanced at her daughter, dressed in a soft brown outfit with a bear cub pattern, chubby and adorable. With a sweet smile, sparkling eyes gazing at him, she said, “We’ll schedule the due date for October. By then, Keke will be nearly 2 years old and able to look after herself.”

Jessica truly didn’t see any problems. After giving birth to her, her mother had Joshua 14 months later, and she was only 1 year and 2.5 months old! Keke was smarter and stronger than she had been, not to mention taller; she had never been sick since she was born, just a little runny nose that cleared up the next day. Really great, truly wonderful!

“Just think about it, how could our 2-year-old Juno possibly struggle?” Jessica made an exaggerated ghost face, causing Keke to erupt in clear, hearty laughter, seemingly in agreement with her mother. She continued excitedly, “With the experience from last time, I think I can do even better during my pregnancy, and then Keke will have a super little sister or brother, hehe!” She chuckled indulgently, envisioning herself dragging Keke while holding a baby…

Seeing that Wang Yang hadn’t expressed his opinion, she suddenly acted coquettishly, pursing her lips and clinging to his arm, “Babies are so cute! I really want to have another one! Darling, let’s have one, let’s!”

Watching her mother’s “bizarre” antics, Keke couldn’t help but laugh amusingly, waving her little arms and kicking her feet, soon becoming uncontrollably joyful: “Eeee!! Ya!! Ohh—yah!” Jessica quietly came to a halt, biting her lip, her eyes darting around, cheeks turning slightly red. To her surprise, Keke became even happier, her big eyes curving into crescents: “Eeee!! Ya!! Ya! Ya—!”

“Rebellious girl.” Both eventually couldn’t help but break into laughter at this naughty little Juno.

After laughing for a while, Wang Yang carried little Juno out of the room, thinking about her plan. Obviously, deciding to have a baby didn’t mean one would immediately be on the way. If the due date was next October, by the time her belly swelled, Keke would be over a year old and it wouldn’t be inconvenient, a sibling at 2 years old would be quite suitable. He liked babies and children, and given the current family situation, a few more babies wouldn’t be a problem. He nodded, “I agree that Keke wouldn’t have any issues, and I also like babies, but…”

Following behind, Jessica knew exactly what his ‘but’ implied and felt suddenly troubled, frowning in distress as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her head. She had to shoot “Firefly 2” next year! And there was that mystery comedy he mentioned, which could be put off, but “Firefly 2” couldn’t. “Oh! What to do?” Jessica was at a loss. Never mind the likely abundance of action scenes; even if it was just dramatic scenes, the experience of being worn out to the point of illness during the filming of “Firefly” was a lesson she dared not risk. A miscarriage due to exhaustion would be the most terrifying thing.

“Umm…” Wang Yang was aware of this point and understood her feelings. It was like shooting a movie, after gaining enough experience with the first part, she would want to provide more thoughtful and perfect prenatal care for “the second part,” which required ample time without work, and also meant looking after Keke. Maybe after getting tired of having one at a time, she would even consider having twins for the third pregnancy, as if “filming simultaneously.” However, for next year, her schedule was packed; River was an indispensable main character of “Firefly,” and right now, it was definitely impossible to replace her. He asked, “Shouldn’t we wait until after ‘Firefly 2’ shooting to get pregnant? Postponing the due date.”

“Firefly 2” was scheduled to begin shooting in May next year, with a release date in June 2008. The filming period would require at least 4 months, maybe 5, meaning she couldn’t get pregnant until at least before September 2007, so the second baby would be born in the late summer of 2008.

Arriving at the living room sofa and sitting down, Wang Yang explained all these details to her, also revealing a layer of mystery. That comedy was called “Bridesmaids,” yes, a story about being bridesmaids, and it was planned to shoot in the first quarter of next year.

“Hmm,” Jessica’s mood was disheartened, her interest and joy dampened, and her brows furrowed ever tighter. Late summer of 2008! Well, she glanced at Keke’s silly smiling face, and her mood quickly lightened again. She adored this little angel! Why worry so much? She should focus solely on taking care of Keke until she’s hopping and jumping around, and then she would soon start to think that time was flying by too fast. Jessica’s face brightened with a smile and said, “I know! We’ll talk about it after filming, but I want to make one thing clear.” Her expression turned serious: “From September 2007 to the summer of 2008 is my pregnancy period.”

Obviously, she meant that he shouldn’t keep her too busy during that time, no more “filming simultaneously.” Wang Yang rubbed her hair solemnly and nodded in affirmation, “Understood.” He smiled and added, “But I also have a plan. You know that I’ve always been preparing to shoot an IMAX-3D movie for release in 2009. I already have a rough idea, and I was originally planning to invite you to be the female lead…”

“What?” Jessica’s eyes widened, and she quickly waved her hands, “No, don’t pick me! I want to have a baby.”

Wang Yang looked her straight in the eyes, conveying his seriousness, and slowly said, “Jessica, in the next few years, Firefly will be joining forces with several IMAX companies to push movie theater owners in North America and around the world to upgrade their projection systems and open IMAX theaters. Fox is also preparing to do the same because they’ve already had discussions with IMAX. By 2009, there will be many, many 3D and IMAX-3D theaters… Do you know what that means?” Jessica didn’t say anything but shook her head; Wang Yang’s voice started low and then rose, “That 3D movie will be more successful than ‘Firefly.’ People will run to the theaters to see it like they are crazy, absolutely crazy!”

“Wow,” Jessica exclaimed, more successful than ‘Firefly’? So what? She hugged his arm and snuggled up to him, letting out a silly giggle, “I want to have a baby.”

“OK.” Wang Yang nodded with a smile, really, there was no reasoning with her; to have a baby or to shoot movies, we’ll talk about it when the time comes! He stroked her hair again, causing her hair hoop to fall off. Keke, looking on, suddenly burst into laughter. Jessica glared at him and gently put the hair hoop on Keke’s head while asking, “Will it be very busy?” Amidst Keke’s joyful laughter, Wang Yang laughed and said, “I think it will be manageable, not any worse than it is now, haha!”

After completing the filming of ‘I Am Legend’ next year, he would have to do post-production and start formally preparing for that 3D project, planning to start shooting at the beginning of the fourth quarter of ’07. Otherwise, the timing would indeed be tight, especially since he had to compete with the ambitious ‘Avatar.’

Wang Yang also considered another point, he had publicly spoken about making a 3D movie a long time ago. Over the past two years, because Firefly’s R&D technical operations had to cooperate with IMAX and other graphics and camera system companies, it was no secret to industry insiders that “Magical Yang is really going to make a 3D movie.” This was actually not such a rare occurrence, as ‘Beowulf’ (full motion capture + 3D) set to release in November next year and the similarly in-preparation ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ (started shooting in June ’06, releasing in September ’08, the same 3D technology type as ‘Avatar’) were both 3D movies, not to mention other films converted to 3D in post-production.

His entry meant one more to the list, and it also meant he was optimistic about the 3D market in ’09.

Although Fox was unaware of just how crazy the ripe 3D fruit ‘Avatar’ would be, their massive investment and initiative to upgrade theater projection equipment spoke volumes about their determination. They weren’t fools; they understood the significance of being first or second, and the term “IMAX movie” had already explained a lot. Therefore, when the news broke that “Magical Yang’s 3D movie is set to hit theaters during the summer of ’09,” it was possible Fox would move ‘Avatar’s release date from the Christmas season to the summer season to get ahead or directly clash with him. When that happened…

Wang Yang didn’t know what would happen, but he was full of confidence. If ‘Avatar’ was coming, then let it be a showdown!

However, this time there were many different factors because of the push to upgrade theaters, and dealing with Fox and the dozens of investors behind ‘Avatar’ was no small feat; after all, it was a huge interest group, not something Firefly Films, as an independent company, could easily confront. It wasn’t so much about underhanded tactics; the issue was with the formation of that 3D storm! These investors, to one extent or another, were the fuel that contributed to the effects after the release, and it was with their inflating hype that ‘Avatar,’ and not ‘Beowulf’ or ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth,’ drove people crazy.

The more allies you have, the more help and strength you get. Hence, for that 3D project, Firefly would seek to bring in Warner Brothers, IMAX, and other companies as investors to form an interest group with Firefly at the helm. As IMAX-3D movies had big enough budgets, he believed Warner Brothers and the others would be very willing to participate, especially if ‘I Am Legend’ turned out to be successful next year.

For now, the work on ‘I Am Legend’ and ‘Infernal Affairs’ was what he needed to focus on most, unlike the distant year of ’09. They each had their challenges and formidable opponents, and Wang Yang didn’t permit any negligence or mistakes on his part, just as he said many years ago: make a great movie! (