The Best Director

Chapter 414: Chapter 414 Surprise! Joy!

“Give me a set of the ‘Firefly’ two-disc special edition!” “That’s mine! That’s mine! ‘Firefly’ four-disc limited edition, quick!!”…

In this modest-sized video store in Los Angeles, early in the morning just after opening, a swarm of young people who had been waiting burst in, forming a long line. They were either excitedly discussing or fiddling with their phones – the scene was bustling. Today, November 5th, Saturday, the various DVD versions of ‘Firefly’ officially hit the shelves! For the die-hard space cowboys and fans of the Serenity, this was a big day.

To be able to watch those behind-the-scenes extras on this weekend, and to purchase the limited edition, coming early to scramble for the DVDs was just the least laughable action. Many enthusiasts were ready to fight for glory, as ‘The Big Bang Theory’ would put it.

The new releases section of the movie area in the video store was filled with rows of beautifully packaged discs. ‘War of the Worlds,’ ‘Batman Begins,’ ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith,’ ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ and so on. In the eyes of movie fans, the different covers of ‘Firefly’ DVDs were shining brilliantly, priced at $19.95 for the single-disc widescreen or fullscreen editions, $25.95 for the two-disc special edition, $31.95 for the three-disc collectors edition, $49.95 for the four-disc limited edition… A variety of options that were both affordable and attractive! Orders on online stores like Amazon had already piled up, and the limited editions inevitably sold out.

One by one, hands took ‘Firefly’ boxes off the shelves, then the sales clerk replenished them with stock from the storeroom. The chubby middle-aged video store owner had anticipated that ‘Firefly’ would sell like hotcakes, of course! But even he was a bit surprised by how quickly they were selling, faster than ‘Star Wars: Episode III’ which had just been released on the 1st, and before the morning was over, all 500 sets of the various versions they had initially stocked sold out! Looking at the still long queue, the chubby owner loudly apologized, “To those who want to buy ‘Firefly’ DVDs, I’m sorry…”

“Oh—!” Before he could finish his sentence, sighs filled the video store, and the crowd started to complain, many of them deeply frustrated. They were already a step behind when they went to see ‘Firefly’ in theaters months ago, and now they were late for the DVD too! Someone couldn’t help but curse, “Damn it!!” A young woman with a crestfallen face lamented, “I thought I could watch Serenity this weekend.” Another high school-aged girl said, “Man! I should have ordered from Amazon.”

Their words resonated with many young people. The special features on the special edition DVDs included “Exclusive deleted scenes introduced by Wang Yang,” “behind the scenes of the actors’ martial arts training,” “special effects production,” and many other on-set anecdotes. Fans were eager to see those deleted scenes, and to watch the gossip moments behind the scenes, especially Wang Yang at work on set… to relive the classic ‘Firefly’ as many times as they wanted, like the Battle of New Shanxi, but now everything had fallen through!

“‘Firefly’ has temporarily sold out,” the chubby owner managed to say the whole sentence. He wiped his forehead and saw the queue quickly disperse; the store was about to quiet down. He shouted urgently, “Monday… tomorrow! Sunday! I think we’ll have new stock then, can you all come back tomorrow?”

Some people thought this smaller store wouldn’t have as much competition, but to their surprise, it sold out so quickly! Some were willing to wait another day and turned to the counter to place an order; many more didn’t want to wait even half a day and left the store without a backwards glance, discussing plans with their friends, “Let’s check Walmart, hopefully they still have the collector’s edition.” “Hurry up, you’ve already made me miss out on the limited edition.” “Shh! I know of a really out-of-the-way store.”…

“`

The audiovisual section in Walmart was stripped bare of a whole row of shelves, leaving customers frustrated to find no trace of Captain Mal and his crew! Damn it, not even a standard edition was left!

“Let go!” In another audio store, two male movie fans each gripped one end of a “Firefly” Collector’s Edition DVD and pulled hard against each other, “I saw it first!” “Buzz off, I grabbed it first!” “Do you want to get beaten up?!” …

Apart from those who actually bought it and treasured it without unwrapping, countless movie fans eagerly tore open their boxes as soon as they got them and hurried home to enjoy! Flame Films’ DVD reputation for quality and customer satisfaction had always been very high, and as a blockbuster with epoch-making significance, high box office, and high acclaim, the prices for “Firefly” were a bargain, whether for the single disc or the four-disc set, and everyone believed the content would not disappoint!

That weekend, Wang Yang appeared on the TV and computer screens of numerous fans; he sat in the chair of the editing room, with his back to the long computer desk, and said with a smile, “HEY, guys! Thanks for buying the DVD instead of watching on YOUTUBE — what, you guys are on YOUTUBE now? Impossible, I ordered it to be blocked… ahem! Welcome to the ‘Firefly’ editing room, now let me take you through what scenes we cut out?”

Almost completely sold out! Fans across North America were once again stirred up by “Firefly,” selling like crazy! In the first week on November 5-6 (ending on Sunday), 10 million sets were sold in just two days, with 8.5 million sets on the first day alone breaking Spider-Man’s record of 7 million sets; in the second week, from November 6-13, another 3.93 million sets were sold (-60.7%), unquestionably the sales champion of the week, reaching 13.93 million sets in 9 days, with a total sales revenue of 320 million US Dollars!

Of course, the decline in DVD sales was much faster than box office trends—about 60% of the total sales volume in the next few years was done in the first three weeks. It would take three to four years or 150 more weeks to sell another 5 million sets, and the prices for various versions of the DVD would be progressively reduced, with the revenue of those 5 million sets not even reaching 100 million. But the strong performance of “Firefly” in its golden period had already made Flame Films exuberant, and with the income from VHS tapes, related toys, and TV broadcast rights, it was all $$$$$$ flying around…

Some DVD reviews bearing the fresh Rotten Tomatoes logo also surfaced. ’s Mike Long gave a score of 4.5/5, “To say that ‘Firefly’ is a classic is an understatement; the film has too many narrative achievements, performance achievements, and technical achievements, but in fact, it encompasses everything.” Michael Simpson from DVD Clinic also rated it 4.5/5, “This is a DVD worth collecting. You’ve probably heard too much about the film itself, but its special features are charming and fun, truly not to be missed (three-disc collector’s edition).” Dan Goldwasser from SoundtrackNet gave it a full score, “Here’s a strong signal, you may have to wait twenty years to see something like ‘Firefly’ again; if you’re on the fence about buying, take action.” …

It has been nearly five months since ‘Firefly’ was released globally on June 17, and it is now in its 22nd week of showing, still playing in 175 theaters with a North American box office of 649 million; it could possibly hit 650 million by the time it finishes playing everywhere. As for the overseas market, aside from a number of IMAX theaters still selling tickets, the biggest mystery remains Japan, which contributed 158 million US Dollars (18.3 billion Japanese Yen). As blockbusters like ‘Firefly,’ which aim for a 20 billion box office impact, often screen for over 40 weeks before their performance is finalized, and as it’s only the 16th week, it’s hard to predict the final box office in Japan, but the overseas box office has already hit 1.142 billion, with the global box office at 1.791 billion, and there is great hope of surpassing the record set by ‘Titanic.’

In the week of November 4-10, the second week of its release, ‘Saw III’ failed to retain the championship, taking in 26.65 million at the box office (-50.3%) for a third-place finish, averaging $8,225 per theater across 3,240 theaters, bringing the total box office to 80.28 million.

That week’s North American box office champion belonged to Disney/Buena Vista’s new movie ‘Chicken Little,’ the studio’s first 3D animation, naturally carrying the great expectation of catching up with Pixar, DreamWorks, and Flame Sky Blue together. However, Disney’s harvest was not so good, with Rotten Tomatoes’ three indicators at 36%/26%/56%, and the first week’s box office only totaled 48.74 million (average per theater of $13,341), seeming for the time being unable to change the 3D animation scene, which relies on Pixar. Runner-up went to Sam Mendes’ new film ‘Jarhead’ with 34.80 million, Rotten Tomatoes scores of 61%/54%/68%, indicating that the Oscar-winning Best Director’s slump continued.

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For Wang Yang everything was going great, his career was flourishing, life was happy and content, Jessica’s due date was drawing closer, and the two of them were walking hand in hand toward this year’s Thanksgiving, ready to taste the seven-year itch. But suddenly, a storm erupted!

This whole matter had nothing to do with him originally, if he hadn’t taken over the “Iron Man” project, but now, the once despondent and silent Yang ‘blacks’ suddenly found a breakthrough with much delight!!

The issue stemmed from November 11th, as North America’s movie market welcomed the large-scale release of three new movies that new weekend. With production costs of $22 million for “Jarhead,” $40 million for “Money for Nothing,” and $65 million for “Zathura: A Space Adventure.” When the weekend of November 11th to 13th passed, Columbia Company, the producer and distributor of “Zathura,” was about to cry! A hefty $36.7 million advertising budget (Nielsen Agency data) and an investment of over a hundred million dollars resulted in a mere $13.42 million at the box office during the opening weekend!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

An average of $4,166 per theater across 3,223 theaters! Despite a not-too-shabby 75%/73% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience’s liking was only at 54%. Jennifer T. gave it a half-star rating: “Childish, not very impressive, simple enough plot, just boring.” Matthew G. gave it a zero-star rating: “A poor children’s movie, harmless for kids but boring for adults.” Maxamillion said: “I swear I never want to see it again.” …

What exactly happened here?! Even stale and rotten popcorn shouldn’t sell this badly! Yet this was the reality, the much-vaunted “Zathura: A Space Adventure” only garnered poor box office figures, and all the creators and main actors became both innocent and blame-worthy poison, 15-year-old leading actress Kristen Stewart poison, 39-year-old director Jon Favreau poison…

“Anyone who hires Jon Favreau to make a movie is an idiot, the best job for him is as an extra,” “Favreau completed the task laughably, I can’t fathom why he would be so foolish,” “Favreau tried to mimic ‘Jumanji’ and got a subpar product, trash.” Waves of attacks bombarded Favreau, and it is undeniable that he got dragged down by Wang Yang. If it hadn’t been for Wang Yang’s invitation to direct “Iron Man,” Favreau wouldn’t have been subject to such ridicule, especially since the film critics’ evaluations were not bad. But now, a barrage of questions like box office poison, run out of luck, and unable to make anything but comedies surged forward.

The two old men from New Line Cinema, Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne, were truly shocked, their lucky charms became death curses in one weekend! Favreau directing “Iron Man”? They might as well hire Alan Smithee! They hastily called Wang Yang with one simple purpose: “Change the director, we can’t go with Favreau!!” Luckily no contract was signed! Wang Yang’s attitude, however, was very casual: “I have my plans, and since I’m producing ‘Iron Man,’ you just have to trust me, don’t worry about ‘Zathura.'”

“Yang, listen to me…” Michael Lynne fully sensed Alan F. Horn’s feelings, anxious, worried, fearful… wanting to kick the ball away, yet the decision rested in the hands of a 25-year-old! What’s worse is that the youngster refused to kick! Wang Yang’s voice came through the handset: “Michael, you know I respect you a lot, and you have to respect me too. I have my reasons for believing in Favreau and honestly, what do the two movies have to do with one another? We should be thankful for ‘Zathura’s failure, it empowers Favreau with the potential to explode, nobody wants to be on the losing side all the time, right? Sorry, I’m busy, anything else?” Michael Lynne wanted to persuade more: “Yang, about Favreau…”

“Hey! Speaking of fighting,” Wang Yang loudly interrupted Lynn, said: “When disagreements can’t be resolved and someone has to obey, it’s about who is in command, AND I am the commander of ‘Iron Man’… Michael, trust me, goodbye!” Michael Lynne listened to the continuous beeping in his ears, his old face wrinkling into a frown with worry.

“I won’t change my mind, Jon Favreau, Jon Favreau! I will invite him to direct ‘Iron Man’, that’s my plan! Trust me, goodbye!” Robert Shaye received Wang Yang’s firm response, his old face contorting with distress.

In fact, now both of the old men not only doubted Favreau but also started to waver in their attitude towards Wang Yang. The first “failure” of the magical Yang seemed to have arrived, hadn’t it? He was optimistic about Favreau, thinking that after the successive successes of ‘Elf’ and ‘Zathura’, Favreau would be the best choice for directing ‘Iron Man’. Who would have thought he would blindside the magical Yang? Wang Yang must be cussing Favreau out behind closed doors now, right? But there was no use for New Line to be anxious, the movie rights were already Firefly Films’, and Firefly said if they thought the game was too risky, they didn’t have to play at all.

It wasn’t just New Line that was concerned about how things were unfolding; the media and the public were also very interested. Was magical Yang prepared to stubbornly refuse to admit any wrongdoing, or would he pull back from the precipice and make a change?

One day passed, then two, Wang Yang and the ‘Iron Man’ crew remained quiet, without any new news. This silence seemed even more like a signal of fear. For a man known for being outspoken, his silence was uncharacteristic! Yang’s critics were boiling with excitement, and of course, they would have erupted no matter what he said. Jon Favreau was being lambasted because they wanted to shift the blame to Wang Yang, who was receiving just as much flak, and it’s well known he has plenty of lovers and haters.

C.B stirred up trouble on Firefly’s official fan forum: “I told you, magical Yang was done in by the cabin ceiling! Now comes his clumsy performance time.” Gleson said, “I can’t imagine how ugly Wang and Favreau will make ‘Iron Man’?” Alimro commented, “It’s time to wonder about Yang’s abnormal behavior since the injury, Batman, Iron Man, Oldboy, zombies, and that vampire thing, is he really okay?” …

There were administrators present, so the comments on the official forum, although sharp, were not too offensive, elsewhere however, the voices of sarcasm, mockery, and abuse went in for the kill! Yang’s detractors were prematurely enjoying their Christmas jubilation.

This was a domino effect; when Favreau fell, magical Yang fell, Justin Lin directing ‘Oldboy’ fell, Christopher Nolan directing ‘The Dark Knight’ fell… No one could interfere with Firefly Films’ internal affairs, but over at Warner Brothers, chaos reigned! They had just come to terms with Gotham continuing on its dark path when they were hit with this gut punch! Alan F. Horn was also in shock, God! He had pondered for more than two months and couldn’t understand what the difference was between Aronofsky and Nolan; apparently, there was no difference!

“Change the director, change the director, we can’t go with Nolan!!” Horn heard the hopeless, adamant voice through the phone: “Alan, the situation now is, you don’t understand the current situation! Let me tell you, I’m in charge of ‘Batman’ now! Alan, relax! Relax! I’ve said it many times, trust me, you’ll be satisfied later, OK?” The current situation was, magical Yang, his brain possibly derailed from hitting the ceiling, insisted defiantly: “There is a difference.”

For a while, Wang Yang, the instigator, was drowned out by questions from outside media, internal investment partners, and other parties. To change or not to change? Should a change be made!? (