The Best Director

On the big screen, amidst the darkness, a pale yellow moth flapped its wings, heading towards a point of light ahead. The light slowly grew bigger—it was a raging flame! Without any hesitation, the moth plunged into the flames, and the screen suddenly brightened with a beautiful pastoral landscape: blue skies, white clouds, green grass, colorful flowers. A brightly colored butterfly danced in the air. The pale yellow moth flew towards the butterfly, its wings shimmering as if with flowing flames. The moth and the butterfly twirled together, entwining as they soared into the sky. Between them, a flame ignited, and below appeared the English letters “Flames-Films.”

Watching this 20-second opening animation, Wang Yang took a deep breath. Before his eyes, faces appeared one after another, flickering in and out: a jubilant Zachary dancing and jumping, Michael Pitt with reddened eyes, Harry George caressing a camera with rapture, restless call girls, and that figure limping away in the back alley… And himself, on the streets of Santa Monica, ecstatic and barely able to contain himself! Wang Yang clenched his fists; moths that fly into the flames would ultimately reveal their beauty, they must!

In the cinema, most faces bore looks of curiosity and confusion, each with their own interpretation of the animation’s meaning. Jessica gently applauded; she knew what the animation truly symbolized because she had asked Wang Yang. When Wang Yang replied, his face was radiant with a bright smile, “I am the moth, and many people are moths; some are butterflies, and many are butterflies. But Jessica, whether moth or butterfly, as long as you have the courage to chase the light, daring to take that step toward the flames, you will undergo metamorphosis, you will fly in a beautiful world. Whether in success or failure, you will find joy—that is the world of dreamers.”

Gazing at the big screen, Rachel suddenly recalled some long-forgotten memories. That day in the bar, she said to Wang Yang, “You’re like a moth to a flame, so romantic!” Her heart tightened, feeling a bit suffocated, and she thought to herself, “The moth that seeks the fire, courage, transformation. As long as you bravely seek the light, you can attain beauty.” She glanced at Wang Yang on her left and silently asked, “Yang, is it so?”

Following the animation, the screen showed the beautiful snowy landscape of the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake City, where a resort was hosting a New Year’s party; the scene was lively. The screen also displayed text introducing the cast: Tom Willing, Jessica Alba, Rachel McAdams, Zachary Levi… Cinematographer: Wally Pfister, Director: Wang Yang.

Wang Yang and Jessica exchanged a smile, their hands quietly coming together, fingers tightly interlocked. The things they had promised each other as children had now come true—he had become a director, she had become the leading lady, and they had found their way to each other.

It was then that Gabriela, played by Jessica, made her entrance. The bustling New Year’s party seemed unrelated to her as she sat in her room, engrossed in a book. Then her mother entered the room, asking her to come downstairs and join the dance; the scene shifted to Troy Bolton on the other side, who was diligently practicing basketball with his father. His mother insisted that the father and son stop training in order to enjoy the holiday and join the dance at the party.

The students in the cinema watched the screen with keen interest. A white boy with freckles beamed with a smile; he wasn’t one of the top ten in the “Show Yourself” event but was one of a hundred lucky ones. This made him the object of his classmates’ envy, unexpectedly turning him into a “celebrity” at school. Earlier in an interactive session, he had even received an autograph from “Gabriela,” which was truly exciting!

Soon, the story moved to Troy and Gabriela being pushed onto the stage, where they sang reluctantly but discovered a surprising harmony. As they sang better and better, feeling more connected, the young people around the small stage began to jump and dance along with their music.

“This is a whole new journey, being with you feels so wonderful…” The cinema echoed with the charming melody, and the students’ section buzzed with excitement, “This song is really good!” A freckle-faced boy exclaimed with stars in his eyes, “Wow, Jessica is so cute!” A black-haired Caucasian girl clutched her chest and sighed, “Wow, Troy is so handsome, he sings so beautifully!” Soon, the romantic scene of the protagonists watching fireworks had her sighing again, “Oh, it’s so enviable…”

As the opening New Year’s Eve party scene concluded, the story arrived at East High School, with the lively Wildcats’ team song playing. The screen seemed to be filled with sunshine, the wide and beautiful campus vista came into view, skateboarders, basketball players, cheerleaders—all were lively figures of youth. The school bus arrived, and Troy hopped off the steps, greeted by everyone who crowded around him and walked him to the school, chanting, “What team!?” “Wildcats!” “What team!?” “Wildcats!”

Until this point, film critics were somewhat surprised, their disdain diminished considerably. The cinematography of the movie was very good, with bright colors that were almost blinding but deeply conveyed the essence of youth; the music was fantastic, perfectly enhancing the story and the visuals; the actors’ performance was not as immature as they had imagined with many details, such as Troy jumping off the school bus, vividly bringing the characters to life.

“OK, let’s watch with an open mind!” the film critics and media reporters began to get serious. And as the story unfolded, the students also became engrossed, occasionally murmuring to themselves.

Wang Yang had already watched these 100 minutes of footage multiple times, and he was extremely familiar with every shot, knowing how it came to be, including filming, editing, color grading… Still, he found it as delightful as ever, never tiring of watching it. Looking at the screen, he whispered softly with a smile, “Artists express their deepest emotions here…”

On the screen’s stage, Ms. Darbus performed with exaggerated style, immersed in her lines, “Artists express their sincerest emotions here, through the actors they reveal their innermost true feelings…”

The first round of auditions began, featuring several song and dance numbers in succession. After Rachel and Zachary, portraying siblings Sharpay and Ryan, arrogantly performed, Troy and Gabriela’s duet followed. With the auditions over, the news of Troy and Gabriela being selected for the second round stunned the students at East High, leading into a scene in the cafeteria, where provoked students began to open up to each other, revealing their true desires. The burly black basketball player actually loved to cook; the quiet, chubby girl enjoyed hip-hop and breakdancing; the skateboarder boy aspired to become a cellist, performing in a suit and tie at the auditorium…

Looking at the bright and spacious cafeteria, many students repeatedly exclaimed, “Cool, this school is so cool, their cafeteria is awesome…” Everyone on the screen burst into dance, hopping onto the cafeteria tables and singing loudly, prompting gasps from the movie theater. The students looked at each other with faces full of playful and longing smiles, “They’re actually throwing a party in the cafeteria!” “It’s insane, when can we do something like that?” “Actually, I want to be a pilot…”

“Dead Poets Society?” a film critic mused, scratching his head, but obviously, the gravity of “Dead Poets Society” was lacking here, everything was so sunny. Maybe it wasn’t as profound, but it was expressing the same topic. Who do you want to become? Are you willing to be bound by the “rules” of the world, the gaze of friends, the expectations of family; or are you willing to do what you truly like and become the person you want to be?

The topic was discussed in a light-hearted and enjoyable atmosphere, with no preaching, no heaviness, very comfortable, and sometimes even funny. On the screen, Sharpay marched down the stairs with murderous intent, but then Gabriela slipped, and the ketchup box on the tray flew up, hitting Sharpay squarely, stopping the cafeteria’s song and dance abruptly, and everyone stared at Sharpay in astonishment followed by a piercing scream from her!

“Hahaha!” Laughter erupted in the cinema, the students reveling in Schadenfreude, even Sharpay’s supporters were smiling.

Seeing her own disheveled appearance, Rachel laughed happily, revealing two sweet dimples. After complaining to Mr. Darbus, Sharpay, with nowhere to vent her frustration, punched Ryan in the chest and walked away feeling wronged. Sitting next to Rachel, Zachary frowned and clutched his chest, saying, “Oh, Rachel, that punch really hurt; I almost fell over.” Rachel glanced at him and laughed, “Sorry. But that move was Yang’s idea, you should take it up with him.”

Their voices weren’t low, and Wang Yang heard them. He turned his head towards them and said, “Hey, Rachel, I just designed a push, throwing a punch was your own doing.” Rachel laughed and replied, “The direction I got was ‘very angry, very angry,’ so that’s where the punch came from, in fact, it’s your own doing.” Wang Yang smiled and was about to retort when he suddenly stopped, turned around, and said, “OK,” then looked back at the big screen.

At that moment, the plot had reached a scene in the rooftop garden where Troy and Gabriela shared their feelings. The students watched quietly, many touched by this beautiful and pure segment. Isn’t it wonderful?

Remembering how this close-up of the scene was shot, Wang Yang and Jessica smiled at each other. That’s why editing is a kind of marvelous magic that can deceive everyone. Wang Yang put his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture to Jessica, whispering, “Don’t tell anyone!” Jessica pretended to be very nervous and said, “Hmm, I’ll keep it a secret!”

Media journalists and critics also started to sense something “unexpected,” this was not just some terrible movie, not as people imagined—a plot that’s boring and childish, characters with disordered personalities, abrupt and stiff musical numbers, camera work as shaky as a hand-held DV, or a total mess of colors… No, none of these criticisms had anything to do with this movie! It was a decent film, maybe… it could even recoup its costs? Look at those students, they were completely emotionally engaged by the film.

Yes, the students were undistracted; they came to watch a movie, and they were the easiest to get mesmerized. When they saw Troy and Gabriela developing misunderstandings due to their friends’ interference, resulting in the cancellation of plans to attend the second round of auditions, although they knew the ending wouldn’t turn out that way, they still grumbled discontentedly, “Come on!” When Gabriela sang her song in sorrow, they quieted down; when they saw their friends reflecting on their actions, realizing they should support Troy and Gabriela’s pursuit of what they love, and helped the two resolve the misunderstandings, the students, disregarding the rules of the cinema, cheered and applauded loudly, “That’s more like it!” “I knew everything would be okay!”

Hearing these sounds, Wang Yang breathed a sigh of relief and felt extremely excited and satisfied. He looked at Jessica, laughing heartily, “Looks like Miranda is in for another surprise!” Jessica also felt very happy inside, she nodded and smiled sweetly, “Yang, everyone is going to get another shock from you.” Wang Yang shrugged and smiled, “Then that’s terrible, the high school musical has turned into a horror movie.”

The story moved to its final phase, due to Sharpay’s sabotage, the time for the musical’s second audition overlapped with the basketball team’s finals and the academic competition. To enable Troy and Gabriela to successfully audition, all their good friends were helping out.

On the big screen, the colors suddenly changed, from bright and vivid to dim. In a small room filled with clutter and equipment, a despondent boy rapidly typed away at his keyboard. Once he hit ENTER, the computer screen displayed a burst of data transmission, and he humorously said to his cell phone, “Done.” The background music was entertaining, and although the scene was “cool,” it did not feel abrupt but actually eye-catching.

“Wow, this guy is so cool and handsome, who is he?” the female students all began to whisper curiously.

Michael-Pitt saw himself on the screen, trembling with excitement. He clenched his fists tightly and turned to Harry-George beside him, his eyes red as he murmured, “That’s me, I’m on the big screen… that’s me…” A despondent Harry-George said, “Buddy, don’t talk to me, they cut my scenes, my shots…” Michael-Pitt smiled at him reassuringly, “Harry, there will be a time.” Harry nodded vigorously, revitalized, “Buddy, I think so too!”

With the help of their good friends, Troy and Gabriela completed the musical’s second audition, and in the subsequent rerun of the academic competition, Gabriela led East High to victory; in the rescheduled basketball final, Troy also made the winning shot at the end of the game! The movie reached the final song and dance, a huge chorus and dance on the basketball court, with basketball players, cheerleaders, students, and the audience all dancing to their youthful energy and joy.

The chorus sang out in unison, filling the whole cinema hall, “Together, we face everything, understanding every one of us is a shining star. Together, we face everything, as long as we hold hands, we can make dreams come true! Because we face together, we can fly with our hands outstretched, knowing deep inside, we can do it, we face everything together, once we see the chance, we’ll grasp it and never let go! Wildcats, sing it together, raise your hands high and jump, this is our way, it’s time to show ourselves to the world! Let’s all come together!”

Watching the joyful scenes, listening to the pleasing songs, and the lyrics that seemed to inspire everyone, the students all felt their hearts stirring. The freckled Caucasian boy couldn’t resist whistling and rose to his feet with enthusiastic applause, instantly whipping up a fuss, with everyone eagerly standing up, waving their hands, and swaying their bodies, singing along with the big screen “we face everything together”. The entire theater was abuzz, the cast stood up, and journalists and film critics also rose with smiles, clapping nonstop as if at a grand party.

“Wildcats, sing along, throw your hands up, jump!”

Wang Yang stood up with his eyes closed, spreading his arms, feeling that sensation again as if he were embracing the entire cinema. The audience was joyful, the audience was frenzied—all because of the movie on the big screen, because of their effort and dedication! It was the world inside the flames, so beautiful, and he loved everything about it.

Jessica, Rachel, Tom-Welling, Valery-Firth… all rose, clapping, with joyful smiles, proud of this collective achievement. Everyone had contributed, and everyone had gained something—the applause and cheers belonged to the entire crew.

Even after the final shot of the movie ended and the logo of the Flame Film Company reappeared, the students in the theater kept shouting out, the thunderous applause lasting for a long time. Journalists and film critics wore incredulous expressions. It seemed that the movie might achieve impressive results? They were already thinking about tomorrow’s headlines and forecasts, “The Surprising ‘High School Musical\'”? “Magic Yang, Bright New Directorial Star?”

The cast and crew of “High School Musical” congratulated and hugged each other. Wang Yang hugged Jessica, hugged Tom-Welling, hugged Rachel, looking into Rachel’s clear eyes and smiling face, he whispered, “Thank you!” Then he let go of her and embraced Zachary.

“Thank you, thank you, everyone!” Wang Yang and the principal creators and actors all embraced once, and he took the microphone that the staff had prepared in advance, walked back to the center position, looked at everyone in the audience, and shouted into the microphone with a loud laugh, “Hey, guys!” The audience gradually quieted down, all looking at Wang Yang, who laughed and said, “Thank you all for your support. This is a fantastic premiere. Today is also the 18th birthday of our beautiful ‘Gabriela’, Jessica Alba, the most important moment of her life. Please join me in wishing her well, okay? Everyone shout with me, Happy Birthday, Jessica!”

Jessica looked surprised, her hands covering her mouth; before she could recover, she heard everyone in the cinema shouting, “Happy Birthday, Jessica!” Everyone was smiling and clapping, sending their best wishes to her. In one part of the audience, Mark Alba and Kathy smiled, happy for their daughter; next to them, Joshua waved his fist and shouted loudly, “Happy Birthday, Jessica, you should thank me!”

“Happy Birthday, Jessica,” Wang Yang approached Jessica, put down the microphone, and tenderly offered his blessing.

Jessica looked at him, her heart beating fast, her nose slightly sensitive. She had imagined her 18th birthday many times, but never thought it would be so joyful and happy. She couldn’t help but open her arms and tightly embraced Wang Yang, saying, “Thankyou, Yang!” She closed her eyes and sincerely thought, “God, thank you for all that you’ve given me. You granted my birthday wish last year; now I only hope that all this goodness will continue, merciful Lord, please grant me this…”

After the embrace, Wang Yang gently pushed her away—there were many reporters around, and their romance was not yet suitable for exposure. He looked again at the audience and picked up the microphone, smiling, “Shall we all sing the Birthday Song together?”

Soon, the theater once more resonated with the voices singing the Birthday Song, and the cinema staff brought out a big cake, and Jessica, with a radiant smile, blew out the 18 candles on top.

After the official end of the premiere, the cast and crew of “High School Musical”, along with their families and friends, went to a hotel for a dinner party, which also served as a birthday party for Jessica. Wang Yang didn’t return to his apartment until very late, as his parents, who had come specially from San Francisco, didn’t stay there but were staying in a high-end hotel.

As soon as he got home, Wang Yang received a call from Mark Slaughter, his voice brimming with excitement: “Yang, the attendance at the preview schools in Los Angeles tonight was pretty good, the response was very positive, and the exact box office numbers will come out tomorrow. But, my boss, this time we have a great chance of success!” He laughed heartily, “We might really spark a musical fever, and we should consider releasing the original soundtrack!”

After the call and after freshening up, Wang Yang lay on the bed ready to sleep, but no matter what, he couldn’t close his eyes. Staring at the ceiling, myriad thoughts raced through his mind. In one year, he had his first film, now his first celluloid film, he had become the youngest director, he was a millionaire, he owned a film company, he had a beautiful girlfriend who loved each other, he had chased his dream, all madly exhilarating.

The moth that he was flew further and higher… Wang Yang slowly exhaled, why did he feel a bit scared? Why did it feel like there was no place to land? Was he afraid of falling to the ground, to be picked up and pressed into a book? Or was he afraid that as he flew higher and farther, he could no longer see the original flame? What was that flame?

“Wow! Everyone’s so huge inside, mom, are they all giants?” he asked his mom, astonished, as he stared at the silver screen as if he had discovered a new world.

“Haha, this is my movie picture!” He gazed contentedly at the drawing of the sun, the grass, the house, and the figures of himself holding hands with his mom and dad.

“My dream? Well, becoming a director wouldn’t be bad; then I could see all those cut film strips. Yes, I want to become a director!” he declared to Jessica with conviction.

“Damn it!” Wang Yang suddenly sat up, leapt out of bed barefoot, and walked out of the bedroom onto the cold floor. He entered the pitch-dark hall, turned on the entire home theater system, swiftly pulled open the drawer of the TV cabinet, rummaged through it, and took out a DVD set whose cover featured a smiling child holding film strips, “Cinema Paradiso”.

He inserted the disc into the DVD player, settled down on the wicker sofa, curled up, took a deep breath, and gazed at the TV screen where “Cinema Paradiso” began to play.

“Now that I’m grown up, going into fifth grade, even if I can’t enter the projection room, I can at least be friends with you, right?” Toto asked Alfredo.

“Sometimes, when the whole house is full of people laughing and shouting, you feel very happy too. It feels good, almost as if you are the one making them laugh, helping them forget their worries,” Alfredo said.

“Her smile makes you feel… I don’t know how to say it.” Toto looked troubled. Alfredo said, “That’s love.”

“Leave this place, go to Rome! You’re young, and the world is yours; I am old. I don’t want to hear you any longer; I want others to talk about you… to love your work just like you loved the projector when you were a child!” Alfredo told Toto.

Then, Toto went to Rome, his relationship with Elena came to a quiet end, and years later, he became a famous director, returning to his hometown, which had changed beyond recognition.

Before he knew it, Wang Yang’s eyes were red and his whole body trembling. When he saw Toto about to watch the cut film strips that Alfredo left for him, his breathing stopped short, his hands awkwardly unsure where to rest.

On the screen, black and white film images flickered one after another. Wang Yang rested his hands under his head, tears swirling in his eyes—this was what he had always wanted to see; this was what he had always pursued…

Soon the movie ended, and Wang Yang sniffled. He grabbed the remote and rewound the film, the calm music starting up again. Watching the film images, he wiped the corner of his moist eyes and smiled.

PS: Wow, thank you everyone, I’m moved. Since yesterday, I’ve received lots of monthly votes, and you’ve filled me with energy. I continue to ask for monthly votes! Also, I recommend you watch “Cinema Paradiso”, a great movie. I can’t say more, or I’ll hit seven thousand words. Remember to smash that monthly vote button.