The Best Director

On the evening of the 22nd, the moment long anticipated by cinephiles and fans finally arrived; the Christmas season reached its most intense phase, with “Cast Away” and “Juno” premiering… Taking advantage of the holiday, they flocked to theaters, eager to be among the first to see the new releases.

Although theater owners had nicknamed Wang Yang “money-grabbing Yang”, the Christmas season never lacked blockbuster films. Additionally, with “Juno” facing the hidden danger of being an unproven genre, the film opened in only 2,712 theaters under the tense allocation of cinema resources, compared to the 2,774 for Fox Company’s “Cast Away”. However, this still covered major and minor cities across North America.

Whether to choose “Cast Away” or “Juno”? The former featured Oscar-winning Best Director Robert Zemeckis and Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks, reuniting after “Forrest Gump” and proving highly appealing; on the other hand, with “future Best Director” Wang Yang and one of the most talented actresses born in the ’80s, Natalie Portman, the latter was also compelling.

Robert & Tom together were 92 years old; Yang & Natalie summed up to 39 years old, and the two of them were not even as old as Tom Hanks’s eldest son, Colin Hanks, who was 23 years old.

The age of the main creators and cast naturally influenced the market, with most middle-aged people choosing “Cast Away” or other films; younger people were mostly entering the screening rooms of “Juno”, loving the quirky girl’s witty comments and jokes, which were the latest trend in chat rooms, ICQ, MSN, etc. They didn’t want to fall behind, and Wang Yang’s films were always enjoyable to watch. Furthermore, many parents concerned about their children being impacted negatively by the movie chose to watch “Juno”, ready to take preventive measures if it had the power to affect teenagers.

The premiere of “Juno” took place once again at the “Vitae Projector” cinema, where the screening room was packed with members of the “Juno” crew, their families and friends, as well as invited media journalists and film critics.

After “The Pursuit of Happyness”, aside from critics like Kevin Thomas who seemed to thrive on being contrarian, no one dared to say that “Magical Yang is just a little Baby director” anymore. This “little Baby” had already amassed a global box office of 1.106 billion US dollars with three best-selling works of different genres, a feat many veterans in filmmaking could not achieve. Thus, no one expected that the young director would face a complete disaster.

If “Juno” were a rare masterpiece, the media would naturally admit it, and the magical journey would continue. However, if “Juno” was just an ordinary high school comedy with nothing profound behind it, then sorry, even if it was extremely funny and had the potential to be a major box office hit… if that was all there was to it, it meant the “end of magic.” They could finally use headlines like “Magical Yang disappoints!” and “He is, after all, only 20 years old” to report on it in a tone of regret.

A 20-year-old director’s new work disappoints for not being a “classic”? The critics would all say “yes”, and that was the price of being known as Magical Yang.

In the auditorium, some of the audience were student cinephiles selected through promotional activities; there were also celebrities who came to show support, including the Will Smith family, Christopher and his wife, Tom Welling, Rachel, Zachary and several main actors from “High School Musical”. The premiere event had already ended, and now everyone was either chatting softly or looking at the big screen, waiting for the movie to start.

Wearing a black suit, Wang Yang sat in the middle of the first row, talking with Jessica, dressed in a pale blue evening gown, to his right, “Jessica, how about we go to see ‘Cast Away’ tomorrow night?” Jessica nodded with a smile, “Sure, it’s been a long time since we watched a movie together, not like tonight.” Wang Yang laughed, “Yeah, and there’s also the basketball game, we’ll continue our tradition of watching the Christmas battle this year…”

On the left, Natalie in her white evening gown seemed somewhat bored; she glanced at the big screen – why hasn’t it started yet? – then sneakily peered at Wang Yang talking intimately with his girlfriend, muttering to herself about the darn dopamine in his brain right now. She slapped her forehead, then turned to Michael Pitt sitting on the other side, who was staring at the screen with a heavy breath, clearly nervous. She asked, “Hey Michael, what are you thinking about?”

“Well, I…” Michael snapped back to reality and smiled faintly, “I was thinking about some things from the past, not very happy memories, but I’ve always been moving forward. Having achieved what I have now, it’s all worth it… I’m really happy now, I made it.” Listening to his disordered talk, Natalie nodded; she had heard Michael’s story and knew what he meant. She smiled and said, “Enjoy it.”

“Thank you,” Michael said with a smile, suddenly leaning forward and calling out, “Hey, Yang! Yang!” Wang Yang looked back, and Michael earnestly added, “Thanks for that hamburger!”

“Buddy, no need to be polite!” Wang Yang grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. With a snap, he saw Natalie suddenly hitting her head with a smack, making him ask with puzzlement, “Natalie, are you okay?”

Michael Pitt, Jessica, Anne Hathaway, and Joshua in the back row all turned to look at her. Natalie with an “oh” glanced around at everybody, holding out her hands, “It’s nothing, nothing, I was just getting rid of some useless stuff, like feeling drowsy.” Everyone laughed, realizing what she meant, and Joshua mockingly whispered, “Please, it’s all useless in there…”

The movie was about to start, and the screening room fell silent. Valery Fister, Harry George, Nancy Reno, Anne Darren… Will Smith, the Nolan couple, Rachel, Zachary… everyone in the screening room quietly looked towards the big screen.

On the screen, moths flitted towards the flames, arriving in a beautiful pastoral world to dance with butterflies. After the opening animation of the fire movie, Juno was seen standing on the lawn, staring blankly at an abandoned luxury chair. Recalling her pre-pregnancy days, she was woken up by a Yorkshire Terrier’s bark, then walked away with a large bottle of drink. Lively and cheerful country music started playing, harmonicas, guitars, whistles; the scene combined live-action with animation, with Juno walking through the town, sipping her drink, while street and rooftop locations displayed the main cast and crew, eventually showing “Anne Hathaway, Michael Pitt, Natalie Portman, Wang Yang.” After that, Juno stepped out of the animated scene and into the small town’s general store.

Sitting in the guest seating area, Rachel smiled slightly and lightly clapped her hands, this would definitely be a good movie! He had said that he would not let down this beautiful small town.

Audiences across North America watching “Juno” at that moment were all brimming with excitement, with the bright and comfortable visuals, the light and pleasant music, and Juno’s interesting dialogue making the serious matter of “teenage pregnancy” rather humorous, without any sense of oppression or heaviness.

“Haha! That’s me, haha, that’s me!” Joshua sat up excitedly when he saw himself on the screen and rapidly said, “Yoyoyo, everybody watch out, the Oscar for Best Actor is about to appear! His debut!” In the hallway, Juno squatted, picking up books that had dropped to the floor, and a group of big and burly sports team students walked by, with Joshua’s character mockingly saying, “Your books fell to the ground, they must have seen your face! Hahaha

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Wang Yang and Jessica exchanged smiles, then heard the sigh of relief from Joshua behind them, “First appearance done, oh yeah! Seeing myself on the big screen, it feels pretty good.”

The story on the screen kept moving forward, Juno considering an abortion, then deciding against it and resolving to find adoptive parents… With Natalie’s total immersion into the character and brilliant acting, coupled with the novel witty lines, a uniquely different girl came alive on the screen. Audiences were unknowingly drawn into the movie’s story, into the inner world of this pregnant teenager, young and old alike were deeply captivated by the big screen, occasionally letting out soft chuckles.

“I’m like a planet now!” Juno complained as she looked at her big belly.

Light laughter filled the movie theater again as a young Caucasian high school student excitedly clenched his fist and couldn’t help exclaiming, “Got it!” Being as fat as a planet, even with its own gravitational field—this is going to become the new trendy way to describe fat people! He swiftly jotted down in his notebook, “Juno said, ‘I’m now a planet…\'” Just then, Juno on the screen said another line, “My water just broke, can you speed it up?” Once again, the audience couldn’t help but let out chuckles, and a white girl excitedly said, “Got it! Haha, got it!”

Seeing the excitement of the teenagers around them, a middle-aged couple couldn’t help but frown. Sure enough, as expected, whenever it’s a magical Wang Yang campus movie, it has the power to influence young people. High School Musical made their middle school daughter want to take dance classes, and now the question is, what about Juno? What is this movie ultimately trying to say, what will their daughter take from it, and what kind of impact will it bring?

As the film passed the halfway mark, the story gradually entered a more serious phase, and the use of slang and funny phrases progressively decreased. The laughter in the theater turned into smiles, and everyone became more focused and engrossed. The movie had successfully transitioned to the “discussing matters” stage.

The change in Juno’s mindset, the change in Paulie’s mindset, and the change in the older adoptive couple’s mindset… When Juno experienced the clash between school life and life outside school, she reflected, she felt, she gradually matured. It was a moment that tested acting skills more than ever, as Juno had to transform, but this transformation could not lose her unique personal charm. The transformation required layered acting, while retaining charm required controlling the essence of the character.

“Dude, I’ve got to compliment you one more time,” Wang Yang sighed as he watched Juno, lost and weeping over a car hood on the big screen; he turned his head to Natalie on his left and laughed, “You acted really well!” Natalie, with a casual expression, replied in a light tone, “It’s not acting, that’s just me.” Wang Yang then called out “Michael” and shared a laugh with the approaching Michael Pitt, giving him a thumbs up, followed by a shout to “Annie” and giving a thumbs up to the smiling Anne Hathaway-

On the screen, the acting of Michael, Anne Hathaway, and the others shone even more brilliantly. Like Natalie, they left no trace of performance behind— only the feeling that “that’s just them.”

“Hey, Yang! Don’t forget about me, the Best Actor!” Joshua said, stretching out his hand to slap Wang Yang on the shoulder from behind. Jessica turned her head, laughed, and said, “Wow, just a bit more screen time than my cameo, Best Actor.” The people around laughed softly, and Joshua shrugged and gave a thumbs up, saying, “Good!”

Soon, the movie reached its final stage. Juno and Paulie both understood what love is, what responsibility and giving mean. In the hospital, with her family, her best friend Leah, and Paulie by her side, Juno gave birth to the baby. The young couple looked tenderly at the baby in Vanessa’s arms. The scene shifted to Juno, carrying a guitar on her back, racing on her bike to Paulie’s house and sitting on the doorstep in the morning sunlight, both happily looking at new photos of the baby that Vanessa had sent, playing the guitar. The 120-minute film came to an end.

In theater one of the “Vitae Projector” Cinema, the end credits guitar song resonated as the detailed cast and crew list began to scroll: “Producer: Wang Yang, Director: Wang Yang. Cast, Juno MacGuff: Natalie Portman, Paulie Bleeker: Michael Pitt, Leah: Anne Hathaway… Annie Darren, Joshua Alba- Classmate: Jessica Alba, Rachel McAdams, Tom Welling, Zachary Levi… Cinematographer: Wally Pfister, Assistant Cinematographer: Harry George… Assistant Director: Nancy Reno…”

Applause erupted from the audience as they stood up, some young students whistled and shouted enthusiastically, “Juno, you’re so cool!” and “I love you, even if you were as big as the Earth!” Wang Yang sat in his chair, smiling as he listened to the applause around him and watched the names on the screen. Ten years later, when people looked at this cast list, would they exclaim in surprise with a “wow” just like he was doing now?

“Buddy.” Suddenly, there was a tap on Wang Yang’s shoulder from the left. He turned to Natalie, who was all smiles, and said, “This premiere is the best I’ve ever been to; I’ve beaten my 13-year-old self!” She laughed again and added, “You know, your pants are really cool!” Remembering the meeting that day, Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Dude, they’re just ordinary pants.” After that, he happily explained the situation to Jessica.

In the VIP section, the celebrity guests who had been invited also rewarded “Juno” with applause. Will Smith clapped his hands and said to Terry in a PG- 13 manner, “Terry, like Yang said, high school pregnancy is a serious matter. Don’t go trying it out in the future!” Terry’s young face was full of confusion as he asked, “Uncle Yang said so? I didn’t hear it. And Dad, can boys get pregnant too?”

In the middle of the auditorium where the media and film critics were seated, they too were applauding but looked distracted as they reminisced about the film they had just watched. Had Magical Yang disappointed? Not at all. That clever, cunning guy—he didn’t skirt around the issue of abortion, but he also didn’t offend anyone’s values. Juno’s parents were so open-minded, and Juno was so amusing and unique, that even faced with the various issues triggered by a teenage pregnancy, she could chuckle them away… Magical Yang painted a wonderful world, but was that all? A teenage pregnancy growth story?

It seemed to be just that, yet it also seemed not. The vivid characters, the straightforward plot, the brilliant dialogue—all swirled in their minds, pondering how to write their reviews. One thing was certain: they couldn’t use headlines like “Magical Yang disappoints!” or “After all, he’s only 20 years old.” This wasn’t a bad movie, nor was it an ordinary campus comedy; it was a rare gem. If one were to consider its genre and subject matter, it could be said to be an unprecedented masterpiece.

In every North American theater screening “Juno,” a similar scene unfolded.

“Oh my God, I never thought Natalie Portman could be so amazing…,” “It’s insanely good—I thought it would be preachy, but it turned out to be so entertaining. Well done, Magical Yang!” “The music in the movie is so pleasant to listen to, especially that harmonica sound. When the original soundtrack CD comes out, I must buy one.” As Wang Yang listened to the diverse voices surrounding him, a white middle-aged couple silently nodded in agreement. Indeed, it was a good film, until they were alarmed by a young girl’s voice, “I really want to get pregnant! It would be so cool… just like Juno.”

After the premiere concluded, all the crew members of “Juno” and their families and friends went to a hotel for a private dinner. In the hall where the dinner was held, people gathered in groups, chatting and laughing, or sipping red wine and sampling food. Wang Yang, chatting with Jessica, Michael Pitt, Rachel, Zachary, and Eileen Iriss about Christmas plans, Zachary invited, “Yang, I’m throwing a dance party. I’m inviting everyone; you guys have to come!” Wang Yang glanced at Jessica’s smiling face and, seeing she had no other plans, agreed, “OK, I love dancing.”

“Hello, director, Jessica, everyone…” At that moment, Anne Darren, dressed in a light yellow evening gown, came over. After exchanging greetings, Anne took out a poster and a marker from her handbag, handed them to Wang Yang, and asked with a smile, “Sorry, director, could you autograph this for me? A friend of mine wants it; she’s a fan of yours.”

Wang Yang nodded happily, took the marker and poster—this was a “Juno” release poster featuring pregnant Natalie, Michael in school uniform, Hathaway, and others. He scribbled his signature on Natalie’s belly and handed it back to Anne with a smile, “There you go!”

Anne smiled and then addressed Jessica and the others, “Would you mind autographing it too?” She smiled helplessly, “My friend wants the signatures of all the stars, she’s a fan of you all too.” Naturally, no one refused. Jessica signed, then Rachel… Wang Yang, seeing the poster filling up with signatures, really wanted to say, “Anne, why don’t you sign your name too?”

“Thanks, everyone.” Once everyone had signed their names on the poster, Anne thanked them with a smile, “I’m off to find other stars; you guys chat.” With that, she took the poster and marker and headed toward Natalie and Hathaway at the vegetarian food table.

Watching Anne’s retreating figure, Wang Yang secretly said, “Anne, in ten years, you’ll surely be a star! By then, many people will be surprised to find that you had a role in ‘Juno’!”

“Sure, no problem.” Natalie received Anne’s poster and pen, looked at the distribution of signatures on it, and couldn’t help glancing at Wang Yang, who was chatting with Jessica and friends. She chewed on her corn kernels, thinking to herself, Signing on my belly, huh! Holding the pen, she overlaid a “Natalie Portman” on top of the “Director: Wang Yang” and then added, with a laugh, a “LOL!” beside it.

On the internet, movie fans were quick to share their reactions to “Juno” with lots of “LOLs,” and terms like “funny,” “meaningful,” and “classic” quickly became tags associated with the film. On the IMDB website, the voting score for “Juno” soared to 8.6 before settling at 8.4, but the rapid rise in the number of voters also indicated the movie’s popularity, especially online.

With such growth and scores, it would quickly make its way into the Top 250 film history chart. The scoring formula for the Top 250 was more rigorous and strict, counting only votes from “regular voters.” IMDB didn’t define “regular voters” clearly, but they were probably those with long registration periods who had voted for at least a thousand movies and had good voting records, serious and dedicated movie fans; they determined the Top 250 scores for films. This effectively prevented vote rigging by companies, fans, and careless votes, making the list authoritative.

So, the ratings on the Top 250 often end up being lower than those on the main page, just like “The Pursuit of Happyness” now has a main page rating of 8.3, while its Top 250 rating is 8.1, barely making it into the 150-200 range of the same score.

A drama about a sensitive topic like teenage pregnancy, touching on abortion, astonishingly, has a stable main page rating of 8.4. That’s definitely a surprising figure, you know. “Sweetheart” only rates at 6.0. If there was a competition between these two films, movie buffs have already delivered their verdict. “Juno” wins hands down in every aspect, be it directing, lead acting, story, soundtrack, you name it—no question about it.

On the 23rd, entertainment newspapers and film publications all gave their front pages to the two most anticipated films, “Cast Away” or “Juno”, and they also respectively dominated half the space in film review sections.

Long before its release, based on trailers and the cast, “Cast Away” had an IMDb rating of 8.8. As it hit the theaters, it slipped to 8.6, but that’s just normal. This predestined classic film became an instant classic with waves of positive reviews from both fans and the media. The New York Post said, “This is a commercial blockbuster with the soul of an art film, Robert Zemeckis’s best Christmas gift to us.” And the Chicago Sun-Times couldn’t praise Tom Hanks’s performance enough, “For two-thirds of the film, it’s just him performing, but you never feel bored, his acting is that good.”

The Los Angeles Times entertainment section’s headline was all about “Juno”: “Yang & Natalie, the hope of the new generation!” In the lead-in to their review, they wrote, “Before ‘Juno’ was released, we had our doubts—could the amazing Yang do justice to this genre of film? Was the goody-two-shoes Natalie Portman fit to play the supposedly ‘rock-n-roll’ Juno? After seeing the movie, all questions were answered—they overcame the skepticism. Yang & Natalie, this duo that together is just 39 years old, have given us a big surprise once again. They are the leaders among directors and actresses born in the ’80s, the hope of a new generation.”

In their detailed film review report, accompanied by a photo of Wang Yang and Natalie smiling as they strolled down a small-town street, they analyzed the film, writing, “The warm and soft shots, like brilliant sunlight, this has always been the magical Yang’s cinematic style; the relaxed, natural country music, the ingenious design of the props… and the dialogue, which is so admirable, with slang and words used in new ways, always elicits an involuntary smile. Then there’s Juno’s interesting family, her amusing classmates, all making you want to cheer for them. Such a story could be shot so seriously, so bizarrely, but magical Yang found the right tone, the right way to tell this kind of story, unique and heartwarming.”

“This movie can make you smile from the beginning to the end, but that doesn’t mean it lacks depth,” they wrote. “Its story is not complicated, we see a unique girl, Juno, go through the entire pregnancy, witnessing the changes in her heart, from ‘I don’t even know what kind of girl I am’ to ‘I can’t believe I am actually a mom.’ On one hand, the film says ‘pregnancy is a wonderful thing, it teaches you what love is.’; on the other hand, it also suggests ‘teenage pregnancy is a serious and difficult issue, if you want to try it, do you think you’re really ready?’ In the movie, Juno’s pregnancy is handled and faced by her and her family in a really cool way, but in itself, it is very serious and significant.”

After discussing the film itself, the Los Angeles Times jokingly wrote, “This really makes you wonder, has Magical Yang ever had the experience of being pregnant?”

In the part evaluating the leading actors, they wrote, “Ordinary words of praise are no longer enough to describe Natalie Portman’s performance, which is completely different from her previous on-screen personas. With her casual profanity, flipping the bird, she stands there, and with a look, a gesture, a line, she fully embodies a unique girl. And during the pregnancy phase, the way she walks with her big belly, just like a real pregnant woman, her acting talent is fully showcased in this film. With Juno, she could easily compete for next year’s Best Actress at the Oscars. One can’t help but give a thumbs up to Wang Yang’s discerning eye and directorial level. Following Will Smith, he has successfully transformed Natalie Portman.”

The Los Angeles Times was generous in its praise for Natalie’s acting and was also full of admiration for Michael Pitt and Anne Hathaway’s performances, “It’s hard to imagine this is their first lead role in a film, as they are completely devoid of any greenness in acting. In the presence of Natalie’s dazzling Juno, they didn’t fade into the background. On the contrary, their performances clashed powerfully with hers, making one exclaim, ‘Where did Wang Yang find so much acting talent?’ With 19-year-old Michael Pitt and 18-year-old Anne Hathaway, we can expect even more.”

“If you want to see a heartwarming and funny story, if you want to see a cool girl evolve from whim to maturity, if you want to see genius-level performances, genius-level direction, then you should watch ‘Juno,\'” the Los Angeles Times wrote at the end.

The newspapers that reviewed ‘Juno’ were not just one or two. The Hollywood Reporter said, “The actors’ performances are a revelation, coupled with fresh dialogue and innovative content.” Swap Cinema’s review stated, “Everyone has their standards for right and wrong, and this film manages to cater to everyone, which is truly commendable.” The San Francisco Chronicle exuded joy once more, with San Franciscans proudly writing, “For next year’s Oscar nominations, we believe Wang Yang will be on the Best Director list!”

The gossip media too had their targets to chase, such as the “grudge between ‘Juno’ and ‘Sweetheart.\'” Today Hollywood reported, “Natalie Portman made a very smart choice; the impression of Juno both inside and outside the school is profound; the sharp-tongued and gangster-like Juno is more fascinating than the kind and ordinary Novalee. Without a doubt, ‘Juno’ is the best teenage pregnancy movie.”

In addition, there was also the hyped Christmas showdown, young people VS the old guys, ‘Juno’ VS ‘Cast Away’.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the box-office figures for the previous day came out fresh, and ‘Cast Away’ topped the list at “92-years-old” with $11,755 million from 2,774 cinemas; ‘Juno,’ in 2,712 cinemas, closely followed with $11,553 million! The per-cinema average for ‘Cast Away’ was $4,237 US dollar, while for ‘Juno’ it was $4,260 US dollar. In the first round, ‘Juno’ lost the total box office but won the average per cinema.

This was only the first day, and the Christmas battle had just begun.