The Best Director

Chapter 386: Chapter 386 Are you a Yang fan? So am I. (Vote for monthly pass)

“‘Firefly’ displays an Eastern flair that garners praise, though it’s hardly steeped in Japanese culture, it’s still a sci-fi masterpiece.” — Four stars (out of five), Hui Jun Chuangsan, Yomiuri Shimbun.

In recent days, Wang Yang and various pieces of information about ‘Firefly’ have completely dominated the pages of Japanese media. The entertainment celebrity version features headlines like “The Spectacular Wang Yang Fan Club Event” and “Wang Yang’s Favorite is Hikaru Utada,” the anime industry version includes “Wang Yang Aims to Help Outstanding Anime Land in Hollywood” and “Wang Yang’s Favorite Films are by Hayao Miyazaki, Claims They’ve Greatly Influenced Him,” while the movie review section includes lengthy discussions such as “Firefly: Expanding New Spaces for the Representation of Asian Culture,” “A Tribute to the Death of Anarchists, the Immense Shock Within ‘Firefly’,” and “‘Firefly’: How Hollywood Films Use Effects to Conquer the World”…

Previously, films containing samurai culture such as ‘Kill Bill’ and ‘The Last Samurai’ received mixed reviews in the Western film criticism world, but they garnered abundant praise in Japan. However, Japanese critics have complex feelings toward ‘Firefly.’ First, the Eastern flair it presents is ultimately of Chinese culture, not samurai or chrysanthemum sword culture, so their sense of identification is naturally weaker; secondly, the director Wang Yang is of Chinese descent, and despite the fervent admiration from fans, right-wing elements have always found this young fellow disagreeable.

The old conservative newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, as the newspaper with the largest daily circulation in Japan, did not avoid the Marvelous Yang and ‘Firefly’ and was also a part of the full tracking coverage. But it did not forget to insinuate with a honeyed sting about “not seeing Japanese culture,” suggesting that viewers looking for katana in the film might as well go home! Don’t flatter yourself! And the far-right newspaper Sankei Shimbun even warned “Beware of ‘Firefly’s’ ambition to represent Asia with Chinese culture,” as if Japanese culture is No.1 in Asia, and if they were to form a star alliance, it would be the USA + Japan; audiences who agree with this can go home!

Right-wing elements certainly hope ‘Firefly’ doesn’t earn a single yen in Japan; they’d be happiest if the film rolled off with a total box office of just 9,999 yen. However, setting aside the far-right elements who refuse to analyze the film on its merits, even conservatives have to praise it a few times, and the newspapers are still full of accolades.

In fact, professional ethics among Japanese film critics have long been criticized. Last year, famed director Takeshi Kitano blasted the Japanese film criticism world at the 5th Tokyo Film Organization Commemoration Event. He sharply declared: “There are some people in the Japanese film circle who rely entirely on arbitrarily hyping films to make money, disparaging films they don’t like and those with differing standpoints, completely lacking the professional ethics required of movie workers. Actually, these individuals have no real ability, they’re all talk and even say things like they live to watch movies, which is truly ludicrous.”

Although Kitano didn’t name names at the time, industry insiders all speculated that the main target of his tirade was his arch-nemesis Takao Sugiura, who held negative opinions about almost all of his works.

Japanese fans aren’t blind either; there’s a circulating notion that “Takao Sugiura’s movie reviews are not to be trusted.” However, to everyone’s surprise, in the past few days, the venomous Takao Sugiura has actually said good things about ‘Firefly’: “This is a great film with depth, content, culture, effects, music, beauties, and queers (okama). Absolutely worth watching! But alas, it’s a pity not to see Wang Yang and Little Robert Downey Jr. getting it on.”

Takao Sugiura and Katsuaki Sugiura are a pair of twin brothers who were originally behind-the-scenes costume advisors on television. Later, they entered Japan’s entertainment industry as sharp-tongued figures and “gay twins,” with the catchphrase: “Because we’re gay, we speak our minds directly.”

On Saturdays from five to six in the evening, Nippon Television (NTV) runs a show called “Beautiful Girls, Handsome Boys,” where Katsuaki Sugiura brings eight gay men, all styled as middle-aged aunts in character, behavior, and mannerisms, to teach Japanese audiences about flower arranging, makeup, beauty, yoga, and more.

So it is often said that Japanese pop culture has a very bizarre and absurd side. Of course, compared to the gays, Marvelous Yang, “who exudes a strong masculine aura,” is more popular with the girls, and being an American-Chinese, he is much more emotionally acceptable to the conservative crowd. Moreover, faced with the crazy situation of ‘Firefly’ sweeping the globe with a 1.5 billion box office and the huge sensation caused by Marvelous Yang’s visit to Japan, it’s hard for audiences to say “What the heck!” Many just want to see a good movie; the media also create a buzz, further boosting ‘Firefly,’ which is why Flame Film strategically scheduled its release in Japan close to August.

Nowadays, newspapers and magazines filled with news and interview Q&As about Wang Yang are bundled up and sent to Tokyo and all over Japan to be put on the shelves of bookstands and newsstands. Movie fans and enthusiasts buy them up as if they’ve found a treasure, reading each word with relish. There’s no doubt that the news about the magical Yang has caused a surge in sales for these publications.

“Banzai!” numerous fans of different celebrities couldn’t help shouting with joy when they saw their favorites praised by magical Yang! Especially the fans of Hikaru Utada; they clenched their fists with excitement!

As is well known, this American-born singer of Japanese descent went back to America last year to develop her career in New York, but her first English album “EXODUS” didn’t perform well in the US market, with this year’s new single also failing to meet expectations. Now, there are rumors that she is moving back to Tokyo.

Although the fans hoped she would release more Japanese-language albums, it’s not easy to see their idol in such a disheartened and depressed state. Now, Wang Yang has actually said “I always like listening to Hikaru Utada’s songs”, which is a tremendous honor and surprise! This statement, once relayed back to the States, is bound to be of some help, right? And although the film and music industries are different, it can be assured that with magical Yang’s endorsement and support, Hikaru Utada will have more opportunities in North America.

In fact, Hikaru Utada had once said, “Young Wang is my greatest idol,” and there isn’t an Asian-American girl who doesn’t want to marry magical Yang; naturally, she feels the same. Hikaru Utada mentioned that when she was 15 in 1998, before moving to Tokyo, she was greatly scared by “Paranormal Activity,” both on and off the screen and she has admired Wang Yang since then. The Utada family are all musicians, but she revealed that she initially did not aspire to a music career. She even said, “I definitely don’t want to pursue music in the future!” However, in ’98, being so eager to meet magical Yang, she decided to agree to develop her career with EMI in Japan and then return to the US after achieving fame.

In the first half of 1999, when her dream was just beginning to take shape, magical Yang got a sweetheart and their intimacy made others feel hopeless. Now, Hikaru Utada had already married Kazuaki Kiriya, Japanese music video and film director, in 2002; Wang Yang also got married last year, breaking countless Japanese girls’ hearts. The number one Yang fan, Hikaru Utada, took it as an amusing matter, saying, “We often argued about Wang Yang and Kazuaki, but now we’re good.”

“Hikaru must be very happy to know that Yang-kun likes her songs,” the fans murmured. If time could turn back, would Hikaru take the initiative to pursue magical Yang? In fact, meeting magical Yang in ’98 and now wouldn’t be difficult for Hikaru Utada, but it’s a matter of some stubbornness and waiting for fate to decide.

Of course, Hikaru Utada is not the only big fan of Wang Yang active in Japanese entertainment and music industries. Aoi Miyazaki, Maki Horikita, Kumi Koda, Mai Kuraki, and others have expressed their admiration and love for magical Yang on various occasions. One common factor in everyone’s personal profile is the mention of favorite movies and directors will include him; and usually, when discussing Western entertainment, whether for information or commentary, “magical Yan” is one of the most frequently mentioned names.

Many entertainers fans harbor the beautiful aspiration of “Wang Yang supporting their idol”; however, anime fans are thinking “Wang Yang to adapt and produce the Hollywood movie version,” because he hasn’t explicitly mentioned his favorite anime, only saying “opportunities” and “excellent works”, will Flame Movies really adapt which one?

No matter what, on the day of July 30, Saturday, 756 movie theaters all over Japan welcomed a global box office hit that had already surpassed $1.5 billion, a science fiction epic. The fifth week of “War of the Worlds”, the fourth week of “Star Wars: Episode III”, and the third week of “Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew” met their terror-inducing foe! Eagerly anticipated by fans and the public alike, they flocked to theaters, with countless making the trip to Osaka and Kawasaki to experience the IMAX big screen version.

In the North American market, rounding off the week of July 22-28, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” remained the box office champion with $45.9 million, becoming the third film of the summer that could claim the North American weekly crown twice; “Firefly”, with four crowns to its name, ended its six-week campaign with a -55.7% downward trend in box office, taking in $15.5 million to rank fifth for the week (averaging $5,145 per theater in 3,641 venues), and its North American total gross rose to $599.8 million, just a step away from surpassing the historical champion “Titanic”! Adjusted for inflation, it continued its 15th place in film history.

Overseas, “Firefly” still had a presence in 107 markets this week, with a box office trend that plunged 54%. After raking in $33.4 million this week, its international total rose to $909.4 million, with global earnings reaching $1.5092 billion in 42 days.

This week, its North American trend went from -38.4% to -55.7%, while overseas it went from -35.6% to -54%. Firstly, the movie had entered its final phase, and secondly, there were several new releases in various markets, with North America alone adding four major releases.

Directed by “Explosive Bay” Michael Bay, the blockbuster with a budget of $126 million, “Escape from Clone Island”, was notably among them, but producers and distributors Warner Brothers & DreamWorks suffered a major blow! With Rotten Tomatoes ratings at 40%/39%/67%, its opening weekend box office was a pitiful $18.35 million (an average of $5,880 in 3,122 theaters), making it yet another bona fide flop of the summer! What the hell happened? Even if a movie is outright terrible, it shouldn’t end up like this! Yahoo Entertainment and other media outlets, box office agencies such as BOM, and companies like Warner Brothers really, really didn’t understand. There were explosions, handsome men, beautiful women… a good summer popcorn movie!! Director Michael Bay and stars like Scarlett Johansson suddenly became box office poison.

Besides the indie film “The Constant Gardener,” with a modest budget of $2.8 million, which drew attention with an average of $10,425 per cinema, “The Little Baseball World Championship” and “House of 1000 Corpses 2” both quietly underperformed and faded away.

Regardless of the others, “Firefly,” which had grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, was also starting to decline in influence, and how much further it could climb on the all-time box office ranking? It now depended on the performance of its final big market, Japan, where at this very moment, space cowboys were raking in yen in 756 Japanese theaters!

Wang Yang had no plans on the 30th, taking advantage of the free daytime to finally take a stroll around Tokyo. In Los Angeles, he usually didn’t need bodyguards when going out, as the streets in safe neighborhoods didn’t pose dangers, nor were there fanatic fans, only annoying paparazzi; but in Tokyo, it was essential to have bodyguards and assistants out in force, not just because of the potential threat from extreme rightists and gang members, but fans were the real key issue!

“Yang-kun, Yang-kun—” Excited shouts rose and fell as fans crowded around him, surrounding the anime store in Akihabara where Wang Yang, followed closely by the middle-aged owner, browsed the shelves with interest. The owner, visibly excited, said, “Your visit truly graces our establishment with honor!” Wang Yang told the shop owner through his interpreter, “I’ll just look around for a bit, buy some things, and then leave. Sorry to trouble you.”

Seeing him, customers already in the store were stunned, unable to blink as they watched him pass by; the owner was so delighted, he nearly lost his mind. The visit from the amazing Yang would surely bring great popularity! He quickly offered, “You’re welcome to look around as long as you like, Yang-kun! Everything is 10% off! Oh… Could you write something for our store?”

In less than 15 minutes, Wang Yang swept through the store, purchasing a large collection of interesting or favorite manga books, some action figures, and some beautiful clothes, including the school uniform from “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” even though he wasn’t clear about the anime. But saying he liked anime wasn’t just politeness; the settings and creativity of the Japanese anime world have always been very intriguing, with many impressive elements. If the opportunity was right, Flame Film would indeed purchase the movie adaptation rights to the corresponding works.

After leaving his autograph in both English and Chinese with a fountain pen at “Geek Paradise,” Wang Yang did want to check out the famous maid cafes in Akihabara to see what all the fuss was about. However, the number of fans trailing behind him kept increasing, and he realized he had underestimated their persistent enthusiasm. Even though it wasn’t thousands, a few hundred was still overwhelming.

Therefore, after a quick tour around Akihabara, Wang Yang hastily retreated to his hotel. That evening, he went to Asahi Television station to record a live broadcast. At the end of the show, he bid farewell to the Japanese people: “The events of these days will be unforgettable for me. The passion of the fans has left the deepest impression on me; thank you for your love! And on behalf of the entire crew of ‘Firefly,’ I thank you all for your support, remember to watch the movie! I didn’t get a chance to fully enjoy Tokyo’s cuisine this time, so let’s complete that next time!”

“Young Master Yang…” Countless fans watched on their TV screens, captivated by Wang Yang’s warm smile; and below the shrouded night sky, the dazzling Tokyo illuminated, people on the streets of Ginza and Shinjuku gazed at the outdoor LED displays on high-rise buildings to see Wang Yang smiling as he said, “I’ll come back to promote movies, for tourism and shopping, yes! Lastly, thank you and goodbye!” Numerous girls, whose eyes were already moist, instantly burst into tears, “Young Master Yang, goodbye! Have a safe journey!”

After sleeping for half of the night at the Hotel New Otani, at five in the morning on the 31st, Wang Yang and his entourage officially departed from Narita Airport.

At least another 3,000 reluctant movie fans gathered at the terminal, emotionally seeing off their idol until the plane took off smoothly. Only then did they start to disperse, and many fans began making their way back to places like Osaka and Iwate, concluding their frenzied journey of fandom.

While the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department waved goodbye to the “plague god,” it was Seoul Metropolitan Police Department’s turn to frown in worry as the fervent fan welcome unfolded at Incheon International Airport! This time, three to four thousand Korean movie fans made quite the scene, their shouts in no way inferior to the Japanese girls: “Yang, Magic Yang—”

Seoul was the fifth and final stop on Wang Yang’s Asia tour. After all, the Korean market had contributed significantly to “Firefly,” and the fans were just as fervently enthusiastic. If he had forgotten about this place, there would have been no getting around the misstep for Flame Films. However, Wang Yang was not planning to stay long in Korea, with no planned activities like fan meetings or press conferences, nor any scheduled variety show recordings. He was just there to roam around a bit to thank his fans, do a few media interviews, including with TV entertainment news programs and newspapers, and then catch the evening flight back to Los Angeles.

Despite this, “Magic Yang’s visit to Korea” was enough to cause a huge sensation and attract attention. After all, “Firefly” had already dominated the Korean box office for six consecutive weeks, breaking historic records and sweeping up a total of 55.10 million US Dollars in ticket sales!

The number of “Firefly” viewers had even breached the ten million mark, reaching 11.06 million, making it the third film in Korean history, after the 11.08 million of “Escape from Clone Island” in 2003 and the 11.74 million of “The Last Samurai” in 2004, to achieve such an honor; it was also the first foreign language film to do so, leaving the previous champion “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” with its 5.96 million viewers (28.46 million US Dollars in ticket sales) far behind!

“Whew—”

As night fell over Seoul, Wang Yang finally settled into his first-class seat on the plane heading back to Los Angeles. He leaned back in his seat and let out a long breath—this Asia tour had truly been exhausting! In just one week, he had made five stops doing essentially the same things over and over, starting with enthusiasm and gradually becoming weary and a bit bored. He could still hear the furious screams of his fans, still see the blurred faces and lingering images—Magic Yang, Young Master Yang, Brother Yang, Young Master Yang, Lord Yang… He was now longing to return home like a bolt of lightning!

Glancing at the stunning blonde flight attendant with a shapely figure passing by, Wang Yang chuckled and closed his eyes. He just wanted to hear that tender and affectionate “dear,” wanted to quietly feel the miraculous movements of his baby, and longed to return to that sweet and warm home. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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