The Best Director

Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Award Ceremony

Under the azure sky of Las Vegas, on the lush green lawn outside a small chapel, it seemed a wedding was underway. A groom in a black suit, and a bride in a beautiful white wedding dress, were sweetly gazing into each other’s eyes, hands clasped. Behind them stood a massive wedding cake, a towering 1.8 meters tall, with tables laden with food in front, seating family and friends dressed in formal attire.

However, to the right side of the lawn, long tracks had been laid down, and a camera mounted on a moving vehicle was aimed at the wedding scene. Wang Yang sat in the cinematographer’s spot on the vehicle, using the viewfinder to frame the shot; and on the far side of the lawn, Harry George was operating another film camera, with the rest of the production crew each busy at their tasks.

This was a car chase scene, with The Hangover’s trio discovering Stu’s wedding and being attacked roadside by unidentified gang muscle men, leading to a pursuit. After a mad dash, the trio, driving a police car, smashed through numerous signs, vehicles, and other objects, and to shake off the gangsters’ sports car, they raced onto the lawn of this little chapel, roaring across it and wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting couple’s ceremony.

Wang Yang had originally planned to find a wooden church to smash apart, with the trio racing the police car madly into the chapel, destroying countless chairs before bursting through a wall, as the priest screamed in terror… But there was no suitable wooden church in Las Vegas, and even if there were, it was not likely to be approved for demolition; besides, constructing a new one would take too long.

So it was changed to an outdoor lawn where the speeding police car would destroy the giant wedding cake and the ceremony that was in progress.

OK, is everyone ready?” Wang Yang put down the viewfinder, picked up the megaphone and said with a smile, “Let’s get this done quickly so we can enjoy the wedding.” From the other side came Harry George’s amplified voice, “I’m all set here.” The surrounding people also responded in turn, and Wang Yang nodded his head, shouting into the microphone, “OK, Action!”

Once the signal was given, the parked police car far away started moving. Shooting this set of shots was not particularly difficult, but was somewhat tedious. Each different angle needed to be filmed separately, like shooting the trio’s expressions from the front angle of the car, from the rear, and capturing expressions and actions of the bride, groom, and others, requiring several takes.

The windshield of the police car was already full of cracks, the left side mirror was gone, and the top light bar was wedged with a wooden sign. It sped onto the lawn with Bradley’s panicked voice coming through the horn, “Get out of the way, get out of the way! Police business—”

The sight of the speeding police car caused all the wedding attendees to immediately scream in shock, hastily standing up to dodge, and the bride and groom also threw themselves onto the lawn with “ahh ahh” sounds.

Bang, clatter… the police car sent tables and benches flying; plates of food tumbled down amidst a frantic chorus of “ahh ahh ahh” screams, while the trio inside the car widened their eyes, and the whizzing police car obliterated the entire massive cake, sending fruits and cream splattering in all directions, coating the entire front of the car and windshield.

The people on the lawn watched the police car disappear around the corner, and after being stupefied for a few seconds started cursing angrily. The groom, covered head to toe in cream cake, stood up and swore, “FUCK! Damn cops, I’m definitely going to file a complaint! I’ve got you now!”

After finishing all the shots for this part, the crew moved on to film the next scenes on the road in the afternoon, the last parts involving the police car, which required the use of a crane camera. As Wang Yang watched the footage on the monitor, he looked out the window at the police car advancing alongside and picked up the microphone with a laugh, “Guys, Action!”

Oh my God, oh my God…” Inside the police car, Ed and Bradley were still scared witless, and the baby in the backseat was crying loudly. Zack, with a dazed face, wiped some cake off the car door, tasted it, and nodded, “I hate Chuck E. Cheese, but this is quite sweet.”

Ed frantically gestured with his hands like claws and yelled desperately as if about to cry, “What the hell is going on!” Bradley in the front seat took a rough breath and said, “Cahn down, calm down! Everything is going to be OK, alright? What’s all the fuss about!” Ed roared uncontrollably, “You calm the fuck down! Oh FUCK! We just almost got shot, almost hit someone, calm down!”

At that moment, the baby’s crying grew louder, and Ed took a deep breath, made a pressing down motion with his two index fingers, turned around to comfort the baby, “It’s alright.” But the baby continued to wail, so Zack pulled out a bride doll in a wedding dress and handed it to the baby, who was suddenly wide-eyed with curiosity, “Huh?”

Where did this come from?” Ed asked with some confusion. Zack pointed outside the car window and seriously said, “I don’t know, she just flew by outside, and I caught her.”

Days went by, and the filming of “The Hangover” progressed rapidly amidst laughter every day. The trio’s performances became more and more adept, completely letting go and having fun with their comedy. Seeing such a strong and amusing chemical reaction, Wang Yang was naturally very pleased. He decided to reshoot some of the earlier scenes where they had been green, now that they could perform them better, to achieve the best comic effect.

It soon came to March 24, when an annual event in the movie entertainment world was about to take place—the Academy Awards ceremony.

This year’s Oscars ceremony would be held at the Kodak Theater, which had just been completed in November of the previous year. After 9/n> security was of utmost importance for a ceremony that gathered celebrities and the elite. Tonight, hotels, shopping malls, and facilities such as subways and bus stations near the Kodak Theater were all closed; any aircraft were prohibited from flying over the area of the theater; and security personnel patrolled around both inside and outside the theater, as well as along the Hollywood Boulevard it was located on.

As for this year’s media predictions and critics’ buzz, the awards were widely dispersed. The biggest voice among movie fans, of course, was “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” wishing it could sweep all the awards. However, the media did not anticipate such an Oscars upheaval; they were more in favor of the academic and orthodox “A Beautiful Mind.”

In the race for Best Actor, Russell Crowe, nominated for the third consecutive year, was the biggest favorite while Denzel Washington, with his splendid performance in “Training Day,” also received considerable acclaim. As for Best Actress, first-time nominees Halle Berry and Nicole Kidman were the most closely watched favorites.

Apart from the nominees, the list of guests attending the ceremony was just as dazzling, including Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman… The audience of three thousand and five hundred seats was brimming with countless top-tier stars and celebrities. Wang Yang was also going to attend this grand occasion as an award presenter.

Two months earlier, when he received this invitation from the Oscar organizers, he was surprised. It seemed he was completely regarded as a “star, but in fact, he really was a somewhat popular “idol director.” Was it to present Best Original Screenplay or Best Director? Or perhaps Best Original Song or something like that? When he smiled and accepted the invitation, something even more surprising happened a few days prior—he was actually going to present the award for Best Actress.

Night had already fallen over Los Angeles, and under the hosting of African American actress Whoopi Goldberg, the dazzling Kodak Theater witnessed one award after another being presented amidst applause, cheers, and happy and excited thank you speeches.

The Lord of the Rings” took home four technical awards including Best Cinematography and Best Makeup; Best Animated Feature was snagged by “Shrek”; Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly, “A Beautiful Mind”) and Best Supporting Actor (Jim Broadbent, “Life Together”) were also decided. Now, at the climax of the evening, one of the four major awards, Best Actress, was about to be presented.

Amidst the applause of more than three thousand people, Wang Yang, looking dapper in a black suit, held the envelope containing the result and walked out from the side of the stage with a smile, advancing to the microphone in the center of the stage, causing the crowd below to instantly quiet down. The evening’s event was going to last 4 hours, and naturally, each presenter had to say a few words.

I am very pleased to be standing on this stage.” Looking out at the crowd in suits and evening gowns, Wang Yang smiled, glanced over those familiar faces, the cheerful Jessica, the interested Natalie, the family-man Will Smith… and he continued with a smile, “But it’s a pity that what I’m holding is an envelope, not the little gold man.” There was a light laugh from the audience, and Wang Yang shrugged, adding, “Even more disappointing is that the name written inside the envelope will never be mine.”

The Kodak Theater was immediately filled with a round of hearty laughter and a chanting of voices. Natalie clapped with a smile, thinking to herself, “Surely it’s not just this much.”

The Best Actress is always beautiful, clever, funny, kind, adorable…” Wang Yang kept speaking without pause, listing one after another positive description of women, which gradually brought a wave of applause and laughter from the audience. He continued without taking a breath, “Gracious, a great cook, a good daughter, a good girlfriend, a good wife, a good mother, a good grandmother! And she must be a strong, independent woman…”

The laughter from the audience lasted quite a while before gradually subsiding. Wang Yang, holding up the envelope with a smile, looked at Jessica, who was laughing and covering her mouth with her hands, and said with a bit of confusion, “So are we presenting the award for Best Actress or Best Female? I don’t know, but I do know that every woman who is nominated, not nominated, and all women, as long as they have one of the qualities mentioned above, are the Best Actress in their own lives, and they always will be.”

The auditorium immediately erupted into thunderous applause, and as he watched the clapping crowd below, he leaned in close to the microphone and whispered, “No, I did not say that women are always acting.” The applause quickly turned to laughter, and both men and women could not contain their glee, the volume of their laughter setting a new record for the Kodak Theatre’s Oscars ceremony.

When the laughter finally subsided, Wang Yang chuckled, “Let’s take a look at this year’s nominees for Best Actress, starting with Halle Berry, ‘Monster’s Ball.'” As he spoke, clips from the nominated films played on the large screen behind him, and a wave of enthusiastic applause rose again, with short-haired Halle Berry applauding with a smile. After the clip finished, Wang Yang read on, “Judi Dench, ‘Iris.’

The applause and cheers were even louder now. The 67-year-old Judi Dench was a legendary British actress, respected by all, and had received countless Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards or nominations from the British Academy Film Awards. This was her second nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Nicole Kidman, ‘Moulin Rouge!”‘ Nicole Kidman’s alluring dance appeared on the screen, and amidst the clapping, Nicole smiled with an air of calm. Wang Yang then announced lastly, “Sissy Spacek, Tn the Bedroom’… Renee Zellweger, ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary.’

After finishing the list of nominees, with more than three thousand five hundred people in the venue watching, Wang Yang opened the envelope in his hand. The big screen split into five squares, Halle and Nicole looked very earnest, Judi had a kindly smile, and the other two were smiling normally, obviously aware they were just running mates.

The winner is…” Wang Yang pulled out the result from the envelope, glanced at it, and seemed to understand why the organizers had asked him to present this award. He laughed and announced, “Halle Berry, ‘Monster’s Ball!”‘ He then began clapping heartily in celebration.

But just as his words ended, an uplifting score sounded, and the audience started clapping and cheering wildly, many standing up to congratulate her— the first black Best Actress Oscar winner was born! Halle Berry was so shocked that she was at a complete loss, clutching the hands of friends on either side and repeating, “Oh my God! Oh my God…”

She seemed too excited to even stand up, hugging and kissing the cheeks of friends nearby. After a while, amidst the thunderous applause and screams, she staggered up to the stage, mumbling in disbelief, “Is this real? Is this real?”

Wang Yang received the Oscar statuette from a staff member, approached her for a light embrace, but Halle Berry, overcome with emotion, clung to him tightly, nearly crying. Wang Yang whispered congratulations in her ear, “Congratulations, your performance was truly magnificent, it was well- deserved.” Holding back tears, Halle Berry laughed and said, “Thank you, thank you…” It took a while before she could steady herself to let go of him. He handed her the statuette and stepped aside, clapping.

Ah, ha, ah…” Halle Berry held the Oscar tightly in her right hand, her face about to burst into tears of joy, and she blew a kiss to the crowd below with her left hand. She was so choked up she couldn’t speak, “Oh my God…” The audience kept their applause and cheers coming. She touched her stomach then her forehead, sobbing and still unable to speak, “Oh God… aah-ha-ha… I’m so sorry…”

After taking several deep breaths and trying to collect herself, she finally managed to say a complete sentence, “This moment, it’s so significant; compared to it, I feel so insignificant… This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It’s for women of color like me, Jada Pinkett Smith, Angela Bassett, Vivica A. Fox…”

It took a long time for Halle Berry to finish her emotional acceptance speech, which lasted for four continuous minutes. Wang Yang and she then walked off the stage toward backstage, still laughing.

As the 74th Academy Awards ceremony came to a close and all the awards had been handed out, Russell Crowe was crowned Best Actor for ‘A Beautiful Mind’; the film also won Best Picture, and Ron Howard won Best Director, making it the biggest winner of the year.

The media coverage that followed was naturally plentiful, and among the gossip and commentary, Wang Yang was unanimously chosen by numerous media outlets as “the most entertaining presenter of this edition.” The entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times’ Oscars feature even mentioned, “Wang Yang displayed his sense of humor on the Oscars stage in person; his brief stand-up-style act made some think he was the host.”

The day after the Oscars, Wang Yang went back to shooting ‘The Hangover’ in Las Vegas, but in March, there was another basketball event catching his eye: the NCAA national championship. However, his favored team, the University of Southern California, was eliminated in the first round, so he switched his support to the University of Maryland. On April 1, in the championship game, the University of Maryland lived up to expectations and defeated Indiana University to claim the title.

Flame Films also purchased a 120-second advertisement slot during the championship game, broadcasting two different 30-second trailers for “Sweetheart” and “Ice Age,” thoroughly promoting the upcoming releases of “Sweetheart” on April 26 and “Ice Age” on May 10. Of course, the promotional efforts weren’t just limited to that—Annie Fletcher, Jessica, Scarlett, Michael Pitt, and the rest of the main creative team of “Sweetheart” had long since started their city-to-city promotional tours, accepting interviews from local media, appearing on local television shows, and holding fan meet-and-greets.

As for assisting with the promotional work, Wang Yang, the producer, could be said to have shirked his duty considerably, only having recorded a talk show with Jessica in Los Angeles and then spending every day playing around on the cheerful set.

Inside the bright and spacious casino of the Caesars Palace Hotel, every gaming table was still packed with tourists and gamblers, with cheers and sighs ebbing and flowing. A long time ago, the crew had negotiated with the hotel to reserve tables within the casino for filming, on the condition that they wouldn’t disturb other gamblers. However, as it turned out, the hotel’s concerns were unnecessary; the gamblers, immersed in their betting, hardly even noticed the film crew or that a movie was being shot.

Haha, FUCK! Blackjack, he’s done for! He’s finished!” Bradley, dressed to the nines and with neatly combed hair, was visibly excited. Facing the direction of the camera, he flipped the double bird while jumping and shouting, “FUCK- YOU, FUCK-YOU!”

Sitting in the center of the gambling table, dressed in a white suit and with a swollen eye, was Zack. He looked seriously at the playing cards on the table, his lips moving slightly as if he were counting cards. Next to him sat Ed Helms, also dapper in a suit, resembling a successful businessman, with Charlize Theron in a red evening gown looking radiant beside him. Seeing the dealer flip over cards amounting to 19 points, Ed clenched his fists and exclaimed, “YES!”

The dealer has 23 points; bust.” The dealer, expressionless, shuffled a few cards, and amidst everyone’s howling, he distributed the chips.

Playing background gamblers were Joshua, along with Wang Yang dressed casually. Wang Yang, eyeing Zack’s pile of chips that resembled a small mountain, enviously said, “Oh my god, what kind of luck have you guys had! Bradley, excitedly tousling Zack’s hair, laughed, “Yes, he’s our lucky charm, our lucky charm!” Zack remained calm, as if in a trance, nonchalantly stating, “Bet ten thousand.”

Bradley threw out a ten-thousand-dollar chip, dancing and shouting, “Come on, everybody, bet; he can’t afford to lose, he can’t afford to lose!” Ed nodded, pointing at the white dealer with full confidence, “Although I don’t know who you are, I have to say, you’re done for.” Wang Yang, too, happily pushed all his chips forward, saying, “FUCK, I’m in!”

Joshua, almost unable to hold back a laugh at this familiar scene, hurriedly glanced at the long boom microphone and a camera set up at a frontal angle, along with Harry George carrying another camera for capturing close-ups, diverting his attention. He snuck another glance at the mature and sexy Charlize Theron and mentally sighed, “If only Scarlett were as beautiful as her, who cares if she is a dancer, I definitely wouldn’t divorce her.”

At that moment, the dealer dealt cards arranged in advance by the prop master one by one. Ed and Charlize received a 10 and a K, and both burst into laughter, with Ed slapping the table, saying, “You’re finished!” Zack got an A and a J, another blackjack, and Bradley behind him raised his hands in a frenzy, shouting, “FUCK-YOU! You guys are done for, done for!”

Wang Yang watched everyone’s performance and couldn’t help but laugh. Luckily, his own cards were also dealt then—a 9 and a Q—and he burst out laughing, “Bullshit! What in the world is this?!” In this movie, this gambling table wasn’t the main focus; these playful scenes were just a warm-up. In the not-too-distant future, he would return here to shoot a cool movie.

Of course, maybe they wouldn’t be able to come back by then. To many Las Vegas casinos, card counting is taboo. The current hotel manager didn’t realize that the scenes they were shooting involved card counting, thinking it was just plain gambling.

The dealer has 22 points; bust.” The dealer, still wearing a deadpan expression, alleged, and instantly the table erupted into mayhem, everyone having won a pile of chips, screaming excitedly, “FUCK! FUCK!” Only Zack continued to look indifferent, his hand as if caressing the table intuitively.

CUT!” Wang Yang stood up with a smile, gave everyone a thumbs-up, and said, “You all did a really, really great job!” (To be continued..)