Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
By the end of the first week, Paranormal Activity had recorded a total box office gross of $1,056,700. And in the last few days, all the cinemas that had participated in the test screening had achieved impressive occupancy rates for all three sessions. Even the latest session that had run from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. had had an occupancy rate of over 90 percent as there were many youngsters who skipped bedtime just to watch Paranormal Activity at the theaters.
Paranormal Activity had managed to rank 16th in the North American Weekly Box Office Ranking (July 31 to August 6) with its box office gross of $1,056,700. Saving Private Ryan had ranked first. It was a movie about the Second World War—directed by Steven Spielberg—and had grossed $36,612,000 in box offices in its second week of screening. Titanic ranked 15th. It had been screening for 33 weeks straight and was still being screened, but it was still generating a weekly box office gross of $2,022,000. Since its debut, its box office gross in North America had totaled 596.3 million dollars.
Paranormal Activity had only been screened in 25 cinemas, which was a tiny number compared to Titanic, which had been screened in 769 cinemas over its 33-week theatrical run. Hence, there was no shame that Paranormal Activity ranked behind Titanic.
Normally, film companies would not consider 16th place an incredible feat, but they had been totally dumbfounded when Paranormal Activity had grossed $1,056,700 with having been screened in just 25 cinemas. “My goodness, where did Lionsgate Films find such a black horse?” they thought to themselves.
Everyone at Lionsgate Films had rejoiced at their company’s good fortune. They had recouped their costs from the box office and had even made a small profit in just the first week. They had begun to see Paranormal Activity’s potential and had now begun to believe it would become a big hit. So they’d decided to turn a limited release into a wide release by increasing the number of cinemas screening the movie to 750 in the following week.
Paranormal Activity had established itself as a black horse among the movies, but in the second week (August 7 to August 13), it’d shocked everyone once again with its spectacular results. By then, it had become more than a black horse, for it had achieved a box office gross of $37,517,600! Paranormal Activity had topped the North American Weekly Box Office Ranking! Saving Private Ryan had fallen to second place with a weekly box office gross of $26,504,800.
News of it struck the industry like a thunder in the plains. All over North America, film companies were flabbergasted. The media was stunned. Critics were dumbfounded. Even movie fans were gobsmacked when they saw Paranormal Activity topping the charts. Many people began to wonder, “What kind of movie is Paranormal Activity? Is it a science fiction movie? A horror movie? Or a comedy movie?”
“Are you kidding me? How could a movie that’s only screening in 750 cinemas surpass Saving Private Ryan, which is screening in 2,592 cinemas? Not to mention the fact that Saving Private Ryan had been directed by the great Steven Spielberg!” people thought to themselves.
The management at Lionsgate Films saw the results of the movie and decided unanimously to press on. In the third week, they increased the number of cinemas screening the movie to 2,142 and the box office figures rose by the end of the week (August 14 to August 20) as they had predicted. The horror movie continued to fare admirably against Saving Private Ryan, which had a weekly gross of $197,028,100. It had retained its pole position in the North American Weekly Box Office Ranking with a box office gross of $487,069,300 and achieved a total gross of $873,043,600!
Wang Yang had expected no less. But Rachel, Jessica, and the others were imbecilic with shock when they had heard about it, and Joshua crowed to himself with delight like a crazy, old prospector who had just struck gold. “Yay! My DV camcorder will be worth a fortune.”
This seemingly supernatural phenomenon had aroused the media’s interest. In fact, they had been talking about Paranormal Activity ever since it had appeared in the box office rankings in the first week. They’d published articles about the movie and had even labeled it as a “black horse”, and when Paranormal Activity had clinched first place in the weekly box office ranking in the second week of screening and maintained its title on the third, it had taken the country by storm.
“We’re now at the entrance of a ticket office of a cinema in New York. Although it’s now early morning, the crowd here is still as lively and excited as they were the night before,” a middle-aged Caucasian woman said on television. She was a reporter for NBC news. She held a mic in one hand as she spoke to the camera. “These young men and women have gathered here in anticipation of Paranormal Activity’s next screening session, as tickets for the first session had already sold out,” she stated.
The camera panned toward the young men and women at the ticket office. Some of them were reading books, some were playing card games, and some were talking among themselves. A few youngsters even break-danced to pass the time.
The lady reporter skirted alongside the crowd. She saw a young Caucasian man and bellowed for him to come over. Then, she held her mic to the young man’s mouth. “Hi, how are you? Are you here to watch Paranormal Activity?” she asked with a smile.
“Yes, yes I am,” the young man said to the camera enthusiastically.
“Why are you so keen to watch this movie? What made you decide to wait here in the middle of the night?” the lady reporter enquired again.
The young man pondered over her question for a minute. Then, he shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know, either. But all my friends have watched it, and they insisted that I watch it. Because if I don’t, they might not speak to me again.” After that, he waved his hand at the camera smilingly and said, “Hi babe, are you watching this? I love you!”
The program was cut back to the broadcasting studio by the program director. “Let’s hear what the parents and the police have to say about this,” the news anchor said smilingly.
Then, the program cut to footage of an interview. The person being interviewed was a middle-aged Caucasian mother. The mother wore a fierce expression but spoke in a woeful tone. “It’s as if my son has turned into a completely different person. It used to be that he’d always be home by 9 p.m. But now, he’s spending his nights outside, and it’s all because of that movie! Dear me, he’s not even an adult yet. He’s just a high school student, and already he’s breaking curfews! I worry that he’s gone astray,” the mother exclaimed.
The camera cut to another interview. This time, it was with an African-American policeman. “This is the first time I’ve seen so many kids gathered at the movie theaters at such a late hour. Nevertheless, we shall step up security measures and do our best to ensure the kids are safe and sound, whether they’re on their way to the movies, in the cinema, or on their way back home,” he declared sternly.
Of course, NBC had not intended to promote Paranormal Activity. They had been merely reporting on a social issue that had proliferated in America for the past two weeks. The words “Paranormal Activity Causes Youths to Break Curfews” had dominated headlines in newspapers, magazines, and online articles.
To the uninitiated and the concerned, the movie had been a negative influence on youths. But to film fanatics, the movie had been a mystery. For, the more they’d watched it, the more questions they found. But one burning question had stood out in the minds of the fans and the media alike. What was up with the movie? Who were the masterminds behind this black horse?
The “horror movie craze” had continued to dominate the internet and eventually had caught the media’s eye. But they found the whole thing laughable and dismissible. “A demonic possession turned murder case? A movie adapted from DV camcorder footage? Only a child would believe such things,” they thought. The media expressed their doubts about the rumors, and with good reason. First, if DV footage of a murder really existed, they would be regarded as important criminal evidence and should belong with the police, not a film company. Furthermore, if the movie was a documentary about a true murder case, how on Earth did it pass MPAA’s evaluation? And why was it only rated PG-13?
The media had taken a strong stance against the rumors on the internet. “A true documentary? What a preposterous claim. If that’s real, then Animal World is real.”
But the media had not let the matter rest. And soon, they had begun looking into the movie that everyone had claimed to be supernatural. They had worked around the clock and left no stone unturned. It had not been difficult for them to uncover the facts once they had set their minds on it. Besides, many film companies had already seen Paranormal Activity when they’d evaluated it. It would be only a matter of time before the truth came to light.
And came to light it did, thanks to The Los Angeles Times. “It’s just a movie. A movie shot using a DV camcorder. It’s not spliced from real-life footage or anything like that. Kevin and Mae were portrayed by actors, and the movie was directed by a very young Chinese man. If you look closely at the closing credits, you’ll see the filmmaker’s name. That’s him, Yang Wang. I think he’s 22 years old. Or was he 20?” the VP of Acquisition of Dimension Films explained.
“Oh, I’ve seen that movie. But I didn’t see it in the theaters. I saw it right here in our company, in our screening room. The movie would’ve been ours if only we’d nodded our heads. But as you know, we turned that young man down in the end. To be honest, we deeply regret our decision. Our manager has been asked to resign because of this. Perhaps I’m next on the chopping block,” a salesperson stated. He was from the publishing department of a film company. But the company did not wish to reveal its identity to the press.
The reporters took their investigation to the actor’s guild. They found information on Zachary Levi, the male lead who’d portrayed Kevin in the movie and proved that “Kevin” was still alive and well. The reporters even interviewed Mark Strong, the man who organized the auditions for Paranormal Activity. “Why, of course it’s a movie. I even got a commission from ‘Mae’ and ‘Kevin’s’ contracts. That young director was very picky, indeed. The audition went on for a whole day. We went through hundreds of actors before he finally found the actors he liked,” Mark stated.
The Los Angeles Times had found irrefutable proof. They had published their findings in an article, and the internet rumors had collapsed like a house of cards.
But Lionsgate Films and Wang Yang had been well-prepared for such a situation. They had known that their gaslighting strategy would work wonders during the first few weeks of the movie’s release. They also had known that, once the movie had come into the limelight, the truth would be exposed eventually. But since they had gotten the first batch of viewers in the cinemas and put their movie on the map, they hadn’t considered their strategy a failure at all. At that point, people would flock to the cinemas to watch their movie even if they had been aware it was a scripted production.
But people’s curiosity about the movie had started to grow. How could a movie with a $10,000 budget gross over $80,000,000 at the box office? And soon, the movie had become a national obsession. Nearly everybody was talking about it; nobody wanted to miss out on the craze, especially young people. They did not want to seem outdated to their peers. People rushed to watch Paranormal Activity since it was the popular thing to do.
“Are you afraid to watch it?” became the theme of Paranormal Activity’s advertisement. A promotional activity called “Who’s the Biggest Scaredy Cat?” was put up on the movie’s official website by Lionsgate. It was another one of Wang Yang’s clever ideas. Participants would record their friends’ and family’s reactions during the movie using a camera or a DV camcorder. Then, they would make an entry on the official website by uploading their photos or videos. Visitors of the website would then vote on the 10 best entries, and the winners would receive prizes, such as a week’s trip to Santa Monica, a home theater system, or a DV camcorder.
In essence, the promotional stunt was another viral marketing trick but applied in the real world.
Lionsgate Films happily conceded the truth when The Los Angeles Times published their article. John Feldmeyer, the VP of Publishing at the company, confessed to the media that Paranormal Activity was a movie that involved a real director and real actors. He also stated that the various elements in the official website, such as the omission of the production team’s identity, the teasers, trailers, as well as the interviews, were intended to create a more immersive experience for the audience.
People had been shocked when Lionsgate published Wang Yang (the director), Zachary Levi (Kevin), and Rachel McAdams’ (Mae) bios on the official website. “Oh, my God, no way! An 18-year-old filmmaker?” they’d thought to themselves. And when they had seen Wang Yang’s regal and youthful portrait on the website, they had been astounded. “That’s the kid. He made a movie using just $10,000, and now his movie is grossing 80 million at the box office!” they exclaimed.
Everyone had been impressed by Wang Yang’s age. They had wondered what the Guinness World Record for the youngest director in Hollywood was. At that time, Wang Yang had been 18 years and six months old, much younger when compared to the Guinness record holder, Stephen Paul, who had been 20 years old back then. He had beaten the record by a wide margin. Furthermore, Stephen Paul’s movie “In Love Again” did not gross $80,000,000 in box offices.
Roger Ebert, a renowned American film critic, had described the movie as a “wonder in the making” and a “supernatural phenomenon”. He had praised Paranormal Activity for its originality. He’d said the movie had made great strides in the language of film, established mockumentaries as a genre, and paved the way for other DV movies. He had also commended Wang Yang’s mastery of psychological horror elements, which was incorporated so artfully into the movie that he could hardly recognize that it had been made by an amateur director.
“This movie will provide a heart-stopping experience for those who aren’t just interested in gore fests. However, I wouldn’t recommend children to watch this movie, even under their parents’ supervision, because it might traumatize them for life. If you’ll excuse me, I shall go sunbathe to take my mind off the fear,” the critic had said.
Roger Ebert had been highly influential. His words could have swayed a film company to acquire a film and convince the masses to watch a movie or buy a DVD, so it was good that he had hailed Wang Yang as “Magic Yang” and called him a promising filmmaker. But he had also cautioned the young man to stay hungry and focused, lest he lost his way.
Finally, Roger Ebert had given Paranormal Activity his seal of approval—his signature, trademarked phrase—”two thumbs up.”
Wang Yang read the review and joked about it in a phone call with Rachel. “Hi, Rachel. Let me show you a magic trick. Do you see it? My hand is coming out from your cell phone and it’s going for your hair,” Wang Yang teased.
Rachel giggled. “Don’t tell me—is it an idea for your next movie?” she said smilingly.
“No, I’m not making movies anymore. I’ve made so much from this movie that I’ve decided to quit. I’m going to retire at 18; isn’t it cool?” Wang Yang declared, pretending to sound serious.
“Well, that’s like an alcoholic saying he’ll quit drinking. I don’t believe you,” Rachel replied jokingly.
“Won’t you give this alcoholic a chance to turn over a new leaf?” Wang Yang pleaded, cheerfully faking misery.
Rachel thought about it and then said smilingly, “If it were for anyone else, I’d give them a chance. But for you? No way.”
Her comment made Wang Yang chuckle. “Okay,” he said and went on in a more serious tone. “To be honest, I don’t I’ll make another horror film. That girl gave me quite a scare. I don’t want to frighten anyone to death.”
Of course, not everyone had thought that Paranormal Activity was scary. There had been many naysayers in the media who accused the movie of being a scam and that it was all a ploy by Lionsgate. They’d asserted that the movie had only performed well due to unethical marketing gimmicks, and if people would have stopped making a fuss of it, it would’ve quickly faded into obscurity.
Kevin Thomas, a film critic from The Los Angeles Times (who would later sing praises about The Promise), perhaps bitter about sharing the same name with Paranormal Activity’s protagonist, gave the movie a scathing review. “A totally pointless and amateurish movie, as if made by a couple of kids who were playing ‘directors and actors’,” he berated angrily. “The acting of the male and female protagonists was horrendous, and watching their performance was like seeing a disaster unfold on a big screen. Youngest director ever? He’s an extremely lucky kid; I’ll give him that. But in ten years’ time, his name will be completely forgotten. Meanwhile, people will still remember Paranormal Activity.”
By then, a portion of film critics had spoken out against the movie, and most people on the internet had learned about the truth behind “Kevin’s murder”. But Paranormal Activity’s box office figures remained robust. Its momentum had begun to diminish slightly, but that was bound to happen with every movie. By the middle of the fourth week, Paranormal Activity had grossed over $15,000,000 in box offices and was well on its way to exceed $30,000,000 by the end of the week. Meanwhile, the movie’s total box office gross had exceeded $100,000,000. The movie’s performance was described as “miraculous”, but even that was an understatement.
Tom Oldenburg, the VP of Acquisitions at Lionsgate, realized then why he’d had an ominous feeling when he’d negotiated the contract with Wang Yang. It wasn’t because he was making a wrong decision; it was because he and Lionsgate Films were missing out on a big opportunity. If only he had insisted on buying out the movie! Even if the deal would have been settled at $500,000 or even $1,000,000 dollars, it would have been extremely lucrative for them still.
Of course, Tom Oldenburg was just speculating out of greed. He and the rest of his company were very contented with their payback for the most part. They had lined their pockets heavily and put Lionsgate Films back on the map. They’d appeared in interviews and trumpeted their company’s brand at Paranormal Activity’s promotional events. They’d wanted everybody in North America to be aware of this film company in Santa Monica called Lionsgate Films.
And now, they had received even more good news.
John Feldmeyer had been rather pleased with himself. He had seen Paranormal Activity’s publication through single handedly and had received tons of praises from the board of directors. Due to his accomplishment, he had put himself into the running for the company’s next CEO, or even Partner. That day, he met up with Wang Yang at a coffee shop. He had been in Los Angeles on a business trip, and he’d wanted to give Wang Yang the good news personally.
“Hey, John. So, what’s the good news?” Wang Yang asked as he looked at John’s mysterious expression and sipped his coffee. He was getting impatient, but he kept a smile on his face. “Please, would you tell me already?! This news had better be worth the taxi ride,” he said.
Normally, a theater chain would only give a publisher its cut after its movie had been released for a month. And only then would the publisher give the filmmaker his cut. So, although Paranormal Activity had made over 100 million dollars at the box office, Lionsgate had not dealt with Wang Yang or given him a single penny. Wang Yang at that moment was still hard up. But because he could use his credit card, he no longer had to live hand-to-mouth.
“All right, Yang. Here’s the good news,” John Feldmeyer said smilingly. Then he cleared his throat and announced proudly, “My friend, we’ve been invited to The Oprah Winfrey Show!”
Wang Yang stared in surprise at John. “The Oprah Winfrey Show? Oh, my God! Are you serious?” he exclaimed. The Oprah Winfrey Show was America’s most famous and highest-rated talk show, not to mention a cultural icon of the country. Its host, Oprah Winfrey, had overcome abuse and poverty in her childhood to achieve success and become “The Queen of Talk Shows”. Wang Yang admired the woman deeply and had been watching her show ever since he had been a little boy. So, when he found out he had been invited to her show as a special guest, he felt at once honored and thrilled.
John nodded and smiled. “Of course I’m serious,” he said as he lifted his cup of coffee. “The filming will be scheduled for next week. The topic will be ‘a young man’s journey to success’. I suppose you’ll share your experiences and stories on your way to becoming a director, talk about how it affected you, and what it means to you. You know—Oprah style.” He sipped some coffee and continued with a smile, “They’ve invited all the major players in the movie—you, Zachary, Rachel, and, of course, the visionary publisher—me. Zachary and I will be flying to Chicago this Sunday. Rachel will be arriving straight from Toronto.”
Wang Yang pictured himself going to Chicago and appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He felt very excited but also a little anxious. It was because he had been keeping a secret in his heart all this while. It was like a fishbone that had lodged inside his throat that he did not dare to cough out. But now that he was getting more and more attention from the media, he feared that his secret would no longer be safe. To him, the real miracle was the fact his secret had not been exposed up until then.
He furrowed his eyebrows as he wrestled with the thought. Finally, he looked across the table at John and said solemnly, “John, I think it’s time I let you in on something.”
John knitted his brows abruptly. He knew Wang Yang wasn’t joking by the gravity of his tone and expression. “What is it?” he asked.
“A few months ago, I was a student at the University of Southern California majoring in film and television production,” he stated calmly. John seemed aghast, but Wang Yang went on. “Unfortunately, I was expelled, on the grounds of racial discrimination.”
“What did you say? Oh, my God, are you kidding me?” John burst out.
“Please, don’t panic. Let me explain,” Wang Yang said as he held John by his hand, trying to calm him down. And then, he told John the entire story.
Upon listening to his story, John fell silent. He frowned and sipped his coffee for a good while. Then, he took a deep breath and said reproachfully, “Yang, you should’ve told us about this earlier.”
“If I’d told you earlier, do you think Lionsgate would have ever considered publishing Paranormal Activity?” Wang Yang wanted to say. But he held his tongue and simply shrugged.
“This whole thing is a ticking time bomb, and I’m afraid there’s not much time left in it. Soon, it’s going to blow up on us,” John said as he scratched his head, turning his well-groomed hair into a mess. Just a moment ago, he was on top of the world. But now, he was completely devastated.
John knew that racial discrimination was a sensitive subject. It would be a pity to him if Wang Yang’s career ended up ruined because of the incident. But John was more concerned about what would happen to Lionsgate and himself if things went south. Lionsgate’s reputation would certainly be affected, for they had unwittingly published the work of a “racist”. But what was more worrying was the controversy surrounding “Kevin’s murder”, which would come back to haunt them as people began to associate the company with unsavory practices. Fans of Lionsgate might think the company had been lying to them and cheating them of their money and decide to turn against it.
If that were to happen, John would have no chance of becoming a CEO, let alone a Partner. John racked his brains trying to come up with a solution. He pondered for a minute then asked, “Yang, are you sure there was no one else around at the time?”
Wang Yang recollected the incident carefully one more time, but he could not think of anything notable or useful. He shook his head in dismay. “I’m not sure, as I was completely focused on Terrance Ben the whole time. He shoved me, and then I hit him. And when the professor came, no one else was around,” he confessed with a shrug and added, “After that, I scoured the campus and asked every student I came across, but no one admitted having witnessed the incident.”
John nodded thoughtfully and then asked, “Looks like you didn’t have many friends in college?”
“Do I look like that type of person?” Wang Yang retorted, rolling his eyes. He was neither shy nor reserved. He carried himself well and treated others with respect. He was well-liked and popular. He smiled as he reminisced about his happy life in high school. “To be honest, I had many friends when I was in high school. Not just Chinese friends, but also white friends and black friends,” he paused for a second, then continued, “But when I was in college, I spent most of my time in classes. Whenever I wasn’t in a class, I’d be working at a part-time job, so I never really had the time to make new friends.”
He smiled again. Originally, he had planned to use his savings from his part-time jobs to purchase a DV camcorder. But he had spent it on shooting the movie, instead.
“Why, that’s wonderful!” John exclaimed. His color had come back. He smiled resignedly, feeling a little more optimistic now. “Your black friends in high school should make things much easier. If this thing ever escalates, we’ll stand behind you. A simple interview with your teachers and friends in high school should be able to prove your character,” he reasoned with a smile. “Don’t worry too much. We’ll have someone go to USC to look into it at once. Let’s see if we can find anyone who saw the incident.”
“That’s what USC should’ve done in the first place, but they didn’t. Instead, they expelled me, just like that,” Wang Yang lamented, shaking his head. Maybe it was his luck. Or maybe… it was the way he’d talked back to the Dean when he had been brought to his office. He had not been as mature as he was now, and he’d lost his temper in the heat of the moment.
John smiled upon hearing Wang Yang’s remark. “In that case, we should thank USC. If they hadn’t expelled you, you wouldn’t have made that movie, would you?” John justified as he drank his coffee.
Wang Yang was struck by John’s words. His heart lightened slowly as he began to fathom John’s logic. His expulsion had given him the lessons and experience he’d needed to become the man he was today. Without it, he would still be brave but tactless, all brawn and no brains, just as the old man Mr. Wu had described. Could mistakes make people grow? Had his ruthless banishment from his beloved school been a blessing in disguise?
John rose from his chair as Wang Yang pondered over his predicament. He patted him on his shoulder and bade him goodbye in a half-cheerful, half-disgruntled manner. “Well, young man, I think it’s time for me to go now. You’ve given me quite enough surprises today,” John said.
“Oh, are you thanking me now?” Wang Yang replied jokingly.
“That’s enough, you cunning devil,” John said with a smile.
But what the two did not realize was that the time bomb was about to go off. Later that evening, right as the sun had set, news suddenly broke out on Yahoo’s entertainment message board. The title read: “Rising Chinese Director Once Expelled From University Due to Racial Discrimination”.