Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Yang, I can learn it!” Jessica interrupted Wang Yang swiftly before he could say, “I need someone who can dance, but if you can’t…” She had promised herself long ago that she would be part of Wang Yang’s next movie.
Jessica remembered an incident during her childhood when she had come to Los Angeles. She’d been begging her father to let her attend acting school. Her father’s business had been just starting out, and they’d been barely scraping by. But despite their financial situation, her father had done all he could to put his family in a small home in a rich neighborhood. He had wanted Jessica and Joshua to grow up in the best environment that he could afford them. But it had not come without sacrifice. He had seldom been seen at home due to his work; Jessica’s mother also had had to take up multiple jobs to make ends meet. They had toiled away, day after day, and night after night, in order to put Jessica and Joshua through an expensive, private Catholic school of great reputation.
However, Jessica and Joshua had not had any friends in their neighborhood or at school. They had been surrounded by rich kids who’d been too stuck up to associate with them. Nobody would play with them, and they, especially Jessica, had felt incredibly lonely. She’d missed her old days back in San Francisco and held on to her promise to Wang Yang. But if she were to have become an actress, she would need to learn her craft. One day, casting aside her parents’ expectations for her, she had asked her father to let her transfer to an acting school. Her father had been a stubborn man, and he’d called her a willful child and turned a deaf ear on her at first. But after many hours of pleading, crying, and explaining, Jessica had finally gotten through to her father, and he had agreed to let her switch schools.
She would not have had the audacity to speak up against her father had it not been for her promise to Wang Yang. It had been her dream to become a famous actress. It had also been her dream to star in Wang Yang’s movie one day.
She’d been there with Wang Yang when he’d made his first movie. She had been there when the idea for Paranormal Activity had first been conceived, and she had seen Wang Yang labor and struggle as he had carried the movie to fruition. But all the while, she had felt as if she’d been a quiet observer, a bystander. She regretted the fact that she had not been more involved. But this time, she would not let the opportunity slip by again. She had resolved to participate in Wang Yang’s movie, even if it meant being a background actor with no dialogue.
A deluge of memories, promises, dreams, and regrets hit Jessica’s head at once, and a look of determination passed over her face. “No matter what kind of dance it is, I’ll learn it,” she said robustly.
“Jessica, don’t worry,” Wang Yang consoled. He could tell she was very anxious by the tone of her voice. “It’s okay if you don’t know how to dance for now. It’s not like we’re not going to enter an international dance competition. When the time comes to shoot the movie, I’ll hire a dance instructor to show you the ropes,” he explained.
“Oh, thank God.” Jessica breathed a huge sigh of relief. Her eyes glinted with a new sense of hope while an engaging smile took over from the apprehension on her face. “That’s good to hear. Awesome!” she cried. A moment ago, she had felt an overwhelming urge to call up a dance instructor—someone who could teach her the style of dance required for a high school musical. She had decided to follow through with her impulse and made a mental note to sign up for a dance class later. “Yang’s making a musical. That means he must really love dancing,” she inferred. “If Yang invited me to a dance one day, what would I do? Besides, dancing sounds pretty fun!” Then, she asked, “By the way, Yang, why did you decide to make a high school musical out of the blue?”
Wang Yang was in his kitchen pouring himself a warm glass of water. He smiled and replied, “It didn’t come out of the blue. The idea came to me while I was in Chicago, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”
As soon as she heard the word “Chicago”, a strange, ominous feeling came over Jessica, and there was a sudden urge to ask Wang Yang, “Does Rachel know about it?”
“It just feels like we’re on the point of something very big happening, you know? I think now’s the time to release a high school musical. Who knows? We might even revive the musical genre.” Wang Yang huffed out a laugh as he walked toward his computer with a glass of water in his hand. Half-joking, he said, “Besides, a high school flick would be right up your alley, don’t you think? I’ve had it up to here with those useless producers and directors who wouldn’t even let you act as a convenience store attendant. Don’t have the right vibes? Please!”
Wang Yang’s comment brightened Jessica right up. She twirled her hair, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. “So, what kind of role do you have in mind for me?” she asked smilingly.
“Well, I’m not sure yet. All I know is, it’ll be a speaking part,” Wang Yang joked, smiling with delight. Then, in a tone that suggested the gravity of the issue he was about to discuss, he said, “But seriously Jessica, I’m going to invite you to the audition for the female lead.” Jessica stood stunned a second, then burst out, “Oh, my God!” Wang Yang smiled and went on. “You certainly have the looks to be the leading actress. But I can’t make the decision right now. As you know, there are many other things to consider when choosing a leading actress.”
“I know Yang, I know…” Jessica said repeatedly. Her face reddened with joy. “Oh, God, I can hardly wait!” she cried. Finally, she had a chance to star in one of Wang Yang’s movies. What else could she have wanted more? “When we grow up, I’ll become a director, and you’ll become an actress. And then…” Was their promise finally going to be fulfilled?
“Jessica, I look forward to seeing your A-game,” Wang Yang said with a smile. He recalled the time Jessica had tried out for Paranormal Activity. That was before the movie had been opened to auditions. He still remembered the advice he’d given her. “There are times when an actress must act naturally, and there are times when she must divorce herself from reality. She may feel sad and wish to conceal that sadness. But when you’re in front of the camera, you must let your emotions speak for themselves—joy, anger, sadness. You must convey through your acting the whole gamut of human experience. Emote. Your facial expressions speak for the character. They should be nuanced and complex, not monotonous and simple…”
High School Musical would not be a difficult movie to act in, but Wang Yang would not accept any compromises as the movie was going to be screened in cinemas. Besides, he had always been rational and unbiased when choosing his actors, and he would not be prejudiced in Jessica’s favor. If Jessica did not meet his requirements, he would not cast her. It was as simple as that. He said in a serious manner, “Jessica, I really don’t want to give the leading part to anyone else, do you understand?”
Jessica caught his drift. She took a deep breath, nodded, and said, “Yang, I’ll try my best to brush up on my acting skills. I promise.”
After they had chatted for a while, they bade each other goodbye, and the call ended. Jessica said she was going to practice in front of a mirror. Wang Yang sat behind his desk and turned his attention toward the computer screen. His fingers danced across the keyboard diligently as he began to type out the script for High School Musical.
High School Musical had a fairly straightforward plot. There was a high school basketball captain named Troy Bolton; he was the protagonist of the movie. His high school was called East High School and his team was called the Wildcats. His father was the coach of the Wildcats. Under his tutelage, Troy had developed a talent for basketball since he’d been very young, and on one occasion, he’d even helped the Wildcats win a championship. Meanwhile, there was a girl named Gabriella Montez; she was the female protagonist. She was a science whiz. She had won numerous trophies in science and math competitions. She was a stereotypical bookworm.
On a fateful New Year’s Eve, at a party in a resort, Troy and Gabriella were ushered onto a small stage against their will. As they sang together on that stage, they discovered a shared, hidden passion—singing and dancing.
After the party, they went back to their respective cities. But one day, Gabriella was transferred to East High School. Naturally, she was thrilled to see Troy again. At that time, the school had decided to organize a musical, and auditions were underway. Avid for singing and dancing, Troy and Gabriella went for the audition and passed the first round. However, with the basketball tournament and the science competition drawing closer, both Troy and Gabriella’s friends and family decided to steer them in the “right path”. They did whatever they could to stop them from participating in the musical.
Thanks to their schemes, a misunderstanding arose between Troy and Gabriella. As a result of their falling-out, they both dropped out from the second round of audition. But without their dreams, they soon became unhappy and listless. Their friends felt sorry for them and decided it was best to let them pursue their true passion, so they confessed to Troy and Gabriella for sowing the seeds of their misunderstanding and apologized to them.
Feeling liberated and more motivated than ever with their differences behind them, Troy and Gabriella set their sights once again on passing the second round of audition. But siblings Sharpay Evans and Ryan Evans decided to sabotage them again. They were the running stars of musicals in East High School and they feared that Troy and Gabriella might steal their thunder. So they persuaded Ms. Darbus, who was in charge of the musical’s audition, to move the date of the second audition such that it coincided with the dates of the basketball tournament and the science competition.
But with the help of their friends, ruckuses broke out at the basketball tournament and the science competition, ruining the events. At last, Troy and Gabriella were able to attend the second audition and were selected as the musical’s leading actor and actress, respectively. Thereafter, Troy won the basketball championship, while Gabriella clinched first prize in the science competition, thus ending the story on a happy note. And that was High School Musical, a simple tale of youngsters chasing after their dreams.
That script was intended for the actors. The song and dance sequences were noted in the script but not written out in full detail; that would be the job of the dance instructor. Wang Yang’s version of High School Musical deviated slightly from the original as he had added his own touches while writing the script. For instance, he felt that the development of Troy and Gabriella’s friends toward the end were too hackneyed, so he added a few sequences to show the audience how they’d come about changing their minds.
The script served only as a guide to the movie. Every sequence described in the script would be shot, but not all of them would make it to the final product; some would be discarded during the editing process.
After two days of writing, Wang Yang was through with the first draft of his script. While the main plot more or less adhered to the original version of High School Musical, Wang Yang did change the way it was depicted. He added a few subplots that made the story flow more naturally and adapted the narrative for the big screen.
Thereafter, Wang Yang started to write the split-screen script. A split-screen script described how the story should look on camera on a sequence-by-sequence basis. It also provided instructions on how the movie should be shot and what techniques and effects should be used.
Television films told stories in a vastly different way than movies did. This was because the former tended to be produced on a tighter budget, shown on a smaller screen, and aimed at an entirely different viewing experience from the latter. When Wang Yang realized he had to revamp half of the sequences in High School Musical, he thought he might as well pull out all the stops and make the best out of them.
For example, at the beginning of High School Musical, Troy and Gabriella were standing outside a resort on New Year’s Eve, watching the fireworks. In the original version, the camera would focus on the protagonists as they looked up into the sky before cutting to a shoddy, computer-generated sequence of fireworks bursting into colors that would last for a few seconds. Afterward, the camera would return to an eye-level shot of the protagonists and the crowd behind them.
It looked fake. One could easily tell that the scene was shot in a studio. And even if it were shot outdoors, the fireworks in the sky could not have possibly been real. Even the post-production special effects looked awfully tacked-on as if the producers had skimped on them. But that was how a television film producer would do it.
In contrast, Wang Yang’s split-screen script for High School Musical provided a much more sophisticated rendition of the same scene. As the protagonists looked up into the sky in anticipation of the fireworks, the camera would pan up to where their eyes were pointing. And afterward, it would pan out into a high angle shot, bringing everything into full view—Troy and Gabriella, the crowd behind them, the resort off in the distance, the sky, and the fireworks above and beyond—allowing the romantic mood of the scene to come through. That was how a filmmaker would do it.
Wang Yang spent a great amount of time writing and rewriting the split-screen script because he had to consider the coherence of the shots while staying true to the youthful character of the movie. He was practically reimagining the entire movie. It was a painstaking job. A labor of love. He was in no hurry to complete the script, nor did he need to hurry. He only had to finish before it was time to shoot the movie, and for a traditional film such as this one, there was much preparation to be done. It would be many days before shooting commenced.
“Hey, Hebel. It’s me, Yang.” Wang Yang was lying on a sofa in his apartment and holding his cell phone to his ear. He was on the phone with Hebel Carl, the lawyer from Trust Law Group. Many days ago, when Wang Yang consulted him about his taxes, he had decided to appoint him as his personal legal counsel. He was now entitled to seek legal advice as well as run any contracts he might have by him, whenever he wanted. He was also entitled to special rates if he were to appoint Hebel to represent him in court. In return, Wang Yang had to pay Hebel Carl 10 thousand dollars every month.
It was a fair price, considering the going rate for lawyers at the time. But Hebel Carl had other clients besides Wang Yang. Being a lawyer was indeed one of the most highly paid and highly regarded professions in the country.
Hebel gave Wang Yang his greetings. Wang Yang got right down to business. “I’m planning to make a new movie. The project will cost around five million dollars, and I was wondering if I should set up and register a film production company.”
“Five million dollars? Of course, you’ll need a company, especially if the movie is backed by multiple investors. But even if you’d be the sole investor of the film, you’d still need to have a company.” Hebel Carl paused for a moment. It was easy to forget that Wang Yang was just a teenager. He explained to the teenager, “First of all, it would be impossible for you to handle a five-million-dollar production by yourself. If you do not have a company and the people to take care of the administrative work, your finances will wind up a mess.”
Wang Yang wagged his head quietly. He was worried about the same thing. That was why he had decided to call Hebel and ask him about registering a company. Making DV movies was one thing; making a traditional movie was a different ball game altogether. Paranormal Activity had a production cost of 10 thousand dollars, two actors, and the entire crew consisted of three people; he’d been able to make do without a company. On the other hand, High School Musical entailed millions of dollars in expenses, dozens of actors on contract, and a production crew that numbered over a hundred people, including cameramen, lighting technicians, makeup artists, set designers, and others. It was difficult to imagine how anything would work without setting up a company.
He could join ventures with an existing film production company and leave all the drudgery to them. But why not create a company himself? He might not have a degree in business, but he did not need to understand or oversee the day to day operations of the company. He could simply be the chairman, so all he needed to do was hire someone like John Feldmeyer to run his company.
Hebel continued, “I’m not an expert in matters of finance, so I can’t help you in that regard. But there’s something else I must tell you. There are some incentives in place in the state of California for small-sized film companies. For instance, if you register your company in California and shoot the movie in California, you’ll receive some form of tax rebate on your movie’s income. There are similar policies in other states as well, though the amount of rebate is usually minimal. But still, it’s something.”
“I see.” Wang Yang considered then said, “Hebel, I understand. Could you please explain to me the procedures involved in setting up a film production company?”
Hebel chuckled and said, “No, Yang. I’m not suggesting you should set up your own film company. If you do, I hope it’s a shell company because if it’s not, you’d need to rent an office, hire people, and many other things. Don’t you think it’ll be a nuisance?” Then, he gave him his suggestion. “What you can do is acquire an existing film production company. As you know, there is no lack of struggling companies who are waiting for an infusion of funds here in Los Angeles. Many companies get set up every day, and many companies go bankrupt. In many cases, these companies go under because they’ve invested in movies that flopped at the cinemas and suffered a great loss. Sometimes, these companies did not even invest in any movies; they just don’t have enough money to keep going, and there’s nothing inherently faulty with the company’s operations. My advice is to find a company that has no debt and invest in it. It’ll be much easier than setting up your own company.”
Wang Yang put down his cell phone and crossed his arms over his chest. His face twisted into a frown as he wrestled with Hebel Carl’s proposal. It was certainly much easier to acquire an independent, financially healthy company than to create one. Besides, an existing company might even bring some filmmaking experience to the table, which Wang Yang sorely lacked. Then, he would be able to shoot High School Musical a lot sooner and faster.
Wang Yang thought about it for a while, then picked up his cell phone and started dialing John Feldmeyer’s number. “Hi, John.”
“Hi, Yang. What can I do for you?” said John over the phone. He sounded relaxed and cheerful. Wang Yang assumed he was not too busy. He smiled and said, “I’m planning to make another movie.””Oh,” John said in a voice that gave the impression he was knitting his brows, “Is it that the high school musical you’ve told me about last time? Sorry, Yang. Our hands are tied because of Paranormal Activity 2. Besides, we just gave you five million dollars. We don’t have any money left to spend on other projects, you know that…” John had done more than enough for his company to be a shoo-in for the next CEO. There was no need for him to take unnecessary risks, at least not until he became the CEO.
Wang Yang knew full well what John was thinking, but he had no intention of collaborating with the likes of them. He wanted to keep as much of the profit for himself as possible. He might give his publisher a cut, but nothing beyond that. And back when he had studied at USC, when he had worked part-time on a set doing manual labor, he had witnessed a great falling-out between a director and a producer. It’d been so brutal he could still see and hear it when he closed his eyes, and it would make him bristle.
In fact, in James Cameron’s early years, when he was working on his first project, Piranha II: The Spawning, he did have an ugly falling-out with the producer. And when it came time to edit the movie during post-production, the producer would not allow James Cameron to participate. It affected James Cameron deeply. And from that day onward, he vowed to be both the director and the producer.
“If any producer were foolish enough to criticize him, he would give them a knuckle sandwich,” thought Wang Yang. He shifted in his seat and told John, “I know. I’m not asking for funding. It’s my movie, so I’m funding it.” Astonished, John said, “Wow! All of it?” Wang Yang nodded and said smilingly, “Yes, all of it. I can’t be bothered with producers. I’m going to have my very own film production company. I’m thinking of acquiring an existing company—one in good financial health. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Are you kidding me?” John was shocked. Although he did not know the exact budget for Wang Yang’s high school musical project, he had heard from Wang Yang once that it was around a few million dollars. Had success gotten to this young man’s head? Traditional film and DV movies were completely different animals. Besides, musicals had been a dull business for many years now, yet there he was, ready to bet millions of dollars on it. Was he playing a little too fast and loose with his money? Knitting his brows, John asked, “Yang, are you serious? Are you sure you want to do it?”
“John, of course I’m serious,” Wang Yang replied bravely. “I’m looking for a quality, small-sized film production company that’s up for sale. You know, no debts, no internal issues, yet somehow up for sale because they are a little short of cash and a little desperate due to a failed investment.” He smiled then said, “If such a company exists, I want to buy it.”
As the VP of Publishing at Lionsgate, John knew his competitors well. He was always on top of the goings-on of the business. Every film company that was ever founded, every film company that went bust, every new project that came online—nothing escaped his watchful eyes. Naturally, he was also privy to which film company was in the red and which ones were up for grabs. Then again, it was not exactly secret knowledge. Everybody in the business knew about it.
“Let me think. My goodness, I can’t think of any off the top of my head. I must be getting old.” John thought for a good while. Then, laughing in a self-deprecating manner, he suggested, “Yang, how about this: tonight after work, I’ll go home and see what I can find. Tomorrow, I shall send you the information on the companies you’re looking for.”
“Okay. I shall look forward to your information, then.” Wang Yang ended the call with a press of a button, stretched his arms, and stood up. Then, he punched the air in great triumph. He could hardly believe it himself; he was going to acquire an independent film company. What a momentous event! To paraphrase Neil Armstrong’s famous words when he had landed on the moon, it was “one small step for a man, one giant leap for the world of cinema”. What joy! What thrill! Wang Yang wondered what he should call his company. Perhaps he should call it Young Pictures? No. To his ears, it resembled the name of a Chinese restaurant like “Fu Restaurant”. It reminded him of his family’s restaurant, Wang Restaurant.
Wang Yang came to his desk where his computer lay, but his mind was going off in tangents. Staring at his unfinished, split-screen script for High School Musical, he got down to work.