Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Wonder Boy Yang Announces New Movie. High-School-Themed Musical to Be Called ‘High School Musical’!”
The headline featured prominently in the entertainment section of The Los Angeles Times. As promised, the press had published its exclusive interview with Wang Yang. Soon after the article had been published in the papers, it found its way to the internet where it spread like wildfire. The online forums that had once been the breeding ground of rumors of Paranormal Activity were now abuzz with discussions about Wang Yang’s upcoming movie. In North America, Paranormal Activity had exited the theaters with a staggering box office gross of $163,000,000. Wang Yang was still very much a celebrity with legions of fans.
To Wang Yang’s fans, the message was clear. He was going to make a musical set in a high school. It was going to be called High School Musical, and it was going to be a story about dreams and ambition. To produce the movie, he even bought a small, struggling film production company. No one knew what the company’s name had been prior to the acquisition. All they knew was that it was now called Flames Films, and Wang Yang was at its helm.
Of course, Wang Yang had told Jessica, Zachary, and his other friends the good news the night before the article had been published. He wanted them to share in his joy before the rest of the world did.
But the media was not very excited about his new company. After all, Los Angeles was teeming with small film companies. For a multi-millionaire to acquire one was hardly newsworthy. What got the media excited was the movie—his second movie—and specifically the fact that it was a high-school-themed musical. While it came as no surprise that a teenager like Wang Yang would make a movie about high school, movie fans were shocked to hear that it would be a musical. Everybody thought that the musical was a dead genre and there was no market for it.
“Why did he choose to do a high school musical of all things? Did he say he has high hopes for it? What did he mean by ‘high hopes’? To break even, or to become a generational icon like Grease?” movie fans speculated.
Before the media could answer any of those questions, the internet was already exploding with comments about the news. “To be honest, I’m a little worried about how the movie’s going to turn out. On the bright side, perhaps the 18-year-old, up-and-coming director will be humbled in the process, when he learns that making films isn’t as simple as he thinks,” said one commenter.
And that was not even the worst comment. Some blatantly put down the movie and its creator. “Could it be that he’s missing his life in high school after his terrible experience in college? He wants to make a movie about high school students? Does he even know how to operate a real movie camera? He might have studied at the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts, but it was only for half a semester. I bet he can’t even tell Eisenstein from Einstein…”
Eisenstein was a great director. Einstein was a great scientist. Wang Yang knew that. He also knew that people would doubt him. It was all noise to him by then. If he had announced another horror movie, people would have praised the idea and call him a future star. But when he announced he was making a high school musical, they turned against him, calling him a has-been and a moth blundering into a fire.
Whether Wang Yang would go up in flames or whether he was a legitimate talent remained to be seen. The proof would be in the pudding. He could drum up even more publicity for his movie by arguing with the media, but seeing that High School Musical was all about a positive outlook in life, he decided against it. Besides, High School Musical was primarily targeted at students. They were an easier crowd to please compared to film critics. They were more receptive to new ideas, with a penchant for the strange and the subversive. Furthermore, Wang Yang had become something of a legend to younger students when he’d claimed the title of the youngest multi-millionaire.
But when Wang Yang read The Los Angeles Times’ exclusive coverage of his movie, one of his fears was confirmed. Almost two-thirds of the article were devoted to his personal life. There was very little about his new movie. But that was to be expected. Wang Yang seldom agreed to be interviewed by the media, let alone disclose his personal life. One time, he even turned down the opportunity to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. The media had been curious about Wang Yang for a long time, and when The Los Angeles Times had been lucky enough to be invited by Flames Films to do an interview, reporter Kim Silvers had to cash it in.
In the chairman’s office at Flames Films, Wang Yang was sitting in his swivel office chair and holding a newspaper open. He read the article with disgust.
He could not keep from seeing the title “Youngest Multi-Millionaire Still Single,” which occupied two-thirds of the column. Below it was the first question of the interview, “Are you seeing anyone currently?” followed by his answer, “No, my career is just starting to take off and I intend to focus on it.” It was a short but honest response. Wang Yang had changed a lot over the past six months. Through his experience, he had gained clarity. All he wanted to do now was to make movies. He could not waste precious time and opportunity chasing girls. But when love came, he would accept it.
“Have you ever had a girlfriend?” Kim Silvers enquired, taking the conversation to his personal life. From that point on, she assumed the role of a tabloid reporter.
“I had a girlfriend when I was in high school, but you know how these things go. Eventually, we broke up,” Wang Yang had answered.
As he read his own response in the papers, Wang Yang could not keep from shaking his head and massaging his eyes. It had been an infatuation. A fling. As sweet as it had been, it had never been meant to be. He’d met her when he’d been a sophomore in high school at an interschool event in San Francisco. She was from Lowell High School. She’d been of mixed ethnicity and very beautiful, with bright, yellow hair that flowed. She had been spunky, and the two of them had hit it off immediately and started dating.
At first, they’d gotten on well together. They would talk over the phone every day, and during the weekends, they would meet up and do cute things together. But it had not lasted very long. As the euphoria of new love subsided, the differences in their personalities began to creep up. Then, they would argue over the smallest of things.
“I liked going to the movies, but she was more of an arcade person. I liked basketball, but she liked baseball. I liked McDonald’s, but she liked KFC. I liked Coke, but she liked Pepsi, so we fought, fought, and fought. Finally, we could not take it anymore, so we broke up,” Wang Yang had told Kim Silvers when she’d prodded him for details about his relationship.
A smile flickered over Wang Yang’s face when he saw his own words in the papers. Looking back fondly on the good the times he’d had with that girl, he felt a sense of nostalgia and comfort. But he could hardly recall what that blonde girl had looked like. He searched his memory for her face. In the misty recesses of his mind, he found a smile, cheery and sunny. Then, laughter called out to him like the song of a siren. He shook his head like a snow globe, and his memory was fogged up once again. He turned his attention back to the article. “Have you ever wondered what your future partner would be like?” was the next question.
“What’s with all these sensationalistic questions?” Wang Yang thought to himself. He had seen enough. He put down the newspaper with a sigh, turned on his computer, and got down to something more productive—casting for High School Musical.
A few days ago, right after he had acquired A-Pix Entertainment, Wang Yang had drawn up a casting call for High School Musical. He had sent Sandy Parks to the actor’s guild and the casting agencies with it, in hopes that the people from those organizations could fix him up with the right actors.
Unlike Paranormal Activity, High School Musical had a relatively large cast. Just the main characters alone numbered more than 10 people. To find so many actors was not an easy task, so he enlisted the help of talent agencies.
The casting call set out basic requirements for each role, including the male protagonist, the female protagonist, and other main characters. For instance, the physical requirements for Troy, the male protagonist were: tall, well-built, handsome with a sunny disposition, athletically inclined… the casting call was the first filter. After receiving it, the talent agencies would notify the actors who fit the criteria of the opportunity. Should an actor or actress be interested in auditioning, they would relay his or her bio to Flames Films for their consideration.
Afterward, Wang Yang would skim through the candidates’ bios, filtering out those whose faces he thought did not fit the role until he was left with a list of actors who ticked all the boxes. The list would be given to the agencies so that auditions could be arranged.
That day, Wang Yang received responses from the actors’ guild as well as several talent agencies. They had sent him bios of actors who were both qualified and keen to audition for High School Musical. He had gotten many recommendations for the leading roles, but none for the other parts yet as the agencies were still working them out.
The characters that could make or break High School Musical were male lead Troy Bolton, female lead Gabriella Montez, second female lead Sharpay Evans, second male lead and best friend of Troy, Chad Danforth, Sharpay’s little brother Ryan, Gabriella’s best friend Taylor McKessie, and pianist Kaci Nielsen.
Wang Yang was less worried about the casting of other characters, including Troy’s father, Gabriella’s mother, Ms. Darbus, the black teammate who liked to cook, and the chubby girl. These characters had little screen time and little to no memorable moments. The younger characters could be played easily by any student from an acting school because those parts did not require exceptional charisma or skill. The older characters were even easier to cast as there were plenty of middle-aged actors in Hollywood with adequate acting skills, and they could usually be hired cheaply.
It all came down to those seven characters, four of whom were particularly tricky to cast. Wang Yang had very specific requirements when it came to the looks of the male lead, the female lead, the second male lead, and the second female lead. They had to have the right qualities. They must also be good enough to bring the characters to life and be willing to work within the movie’s budget.
Experience performing in theater or musicals was a plus, but not an absolute requirement. Regardless of their dancing skills, the actors would be guided by a professional choreographer as they trained and rehearsed for the movie’s dance sequences. It was not necessary for the candidates to be trained singers, either. The singing parts would be recorded in a sound booth, with the support of a professional voice coach and a team of studio personnel. As long as they had the talent and the voice for singing, it should be fine.
As High School Musical’s chief investor, producer, and director, Wang Yang had full autonomy over every decision in the movie, including casting. Whatever he said went. Among the seven key characters, Wang Yang had more or less settled on casting Rachel as Sharpay Evans.
Sharpay Evans was an arrogant and competitive debutante. She and her little brother Ryan were the undisputed stars of their high school musical club. She was always decked out in flashy clothes and heavy makeup, and there was an inflection to her voice that accentuated her smugness. She was catty and obnoxious. A real bad girl.
Wang Yang knew Rachel had the acting chops to do the role justice. He had foreseen her success in similar roles in the future. She would do a fantastic job as the “bad girl” in The Hot Chick, before starring as a high school beauty queen in Mean Girls, and later a rich socialite in The Notebook. Her performance would dazzle audiences and critics alike. In a strange and wonderful way, starring as Sharpay Evans was what set off her long, rewarding acting career.
She had the right qualities, she was a competent dancer, and she had a bright, clear voice. As long as she was not tone-deaf, the role of Sharpay Evans was hers.
It had crossed Wang Yang’s mind to try her out for the female lead. But he later dismissed the idea, not due to problems with her acting abilities or the way she looked, but simply the fact that she had been the female lead in Paranormal Activity. Unfortunately or fortunately, the audience had recognized her as Mae. Her face was so distinctly tied to the dark, gruesome character that it would be strange for the audience to see her as the leading girl of a musical so wholesome and upbeat.
She could not be a leading lady, at least not for now. It would take some time before she could fully undo her image in the public’s imagination. In the meantime, she was the face of horror movies. Such was the pitfall of labeling. Once an actor was branded as a horror movie actor, it would be difficult for him or her to secure a role in a G-rated movie.
In some ways, Wang Yang felt responsible for getting her into that predicament. But he would not offer the parts to Rachel and Zachary just because he felt sorry for them. He wanted to do right by his movie, his company, and himself. High School Musical was a very important milestone for him. The world was waiting to see him crash and burn. He must not fail because if he did, it would not only affect his own life but also those of the dozens of employees at Flames Films.
He had promised Chris Lynch that he would turn the company around. He had promised himself too that he would make a great movie! He would never forgive himself if he caused High School Musical to fail and his employees to lose their job because of his own prejudice during casting.
Rachel got to play Sharpay Evans if, and only if, she had the right attributes and skills for the job. Similarly, Zachary got to play Ryan Evans provided he was worthy of the part, although Wang Yang really wanted to cast him.
Of course, if there were other girls who were equally qualified for the part, he would still choose Rachel. But if there were other girls who were much more qualified than Rachel, he would not know what to do.
Wang Yang cast aside his thoughts, clicked on the file that the agencies had sent him, and began looking through the bios of the actors and actresses.
Except in the rarest of cases, the male and female lead were the two most important roles in any movie. No matter how much screen time they had, they were the ones who determined the success of a movie. This was especially true for High School Musical because it relied heavily on charisma rather than the performance of the actors. Hence, Wang Yang had set a higher bar for the leading actors’ physical appeal than he did their acting skills. They had to be beautiful, cool, and absolute dreamboats. They were to become the idols of their generation, and people must go wild over them.
“No, he’s not tall and big enough. He doesn’t look dynamic enough…” Wang Yang mumbled to himself as he studied the candidate’s headshot on the computer with great intent. With a click of the mouse, he eliminated the handsome face from the screen. The candidate’s name was taken off the list. He would not make it to the second round, which was the actual audition.
“Her eyes are not big enough. They’re not captivating enough. No, these eyes are ginormous. They look too cute. No, these won’t do…” Within minutes, Wang Yang had eliminated over 20 young, attractive males of various qualities. He clicked on the next photo, and out came on the screen the face of a striking, white male with vivid, blue eyes and fine, upturned brows. Wang Yang was struck by the young man. “Why does this guy look so familiar?” he said to himself.
His gaze shifted from the photo to the actor’s bio. Jack Gyllenhaal. Born on the 19th of December, 1980. 183 cm tall. He ruminated for a while, then realized who it was. It turned out Jack Gyllenhaal would be the leading man in Brokeback Mountain a few years later. But at the time, he was still very young, and Wang Yang could hardly tell it was him right off the bat.
Jack Gyllenhaal? Wang Yang went through his photo album several times with a frown of attention. He thought about it for a long while but wagged his head in the end. Just like that, the leading man of Brokeback Mountain was eliminated. Jack Gyllenhaal might have been good-looking, but he was not the sunny and athletic type. He was not a Troy Bolton. He was too mature looking. In other words, Jack Gyllenhaal was “handsome,” not “hot.”
Wang Yang went through another dozen actors in quick succession. Then, he ceased. It was Heath Ledger! Born on the 4th of April, 1979. 185 cm tall. Wang Yang looked upon his photo with awe and admiration. “Oh, my God. He’s the other leading man in Brokeback Mountain! And the Joker in The Dark Knight. The guy’s a phenomenal actor. His interpretation of the Joker is just transcendent. He’s undoubtedly a star of the highest caliber!” Wang Yang thought to himself. But it seemed that he would not be acting in any more movies after The Dark Knight. Wang Yang searched his mind for news related to Heath Ledger beyond that point, but nothing turned up. Strange. Wang Yang considered for a while, then shook his head and removed Heath Ledger from the shortlist.
The reason was simple. Heath Ledger did not have the right look for the role. He was simply not good-looking enough. Troy Bolton was supposed to be a heartthrob, but Heath Ledger was known for his acting skills and not his appearance.
“No, he doesn’t have the qualities of a basketball team captain… No, he’s not sunny enough…” Wang Yang went through the candidates, clicking away rapidly. He dismissed every one of them, spending no more than a few seconds on a photo before moving on to the next.
At that moment, Wang Yang wielded such power over the actors’ fates that it was as if he had possessed the hand of God Himself. Those who were shortlisted by him stood a chance to become Troy Bolton; should High School Musical take off, that person would become a world-class teen idol and an overnight success. It was possible for those who were eliminated to achieve success somewhere else. But in the meantime, they were denied the opportunity to star in High School Musical.
More candidates were rejected, and before Wang Yang knew it, he was through with the pile and there was not one candidate who had made it to the second round. Wang Yang was surprised. “Was I too picky?” he asked himself. “For the love of God, where’s a sunny, pretty boy when you need one?”
Wang Yang scratched his head in despair. Under the circumstances, he had to send the casting call to more talent agencies and broaden his search. If there was no one in Los Angeles that fit his bill, he might have to continue his search in New York. With that, he turned his attention instead to the female candidates. He had received way more recommendations for the leading lady than he did for the leading man. The former outnumbered the latter almost two to one.
It was a normal sight. Female actors tended to rise to fame earlier than male actors did. They usually started out as child actors or models, cashed in on their popularity while they were still attractive, and bowed out of the profession when the next young thing came along. But male actors tended to peak at an older age. It was common for male actors to be totally unknown while they were young, only to get their place in the sun once they reached their thirties, forties, or fifties.
Among the female candidates that were submitted to him for consideration, only a few were remotely famous. As expected, there was not a single established actress in the bunch. After all, it was not the best movie a budding actress could star in. An 18-year-old director’s first attempt at a movie, low budget, musical… those words spelled disaster.
“Beautiful smile, good… alluring eyes, good…” Wang Yang skimmed over the pictures of the pretty young actresses, one by one. Some were eliminated, others were shortlisted for the second round.
The female candidates each had their own charm and qualities. The female protagonist of High School Musical, Gabriella, was supposed to be a sweet, beautiful girl with a great smile. She had to have a certain build, no taller than 180 cm. Pretty girls with great smiles were a dime a dozen, and Wang Yang got to have his pick. The girls who looked too short, too old, too young, or lacked a certain quality were eliminated.
“Wow, what a pretty girl!” Wang Yang’s face lit up when he saw the photo. He stopped to examine the candidate. She was a white girl. Her hair was raven black with golden streaks. She had dark eyes, a tall nose, and a sweet disposition. Wang Yang took a look at her bio. Jennifer Love Hewitt. Born on the 21st of February, 1979. 160 cm tall. She’d had small parts in several movies. She loved to sing and dance ever since she was little. Last year, she was awarded “Best Young Actress” by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It was apparent that she had a bright future ahead of her.
Wang Yang put Jennifer on the shortlist without hesitation. Then, he moved on to the next picture.
A dozen pretty faces later, he came across another promising candidate. A bombshell with a great smile named Eliza Dushku. She’d been born on the 30th of December 1980 and had a height of 165 cm. She’d learned dancing when she was little, and she could play the piano. She had made a name for herself when she was 14 when she appeared in True Lies as Harry Tasker’s (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) daughter.
“Another one!” Wang Yang put Eliza Dushku’s name on the shortlist happily. There were about a dozen girls who were qualified for the second round of selection. Among them, there were quite a few who knew how to sing and dance. And in terms of looks, any one of them would do nicely. It seemed Wang Yang had found his Gabriella one way or another.
After browsing for a while, Wang Yang stumbled upon the headshot of a girl with a toothy smile. “Jessica Alba?” he smiled. “Born on the 28th of April, 1981. Height, 170 cm. Perfect!” Wang Yang nodded and put Jessica’s name on the shortlist. “Of course we’d love to see you in the second round,” he said smilingly to Jessica’s picture on the screen.
He reviewed the list of girls he had shortlisted. Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eliza Dushku, Jordana Brewster… even when compared to these beauties, Jessica was no slouch in the looks department. Her charm and allure would continue to grow as she aged, and she would star in many movies. Although a few of them would receive the infamous Golden Raspberry Award, she would still emerge among the girls as the most successful actress.
But it was 1998, and Jessica was not yet the eye-turning, show-stopping, heart-breaking bombshell she was destined to be. That said, her acting skills were definitely up to scratch. Wang Yang looked at her headshot on the screen and said softly, “Good luck, Jessica.”