In the original film, the scene Michael Pitt was going to shoot was actually Gabriella’s friend, Taylor McKessie’s part. Somewhere near the end of the story, Troy Bolton and Gabriella were going to attend the second-round audition of the musical, but in the meantime, Troy would have to play in a basketball game final, and Gabriella had an academical competition to attend. Taylor McKessie hacked the scoring machine in the basketball gym through a computer so that they could both audition for their roles. The game had to be suspended as a result, and Troy got out of it successfully.
Wang Yang had always felt this part was not “cool” enough. Besides, it had never been mentioned previously in the story that Taylor McKessie was a computer geek, but all of a sudden, she had become a hacker. This was really an abrupt twist. When he had met Michael Pitt, an idea suddenly occurred to Wang Yang; he would add a new character to the academic decathlon—a decadent hacker. So, he rewrote several parts of the script to make the story sound and convincing.
In a small, dark room, the set decorator had got everything ready. A computer, bundles of wires, many devices, and some other messy stuff. This was the only scene shot in low light in the entire movie—the only “shady” scene. Accompanied by Michael Pitt’s decadent temperament, this set of shots would appear to be really out of the ordinary. However, Michael Pitt would also show up in the chorus and dance at the end of the film. He would need to show his bright side by then, which would form a striking contrast with his dark side. Wang Yang believed such a contrast would absolutely be very interesting.
“Michael, are you ready?” Wang Yang walked up to Michael Pitt, who was sitting before the computer, after telling Wally Pfister what to do next. Patting on his shoulder, Wang Yang said with a smile, “Just relax. I need you to show your decadent side, but you need to make it a comedy instead of a terror movie. Make it entertaining. You see?”
Michael Pitt gave him a serious nod. He was not breathing smoothly. He said in a hoarse voice, “I am ready.” He had dark circles imprinted under both of his eyes. Apparently, he had not slept well last night. But it was a good thing. It would help him show his darkness completely.
“Come on, buddy. Go for it.” Wang Yang gave him another encouraging punch. Then, he walked back behind the camera. Wally Pfister, Steven Tyler, the lighting engineer, and other crew members thumbed up to show they were already ready. Wang Yang broke into a smile. He told the script supervisor, “Let’s start, then.” When the script supervisor had called the scene number and the slate number, Wang Yang called, “Action!”
Michael Pitt felt his heart skip a beat when he heard that “Action!” as if his heart was being grasped in hand by someone. It made his blood boil. However, he looked like he was feeling nothing. He looked cool and calm. He gazed at the computer screen, his eyelids drooping. His hands were moving quickly on the keyboard. Then, after a hard hit on the Enter key, he showed a cynical smile. Picking up his cell, he said into the phone in an indifferent manner, “Cracked.”
“Cut! That was really good!” Wang Yang could not help but compliment Michael Pitt on his acting. He even applauded. It was a wonderful rendition that showed everything he wanted to show here. Decadent, cool, not insidious though, especially that cynical smile. It was absolutely the icing on the cake. What a natural-born, genius hacker.
Wally Pfister also said with a smile, “No problem. I’ve got it!”
Michael Pitt sat in the chair dumbfoundedly, panting quickly. The acting was done. He’d made it… was he already an actor? An image emerged before Michael’s eyes. It was him at the age of ten. He announced to his parents in a proud voice, “Daddy, Mommy, I’ve decided. I want to be an actor!” Then, at the age of sixteen, he headed for New York, full of enthusiasm and with the vision of a bright future. He crammed into a tiny apartment with nine other people. Every day, he biked through New York City, heavily sweating…
He would never forget how excited he’d been in his first acting class. He felt there was a promising future in front of him. And the feeling of starving was even more unforgettable; it felt desperate and painful. He’d been so hungry that he’d almost stolen bread. Neither would he forget how encouraging it had been when Wang Yang had said “for our dreams” at the hotel. He had been cheerful. He had been in despair as well. But he had never given up. And by then, he was finally a real actor.
I made it… Michael Pitt closed his fists tightly. He could not help but start to shiver. He could finally relate to Yang. That kind of feeling Yang had talked about, he was also having it at the moment. Nervous, excited, joyful, happy… and a little bit lost. That was it? Had he already realized his dreams?
“Michael.” Wang Yang came up to him. Looking at Michael Pitt, whose shoulders were trembling, Wang Yang patted him on the shoulder. Smiling, he said, “Hey man, you tasted it yourself, didn’t you?”
Michael Pitt’s eyes were red. He had a lump in his throat. Nodding and pinching his nose, he said, “Yeah, I totally tasted it. I’m sorry. This was my first time. I’m just too emotional to control myself…”
“You did a great job. There was one second I even thought it was Leonardo sitting here.” Wang Yang laughed audibly. Then, he said in a serious voice, “You will be an actor as great as he is. You will have longer shots, not just a couple of seconds, and more lines, instead of just one line. I know you will make it.”
Wang Yang’s encouragement made Michael Pitt shiver. Looking up at Wang Yang all of a sudden, he said with his eyes wide open, “Yang, I’ve gotten my answer! The answer to yesterday’s question!”
Smiling, Wang Yang asked, “What is it?”
Michael Pitt said in a thrilled tone, “I made it. I did my first acting. I’m an actor now. But what I want to do is more than that. I want more than shots that only last a couple of seconds—more than parts with only one line. I don’t want to stop here. I wanna continue. I want to be a great actor—an actor with many shots and many lines. This is what I want! This is my answer!”
The room was not big. Everyone heard Michael Pitt’s speech. Wally Pfister showed a kind smile, but some people did not take it seriously at all. They only showed a sarcastic facial expression.
Gazing at Michael calmly for a long while, Wang Yang suddenly burst out laughing. He said, “Michael, you know what my answer is?” Waving his fist, he said, “I want to be a great director, but that isn’t all. I want to be an outstanding, extraordinary, fantastic director! That’s what I want. And this is my answer!”
Michael Pitt said with a smile, “To win an Oscar for Best Director?” Wang Yang laughed. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Okay. Why not? I’ll win an Oscar for Best Director, then!” Then, he put a bold face. Laughing, he said, “Maybe more than that. You never know.”
The crew members in the room all burst out laughing. They jeered at him with whistles. Was this young director joking, or he was just overconfident?
Wally Pfister smiled at Wang Yang involuntarily as well. He said, “Oh, Yang. I’m afraid you will not win an Oscar with this one. Not yet.”
Wang Yang laughed. “I know. As long as I don’t get a Golden Raspberry Award with it.” He clapped his hands and walked back behind the camera. Smiling, he said, “Okay, guys. Let’s do one more take. We’ll take some close-up shots this time!”
Watching Wang Yang walking away, Michael Pitt said in a quiet voice, “Yang, you will make it.”
After one day’s work, the crew was left with only a few sets of scenes of the non-musical part to shoot. It would only take them one more day to finish the non-musical part. At nightfall, they called it a day and went back to the hotel.
Wang Yang got a phone call from Sandy Parks in his hotel room. Sandy Parks had talked to David Lawrence during that day, and he’d gotten some music demos from the latter, which he’d already emailed to Wang Yang. Wang Yang turned on the computer after hanging up the phone. He downloaded the music files in his inbox and listened to all of them. They were pretty good. They all sounded like the music that young students would like—youthful and refreshing.
Wang Yang listened to them a few times more. Then, he picked up his cellphone to give David Lawrence a call. Smiling, he said, “Hi, Mr. Lawrence. Yeah, this is Wang Yang. I’m very interested in your songs, especially the one titled Free. May I listen to the complete version of it?” David Lawrence started to hum it right away on the other end of the phone, while Wang Yang was nodding with the rhythm. For the average audience like himself, these songs had great rhythms and melodies and were very catchy as well. This was exactly what he wanted. Wang Yang made up his mind right away. He said, “Mr. Lawrence, would you like to compose the original soundtrack for High School Musical?”
“Oh, of course!” David Lawrence was apparently pleasantly surprised. He had not gotten any contracts for a long time. He said gratefully, “Mr. Wang, this would be a great opportunity for me. Thank you.”
Then, Wang Yang talked with him a little longer. They discussed the style of the songs before they hung up. Sandy Parks would be responsible for getting David Lawrence to sign the contract. Not until then would Wang Yang get the complete version of those songs and some other options.
After taking a shower, Wang Yang came to a spacious empty room on the first floor of the hotel, which the crew had rented. It was supposed to be used as the dancing room. Since the shooting of the musical part was approaching and the choreographer had arrived, starting this day, the leading actors and actresses would practice dancing here for two or three hours every night.
Wang Yang specifically asked for this choreographer—Anne Fletcher—to whom he was paying a big salary. This thirty-two-year-old woman had served as a choreographer in the shooting of Titanic. She would also be the choreographer of Bring It On in the future, and even the director of Step Up. After signing the contract, she came to Salt Lake City with her team. She would be responsible for choreographing the dances for the musical scenes and assisting Wang Yang and Wally Pfister in shooting the song and dance numbers.
And at the moment, Anne Fletcher was instructing the leading actors and actresses on some basic dance movements. She was walking back and force in the room, keeping her eyes on Jessica, Rachel, Zachary, Tom Welling, and others. She would correct their movements if she felt they were not doing them well enough.
Seeing Wang Yang walking in, everyone looked at him. Wang Yang greeted them with a smile. He said, “Go on, guys. Just ignore me. I’m just dropping by.” Then, he sat into a chair near the wall to watch them practicing quietly.
However, Jessica was a little absent-minded. She would glance at Wang Yang with a smile from time to time. There were many jumps involved in the practice. While she was doing those jumps, Jessica suddenly heard Anne Fletcher tell them to turn around. She looked away from Wang Yang and turned around in haste. She hit her foot against her other foot somehow and lost her balance. Then, she quickly flopped to the ground.
Everyone stopped practicing. They all looked at her, checking on her situation. “Jessica, how are you? Are you all right?” Jessica flushed right away. Covering her forehead with one hand, she said, “Thank you, guys. I’m fine…”
“Oh, my God!” Wang Yang screamed. Frowning, he walked over and crouched next to her. He asked, “Jessica, are you all right?”
Anne Fletcher also asked her, “Are you injured?”
Jessica shook her head, embarrassed. She answered, “I’ve twisted my ankle, but it’s okay.”
Touching her on the ankle, Anne Fletcher asked, “How are you feeling?”
Jessica answered honestly, “It hurts a little bit.”
Anne Fletcher nodded. She said, “Get some rest by the wall. Everyone else, continue!”
Wang Yang tried to resist the temptation to laugh. He helped Jessica walk to the wall and sit down in a chair. Seeing his shoulders shaking from the laugh, Jessica rolled her eyes at him. Kind of angry, she said, “I know. I was like a fool.” Closing her fist, she gave the chair a punch unhappily. She went on, “It happens all the time. Whenever there is something on the ground, I will be tripped. And this time, I tripped on myself! For God’s sake. Why is that?”
“Because you are Jessica.” Wang Yang finally let himself laugh. He tried to comfort her, “It’s okay. I like you like this.”
Pouting and looking at him, she asked, “You like that I’m always tripping?”
Wang Yang wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He said with a smile, “Yep, exactly. I really like that.”
Jessica rolled her eyes at him again, but she said in a kind of sweet voice, “All right, then!”
Others went on with the dancing while they were chitchatting. Rachel threw Wang Yang a glance involuntarily, her lips pressed into a thin line, and her feet moving much faster suddenly.
“Rachel, slow down!” Anne Fletcher reminded her, frowning.
Rachel took a deep breath and then slowed down helplessly.