Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“I wanted to become a director–wanted to shoot a movie–ever since I was a little boy. And now, I’ve decided I’m gonna put it into practice. Not just keep dreaming about it, but actually shoot a movie! An independent film!”
Hearing Wang Yang making this announcement, Jessica was frozen for a second and said, “Shoot a movie?” She finally woke up from the surprise thinking of the one and only option, said, “You mean, write a nice script and then try to get money from an investor?”
Out of her expectation, Wang Yang shook his head instantly, “No, I’m not trying to find an investor. With my ‘dark history’, I won’t be able to find one by my resume anyway. So I’m gonna invest in myself!” And then he drank the new cup of coffee that the waitress had just served. With the goal in his heart, the coffee seemed not as bitter. He continued, “Besides the acting part, I will do everything by myself. Of course, we’ll talk about the publication after, but for now, I don’t want to discuss it just yet. I need to shoot the movie first!”
“Invest by yourself?” Jessica was stunned again. In her impression, making a movie, even if an independent film with the lowest budget, would need more than several tens of thousands or even millions of dollars. She remembered that Wang Yang’s family was running a restaurant; they were definitely not the rich type. So where could he get the funding? Keeping the question in her mind, she asked, “Yang, do you mind telling me how much your budget is?”
Wang Yang smiled mysteriously and stretched out one of his fingers, saying, “Ten thousand dollars! Jessica, my budget is only ten thousand dollars.” He chuckled, spreading his hands open. “And that’s all I have.”
Jessica was shocked by such an unexpected moment. She couldn’t believe the number she just heard. Ten thousand dollars? How many rolls of film could it buy? How long would he last? She couldn’t understand it at all and asked, “Yang, you are not kidding, are you? How can ten thousand dollars be enough to make a movie? In my opinion, that’s a mission impossible. Please enlighten me.”
“That’s simple. It’s very simple actually because I’m going to shoot the movie by DV camcorder. And that will save me a lot of money!” Wang Yang grinned, unrevealing his secret. The DV camcorder was a newborn way to make a movie. It used the advantage of digital technology to replace the expensive film. Therefore, no giant filming crew was needed, and it also provided opportunities to young people, like Wang Yang, to show their talent. He said, full of confidence, “As for the script, I haven’t decided yet. But I’ve got something in my mind.”
He looked at Jessica, who was in total confusion, and asked, “What do you think, Jessica? What do you think about my idea? Don’t you believe me?”
“Oh, no, no… I believe you! Of course I believe in you.” Jessica denied in a hurry and put on a serious face, saying, “Yang, you want to make a movie. I am one hundred percent with you, and I also want to help you as much as I can! Good friends help each other, don’t they? But the plan of yours…” She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t get it. I don’t understand how you are gonna make a movie with ten thousand dollars. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never heard any case like it, so I don’t have the concept of what you are doing.”
“Ten grand dollars is enough to make a good movie! I’m pretty sure about it.” Wang Yang’s expression became serious, too. “Jessica, trust me! I’ll prove it to you and I also need your support!”
Jessica looked into his eyes and solemnly nodded, “Yang, I do trust you. You can make it!”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Wang Yang smiled with joy. Her support finally loosened up all of the depression piling in his heart for so long. He felt very much relieved, and this feeling was fabulous.
At this moment, the phone suddenly started to ring, and Jessica said, “Excuse me.” She took her cellphone out of her delicate leather purse. “Mom? Oh, I know. I’ll go home for dinner. Okay, I was planning on going back home after watching ‘Titanic’, but guess what happened? I ran into a classmate from San Francisco in the movie theater! Oh, he’s different. He is a very good friend of mine.”
She smiled at Wang Yang and continued, “I’m at the cafe with him now. Okay, I’ll be back soon.” Hanging up the phone, she shook the cellphone in her hand and said, “Time to go home.”
Jessica was a Catholic, and her father was a veteran, so she grew up in a very strict household. Wang Yang knew it a long time ago, and it was indeed getting a little late now. He nodded. “Well, let’s ask for the bill, then.”
“Yang, do you have a cellphone? This is my cell number, and this is my MSN…” Jessica took out a piece of paper and a pen from her purse, quickly jotting down her phone number and MSN, and then pushed the pen and paper toward Wang Yang.
“This is mine… But the place I rent hasn’t gotten the Internet yet.” Wang Yang took the paper and pen writing down his cellphone number and MSN on the blank part. And, then, he tore the paper into halves and pushed it back. “All set.”
Jessica read the number on the paper and put in back to her purse, and then joyfully said, “If there is anything you need, call me. And if you decide on the movie, let me know. I am really curious about the ten-grand movie.”
“No problem. I will.” Wang Yang waved the paper in his hand and said, “Don’t let Peter steal it this time.”
“Then you must keep a close eye on it.” Jessica giggled sweetly.
They checked out from the cafe, and Wang Yang hailed a cab for Jessica. Jessica held the door and said to Wang Yang gently, “Yang, I am so happy today. Thank God that I encountered you again, my good friend.” Wang Yang smiled and said, “Me too.” Jessica turned around, then got into the car, waving her hand and saying, “Keep in touch! See you!”
“See you!” Wang Yang waved back, watching the taxi drive away.
Wang Yang, after returning to the movie theater and getting back his cardboard box, hopped on the bus and went home, too. The place he was staying now was a relatively remote and underdeveloped community in LA. The apartment was rather shabby with the rusty staircase and cardboard boxes stuffed with all kinds of sundries. Although the place was rather worn-out, the rent was very cheap–only about 800 bucks per month–and this neighborhood was pretty safe.
Wang Yang’s apartment was a crude one. The grayish wall had already peeled off. All of the furniture was about to collapse, and there were hardly any appliances. While he was opening the door, he saw a rat rushing across the room.
“Oh, boy! Mr. Rat, don’t you eat my sandwich! Please, please, please! That’s my dinner!” Wang Yang shouted, quickly put down his box, and rushed into the shabby kitchen. He opened up the lip. Yes! Thank God! The sandwich was still there, untouched!
He let out of a sigh of relief. After a long day, he was already starved, so he took out the sandwich and began to eat. He sat on the old couch with plenty of massive holes, eating and thinking. What happened today made him feel like he was revived. What a long day. So many things happened.
Life was, indeed, a magical journey, wasn’t it? He had already forgotten Jessica Alba a long time ago, but out of blue, they ran into each other again. Moreover, after getting hit by the baby stroller, he watched all of the movies from the future…
Fine! God had delivered this gift to him, so he had to seize this opportunity. He didn’t want to go with the flow, but to fight for his future! Wang Yang wolfed down his sandwich and laid down on the sofa comfortably, closing his eyes, entering the movie database in his head.
He was in need of a low budget movie–as low as possible! Thinking of this criterion, many movies emerged from his head, and most of them were comedies. But the production costs of those movies were all about several millions of dollars. Wang Yang couldn’t help murmuring to himself, “Lower, lower, a little bit lower…”
Then, most of the movies disappeared, and only a few of them were left. He scrolled down carefully and finally found two movies that were suitable for him. The first one was “The Blair Witch Project” and the second was “Paranormal Activity”.
These two movies were both horror movies with a super low cost, and both of them were shot by the DV camcorder in the mockumentary style, therefore, there wouldn’t be any technical difficulty. “The Blair Witch Project” first invented this particular shooting technique.
The total production cost of “The Blair Witch Project” was only 60 grand. The story happened in October 1994: three student filmmakers traveled to Burkittsville with their DV camcorder, planning on investigating the legend of the fabled Blair Witch. In order to find Blair Witch, they entered the woods near the town, but before long, they vanished.
After that, people in the town and the American government started to search for them, even used the helicopters and the satellite. However, no trace was found so that people had to give up the search.
One year later, another group of students entered the woods for exploration and discovered a package in an extremely secluded cabin. In the package, a diary of the missing student Haji was found as well as a copy of an edited film, which recorded the terrifying story of how Haji and the other two students disappeared one year ago.
That was the plot of “The Blair Witch Project”. When this movie was on promotion, the crew told the world that this film was directly edited on the copy in the story. It seemed that the movie was real, but, in fact, it was just another fake story.
However, this novel method of movie promotion, and the shooting technique, had opened up a new door to the movie industry. If everything went well, “The Blair Witch Project” would be released the next year and make 1.4 hundred million dollars in North America and 1.08 hundred million internationally. The total earning was 2.48 hundred million in total! But let’s take a look at its production cost. It was merely 60 grand.
The other movie “Paranormal Activity” was about a young couple newly moved into a big house in the suburb who felt that there was something wrong with the house. Several supernatural incidents took place in the house, such as creepy noises coming from nowhere. And then, this young couple decided to shoot the house while they were asleep by cameras, hoping to find out what was going on. Later, they installed cameras in every corner of the house planning on taking footages of the ghosts. However, they ended up with a horrifying ending.
This movie was first published in 2009 with an even lower production cost–11 grand! But the box office collected 1.07 hundred million dollars in North America and 85 million dollars overseas. The total box office collection was a mind-blowing number of 1.93 hundred million dollars.
Without too much hesitation, Wang Yang picked “Paranormal Activity”. There were several reasons for this choice. For one, “The Blair Witch Project” would be published in the next year, so it was highly possible that this movie had already been made. Even though it hadn’t been shot yet, the risk of the same type was still very high. “Paranormal Activity”, on the other hand, would be released in 2009, so he didn’t need to worry about the movie type. And, most importantly, he only had 10 grand at hand.
“Well then, let’s take a look at this movie and see how it goes…” Wang Yang made up his mind, choosing “Paranormal Activity”, and then he started to play the movie in his head. After one and a half hours, he was covered in a cold sweat. He took a long breath and thought to himself in terror, “The middle part of the movie was pretty slow, but the end… the end scared the living daylights out of me.”
“‘Paranormal Activity’…’Paranormal Activity’…” Wang Yang wiped the sweat off his forehead and murmured to himself. Although he hadn’t watched too many horror movies, he bet this one was a gem. He stood up, looking around the rooms. If he renovated his apartment, then he would have the scene in the movie. Plus the shooting technique was not difficult for him. He was pretty confident that he could make it happen…
Thinking of it, Wang Yang swung his fists and shouted, “I’ll make it happen!”
After determining on what movie he was going to make, Wang Yang instantly felt all the blood rushing in his body. He started to pace around in the apartment, wanting to share this great news with someone! And then, Jessica emerged in his head. He took out the paper with her cell number on it and dialed the number.
The phone was answered in a very short time, and there was Jessica’s voice coming through the line. “Hello.” Wang Yang said immediately, “Jessica, it’s me, Yang. Am I interrupting anything?”
“No, I don’t go to sleep so early.” Jessica burst out laughing. He bet that must have been a refreshing smile.
Wang Yang said excitedly, “Jessica, I want to tell you good news. I have already decided on the movie I’m going to make! And I also have the idea of the script.”
“Oh, already? Can you tell me about it?” said Jessica, also in excitement.
“It is a horror movie about a new couple moving to a new house…” Wang Yang told the plot of “Paranormal Activity” to her and said, “The key of the ‘mockumentary’ is the shooting technique. It will be a great innovation! I’m gonna renovate my place and rent some furniture and appliances. I also need to rent the DV camcorder, and then cast the actors in Hollywood for the roles. Ten grand is good enough for me to make this movie!”
But Jessica started to complain to him. “Yang, it’s late! You want to give me nightmares?” After complaining, she smiled again and said, “It sounds pretty interesting. May I be your leading actress?”
That was… Wang Yang pondered for a while and shook his head. “No, Jessica. This role is not suitable for you. I need a girl who is about 25 years old, and you are too young. Plus…” then, he joked, “you are too beautiful. The audiences would all be distracted by you, so they wouldn’t be able to focus on the horrible story.”
“Well, so…” Although Wang Yang complimented her, she still thought it was such a big pity that she couldn’t play the role. She said, “Then may I at least help you with something? Anything?”
Wang Yang smiled and said, “Of course. I’ll start my project tomorrow. Are you available?”
“Yep, I’m available.” Jessica finally put up on her smiley face again.
They chatted for a little while, confirmed the date tomorrow, and said goodnight. Wang Yang hopped in a shower and brushed his teeth, and then dived into his bed. After such a tiring day, he fell asleep immediately.
Then, he had a dream–a dream about the Oscar that happened once in a year. On the long, long red carpet, Jessica, in her ravishing gown, walked with him, hand-in-hand, smiling and entering the giant theatre. The reports, standing on the two sides of the red carpet, took pictures of them tirelessly with shutters clicking and bright flashlights flashing.
“Jessica, Jessica, over here! Yang, Yang, over here!” All of the reporters shouted frantically, trying to draw their attention. One of the reporters asked loudly, “Yang, Jessica, how do you guys feel about the Best Director award, and the Best Leading Actress award tonight? Are you guys feeling confident about it?”
“Yang, I’ve heard that you and Jessica have known each other since you were kids and made a promise to each other to become a director and an actress. Is that true?” Another reporter asked.
Wang Yang was just about to answer the question but suddenly noticed that all of the reporters and photographers were holding the DV camcorders.
…
In the meantime, Jessica was also in a deep sleep in a luxury residence in LA.
She dreamt that she went back to the second grade of elementary school. That was the first day of her new school. In the morning, the teacher brought her into the classroom, full of new classmates.
The teacher clapped her hands and quieted the class down, said, “Hey guys, from today on, we will have a new friend. This is Jessica Alba, who has just transferred to our school. Welcome! Let’s give her a big hand!”
Scattered and lazy applause was let out in the classroom; some of the bad kids even booed at her. But the teacher just ignored them and said, “Well, now, Jessica, why don’t you introduce yourself to us?”
Jessica, such a shy and introverted girl, paused for a while and said in a volume of the mosquito, “Hi, everyone. I am Jessica Alba. I love dogs and movies…”
“Love dogs?” Peter, sitting among the students, suddenly burst out laughing, which made Jessica too scared to continue her speech. She went stiff completely and felt that everyone in the classroom was laughing at her, laughing at her overbite, laughing at her braces, laughing at her accent…
The teacher glared at Peter and said seriously, “Peter, interrupting people’s speech is extremely rude behavior! Do you know that?” And then the teacher asked Jessica, “Jessica, do you still have something to share with us?” Jessica instantly shook her head. The teacher said, “Well then, Jessica, where should I put you?” He began to glance over the entire classroom but only saw the students turn away their heads with reluctance on their faces. Only one of them, who was on the back, didn’t turn away his head and that student was Wang Yang. Then the teacher said, “Jessica, how about you sit over there beside Wang Yang. Yang, you need to take care of Jessica, okay?”
“Okay, no problem!” The little Wang Yang cracked a smile and nodded.
The little Jessica walked with her head lowered. She sat down and put her textbooks and other belongings in the drawer, and then she noticed that the boy, named Wang Yang, was staring at her with a big smile, which made her even more nervous.
“Hi, how are you? My name is Wang Yang.” At this moment, Wang Yang started to introduce himself. He looked a little excited and said, “I love movies, too. I bet we’ll have a lot to share. Have you ever watched ‘Cinema Paradiso’? Oh, boy! That movie is amazing! I like Alfredo so much. He is so funny… But unfortunately, I couldn’t find out what was in that film he gave to Toto because my mom covered my eyes when Toto was watching the film. She warned me that I could only watch it after I grow up… I guess maybe when I grow up and become a director like Toto, then I could watch that film. Just think about it. Alfredo can watch it, because he is a director, and then Toto become a director, so he can watch it…”
Jessica didn’t say a word from the beginning to the end, just listening to Wang Yang talk on and on. She felt much better, with the stiffness going away, and the anxiety in her heart becoming less and less…