The Best Director

However, God seems to have not granted Jessica's birthday wish, or only partially.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Wang, we don't think your movie is suitable for the big screen. Who would like to watch such a blurry picture?"

"Sorry, pardon us, but compared to the movie, your thing is like a handsome gentleman and a winking clown. A clown is suitable for a circus, but not for a movie theater."

"Release this movie? No, of course not... No, we don't have to think about it, boy, movies are not that simple, you want us to fall into a big stumble?"

It has been more than half a month since Jessica's birthday. During this more than half a month, Wang Yang has traveled to dozens of film companies, almost all over Los Angeles, and the result is a harvest. "NO" one after another.

From the very beginning, he was full of confidence and enthusiasm; now, he is also a little tired and a little slumped. But every morning, he has to cheer up and continue to run all over Los Angeles, and he has to be busy with part-time jobs in the rest of the time, so as to barely maintain a life of frugal living.

Because his working hours are not stable, except for the part-time job at McDonald's at night, other jobs are hard and tiring. For example, at noon, when the sun is high in the sky, he has to wear heavy doll clothes and distribute leaflets on the street , it was hot and stuffy, sweating profusely, and someone who was in poor health would have passed out a long time ago; he also helped the furniture company move and lift, and when he went to bed at night, his arms were so weak that he could hardly sleep.

Sometimes he was so tired that he was numb all over, and he would really feel depressed for a while, damn it, why was he suffering so much and being so tired?

Today, his life trajectory is no different. He ran to a film company during the day and was mercilessly ridiculed, "Childish, naive, are you crazy?" Then he rushed to a McDonald's in the city to start a part-time job at night .

This part-time job at McDonald's is his main source of income, and it is also his only part-time job with fixed working hours, from seven o'clock in the evening to twelve o'clock, five hours a day.

Part-time jobs at McDonald's are always easy to find because the work is intense and the pay is not high. Wang Yang earns an hourly salary of US$7, which is a little better than the minimum hourly wage in California; and because there are entertainment venues such as movie theaters and parking lots near this McDonald's, there is hardly a moment of free time at night Sometimes, Wang Yang couldn't help sighing in his heart, my God, isn't there any KFC around here?

Glancing at the red-haired McDonald's uncle sitting on a long chair at the entrance of the store, Wang Yang walked into this fast food restaurant with an "M" hanging on it, and saw a white man wearing a McDonald's waiter uniform. fat man.

He weighs at least three hundred pounds, has a fat face with double chins, and beards. He is carrying a plate of hamburgers to deliver to customers. When he sees Wang Yang in a formal suit, he smiles and says, "Hey, buddy." .Wow, dressed like this again, just back from Silicon Valley? Or Wall Street?"

This fat man is called Harry George, he is in his twenties, he is a full-time employee here, and he is a nice guy. After getting along for nearly a month, Wang Yang and him have long been familiar with each other, and they can be regarded as good friends. However, they didn't have an in-depth discussion. Fatty didn't know anything about Wang Yang's situation or the movie.

"White House!" Wang Yang rolled his eyes, carried his briefcase, and walked straight to the staff changing room inside the store. The rejection tone of the film company today was the worst he had ever encountered. He is in a bad mood now and has no intention of joking.

"Break in love?" Harry George shrugged, looked back at Wang Yang's back, and said loudly, "Dude, be careful. It's no big deal, trust me, I've got a lot of experience!"

Wang Yang didn't turn his head back, he raised his hand and turned back, saying don't bother me. He walked into the changing room, changed into McDonald's black and brown overalls, and put on a black "M" hat,

He exhaled at himself in the mirror and walked outside.

It's only a few minutes before 7 o'clock, and there is still some free time to rest. Don't count on it after 7:30. After serving meals to a few customers, and no new customers came in, Wang Yang, Harry and others could take a short break.

A TV movie called "Donald and Heaton", an urban romance movie, was playing on the TV in the restaurant. At this time, the scene where the hero and heroine wanted to kiss was broadcast on the screen. Harry George suddenly became excited and yelled: "Oh, look at this shot, it's so poorly shot! What are the directors and photographers of this film trying to do?" He kept sighing, and said: " I can't believe my glasses, their brains are full of horse manure? A bad movie!"

Wang Yang glanced at him and smiled. Every time this fat man watched these TV movies, his temperament would change drastically, and he kept complaining and cursing, as if he had a deep hatred with those directors. Wang Yang usually doesn't interrupt, but today he was in a bad mood and couldn't help saying, "Oh, tell me, why is this movie so bad?"

Harry George stared at the TV screen without blinking, and responded to Wang Yang's words: "Oh, there are too many bad places, just like the group of crossover montages just now, the male and female protagonists are from the town One side ran to the center, then met and kissed, right?” He analyzed: “When they were running separately, we should use a medium shot to shoot their appearance, and then take a panoramic shot to capture their appearance. The town and the town are included in the shot at the same time; when they come together, close-ups and close-ups are used. This shot uses these camera positions to have the best effect!"

He looked at Wang Yang, spread his hands, and said disdainfully: "But from the beginning to the end, they used close-up shots from the front and side, oh my god, are you saying it's bad or not!?"

Wang Yang couldn't help being stunned, he didn't expect that the fat man could express such a professional opinion, and the effect would indeed be better if he used the shooting method he said. He smiled and said, "Harry, you're right." Harry George immediately looked smug: "Of course."

But not long after he was complacent, Wang Yang changed the subject and said, "But you obviously didn't think about it. This is a low-cost TV movie, and cost control is very important. If you shoot it in your way , Think about how to complete the panoramic overhead shot? Helicopter.” He suddenly felt very helpless, and sighed: “So it’s not necessarily that the director and photographer of the movie are stupid, it’s just that some things know that doing so will make things easier. Well, you can't."

"Please, what do you know?" Harry George's fat face was full of dissatisfaction, and he snorted, "It's just one shot, how much does it cost to rent a helicopter to shoot?"

"This shot uses a helicopter, what about the other shots? A movie is at least 90 minutes long, Harry." Wang Yang shook his head and said, "This is a question of level, just like when you eat a hamburger at McDonald's, there will be no one standing next to you." The violinist will order for you."

Harry-George wanted to say something more, but Smith-Sean, who was in charge of the checkout at the counter over there, suddenly interrupted with a smile: "Jan, don't argue with Harry, he is a photographer. Of course, if he is admitted to the university " He shrugged, looked at Harry gloatingly, and said in a drawn out voice, "Oh, that's his dream."

Hearing the word "dream", Harry George was like a deflated ball, waved his hand with a depressed face, and said, "Don't mention any dreams to me, my dream is dead, it was killed by reality. Dead." After that, he was in no mood to watch TV, and walked towards a new customer in a sullen manner.

photographer? So Harry has given up? Wang Yang was silent. He suddenly thought of Anne Darren, the blonde girl with freckles on her nose, and he remembered that night, she asked with a bewildered expression, "Director, should I go home?"

should i go home Wang Yang sighed. These days, he was rejected by people every day and failed repeatedly every day. Now he can understand Annie's pain better. The dream he pursued was hit again and again. He couldn't see the way forward. Living bitterly and tiredly, confused, anxious...

Maybe it would be better to let go of the so-called dream and let myself live another life? Or dull, or not what I want, but there is no such pain and struggle. Just like the group of crossover montages just now, there are some things that you know would be better done that way, but you can’t do them. Isn’t this the reality? It killed that movie, and it killed Harry's dream.

Wang Yang was startled suddenly and trembled all over, no, that's not the case! He frowned. How did he answer Anne Darren that day?

"If you like it, you have to stick to it. God can't take away my pursuit of movies. I don't want to regret it when I get old..."

Will he regret it later? I will still be like Harry, pointing fingers every time I watch a movie, complaining and cursing those directors, saying, "Oh, please, that's not how it was shot! If I were to do it, I would definitely do better than that guy."

Why sit in a movie theater and say these things? ! Why not do it?

People live in this world, don't they just do some things they like to do? Why do you want to live in a dull way every day? Thinking about it, if he cooks in a restaurant every day, he will feel shuddering. Wouldn't it be more painful to do things he doesn't like to do all his life? And now, I come home exhausted every day, and then wake up every morning full of anticipation for a new day; while in a restaurant, there is no expectation.

Is Annie coming home? Wang Yang thought of the joy of filming, and smiled slightly. No, he didn't think Annie would go home, even if she only had extras as extras, she wouldn't go home. And he won't go home.

How can a dream die? Look at Harry, he never let go, he is angry with the TV every day, his dream is still there, he is just escaping.

But I will not escape! Wang Yang plucked up his energy, clenched his fists and waved. At this time, the store began to get busy. A black mother with a child walked into the store. Wang Yang greeted her with a full face and said with a smile: "Welcome to McDonald's, what can I do for you?" ?”

Customers came into the store continuously. As a waiter, he had to take orders for customers, pick up and deliver food, and sometimes help some customers to clean up the table after eating. Wang Yang was so busy that he didn't even have a chance to catch his breath. .

After writing down the bills for a couple, he went into the kitchen to pick up the food, but saw Harry George lying on a wall and loafing. He couldn't help but walked over, smiled and kicked the fat man's big ass, saying: "Hey dude, how lazy and unprofessional you are!?"

"Please, I've been working all day, can't I take a break?" Harry said weakly, and continued to stick to the wall without moving.

Wang Yang smiled and was about to get a hamburger when the cell phone in his trouser pocket rang suddenly. Who would call him at this time? He frowned and took it out to have a look, and seeing the caller ID, he couldn't help being overjoyed, it turned out to be Rachel who hadn't contacted for a long time. He glanced at Harry, thinking that I should be lazy for a while, so he pressed the connect button and said with a smile, "Hi, Rachel?"

"Hi, Yang, good evening!" Rachel's voice came from the phone, and she smiled softly and said, "We haven't been in touch for a long time, why don't you call me?"

Wang Yang travels to film companies and works part-time to make money every day. When he gets home, he is so tired that he lays down directly. He hardly even bothers to take a shower. He has to find and contact those film companies. He has no time to talk on the phone. , in order to save some phone charges... He was embarrassed to tell the truth, so he joked: "Oh, the 6-digit key on my mobile phone is broken, you know, there are several 6s in your number... Ha, how are you recently? "

Rachel laughed and said, "Well, it's back to calm, going to school, attending classes, eating, and sleeping every day. What about you?"

"Me? It's fine. I take a day trip to Los Angeles every day and listen to others singing 'NO, NO'." Wang Yang recalled what happened during these days. For some reason, his heart is not depressed now, but a little excited, saying: "Wow, I really didn't know there were so many film companies in Los Angeles. Did you know that? They have all kinds of weird names, and the funniest one is 'Poison Films.'"

He couldn't help laughing and said, "My God, do they focus on box office poison movies?" Rachel also laughed when she heard this. After laughing for a while, Wang Yang asked, "Rachel, what do you want from me? Well, I'm working part-time at McDonald's now, so I can't be lazy for too long."

"Oh! I don't know, did I bother you?" Rachel apologized, and when she heard Wang Yang said she was fine, she said: "Yang, let me make a long story short, that's it. You haven't called Wang Yang for so long Me, I guess the release of the film has been blocked, otherwise you would have told me the good news, right?" Wang Yang nodded and said, "Yes, smart."

Rachel spoke quickly: "So, a few days ago, I talked about DV movies and you with one of my teachers, and my teacher knew the distribution manager of Lions Gate Films, Jon －Filtimer, they are good friends; then I asked my teacher to introduce Mr. Philtimeme to me; then I contacted him, and then, he is very interested in your film, and I hope to be with you You meet."

"Lionsgate Film Company?" Wang Yang thought for a while. This is a well-known film company. Santa Monica, a coastal city in the north, so he hasn't contacted Lions Gate yet.

Now, thanks to Rachel's kindness, it looks like he'll be on his way to Santa Monica ahead of schedule. Wang Yang smiled gratefully: "Okay, Rachel, thank you! Then give me Mr. Philtimer's contact information."

Rachel said "OK", there was a sound of flipping the bag, and after a while, she said, "Jan, listen, this is the switchboard number for Lionsgate...and this is Fertimer Mr. Er's mobile phone number..."

Wang Yang tore off a sheet of paper, wrote down the number with a ballpoint pen, checked it for no mistakes, and said with a smile: "Thank you, Rachel. I will contact them."

"Jan, I've talked with Mr. Filtimer on the phone for a long time, and I can hear that he has no prejudice against DV movies. You will definitely succeed." Rachel said a few words of encouragement, and then said: "Okay I won't bother you anymore, bye!"

"Goodbye, good night." Wang Yang put away the line, stuffed the piece of paper with the number into his trouser pocket, smiled, wow, another chance! So, why go home?

Harry George didn't know when he left the wall. He looked at Wang Yang with a puzzled face and asked, "What did I hear just now? Dude, your movie? You made a movie?"

Wang Yang nodded, there was nothing wrong with admitting it, and said, "I shot a movie on DV, and I've been looking for distribution this month." Then, he walked inside with the plate in his hand, and asked the chef to place the order food written on it.

Harry George followed Wang Yang step by step, and seemed to be gloating and said, "Hey, I guess you must have run into walls everywhere? Are you being called worthless by those film companies? 'Oh, you're a pile of shit' , 'Forget it, look at you, you should be at McDonald's'..."

"Yes, you guessed it right." Wang Yang shrugged indifferently.

"Man, it's not that easy!" Harry George hummed, folded his arms and shook his head, looking like someone who had been there, and said, "I was like you now, like a fool. Those studios in Hollywood try their luck. Then they all say, 'Oh, you go home, you fat man, the photographer is not suitable for you, so you go home.'" He patted Wang Yang on the shoulder and said: " Man, I see it through. Everyone has dreams, but not everyone can achieve them."

"I don't care. If you don't work hard, how do you know if it can be achieved?" Wang Yang said firmly, but seeing Harry George's disdainful face, Wang Yang asked him suddenly: "How many crews did you go to try your luck?" ?” Harry said impatiently, “A dozen or so, who remembers?”

Wang Yang laughed haha, took the plate with food from the chef, walked outside, and said to Harry with a smile: "Dude, let me tell you, I have been to fifty-four restaurants in the past month or so." Movie companies! Soon, there will be fifty-five."

Harry was stunned, and then realized the meaning of these words. He gritted his teeth and said to Wang Yang's back with affirmative tone: "Dude, I tell you too, you will definitely fail! We are such people, loser."

"Failure? Then there are the fifty-sixth and fifty-seventh families..." Wang Yang turned his head after walking a few steps, winked at Harry, and said with a smile: "My dream will never die."

Harry was panting with anger, his fat face wrinkled into a ball, and shouted: "Even if there are a hundred companies, you will fail!"

"Oh, then there's the one hundred and one family."

"Failure! Failure! Failure..." Harry kept shouting loudly to cover up Wang Yang's voice, and he stopped panting only after Wang Yang left the kitchen, his eyes flashed with complicated colors, Will my dreams never die? ! He cursed: "This damn bastard!"