The Best Director-Chapter 458 - - That’s Right!

Chapter 458 -458: That’s Right!

If there were a well in which a group of happy frogs lived, and a frog on the outside thought their lives were too poor and tried by all means to pull them up to what it considered a better world, is that redemption, or presumption?

That was a question Wang Yang had pondered for a long time, through various approaches and forms, starting from before “Firefly” and continuing into “I Am Legend,” with Neville being that frog, and the group of frogs below once lived above the well.

In the original novel “I Am Legend” (1954), the infected had little change in appearance and intelligence, but exhibited vampiric symptoms, representing a “new humanity.”

While Neville, immune to the virus, was researching a cure for it, fear and hatred also drove him to continuously thwart the efforts of the vampires attempting to rebuild society, making him the most detested person among the new humans.

One day, he captured a woman he thought was uninfected, “Rose,” but as he got to know her, he realized she was suspicious. Eventually, Rose reluctantly agreed to let him take a blood sample for testing, but then she turned and knocked him out, revealing she was an infected vampire. When Neville awoke, he found a note from her explaining that the infected were slowly overcoming their disease, they could already stay in the sunlight for short periods, and that they despised him. She warned Neville that her people were coming to capture him and that he should leave his house and escape.

However, Neville ignored her warning and was captured. Later, he saw Rose again. She told him she was a high-ranking officer of the new society, but unlike the others, she didn’t hate him; it was she who had orchestrated the capture. Neville felt deeply injured but accepted his fate, only asking Rose to not let the new society become cruel and ruthless. Rose kissed him and his hair.

As he faced execution, Neville understood the new humans; they had their own morals and pursuits, their own new world, and didn’t need to be cured or saved by anyone. He was just a remnant of the old humanity. As he neared death, he said, “I am a new legend. I am legend.”

Indeed, Neville would probably become the villain in the mythology of the new civilization, like Satan. This was a case of redemption and counter-redemption, a struggle of humanity and the contemplation of racial civilization. No race or civilization is superior to another; life will find its own way out. That, perhaps, is the core message of “I Am Legend.”

“The Last Man on Earth” (1964) features both feeble and stupid vampires as well as mutated, blood-drinking new humans, introducing “the dog,” a stray that Morgan fails to catch at first sight; after some time, when it reappears already infected by the virus, it quickly dies, and Morgan buries it.

Morgan (Neville) falls in love with Rose at first sight, persuades her to come home with him, and immediately cures her with a vaccine. He saw hope! But then, Rose’s people appeared; they killed the vampires gathered around Morgan’s house and later caught up with Morgan as he attempted to escape. In the ensuing gunfire, Morgan lost. Despite Rose’s pleas for her companions to spare him, he was still pinned to an altar with a spear, cursing them as “freaks” and declaring himself the last true man on Earth before dying.

This first film adaptation had entirely misrepresented “I Am Legend,” and aside from professing loyalty to the human audience, the ending was meaningless.

Richard Matheson, the author who had contributed to the screenplay, was very dissatisfied with the result, but to keep receiving royalties from the film, he signed his name as “Logan Swanson,” a combination of his wife’s mother’s first name and his mother’s surname. Matheson once said, “I was disappointed. Even though they followed my story more or less, it was a shallow and impoverished direction, and I just didn’t like it.”

“I am very much looking forward,” said Matheson, now 80 years old, in a rare interview with The New York Times, because he no longer has any say in the adaptations, which had belonged to WB but now to FF. However, regarding Wang Yang’s remake, the elderly author showed great anticipation and confidence: “Perhaps before I die, I can see a true ‘I Am Legend,’ the real Neville.”

“The Last Man on Earth” had its story, but its significance lies in pioneering the zombie genre (the vampires in the film were almost indistinguishable from zombies), and it was not praised for its content or box office performance.

“The Last Man” (1971), in Los Angeles, hundreds of albino mutant survivors formed an organization known as “The Family.” The Family believed that science was to blame for this tragedy, so they sought to eliminate all traces of science. They did not use guns or other high-tech products, and even imitated medieval clothing and dress. At most, they used flashlights and slingshot cars. “The last remnants of ancient culture,” Neville was at odds with The Family.

One day, The Family captured Neville in a cellar. After a trial, they convicted him as a guilty demon and sentenced him to be burned to death at the stake in the center of the stadium.

However, another group of survivors, Lisa (a woman Neville had seen on patrol earlier) and Dutch (a former medical student familiar with Neville’s work), rescued him. Neville thought that since he was immune, using his own plasma to create a serum might cure these people (he previously only searched for food and clothing during the day and killed members of The Family). If the serum worked, they planned to leave Los Angeles and start a new life in the wild, away from The Family.

Lisa’s brother Richie was successfully cured. Out of sympathy for The Family, Richie took the serum and attempted to persuade them to accept treatment. The leader, Matthias, refused to believe it and murdered Richie. When Neville arrived, a great battle ensued, and in the end, when his gun jammed, he was fatally wounded by a long spear thrown by Matthias!

Meanwhile, under the leadership of Dutch, a few survivors drove a Land Rover to flee Los Angeles. They found the dying Neville by a fountain, and he handed the vial of serum, representing the hope of restoring humanity, to Dutch before he died shortly after. The survivors embarked on an unknown journey.

In 1971, Neville was “I Am Legend” because he developed the serum that could restore humanity, sacrificing his life to give hope to mankind. He was a heroic legend, not a demon. It’s no wonder that Matheson thought he hadn’t seen the real “I Am Legend” yet, as it still differed greatly from the original meaning of the novel.

However, the heroic legend did not earn much acclaim or box office success for the movie, performing even worse than “The Last Man on Earth.” However, it had a bright spot, which was the scenes of Neville’s casual “shopping,” “puppet models,” and similar elements. Tim Burton once said, “If I was alone on a deserted island, I might pick things up, I might talk to myself, like ‘The Last Man.’ I don’t know why it’s one of my favorite movies, but it is.”

The WB version of “I Am Legend” continued with the theme of a great hero saving humanity, also incorporating some well-received elements from the previous two scripts. The stray dog became Sam, and the first half of the story focused on depicting Neville’s loneliness and the apocalyptic atmosphere through his daily life. In the end, he dies along with the last of the infected breaking through the defenses, ensuring Anna and her son’s safe departure. His serum became the hope for the redemption of mankind, and his deeds of struggle became legend (published version of the ending).

On the other hand, this version underwent two significant changes. The infected morphed into the Darkseekers, physically powerful, intellectually limited, predacious, furious, and ugly creatures, with only their leader possessing notable intelligence, reminiscent of the Reavers from “Firefly.” Additionally, there was no new human organization but instead a legendary survivor camp. “Ruth,” paired with Richie, turned into Anna and her son, who brought hope and successfully delivered it to the survivor camp.

It can be said that all three versions and the novel are on different tracks, due to commercial interests, political correctness, and the desire for a good and hopeful ending.

“NOT ME; it’s Keke.” Wang Yang didn’t know if Matheson would ever see the “real ‘I Am Legend,'” but he wouldn’t let Neville be a deluded man or a hero who saves mankind. It’s now 2006, he is one of the directors with the strongest box office appeal today, and Will Smith is one of the biggest box office stars—why be as cautious as decades ago? What a joke!

Yet, he wouldn’t allow a female character similar to “Ruth” to appear—no room for negotiation, none! The appearance of a woman would completely destroy the loneliness, the oppression, and the despair. With her, Sam’s death would become meaningless. She destroyed everything!

Under the bright moonlit sky, the night grew increasingly deep. In the bright study, Wang Yang shook his head, and all those words and images were abruptly swept away. Forget about the three versions of “I Am Legend,” forget about the original novel, what did he really want?

I want Neville to die as the last human on Earth! I want him to be the legendary demon! Wang Yang had thought about this for a long time, many times, in fact. What he really wanted was loneliness, a post-apocalyptic wasteland world!

He knew why the mediocre “The Last Man” was one of Tim Burton’s favorite movies—it was because he shared similar thoughts, because it depicted Neville’s loneliness, and it depicted some aspects of a post-apocalyptic world. And in this film shooting, his goal was to go all out in these two areas! Therefore, “Ruth” must not appear. Sam’s death would push Neville’s loneliness, the world’s loneliness, to the extreme. It was an emotion well worth savoring, to be utterly alone.

Those who dislike it often call it dull and boring, hurling rotten tomatoes and stinking eggs; those who love it pour their hearts into it, moved and intertwined with sighs, then rank it among their favorite films—”I Am Legend” is destined to be a cult classic.

He had to create the right atmosphere, look, and details for the post-apocalyptic world, and to perfectly depict the loneliness and oppression of clinging to hope when the world has already turned gloomy (his family was dead)—the better, the better! He aimed to perfectly present such a world of apocalypse, allowing the audience in front of the big screen to truly sense that wasteland air, to put themselves in Neville’s place, so they would then think and gain insight, for the eeriness, impact, shock, feelings, and thoughts brought about were all open-ended.

If this was a horror movie, then the most terrifying aspect wouldn’t be the zombies, the darkness, nor the danger, but the loneliness.

“Whew!” Wang Yang slowly closed his eyes, leaned against the back of his chair, and deeply felt that unbearable loneliness. That was what he wanted, what he wanted to give to the audience!

In the darkness, there seemed to be a glimmer of light ahead. A moth kept flapping its wings, striving to fly toward it… Only when it reached the light did it realize that the darkness still surrounded it, that the era of light had passed. When people got used to sleeping during the day and being active at night, did it make any difference? Darkness became light, light became darkness; humans merely “evolved” from diurnal to nocturnal creatures. Perhaps they would still call themselves diurnal—Daytime would come to mean without the sun, Night when the sun was out. Did it really make any difference?

Did the moth want to set the whole world ablaze, to bring back the light, heedless of the tragedies of broken families and death; or did it want to snuff out that flicker of flame, surrendering the world to darkness and tranquility? In the end, who was redeeming whom?

Or had it forgotten that it too was a member of the nocturnal creatures, just a bit more “deformed”? When it realized that its will, strength, and belief were nothing but hindrances despised by the new civilization, that was when it truly felt the loneliness piercing its soul.

Akiva Goldsman had high regard for “The Last Man,” so although the revised screenplay of “I Am Legend” incorporated some elements from Mark Protosevich, the core framework of the story was still filled with the essence of “The Last Man.” After receiving the forty-page film scene outline and up until now, Wang Yang had already made numerous major transformations, and the modification of dialogue was expected to continue throughout the entire shooting period. Firstly, to accommodate Will Smith’s improvisational performance; secondly, he would decide on the spot which scenes should remain silent, without a single line, relying instead on sound effects to satisfy the auditory needs.

The extent of Will Smith’s improvisation would affect the portrayal of Neville, influencing whether he would play the lonely “Will Smith” or someone else. However, Neville didn’t have any outgoing personality traits. Wang Yang knew that having the big screen ooze with “Smith’s charm” wasn’t a bad thing; the audience loved the Fresh Prince.

But the script work wasn’t without its waves, though certainly not on the level of William Joyce’s “Robots,” despite Wang Yang being the top guy and the magical BABY, and Goldsman being an Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay. Even if he didn’t get a say, he could leave with style, never worrying about finding a new project.

Compared to the story’s setting, their greater divergence was in the theme of the film. Both of Goldsman’s “I Am Legend” endings belonged to the positive camp, with Neville surviving—another even more Hollywood-style ending, with will power, strength, steadfast faith, redemption of others and self-redemption… Wang Yang’s direction, however, was a total heresy, worthy of the “dark magic Yang’s” infamous name—so what if it was close to the original novel? So depressing, so sad; could the audience handle it? At least “District 9” still offered a glimpse of hope “three years later,” but this time…

Forget the audience, even the critics might not support it. Human extinction! Which science fiction horror film, or more precisely, post-apocalyptic film, has ever depicted such a scene? Human extinction!

Currently holding the box office record for post-apocalyptic films is the $88.24 million / $264 million box office of “Waterworld” (production cost of $175 million, 1995), Kevin Costner’s eternal nightmare; followed by $59 million / $102 million for “Dawn of the Dead” and $45 million / $82.71 million for “28 Days Later,” with their production costs of only $26 million and $8 million respectively, both being huge financial successes. However, as harsh as George A. Romero was, “Dawn of the Dead” didn’t make it clear whether the protagonists lived or died, leaving a sliver of hope and suspense.

And with “I Am Legend,” which had a looming $200 million production cost… Wang Yang bluntly said there was no need to worry about commerce. Who said a film where the protagonist can’t become the savior isn’t a commercial film? Was there anyone? Goldsman was never purely a commercial screenwriter, so this major issue was ultimately resolved—Wang Yang won! But Goldsman, by revealing behind-the-scenes information during media interviews, made it clear that the theme was Yang’s idea, while suggesting the script had changed beyond recognition.

Compared to the theme, the cause of the virus outbreak seemed trivial; anyway, Wang Yang wouldn’t possibly use the laughable idea from “The Last Man” of the early 1970s, “China and the Soviet Union waging a bioweapons war.” The emergence of the “K-Virus” (K-Virus, KV for short) as a result of curing cancer was much better.

KV was originally developed as a gene-modifying virus to treat cancer. After clinical trials on humans for a period, it began to produce rabies-like side effects and spiraled out of control, causing widespread contagion. In addition to causing the death of 90% of the world’s population, it also turned about 9% of the population into Darkseekers.

Aside from the commonalities of madness, violence, nocturnal habits, and fear of light, in the original novel, vampires are very fast and have strong athletic and climbing abilities, but still within the range of human capability; “The Last Man on Earth” features feeble, foolish vampires and a new human breed; “The Last Man” introduces the frenzied “families”; while in the WB’s adaptation of “I Am Legend,” we encounter the grotesque, rabid Darkseekers.

The depiction and abilities of these infected are crucial to the whole film, undoubtedly affecting whether CGI technology is needed, as well as the budget and the post-production cycle.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

In fact, the WB version ultimately reaped mixed reviews. It wasn’t wildly popular, and part of the controversy was due to the poor quality of special effects, as the Darkseekers lacked a sense of realism. On the other hand, this was a subversive setting. “I Am Legend” had never been about living dead, zombies, or whatever; it’s akin to vampires – intelligent ones! Did the infected have to be ugly and dumb? Was CGI necessary?

As for the concepts behind the mutations, such as the surge in adrenaline making humans stronger and uglier, and their hyper-ventilation causing them to emit screams and howls that are somewhat human-like but not standard… these details weren’t of much concern to anyone other than movie buffs and cult fans.

During the previous holiday, Wang Yang had also given this a lot of thought and decided to adopt this setting! Darkseekers, who nearly transcend human capability, could bring a more intense sense of oppression. Their savage, unintelligent image also deepened Neville’s loneliness. It was a good transformation, provided that the CGI effects were outstanding, which Wang Yang was not worried about. However, he intended to make it clearer in the film that the Darkseekers could evolve and were evolving every day. At the time the story takes place, their leader is about to break through an important stage…

“Whoa—Yang!”

Just as Wang Yang closed his eyes and immersed himself in the lonely world, walking further and further into the darkness… Suddenly, a shriek followed by a burst of clear laughter broke his train of thought, like a sudden ‘snap’! It made him shudder, and he jumped up in fright. Naturally, he opened his eyes wide—who else could it be but Jessica? She stood beside the chair, with a mischievous smirk on her face, seeing that she had successfully scared him, she laughed even louder, “Got you! Haha!”

Wang Yang, still not fully recovered, shrugged his shoulders. Jessica glanced at the empty water cup on the desk and then at the storyboards and drawings, and while suppressing her laughter, she said tenderly, “Did you fall asleep just now? Be careful not to catch a cold. Isn’t it time for bed?”

“No, I was just thinking about some things,” replied Wang Yang, rubbing his tired eyes, his voice low and slow. Jessica knew he had just come out of the world of “I Am Legend” and was bound to be feeling down for a while, so she didn’t mind his aloofness. However, she noticed his eyes were slightly moist and couldn’t help asking, “What were you thinking about? You’re crying?” Facing her caring and loving gaze, Wang Yang suddenly laughed out loud and shook his head, lamenting, “That’s why I say, you can’t let women appear! Absolutely not! Absolutely! It’s the death of me!”

Jessica blinked in confusion, “What do you mean?” Wang Yang stood up and stretched lazily with his arms raised high, laughing, “Nothing much, women are the best cure for loneliness. How’s Keke doing?”

“She’s asleep,” Jessica said with a proud smile. Ever since they resolved to teach Keke a lesson, the little one had stopped being so whiny and temperamental and instead slept more soundly. Wang Yang nodded, and while packing up the laptop and documents, he asked with interest, “Can I ask you a question?” Jessica looked at him, “Sure, go ahead!” Wang Yang told her about the ending of “I Am Legend,” asking, “How would you feel if you watched it to the end?”

“Hmm, I guess…” Jessica pondered, envisioning the images he described, “I would feel sad, oppressed, baffled, almost crazy! I’d want to hit you…” Hearing these comments, Wang Yang burst into laughter, “That’s correct, that’s just right!”

Watching the figure who was walking out with a hearty laugh, Jessica chuckled to herself and followed, hopping a few steps and throwing a playful punch at him. So mischievous! (