The Best Director-Chapter 473 - Confirmation

Chapter 473: Chapter 473 Confirmation

Time flies, “IA3” finally took the North American box office crown for the week of March 31 to April 6 with an opening gross of $85.36 million and a very pleasing average of $22,062 per theater across 3,869 locations; however, in the following week of April 7-13, it raked in $46.77 million (-45.2%), an impressive result that was not enough to retain its championship.

“Paranormal Activity 4” opened to an incredible $52.7 million, averaging $16,869 per theater at 3,124 locations, considering its production cost was only $5 million! This almost moved the team at Lionsgate to tears of joy, “Too great, too great!” Last year, “Paranormal Activity 3” had “only” a $55.13 million opening weekend! After making a huge mistake once, they preserved this miraculously regained fruit, but the sharp decline in media and public opinion also made Lionsgate somewhat apprehensive.

“Paranormal Activity 3″‘s Rotten Tomatoes ratings were 55%/50%/85%, and it ended with $108 million North American box office/$210 million global box office; “Paranormal Activity 4″‘s freshness fell to 45%/35%, but what’s terrifying is that the audience approval was only 54%!

“Yawn, if it’s your first ‘Paranormal Activity’, you might think it’s OK, but you really should go see the original ‘Paranormal Activity’, be careful not to get too scared,” said Clarence E. “Without the magic of Wang Yang, everything goes bad, dreadfully dull and a merciless inducer of sleep,” stated Jason S. “It didn’t scare me, it’s exactly as I expected, damn it, I’m fed up with these stupid sequels, when you don’t have Wang Yang, you should quit,” Andy C expressed; Calvin R said, “Oh dear, it is terrible, hasty, and stupid, worse than grandma’s ghost stories.”…

For a genre film that relies on the support of “Paranormal” fans, this was an almost catastrophic blow, and “Paranormal Activity 5” was on the verge of GAME-OVER!

Faced with the criticism from fans, Lionsgate was at a loss for words. If they could have appealed emotionally and logically for Wang Yang to continue making “Paranormal” in the past, would that be possible now? His agreement to produce “Paranormal Activity 3” was already a huge favor to Lionsgate!

Of course, Lionsgate couldn’t just watch the “Paranormal Activity” series slip back into the mire again. They wanted to make parts 8, 9, 10, so Jon Phil called on the magic of Wang Yang for help, “Have you seen ‘Paranormal Activity 4’? What went wrong? How should we make ‘Paranormal Activity 5′?” Wang Yang had been so busy he barely had time for him, and he had not seen “Paranormal Activity 4” in theaters, so he gave some official advice, “Pay attention to the suspense, don’t be simplistic…”

However, Jon Phil treasured every word from Wang Yang as if they were gold, taking all his advice down as if it were precious guidance for Lionsgate’s production of “Paranormal Activity 5”.

These days, the casting of “Infernal Affairs” was one of the hot topics in the media. There was much noise about casting the two female supporting roles — it was rare for a minor character to cause such a stir in Hollywood, unique to a Wang Yang film. Enthusiasm was high because the movie was about to start shooting and was set for release by the end of the year. Although the public was very interested in the audition process, not much gossip leaked out, just a roundup based on what some actresses’ friends disclosed — Emily Blunt, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jessica Bell… All of them said they needed to seriously consider Wang Yang’s advice.

But the most anticipated four stars, Hathaway, Scarlett, Natalie, and Natalie Portman, remained silent, without a word. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Wang Yang said, “Everyone performed well, but we must make the most suitable casting choices.” He also revealed that the main cast of “Infernal Affairs” would be fully announced by the end of April.

The American version of “Infernal Affairs” has been officially titled The Departed.

After some time spent considering and choosing, Wang Yang eliminated suggested names and those he thought of, such as The-Nameless, The-Fatal-Secret, The-Mortal-Rumor, and Killing. He decided that the American version of Infernal Affairs would still be titled The Departed.

This title has a broad meaning and was fortuitously effective, but more importantly, the phrase “to lose one’s identity is to become the deceased” is a common theme in both the Hong Kong version and the WB American version. It’s a fitting interpretation for this double-undercover story. While Infernal Affairs by WB surely discussed the importance of identity, the lifestyle changes that come with different identities, and the pain brought by a life contrary to one’s ideals, Infernal Affairs also encompassed these emotional connotations. Chan Wing Yan said, “Just give me an identity, I just want to be an ordinary person.” Lau Kin Ming said, “I want to switch with him.”

The difference, however, is that both Chan Wing Yan and Lau Kin Ming in the Hong Kong version were influenced by their environments, encounters, and insights, leading them to doubt their original beliefs and struggle in pain, especially Lau Kin Ming who wanted to be a real police officer. In contrast, Billy in the WB version is purely good, having no real emotional ties to the gang, which is why the Hong Kong version’s “strong but naive” character doesn’t appear. Colin, on the other hand, is purely evil; he doesn’t have the notion of “wanting to be a good person.” He feels neither guilt nor pain and is a complete “fool.”

So, Infernal Affairs centers around the confrontation of two undercover agents as its narrative core, methodically exploring the good and evil of human nature and finding more emotions to support the story. It added an additional layer of pain caused by “the loss of identity.”

In the bright and furious world of Infernal Affairs, no one loses their way. Colin tries everything possible to maintain his identity as a police officer, like a shield; Billy, always seeking to escape the mob, is like a spear. Their clashing contradictions create great dramatic tension, and this also directly reduces the contemplation of human nature’s goodness and evilness in the film. Instead, it enhances the realism of life and the sense of dramatic conflict. In other words, it has stronger commercial appeal, a commercial art film under the Hollywood system.

This naturally involves differences in Eastern and Western society, culture, and film culture, resulting in two movies with the same core, yet entirely different styles and connotations.

In short, Infernal Affairs features every confrontation scene filled with exquisite and elegant camera work and editing, actors’ performance with a sense of moderation, the control and mastery of the right touch, concise dialogues filled with intrigue, undercurrents and resisting emotional tension, and nuanced music to underscore the emotions. Whereas in Infernal Affairs, there is solid montage and editing, enriched by lighting, props, and other compositional techniques to add metaphorical depth behind the scenes, uncontrollable performances by the actors, explosive dialogues and actions, and more external physical rather than internal conflicts.

Wang Yang hoped he would have a choice, about identity, the goodness and evilness of human nature, about emotions… to tell that story in his preferred interpretive style. The Departed, with its wistful flavor, was a perfect fit.

However, by the end of the year, when it was released in the Asian Chinese-speaking regions, according to future data, would it also be translated into Infernal Affairs and Infernal Walkers? Wang Yang didn’t like these two titles at all because they failed to convey any interesting meaning.

By revisiting Hong Kong crime films like The Edge of Fury these past days, Wang Yang felt a deeper appreciation for the charm of Hong Kong films and gained some clarity.

“Infernal Affairs can only be filmed with an obscure sense of despair in a vast environment like Hong Kong,” said Liu Weiqiang, the director of Infernal Affairs. It was with a city like Hong Kong, sophisticated yet fashionable and hazy, with a history of change and hardship, that the film found its narrative technique and artistic style. Transposing its texture to America wouldn’t work, not to mention 70s Boston, or even 80s New York; however, Boston and New York possess their own enchanting qualities.

On the other hand, police and gangster movies have matured over many years in Hong Kong, China, and all of Asia, cultivating countless Asian audiences with an exceptional capability for watching these films. As he understood it, many of his Asian peers grew up watching the “Young and Dangerous” series, where terms like gangster slang, strategies, and underworld rules were second nature to them, presenting no difficulty in understanding.

Therefore, the storytelling in “Infernal Affairs” is very concise, to the point where every detail is just briefly touched upon and the audience instantly understands; while in “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno” often has to explain a lot to its audience. For example, in the “pretend lawyer interrogation” sequence, the Hong Kong version doesn’t say much nor does it hint at anything, whereas the American version has to explain.

In plain terms, it still comes down to cultural differences; American audiences have a much lesser foundation in “police and gangster movies,” though there are plenty of detective and investigative films.

At the same time, “Infernal Affairs” contains a lot of implicit narrative methods that are “better felt than expressed,” which, from an Eastern cultural aesthetic perspective, make the story’s details that can swing from good to evil fascinating (such as whether Silly Strong knows Chan Wing Yan’s real identity); “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno,” on the other hand, is immediately understandable, American storytelling doesn’t like too deep implications, preferring clarity. This includes the ending, where being alive is alive, and dead is dead—there’s nothing about the living being more miserable than the dead.

All these are due to different storytelling strategies. All the adaptations are made to fit American culture more and to highlight the film’s theme; hence the plot of “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno” is simpler and clearer.

Just as “Flaming Brothers” (1987) can be compared to “Reservoir Dogs” (1992), and “Infernal Affairs” to “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno,” this is about two different societies and countries, yielding two distinct cultural textures.

As “yet another” American adaptation, Wang Yang naturally had to consider the feelings of the American audience. Explanations had to be given when needed, clarity had to be achieved when necessary, and atmosphere had to be crafted… He really wouldn’t be as brash as Martin Scorsese.

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What makes “Infernal Affairs” a classic of its era among a series of Hong Kong police films lies not in the usual explosive action scenes, but in the script-heavy content, making it an “intellectual action movie,” a “psychological action movie.” Unlike the past emphasis on the stark opposition between good and evil, it portrays a confused and lost world, where characters are shades of gray. Because of Scorsese’s personal style, “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno” leans more towards portraying gangsters, which makes it not so much a police film but a gangster crime movie.

Wang Yang’s interest in gangster crime films is limited for the time being, not this time specifically. In his version, he doesn’t want to increase the gang leader’s scenes. He believes that, despite Jack Nicholson’s exquisite performance, his scene-stealing craziness actually suppressed the performances of the two undercover characters.

And now, something that’s giving him a real headache: the female characters!!Upd@te by novg0.co

In “Infernal Affairs,” there are three female characters: Lau Kin Ming’s fiancée Mary, Chan Wing Yan’s psychologist Li Xin’er, and Chan’s ex-girlfriend May; “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno” only has one, the police department’s psychologist, Colin’s fiancée, and Billy’s lover Madolyn. It’s understandable that the women’s presence emphasizes the importance of “identity” and intensifies the conflict.

If he could, Wang Yang would really like to handle “Infernal Affairs: The Inferno” the way “I Am Legend” did, with not a single female character! Oh, but there is one, Neville’s wife, played by Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and Neville’s daughter played by Willow Smith, which is indisputable.

However, he has inexplicably arranged for two in this film, Colin’s colleague and fiancée in the police station and Billy’s psychologist. It seems almost fortunate that there are two, otherwise his head would hurt even more.

“Yang, I’m thinking, could I possibly direct as well? What do you think?” Rachel had called out of the blue the other day, her enthusiastic words startling Wang Yang, who quickly said, “No! Don’t! Rachel, my head’s about to explode! I really want to make an all-female version of ‘Infernal Affairs’—damn it!” He had nothing to hide from Rachel and immediately shared some of his troubles with her. Rachel laughed crisply: “Then take them! Don’t you have the confidence to persuade them all? You’re a charming man!”

The auditions had ended long ago, and to be honest, every one of those women was fully capable of playing both roles. Nevertheless, Natalie and Natalie had performed the best; they had been almost completely unaffected by his challenges and meddling that day, witty, overly confident, and deeply invested in their acting… If he hadn’t kept a straight face and occasionally jabbed them with a few timely barbs, those two would have left laughing. In fact, they did leave with a smile.

Who to choose? Since everyone was so outstanding and there was a choice to be made, the crew considered even more factors: rapport with the director, on-screen chemistry with the male leads, impact on box-office success, promotional talking points, the influence on other auditioners…

After much consideration, Wang Yang concluded that Natalie + Natalie was an excellent pairing!

Not to mention their outstanding auditions, their box office draw, fan base popularity, and historical connection with “Star Wars Episode I,” just the feature of their similar looks provided an opportunity for the makeup artist to intentionally create similar screen personas for them, forming a fascinating contrast; besides, Natalie had great chemistry with him, and Natalie was fully competent to handle everything smoothly.

“Yang, no offense, you know, but if Natalie is in the cast, you can kick me out! With so many great actors, it’s not that I’m not professional enough, but I just can’t stand her… Also, about that grand plan of yours to cast us together in a movie? Hah, forget it!”

Natalie’s exasperated words echoed in Wang Yang’s ears from a few days ago; he knew that Natalie felt the same, “If Natalie Portman is in, I’m out!” He couldn’t fathom why they suddenly acted like oil and water. He wanted to invite Natalie to play the psychologist and Natalie to play Colin’s fiancée, but Natalie auditioned for the psychologist role. Would she accept it? To lose out to Natalie? And if she did accept, would Natalie agree?

Recalling Rachel’s words, Wang Yang picked up the phone with a speechless sigh and called Natalie first. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote and support me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)