The Best Director-Chapter 488 - The 4th Desert Island Joke

Chapter 488: Chapter 488 The 4th Desert Island Joke

“Action!”

The set of “The Deceased” was in the tranquil cemetery today, amidst the towering pines and trees, and the verdant lawns dotted with tombstones. The performance area was full of police officers, a brass band playing funeral music, officers in uniforms or formal wear bidding farewell, an old priest clutching The Bible and reading prayers over a casket draped with the American flag, and a large portrait frame featuring “Billy” in his police uniform and a spirited smile was placed at the forefront, creating a sombre atmosphere.

This scene was Billy’s funeral service. “Heath” Ledger from “The Deceased” hadn’t shown up, otherwise it would certainly have been eerie enough to disrupt everyone’s performance. This was the only scene where both Natalie and Natalie’s characters appeared at the same time. At the moment, both of them looked sad, with Natalie’s eyes particularly red and brimming with intense sorrow. On the other side, Michael-Pitt was silent with his brows neither fully wrinkled nor relaxed, conveying a mix of emotions—sadness? Regret? Schadenfreude? Guilt? It was hard to tell what he was thinking.

By September, both female roles had gradually wrapped up their shots. Natalie, who had a supporting role in “My Blueberry Nights,” which had been in production for three months, had seemed to gel better with the crew. If not for Wang Jiawei’s notoriously slow filming pace, three months would have been sufficient for a supporting role in a romance film. Whereas Wang Yang was famously fast-paced. Since moving to “The Deceased,” Natalie had truly experienced a liberating and exhilarating sensation—awesome!

“CUT! Very good, get ready for the next shot!” To capture a panoramic view, the photography team was positioned quite far away. Wang Yang called cut with satisfaction.

Actually, this shot didn’t require much acting from them, as it wasn’t a close-up, and the focus wasn’t on them. In other words, their facial expressions wouldn’t be clearly visible in the filmed footage. But the main actors were still fully immersed in their roles, which was a great sign. Later on, when shooting close-ups and other detailed shots, their continuously nurtured emotions would come across even better.

Despite being rather talkative and seemingly at odds whenever they encountered each other—like they were on their “periods”—it’s worth mentioning that ever since “The Big Bang Theory” aired the humorous “I-Got-Aunt-Irma-Visiting” gag, this metaphorical expression had become a popular way among young people to depict a certain situation.

Indeed, Lily and the others had an unfriendly rapport, but both women were worthy Oscar-nominated actresses from the youngest ranks, handling these roles with ease so brilliantly that their performances not only fulfilled but exceeded expectations. They also imbued the characters with their unique temperament and charm. Sometimes the difference between a star and a regular actor is just that—they always find a way to leave a memorable impression. They turned two mediocre roles into iconic ones among female police officers and female psychologists.

Upon hearing the director’s CUT, the rotund Harry-George turned off the camera, and everyone stopped. As Natalie and Natalie regained their composure, they glanced at each other, intentionally or not, and continued with the preparation. To some extent, it was precisely this competitive edge that filled them with energy.

On the set of “Pikachu,” no one dared to mess around, which of course had a lot to do with Wang Yang hiring professionals known for their dedication and good temperament. Today, both women set aside their baffling feud and successfully left behind a scene with not too many shots. It could be considered a pleasant day, despite the set’s somber mood.

Although Keira Knightley’s part was not extensive, since she was busy with the in-full-swing filming of “Pirates of the Caribbean 3” in California and the crew would soon move to Singapore to film most of the scenes, her departure from the crew to film “The Deceased” was quite urgent. Thus, “The Deceased” accommodated her significantly, not only by clustering the shooting schedule but also working overtime on weekends for her. Wang Yang even slowed down the progress on “I Am Legend” to help her finish sooner.

“Yang, this is my good friend, Alison Zhong, she’s 3/8 Chinese by descent, and she has always been a big fan of your movies.”

On this day, “The Deceased” was shooting an interior scene at Colin’s apartment. Natalie had brought along a young female friend visiting the set: a tall, generously proportioned, brunette Chinese mixed-race woman. The trendy-dressed Alison was clearly a cool girl with a distinct personality. But upon seeing the magical Yang, she couldn’t contain her excitement and her face flushed, thrilled to finally meet her idol of many years!

“Hello, Alison, it’s nice to meet you,” said Wang Yang, nodding and extending his hand without much thought. Alison eagerly shook his hand, gazing at him unblinkingly with an English accent and a smile, “Hello, Magical Yang! This is amazing, I’ve been a fan since ‘Paranormal Activity’ when I was 14, and I love your sense of humor, haha! Also my dad, ‘Firefly’ is his favorite movie. Our entire family are your fans.”

Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh, thank you! That’s really great.” Now he meets young people all the time who say they watched ‘Paranormal Activity’ when they were 13/14/15/X years old—he really can’t avoid feeling old.

The Englishwoman seemed a bit nervous. Wang Yang whispered to Natalie as if to compliment, “Your friend is really well-dressed; I really want to become that kind of fashionista.” Watching them try not to laugh, Wang Yang shrugged and said, “You know, that way I could finally escape those damned expensive new clothes and wear old clothes as a trend. It’s not a joke, you know better than I how crazy women can get about buying clothes, especially a woman who doesn’t diet.”

“Ha ha!” Both broke into laughter, and while amused, Alison felt fantastic getting praised by her idol. Could she really have a talent for matching clothes? The thought suddenly sprouted in her heart.

To maintain the mood of the scene and the brisk pace of filming, “The Deceased” set didn’t often hear such lighthearted laughter. Michael-Pitt, who had been reading the script, glanced over and mused to himself, “Is there a woman Yang doesn’t know how to deal with?” He and Natalie had worked together for several months on “Silk,” but he felt that his rapport with her was no match for Yang’s, who had only worked with her for a few days.

But the set wasn’t a coffee shop. After chatting briefly and agreeing to a photo with Alison after wrap-up, Wang Yang began discussing business with Natalie. Soon after, he called Michael over to rehearse their positions for the shot.

From the very first sentence, Natalie listened seriously, interjecting her thoughts and doubts from time to time and then receiving answers that made her nod in agreement. She wasn’t initially convinced by Wang Yang, especially when she thought of Natalie Portman and occasionally found herself annoyed by him out of a kind of “guilt by association.” Her participation this time held a bit of a desire to show the miraculous director her capabilities. But over these days, she had no choice but to give a thumbs up!

Natalie naturally admired cool people who spoke and acted without fuss, and ideally, they wouldn’t mind her occasional sarcasm, deliberate or not, and could even fire back with sarcasm of their own, earning her respect. Wang Yang was unquestionably one of those people! He didn’t care whether she was Natalie or what sort of “Lee” she was; if she acted well, he praised her, and if not, he criticized her. His comments were always constructive, allowing her to see things she hadn’t seen before, and their casual conversations were interesting and to her taste.

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She then understood why Natalie Portman and many other actors loved and respected him so much. He was indeed the miraculous Yang! At only 26, he was better than all the directors she had worked with and very much to her liking. Natalie told herself that if there were any future opportunities, especially for a lead role, she wouldn’t miss out but would fight even harder to get the part! Because having Wang Yang as the director on set was truly a pleasure.

With the “Action!” call, the set began another day’s filming, day after day, and Keira Knightley left the crew in a buoyant mood, soon followed by Natalie Portman.

“Wow, she’s grown so much, the last time I saw her, she was only the size of a loaf of bread.”

In the set of the psychologist’s office, the camera team was adjusting their positions, Wang Yang and Heath Ledger were discussing the scene; meanwhile, in the rest area, Natalie Portman was holding Keke with a beaming smile, teasing her in baby talk and gently admonishing, “Forgotten me, have you? Say Auntie, I am Auntie Natalie! Natalie—” Keke had last seen Natalie in June, during her birthday, and likely had forgotten her, but as always, the little angel wasn’t shy at all. She was amused by the teasing and babbled a little, then suddenly waved her hand and shouted, “NANA, NANA!”

“Oh…” Natalie’s eyes widened as she looked up at Jessica, her mouth agape as if to say “My God.” Wang Yang had enthusiastically bragged to his close friends circle about Keke being able to call her parents, but hearing her speak out of the blue still took Natalie by surprise.

Jessica smiled proudly and with satisfaction; her baby really did make her proud. She said with a toothy grin, “Keke still remembers you.” Natalie looked down at little Sweetheart with her round, pudgy, and incredibly cute eyes, and she couldn’t help but exclaim, “I want to have a baby now; how can there be such adorable creatures in the world?”

Thus, Natalie realized even more deeply that all the youthful declarations she had made about not believing in marriage and having no interest in having children were nonsense. Maybe she often struggled to understand what she truly wanted; she even doubted, for a moment, if there might come a day when she would no longer be a vegetarian.

As days passed and with a “CUT! Very good—” the hefty director stopped the camera, and Natalie’s part was all done! Applause and cheers echoed in the apartment hallway set; the performance of the Harvard psychologist was evident to all.

“Yang, I’ve been on the set with three Director Wangs, and the best… of course, it’s you.”

After the cheers, everyone packed up the camera gear to call it a day. The two walking in front were chatting as they walked, and just now, she’d effectively said her goodbyes to the crew, yet there were still many things she wanted to say to him. “The most fashionable definitely isn’t me.” Wang Yang stroked his hair, knowing he was teasing about Wang Jiawei’s sunglasses. Thinking of how Wang Jiawei wore sunglasses even at meals, Natalie couldn’t help but burst into laughter and said, “NICE! I’ll tell Wang Jiawei that.” Some things are better left unsaid. She laughed, “Hey! It’s our tradition now.”

“OK.” Wang Yang pondered a desert island joke. After a moment, looking at her face, he said, “This year ‘The Da Vinci Code’ is a blockbuster, and ‘Infernal Affairs’ also deals with religion, so let’s go with some sensitive content this time.” Natalie nodded with interest. Wang Yang cleared his throat and spoke softly to her, “One day, a Chinese person, a Jew, and a Caucasian ended up on a desert island after a cruise ship accident, and then God allowed each of them to make one wish. The Caucasian devoutly said, ‘Dear God, I want to go home!’ The Chinese person casually said, ‘Whatever, I also want to go home.’ The Jew said…”

Seeing him pause, Natalie asked, “What did he say?” Wang Yang glared and said, “You’re a fake God, get lost!” Natalie snorted with laughter, louder and louder, unable to stop herself from punching his shoulder a few times. Wang Yang couldn’t help but grin and shook his head, chuckling.

If there were paparazzi around, they would undoubtedly burst the shutter of their cameras, even though everyone now knew the two were like brothers. Many of the crew members behind them had long got used to their closeness, like the smiling Nancy, who had been this way since the ‘Juno’ set, and still everything passed by calmly.

“So how did it end?” Natalie finally stopped laughing. Wang Yang shrugged with a raised eyebrow, “I don’t know, it’s an open ending. However you like it, that’s how it is.” Natalie nodded in approval, “Brilliant.” She then earnestly said, “Yang, it’s the same thing I always say, I hope ‘Juno’ comes along again.” She felt a bit sentimental today, weirdly enough since her period wasn’t due. She spread her hands, “I just really miss it.”

It was no longer about love talk; Natalie truly missed the crazy engagement ‘Juno’ had brought her, when she nearly split into a new persona; the inspired performances and passionate fervor on set under his direction… all of that was truly awesome.

“It definitely will, I believe there will be a fifth, a sixth desert island joke.” Before Wang Yang finished speaking, Natalie asked, “Won’t there be a seventh?” Wang Yang slapped her head lightly, laughing, “There will be! Don’t you know you are my muse?” Natalie’s eyebrows shot up, and Wang Yang quickly added, “Don’t get me wrong, Heath Ledger is also my muse.” Natalie shrugged indifferently, “What’s there to misunderstand? Stop being so full of yourself.”

“Hey.” Wang Yang frowned at her and said, “One day you’re going to thank me on the Oscars stage, ‘That guy said I could win an Oscar when I was 14, thanks!’ Don’t offend me.” Natalie laughed out loud, flipping him the bird, the first one ‘The Deceased’ crew received. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation vote or monthly vote, your support, is my greatest motivation.)