The Best Director

Chapter 275 “Classic!” “Disappointment!

“Andrea, I see a lot of myself in you. You can see through other people’s thoughts and needs, and you will make the right choices for yourself.”

On the big screen, in response to Andrea’s explosive rebuke, Miranda didn’t get angry at all and said indifferently, “Don’t feel guilty, you want this success, to live this kind of life, these choices are necessary, and you have to learn to adapt to all this.” She paused for a moment, her tone slightly firmer, “Don’t ruin your own future.” Andrea, with a ‘you don’t understand’ look, shook her head with a smile, “It’s not about the future, not work, not Homecoming… It’s about life!” Miranda’s tone intensified again, “This is life, everyone wants to live the life we have, everyone.”

“Not me! This is a job, and just a job.” Suddenly, as Andrea spoke, she took off her fashionable wrist bracelet and threw it onto the coffee table, followed by the unnecessary decorative belt, speaking quickly and with fervor, “It’s not my life! Maybe I’m a lot like you, but you know what? I hate you! I always have to meet your exacting demands, try my best, make you satisfied, not because I like you, but because it’s a job! Becoming someone I hate? That’s too terrifying! I surely don’t want to become someone as lonely as you, and now, I quit!”

With a pop, she slammed the fashionable hairband that had been holding her hair into the coffee table, rummaged through her handbag’s documents, and in a close-up shot, she found an ordinary rubber band, shook it in her hand with a smile, and said, “Also, Miranda, there are things you should be clear about too!”

“Like in 2002, Oscar de la Renta designed a series of sky-blue gowns at his show…” As Andrea spoke, she shook her brown flowing hair and used the rubber band to tie it into a simple ponytail; Miranda watched her from the sofa, her face calm.

In the Ziegfeld Theater, watching Andrea’s outburst, Anna Wintour in the front row felt disdain; if Wintour left ‘Vogue’ it was largely due to her incompetence. Losers, sensation seekers, exaggerating… Listening to Jessica’s words, Lauren Weisberger, seated not far away, was boiling with excitement. Wang Yang’s adaptation and understanding of fashion were truly amusing, and this kind of hold-back all evening to finally explode was precisely the scene she enjoyed witnessing!

Film critics say ‘MIT-21-TEAM’ is like a video game, not referring to gaming elements but to style and pace. The movie uses editing to combine non-linear shots into a complete story; while the game sets frames and interactive atmosphere, allowing players to decide the ending among the choices. Games have more controllability than movies, but if you add some obvious gaming elements and techniques like exhilarating pacing to the movie, it will invoke audience participation and lead to a stronger emotional investment during the plot’s climax and explosive moments.

In ‘The Matrix’, Neo’s process of learning Kung Fu is the use of a clear gaming technique; in ‘MIT-21-TEAM’, Jeff Ma’s lessons in card counting and sweeping the casinos, amongst other sequences, also foster a gaming mentality in the audience.

‘TDWP’ didn’t adopt the gaming rhythm like how Andrea learns about fashion, or shall we say, very slightly. There was nothing thrilling the whole evening. If Jessica’s transformation from a dowdy girl into a fashion icon is one of ‘TDWP’s’ explosive moments that left countless female viewers envious and male viewers with racing hearts; then her transformation back into an ordinary beauty and her thorough “teaching” of Miranda is no doubt the film’s biggest climax – time to kill the Boss!

Watching Andrea on the big screen shaking the rubber band in her hand, Evelyn felt very excited and couldn’t help saying to Kelly next to her, “She’s back, she’s back!” The engrossed Kelly nodded, “Yes, yes…” The audience around them, both men and women, smiled, and the whole theater was filled with an excited mood, GOGOGO! Go for it, Andrea!

The film critics were also intrigued. This segment was full of explosive power, the dialogue between Miranda and Andrea was sharp as a tack, Streep’s acting was brilliant, and Alba’s shouting matched the atmosphere; in terms of camera language, Andrea’s discarding of her fashionable items and putting on the most simple rubber band represented her reclaiming herself. But now repeating Miranda’s classic line, what is she trying to say?

What is she trying to say? Figures from the fashion world like Anna Wintour also seemed puzzled; what was Wang Yang’s satire about fashion about?

“And then I remember Yves Saint Laurent…” On the big screen, as Andrea tied her hair, she said, “He showcased a collection of sky-blue military-style jackets. Soon sky-blue became a favorite of eight other designers, appeared in their shows, then entered their flagship stores, and then someone bought it! Sky-blue slowly seeped into the lovely CASUAL-CORNER, then someone else bought it! And in the discount rack at department stores, someone else bought it!”

Miranda’s face turned slightly, her calm appearance seemed to say, “What are you trying to say?”

“`

“Only when sky blue gains popular recognition does it become fashionable, does it become trendy!”

After tying her hair into a ponytail, Andrea stood firm, her gaze fixed on Miranda, saying, “That’s the most crucial part. Try putting out something that’s a complete mess. Will anyone like it, buy it, wear it on the street? Yes! Every choice I make is related to fashion, the effort behind that blue is magnificent; but the truth is, the people in that room think they’re making choices for others, for me, but in the future, the public will help them decide from that bunch of ‘stuff,’ they’ll choose that ‘thing’.”

“The one who makes the choices is always oneself,” Andrea paused, her voice slowing, “You chose your sky-blue gown, I chose my sky-blue sweater, goodbye!”

“One more thing,” Andrea, clutching her handbag, had just walked a few steps when she suddenly turned around, looking at the expressionless Miranda on the sofa, and smiled as she declared her victory, “FUCK-YOU, Miranda, FUCK-YOU!”

As the sound of high heels clicked, a lively orchestral tune suddenly burst forth, and looking at the sweet, intoxicating smile on Jessica’s face on the screen, more beautiful than an angel’s, all the audience could feel Andrea’s emotions at that moment, so light, wonderful, and peaceful. Behind the camera, Miranda was gradually blurring out of focus.

“She’s just a child,” Miranda said indifferently, opening the magazine in her hand, her voice faint, “Disappointment.”

FUCK-YOU! Well said! Fanny laughed, relieved, feeling so refreshingly pleased. Yes, that’s right, that’s what fashion is all about! Female viewers who held ordinary or disinterested attitudes towards fashion were happy, as were white-collar OLs who pursued and loved fashion, somewhat flattered. Fashion influences the world, but it’s the public that influences fashion; no one should look down on everyone else. Some hardcore fashion devotees were instantly filled with rage, wishing they could FUCK the wondrous Yang, for he had tainted fashion!

Haha! Anna Wintour couldn’t help but shake her head; this chicken-or-egg debate was meaningless. What’s the point? The fact is the public adores “Vogue.” People in the fashion industry didn’t have any complaints, “The effort behind that blue is magnificent,” Vera Wang smirked, crafty Wang Yang!

“What a turnaround!” Eaton Alta from “The New York Critics,” who had decided to give “TDWP” a bad review, exclaimed, “Oh, that’s interesting!” This power-packed portion of the plot seemed to have blown his mind awake. The movie was handled so cleverly, maintaining respect and understanding for fashion while directly exposing its vanity, letting Andrea say, “FUCK, fashion is no big deal!”

The several scenes involving the sky-blue sweater are classic; obviously, Wang Yang’s intended message is that the general public, using “fashion surplus products,” is the actual determinant of fashion trends. The fashion industry merely follows the will of the times, the will of the public, without truly ruling them.

Critics from the “Houston Chronicle,” “San Francisco Chronicle,” “The Boston Globe,” and many more decided to give good reviews… Many critics changed their scoring stance because, simply put, it was indeed a classic comedy worth watching; as for the Director being Wang Yang, the quality barely passed muster.

Hollywood clichés! Those scenes about making choices, about giving up glory to return to ordinary life always seem so familiar! Wang Yang’s packaging of them also felt monotonous and flat. Critics who had decided to give bad reviews now felt something was off with everything they saw; David Edelstein from “New York Magazine” even had a terrible sensation of having wasted two hours that night!

“Actually, I like headbands best.” In front of the big screen, Jessica leaned close to Wang Yang and whispered, her smile even more joyful than Andrea’s. Wang Yang nodded; having been engaged for five years, he knew this well and laughed, “I know, so the way you threw it just now, didn’t it feel very skilled, very intuitive? By the way, is there a reason why you like it? I keep forgetting to ask.” Jessica shrugged, “It makes my head look like a basketball hoop.” Wang Yang asked, “And then?” With a slap to her head, Jessica exclaimed, “Then I can slam dunk!” Unable to hold back his laughter, Wang Yang raised his hand and patted her head, “I can do that too.”…

In the midst of their light-hearted conversation, “TDWP” reached its final phase on the screens of over three thousand theaters across North America. After swearing at Miranda, Andrea returned to New York, rushing to the hospital where Lily was. There, she sobbed and embraced her mother in the ICU; Lilly, having awakened, and her family all forgave her and were happy and supportive of the choices she had made.

“Hi.” “HEY.” In the hallway outside the ICU, Andrea and Alex smiled at each other. As they walked towards each other, the scene gradually brightened, coming to an end with a flash of white light. They left it unsaid whether the two reconciled or remained ordinary friends, while the novel “TDWP” ended with the latter, the majority of the audience felt the brightening of the image, not darkening, had given them the answer. The big happy ending is a cliché, but isn’t it also very nice?

“`

“`

The hospital scene ended, and what appeared on the screen next was an outdoor scene in an ordinary community. In the soft background music, a blond young woman walked to the mailbox on the lawn, opened it, and took out some envelopes and the magazine “Runway”. The camera panned over the cover of “Runway”, ultimately stopping on one of the envelopes she was flipping through, with the sender’s name Andrea Sachs. As she opened the envelope, the scene switched to the hectic publishing office where Andrea was having her job interview.

But the voice of Jessica that rang out was not the interview dialogue; it was the content of the letter: “Hi, how are you! This is a belated letter, I know your high school prom is over, perhaps the college freshman dance too? But I think there will soon be a Halloween party, Christmas party, and college graduation prom… Hehe! I’m not Miranda; I was once her assistant and learned a whole lot. Anyway! I think I can offer you some fashion advice, first off, stop dieting, you’re not fat!”

As the scene moved forward without pause, Andrea and the editor-in-chief were laughing and talking, and her article was praised. However, the editor-in-chief was puzzled as to why she left “Runway”?

Andrea said that it wasn’t the right place for her, and to her surprise and relief, the editor-in-chief said, “I called ‘Runway’ to inquire about you, left word for an arrogant girl; later, I received a fax from Miranda Priestly, who said that of all her assistants to date, you were the most disappointing one, and also, that I’d be a fool not to hire you. You must have done something right!”

The upbeat background music began to play again, and Andrea smiled as she stood up to shake hands with the editor-in-chief. The audience knew she had been hired; she walked out of the building of The New Yorker with a sweet smile on her face, moving among the bustling crowd on the street. This scene gave many viewers a sense of familiarity as in “The Pursuit of Happyness”.

“I had a coworker at ‘Runway’ who taught me how to diet, but it wasn’t a happy experience! …” the voiceover paused, and the scene switched to the elegant Runway office, where the fashionable, crutch-wielding Emily answered the ringing phone: “Miranda Priestly’s office.” Andrea on the street smiled and said, “Hi, Emily, it’s Andy, don’t hang up I need a small favor.”

“You need a small favor?” Emily shook her head with laughter, and Andrea said, “Yes, I have some evening gowns from Paris, and now I won’t have the occasion to wear them, so I was wondering if you could ‘take care’ of these dresses for me.” Emily’s eyes suddenly brimmed with tears, her voice trembled, “That, I don’t know, this is really asking too much. I should have those dresses taken in— I mean… your size could drown me. But maybe I can help you out, I’ll have Roy pick them up this afternoon.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it, and good luck! And you won’t need to take them in if you stop dieting,” Andrea said with a laugh; Emily’s lips parted as if to say something, let out a “Don’t be silly.” and then hung up the phone. She lowered her head slightly, a slow smile of relief spreading across her face. She looked towards the desk where Andrea used to sit and said coldly, “You’ve got some big shoes to fill.” The new second assistant typing at the keyboard looked puzzled. As Emily walked back to her desk on crutches, she murmured, “I hope you understand…”

As the new second assistant’s gaze shifted, the scene cut to Miranda’s office. She stood before the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, arms crossed, looming over the street scene below.

Gradually, the big screen split in two: on the left, Andrea in a jacket and jeans, carrying a handbag, was walking on a busy, bustling street with a smile as she briskly crossed the road; on the right, the relaxed and tranquil Miranda seemed to remember something and appeared to see Andrea down in the street, her eyes rolling to reveal an unusual playful smile, but it soon cooled again.

Both women on the screen looked up at the clear blue sky, and the scene transitioned to an aerial view of a New York street, with towering skyscrapers and streams of traffic and people…

“The most fashionable thing is to make your own choices! Be yourself! Because in this world, there are many, many of the same clothes, but there is only one you!”

In the lighthearted end credits music, the film came to a close, and the credits rolled: “Director: Wang Yang; Screenwriter: Wang Yang (script), Lauren Weisberger (novel); Producer: Wang Yang; Starring: Miranda Priestly: Meryl Streep, Andrea Sachs: Jessica Alba, Emily Charlton: Emily Blunt…”

“Not bad, very entertaining! Kind of unexpected.” “I absolutely adore Magic Yang! Previous fashion movies were so bad!” “I’m a bit disappointed, it’s so bland! Magic Yang shouldn’t be like this.”…

“`

Because the black background and white text of the cast and crew credits weren’t very interesting, audiences in theaters across North America were all getting up and leaving. As she listened to the discussions around her and still comfortably seated, watching the credits without any hurry to leave, Natalie took out her phone to send a text to Wang Yang, muttering to herself the content of her message, “Better than ‘High School Musical,’ worse than your other movies, Jessica is hotter! I like it, uh-huh! Time to go—”

Clair, wiping the tears constantly welling up in her eyes, couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. She thought of the letters and words that had encouraged her to move forward and whispered softly, “Thank you, Amazing Yang!” Blinking back tears, she sighed, “The most fashionable, coolest thing is to be yourself, but the premise is not to hurt others or yourself. How is the baby doing now?”

“Are you okay?” Adam next to her asked with puzzled concern, “How can watching ‘TDWP’ make someone cry? The last part does have a kind of moving feeling, but not to the extent…” Clair nodded and smiled, “Yes, I’m OK, no worries.” In front of the same big screen, Evelyn, wiping her reddened, moist eyes, looked at Kelly beside her and let out a sigh with a sentiment, “I love this movie so much, oh my God! This is the best film I’ve seen this year!”

It’s truly wonderful and interesting! Critics from ‘The Orlando Sentinel,’ like Roger Moore, and ‘New York Daily News,’ like Jack Matthews, praised it, remarking that Amazing Yang’s skill was fully demonstrated in the final stages, tying the whole story together. Many lines and details are worth savoring, quite a classic light comedy!

So disappointing! Critics such as Joe Morgenstern from ‘The Wall Street Journal’ and Jeffrey Westhoff from ‘The Northwest Herald’ shook their heads, faces showing varying degrees of disappointment. What’s with ‘TDWP’? Just look at this cast and crew list and you’ll know! This could be said to be the most disappointing credits list of any of Amazing Yang’s eight films! It’s not the oppressive, heavy atmosphere of ‘District 9,’ and there’s nothing lively with spiritual energy, just a black background!

This is his most “Hollywood” movie yet, refreshed in style but utterly lacking in punch. What kind of review should one give? It’s both excellent and mediocre. The critics all began to think about the review that would appear in the newspapers the next day, the reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes.

No matter what, at this moment, the applause in Ziegfeld Theater thundered, as the audience clapped their hands warmly, sending praise and cheers for the ‘TDWP’ cast and crew in front, “Yang, well done!” “Woohoo! It looks great!” “Meryl Streep—” “Jessica!”… Even the media critics, despite their dissatisfaction, courteously clapped lightly.

Anna Wintour clapped a few times, then took out a pair of large sunglasses from her purse and put them on, speaking some words to her assistant “Emily” about leaving. Lauren Weisberger was all smiles; Amazing Yang had done such a good job with the film, it really lifted the spirits!

“Thank you, thank you!” The main creators of the crew in the front row all stood up to thank everyone, hugging each other happily, believing in the success of a crowd-pleasing film. Streep’s eldest daughter, Mamie Gummer, happily clapped her hands and turned to Meryl with a congratulatory laugh, “Mom, you were so good! At one point, I almost hated you.” Streep couldn’t help but laugh, embracing Mamie with open arms, “Mom loves you very much.” Mamie laughed, “Yes, I know, you did send me to school, haha!”…

Emily, clapping vigorously, was all smiles, showing off her teeth with pride gleaming in her eyes under the thick eyeshadow resembling her movie makeup; seeing herself on the big screen, acting alongside Meryl Streep, everyone saying “she’s amazingly acted”, it felt really good!

“Yang, Yang!” Hearing all the applause and seeing all the smiling faces, Jessica once again experienced that wonderful taste in a very real way, the success that came with following the person she loved most, sharing the same joy of success. But now she knew not to be so willful, not to force things, and to be considerate and communicate. She called out to Wang Yang, who was celebrating and hugging people like Margaret, and gazing at his beaming face, she laughed, “I love you!”

Everything would be fine as long as she was Andrea, faced with the choice between Paris and the homecoming festival, she wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter, never again wavering! She knew this was who she truly was.

“Thank you.” Wang Yang might not have realized her thoughts as if he had telepathy, but often times, silence speaks louder than words. Looking into her eyes full of tender love, what else was there to misunderstand? He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.

Seeing their intimate embrace, the volume of the surrounding people’s applause and laughter suddenly grew louder. How it was in the movie, nobody knew, but this “Andrea” was about to get married. (