The Best Director

Chapter 149: “The Hangover

Guys, if I hit the TV with this…” Wang Yang belched, holding a golf club with a wobbly stance, he looked back at Tom and Zachary sitting on the couch, grinning and asking, “Will the TV explode?”

Drunk as a skunk, Zachary slurred, “Don’t know…” but before he could finish, he collapsed onto the sofa with a thud, fast asleep and snoring; Tom staggered to his room, seemingly deaf to any sounds; and Joshua had long been lying on the ground like a dead pig, saliva drooling from the corner of his mouth. Wang Yang gripped the golf club with both hands, steadied his stance, aimed at the TV screen, and took a swing, laughing, “Let’s find out!”

Hahaha—” Bright sunlight streamed into the study, accompanied by bursts of laughter and the clattering of keyboard typing, as the text on the computer screen rapidly multiplied. Recalling the ridiculousness of the night before, Wang Yang couldn’t help but laugh as he wrote the script, occasionally sketching some storyboard frames on A4 paper with a pencil.

Although he made “The Hangover” as an unbridled romp, not caring about box office reviews, Oscars, or Golden Globes, or contemplating anything too deep, he simply wanted to make a fun, hilarious commercial movie, to delight both himself and the audience. But having fun didn’t mean being careless; what pleased him most was creating a good film without wasting this interesting story, so he took the game seriously, aiming for a high score in completion.

Because life is full of pressures and constraints, whether for a student or a president, everyone has their own worries, and some might not even be able to be their true selves. Thus, everyone harbors a desire and need to indulge and go wild, perhaps even priests and bishops… perhaps not; and in Las Vegas, you can become anyone, reveal your true self, get drunk without a care, ending the usual relaxation methods of singing, dancing, exercising, and do something crazy.

This is what makes the theme inherently cool, but when turning it into a movie, how should the story be told? A wild bachelor party, a crazy quartet?

The future “The Hangover” did it very well, grasping a brilliant main storyline entry point: the aftermath of waking up from a drunk stupor. On the one hand, it told the past night’s events in a flashback narrative; on the other, it progressed with the present post-hangover events.

Adopting a mystery film structure was also its ingenious part— the protagonists had to unravel the story like solving a case, while dealing with all sorts of unexpected changes, filled with a sense of the unknown and adventure, naturally arousing the audience’s curiosity and interest, appealing to their senses. This storytelling technique was great; otherwise, a straightforward linear narrative of “arrive in Las Vegas, get drunk, go crazy, sober up, end” might be funny, but entirely lacks surprise.

The story after waking up had to connect with the events of the crazy night, so the script was a straight line, depicting the before and after the hangover, and could include many details, leading to different consequences. The final editing would involve making selections, as the most important element was the suspenseful structure, revealing their last night’s antics and comedic moments, even if they were unrelated.

In that “The Hangover,” the search for the groom was more of a gimmick; at the end, it wasn’t about rationally finding him, but a reminder of the word “roof” triggering the revelation of the truth. Yet, this “roof” could have come from anyone, at any point in the dialogue.

Wang Yang wanted to make this theme even tighter, with greater interconnection between “standalone stories,” and a more splendid and unexpected ending—all these were his goals.

But in a funny comedy film, while the big story is important, the comedic details are key. The fun lies in the story, the laughter in the details. These details are like leaves, present in every part of the movie; the more leaves there are, the more lush and beautiful the tree becomes—set design, props, camera shots…

For instance, the bride’s overweight brother Alan, at the beginning, while being fitted for a new suit, takes off his pants, revealing he’s wearing a protective girdle. If it had been regular underwear, the comedic effect would have been much lighter and too cliche; also, like during the drive to Las Vegas, Alan excitedly screaming at a cute little girl in a passing car, and the little girl responding by flipping him off—these are the funny parts.

Comedy comes in many varieties. How do you make the audience laugh? The most common and direct method in Hollywood is crude bathroom humor, along with spoofs, impressions, and satire, not to mention that swearing has become so routine it’s hardly worth mentioning. Wang Yang doesn’t concern himself with a “sunny image,”; that’s just bullshit. No matter how the story is shot, “The Hangover” is an R-rated film, and it’s only within that rating that it can fully display its wild charm.

However, that kind of crude humor isn’t suitable for “The Hangover.” His favorite type of humor is not bathroom jokes, nor is it the exaggerated body language of Jim Carrey or the nonsense comedy of Stephen Chow from the Hong Kong films. He likes all these, but what he loves the most and is eager to play with is the kind of humor that can only be conveyed through “indescribable” cinematic techniques.

No dialogue is needed, and there’s no need to forcefully use one’s face; just a few simple expressions, the interplay of gazes, coupled with a serious demeanor but placed in a context that produces a hilarious effect with the soundtrack, as well as the varying speeds and exaggerations of the camera, can be enough to kill with laughter and are worth revisiting over and over again.

Consider this simple and cliched example: at a solemn wedding, someone is about to take a fall and embarrass themselves. Capture their fall in super slow motion, along with the changing expressions of the people around them, and set it to either mournful or holy music. Then they land with a thud. What would have been a one or two-second incident is drawn out to 20 seconds, and these 20 seconds can make you cry with laughter, continuing to laugh for a minute, or even several minutes.

If there’s a few minutes like that, the comedy film is a success. So his favorite part of “The Hangover” is the scene in the police station, where the little fat guy uses a taser on the big fat guy, Alan. That sequence is simply poetic.

In any case, everything in a comedy movie must be designed and played with a comedic mindset, and the entire crew should get involved. The “comedy index” of the crew determines the movie’s comedy index. The soundtrack composers, photographers, screenwriters, and directors all need to be funny… Wang Yang didn’t know if he was funny enough, so he planned to immerse himself in comedy movies and TV series to gather materials and inspiration.

But what’s important is that the actors need to be funny too, not just on the big screen, not as an act, but as naturally funny individuals. Aside from their understanding of character development, many of the finer comedic details are created on the spot, as a result of the actors playing around, like the idea of the jockstrap bandage shorts being from Zach Galifianakis, who played Alan.

Hmm…” Thinking about Zach Galifianakis, Wang Yang paused and swiveled in his chair, pondering over the choice of actors.

Perhaps a comedy movie doesn’t require superb acting, but it has its unique demands on actors and is reliant on them. Not everyone is cut out for comedy, and there are some who can make you laugh just by standing there and staring, turning even a bad script and poor scenes into something laughable—maybe that’s what you call “comic flair.”

Some people’s comic flair comes from a buildup of work; at first, they don’t have a funny face, but after a few roles, the audience starts to laugh as soon as they see them, making a screen transition difficult for the actor. Others are just naturally funny, born with a demeanor that spells “entertaining,” and every gesture exudes humor. Needless to say, transitions are even harder for them— Zach Galifianakis is of this latter type.

The main cast of “The Hangover” naturally consists of the four guys who cause chaos in Las Vegas, along with a beautiful stripper bride. The four-man group includes the groom Doug, two good buddies, and the bride’s brother. Doug could be made funnier, but the story structure decides he is not the focus; of the three-drunk-guys group, one is a loving but bad and rebellious teacher, another is excessively honest, suffering silently even when his girlfriend cheats on him, and the last is a high-IQ, temperamental, and antisocial fat guy, the bride’s brother.

The selection of the trio is crucial, and the fat guy is of utmost importance. After pondering for a while, Wang Yang picked up the mouse and opened a webpage, googling Zach Galifianakis, and bursting into laughter as he looked at the bearded face, saying, “This guy is too funny!”

Zach was born on October 1,1969, of Greek descent, and is currently just an unknown actor, which is why there isn’t much information about him. This guy can be said to come from a “prestigious family,” since his father was a heating supplier, his uncle a congressman, and he himself is a dropout from the University of North Carolina. In 1996, he made his screen debut with a brief role in a sitcom, then spent two weeks as a writer for NBC’s variety show “Saturday Night Live,” and then disappeared.

But he has already played some extras and minor roles on the big screen, like pizza delivery guy, bus station passenger, and other minor roles with names like Bill in “Stealing Heart.”…

This guy had no name recognition, no market appeal, and who knew what his acting was like now, but what the hell! Wang Yang clicked the mouse decisively, having made up his mind to still invite this bearded fat man to play Alan, and chuckled, “Zachary, it’s you! You’re probably going to say yes, right?”

So who would play the bad teacher Phil? And the honest dentist Stu? Wang Yang pondered for a moment, then typed Bradley Cooper into the Google search bar, the very man who would play Phil in “The Hangover” in the future.

Bradley was born on January 5,1975, of Italian descent, and was also an obscure actor at the time, and one of the hosts of “At The Movies,” his only on-screen role as a supporting actor in the movie “Summer Camp” grossed just $290,000. He looked much younger now compared with his appearance in “The Hangover,” with short hair and clean-shaven, so there was quite a difference in his aura.

I wonder how the acting is…” Wang Yang muttered to himself, then did a search for Ed Helms, the actor who played Stu, born on January 24,1974- He had been a performer and writer for New York stage comedies and was about to become one of the hosts of the current events satirical show “The Daily Show”; he hadn’t yet acted in movies or TV.

He didn’t want to pick some very famous comedians, such as inviting Owen Wilson for the bad teacher role or Ben Stiller for the dentist; first off, there was a very real issue, their fees were high, and since “The Hangover” wasn’t a movie that would win Oscars, there was no chance they’d take a pay cut to join. Plus, they were all A-list comedy stars, not short on film offers, and might not be willing to join.

But were Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms’ acting skills up to scratch at that time? Would they be willing to play the roles? Were there better choices? All of these were questions.

What about the other supporting roles?” Wang Yang idly thought, a good comedy movie’s supporting roles all had their own funny quirks, like the sleazy crime boss Mr. Chow? He shook his head and chuckled, crap! Mike Tyson? He didn’t like the guy. Who would fit such a role? A real star playing themselves? When he thought about this, one person immediately flashed through his mind, the Lakers’ very own NBA star Shaquille O’Neal!

O’Neal also owned tigers as pets, and this guy had a great sense of humor and loved to make people laugh. He had acted in more than 10 low-budget films and was definitely interested in taking part, with pretty good acting skills too! Wang Yang said to himself with a laugh, “Haha, I need to get in touch with the Lakers.”

Just as he was thinking about all this, his cell phone on the desk suddenly rang. Wang Yang picked it up to see a strange number. Somewhat puzzled, he answered, “Hello.”

Hello, Mr. Wang,” came a stranger’s voice from the other end. He said, “I am Justin Lin, and I really appreciate your funding. I was wondering if you have time to talk?” Hearing the name Justin Lin, Wang Yang frowned with a vague impression and a bit of confusion, spun his chair, and laughed before asking, “I’m sorry, uh, who are you?”

Lin Yibin was momentarily stunned. Was the magical Yang really that drunk at the time? His heart sank a bit, and he said, “Justin Lin, Lin Yibin, we met at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas the night before last. You had just finished playing blackjack, and then I told you I wanted to make a movie, and you gave me $100,000 in chips… Don’t you remember?”

Oh, I’m sorry, I was very drunk that night, let me think…” Wang Yang held his head as he tried hard to recall, having previously wondered where those chips had gone, thinking he had cashed them in and then spent it all. It turned out to be this. Soon, some memory fragments surged up, filling in that blank in the casino. He couldn’t help but laugh heartily, excitedly saying, “Yes! I remember now, you’re from UCLA, right? We beat you guys by 2 points, just joking, but it’s true, ha!”

Hearing his hearty laughter, Lin Yibin’s heart relaxed a bit more and grew a bit nervous, saying, “Mr. Wang, you know about my efforts to raise funds for a movie, of course the $100,000 you contributed is already enough. I just wanted to ask if that money still counts?”

Of course, it counts!” Wang Yang answered without hesitation. Did he look like a miser? FM company would invest in hundreds of independent films with six-figure budgets every year to expand its film library and support new filmmakers. They could take their films to every kind of film festival, and if they won awards or received good feedback, FM would organize test screenings and decide on further marketing strategies based on box office performance.

So, when a Chinese-American director like Lin Yibin came to him, he would always happily agree. Wang Yang laughed as he shut down his computer, “I’m very willing to invest, and I don’t ask for any return.” Standing up, he walked out and said, “Justin, even though I was drunk that time, and I barely remember what I said, everything counts and it was sincere. After all, we are both Chinese-Americans, let’s not be fucking polite!”

Whew, thank God!” Lin Yibin’s face relaxed into a smile, he had been really afraid of being asked to return the $100,000, which would have been like falling from heaven to hell, back to a state of wandering worries. At that moment, he heard Wang Yang continue with a laugh, “Where are you now, let’s go out for a drink? No no, better not drink for now, my head still hurts a bit.”

The two met at a coffee shop in West Hollywood. When Wang Yang saw Lin Yibin in person, the feeling of “this guy looks very familiar” intensified, and a quick search in his mind revealed the reason—Lin Yibin was the director of future parts 3, 4, and 5 of the “Fast & Furious” series. Lin Yibin was born in Taipei, Taiwan, in 1971 and soon immigrated to Orange County, California, with his parents. He grew up there, went to UCLA for graduate school, and was now raising funds for a movie.

Since Lin Yibin’s Mandarin was poor, and there was no need for it, the two conversed in English. Both of their families owned restaurants and they had nearly identical upbringings, as well as a shared love for movies, so they had plenty of common topics to talk about, and laughter erupted from their table from time to time.

My grandfather always wanted me to take over the restaurant, expected me to work for free all the time.” Wang Yang laughed as he sipped his coffee, mimicking the action of stirring a dish with a spoon, and joked, “Kung Pao chicken, Kung Pao chicken… why always this dish? You know, Mapo tofu is pretty good too. Oh, let’s have some Mapo tofu!”

Lin Yibin across him chuckled and said jokingly, “I did that, clumsily breaking many plates until they wouldn’t let me into the kitchen anymore.” Wang Yang laughed, shrugged, and said, “Sometimes I miss those days, but as nostalgic as I am, I’m not going back. My heart belongs to the movies.” They shared another laugh before Wang Yang asked seriously, “So buddy, what’s your idea?”

Lin Yibin nodded, took a sip of coffee to gather his thoughts, and said, “I want to make a movie about the growth and life of Asian-American teenagers—their environment, mindset…” After a while, once he had heard his preliminary ideas, Wang Yang smiled and asked, “Of course, how much do you need? Don’t keep telling me $250,000, seriously, don’t!” Lin Yibin gratefully replied, “But actually, that’s really enough.”

Justin, how about this, if you had a million on hand,” Wang Yang stretched out one finger, looking at him earnestly, and said, “Could you make it better? Better than if you only had $250,000?” Lin Yibin didn’t even need to think before nodding confidently, “Yes.” Wang Yang immediately spread his hands wide, laughing loudly, “Man, that’s what I’m talking about! Why worry about having too much budget? Let’s go with a million then!”

A flicker of excitement crossed Lin Yibin’s eyes, momentarily at a loss for words. The biggest difference between $250,000 and $1 million for an independent film was not the realization of more ideas, but rather the confidence, momentum, and the positive pressure it brings.

We’ll invest the million, and then follow the same routine—competing, DVD releases, screenings…” Wang Yang broadly outlined the plan and gave Lin Yibin the contact number for the production manager at FM company. After finishing their conversation about the funding, considering Lin Yibin’s movie needed to cast Asian actors, he asked, “By the way, Justin, do you know of any outstanding Chinese-American male actors?” He mentioned Jeff Ma’s criteria for actors.

Lin Yibin immediately furrowed his brows, thought for a moment, and then shook his head, “No, it seems there aren’t any. My classmates at UCLA were all studying production, I don’t even know who to cast for the male lead.”

Wang Yang hummed in acknowledgment, not particularly concerned, as it wasn’t urgent—”[MIT-21-TEAM]” wouldn’t officially start preparation until the end of the year, so there was ample time to search. Right now, his concern was confirming the main cast for “The Hangover,” assembling the crew, finalizing the script… and finishing the entire movie before May in a flurry of tasks. Another part of the game was to challenge speed! (To be continued, for