19 The Quest for a Publisher (2/2)

A white man in his thirties answered. He dropped everything he was working on and came to Wang Yang to shake his hand, beaming. ”My name is Sam Paul,” he said.

”Nice to meet you, Mr. Paul.” Wang Yang smiled back at him.

Thomas led them to the viewing room. On the way, he introduced jovially, ”Sam is our top sales executive. He's got an eye for these things. All our winners were chosen by him. One of these days, he's going to take my job.” Sam guffawed and said, ”Oh come on, Thomas!” Wang Yang was noncommittal, but at least he was laughing.

Once at the viewing room, Wang Yang produced a DVD on which he'd burned his movie and handed it to Sam. After Sam inserted the DVD into the player, the three of them sat down in their respective chairs and fixed their gaze on the small projector screen in front of them.

Thomas pressed ”play” on the remote control. A dark image appeared on the small projector screen, followed by a flicker, and then a man, who appeared to be filming himself. That man was Zachary. Grimacing at the camera, he said sunnily, ”Hi everyone, I'm Kevin! And this is our new home!” The next scene was him touring the apartment with his camera, visiting the kitchen, the bedroom, and other places, cheerily making introductions. As the character moved back and forth, the shot wobbled vigorously. Together with the grainy quality of the camcorder, it made for an extremely blurry experience on screen. Every frame was a mess.

”Wow, this…” Thomas paused the movie and looked at Wang Yang. ”Mr. Wang, is this really a movie? Are you sure it's not your home video?” he asked.

That was the same response from New Line Cinema, who turned off the video player and told him ”no” just a few minutes into the movie. With his back to the wall, Wang Yang gave them a song and dance about his movie, which he'd rehearsed earlier, ”Of course, it doesn't matter if it's called a 'first-person movie', or a 'mockumentary'. What you're seeing here is a new concept, whereby the story is shot by the main character, in the style of a documentary.” He said with a straight face, ”Believe me, Mr. Thomas, this is a movie. Please bear with me, and you'll see.”

”Okay.” Thomas nodded his head after some hesitation and resumed the movie.

On-screen, Kevin had just concluded the house tour and was pointing the camera at himself. He said laughingly, ”It feels great to have bought a DV camera!” At that moment, there was a sound that might have been a door opening. He brightened up and said, ”I think my girlfriend, Mae, is home!” With that, he rushed to the door with the DV camcorder in his hand, and the screen was once again a blur. Scenes went by in dizzying streaks as the camera jostled and spun and jittered and swayed.

When the camera stabilized, it was pointing downwards at nothing, but Kevin's voice could still be heard. ”Honey, welcome home. Check this out… look what I've got!”

The frame jerked sharply and Mae, portrayed by Rachel, appeared on the screen. She was holding a bag. She looked at the camera aghast, and said in a tone of disbelief, ”What? Did you buy a DV camcorder? Oh, my God! How could you do that? This is way out of our budget!”

At that moment, Thomas turned toward Wang Yang with his left hand across his chest and his right under his chin and commented with a cheeky grin, ”Say, that girl is pretty sweet.”

”I think so, too,” Wang Yang said with a smile. As he looked at Rachel's face so vividly projected on the screen, he couldn't help but miss her. Ever since Rachel had gone back to Toronto, he'd only spoken to her once over the phone, right after he'd finished editing his film. To save cost, he'd cut the conversation short. Nothing beyond a simple reminder of his incoming copy of DVD and a courteous inquiry about her mother's health was said. Moreover, his lack of home internet had only made the gap between them wider. It'd been a while since he'd logged on to MSN.

As the movie progressed, Thomas and Sam went off on fewer tangents and concentrated more and more on the film itself. However, when it came to the middle part where Kevin and Mae were following a mysterious apparition in the middle of the night, the shot began to shake vigorously again, this time intensified by fear and terror. For Thomas, it was a dizzying, frustrating, mind-numbing ordeal. He was forced to pause the movie again as he tried to keep his lunch down.

”Oh, God… Oh…” Thomas retched and quaked uncontrollably. On his left, Sam didn't fare any better, judging by his nauseated expression. It took quite a while for Thomas to recover. He allowed himself a wry smile, shook his head, and told Wang Yang, ”Oh dear, sorry about that. Please excuse me.”

Wang Yang didn't know how to respond but to smile and say, ”It's all right, it's all right. A perfectly normal reaction, I understand.”

”Mr. Wang, your movie is… how should I put it…” The way Thomas furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to come up with the right words made Wang Yang very nervous. Then, he said, ”It's provocative. It's fresh. But it's a little hard to swallow.” Smiling in a self-deprecating manner, he carried on. ”I've never seen this style of film-making before.” Sam nodded in agreement. ”Yeah, it's definitely a crazy style, all right.”

Of course, it came as no surprise that they hadn't seen anything like it. Handheld digital video cameras had only been brought to market a few months ago, and DV movie was still an uncharted, virgin ground, waiting to be inscribed by adventurous men.

Fresh, but hard to swallow? Wang Yang couldn't quite grasp their meaning. Besides, they were only halfway through the movie. The scary bits were yet to come. ”Mr. Thomas, shall we continue? It gets better, I promise,” he said.

”No, no, no. I don't think I can handle it anymore.” Thomas shook his head and smiled politely. ”I think I've seen enough to know what the movie is about.” He ruminated for a second, then said, ”Mr. Wang, it is a movie, I admit, and one that is jam-packed with surprises. But…”

As soon as Wang Yang heard the word ”but”, he knew something bad was coming. As expected, Thomas threw his hands up and said, ”This movie is too innovative. You can call it a mockumentary all you want, but I'm just not sure if the crude picture quality, the blurry images, and the incessantly shaky camera are cinema worthy. To be honest, I don't know what to make of it.” He looked sidelong at Sam and said, ”Sam, what do you think?”

Sam shook his head, smiling in a way that conveyed ”I don't know what to make it either”, and said, ”I don't know. I can't tell if there's a market for this film or not. I've never seen anything quite like this. It's really a tough call.” He paused a minute and added, ”Personally, I find the movie quite interesting, but I can't speak for the market. You know, a lot of movies that I liked turned out to be dogs that lost money. Liking it is one thing, commercializing it is another.”

Wang Yang's heart sank. Although that was the kindest and the most respectful feedback he'd received out of all the companies he'd visited, he was starting to find it difficult to keep a smile on his face. He was so close to being rejected by Artisan Entertainment he could almost smell it. His eyes flicked from Thomas' face to Sam's and back to Thomas' again before he suggested, ”I understand. Predicting the market is not easy. Perhaps we could try a limited release. Test screen the movie in tens… no, ten theaters first, and see how the market responds?”

All he needed was that first step into the silver screen. He was confident that by using The Blair Witch Project's promotional strategy, a limited release would soon turn into a wide release, and tens of theater screenings would transpire into thousands!

Thomas wrestled with the idea. He turned to Sam and muttered something under his breath. Then, they deliberated in brisk, muffled whispers. In the end, they nodded and turned toward Wang Yang, ready to announce their decision.

At that moment, Wang Yang's heart suddenly lurched. Subtly, he put his fists, which had clenched up into tight little balls, into his pocket. His palms sweltered profusely.

”Mr. Wang,” Thomas looked at him and started to speak in steady, weighty words, ”Our primary concern is the market. Although your movie has a low budget, and its promotion expense can be minimized, we can't afford to take any losses. More importantly, we can't afford to put our company's reputation on the line. We're a small company. Half of our business comes from hardcore fans who keep us afloat. They won't be happy if we release a bad film. And God forbid we disappoint them and lose their loyalty.”

Wang Yang nodded silently. He felt terrible, but under the circumstances, there was nothing else he could've said.

”I don't mean to say that your movie is terrible. It's just that releasing a DV movie is too big of a risk. We can't just do it willy-nilly.” Thomas stood up from his chair and said, ”How about this, Mr. Wang: we'll discuss the feasibility of this project internally and I'll get back to you if there's any further update. How does that sound?” With that, he reached for a handshake.

Wang Yang rose reluctantly and shook his hand. ”All right, then. I look forward to hearing from you,” he said with a nod.

Wang Yang walked out of Artisan Entertainment's office with his head down, brooding at the road. The sounds of tires grinding, exhaust chugging, and horns beeping only aggravated his frustration. Seeking refuge from the madness, he looked up at the azure sky, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth. Even Artisan Entertainment, the company that would release the first DV movie in the world, The Blair Witch Project, had rejected him. While the rejection wasn't ultimate, he knew at that point he had very little chance with them. After all, Thomas didn't even finish watching the movie. Their stance was clear: they'd never alienate their fans or take unnecessary risks.

How many film companies were left? Wang Yang let out a sigh. While he knew well and early that the path to publication would be fraught with obstacles, facing it, in reality, was quite another thing. Frustration was only natural. He made a fist and swung it in the air. ”I'll never give up! I can be destroyed but not defeated!”

If that film company rejected him, there were always others. If all the film companies turned him down, there were always companies that specialized in DVD publishing. And if that didn't work out, there was always cable television… there was always hope as long as he kept going.

Casting away all the negativity in his head, he felt an urge to talk to a friend. He took out his cell phone and called Jessica. As soon as she picked up the call, he smiled and said, ”Hi, Jessica. I've failed again. Artisan Entertainment asked me to go home and wait for their call, but the way I see it, I'll never hear from them again.”

”Oh, God…” Jessica couldn't help lamenting. Even in those two words, her disappointment and worry were apparent. But she switched abruptly to a more positive tone and said, ”Yang, it'll be all right, trust me. This is only the beginning. You're just starting out.”

Wang Yang smiled and said, ”Yeah, I'm okay. There's no need to worry about me, Jessica. Thank you.” Feeling more lighthearted, he said, ”You know, just now, when the managers at Artisan Entertainment saw my movie, they almost puked! Haha! Is my movie really that bad?”

”Haha! No, it's not even close to being bad.” Jessica's laughter was as pure and beautiful as everything else about her, and just listening to it made Wang Yang feel so much more blissful. ”Where are you now? Shall we go out for dinner? I'm planning to watch a movie at the cinema tonight,” she said smilingly.

”Thanks, but no thanks.” Wang Yang declined Jessica's invitation cordially. Making his way to a nearby bus stop, he explained to her, ”Jessica, I've found a part-time night shift job at a McDonald's. I'm on my way to work now. Sorry that I can't hang out with you tonight.”

On the other end, Jessica stood silent for a minute and said, ”Okay, Yang. But be careful not to tire yourself out.” Then, she added, ”By the way, um… you know, my birthday is in two days. My family is going to throw a little party for me at night. Yang, can you make it?”

So that's what it was about. Jessica's birthday was on the 28th, just a few days from then… Wang Yang replied to her without hesitation. ”Of course. It's your birthday party. I'd be very happy to come. I'll just need to take a leave.” He paused and smiled. ”But be warned, my present might be a little cheap.” He laughed.

”Ha, forget about presents.” Overjoyed to hear that he'd be coming to her party, Jessica smiled and said, ”My agent, Madam Miranda, will be coming, too. Yang, she knows a lot of famous directors and higher-ups in film companies. I can introduce her to you at the party. Hopefully, she'll be able to help you…”

”Thanks, Jessica,” Wang Yang said brightly. ”Another reason for me to look forward to your party.” Although meeting Madam Miranda didn't sound all that exciting to Wang Yang, it was still an opportunity, wasn't it? Not to mention a well-meaning and heart-warming gesture on Jessica's part.

After a few minutes of chit-chat, Wang Yang had reached the bus stop. He ended the call, let out a sigh, and took the bus to his new, part-time workplace at McDonald's.