Chapter 144: Jing Tian's First Experience and the Final Winner

The film *The Martian* actually didn't have difficult live-action scenes; the difficulty lay in the special effects. The post-production time was expected to be frighteningly long, but fortunately, Wei Jin was already planning to go to North America in the second half of the year to start a new film, so no time was wasted at all.

After the several main creators rested for a night and officially arrived at the base, they actually appeared full of enthusiasm, and Wei Jin soon began his intensive filming schedule.

Today's scenes involved the male lead, played by Liu Tianwang, driving the Mars rover and embarking on voyage after voyage, finally relying on dangerous radioactive materials for warmth to dig up a probe left behind by other Mars projects years ago, using it to contact Earth.

As for the scenes at the aerospace satellite monitoring center, Wei Jin planned to film them after moving to the next location; the footage would be edited together anyway.

The days of filming were very dull, and the key was that he couldn't even be intimate with Jing Tian; the living conditions were truly too poor, and if they really did anything, the entire crew would be able to hear it.

Wei Jin endured the pain of insomnia at night and still had to shoulder the filming tasks during the day, making him look very haggard.

Jing Tian saw it in her eyes and felt the pain in her heart, so she quietly took out her phone and called Ceng Li to find a way to help Wei Jin. — After finishing the day's filming tasks, Wei Jin rinsed off casually, and just as he returned to his room, he saw Jing Tian push the door open and enter.

The young girl locked the door behind her, walked straight to Wei Jin's side, and said with some heartache:

"Brother Wei Jin, are you still not sleeping well at night?"

"Yeah, but I'm used to it; just hold on a bit longer and it'll be fine."

Wei Jin didn't have any other thoughts; the conditions simply didn't allow it, and this was also out of respect for Jing Tian.

"Then would it be better if I kept you company at night?"

Jing Tian had learned from Ceng Li that Wei Jin had always suffered from severe insomnia and needed someone's company to find relief.

"Tian Tian, it's better not to. I'm afraid I won't be able to restrain myself, and there are too many eyes in the crew; it wouldn't be good for you."

"It doesn't matter, Brother Wei Jin. I'll come quietly, others won't know. If you can't restrain yourself..."

Speaking to this point, Jing Tian's pretty face turned crimson, as if she were too shy to speak, and her voice became almost inaudible: "I heard her say that you can use... to help you."

Wei Jin hadn't even reacted to what the young girl had said when he saw Jing Tian turn off the lights and slowly squat down.

However, the young girl was a first-timer after all, and her movements were somewhat clumsy; there was no way she could help Wei Jin release his stress in a short time.

After busying herself for a while, Jing Tian's eyes couldn't help but mist over, secretly hating herself for being useless and unable to help Wei Jin.

Sensing the pause in pleasure, Wei Jin finally noticed Jing Tian's appearance, which was truly pitiful and moving, and he felt a bit touched: "Tian Tian, it's okay. I'm already very happy that you can do this. Let's stop here for tonight..."

"No, Brother Wei Jin, I can definitely help you. She can do it, so I must be able to too."

After saying this, she buried her head again. Seeing that the young girl was determined to compete for favor and refused to admit defeat, Wei Jin said no more, relaxed, and lowered the difficulty slightly to avoid making Jing Tian develop a fear of this matter, which would not be good.

After a long while, the volcano finally erupted. Jing Tian, who couldn't dodge in time, bore the brunt of the output, but she still gritted her teeth and persisted.

Wei Jin heard a sound of swallowing and thought to himself that once women start competing, men are truly happy. — With Jing Tian's thoughtful help, Wei Jin had been in a very good state recently, and the filming had been very smooth.

Tonight was a night shoot, filming the scene of the Mars storm.

After observing left and right and seeing that all arrangements were in place, Wei Jin held a megaphone and shouted: "Action!"

The scene was pitch black, with only a beam of light coming from the spaceship and the lights on the actors' helmets.

Immediately after, several high-power blowers were turned on simultaneously, and the filming site was instantly filled with yellow sand and flying dust. Liu Tianwang and the others slowly walked out of the base, struggling against the storm toward the spaceship.

This storm scene was only a few minutes in the final film, but it took a full four or five hours to complete on set.

It wasn't until late at night that Wei Jin finished filming this scene and announced that it was a wrap.

When the actors took off their helmets and spacesuits, they were already drenched in sweat.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work. We've conquered the most difficult scene; it will be much easier from here on out."

The on-site staff handed water to them, and Wei Jin also came over to cheer everyone on.

"Director Wei, it's a good thing we trained for so long, otherwise today's scene would have been really tough."

Zhang Ziyi was somewhat soaked, her graceful figure quite eye-catching, but she didn't care at all at this moment.

"Now you know the benefits of training in advance. Sci-fi films aren't difficult to shoot; the main thing is that it's very hard for actors to perform this state. Without training, you wouldn't know how your movements, expressions, or even reactions should be given in that environment to be correct."

Wei Jin's words won the unanimous agreement of the main creators; this was professional experience, and it's hard for outsiders to grasp it accurately just by imagining. — Just as *The Martian* was being filmed in an orderly manner, voices emerged from nowhere, and public opinion began to disparage the film project.

Many industry insiders also began to criticize Wei Jin for being sensationalist and arrogant, saying that the investment of several hundred million was likely to go down the drain.

Especially questioning the rationality, as if this kind of film could only be shot by Hollywood and the domestic industry couldn't produce a good space blockbuster.

To this end, Aerospace Science and Industry specifically issued a statement in support of Wei Jin:

"The first artificial satellite, the first rocket, the first manned spaceflight—when have we not achieved success under the circumstances where everyone was predicting failure? Director Wei Jin's script is very solid and fully supported by scientific theory, including all the design blueprints, which have the participation of Aerospace Science and Industry. One day, everything written in the script will be realized."

His mentor Tian Zhuangzhuang, far away in Beijing, also called to comfort him: "There hasn't been such a hardcore sci-fi film in the country yet. Don't let us down. A bunch of petty people, don't pay them any mind."

"Teacher, don't worry. I'm not so easily influenced. The more fiercely they jump, the more it proves how timid and afraid they are."

How could Wei Jin not know where these voices were coming from? Some time ago, Lu Laotou attempted to use school connections to make him let Lu Chuan off the hook, but Wei Jin refused without hesitation.

However, this fellow Lu Chuan was quite capable of making trouble; it was said he had found a new investor, but it didn't matter. Wei Jin was already prepared to intercept him, and it wasn't even certain if the theater chains would let him release it. — As the days of filming passed, time reached the beginning of June, and the smoke of the May Day holiday box office had also faded.

In the first week after the May Day holiday ended, *New World* grossed 58 million, the second week 33 million, and the third week only 11 million. It was screened for 34 days in total, with a domestic box office of 248 million, 67.4 million in Hong Kong, and 240 million New Taiwan Dollars in Taiwan, equivalent to 54.6 million.

The box office in other regions was also considerable: 17 million USD in Japan, the highest in South Korea with 6.2 million admissions, equivalent to 31 million USD, and a cumulative 14 million USD in other Southeast Asian countries, for a total overseas box office of 62 million USD.

And the total cost of this film was no more than 40 million RMB; the producers simply made a killing.

Adding the 5 million USD remake rights from South Korea, conservatively estimated, this film would bring Wei Jin nearly 200 million in revenue. Emperor Motion Pictures took off directly, with at least 100 million in income from distribution fees alone.

However, this also made Wei Jin realize that in the future, the overseas box office for his films could not simply be divided according to the investment ratio, or he would lose out big time.

As for his opponent *Spider-Man 3*, thanks to the increase in the number of cinema screens in the country over the past two years, it eventually grossed 180 million, 55 million in Hong Kong, and only 48 million in Taiwan.

However, the film's global box office reached as high as 900 million USD; one has to admit that Hollywood blockbusters are indeed globally popular, and it's something one can't envy.

But looking only within Huaxia, whether it was the mainland, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, *New World* completely defeated *Spider-Man 3*.

The second update of the day, I implore all book friends to reward with a subscription, follow-up read, and collection. You need to flip to the last page for the follow-up read, thank you everyone! (End of chapter)