Chapter 121

Speaking of Chinese mythological stories, the one most suitable for making a romance-effects blockbuster is naturally none other than *Legend of the White Snake*.

Moreover, there is *White Snake: Origins*, whose plot adaptation was quite successful.

If paired with super-strong effects to make a live-action version, it would definitely shatter the rumor that Jiang Heng won't film romance scenes.

But right now he isn't in that mood and doesn't want to rush out *White Snake: Origins* yet.

Naturally, he could only thank Stephen Chow for his goodwill.

He casually asked a few questions about the post-production of *Kung Fu*, and Stephen Chow humbly replied, 'They're just small scenes, nothing compared to your film!'

Jiang Heng laughed and said, 'Yours is martial arts, mine is mythology—different genres, can't be compared like that!'

Then they talked about the film's release schedule, and Jiang Heng also felt a bit troubled.

Most of the production funds for *Kung Fu* came from Jiang Heng, so the distribution rights naturally lay in his hands.

The problem is that this year's Lunar New Year slot is already booked for *The Matrix 2*, leaving only the immature Spring Festival or National Day slots to choose from.

Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping, wanting to avoid the edge of *The Matrix 2*, have decided to push *Hero*'s release to the Spring Festival slot.

Stephen Chow thought seriously, then smiled and said, 'Never mind—you're too handsome, you'll steal my thunder!'

Jiang Heng thought to himself, who said you can't use the chance to promote just because you're not acting in it?

'The National Day slot—timing-wise, we can still make it!'

Seeing this, Jiang Heng was delighted: 'By then the *Matrix* series will be finished, and I'll have time to attend promotional events!'

'Hiss!'

Jiang Wen spoke bluntly: 'To be honest, I still feel *Lion Camel Mountain* is the best; your film has too much inserted personal agenda.'

After arriving at the hotel, the star guests clinked glasses and drank heartily.

Jiang Heng nodded with a smile: 'Not bad. In my conception, I want to create a series of films that string together the heroic figures from Chinese classical mythological stories. The first common background for these mythic characters is the Investiture of the Gods world; the broader one I call the Primordial Universe.'

As for *Kung Fu*, there really aren't many good time slots; if post-production goes quickly, we could try the National Day slot.

All the filmmakers present sucked in a breath of cold air upon hearing that.

Among the top fifteen box-office hits in Xianggang in 1992, he accounted for seven, and the first five were his films—not all of them were released during the Lunar New Year or summer seasons.

Stephen Chow said, 'You're the producer and executive producer, so you definitely have to attend—it's just a shame we didn't give you a cameo, otherwise we could have used it for promotion.'

Actually, he felt that every supporting role had its own distinct traits, and it wouldn't be good to replace anyone with Jiang Heng—after all, it wouldn't be right to have him cameo as that 'scholarly loser' four-eyes.

Jiang Heng chuckled and dropped the subject.

Stephen Chow had no objection, after all, in his view the schedule is important but the key is the work's quality.

Jiang Heng nearly spat out his drink, thinking, 'And you still have the nerve to say I'm inserting personal agendas?'

Jiang Wen, knowing the people beside him were looking at him, felt no embarrassment and chuckled: 'You just said the first layer of background is the Investiture of the Gods, which everyone knows. This second layer, the Primordial Universe, sounds quite grand!'

Even a cameo by Shen Teng as a 'paper person' could be taken by the production for massive publicity, claiming Shen Teng appeared in it!

'If it really won't work, we can just shoot an extra one!'

The Primordial Universe just sounds immensely grand.

Just how much money would it cost to produce this series of mythological effects films, and how much could it earn!

An investor like Zhang Weiping's first reaction is whether he can get a slice of the pie and independently run one.

But as soon as that thought arose, he dismissed it himself.

As the saying goes, watching others carry the load doesn't seem tiring; before filming *Hero*, he thought making a blockbuster was no big deal—just spending more money.

Only when actually getting into the work did he realize there were too many problems, the difficulty was too great, and he truly didn't know how Jiang Heng, at such a young age, could manage so much.

What really hit him hard was that filming *Hero* was already difficult enough, yet from an investment and box‑office perspective, it seemed unable to compete with Jiang Heng's blockbusters.

It's a pity that Jiang Heng currently only accepts investment from China Film domestically; otherwise, putting in some money to join would be great.

Zhang Weiping is thinking about how to make money, while the other stars see countless acting opportunities—so much that their eyes practically glow.

Nowadays the Xianggang film scene has declined, and Jiang Heng's films are counted as mainland productions; they are essentially the top‑tier film resources of the Chinese‑language world right now.

At this moment everyone suddenly learned that Jiang Heng's films are not just a single film, or even a simple series.

It's very likely that multiple film series together form a so‑called 'film universe'—which would be huge.

The reasoning is simple: take the obvious *Investiture of the Gods* universe, for example—Yang Jian's first film could be *Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother*, and the second could be *Capturing the Seven Monsters of Mei Mountain*!

And another popular protagonist, Nezha—naturally his first film would be *Nezha Conquers the Sea*, and the second could be a great battle against Li Jing, Jinzha, and Muzha!

Plus Leizhenzi, Tuxingsun, Huang Tianhua, and Deng Chanyu—if each got one or two personal films, Jiang Heng's audiovisual resources would be incredibly rich.

For a time, everyone flattered and praised each other.

Jiang Heng looked around and saw nothing but beaming faces.

It seemed to confirm what Huang Bo said: once you become famous, you'll find everyone around you is nice.

They drank until past midnight; those who lived far away ended up staying overnight at the hotel.

Jiang Heng, finding it troublesome to go home, also slept at the hotel.

He didn't get up until after ten the next morning, then called the front desk to have a stack of newspapers delivered.

He flipped them open and saw that the reviews for *Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother* were almost all glowing praise.

The criticisms were limited to the setting being overly grandiose, with some parts hard to understand.

He also called Han Sanping, who assured Jiang Heng that he could relax—currently the TV, radio, and newspaper publicity for *Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother* is all positive, and told him to focus on filming the *Matrix* sequel.

He communicated with Yu Dong, who replied that they had already sent dedicated staff to post promotional messages on major websites.

At this time domestic netizens were still few; although it wouldn't immediately produce a 'water army', it also wasn't something to ignore.

Upon learning that the promotion and distribution situation was normal, Jiang Heng finally felt at ease returning to shoot the *Matrix* sequel.

However, the distributors China Film and Bona held multiple preview screenings in the nation's major box‑office stronghold cities, each drawing crowds like a tide.

Although word had spread that the film lacked romantic elements, disappointing many fans, it still had to be seen.

After all, at present the domestic film market has few excellent commercial films besides Jiang Heng's effects blockbusters.

As a result, many young men and women treat the release of Jiang Heng's new film as a holiday; whenever the film is released, that day's food and hotel orders surge.

This time, coinciding with summer vacation for students, the day before the release of 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother,' tickets for the opening day at many popular cinemas sold out, and nearby budget hotels were also fully booked.

(End of chapter)