Chapter 125

When Zhang Jizhong bought the rights to "Demi‑Gods and Semi‑Devils", he naturally mentioned that if the film's ratings were good, they also planned to adapt "The Return of the Condor Heroes", "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", and "The Deer and the Cauldron", and that the Neidi rights must be sold to me!

Seeing Jin Yong with a half‑smile and saying nothing, he knew things had gone bad.

He hurried to ask what was happening; Jin Yong said a person he couldn't refuse had called and bought the Neidi rights to those works.

Zhang Jizhong was a bit stunned: what other guy would dare contest his Neidi rights to Jin Yong's novels?

When Jin Yong mentioned "Jiang Heng", Zhang Jizhong fell silent.

After a while, in a fit of irritation, he blurted, "He—he's a big‑time director in the film industry, why would he come to shoot a TV drama!"

Jin Yong laughed, "He definitely wouldn't direct it, but he has a film‑TV company, actors to promote, and his subordinates are looking for work, right?"

Hearing that, Zhang Jizhong thought it made sense.

He asked Jin Yong, "Is there no room for maneuver left?"

Jin Yong smiled, "Do you think I could refuse him?"

How could that be? Of course not!

At this moment, Jiang Heng was no longer the lone, inexperienced youngster from years ago; in Neidi, Xianggang, and the Treasure Island, countless film artists were eager to appear in Jiang Heng's new movies, and the momentum was undeniable—far beyond what Zhang Dahu could match.

So if Jin Yong wrote something other than a xianxia tale, it could very well be turned by Jiang Heng into a special‑effects blockbuster on the big screen!

To be honest, Jin Yong had even considered writing a xianxia script for Jiang Heng.

Yet there was no loss of face; he had entered the film‑TV world back in 1953, and when he wrote his first script he met his dream lover Xia Meng, eventually writing seven scripts before leaving the industry.

He had simply put down his pen for many years, losing the youthful agility of thought, and after some contemplation decided to give up.

Yet he said that Zhang Dahu was sulking and leaving Hong Kong, while Jiang Heng was in high spirits.

After agreeing with Jin Yong, he ordered Li Xiaoping to take a team to Xianggang to pay Jin Yong in person and sign the contract.

He also instructed her to make a trip to Treasure Island to purchase the film‑TV rights to "The Legend of Sword and Fairy".

Once the three rights were secured, the company's TV‑drama production plan could commence.

As for the producer, he'd just be a name on paper; the actual work was handled by producer Li Xiaoping, and finding directors was easy—whether in Neidi or Xianggang, there were plenty of excellent directors without projects.

For example, Wang Jing—though he made a parody of his own "Pacific Rim" called "Around the Atlantic", the poor box office caused losses, but Jiang Heng didn't mind at all.

After all, the guy really knows how to make movies; "World's No. 1" was indeed good.

The only worry is that he might over‑modify; he definitely wouldn't be allowed to direct "The Return of the Condor" or "The Eagle Shooting", but he could be given a go‑at directing "The Deer and the Cauldron".

At the China Film Digital Base, Jiang Heng sat in a so‑called temporary office to rest; in reality it was permanent.

In the original history, China Film hadn't built a digital shooting base this early.

It was Jiang Heng's emergence and the need for special‑effects movies that prompted China Film to invest in building digital soundstages, gradually expanding into this base.

Jiang Heng knew China Film was short on funds, yet he poured a large sum of money in and took a substantial share.

It was under the guise of this base that China Film operated, but it was almost the same as Jiang Heng's own company.

The office wasn't small and was luxuriously decorated; Jiang Heng sat there with the air‑conditioning on, sipping tea, feeling very content.

"Director Jiang, the box‑office information that China Film sent over!"

An assistant delivered several documents, mainly the compiled box‑office figures.

Jiang Heng took them, flipped through, and saw a first‑day box office of 40.5 million, which delighted him greatly.

He hadn't expected to break 40 million in a single day so quickly.

For other domestic films, 40 million is a blockbuster, but for Jiang Heng's work it's just a day's result.

Of course, the two sides' investments are on different scales.

For an ordinary domestic film, a 20–30 million investment is already sizable.

Jiang Heng's "Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother" had a total investment of 50 million USD, over 400 million RMB.

With an investment gap of more than tenfold, such results are only natural.

The report detailed box‑office output in major ticket‑hub cities and the performance of each cinema.

The top performers were naturally the IMAX theaters built by China Film's Crimson division; higher ticket prices, more halls, and better décor gave those venues a far‑leading box office, far surpassing non‑IMAX cinemas.

The report noted that the domestic market now has many high‑income viewers who demand better theatre décor and screen‑sound quality, can afford higher ticket prices, and thus recommended continuously adding more IMAX screens.

Jiang Heng read it and couldn't help falling into thought.

Han Sanping had previously suggested speeding up IMAX hall construction, but Jiang Heng voiced opposition.

At present, the domestic market still has few blockbusters, aside from Jiang Heng's works.

Currently only "Hero", slated for the 2003 Spring Festival, and "Wu Ji" for the 2003 summer have been announced.

And when there are no blockbusters, IMAX halls attract almost no audience.

After all, ordinary movies shown in IMAX don't gain much, yet tickets are much pricier, and audiences do the math.

Looking further ahead, overseas feedback was generally positive in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia; in Beimei and Western Europe the opening performances were also good, though the box office was slightly lower than that of "Lion Camel Ridge".

The analysis from China Film staff was that Haolaiwu released too many films in the same window; although each wasn't particularly strong, they still siphoned off many viewers.

Jiang Heng didn't know what to say about that.

Some people's fame is mystical; movie box‑office success or failure is also a kind of mysticism.

A high‑quality film can disappear yet still sell big, and a bad film blowing up isn't surprising.

"Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother" may not be spectacular, but it's a decent popcorn movie; recouping costs and making a profit is no problem.

After reviewing the report, he signed a few more documents before heading back to the set to continue filming.

"Morning, Director Jiang!"

"Morning, Yan Zu, coming over so early!"

"Hmm, Director Jiang, after this shoot, is there a sequel?"

Wu Yan Zu was one of the few in the entire crew who had seen the complete script; after learning about "The Matrix 3", the whole series' story was concluded.

To be honest, he was extremely reluctant to let it go.

Five years ago, he was still just a poor kid who had just graduated and gone traveling, spending all his expenses; originally he only wanted to be a model to earn some money.

Who would have thought that taking his first film would make him an international superstar.

Now that the trilogy is finished, he really feels reluctant to let go.

More than that, he is actually feeling lost.

Although he is called an international superstar, the box-office hits are all films directed by Jiang Heng.

Appearing in other companies' low-budget films also doesn't sell many tickets.

After finishing this "The Matrix", he also doesn't know his future direction.

Who would have expected Jiang Heng to say: "Well, this trilogy is over, the story is also over, there won't be a fourth part!"

"Oh, that's still quite a pity!" Wu Yan Zu sighed.

Jiang Heng laughed, "Don't worry, there's you filming it!"

Although he didn't reveal what specific film, he had already planned to have him film "Inception".

(End of chapter)