Chapter 126: Film Review Website

Jiang Heng has always been a big fan of the film Inception; in his leisure, sitting by the window of his large flat and looking over Jingcheng's night view, he can't help wondering whether he lives in the real world or merely a great dream, but unfortunately he has no "top" to distinguish reality from the dream.

But since we're here, we might as well settle in; now life is affluent and comfortable, so there's no need to agonize over it so much.

Leaning on the railing, listening to music.

Only regret that everything is so tangled; lately I've truly been too busy.

After finishing the two The Matrix movies, I must rest for at least half a year; maybe after the summer of '03 we'll shoot Inception again!

As for the cast, the male lead will be Wu Yanzu, and the rest will try to use the original version.

Moreover, Jiang Heng is preparing to go to Haolaiwu to establish a production company to produce that film, aiming for an Oscar, so he won't keep getting panned by critics for only making popcorn blockbusters.

Among the five works he has directed and released publicly, The Matrix, Lion Camel Ridge, and Pacific Rim enjoy very high reputation; Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years is at the bottom, while Rescue Mother from the Mountain sits in the middle.

Some critics posted that Jiang Heng is already showing symptoms of a condition called "big director disease", whose main manifestation is refusing to tell a proper story and insisting on inserting incomprehensible elements.

For example, the background of Rescue Mother from the Mountain is overly grand, cramming concepts like "Lich King War", "Heavenly Emperor's Death", "Ancestor Shaman Severely Injured", "Haotian Ascends to the Heavenly Court", "Suppression of the Celestial Stars" all into the film, leaving viewers baffled.

Especially the ending scene with Emperor Chen's maneuver, which clearly alludes to collusion with Western religion guides, yet without any narrative buildup, making it extremely abrupt.

Unless one is very familiar with Investiture of the Gods, it's quite hard to understand.

In the end, the dragon‑slayer boy becomes an evil dragon, and the great director Jiang Heng also stops telling proper stories, mixing in personal agendas and no longer considering the audience.

It's estimated that the next step will be preparing to win an international award.

After all, having made so many special‑effects blockbusters, he's earned enough money; anyone would want award recognition.

This review was published in a small newspaper; because it was a rare critical voice and came out while Rescue Mother from the Mountain was a summer hit, it sold out instantly.

Other critics and the newspaper, seeing the market potential, swarmed in, beginning to criticize Rescue Mother from the Mountain from every angle.

Jiang Heng's status and fame are such that not just anyone dares to name‑call him directly.

Many critics thus pointed the finger at Tang Yan's portrayal of the Third Holy Mother Yang Chan, saying her screen time was optional and she was merely a decorative vase.

In terms of acting, she was even worse than the three‑year‑old girl who played young Yang Chan.

After the criticism of Tang Yan piled up, the newspaper stopped taking it.

A young critic named Ma Ziru, after watching Rescue Mother from the Mountain three times, finally found a point to criticize: the color of the Howling Celestial Dog.

In the film, the Howling Celestial Dog is a white slender dog, whereas in the animated version Lotus Lantern, the dog is black.

From this point he cited classics to prove that the Howling Celestial Dog should be a black Chinese countryside dog.

When the manuscript was finished, Ma Ziru, excited, rushed to the newspaper and handed the article to an editor he had previously worked with.

The editor, after scanning it once, shook his head regretfully, "You're late; we already received three such pieces this morning, and the lady you went to before wrote the same thing!"

Ma Ziru was speechless in surprise—so even this niche market has competitors?

This world is just too cutthroat!

Having no choice, he took back the manuscript, sent it randomly to a few newspapers he hadn't collaborated with, and left publication to fate.

Yet it was said that this wave of negative reviews exploded, having almost no impact on the box office of Rescue Mother from the Mountain.

One reason is Jiang Heng's consistently good reputation in the Neidi film market, causing audiences to instinctively think the small‑paper media are maliciously slandering.

Moreover, even if the plot is weak, aren't there the special effects? There are as many as 89 stars; just seeing the star count in theaters is worth the ticket price!

Especially for those fanatic young fans, even if the idol only stands still for an hour, there are people willing to pay.

Not to mention it stars Jiang Heng; that alone makes people want to support it.

Also, despite the many negative comments in those small papers, the reviews on CCTV's movie channel and major domestic newspapers and magazines are almost all positive.

On the internet, however, negative reviews are increasingly showing up.

"Director Jiang, the mainstream media have all been contacted, no problems. I've also spoken with the bosses of Mop and Tianya, they said everything's fine, no action yet!"

At noon, Yu Dong came over to check the set and also mentioned the reputation of Rescue Mother from the Mountain.

The film is co‑distributed by China Film and Bona; Yu Dong has good relations with major media and is sensitive to public opinion, so Jiang Heng asked him to pay more attention to the film's buzz.

"What do you think?" Jiang Heng asked back.

Yu Dong replied, "I'm thinking the old way—just throw some money at it!"

Jiang Heng smiled faintly and shook his head in silence.

Yu Dong was a bit puzzled; with traditional media you also have to keep good relations with various departments, give reporters "travel expenses", but for the internet, if you don't spend money, how do you handle it?

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Heng said, "The internet is different from traditional media. Traditional media are heavily regulated; a piece is reviewed layer by layer before release, so their articles are cautious, especially critical ones. For example, if a Jingcheng newspaper criticizes me, I'll consider which editor, the chief editor, the editor‑in‑chief, or the newspaper's top leader might be hostile toward me."

"The internet is the opposite; maybe someone just didn't like the movie, went home, wrote a long post, and casually uploaded it to a forum!"

"If we spend money, we'll only invite a flood of people to use bad reviews as leverage!"

Yu Dong nodded, "Then what to do? We can't just ignore it."

Jiang Heng laughed, "Actually it's easy; we'll set up a professional review website, so when netizens read reviews they'll come to our site and public opinion will be controlled. As for other forums, we can hire part‑timers online, create an internet water army; it won't cost much and will be far more effective!"

Yu Dong, hearing this, brightened, admiringly said, "Director Jiang, your method is truly brilliant; I'll have people start on the website right away!"

Jiang Heng said, "Do this quietly, without making a fuss, and don't let anyone know it's our company behind the review site."

"Got it, I'll first set up a subsidiary, then use the subsidiary to run the site—what about the site's name?"

"Just call it Douban."

(End of chapter)