Chapter 164: Preparing to Film Great Feng Night Watchman

At night, in Canada.

Jiang Heng, having finished a day's filming, was lying in the hotel bathtub taking a bath when he suddenly heard his phone ring beside him.

Jiang Heng picked it up and saw, as expected, it was Han Sanping.

"Hey, old brother, why do you have so much free time to call me from across the ocean?"

Han Sanping sighed heavily on the other end, "Brother, I'm really in trouble!"

He then talked about the various performances of the movie The Ultimate after its release, including its reputation and box office.

Not mentioning the film's public controversy, just speaking of the box office, as Jiang Heng had expected, it was only 1.39 billion, and the global box office was only 28 million US dollars.

Such a result truly caused the production company China Film Group to suffer heavy losses.

As the chairman and general manager of China Film Group, and the producer of the film, Han Sanping bears great responsibility this time, cannot shirk blame, and faces enormous pressure.

Young actors who are handsome and skilled at fighting like the young Shi Xiaolong are really rare.

Han Sanping nodded, recalling the many works Jiang Heng has filmed since his debut, covering genres such as sci-fi, monsters, mythology, and mecha.

"What do you think, can Journey to the West be filmed?"

He first mentioned Pacific Rim 2, but Jiang Heng rejected it on the grounds of having no idea.

"No problem, after finishing Inception, we can start a new film and aim for release in the 2004 New Year season."

"That's all, old brother, take note—you'll see how I repay you in the future!"

Han Sanping originally only wondered whether Jiang Heng could agree, never expecting it to go so smoothly; he hadn't even decided what to film.

Jiang Heng said, "Filming is definitely possible; the trouble is deciding which part to film and how to adapt it. We can set this as a backup option!"

After a few pleasantries, the two discussed the topic of the new film.

Besides Journey to the West, the biggest IP is Investiture of the Gods.

"How about Havoc in Heaven?"

Mecha was rejected, monsters lack prestige, sci-fi is currently being filmed, so the only suitable option left is mythology.

Han Sanping thought about it and agreed.

Jiang Heng quickly said, "Ah, you're being formal—don't mention those, don't mention those!"

Ne Zha could perhaps be filmed, but finding a suitable child actor is relatively difficult.

He therefore wanted to collaborate with Jiang Heng on another film to earn some revenue and reverse the decline.

Jiang Heng hesitated, "Which part do you think is better?"

Han Sanping said, "How about Journey to the West? How would filming Journey to the West be?"

Jiang Heng instinctively shook his head, "This part is too classic; filming it directly would lack originality, and any changes would easily draw criticism from viewers—it's extremely difficult!"

Earlier, Chen Kaige also clamored to film Journey to the West, even buying the rights to The Monkey King; why not use the free rights to Journey to the West? Because he felt the adaptation would be difficult!

Upon hearing this, Han Sanping was moved beyond words—at the crucial moment, it's still this little brother!

Han Sanping's thoughts wandered, and suddenly he recalled Jiang Heng's novel Accursed Immortal.

He exclaimed delightedly, "Right, we can film Accursed Immortal!"

Jiang Heng was stunned upon hearing this; he really hadn't thought of that.

Mainly because the film adaptation of Accursed Immortal in his previous life was really not good.

When Douban first opened its rating, it was 6.7, but later it actually dropped to 4.5.

When he originally created this book, he naturally intended to adapt it for film or TV, but the adaptation difficulty is somewhat great, and he hasn't yet figured out how to do it.

Upon hearing Han Sanping mention it, Jiang Heng only said, "Also list it as a backup; let's see how the script adaptation goes."

Han Sanping said, "You're so busy over there; why don't I first gather some scripts for you to choose from?"

Jiang Heng said, "Sure, just mythology and xianxia themes; if you think something is suitable, bring it to me!"

To be honest, he also has a headache now—Three Body hasn't been published yet, Qidian is just starting out, and many future hit xianxia and fantasy works haven't even been born.

He actually wants to film The Mortal's Cultivation, Shrouding the Heavens, Buddhism Is the Dao, Great Feng Night Watchman, and so on, but the problem is they don't exist yet!

Especially the book Great Feng, which was only born in 2020, would require waiting sixteen years!

Thinking of this, Jiang Heng truly wanted to get this book out there—not as the original novel, but directly launch a xianxia drama, season after season.

Relying on the novel's tightly interlocking, progressively deepening plot, its vivid cast of characters, and well‑balanced fight effects, Jiang Heng believes that once released, it will surely become a hit.

No more waiting—let's film Great Feng Night Watchman!

Recalling the joy of chasing the book when it first came out, his heart actually felt some excitement.

"Brother, brother, can you hear me?"

On the other end of the phone, Han Sanping saw Jiang Heng suddenly fall silent and thought it was due to the overseas distance and a bad signal.

"Oh, oh, I can hear you, I can hear you!"

Han Sanping laughed, "Brother, you're not day‑dreaming about your girlfriend, are you?"

"No, I've come up with a good idea suitable for a xianxia drama!"

"A xianxia drama?"

Han Sanping muttered something; he naturally has no interest in TV dramas, and he instinctively asked, "Do you need my help, elder brother?"

Jiang Heng originally wanted to refuse, but quickly said, "Actually I'm a bit busy; the drama I want to film is a bit large in scale!"

"How large?"

"Do you know Searching for the Qin?"

"You mean the Gu Tianle version?"

"The novel!"

Han Sanping fell silent, then after a while said, "You usually film movies that are plain and simple, with few love scenes; making a TV drama of this scale wouldn't be all right, would it?"

Jiang Heng also felt the scale was a bit large, smiling as he said: "Um, just treat the male lead as a Wei Xiaobao with martial arts talent, flowery talk, more wives, that's about this scale!"

Han Sanping gave a wry smile, "Just this scale? If it weren't for the influence of Mr. Jin Yong's original work, this scale wouldn't do at all!"

He sighed and then said, "However, given your status and influence, the scale issue of The Deer and the Cauldron is not a big problem."

"Then thanks, bro, I'll treat you to a drink when I return home!"

"It's a deal!"

After hanging up, Han Sanping was stunned, then immediately frowned, "Ah, that's not right—I called him to ask for his help, so how did it become me helping him?"

Fortunately, after a moment's thought, recalling that Jiang Heng had agreed to film together on his next project, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately summoned the vice general manager, instructing him to spread the word within the industry that Director Jiang Heng plans to film Journey to the West, Investiture of the Gods, and Chinese mythological stories; anyone with a suitable script can submit it to China Film Company, and if selected, they will receive a substantial bonus and the opportunity to collaborate with Jiang Heng.

Once the news was released, it instantly caught the attention of a group of screenwriters, who went back to study Journey to the West, Investiture of the Gods, and traditional stories, and began frantically writing scripts.

On Jiang Heng's side, it was also a case of saying it and doing it.

First, he searched the novel text stored in the Super Microcomputer for Great Feng Night Watchman, then based on its content he wrote the script episode by episode, only sleeping after two in the morning.

Afterward, for a period of time, Jiang Heng filmed Inception during the day and worked on the Great Feng Night Watchman script at night; when the film wrapped, the script for the first season of Great Feng Night Watchman was also completed.

Investment, special effects, costumes, makeup, and props—those are easy to discuss; the only difficulty is finding who to play the characters in the drama.

(End of chapter)