Chapter 204

After the Spring Festival, good news came one after another.

First, Inception won nine nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Visual Effects; because the director is Chinese, it caused a huge sensation in North America, Europe, and domestically.

Actually, Jiang Heng is not the first Chinese director to receive so many Oscar nominations; the first was Li An, who directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

But because he started out making low-cost artistic films, his fame among ordinary audiences wasn't that high.

Jiang Heng, however, has been different: since 1997 he has turned out one effects-heavy blockbuster after another, sometimes even two a year, yet he has never won major award recognition.

Now, receiving nine Oscar nominations all at once, the contrast is huge—it really draws attention.

Consequently, entertainment media in North America and Europe began discussing whether Jiang Heng could win an award, whether he could take home the big prize.

As for the mainland, it went straight onto CCTV news, instantly becoming known nationwide.

Seeing this, directors such as Zhang Yimou, Thus output: Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang felt sour and envious.

Zhang Weiping nearby also felt an itchy jealousy, muttering: "This kid, he really is damn lucky, actually made it just like that—he must have spent a lot of money!"

Thus output: Chen Kaige couldn't take it anymore, sat down and watched it once through.

In Jingcheng, inside a luxurious mansion.

If Zhang Yimou hearing that Inception got nine Oscar nominations was merely a simple "breach of defense," then Thus output: Chen Kaige could only describe his reaction as a "collapse."

The crew of The City of Golden Armor, already somewhat quiet Zhang Yimou, became even more silent after hearing the news.

Jiang Heng merely used special effects as a selling point, focusing on telling a good story, yet he ended up with nine major award nominations.

Actually, by this time pirated DVDs of Inception were already being sold everywhere.

Zhang Yimou advised: "Hey, at this point we can only endure it; we'll talk about anything after finishing the shoot!"

Thus output: Chen Kaige sat on the sofa, gazing at the plasma TV playing Inception, his face showing disbelief.

Director Thus output: Chen Kaige originally looked down on buying pirated DVDs, but fortunately the "CCTV Six Princesses" responded promptly, replaying Inception repeatedly over the next few days.

Moreover, because of the "Oscar nomination" hype, many places sold out.

Zhang Weiping said: "Yeah, at least we need to placate that surnamed Zhou, finish filming this movie, damn, I've never seen him act so high and mighty. Jiang Heng can now stand shoulder to shoulder with Spielberg and Cameron, always polite. That kid, after failing to make it in Hollywood and coming back, is putting on airs of a Hollywood star—damn, that's ridiculous!"

As a result, the box office wasn't high, domestic reception was mediocre, and the Oscar push still failed.

He has been making several big films in recent years, which audiences criticized for poor storytelling; a major reason is that he tried to cater to Western tastes to chase the Oscars.

When he first heard this news, Old Zhang almost had his "Dao heart" collapse!

Zhang Weiping nodded, his eyes somewhat fierce: "After we finish filming, just wait and see how I deal with him!"

Zhang Yimou gave no comment on that, thought a moment, then sighed: "Let's just get this film done first!"

What feeling is that? It's basically like when you're at your lowest, someone you usually look down upon in your village or class becomes successful, and then you find out about it.

After the film ended, he turned to ask Chen Hong beside him: "Do you think this movie is good?"

Chen Hong quickly replied: "It's quite popular, just a commercial film with some suspense and effects, really lacking any artistic merit!"

"I was just saying—actually, sometimes Americans don't have very good taste!"

Chen Hong quickly agreed, then Thus output: Chen Kaige spoke passionately at length, but after finishing he felt even worse.

Because The Promise suffered both critical and box‑office collapse, the originally planned Monkey King Legend lost its investors.

What's more infuriating is that not only did big‑budget projects disappear, but even medium‑ and small‑investment films had no one coming to him to direct—how can one bear it!

Seeing him truly depressed, Chen Hong suggested: "Why don't we go to the United States for a while to relax? Maybe we'll find some opportunities there!"

Hearing that, Thus output: Chen Kaige felt moved; he had previously gone to the US for advanced study and served as a visiting professor at New York Film Academy, so going there wouldn't leave him idle.

After thinking, he said: "Okay, let's first go there for a while!"

Old Chen not mentioning flying to the US with his wife and children, he said that Jiang Heng, during this period, because Inception won nine Oscar nominations, has accepted many media interviews.

After a rare lull, the global box‑office results for Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks also came out.

635 million USD, far less than the 912 million USD of Inception, ranking fifth on the 2004 worldwide box‑office list.

Inception came in second, behind only Shrek 2's 928 million USD.

Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks' performance in North America and Europe was merely average, but in East Asia and Southeast Asia it broke previous box‑office records.

Especially the mainland market, it broke the 800‑million mark, ultimately settling at 8.13 billion RMB, directly contributing a box‑office gain of about 100 million USD.

And in Xianggang, despite a call by some film people to boycott it, Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks still took in 97 million HKD, second only to Titanic's 115 million HKD.

To add one more thing, Titanic really was that strong.

The box‑office records it set worldwide let later films chase after it for many years.

In 2008, when Cape No. 7 was released on the treasure island, it was already a blockbuster.

After 113 days of release, it grossed 530 million New Taiwan Dollars, yet only ranked second in the treasure island's box‑office history, still behind Titanic.

Meanwhile, Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks also performed well on the treasure island, taking in 460 million New Taiwan Dollars.

All we can say is that the Sun Wukong subject is the biggest IP for our people.

Even a previous incarnation's poorly made Havoc in Heaven could pull in a billion box office, let alone the well‑crafted Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks.

And in Japan, Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks also sparked a viewing craze, after all the people here are also very fond of the Journey to the West theme.

Those earlier eyesore Journey to the West TV dramas need not be mentioned; even the popularity of Dragon Ball shows their love for the Journey to the West theme.

Not only Journey to the West, but even the domestically panned flop Red Cliff, which didn't do well at home, still achieved decent results when released in Japan.

And in South Korea, Journey to the West: The Magic Mountain Monks also refreshed their box‑office records; this country seems to love Chinese culture even more.

Believe it or not, some scholars have brazenly claimed that Journey to the West was written by a Korean scholar who studied in the Ming dynasty.

Because it recounts Xuanzang's westward journey for scriptures, plus his own westward studies, that's how the book got its name Journey to the West.

Originally it was a wildly absurd rumor full of holes, yet it spread in a plausible form and was accepted by many Koreans.

Even more outrageous, some Korean netizens online shouted at Jiang Heng, asking him to settle the copyright fees for the two films Lion's Camel Ridge and The Magic Mountain Monks.

(End of chapter)