Chapter 241: with translation of chapter title

Jing Tian covered her head with both hands, pitifully saying, "It hurts!"

Jiang Heng laughed at being teased, "You, hurry up and get into film school, learn some acting, can't expect me to keep giving you acting lessons!"

Jing Tian - Jing Tian

Jing Tian's eyes lit up as she spoke, looking full of admiration.

Jiang Heng could no longer act as the strict teacher, "You just need to know this yourself, no need to tell anyone!"

Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company - Outstanding Rising Film Company

Da Tian Tian nodded eagerly, then said, "Don't worry, I'll get into Beijing Film Academy this year and will definitely study hard!"

Sydney - Sydney

Flower-Fruit Mountain - Flower-Fruit Mountain

Water Curtain Cave - Water Curtain Cave

Great Sage Equal to Heaven - Great Sage Equal to Heaven

Sun Wukong - Sun Wukong

Great Uproar in Heaven - Great Uproar in Heaven

"Then let's play the little monkey beside the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong at the Water Curtain Cave of Flower Fruit Mountain!"

Jing Tian blinked in surprise, then delighted, "Are we filming Havoc in Heaven? I want to play Chang'e!"

"Sure, add a scene of Marshal Tian Peng teasing Chang'e!"

Yang Jian - Yang Jian

Jiang Heng shook his head, laughing, "I'm definitely playing Erlang Shen Yang Jian!"

Spirit Mountain - Spirit Mountain

Jiang Heng laughed, "Never mind, I'm afraid you'll make me play Chang'e teasing Erlang Shen!"

Spiritual Terrace Mountain - Spiritual Terrace Mountain

Jiang Heng hastily waved his hands, "Stop, stop, if you keep going, a perfectly good mythological epic will be labeled a romance film!"

Pacific Rim 2 - Pacific Rim 2

Jiang Heng thought, "Going by your logic, I have to film *The Great Mischievous Monkey*."

Whether that story will be accepted by audiences is another matter, but he had already ordered preparations for *Havoc in Heaven*!

The reason for filming this is, first, the audience's call; over the years, many people have left messages on the website of Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company, hoping to see *Havoc in Heaven* on the big screen.

Second, considering that the *Havoc in Heaven* produced by Starhao Film Company is too garish, they decided not to leave this subject to them to ruin.

Thus, during his vacation in Sydney, Jiang Heng wasn't just eating, drinking, and playing around; he was writing scripts and making phone calls.

First, lock in the schedules of the pre-selected actors; second, have people prepare all kinds of props and costumes.

To make this film well and expand its cultural influence, Jiang Heng decided to raise the nominal investment this time to three hundred million US dollars.

Yes, three hundred million dollars!

For the Chinese film market in 2006, spending three hundred million dollars on a single film is undoubtedly a fantasy.

But to say this happened to Jiang Heng still has a sliver of credibility, yet it remains shocking.

The difference is indeed too great; even Pacific Rim 2 only used 120 million.

Spending three hundred million dollars to film The Monkey King's Havoc requires over a billion dollars in box office to break even.

If, when released in the Beimei market, it gets sniped by big films from companies like Huasu, that would be too dangerous.

Thus, upon hearing Jiang Heng's idea, Han Sanping's first reaction was to advise against taking such a big step.

But Jiang Heng's mind was made up; Han Sanping could do nothing, so participation in this investment was temporarily shelved.

Jiang Heng didn't care, because the so-called three hundred million dollars was merely a nominal investment, giving him reason to make the film's effects even more shocking; otherwise, what could he use to compete with Avatar?

Note that Avatar's total investment was 237 million US dollars; it started filming in 2005 and took over two years to finish shooting in 2007.

After that came a lengthy post-production, and it only began global release in December 2009.

If Jiang Heng wants to steal Avatar's thunder, he should start shooting now.

The reason he chose The Monkey King's Havoc over The Legend of Qin as his first 3D work is that the former contains many scenes such as Flower-Fruit Mountain, the Slanted Reed Temple, Ling Mountain, and the Heavenly Court; if crafted with care using special effects and 3D technology, its impact might not be weaker than Pandora in Avatar.

Although Lion Camel Ridge and Flat Top Mountain are also based on Journey to the West, since their stories mainly take place in desolate mountains, Jiang Heng put relatively less effort into their scenery.

More thought and effects went into character designs and fight scenes.

But this time, he wants to painstakingly create a "Journey to the West world".

The release window is no longer just one year as before; instead, he plans to release it between the summer of 2008 and the summer of 2009, with the exact schedule depending on real circumstances.

After all, some news can't be kept hidden; Jiang Heng's plan to film a 3D version of The Monkey King's Havoc is clearly meant to compete with Avatar, and whether Avatar will move up its release date is uncertain.

However, given that both are using 3D as a selling point, whoever releases first gains the advantage.

Jing Tian was unaware of Jiang Heng's grand plan and still thought it was like the previous films with an investment of around a hundred million dollars.

She smiled sweetly and said, "Brother, do you still need investment?"

"The money invested in Godslayer hasn't been recouped yet; do we still have funds to invest?"

"Of course, we still have twenty to thirty million dollars!"

Jiang Heng said, "Forget it; this time the risk is quite high, otherwise people might later accuse me of swindling your money."

Jing Tian looked puzzled and said, "Risk? How could making a film involve risk, brother? How much are you investing?"

"Not much, just three hundred million dollars!"

"Three... hundred million dollars?"

By the end of her sentence, Jing Tian's tone had changed.

"How could it need that much? Brother, why are you taking such a risk?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Because I dislike that 'big ship'! I want to seize its throne as the global box office champion."

"A big ship? You said the 'Titanic', 1.8 billion USD?"

Jiang Heng heard this and was somewhat surprised; he really didn't expect she could remember this figure.

"Hmm!"

"Hmm, then I should support my older brother even more—money should be invested, and I won't take the role!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Why not take the role?"

Jing Tian twirled her two index fingers around each other, embarrassed, and said, "I'm afraid I'd hold you back!"

Jiang Heng laughed heartily, "Not at all—playing a Seven Fairy or something like that, I'm still capable."

Jing Tian heard this and laughed loudly, "Okay, then you must definitely film me to look more beautiful!"

"No need to specially film it; you're already beautiful!"

Jing Tian heard this, her eyes grew brighter, and a smile played at the corners of her mouth.

"Older brother, that's great—I'll go help you raise investment!"

The little girl said that and was about to take her coat and go out.

Jiang Heng hurriedly grabbed her arm, "Really unnecessary—you wouldn't think I, after filming for so many years, can't even come up with this bit of money, would you?"

"Uh, I should be able to come up with it!"

Jing Tian gave a sweet smile, scratched her head, and said, "Then what else can I help with?"

"Not causing trouble is already helping!"

"What?"

Jiang Heng said with a laugh, "Just joking—you just need to perform well when the time comes!"

"Oh, okay!"

Da Tian Tian pursed her lips slightly, let out a sudden sigh, and said, "If I could act, that would be great—I could play the female lead for you without pay!"

Jiang Heng tapped her forehead with his finger and said with a smile, "Alright, stop thinking about nonsense—go to film academy this year and study hard, then drop by sometime to cameo as a Seven Fairy, got it?"

"Oh, got it—no more hitting my head from now on!"

(End of chapter)