Chapter 246: Filming Begins

When it comes to the film The Immortal Execution, no company in the industry dares to underestimate it.

In terms of investment, it also reaches a budget of over a hundred million US dollars.

Regarding the main creative lineup, Jiang Heng's self‑directed, self‑acted work also features domestic top actress Tang Yan.

Not to mention the original novel, hailed as the "Wuxia Bible of the Later Jin Yong era," which has sold countless copies since publication, boasts a massive fan base mainly of young students—the main audience of the film market.

Just thinking about it gives Wu Yusen and Zhang Jiazhen headaches.

Unfortunately, the best slots each year are the summer and New Year periods; even the Spring Festival slot falls short.

During this year's Spring Festival, Cheng Long's blockbuster Myth was released; even with Jiang Heng's cameo support for promotion, it only earned 126 million at the box office.

In an era where Feng Xiaogang routinely pulls nearly 200 million, Myth's performance is clearly outdated.

Of course, the timing also matters.

It should be noted that in 2006 China, people's incomes were still modest, and going to the movies was a somewhat luxurious, even low‑budget activity.

Thus most viewers were selective, unlike a decade later when some would watch every popular Spring Festival release.

Many who saw Pacific Rim 2 during the New Year slot found their enthusiasm waned a month later when they considered Myth in the Spring Festival slot!

When a blockbuster bursts onto the scene, it often creates a lull in viewership for the next one or two months.

Therefore, regarding scheduling, the producers of Red Cliff were torn, feeling that placing it before or after The Immortal Execution was suboptimal; dominating the summer slot would be ideal.

"I think it's better to move it up a bit!" Wu Yusen sighed.

Zhang Jiazhen said, "Jiang Heng's previous releases all opened on the second Friday of July; this year it's the 14th, so let's pick the 7th, a week earlier!"

"Done!"

Wu Yusen was resolute, not mentioning any rivalry with Jiang Heng.

Before, a bit of click‑bait promotion was fine, but now they can't say anything rash; if Jiang Heng got angry and actually released the film early, they'd be stunned.

Meanwhile, as the press conference for the new film The Great Havoc in Heaven caused a huge stir in the industry, Jiang Heng had already led the crew into Hengdian Film City to begin shooting.

The film is exclusively produced by Outstanding Rising Film Company, with the production manager, assistant director, and action director all from the same company.

As for the cast, Wu Jing plays Sun Wukong, and the Pagoda King is portrayed by the "Wang Ye Zhuanyehu" Teacher Wang Huichun.

His performance as the Eighth Prince in Yongzheng Dynasty was superb, and his portrayal of Li Tianwang in regal attire was also imposing and full of vigor.

The role of Nezha is played by a teenage girl discovered through a referral; she has strong dance skills but is not a future star.

Jiang Heng initially wanted Song Zhu'er to play Nezha, but later realized she was born in 1998, making her only eight years old now—far too young—so he chose someone else.

The remaining roles—Giant Spirit God, Taibai Xing, the Supreme Old Lord, Guanyin, the Jade Emperor, etc. —are all played by veteran actors, adhering to the principle of familiar faces and cost‑saving.

After all, the film's main selling point is its visual effects, not star power.

Moreover, Jiang Heng will play Erlang Shen Yang Jian in the film, engaging in spectacular fights with Wu Jing's Sun Wukong, which should attract audiences.

On set, Jiang Heng sits by the monitor, watching Wu Jing perform Sun Wukong's first ascent to the Lingxiao Hall.

The shooting schedule is to film interior scenes at Hengdian first, then shoot exteriors elsewhere, and finally return to Jingcheng's China Film Digital Base for the special‑effects work.

The palaces and courtyards selected at Hengdian have all been modified.

As for the final panoramic view of the Heavenly Palace, post‑production effects are still needed; the celestial palace can't look just like any earthly dynasty's.

However, the interior sets don't differ that much; too much disparity would feel odd to viewers.

Clack, it's over!

Jiang Heng called cut, and everyone on set breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Jing staggered, nearly falling; fortunately the assistant was quick and helped him to the rest area.

Since Wu Jing is a stunt actor, he shouldn't be so weak.

But his on‑screen look is so elaborate that makeup takes over four hours, and after that he can't drink or eat, which tests his willpower.

Nevertheless, with makeup, you get out what you put in.

The 1986 version of Journey to the West and its sequel, both directed by Yang Jie, differ greatly in styling.

In the former, Sun Wukong's look is very natural, but in the sequel he clearly wears a mask and his expression is stiff.

Zhu Bajie's look is the same—full of mask‑like feel.

Regarding conditions, the crew faced extreme hardship when filming the 86 version, yet the result was excellent.

A decade later, conditions improved for the sequel, but everything was relatively perfunctory.

Jiang Heng's version of The Great Havoc in Heaven strives for perfection in every aspect, aiming to rival Avatar.

In terms of film quality alone, there's absolutely no problem.

With the Super Microcomputer, they can produce audiovisual effects even better than Avatar, but at the box office, Avatar still has the edge.

After all, it's about Americans exploiting alien resources and fighting natives, a story too familiar to Western audiences, giving strong immersion.

Compared with that, The Great Havoc in Heaven lacks immersion and can only rely on visual effects.

After about half a month of shooting, several actresses playing the Seven Fairies came to visit the set.

They didn't join the crew because their scenes can't be filmed yet; they have to wait until summer when the peaches ripen.

Moreover, the scenes involve only one set of shots, which, if all goes well, won't take more than three days.

Thus, although the Seven Fairies are heavily promoted, they never actually joined the crew at the start and are each busy elsewhere.

This time the visitors are Jing Tian, Liu Yifei, Tang Yan, and Yang Mi.

Jing Tian had been preparing to enter film school, but there was really nothing to prepare for, no real difficulty.

While browsing online out of boredom, she saw fans of The Immortal Execution urging the crew to release some promotional posters, and couldn't help herself.

She came to ask Jiang Heng when the film's promotion would start, so she could schedule her "release window" and avoid conflict with exams.

"Brother, when does this film premiere?" Jing Tian asked with a sweet smile.

Tang Yan, silent beside her, also looked curious.

Since Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother, several years have passed, and starring in a second special‑effects blockbuster is truly significant.

Although Jiang Heng didn't remind her, Tang Yan also cleared his schedule for the recent period, just to prepare for the promotion of "Zhu Zion".

Jiang Heng said, "Normally it should be early July; why, it's only April already, and they're already impatient?"

Jing Tian laughed, "I mainly see that the fans can't wait, always leaving comments online, asking if we can give them some perks and release some posters early!"

(End of chapter)