Chapter 25: Monster Blockbuster

"Director Jiang, you're so good at making blockbusters, why not just film Journey to the West? The Havoc in Heaven part is so spectacular, everyone would definitely love it!"

Xu Qing suddenly said, her voice a bit coquettish; although she's a Jingcheng girl, she gives Jiang Heng the impression of a potato princess.

Han Sanping also looked over, watching Jiang Heng with full expectation.

"Um, to perfectly portray Havoc in Heaven, technically it's not hard. The difficulty is recouping the cost; the domestic film market is still small, and making such a film is too risky!"

Han Sanping asked, puzzled, "Even with domestic and international markets, is it still insufficient to recoup the cost?"

Jiang Heng smiled, "Foreign audiences aren't that interested in Chinese myth stories, so even if the domestic box office is good, the international market is uncertain. As for why The Matrix succeeded, it's because its action scenes are universally understandable, and the West has long been influenced by Hollywood sci‑fi, which led to its results."

Han Sanping, after listening, was momentarily at a loss; if they're not making The Matrix 2 nor Journey to the West, then what should they film?

In fact, Jiang Heng will definitely make Journey to the West later, but just doesn't want to do it right now.

After all, the Chinese‑language film market is too small; even with The Matrix's promotion, it only grossed 143 million.

The upcoming mainland release of Titanic, which is spectacular, raked in 360 million, but compared with future results, it's still somewhat unremarkable.

Jiang Heng can't keep re‑making Havoc in Heaven; naturally he must pick an appropriate timing to avoid wasting scripts and material.

Ge You suddenly said, "What about filming myth stories? Hou Yi shooting down the suns, Nüwa mending the sky, Dayu controlling floods—if the special effects meet the standard, the film would definitely look great and absolutely leave foreigners stunned!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Teacher Ge You is right; we'll definitely film those in the future!"

Han Sanping forced a wry smile; they've been talking all this while, but none of it is for this year's production!

Raising his glass, he laughed, "No rush; since you'll stay in Jingcheng for a while, let's just chat and drink. Who knows, a random line might spark inspiration!"

Jiang Heng also raised his cup and laughed, "Actually, speaking of inspiration, I do have a few!"

Everyone's expression grew a bit solemn upon hearing that.

Especially Liu Bei and Xu Qing; the fact they came today naturally means they hope to continue advancing their acting careers!

"Speaking of it, the Xianggang film market's most glorious year was 1992. But in 1993, Zhou Xingxing's 'Flirting Scholar' just barely passed 40 million at the box office, becoming that year's Xianggang Mandarin‑film box‑office champion.

Yet that year, the Xianggang market's box‑office champion was Spielberg's 'Jurassic Park', which earned HK$61.89 million."

After that, everyone in the private room wore an 'I see' expression.

Box‑office data for the Xianggang market has always been separated between Mandarin films and foreign‑language films.

Because Hong Kong films dominated Asia in the 80s‑90s, the Xianggang Mandarin‑film box‑office ranking was almost equivalent to the overall top‑grossing list, leading many to think that list represented the entire box‑office ranking.

In fact, the 1993 Xianggang box‑office champion was the HK$61.89 million 'Jurassic Park', not the 'Flirting Scholar' as many assumed.

Jiang Heng continued, "Jurassic Park not only broke the local monopoly of Hong Kong films, but also exploded at the box office in Taiwan, Japan‑Korea, and Southeast Asia. One could say that after that, those traditional overseas markets for Hong Kong films were eroded by Hollywood, leading to the decline of Hong Kong cinema."

Han Sanping actually understood this part, but hadn't thought about it much before.

At this moment, hearing Jiang Heng, they felt a revelation.

"You mean, emulate Hollywood and make monster movies similar to 'Jurassic Park'?"

Jiang Heng nodded slightly, "These films have stunning visual effects and relatively easy‑to‑follow plots. In terms of box office, Jurassic Park earned $912 million worldwide, which converts to roughly over 7 billion yuan."

Everyone in the room, hearing that, drooled with envy.

The over 7 billion in 1998 is an unimaginable astronomical figure!

One should know that the total mainland box office in 1997 might not even have reached 700 million.

Seventy hundred million—what a concept!

Han Sanping swallowed his saliva, "Now that you mention it, monster‑type special‑effects blockbusters are indeed worth making!"

Ge You said, "Very worth it; the key is you can make a series. 'Jurassic Park 2' was last year's mainland box‑office champion, with over 72 million."

Xu Qing said, "Hmm, I saw it, it was really thrilling and shocking!"

Jiang Heng, hearing her coquettish tone, felt a slight tingling, and smiled at her, "Besides Jurassic, the Godzilla series and the King Kong series, which originated in 1933, have always performed well at the box office each time they're made!"

The Godzilla film image first appeared in the 1954 Japanese movie 'Godzilla', and after more than thirty subsequent films, it gradually became a global pop‑culture icon.

King Kong, born in 1933, is the pioneering monster film, later spawning countless remakes. Kong grew from an initial 3‑meter height to 103 meters, rivaling Godzilla. Jiang Heng is more familiar with the 2005 'King Kong' and the 2017 'Kong: Skull Island', both grossing over $500 million worldwide.

The people in the room didn't know much about this, but inspired by Jiang Heng, they all felt Mandarin cinema should have its own 'monster' series.

Han Sanping wore a pensive expression, subtly excited; if they could truly launch a monster series welcomed by the global market, the credit would be huge!

But they hadn't considered this direction before, and at that moment didn't know which monster would be best.

Looking at Jiang Heng, he smiled and said, "I think the prehistoric era would be great!"

The people in the private room were bewildered, not really understanding the term 'prehistoric era'.

Feng Xiaogang asked, "Do you mean the prehistoric period?"

Jiang Heng replied, "Pretty much!"

Xu Qing worried, "Then the characters in the drama won't all be cavemen, right?"

Liu Bei patted Xu Qing's shoulder and joked, "Don't worry, even in prehistoric times there are beauties like Chang'e, so you won't have to play a savage!"

Xu Qing glanced at Jiang Heng, saw his warm smile, and laughed, "If I can join Director Jiang's crew, I'd even be willing to play a female caveman!"

Feng Xiaogang, hearing this, felt a painful pang inside; the beautiful young Xu had never shown him such attention!

Jiang Heng smiled, "If Miss Xu is willing to act in my film, she'll definitely be the visual star of the crew, and won't have to play a caveman!"

Xu Qing pretended surprise, "Wow, then I thank Director Jiang in advance, I salute you!"

Liu Bei, seeing this, smiled and said, "Director Jiang, you can't play favorites, can you?"

Jiang Heng, of course, couldn't be too definitive, and laughed, "If there's a suitable role, I'll definitely ask you to act in my film!"

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(End of chapter)