Chapter 323

"You say this, are you blaming me, this boss, for not having you in my heart?" Jiang Heng chuckled.

Yang Mi pouted, "I wouldn't dare, you're so busy, making several million, give or take, in minutes, thinking of projects worth several hundred million dollars; if you occasionally think of letting me cameo a role, I'm already satisfied!"

Jiang Heng leaned back against the sofa and said, "That said, you do have the potential to be an idol star; doing this now is somewhat a waste!"

As he said that, he pulled out a cigar.

Yang Mi hurried forward to help cut the tip and light it, then handed it over.

Jiang Heng took the cigar, took a puff, and said with a smile, "Two dramas, one a Qing palace drama, the other a historical fantasy; which one do you choose?"

Upon hearing that, Yang Mi leaned forward, using her distinctive tone, and asked, "Can I choose both?"

Jiang Heng couldn't resist tapping her nose, "You're quite greedy!"

"It's not because my boss has that kind of capability, is it?"

Jiang Heng chuckled upon hearing that, "You know how to talk!"

"Really can film both? Boss, you're truly great, I'll be grateful to you for a lifetime!"

Jiang Heng waved his hand, "Don't say that; there has to be an order. Which one do you want to film?"

Yang Mi thought for a moment and asked, "Which one do you want Shisi to film?"

Steps of Startling Heart

"That novel about time-traveling to the Qing dynasty and participating in the Nine Princes' struggle for the throne?"

Outstanding Rising Film Company has a dedicated rights department that each year selects some promising novels to purchase their rights.

Sometimes it's Jiang Heng who suddenly thinks of it and directly orders them to buy.

Some are bought and left on the shelf, while others catch the eye of the TV drama production department, which assigns people to adapt them into dramas.

Whether it's Yang Mi or Zhao Liying, they naturally have been paying attention to the TV drama projects the company is preparing.

She had long known the company would produce the drama Steps of Startling Heart, and had even considered competing for the role of Ma'ertai Ruoxi, but she never imagined that Jiang Heng would actually give that role to an outsider.

"Can I film this one?"

Jiang Heng smiled, "Do you think your personality suits this role?"

Yang Mi gave a carefree laugh, "Acting is just pretending!"

Jiang Heng shook his head slightly; he wasn't trying to promote Liu Shisi, he just felt that the role truly matched her personality.

One could say that aside from Long Kui and Ma'ertai Ruoxi, Liu Shisi's other roles left no impression on Jiang Heng.

"I've already promised them, can't change it; rest assured, the drama I'm giving you to film won't be any worse than Steps of Startling Heart."

"Alright, I believe you!" Yang Mi gave a sweet smile.

She naturally wouldn't dare to oppose Jiang Heng; anyway, having promised her two dramas, at least one should make her famous!

To be honest, she really is anxious.

Among the girls of similar age, Liu Yifei became famous early; this truly can't compare.

Jing Tian has consecutively starred in Jiang Heng's effects-heavy blockbusters, making her even more popular than Liu Yifei; she's essentially the leading figure of the post-85s young flower actresses, which makes her quite envious.

Tang Yan has had fewer big-budget resources these years, but there are still plenty of medium- and low-budget films and sweet, naive heroine TV dramas.

Only she, after jumping ship from Rongxinda, has not received very good resources.

She sometimes even wonders if Jiang Heng looks down on her secretly because she terminated her contract early, which is why she gets no resources.

Fortunately, having Zhao Liying alongside her as a fellow low‑ranked actress makes her feel much better.

After chatting for a while, Jiang Heng drove a Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class to take Yang Mi to the restaurant for dinner. Not mentioning the eating and drinking, the next day Jiang Heng summoned Li Xiaoping and asked him to contact a person named Yu Zheng.

Li Xiaoping naturally had heard of it, "What do you mean?"

"Have him follow this outline to write a script, and start a drama for Yang Mi!"

Li Xiaoping took a look and exclaimed in surprise, "This is too similar to Steps of Startling Heart; we'd be launching two Qing time‑travel dramas at the same time, both about the Nine Princes' struggle for the throne?"

The drama Steps of Startling Heart has its rights with Outstanding Rising Film Company, and the funding also mainly comes from that company; the actual production is handed over to Tang Ren, but ultimately it's still Outstanding Rising Film Company's drama.

Li Xiaoping didn't quite understand why Director Jiang would make two almost identical dramas, pitting himself against himself!

Jiang Heng chuckled, not explaining much; after all, he couldn't say these two dramas were meant to launch two current top‑flower actresses!

Of course, perhaps affected by the butterfly effect, even if neither drama becomes a hit after filming, it wouldn't really affect him much—at least he wouldn't lose money.

"Don't worry about those things; just do as I say!"

"Then, alright!"

Li Xiaoping left with the outline, after all these years' facts have proven that Director Jiang is always right; if he doesn't understand at first, he should just listen and follow orders.

Seeing that Yang Mi now had her own breakout drama, Jiang Heng naturally thought of Zhao Liying, who was still pitifully running errands as an extra.

He called the writing department to ask, "Does the novel Flower of a Thousand Bones have an adapted script yet?"

The head of the writing department was momentarily stunned, thinking, "Why suddenly ask about this?" He quickly replied that there wasn't one yet, and asked if they should assign personnel.

Jiang Heng said, "As soon as possible; if we lack manpower, we'll hire more. We need the script ready in about two months."

The head quickly said okay, hung up, and wondered in his mind which female star this was preparing a new drama for.

Given how much Jiang Heng values this, it must have blockbuster potential! After all, Director Jiang has rarely involved himself in TV drama production over the past year or more; the entire production of The Legend of the Condor Heroes was handled solely by Li Xiaoping, with Jiang Heng not even asking about it.

But who knows which female star deserves such attention from Director Jiang; surely it's not some Kelala, though her figure is indeed great!

The head of the writing department's random thoughts aside, Jiang Heng on his side occasionally attends some cocktail events.

One day, Yu Dong came over and said, "Director Jiang, The Legend of the Lightning Lords' domestic box office could exceed one billion; should we hold a celebration?"

However, he said that although the film's early box‑office surge was truly strong, after the fervor brought by the original‑work fans waned, the later box‑office drop was also not small.

According to the current box‑office trend, surpassing one billion in the mainland market is no problem, but reaching eleven billion is definitely out of reach.

The overseas market is similar—strong initial rush, but later momentum falls short.

According to the current trend, global box office should exceed 900 million US dollars, whereas The Monkey King's 2.398 billion US dollars is far beyond comparison.

This is basically the fault of the genre; honestly, without the draw of 3D and Jiang Heng's name, there wouldn't be so many foreign audiences willing to go to the cinema to watch China thrash aliens—be grateful for what we have!

Jiang Heng was very satisfied with this box office performance, and naturally wanted to celebrate.

Relevant staff would send invitations to all the main creators.

After receiving it, Jing Tian hurriedly called Jiang Heng, her voice excited: "Brother, brother, my Warring States is about to premiere—you definitely have to come!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "You say that, but I'll definitely go!"

Hehe, congratulations, Brother Jiang Heng, Heroic Soldiers League box office did great, the mainland market has surpassed another billion—it's really amazing!

"It's mainly because you all did a great job!" Jiang Heng said politely with a smile.

"Really? I think so too. You say, can my Warring States also sell ten or eight hundred million?"

Jiang Heng thought, "You must be out of your mind—breaking even is already a profit; I just hope you won't be too harshly criticized by the audience!" (End of chapter)