Chapter 337

Legend of the Little Soldier is a novel that began serialization in 2003, and the physical book was published in 2005; Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company acquired the rights in early 2006.

After purchasing it, they have simply kept it on a high shelf.

The reason is simple: the depiction of interstellar war in the book is too grand; with little money, it's impossible to produce a decent effect.

Jiang Heng mainly found it troublesome, so he delayed considering this work.

Of course, this time it's not necessarily required to film it; it's merely being taken into consideration.

If there isn't anything more suitable, adapting Legend of the Little Soldier for the big screen is also not out of the question.

Liu Yifei, who was listening in confusion, asked, 'Are we going to film a war movie?'

'Um, I guess so!'

'War movies should be popular overseas, right, like Heroic Soldiers Series?'

Jiang Heng thought to himself, 'Not exactly; Heroic Soldiers Series' high overseas box office is due to the 3D trend and the film's content being sufficiently shocking.'

To be honest, European and American audiences don't really like watching Chinese soldiers slaughtering all over the screen! However, if it's about interstellar war, I imagine they would enjoy watching it.

As for film investment, without a nominal investment of five hundred million US dollars, it would be difficult to shoot a stellar sci-fi or war film with great effect.

Jiang Heng isn't worried about the domestic market; given his current fame, as long as the film isn't utterly terrible, a box office of 1 billion or 800 million is definitely not a problem.

On the overseas side, however, we need to consider whether they can understand it, so the plot can't be too complex, and the film must feature actors from multiple countries and ethnicities.

A-list Hollywood actors are also worth considering for collaboration.

Moreover, since it's a war film, censorship considerations also need to be taken into account.

The Maritime Affairs Television Drama Art Center will probably have to cooperate again!

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Heng had already thought of many matters regarding the film's preparation.

Liu Yifei, however, sat in Jiang Heng's boss chair and went online to search for the novel's content.

"Space jumps? It's actually set in interstellar space? That must be hard to film?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Good thing, we can use special effects on the set!"

Liu Yifei smiled sweetly, "There should be female roles in it, right?"

"I can arrange a female soldier role for you!"

"That would be great!"

Upon hearing that, Liu Yifei's face lit up with delight, and she then looked up again.

By noon, the two went to the company cafeteria to eat.

The Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company building has a cafeteria; the food is decent, and when Jiang Heng stays at the company, he basically always eats there.

"Director Jiang!"

However, company vice president Li Xiaoping came over with a tray and asked, "Would I be disturbing you?"

Liu Yifei quickly replied, "No disturbance!"

Li Xiaoping then sat beside Liu Yifei and praised her performance in 《A Chinese Ghost Story》.

"Your Nie Xiaoqian is so likable; my daughter has watched it once and keeps begging to see it again!"

Liu Yifei quickly thanked her, naturally sensing that Li Xiaoping's words were flattery.

"Jiang Heng-ge's acting is still better; he should win the Best Actor award!"

She then exclaimed indignantly, "How could they not give Jiang Heng-ge the Best Actor award? They're really going too far!"

Jiang Heng laughed and said, "Not at all, not at all!"

Having been in the industry for so many years and having shot so many effects-heavy blockbusters, he naturally has several works that have won Chinese-language film awards.

Most of these are for visual effects or technical categories; occasional Best Screenplay or Best Director awards occur, but acting awards are extremely rare.

Actually, this is easy to understand: Jiang Heng's films always reap huge box office, taking all the profits; consequently, in terms of prestige, the judges naturally gravitate toward low‑box‑office art films.

Thus, even though Jiang Heng's acting is widely acknowledged as good, he has never received recognition from awards.

Of course, he also rarely attends film festivals.

Li Xiaoping said, "Director Jiang's acting is indeed good; to be honest, your portrayal of Ning Caizen made my heart flutter!"

Jiang Heng's expression turned awkward upon hearing that, and he dared not respond.

Liu Yifei sighed, "Well, his female fans have increased again!"

After some casual chat, Li Xiaoping suddenly brought up 《Palace Lock Heart Jade》, which is currently in post‑production, saying, "Yu Zheng really works fast when filming—even though 《Steps to Heart‑stopping》 was prepared and shot first, he managed to overtake it; looking at this momentum, the post‑production could be finished before the summer ends."

Jiang Heng laughed, "That's just how he is!"

"Yu Zheng said, he wants this drama to air on satellite TV during the National Day period!"

"Oh, no problem—if it can be sold, we'll just air it!"

Regarding the two dramas 《Palace Lock Heart Jade》 and 《Steps to Heart‑stopping》, Jiang Heng has no particular preference.

Because both are investments by the Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company, only the production teams differ.

Furthermore, Yang Mi is a member of the Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company; she's been here for several years after jumping ship, and if we don't make her a star, she might well have other ideas!

"Don't be afraid to spend money on promotion!" Jiang Heng added after thinking.

Li Xiaoping laughed, "If you ask me, it'd be better if you helped with promotion—just a word from you could save the company a lot of money!"

Jiang Heng immediately replied, "Never mind, let's just spend a bit more money!"

Although 《Palace Lock Heart Jade》 is popular, it's also truly melodramatic; if Jiang Heng were to publicly praise how good it is, he'd risk tarnishing his own reputation, so he certainly couldn't agree! After the meal, Liu Yifei returned to the villa to read novels.

She has had no work arrangements lately, basically staying at home, and occasionally she can cook a few meals.

Jiang Heng, meanwhile, went back to the office and began considering the script adaptation.

Unfortunately, in his previous life, this work still had no live‑action adaptation as of 2024, though an animated version had been produced—it was done so poorly that it offers no usable reference.

On Jiang Heng's side, he could only work out the plot himself.

Just then, Han Sanping arrived.

Old Han comes over not for any special reason, just occasionally stops by the Beautiful Times VFX Company to check on post‑production of "Founding of a Nation" and have a chat with Jiang Heng.

"Hey, in a month the film will be released. You'd say the box office can't be bad, right?"

Han Sanping leans on the sofa, pulls out a cigarette and lights it.

It's said that "Founding of a Nation" has over 170 stars joining, more than eighty principal actors, so the box office is certainly no problem.

But Han Sanping is either a bit anxious or just wants some comforting words; he occasionally comes over to voice his worries, then waits for Jiang Heng to praise the film, and that makes him happy!

"It can't fall short; once it's done, it'll easily reach one to eight hundred million at the box office!"

Hearing that, Han Sanping instantly brightens, saying "That's good, that's good!"

Inside, however, he thinks: "A Chinese Ghost Story made eight hundred million; my 'Founding of a Nation' can definitely do the same!"

Later, when the overseas market comes up, he urges Jiang Heng not to be too discouraged—victory and defeat are common in warfare. Jiang Heng chuckles, "What's there to be gloomy about? It's just more or less profit; we can make up the shortfall with a few more films!"

Han Sanping asks curiously, "What ideas do you have at the moment?"

Jiang Heng replies, "We're still planning to go the sci‑fi, war route!"

Hearing that, Han Sanping asks, "Are you going to film a sequel to 'Mighty Troops'?"

Jiang Heng laughs, "No, it's a film about interstellar war!"

(End of chapter)