Chapter 367

After the screening, Wang Jing waved at Yu Dong.

Old Yu, let's find a place to have another drink?

Yu Dong blinked, then realized the fat guy must be up to something again.

Speaking of Wang Jing, he moved his work focus to the mainland in 2004 and has been living in the capital for several years.

Initially he still traveled between the capital and Hong Kong, but over the past two years he hasn't gone back much, mainly because he's grown accustomed to life here.

How about barbecue?

Yu Dong hesitated, then quickly said, "Sure, I'll go tell Director Jiang."

Soon after, Yu Dong approached, chuckling, and said, "Director Jiang, you little rascal, you're surely up to no good again?"

Wang Jing gave an embarrassed smile, "No way, I just wanted to pay my respects to Director Jiang!"

Yu Dong didn't call him out, and as they chatted they headed to the hotel's underground parking lot, each driving to a chain barbecue place.

Surely it's not another Pacific Rim-type movie, right? If you're going to do that kind of thing, it's not okay!

Thus for line 【11】, we list Yu Dong.

Hearing that, Wang Jing wasn't embarrassed at all, chuckling, "Forget that one—it's too stiff and clumsy; I want to make the 'Chasing Girls' series!"

Upon hearing that, Yu Dong's interest sparked instantly, "Are you planning to use the script of Little Soldier Legend to film Chasing Girls?"

Wang Jing, tucking into a plate of kidneys, said, "Don't put it so bluntly—I just want to jump on the bandwagon and make a sci‑fi romance!"

He then briefly outlined his idea, and Yu Dong's eyes lit up, "This works—it has a space‑sci‑fi hook and doesn't need much money; you really know how to save, kid!"

Hearing that, Wang Jing smiled proudly, "Well, well, if I were like Old Monster Xu and spent without restraint, I'd have no films left to make!"

Yu Dong took a sip of beer and remained noncommittal.

Frankly, as the boss and producer of a film company, he truly dislikes those who overspend on shoots; his liking for Wang Jing also stems from Wang Jing's consistent habit of saving money during production.

After a little thought about the film's concept and production cost, he became increasingly convinced the project was feasible.

Anyway, once Little Soldier Legend becomes a hit, there will almost certainly be several follow‑up films; why not jump on the bandwagon ourselves and steal their thunder?

"What do you think the budget would be roughly?"

Wang Jing said, "Most of the story takes place in a modern city; for the space‑effects segment, ten‑odd or twenty‑plus minutes would suffice—I estimate around fifty to sixty million should be about right."

Yu Dong nodded slightly; a fifty‑to‑sixty‑million investment isn't too much for Broad Sodium Film Industry at this point.

However, since the film involves Little Soldier Legend and the investment isn't trivial, he still needed to inform Director Jiang, so he didn't give an immediate answer.

The next day, Yu Dong called and explained the situation.

Jiang Heng laughed, "That fatty Wang is really sharp—he instantly thought of how to jump on the trend; I bet his script is almost done by now!"

Yu Dong also laughed, "That guy is fast at both directing and shooting—he's famous for it!"

Jiang Heng said, "I don't object—in fact, the remaining props and sets from the Little Soldier Legend crew can be lent to you; however, the casting…"

He had originally wanted to say, "We should pick someone from Outstanding Rising Film Company."

But thinking of Wang Jing's usual tricks, he didn't want to let those actresses who already had some fame take part.

Even an actress as little‑known as Ke La La, he couldn't bear to use her.

After thinking, he said, "Go ahead and prepare with him for now; I'll arrange a female actor to join the crew later."

Yu Dong wasn't surprised by that, merely curious about who the actress would be. Little did he expect that after Jiang Heng hung up, he summoned Du Huan.

"How is Tao Hui's current filming going?"

Du Huan froze instantly—he never imagined Jiang Heng had called him over for this matter.

"Eh, it's fine—she has no acting chops, just a pretty face for filler roles in various crews!"

Jiang Heng said, "That's right—over at Wang Jing's side, they want to make a film that uses the shell of 'Chasing Girls' but plugs in the plot of Little Soldier Legend."

"The investment will come from Broad Sodium Film Industry; it counts as our own in‑house funding, so we must use our own actors. After thinking it over, I believe Tao Hui is perfect for the role!"

Du Huan burst into joy—he had been worried about this very thing lately! The little girl had told him several times how she envied Dilraba, wishing she could play a lead after joining the company, but she's only been doing bit parts; this would solve it! "Thanks, Director Jiang!"

Du Huan, momentarily dazed, ended up thanking the other party himself.

He quickly realized, "She'll surely be overjoyed and want to thank you, so I'm thanking her on her behalf first!"

Jiang Heng waved his hand, "All right, hurry up and go!"

"Hey!" Du Huan left without another word.

Jiang Heng then sat at his computer, checking the media's reviews of the film.

Actually, you don't even need to look—it's definitely over‑the‑top praise.

Domestic media are generally lenient in their reviews of film and TV works.

So when the ultra‑sharp‑tongued program "The Tenth Screening Room" aired, it instantly went viral.

Because viewers felt that finally there was a media outlet unafraid of "affecting" the domestic film industry's development, daring to speak the truth.

Even for mediocre films, they can be forgiving in their wording.

As for Jiang Heng's works, they are praised all the way, using all kinds of exaggerated language.

As the report from Souhu Entertainment says: the movie "Little Soldier Legend" has a grand world setting, the plot is smooth and exciting, the visual effects are absolutely top-notch worldwide, surpassing Haolaiwu blockbusters; it is believed that there is a high probability it will exceed Avatar in box office records, becoming the highest-grossing work in global film history....

The content of the China Film Report is: Director Jiang Heng's new film "Little Soldier Legend" opens up a completely different sci-fi movie path from Three Body; it is believed that this film will become China's version of Star Wars....

Penguin Entertainment: Director Jiang Heng is expected to win the global box office championship again, surpassing director Cameron to become the world's top commercial filmmaker....

Besides these media reports, on Douban, Tieba, film and television forums and elsewhere, there are everywhere posts and replies discussing "Little Soldier Legend".

"Director Jiang is really amazing, I never expected to be able to film the movie this well; I give everyone a piece of advice: you must buy IMAX 3D, the viewing effect is really good!"

"The $500 million investment was not wasted; the effect is truly awesome; really, after watching the space battleship battle in this film, I feel other war movies are just child's play!"

"It's not comparable to Three Body; I feel Three Body is still too artistic, exploring what humanity is. But Little Soldier Legend is exciting—just all kinds of training, all kinds of fighting, it feels so real, so shocking!"

"Just thinking that there are still several days before it opens, I feel so anxious!"

Online, everywhere there are exaggerated voices about "Little Soldier Legend" and some can't wait; Jiang Heng skimmed through a bit and then didn't bother to look.

Given the film's popularity is extremely high, domestic side is no longer preparing to conduct large-scale promotion.

Therefore, in the following days, Jiang Heng flew to Beimei, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and other places to promote the premiere; wherever he went, he attracted large numbers of fans.

(End of chapter)