Chapter 382: The Lively New Year Blockbuster Season

Actually the media aren't very interested in Director Wu Jing's "Wolf Warrior", after all it's a realistic military subject, the story takes place domestically, and there are too many restrictions in every aspect.

The reason so many reporters showed up is mainly because of Jiang Heng's cameo.

First, after "Little Soldier Legend" topped the global box‑office champion throne, this is Jiang Heng's first public media appearance, and that alone can attract countless outlets.

Secondly, people are naturally curious about Jiang Heng's performance in the film; the industry praises his martial skill, and everyone wants to see it for themselves.

At the "Wolf Warrior" premiere, of course the feature itself is screened.

After the one‑hundred‑minute film ended, both the media reporters and the attending guests and audience unexpectedly found it enjoyable.

Yes, the first impression of most people in the hall was one of great surprise.

Truly didn't expect Wu Jing could make such an appealing realistic military movie.

Of course, Jiang Heng's cameo was also outstanding; although he appeared as the figure from Cold Front's memory, he performed impressively.

Consequently, during the post‑screening Q&A, a reporter asked whether Jiang Heng was interested in considering a film about a special forces unit, preferably one undertaking missions abroad.

And a fan of online novels suggested that Jiang Heng could make a film about the "Dragon Group", which would surely be better than the "Mission: Impossible" series.

Jiang Heng simply smiled and brushed it off.

But Wu Jing seemed quite interested in the suggestion; at the subsequent welcome dinner he said that sending a team abroad is a good idea, since a story set domestically faces far too many constraints.

Jiang Heng replied, "It's still difficult; if it's an individual identity, it's hard to make it work abroad, and within an organization it would also struggle to pass approval."

Jiang Heng's judgment naturally has a basis.

The previous "Wolf Warrior 2" was a box‑office hit, and at its ending it already set up a hook for a third installment, namely to rescue his girlfriend Long Xiaoyun.

Yet years after its release, "Wolf Warrior 3" still hasn't begun production, showing the project remains tricky.

After dinner, Jiang Heng went back home and stayed the night, only returning to the "War of the Lich" crew early the next morning.

Today they're filming the Hou Yi Shoots the Sun segment, which counts as the most important part of the film's first half.

Plot‑wise, the Ten Sons of the Heavenly Emperor cause chaos, killing many of the Shaman tribe's civilians, making them solid villains.

Hou Yi's attempt to shoot the sun is forced into a corner; with the Shaman tribe absent, the remaining Great Shamans have no effective countermeasures against the Ten Sons.

Only the archer Hou Yi can step forward and shoulder the duty of saving all life on earth.

Ordinary bows can't harm the Ten Sons, but Hou Yi uses in the drama a bow and arrows forged by secret arts; each arrow aimed at the Golden Crow is soaked in Great Shaman blood to unleash maximum power.

On set, Han Dou, playing Hou Yi, prepared to slash his palm with an arrow; beside him, Huang Xiaoming, playing Xing Tian, intervened, saying, "If you have to fire several massive arrows, it will drain your spirit and you shouldn't wound yourself—use my blood instead!"

After saying that, he slashed his palm with the arrow and let the blood drip into a clay pot.

Of course, since the Hou Yi and Xing Tian in the film are over three zhang tall Great Shamans, the post‑production team must enlarge the bow, arrows, clay pot, and other props proportionally.

In short, filming is quite troublesome.

That's why Jiang Heng has the aid of a Super Microcomputer, and after so many years he's become quite adept.

If another director took over, they'd collapse after just one film.

Yet time passes day by day, and soon the New Year blockbuster season arrives.

The first to be released is Wang Jing's "Galaxy Chasing Girls". Supposedly this film had the latest start of production among this year's New Year slate.

Yet it managed to meet audiences in early December, and Wang Pangzi truly lives up to his quick‑shooter reputation!

And the film's effect turned out surprisingly good.

After all, "Little Soldier Legend" was still hot just a few months ago, and not long ago a headline announced it seized the global box‑office crown, leaving a strong impression on viewers.

Wang Pangzi also shamelessly reused props from "Little Soldier Legend"; the trailer even featured the same self‑propelled cannon ship, interstellar warship and other gear, which really attracted audiences.

Of course, the plot still centers on the leads training and courting, but it adds an interstellar war at the end—battling pirates.

After some effort, the protagonists defeat a band of space pirates and promptly win the beauties.

The film's formula mirrors Wang Jing's previous "Chasing Girls" works, almost identical.

But since the New Year is near, audiences really do love this kind of movie.

On its first public screening Friday, the film grossed over 43 million, shocking the entire Chinese‑language entertainment industry.

Because it's a terribly clumsy copycat, merely riding the hype of "Little Soldier Legend".

The film's budget wasn't high, the cast wasn't large, and shooting time was short—purely a bottom‑line‑less cash‑grab.

The worst part is that Wang Jing managed to snag it, which frustrates the other directors.

Even more frustrating, the Saturday after "Galaxy Chasing Girls" premiered, its box office jumped to 58 million—damn, that's scary, two days broke the 100‑million mark! Seeing these numbers, both director Wang Jing and producer Yu Dong were overjoyed, and the latter immediately called Jiang Heng to share the good news.

"Wang Jing has some talent in commercial films; you could court him properly!" Jiang Heng suggested.

Yu Dong replied boldly, "Fine, since you say that, I'll give him a big red envelope then!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Definitely—he put a lot of effort into this film; you could say without him there wouldn't be this movie!"

Yu Dong laughed, "Indeed, even others…"

Jiang Heng heard that and also let out a hearty laugh.

Although "Galaxy Chasing Girls" performed well at the box office, its total gross won't be especially high; media estimate it around 600 million.

This year the New Year slate is so crowded that Broad Sodium Film Industry, besides "Galaxy Chasing Girls", also has "Lost in Thailand" and "Dragon Gate Flying Armor".

Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company has "Wolf Warrior" and a modest‑budget romance film.

In addition, Feng Xiaogang's "If Not Sincere, Don't Disturb 2" is also a very popular movie.

There are also "New Shaolin Temple", "The Strongest Celebration", "Magical Heroic Couple" and over twenty films in total, making this New Year slate truly bustling.

However, the most anticipated by audiences is the Spring Festival slot, Jiang Heng's directed "One Person Under".

What audiences didn't expect is that this New Year slate actually has so many good movies.

"Wolf Warrior" gave viewers a rare chance to see an excellent realistic military film; "Dragon Gate Flying Armor" is a 3D wuxia, its story not especially outstanding, but Chen Kun's portrayal of Yu Huatian shines.

Yet the biggest surprise for the market and audiences was "Lost in Thailand", which ignited a rapid craze as soon as it premiered.

(End of chapter)