Chapter 385: North American Premiere

January 23, Los Angeles, the premiere event site of One Person Under.

Although most of the film's main creators were staying domestically, quite a few stars attended the premiere, with several being A‑list celebrities.

Take Little Robert Downey, for instance—he had previously contacted Jiang Heng over the casting of Little Soldier Legend.

But because the pay was too high and he didn't want to play a villain, the collaboration fell through.

However, the conversation went well at the time, and both sides said they could cooperate if a suitable opportunity arose.

Nowadays, industry rumor has it that several companies led by Sony Pictures are preparing to jointly invest five hundred million US dollars in a special‑effects blockbuster about an Earth‑civilization war against alien invaders, and they want Jiang Heng to direct it.

That's why Little Robert Downey also came over.

Besides him, Megan Fox, Tom Hiddleston, Johnny Depp and others also showed up.

As for the lesser‑known second‑ and third‑tier actors, there were even more of them, after all it was hosted by Columbia Pictures; even if these people had no connection with Jiang Heng, they could still sneak in by pulling some strings at Columbia.

In front of the huge movie poster of One Person Under, gorgeous women took turns posing for photos.

More female stars arrived in beautiful sports cars, wearing gorgeous gowns as they walked the red carpet, posed for photos, signed autographs for fans, and then came up to chat with Jiang Heng.

At this moment, no actor would feel contempt because Jiang Heng is Chinese, nor would any experience an unwarranted sense of superiority.

Even James Cameron has never made a film with a total investment as high as five hundred million US dollars, let alone Jiang Heng having succeeded.

Hollywood is just such a realistic place: if you succeed, people will flock to flatter you.

If you fail, tough luck—this place doesn't sympathize with the weak.

Thus these beautiful actresses don't see anything wrong with pleasing a Chinese person.

On the contrary, they envy Jiang Heng's female companion Megan Fox, secretly resenting this little girl's luck in being able to attach herself to such a formidable person as Jiang Heng.

"Oh, dear, if looks could kill, I think I wouldn't make it out of here alive today!"

Megan Fox glanced proudly at a few female stars in the distance, smiling as she said to Jiang Heng.

"So, are you happy?"

"Of course—I love seeing their envious expressions; frankly, it makes me happier than winning an award!"

Jiang Heng gave a hehe laugh and said nothing.

Because the event site was really busy, besides having to attend to the arriving stars, producers, directors and company executives, the press could not be neglected either.

These people actually aren't very interested in One Person Under, because judging by the genre, it's somewhat like the mutants in X‑Men, or put another way, a Chinese version of a superhero.

For such a film, North‑American viewers merely find it novel; the shock value of works like Little Soldier Legend, Heroic Soldiers Series, or Three Body is absolutely unattainable.

What reporters cared more about was the so‑called new film with a five‑hundred‑million‑US‑dollar budget.

"Director Jiang Heng, I've heard you intend to co‑produce with Sony Pictures and others a sci‑fi war film with a total investment of up to five hundred million US dollars—is that correct?"

"Well, there is such a thing; we were still in talks not long ago!"

"Wow!"

"Whoa!"

The reporters couldn't help but sigh, then immediately asked: "So, have the cooperation intentions been settled? When roughly will filming start, is the script finalized, and will it be shot here in Hollywood?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "You're asking all this at once—I'll have to answer point by point! Well, the preliminary cooperation intention has been reached; as for when filming starts, we'll probably have to wait until summer. The script is still being revised, and as for where to shoot, we'll have to see the final script." "Wow!"

The reporters sighed again, feeling a bit excited just thinking about it.

Called the world's strongest commercial‑film director, the undisputed global number one in sci‑fi war, plus a five‑hundred‑million‑US‑dollar budget and the mighty Hollywood film‑industry machine, the reporters just thinking about it felt excited.

It's expected that this film should get a decent box‑office result, possibly even surpassing Little Soldier Legend!

"Then, Director Jiang Heng, do you plan to shift your work focus to Hollywood? After all, you have a company here, so you could be considered a member of Hollywood!"

Jiang Heng indeed has a film company and a special‑effects company in North America, but their scale is not large and their strength is very limited.

"For now, I'm not considering it, because there are still too many subjects I haven't finished filming; I don't think I'll shift my work focus here within the next twenty or thirty years!"

The media reporters were stunned upon hearing this, because Jiang Heng's remark was really too blunt.

According to the usual routine in the entertainment industry, you should at least say that you really like Hollywood and want to move your work focus over, but you just happen to have some … issues right now.

Jiang Heng, however, is just not being polite at all! Fortunately, people with absolute strength can be tolerated.

On the spot, a reporter said, "Director Jiang Heng has always been thinking about the domestic film industry—he's truly a person worthy of admiration."

Having said that, they also clapped.

The rest of the people joined in the applause, making Jiang Heng seem like a hero.

After the interview ended, it was the film's formal viewing session.

The One Person Under film, Jiang Heng's direction makes the plot flow smoothly and the visual effects even more shocking and gorgeous—far stronger than the previous audiovisual adaptation.

What attracts the audience's eyes even more is the portrayal of the female lead Feng Baobao—her cute‑goofy personality, occasional cleverness, looks and combat power have all been enhanced.

Even regarding Feng Baobao's gaze, Jiang Heng felt Liu Yifei's performance was slightly lacking, so he used a "Super Microcomputer" to retouch it frame by frame.

As a result, Liu Yifei, when watching the internal test screening at the company, looked bewildered and asked Jiang Heng, "Is the Feng Baobao on the big screen really me performing?"

Jiang Heng laughed and said, "Definitely yes—you've forgotten how tired you are? Over here in Hollywood, the premiere‑watching guests and reporters all praised Liu Yifei's performance without reservation."

They felt that the portrayal of Feng Baobao was really too outstanding, damn impressive.

As for the film's story and fighting style, in their view it's comparable to Marvel's superhero movies, overall slightly surpassing them.

Hollywood media's reviews of One Person Under are still fairly positive and objective; they expect that once the film is officially released, its box office won't be too bad.

Of course, a box‑office explosion is also not very likely, given the innate limitations of the subject matter.

However, after the Hollywood premiere ended, Jiang Heng received a call from Du Huan.

"Director Jiang, when are you planning to come back?"

"Um, just wait a few more days!"

"No way, Director Jiang, hurry back—I really can't handle this, how many calls a day?!"

Jiang Heng laughed, "It's not that exaggerated!"

"Exaggerated—I've already been quite euphemistic about it. You're in Hollywood, you probably don't have time to check domestic news. The tie‑ba and forums are about to explode, all full of voices begging you to return to the country."

(End of Chapter)