Chapter 398

"Look at this momentum, the upper and lower parts combined could break three billion; releasing them separately is truly too wise!"

Inside a luxurious lounge at the China Film Digital Base, Yu Dong's face glowed with health as he spoke at length.

Over the past two years he has lived rather comfortably; the films he produced, Lost in Thailand and Dragon Gate Flying Armor, were both box-office hits, and in the industry he had risen to prominence, becoming a well-known big shot.

Du Huan felt a bit envious, after all Yu Dong had greater autonomy than him.

However, when it comes to industry influence, Bo Na falls far short of Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company; they are not even in the same league.

Old Du has served as the head of Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company for many years; wherever he goes he is a distinguished guest, his reputation and status even higher.

capital city

He chuckled and said: "It's all thanks to Director Jiang's outstanding ability and wise decisions; if the film hadn't been split into two parts for release, it could have ended up like Legend of the Shu Mountain, with countless clues, a tangled cast, leaving audiences bewildered."

Jiang Heng laughed and waved his hand, indicating that it was mainly due to audience support.

Du Huan and Yu Dong once again emphasized their view, boiling down to the fact that Director Jiang is awesome! Jiang Heng humbled himself once, then stopped rebutting, deep down also feeling somewhat pleased.

After all, splitting a film into upper and lower parts for release looks simple, but it's not easy to execute; many have stumbled here. Director Wu Yusen provided two lessons: Red Cliff and The Pacific, both released in upper and lower parts.

The former was somewhat better; the latter's lower part grossed only 51 million, about a quarter of the upper part's, which can be said to have directly sunk it.

Now, One Person Under is hot on release, its box office actually showing momentum to surpass the previous installment, truly shaking the industry.

After all, the filming time and actor pay are not much more than for a single film; only the special effects cost a bit more, yet you get two films' worth, which is truly very profitable.

Legend of Shu Mountain

Of course, this was decided before filming began; this meeting will finalize some details.

Red Cliff

It wouldn't do to call it Upper and Lower Parts of War of the Witches and Demons, or War of the Witches and Demons: Houyi Shoots the Suns.

Jiang Heng thought for a moment, then said: "Originally War of the Witches and Demons was just one of the Desolate Wilds series films; why not call them Desolate Wilds: Houyi Shoots the Suns and Desolate Wilds: Overthrow of the Heavenly Court?"

Du Huan's eyes lit up, an expression of extreme delight, and he clapped: "These two names are great! Desolate Wilds sounds mighty just hearing it; Houyi Shoots the Suns is the upper part's plot, Overthrow of the Heavenly Court is the lower part's result—audience will surely be interested in watching!"

Yu Dong heard it and secretly scoffed, feeling Old Du's behavior was overly fawning.

He then said: "Good, really good. We Chinese have always upheld the spirit of rebellion—'Heaven has fallen, the Yellow Heaven shall rise.' When the ten suns rose together, heedless of the lives of all beings on earth, we shot them down. The demon clan's heavenly court is cruel and inhumane; even if we fight to the point of the witches' decline, we must overthrow the heavenly court. What you want to express is this, right?"

Primordial: Houyi Shoots the Suns

Primordial: Overthrow the Heavenly Court

Overthrow the Heavenly Court

Having said that, he leaned back, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, looking extremely stylish.

Du Huan's eyes shifted, and he suddenly said: "Director Jiang, you missed the domestic premiere of One Person Under last time; this time you ought to make it grand, so everyone can get a good look!"

Yu Dong also said: "Yeah, Director Jiang, over all these years, when have you ever missed the domestic premiere of your own film? This time we must make it distinctive and grand."

Jiang Heng laughed: "Oh, then you two, any good ideas?" The two fell silent at once, after all Du Huan heads Faction: Outstanding Rising Film Company, overseeing everything, involving many fields; in publicity he can only be said to know a little.

Yu Dong, for his part, built his career on publicity; the problem is he's organized too many events, used too many routines, and can't think of anything new.

But he is ultimately 'clever'; he has to take on the 'difficult problem' Du Huan posed. So-called novelty is nothing more than changing the venue or the format.

For example, when promoting White Snake: Origins, besides holding a grand premiere in Jingcheng, they also carried out some publicity screenings in Hangzhou.

Primordial Films

Primordial's Number One Hero

Primordial Series

Both parts of the Primordial Films

Check if "Primordial's First Hero" appears line 35 and 37,40 etc. Good.

Houyi

Thus add:

But in this situation, it's not good to hesitate too long.

So he casually said: "Why not hold it at the foot of the Great Wall? It's summer now, and the city is so boring; going to the foot of the Great Wall to catch a cool breeze and watch a movie would be great! Besides, as the saying goes, 'He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true hero.' Those who attend the premiere that day will all be true heroes. Watching the heroic deeds of Hou Yi, the Number One Hero of the Primordial Wilderness, would be the perfect complement!"

Yu Dong said it all in one breath, and even he himself was a little surprised.

Jiang Heng burst out laughing, "Number One Hero of the Primordial Wilderness, Old Yu, Old Yu, you truly live up to your reputation as someone who started in publicity—this label is perfect!"

Yu Dong gave a hehe smile; in fact, he had just been speaking off the cuff, never expecting the effect to be so good.

Du Huan on the side felt a bit jealous, but since Jiang Heng had already set the tone with his praise, he couldn't go against it.

He also praised, saying, "Old Yu, Old Yu, your brain still works well—how did you come up with the idea of the Number One Hero of the Primordial Wilderness?"

Upon hearing that, Yu Dong felt a bit proud and hehe'd, "I can only say it was a sudden inspiration; it just popped out of nowhere, haha!"

Everyone then discussed some details of the premiere, such as the specific venue— which small town would be suitable; they definitely couldn't just pick a remote mountain wilderness.

Furthermore, there were transportation issues, food and lodging problems, and most importantly, the viewing arrangements.

Both parts of the Primordial Wilderness films were shot in 3D format, so for the premiere ceremony they would necessarily have to be viewed in IMAX 3D, making the construction of the screen another issue.

All in all, organizing such a premiere for a new film far from the urban area would be costly, but it would be worth it.

As for the date, it was set for Sunday, July 10, 2011.

Seeing that time was tight, Yu Dong hurried back and ordered his staff to quickly draft a contingency plan and get everything set up as soon as possible.

Du Huan's side also dispatched personnel to participate in the preparations for the premiere.

Moreover, in the name of Outstanding Rising Film Company, he represented Jiang Heng in sending out invitations to industry friends, inviting a host of guests to attend the premiere.

In the office of the boss at Splendid Film Company, Wang Changtian looked at the invitation in his hand, feeling both puzzled and delighted; he never expected that his Splendid Media would finally be noticed by Jiang Heng, this "tycoon of the film world".

What he didn't know was that, at the same point in time in another timeline, the development of Splendid Media was far better than it is now.

Because Jiang Heng originally came from Xianggang, and over these years he has also invested in many Hong Kong films.

With this connection, Bona almost monopolized the distribution of Hong Kong films in Neidi.

At present, Splendid Film Company merely participates in the production and distribution of a few Hong Kong-style comedies; its share of the number of films and box office in the Neidi film market is truly insignificant.

(End of chapter)