Chapter 437

In the original novel of Battle Through the Heavens, from the three-year agreement to Xiao Yan attacking the Yunlan Sect, it took over three hundred chapters and more than a million words. Such a plot volume is clearly more suitable for presentation as a TV drama.

If making a film, one would have to follow the example of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber: Magic Cult's Master, drastically cutting various subplots and compressing and merging the main plot.

Therefore, in this film, Medusa's role is very substantial. Yet the actress playing Medusa is the newcomer Zhang Tianai.

Zhang Tianai's career began in 2006, initially serving as a lighting stand-in for Gong Li in The City of Golden Armor.

A lighting stand-in refers to a substitute used during lighting setup; by having the stand-in walk through positions beforehand, the lighting technician can adjust the lights, allowing the actor's actual shooting to proceed faster.

In the following years, Zhang Tianai either did behind-the-scenes work or played minor supporting roles, and her career saw little progress.

It was only after being recommended that she entered the crew of Battle Through the Heavens and auditioned for the role of Medusa.

To be honest, she never dared to dream she could get this role.

As a result, she signed with Outstanding Rising Film Company and played the Queen Medusa.

However, after the wrap, the company sent her to various productions to play supporting roles, since she still had no hit work released and thus remained obscure; even in the guest seats she sat relatively far back.

But when she appeared as Queen Medusa, many people couldn't help turning to look. Medusa on the big screen was stunningly beautiful and imposing, leaving a deep impression.

"Director Jiang, where did you find this beauty!" Wang Zhonglei couldn't help muttering.

Feng Xiaogang beside him said: "What he's lacking isn't much—just how many girls dream of acting in his film and becoming an overnight star!"

That statement is quite correct, because Director Jiang has made films for many years, launching countless beauties to fame, many of whom had no acting experience and came from open auditions.

Consequently, many girls who rely on their looks dream of one day joining Jiang Heng's new film open audition and becoming an overnight star.

One could say that Jiang Heng's announcement in 2012 of suspending filming work absolutely devastated those girls harboring star dreams.

Meanwhile, the audience seated toward the back of the venue were mostly wide-eyed with delight.

"This Queen Medusa is too beautiful!"

"Her figure is great too!"

"Director Jiang is not bad, discovering another beauty for the entertainment industry again!"

"Actually, Dilraba would be very suitable—why not let her play the role!"

"I think Yang Mi would be good!"

Among the audience present were many fans of female celebrities; some hoped their idol would get the role, while others thought a newcomer would be better.

Not long after, the audience became excited again, as the elegant and tranquil Yun Yun appeared on stage.

Here Yun Yun is played by Gao Yuanyuan, who herself has a background in action scenes, and her looks and temperament fit the role very well.

Therefore, Jiang Heng didn't give it much thought initially and simply decided on Gao Yuanyuan.

After all, Xiao Xuan'er and Medusa were played by newcomers; for Yun Yun, it made sense to use someone with greater fame.

Gao Yuanyuan, after all, once starred as the female lead in the effects-heavy blockbuster Pacific Rim, making her a bona fide A-list star.

Although playing a supporting role in Battle Through the Heavens might be a step down, one must consider whose film it isn't.

In any case, Gao Yuanyuan showed no temperamental behavior and seriously completed all her shooting tasks.

The resulting film effect was naturally excellent.

Gao Yuanyuan was already beautiful, and Jiang Heng used special effects to fine-tune her appearance, leading some viewers to feel that Yun Yun seemed to be the foremost beauty.

But many more viewers felt that the Xiao Xuan'er, Nalan Yanran, Medusa, and Yun Yun in the film were all peerless beauties, making Xiao Yan's fortune in love truly abundant! Of course, what enviable audiences even more was his constant showing off and face‑slapping in the film, with fight scenes so cool they were unbeatable.

On the Yunlan Sect, Xiao Yan turned his battle qi into armor, reminiscent of the Monkey King in The Return of the Great Sage who forged armor from molten stone and wreathed himself in flames as a cape—handsome to an extreme degree.

And the action sequences continued Jiang Heng's usual style—fluid and smooth, swift and fierce, far stronger than those soft, slow‑motion fights by over a hundred times.

It's also because money is too easy to make in the entertainment industry that so many junk action films are produced. Frankly, they are not even as good as the martial‑arts‑effects short videos some Douyin bloggers later put out.

And in special effects production, Jiang Heng still pulls out all the stops, surpassing even the effect of the Monkey King battling the Red Boy in A Chinese Odyssey Part Three.

To be fair, although the plot of A Chinese Odyssey Part Three is weak, its special effects are truly praiseworthy.

Especially the scene where the Red Boy spits fire, the colors are truly gorgeous and vivid.

By contrast, the ending battle of the Monkey King against the Nine‑Palace True Person looks somewhat lackluster, giving the impression that too much money was spent up front and then ran out.

On the big screen, Xiao Yan defeated Nalan Yanran, who had unleashed "Luoshao Yao" (setting sun radiance), with his "Buddha's Fury Flame Lotus," leaving the audience entranced.

Some viewers unfamiliar with the original novel thought the film ended there.

Little did they know the plot continued interlockingly; the exposure of Xiao Yan's killing of the Yunlan Sect outer‑door steward Mo Cheng prompted the grand elder Yun Leng to take action.

The fight naturally became even more exciting, but Xiao Yan, who had just been rather smug, now ended up on the receiving end.

Just as he was in dire peril, the seven‑colored Heaven‑Swallowing Python awakened.

The little snake that slipped out of Xiao Yan's robe sleeve instantly transformed into a massive creature over thirty meters long.

Not only is its form lifelike and flexible, but it also features close‑ups of its scales, eyes, and so on, as if such a giant beast truly existed.

"Whoa, this python looks awesome!"

"It looks even more domineering than a dragon!"

"Yun Leng is done for now, haha!"

"Still, the plot written by Tudou is excellent; his showing‑off and face‑slapping bits are truly professional!"

After defeating Yun Leng, the former sect master of Yunlan Sect, the Dou Zong Yun Shan, was drawn out; Xiao Yan ultimately withdrew unscathed with the help of Hai Bodong and Queen Medusa.

One could say the final few fight segments were super shocking and gorgeous, as if the special effects cost nothing, giving the sensation that the budget was burning away.

Consequently, even after the film ended, many people were still unable to recover their composure.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, the venue erupted in warm applause.

"Compared to this, the special effects in Detective Dee are somewhat lacking!" Wang Zhonglei remarked, unusually modest.

Feng Xiaogang said: "There's no comparison—what kind of investment did they have, while you only put in this much? If you dared to invest that heavily, the result wouldn't be too bad either!"

Wang Zhonglei heard this and gave an embarrassed smile; besides, the company couldn't come up with that much money, and even if it could, one couldn't just do that—losing would mean total ruin! Jiang Heng dares to invest huge sums in filmmaking because he already has a fan base overseas, so no matter how he does it, he won't end up losing money.

In the domestic market, anyone who dares to follow Jiang Heng's example is likely to end up badly.

On stage, the beautiful host walked up and once again invited Jiang Heng onto the stage to share his thoughts on the film.

Jiang Heng began with the influence of expanding Chinese culture, spoke all the way to "web literature going overseas," and, because of time constraints, only spoke for over ten minutes.

Then he called all the main creators onto the stage, they each answered a few questions, and it ended. (End of chapter)