Chapter 510

Jiang Heng rests every ten days while filming, and he does not rush the schedule, working nonstop from the start of shooting to wrap.

That night after wrapping up, Jiang Heng suddenly waved and signaled Zhang Ruonan to come over.

Zhang Ruonan had a blank expression, dazedly walking over, "Director Jiang, you, calling me?"

"Hmm, do you have any plans tomorrow?"

"Ah, nothing!"

"Oh, I'm planning to visit the Great Wall crew next door tomorrow; are you interested in coming along?"

"Oh, a visit!"

Zhang Ruonan had just been extremely nervous, thinking Jiang Heng wanted to ask her out, and she was weighing whether to agree.

Hearing it was just a visit, she quickly said, "Sure!"

"Alright, then it's set for around nine tomorrow morning; I'll call you when the time comes."

"Oh, okay!"

Zhang Ruonan turned and left; her assistant hurried over, beaming, "Director Jiang invited you!"

Zhang Ruonan grabbed her assistant's arm in fright, gesturing for her to lower her voice; looking back, she saw the distance to Jiang Heng had already grown, and only then said, "Don't talk nonsense!"

The assistant giggled, "What nonsense? Inviting you to go together is still an invitation; why not ask someone else to keep him company?"

Zhang Ruonan said, "Perhaps there's just no suitable person in the crew."

The crew of Three Body 2 is huge, with two or three thousand people in total.

As for young, attractive actresses, there are only her and Jiang Yan.

Right, why didn't he call Jiang Yan instead of me? Zhang Ruonan couldn't help but let her mind wander.

Little did he know, Jiang Heng simply thought Zhang Ruonan had broader prospects in the film industry; taking her to Zhang Yimou's side would let her gain experience and more opportunities.

If Zhang Yimou took a liking to her, he'd think of her when casting; wouldn't that be an opportunity?

After all, Jiang Heng has directed only a limited number of films; having used Zhang Ruonan in this Three Body 2, perhaps there will be no further collaboration.

Moreover, he oversees such a large conglomerate, with countless daily affairs; he can't constantly think about an actress's career development.

After all, even something as crucial as Douyin, he only checks on its progress once a week.

The next morning, Jiang Heng had breakfast, rested a bit, then went to the gym and ran for half an hour.

Then he drove to the hotel booked by the crew and called Zhang Ruonan to come downstairs.

Not long after, Zhang Ruonan emerged from the hotel entrance wearing a denim jacket and a floral skirt, her double ponytail hair accessories making her look even more youthful.

She arrived at Jiang Heng's Mercedes S600, walked around to the front to take a look, then got into the passenger seat.

Jiang Heng smiled: "What's wrong, afraid of getting in the wrong car?"

"Mm."

"Why?"

"I thought you'd be driving a supercar!"

Jiang Heng said: "I really do have several supercars, but today it's official business; driving a supercar would be too undignified!"

"Oh oh!"

Zhang Ruonan's expression showed a hint of disappointment; although she knew Jiang Heng hadn't called her out for a date, she still felt a little let down.

After a few seconds of silence, she noticed Jiang Heng still hadn't started the car, but kept staring at her.

"Director Jiang?"

"Do you want me to help you fasten your seatbelt?"

"Oh oh, no, it's fine!"

Zhang Ruonan's cheeks instantly flushed; she fumbled to fasten the seatbelt. Jiang Heng said nothing more, gently started the car, and drove to the China Film Digital Base, the rented soundstage area of the Great Wall crew.

"Hello, Director Jiang, welcome to guide us!"

If it were just anyone else coming, it would be fine, but Zhang Yimou at most would send an assistant director to greet us.

When Jiang Heng arrives, the standards will definitely be different.

"Hey, Director Zhang, you're being too polite; just call anyone out to bring us in."

"Director Jiang!"

"Director Jiang!"

Yang Mi, Huang Xuan, Ding Haifeng and other main cast and crew came over to say hello.

Jiang Heng smiled and greeted each one, then introduced everyone: this is the female lead of Three Body 2, Zhuang Yan, played by Zhang Ruonan.

Everyone from the Great Wall crew looked at Zhang Ruonan with astonishment and envy, thinking this girl is truly incredibly lucky.

In every single look, there is not a single mistaken version!

To become Jiang Heng's leading lady in a major film at such a young age, especially for a super‑popular IP like Three Body, her future is limitless!

Yang Mi was even more envious; she had joined iQiyi for several years yet still hadn't landed a major film lead, and when she finally did, it turned out to be Zhang Yimou's.

This girl before us hasn't even finished high school—truly, comparison makes people angry to death.

But at this moment, she took Zhang Ruonan's hand, smiling: "Yo, I've long heard Director Jiang picked a 'national first love' in his audition; seeing her today, she really is the goddess face of countless male students' school days!"

Zhang Ruonan naturally knew Yang Mi, but this was their first real‑life meeting, and being praised made her a bit embarrassed.

"Sister Yang Mi, you're overpraising me; I'm just ordinary!"

Yang Mi laughed: "You can't say that; saying you're ordinary isn't implying Director Jiang made a mistake, is it?"

Zhang Ruonan jumped, looked toward Jiang Heng, and saw him walking and chatting with Zhang Yimou, completely unaware of this side, before she relaxed.

"Director Jiang's eye for talent is surely good; I'm just worried I won't perform well."

Yang Mi sighed: "That can't be; even if you can't act, under his guidance you'll still have shining moments."

……

Jiang Heng and Zhang Yimou talked as they walked, asking him about the filming progress of the movie, whether there were any difficulties.

Zhang Yimou said there were none, the film's budget was sufficient, the entire crew was very professional, and no one interfered with his creation; he felt it was really much better than when he previously worked with Zhang Weiping.

Jiang Heng, however, said: "Then, I now make a request!"

Zhang Yimou was taken aback upon hearing this, his expression somewhat surprised.

"Speed up the schedule; the originally planned summer 2015 release is definitely not possible!"

"Why?"

"Because, according to reports, Universal Pictures' Jurassic World is set to release next summer, their summer season starting in May, and I expect it to have a global release in June."

"If The Great Wall is released after Jurassic World, its overseas box office will definitely be affected!"

Zhang Yimou's expression instantly turned grave upon hearing this.

If it were another director, telling him about overseas box office would likely elicit no reaction.

Because at this moment, aside from Jiang Heng's effects-heavy blockbusters, other Chinese-language films truly have no box office revenue overseas.

Zhang Yimou, however, is different; he not only cares about overseas box office but also hopes to win overseas awards! Jurassic World is a sequel to the Jurassic Park series, and it's been over a decade since Jurassic Park III was released, so audiences are expected to have a wave of enthusiasm.

Moreover, the genuine selling points of both Jurassic World and The Great Wall are "monsters"; if one is released after the other, it's inevitable that the box office will be affected.

"As you say, the schedule indeed needs to be sped up a bit!"

Jiang Heng said: "Besides that, we can also take the already-shot footage and start doing the special effects first!" (End of chapter)