Chapter 52: and then the title translation, then ===GLOSSARY=== and list

The cast of the film "Lion Camel Ridge" has temporarily confirmed the important roles: Tang Seng (Ding Haifeng), Sun Wukong (Wu Jing), Zhu Bajie (Lin Zhicong), Sha Monk (Zang Jinsheng), Golden‑winged Roc (Zhao Wenzhuo), Green Lion Spirit (Chen Zhihui), White Elephant Spirit (Hong Jinbao), Tathagata (Zhu Longguang), Erlang Shen (Jiao Enjun).

The other characters don't have much screen time, so Jiang Heng decided to find them while shooting.

The reason? Naturally, we just can't wait any longer.

In the blink of an eye it's already May; starting filming now and releasing next summer is still plausible, but any later and we'd have to wait for next year's Lunar New Year slot!

Once we hold a simple ceremony, the film "Lion Camel Ridge" is considered to have started production.

When all the actors were made up, changed into costume and appeared, the crew on site were all left gaping in astonishment.

The four in Tang Seng's party, aside from Wu Jing's skinny Sun Wukong, the other three are all burly men.

Lin Zhicong looking a bit plump is one thing, but Ding Haifeng and Zang Jinsheng are both over 180 cm tall, the actors who played Wu Song and Lu Zhishen in the 1998 version of "Water Margin."

Now playing Tang Seng and Sha Monk in this film feels rather odd to many.

Hong Jinbao, when no one was around, asked, "Your Tang Seng can't be stronger than Sun Wukong in a fight, can he?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "No, the Tang Seng in the film is only tall and resolute, nothing more—no action scenes for him!"

Even so, someone still hinted that Ding Haifeng was unsuitable and suggested Jiang Heng replace him.

After hearing so much gossip, Ding Haifeng became increasingly nervous, causing the performance in several scenes to be poor.

Jiang Heng had no choice but to talk to Ding Haifeng once, telling him to relax and act earnestly; only then did the latter regain his form.

After this incident, everyone saw Jiang Heng's determination, though they still didn't understand why he insisted on creating such a towering, imposing Tang Seng.

Jiang Heng, of course, has his own reasoning, but he simply doesn't feel it appropriate to explain it to others.

In his view, character portrayal in a film serves the plot; if one clings rigidly to the original work and becomes constrained, there's no need to alter the script.

For example, the Tang Seng played by Luo Jiaying in "A Chinese Odyssey" is a classic; no one cared about his looks. But placing him into a Daughter Country storyline would be extremely incongruous.

Imagine him with the ruler of the Daughter Country, one cooing cutely "My dear brother," the other softly singing "onlyyou"; the picture would be unbearably eye‑watering, impossible to watch.

Ding Haifeng's Tang Seng does match the novel's description of "magnificent bearing and handsome appearance," though he falls short of the book's "teeth white as silver, lips red, face radiant."

Yet they say the crew spends most of the time shooting inside China Film's digital soundstage, hardly doing any location filming.

At the same time, the worldwide box office for "Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years" has been released, totaling $289 million.

Of that, the North American gross was $113 million, finally breaking the hundred‑million‑dollar club, ranking around 17th or 18th on the North American yearly box‑office chart.

Meanwhile, the mainland China gross of ¥207 million and Xianggang's HK$40.84 million both secured the top spot for the year.

What delighted Jiang Heng even more was that "Prehistoric One Hundred Million Years" received good word‑of‑mouth and box office in Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, never flopping anywhere, allowing him to finally put his lingering worry to rest.

After the news was released, it caused another sensation.

At roughly twenty years old, Jiang Heng has, thanks to two special‑effects blockbusters, amassed $700 million worldwide, earning him the title of the country's top commercial filmmaker.

Many media outlets call him China's "Spielberg," which makes Jiang Heng seethe with anger.

That day, during the crew's lunch break, Jiang Heng, having finished his meal, lay in a rocking chair reading a newspaper.

A supervisor from Beijing Film Studio called, asking Jiang Heng whether there was a candidate for the Guanyin role in his film.

Jiang Heng said not yet; lately he had tried several female stars, but their looks always seemed a bit off.

The supervisor said, "Director Jiang, I have someone to recommend to you, how about it?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "If this works out, it'll be a huge help to me!"

He said, "The actress I'm talking about is Tao Huimin, originally an actress with the Jiangsu‑Zhejiang Yue Opera Troupe. In 1995 she starred in a TV series called 'Legend of Guanyin' and performed well. Later Beijing Film Studio produced a version of 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' where she played Lin Daiyu…!"

Jiang Heng, halfway through, already knew who he was talking about.

He thought, "Isn't this Liang Lu from 'In the Name of the People'? When I saw her on TV I thought her look could even be called a campus beauty, but looking at her makeup from her younger days, it's actually quite high‑class!"

He hurriedly asked, "Oh, where is she now?"

The person replied, "She just arrived in Jingcheng and is currently staying at our studio's guesthouse!"

Jiang Heng said, "Then have her come over for a test."

"Alright, thank you, Director Jiang, I'll inform her right away!"

After the call ended, in the afternoon an assistant came and said a woman named Liang Huimin had arrived, wanting to audition.

Jiang Heng ordered the assistant to bring her in; she was a woman in her early thirties, dressed plainly, with a beautiful appearance that gave an impression of elegance and intelligence.

"You, how many films have you shot?"

Tao Huimin softly listed a few film titles; seeing Jiang Heng looking at her, she timidly said, "Not many people have asked me to act, I've just stayed with the troupe."

Jiang Heng laughed, "So this time, what made you think of coming over?"

Tao Huimin said, "I never imagined this would happen. I happened to come to Jingcheng this time, and a friend told me that my performance in 'Legend of Guanyin' was good, but the production had a tiny budget and was rather rough, receiving little response. If I could act in your film again, perhaps it would be different."

Jiang Heng nodded slightly and said, "Go get your makeup done first!"

Hearing that, Tao Huimin became extremely nervous and followed the makeup artist to the backstage area.

Hong Jinbao, standing nearby, came over, "Another audition?"

Jiang Heng nodded, and Hong Jinbao said, "If you ask me, Xianggang has so many beauties…!"

Seeing Jiang Heng's gaze turn toward him, Hong Jinbao swallowed his words again.

He thought to himself, "It's not that I'm unwilling to give you resources; it's just that Jiang Heng this time shows no leniency at all!"

After the break, Jiang Heng resumed filming, completely forgetting about Tao Huimin.

After finally getting through a take, he saw Tao Huimin dressed as Guanyin standing nearby.

Jiang Heng examined her closely; she was indeed dignified and beautiful.

"Not bad, not bad, let's go sign the contract later!"

Tao Huimin was overjoyed; although she knew the Guanyin role in this film was small, appearing in a movie with a $50 million budget would greatly benefit her future career.

She quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Director Jiang, thank you!"

Jiang Heng stepped aside quickly, "No need to thank me; performing well is the greatest gratitude I could receive!"

(End of Chapter)