Chapter 144: I have a great scholar to argue for me
In the North American film market in 2002, the top five films at the annual box office should all be special effects blockbusters.

Currently ranked first is "Spider-Man" produced by Columbia Pictures, with a North American box office of 4.03 million.

Ranked second is "Star Wars: Episode 2" produced by Fox, with 3.1 million.

The third place is Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", with 2.61 million.

According to media predictions, Spider-Man's position as the annual box office champion will probably be unbreakable.

It’s just hard to say how “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” ​​and “The Matrix Reloaded” will rank.

However, judging from the fastest time for box office revenue to exceed 2 million yuan, "The Matrix " actually has a slight advantage.

There are two reasons. One is that Jiang Heng made the special effects more refined and shocking during post-production.

The second reason is that when the original "The Matrix 2" was released, although the Wojciech brothers had already gained considerable fame, they did not have enough works, and the most well-known to the audience was "The Matrix 1".

Jiang Heng is different. Since the release of "The Matrix 98" in North America in 1, he has released special effects blockbusters almost once a year. This year, he has released two works, "Splitting the Mountain and Saving Mother" and "The Matrix 2".

Compared with famous directors such as James Cameron and Spielberg, Jiang Heng is incredibly prolific in special effects blockbusters, and naturally has a large number of fans.

The saying "After entering the Pass, there will be great scholars to debate the scriptures for me" is actually a universal principle.

When the mainland's economy was backward, some digests and newspapers, on the surface, were the white moonlight among magazines, but in fact they were toxic chicken soup that worshipped foreign things and fawned on foreigners.

When the domestic economy rose and people's horizons broadened, these digests and magazines collapsed one after another.

What the Americans, who are good at waging "public opinion wars", did not expect was that the tide would turn. Twenty years later, an APP from a developing country would have users covering more than half of the U.S. population in just a few years, crushing a number of established media outlets, forcing them to use the state machinery to suppress it.

Jiang Heng naturally couldn't reach that level, but his popularity in North America was comparable to that of a first-tier star, and he had a large number of fans. These people posted in support on various forums, helping "The Matrix 2" expand its influence.

Coupled with a large number of fans who did not have much feeling for Jiang Heng but were crazy about the setting of "The Matrix", the box office performance of "The Matrix 2" soared all the way and soon exceeded million US dollars.

After hearing her assistant report on the latest box office performance of "The Matrix 2", Columbia Pictures President Amy Paschal said expressionlessly, "I got it," and ordered the person to leave.

As the distributor of the film, she naturally hopes that "The Matrix 2" will be a big hit at the box office because there will be agency distribution fees.

But as Jiang Heng's former partner, he doesn't really want the box office results to be too good.

I feel like I’m afraid of my brothers suffering, but I’m also afraid of them driving a Land Rover.

Because since "Pacific Rim", the two companies have not started any new production cooperation.

She hopes that Pacific Rim 2 can be produced as soon as possible, but Jiang Heng has been slow to respond.

Recently, I heard from Zhou Lixian, president of the China region, that Jiang Heng is planning to register a company in North America and make a new film to compete for an Oscar.

If this is the case, Columbia's help would be even less needed. It might even prevent Pacific Rim 2 from participating because the complete copyright of the film is in Jiang Heng's hands.

After thinking it over, Pascal decided to call and ask in person.

"Hello, dear Director Jiang Heng, I hope I didn't disturb your rest!"

Due to the time difference, Jiang Heng was currently in a large mansion in Beijing, lying on the sofa, watching TV boredly.

"Luckily, President Amy called me at this time. You must have good news for me, right?" "Indeed, I have good news for you. The box office of The Matrix 2 has exceeded million US dollars last night. Congratulations. The total box office of this film in North America should be over million."

"Oh, that's really exciting news. Thank you. You guys have contributed to this."

Pascal said: "It should be done. In fact, I can do more, but you don't give me the chance!"

Jiang Heng hurriedly laughed and said, "Don't say that. You are the president of a big company, and I am just a director!"

Pascal smiled. "If you put it that way, there is no richer director on earth than you. In comparison, I am just a poor worker."

Jiang Heng smiled: "Your pity may not be true, but I believe your wealth must be true."

"Okay, okay, I can't argue with you, Director Jiang Heng. I guess you haven't found a girlfriend yet, right? Otherwise, why would you chat with an old woman like me for so long in the middle of the night?"

Jiang Heng was speechless when he heard this. He didn't expect this man to be so insightful. He was indeed a little bored.

"If you say so, I've got other things to do!"

"I want to talk about work. I heard you're going to Hollywood?"

Jiang Heng said hurriedly: "Not really, I just want to produce a Hollywood movie and see if I can win any awards!"

"Can I help you?"

"Thank you for your kindness, but I think I can handle everything."

"Okay, one last question. How are you thinking about Pacific Rim 2? If it's a few years later, I might have retired!"

Jiang Hengxin said that the original script was a pit, and the original work was also a pit. If he wanted to make "Pacific Rim 2", he would have to re-think it, and he didn't have any good ideas for the time being.

As for the new film after "Inception", he currently has only two ideas. One is "Oppenheimer". The nuclear explosion scene in the original work is very shocking.

The second is to make a film similar to "The King's Avatar", taking a sci-fi military approach.

At a time when domestic military weapons are still underdeveloped, it should be quite exciting to see a super shocking scene of an aircraft carrier formation sailing in the South China Sea on the big screen!
These were just Jiang Heng's ideas. He hadn't decided which one to shoot first, let alone tell Pascal.

He only said: "I really have no idea for the sequel to Pacific Rim right now. I haven't even written the script yet!"

Pascal said, "You can find a writing team. You know, Hollywood uses writing teams. There's no need to work so hard. You have so much money, you can just enjoy yourself!"

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "We'll talk about this later. Is that all for now?"

Pascal knew that his lobbying had failed again, and he couldn't help feeling discouraged.

Although business cooperation has always been difficult, many collaborations are finally achieved after protracted negotiations.

It’s just that Jiang Heng doesn’t really need Columbia Company, such as if she doesn’t do the film distribution agency business.

Except for Warner, the others will rush in to grab it.

He sighed, "Well, I'll see you in Hollywood later!"

(End of this chapter)