Chapter 188 Journey to the West

Li Shaohong and Li Xiaowan were considerate enough to give the client some face by charging only 500,000 yuan as liquidated damages, which was a 50% discount.

After all, Jiang Heng’s film and television resources are so good that the two of them are even thinking about recommending their own actors!
It is not worthwhile to offend Jiang Heng for the sake of Yang Mi and hundreds of thousands of liquidated damages.

Besides, neither of them was particularly optimistic about Yang Mi.

Li Shaohong once commented on Yang Mi, saying that she debuted as a child star and had been in the crew very early. She was too accustomed to acting and always performed subconsciously in a programmed manner. When she was happy, she laughed hahaha and when she was sad, she cried wow wow. She didn't use her brain, and when she finally wanted to change it, she didn't know how to do it.

Jiang Heng also knew that her acting skills needed to be improved, so after her contract was transferred, he asked her to stay in Beijing Film Academy to study hard and not rush into acting.

Yang Mi didn't dare to disobey and just focused on her studies without mentioning anything.

However, as time goes by, the global premiere of the new film "Journey to the West: Pingdingshan" is approaching.

On this day, Wu Jing, who played the role of Sun Wukong in the film, Ding Haifeng, who played the role of Tang Monk, and Zang Jinsheng, who played the role of Sha Monk, came to the door together.

As for Lin Zhicong, who played Bajie, he had almost no private contact with these three people.

Jiang Heng was not surprised. As the saying goes, people from different circles don't have to force themselves to fit in.

He chose Lin Zhicong because he thought his image was suitable, and he also considered the circle of friends he worked in.

After all, he was born in Hong Kong. If he only uses mainland artists and does not give Hong Kong actors any chance, he will be criticized. He can only try to treat them equally.

But in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, everyone still thinks Jiang Heng is too biased towards mainland artists.

It’s just that Jiang Heng is too successful at the moment, so these people just complain in private and don’t dare to treat Zhou Xingxing the same way they did in history.

But Jiang Heng took some time to meet Wu Jing and the other two and chatted with them casually.

Ding Haifeng’s role as Monk Tang in “Lion Camel Ridge” is extremely important and he performed very well. After this drama, he gained many fans and got a lot more film resources.

Wang Jing made a new film called "Journey to the West: The Five Elements Mountain" based on the huge box office success of "Lion Camel Ridge".

Calling it the "Five Elements Mountain" is actually just a gimmick.

The film is completely riding on the popularity of "Lion Camel Ridge" and is an action movie.

The story begins with Tang Monk setting out from Chang'an. He first teaches a group of horse thieves a lesson, but when he reaches Shuangcha Ridge, he encounters real monsters and is captured by three monsters: General Yin (tiger spirit), Xiong Shanjun (bear spirit), and Te Chushi (ox spirit). Fortunately, he is rescued by the incarnation of Taibai Jinxing.

When they reach the Five Elements Mountain, they meet Sun Wukong who is pressed under the mountain. They uncover the magic letter on top, and Wukong is born. The film ends here.

Wang Jing was very cunning. He asked Ding Haifeng to play the role of Tang Monk, and asked Wu Jing to play the role of Sun Wukong, who only appeared for one minute.

In this film, Tang Sanzang, who “knows a little bit of boxing and kicking”, is extremely powerful and can teach the horse thieves a lesson in every minute.

He was able to fight off a few monsters fairly well, but he was caught because he didn't know any magic.

It's like "I'm invincible below the immortals, and I can trade one for one with the ones above the immortals."

Wang Jing, who has always liked spoofs, also incorporated several well-known "evil ghost" characters in the Hong Kong film industry into the film.

For example, when Tang Monk was on his journey to the West, he met a female ghost named Chu Meimei, and he saved her by preaching "Hinayana Buddhism".

So even though the special effects of this movie were rubbish, it was actually quite popular after its release because it took advantage of the popularity, had exciting action scenes, and had many plot twists.

It earned over 31 million at the box office in Hong Kong, ranking among the top five in the box office rankings that year.

After being introduced to the mainland, it was promoted as the prequel of "Lion Camel Ridge" and actually earned more than 80 million yuan at the box office, making the producers earn a fortune.

What’s even more surprising is that the film’s Douban score is also good, as high as 7.3.

Netizens commented that although the special effects of the film were rubbish, the storyline flowed smoothly, the action scenes were exciting, and the tough guy version of Tang Monk was fantastic.

Some people replied that this is how Elder Tang should be. A monk who can go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures must be at the level of Jiumozhi, the Great Wheel King! Some netizens also said that Tang Monk should be a master in the world, but he accidentally broke into the mythical world and became a waste.

As for Ding Haifeng, who played the role of Tang Monk, he became even more popular and kept taking on various tough guy roles.

As the saying goes, when you drink the water, you should remember its source. Ding Haifeng is very respectful and grateful to Jiang Heng, who chose him to play the role of Tang Monk. Before taking on the role in Wang Jing's film, he had asked Jiang Heng for his opinion.

I felt relieved to perform the role after learning that Jiang Heng didn't care about these things.

On the other hand, Wu Jing, who played the role of Sun Wukong, had his face barely recognizable due to his great makeup effect. The film "Lion Camel Ridge" did not significantly enhance his status and influence.

After "Lion Camel Ridge", Wu Jing starred in several action movies, but because the entire genre weakened, neither the box office nor the influence were as good as Wang Jing's "Journey to the West: The Five Elements Mountain", which was also quite speechless.

At this moment, Wu Jing's situation in the circle is becoming increasingly embarrassing.

In terms of status, he is the leading actor in special effects blockbusters that have grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, but he himself does not have much "box office resistance" ability.

In addition, the subsequent films performed mediocrely, and no one wanted to ask him to make a movie anymore.

If Jiang Heng hadn't asked him to film "Journey to the West: Pingdingshan", Wu Jing was ready to go back to filming TV series again.

This time I came here, firstly to ask about how to cooperate with the film promotion, and secondly to ask about my own development.

At this moment, Wu Jing was really confused.

"Director Jiang, which path do you think I should take in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Haifeng and Zang Jinsheng stopped talking and turned to look at Jiang Heng.

They knew that Jiang Heng cared for and valued Wu Jing very much, and wondered if he would give him some advice.

Jiang Heng fell silent after hearing this.

He did know the path that was suitable for Wu Jing, but the problem was that the time was wrong!
It was only the end of 04, and the country's strength was not that strong yet.

Not to mention "Wolf Warrior 2", even "Wolf Warrior 1" would not have good reputation and box office. Movies are often a reflection of society and the times.

However, action movies are in decline, and it is difficult to persuade him to continue to stick to it.

Jiang Heng thought for a while before saying, "Pure action movies no longer have much future, but military action movies may still have some potential. But the timing is not right now. At least the country needs to develop further before military action movies can become popular."

Wu Jing was dumbfounded when he heard this. If that was the case, then didn't he have any future?

Fortunately, Jiang Heng continued: "By the way, I have a superhero movie to be filmed in the next two years, and you have a role in it."

Wu Jing was delighted when he heard this, "What role do I play in the film?"

Suddenly he realized, "Could it still be Sun Wukong?"

Jiang Heng nodded, "It's Sun Wukong!"

Wu Jing cried when he heard this, "That's good too, after all he's the leading actor in a blockbuster movie!"

Jiang Heng said, "Well, the Monkey King in this film is not the male lead! Of course, he is also the protagonist, but his role is a little later!"

Wu Jing said: "It doesn't matter, any role is fine, I'm not picky, really not picky!"

Ding Haifeng asked: "Uh, is there a Tang Monk?"

Jiang Heng wanted to say there was a blind monk, but then he shook his head and looked at Ding Haifeng and Zang Jinsheng.

There are several other important male characters in the film, including Liu Chuang, Zhao Xin, and Cheng Yaowen, but they don't seem to be suitable for the two in front of them.

Anyway, you still have to wait a long time for the machine to start up, so take your time to choose!
(End of this chapter)