Chapter 293 The Wandering Earth and the Global Box Office

While "The Three-Body Problem" was being released worldwide, Jiang Heng took the crew of "The King's Avatar" to Yunnan to shoot exterior scenes.

It is mainly used in the scene where the "Heroic Company" team first encounters and fights with Sun Wukong in the forest.

As for the time when he attended the premiere of "The Three-Body Problem" and went abroad for promotion, the crew of "The King's Avatar" did not stop working. Instead, the company's president and producer Du Huan and assistant director Guo Fan shot some less important shots according to the shooting plan.

However, Guo Fan resigned from his job at China Travel TV and resolutely joined iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video.

First, he attended the "Director Training Class" held by Jiang Heng, and learned a lot about the shooting knowledge and techniques of special effects movies. After that, he followed Jiang Heng to shoot movies and served as an assistant director.

And this guy is worthy of being the blockbuster director who made "The Wandering Earth". He stood out from a group of students in the training class, and after joining the crew, he helped Jiang Heng take on a lot of work.

This time, for the global publicity and promotion of "The Three-Body Problem", Jiang Heng left the crew for about half a month and gave Guo Fan a lot of work, just to test his ability.

If it works, I'll let him start directing independently.

The result satisfied him, and it was not a problem for him to direct a film independently.

What's more, he can also serve as the nominal producer and provide some guidance!

Jiang Heng and Guo Fan sat side by side in a Coaster business car on the way to the location for filming.

"I think you can definitely direct a film independently now. Have you thought about what your first film will be?"

"Is it really okay, Teacher?" Guo Fan looked excited.

In fact, he is the same age as Jiang Heng, both born in 80.

It’s just that the one who achieves first comes first. After joining iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video and attending the training class, he has always regarded himself as Jiang Heng’s student.

After all, considering Jiang Heng’s current status in the Chinese-language film industry, his status as a student is something that countless people dream of!

As long as you don't seek death and put in a little effort, you can have a very comfortable life in this industry.

Guo Fan naturally thought about his future and what would be a better choice for his first work.

He naturally likes Liu Cixin's works and thinks that the story of "The Wandering Earth" is good and will be even more interesting if adapted.

However, when I chatted with Liu Cixin by chance, I learned that he had sold the film and television adaptation rights of "The Wandering Earth" to Jiang Heng for 800,000 yuan, so I didn't dare to consider this one anymore.

But as for shooting other things, I can’t decide which one is better.

Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Heng said with a smile, "Don't worry, just think about it slowly! After the New Year, I have to devote most of my energy to the Olympics, and I definitely can't shoot new films before the opening ceremony.

At present, the company has big movies coming out during the summer and Lunar New Year seasons next year. You just need to make a movie that can be released during the summer of 09. There is still a year and a half left, so it should be in time!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Fan instantly became nervous.

One and a half years? That's your speed, teacher!

It is quite difficult for an average director to make a high-quality special effects blockbuster within a year and a half.

Although Jiang Heng will have time to participate in the post-production of the film after September next year, Guo Fan still feels under a lot of pressure.

"Teacher, I want to improve so much, I will definitely not let you down!"

Jiang Heng couldn't help but feel a little dazed when he heard this. Why did this word sound so familiar?
Guo Fan asked, "Teacher, do you have any suggestions?"

Jiang Heng smiled, "I do want you to film The Wandering Earth, but the timing is not right now!"

Guo Fan was shocked when he heard this. Wandering the Earth? Is there such a good thing?

Since Jiang Heng prepared to shoot "The Three-Body Problem", he has watched many of Liu Cixin's works and feels that the two most suitable for film and television adaptation are "The Three-Body Problem" and "The Wandering Earth". I thought Jiang Heng would keep them for himself, but he didn't expect to have the opportunity to direct "The Wandering Earth". Guo Fan was really excited and grateful, and couldn't express it in words.

"Teacher, do I really have the chance to direct The Wandering Earth?"

"Of course. Among all the students in the training class, I am most optimistic about you. I will definitely help you come up with a good work!"

Hearing this, Guo Fan became even more grateful and said hurriedly, "Teacher, I...!"

Jiang Heng waved his hands quickly, signaling him not to say anything.

After all, with his current status and position, he has heard too many words of gratitude, compliments, and admiration.

"Some things should just be kept in mind. I don't care about those things. As for you, as long as you make a good movie and the audience applauds, I will be satisfied!"

Hearing this, Guo Fan blushed and said, "I know, teacher, don't worry, I will do my best to take a good picture!"

Then, I started thinking about what to shoot.

It's the summer season of 09. If we don't get a box office of million or more, it will be a shame.

It is said that after the crew arrived at the filming location, they were warmly received by local leaders and villagers.

Firstly, Jiang Heng is already very famous, and secondly, "The Three-Body Problem" is currently in theaters!

Even many local leaders went to the cinema to watch "The Three-Body Problem". After leaving the theater, they all sighed and wondered how this movie was made.
Think about the science fiction scenes in the film and look at the backwardness and poverty in reality, and the contrast will become even stronger.

Just at this time, the crew of "The King's Avatar" came, and Jiang Heng came, which caused a sensation.

Faced with the enthusiasm of the locals, Jiang Heng still had to take time out to respond to them, and having a meal to entertain them was inevitable.

Then, we started filming the movie.

At the same time, "The Three-Body Problem" was released in the global film market.

In North America, the movie "The Three-Body Problem" earned $3 million in its first three days over the weekend, setting a new record for the first weekend box office of Jiang Heng's works in North America, despite the popularity of other blockbusters such as "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Shrek the Third".

Based on the current box office trends and word of mouth, a box office of US$400 million in the North American market is stable.

The reason is naturally the great reputation, and the excellent special effects scenes are only one aspect.

In fact, the political and business elites in North America all admire the novel "The Three-Body Problem", which in turn influences media coverage.

Ordinary people at the bottom of society naturally wouldn’t think so much, but Jiang Heng’s brand is strong enough, and the media all praised how good "The Three-Body Problem" was, which naturally attracted countless audiences to the cinema.

The situation is similar in other European countries, after all, the values ​​are similar.

The political and business elites all say it's good, and the common people are also willing to join in the fun, so naturally the box office results are not bad.

Although Japan and South Korea are Asian countries, they are heavily influenced by Western civilization and also like "The Three-Body Problem".

As for Southeast Asia and other small countries in the world, they are more of a spectator.

As the box office revenues from countries around the world were added up, the global total box office of "The Three-Body Problem" soared rapidly. Less than a month after its release, it had exceeded US$900 million and was heading towards the US$1 billion mark.

"Director Jiang, I'm afraid you're going to break the record again this time. Judging from the current box office trends, it won't be a problem for The Three-Body Problem to break through 1.1 billion US dollars in global box office!"

In the crew, Du Huan came to announce the good news.

Jiang Heng was also very happy to hear this, and he was looking forward to the box office performance of the 3D version of "Journey to the West" next summer.

(End of this chapter)