Chapter 297 A Chinese Ghost Story

In a luxury house in Beijing, Feng Xiaogang sat on the sofa, watching TV with a serious expression.

The "News Broadcast" above is talking about "The Three-Body Problem" which has achieved a global box office of 11.39 billion US dollars.

After the relevant report was over, Xu Fan sighed in his unique tone, "I really haven't reached that point yet. He is getting more and more powerful. There are actually so many of them!"

Feng Xiaogang said seriously: "Director Jiang, you are not just a famous person!"

After a few seconds of hesitation, he said thankfully, "I told you that they couldn't beat us. They insisted on scheduling the release of Assembly for the Spring Festival. If we follow their ideas, can we expect to have a box office of over 200 million?"

Xu Fan opened his eyes wide and said in an exaggerated tone: "How is that possible? If we follow their ideas, we will lose a lot of money. Fortunately, you are here to help check. If we let those two brothers do whatever they want, this Huayi Company might be bankrupt!"

Feng Xiaogang became even more proud when he heard this.

Now that I have a successful career and an obedient wife, I feel very happy.

But compared with Jiang Heng's achievements, it seems a bit dull. I was thinking about what kind of movie I could make that could get a box office of 1 billion or 8 billion.

Guo Fan of iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures also had a similar confusion about what to shoot.

After the filming of "The King's Avatar" was completed, he had less work to do and had more time to think about this issue.

Naturally, he wanted to make a science fiction movie, but he didn't have any good scripts.

He turned his attention to mythology. "Journey to the West" and "Investiture of the Gods" were too grand, and he was afraid that he could not grasp them, so he naturally thought of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".

The first story I liked was "Painted Skin". I watched the version directed by Bao Fang when I was a child and was almost scared to death. The impression was so deep.

One more thing to mention is that the 66 version of "Painted Skin" was the first horror film in China and also the first horror film screened in mainland China.

According to legend, when the film was introduced to mainland China in 79, it was banned and locked in the China Film Archive because the horrific scenes scared many people and even frightened an old lady to death.

When Guo Fan was preparing to shoot this movie, he found out that Ningxia Film Group and Shanghai Film Group had already filed the application and started selecting actors.

Originally, "Painted Skin", produced by Ningxia Film, was released in September 08.

In this world, because of the loss of money in "Investiture of the Gods" co-produced with Huayi, many investors do not believe that directors other than Jiang Heng, Zhang Yimou, Zhou Xingxing and others can make money by shooting special effects blockbusters.

Therefore, the fund raising for the "Painted Skin" project was very slow, and Ningxia Film did not dare to produce it independently, so it was delayed until now to start selecting actors.

Seeing this, Guo Fan naturally could not shoot "Painted Skin" and immediately turned his attention to another classic story - "A Chinese Ghost Story", and immediately felt a lot of pressure.

The 87 version of "A Chinese Ghost Story" was such a classic that he couldn't make up his mind, so he went to the Olympic Stadium to find Jiang Heng.

"A Chinese Ghost Story? We can give it a try!" Jiang Heng said with a smile.

"May I?"

"Of course you can!"

Jiang Heng himself would not touch the subject of "A Chinese Ghost Story". After all, Leslie Cheung's Ning Caichen and Joey Wong's Nie Xiaoqian are so classic that they cannot be more classic. If he were to adapt the film, it would inevitably be compared by movie fans.

Some say it is good, some say it is not, which inevitably reduces the value of his "signature".

Guo Fan was different. He was considered his student. The reason why the film was so good was because of his good teaching. A good teacher produces good students.

Even if the film is average, he won't lose much money, and it can also give Guo Fan some experience.

Even if you know that he can make a good movie "The Wandering Earth", he should let others shoot some movies first to practice, right?

So Jiang Heng is very supportive!

"If you have any ideas, please share them with us!"

"Uh, I hope Miss Liu Yifei will play the role of Nie Xiaoqian!" Liu Yifei said at the side: "I am not suitable, right?"

At this moment, she kept her mother's teachings in mind and stayed with Jiang Heng well, doing some assistant work, and really didn't consider acting.

Guo Fan said: "Although Nie Xiaoqian in the 87 version is a female ghost, she looks very spiritual and fairy-like. I think you are the only one in the mainland who can reach this standard!"

He knew the relationship between Liu Yifei and Jiang Heng, but it was not convenient for him to call her "master's wife". However, he was still very respectful in addressing her and praised her sincerely.

Liu Yifei was also a little moved when she heard this, but she said, "No, I still have to be his assistant here!"

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "Hey, that's true. You are just contributing to the Olympic cause, but you can't let go of your main responsibilities.

Besides, the role of Nie Xiaoqian is also a very precious resource. If you don’t play it…!”

"I'll act!" Liu Yifei said firmly.

What a joke, this special effects blockbuster produced by iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video, even if director Guo Fan doesn’t have such a high budget, there is still a budget of 100 or 200 million.

It should be noted that "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons", which will be released in May, only cost a total of 1.5 million!

The release date is set for May, naturally considering that the 3D version of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" is scheduled for the summer.

Both films are of the Journey to the West type. Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons is a 2D version with a low production cost. If it is not released first, it will be difficult to follow up.

After deciding on the project investment and the female lead, Guo Fan went back to gather a team of screenwriters to write the script.

However, iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video have had a screenwriter team for several years, but Jiang Heng rarely used them. This group of people has been working on the company's TV series and invested films.

It is not a rare thing. In a few years, some big-name actors even have their own "screenwriter team", known as "guest screenwriters", who help actors revise the script after joining the group.

After all, in this line of work, whoever has the most power has the final say.

Unless the director is strong enough, the actors dare not have any messy ideas.

As for Guo Fan, he first prepared a script outline for filing, and then started casting.

Liu Yifei has already been cast to play the female lead Nie Xiaoqian, so the role of the male lead Ning Caichen has become the key.

For a time, many male actors in the circle came to compete.

Huang Xiaoming also wanted to act and went to the Olympic venues to "visit" Jiang Heng.

"Forget about this role. You've been in so many movies for iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video. If you continue to play this role, the audience will get tired of it!"

Huang Xiaoming knew this and felt regretful.

"It was Director Jiang who promoted me. I'll do whatever you say. I won't worry about it anymore!"

Chen Kun wanted to play Ning Caichen, but he had already accepted the role in "Painted Skin" and had to miss it.

Hu Chuan, of course, also wanted to perform, so he rushed over on a plane with Cai Yinong. Jiang Heng only said he would consider it.

The reason is simple, that is, Hu Chuan played Ning Caichen.

In the "Xiao Qian" episode of "New Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" broadcast in 05, Hu Can played Ning Caichen and Yang Mi played Nie Xiaoqian.

Perhaps due to the quality of the crew, the duo's version of Ning Caichen and Nie Xiaoqian did not receive much response, and many people didn't even know that they had played this role.

After several days, Guo Fan still hadn't found a male actor that suited his taste, and he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.

At this time, a screenwriter suggested: "How about asking Director Jiang to act in the show?"

(End of this chapter)