Chapter 66 Art Life
According to original history, CCTV's "Art Life" was born in late 2000.

But in this time and space, because of Jiang Heng, it appeared half a year earlier.

When the program team first proposed to invite Jiang Heng as a guest, there were some different opinions within the station. Some people felt that Jiang Heng was young and had only made three movies, and his style was too different from the "old artists" who had been invited previously, so the matter was shelved.

When "Lion Camel Ridge" was released, it broke the mainland's first-day box office record and the mainland's single-day box office record, and quickly broke the 100 million, 200 million, and 300 million box office records, and surpassed "Titanic" to win the mainland box office championship, triggering a movie-watching craze, and people could no longer sit still.

The program team also attaches great importance to ratings. In today's Chinese entertainment industry, there is no figure more popular or more controversial than Jiang Heng.

If we invite him to participate in the show, the ratings will definitely not be bad.

After the station agreed, the program team quickly sent an invitation, and Jiang Heng naturally would not refuse.

Although "Lion Camel Ridge" has been released for some time, its reputation and popularity have remained high, and the box office decline has slowed down. After the one-month release period, the key will definitely be extended.

When it comes to publicity, the more the better.

On this day, Jiang Heng came to the recording hall of CCTV's "Art Life". The layout was similar to what everyone saw later. The audience was sitting in the audience seats, and there were two sofas on the stage, with the host Zhu Jun and the guest sitting on one each.

After Jiang Heng came on stage, he exchanged pleasantries as usual, and then talked about why he spent a huge amount of money to make a movie, how he wrote the movie "The Matrix", and his grievances with Warner Bros.

Zhu Jun could ask such a pointed question because he had communicated with Jiang Heng in advance to determine what he could ask and what he did not want to talk about.

After all, it is a CCTV program, and it pays great attention to the program effect and influence.

In comparison, Jiang Heng would definitely not attend those interviews that asked random questions.

"At that time, I was young and full of energy. My family left me a lot of money. I thought that the Hong Kong film market was so bad and no one wanted me to play the leading role, so I just made a movie myself!"

"Wow, that's such an enviable statement!" Zhu Jun exclaimed.

Jiang Heng waved his hand, "Really don't follow my example, the risk is too great. Before the film was released, I often suffered from insomnia, always thinking about what to do if I lose all my money. Maybe I can only be an actor for the rest of my life to pay off my debts!"

"Do you owe a lot?"

"A lot, but at last there is happiness after all the hardship!"

"It's not easy. Why don't you direct and act in the film yourself? Your appearance is not inferior to Wu Yizu's."

Jiang Heng smiled, "You think so too?"

Zhu Jun looked at the audience naturally, "Everyone thinks so, right?"

The audience laughed and said, “Yes!”

Jiang Heng said: "I originally wanted to direct and act in the film myself, but then I felt that if I did that I might not be able to look at my performance objectively, which would affect the final result of the film. Plus, I happened to meet such a suitable actor like Zu, so I thought I'd let him have a try!"

Zhu Jun said: "I have to say, you do have a good eye!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "Do you think so too?"

Zhu Jun nodded, and Jiang Heng said, "I also think you are a very good host!"

Zhu Jun laughed, thanked him, and asked about the script. Jiang Heng wanted to start with the lyrics "Fifty-six ethnic groups, fifty-six flowers", but suddenly felt that it was not a good idea to say this on the CCTV stage.

I started by talking about the wave-particle duality of light. After all, it was content in the textbook, so it made sense for me to say that I was inspired by it.

He also said that after his father passed away, he sent his father's ashes to his hometown in Northeast China for burial. Then he wandered around the country aimlessly, and when he arrived in Chengdu, he registered the script he had written.

Considering the length of the show, the two did not talk about "100 Million Years BC".

And within CCTV, many people also felt that it was just a popcorn movie with good box office performance and no artistic value at all.

It is a bit untasteful to talk about non-artistic things in the "Art Life" column.

"Lion Camel Ridge" is different. In addition to the unprecedentedly good visual effects, the film's storyline is smooth and the artistic content is also extremely high!
It is even so profound that it cannot be over-interpreted. For example, the fact that the golden-winged Roc is the uncle of Tathagata Buddha, and the blue lion and white elephant are the "drivers" of the Bodhisattva is too ironic.

There is also the matter of the 86 "ghosts" in Lion Camel City. The version didn't dare to film it at all, and instead made the three peerless demons in Lion Camel Ridge into three idiots.

In Jiang Heng's original plan, he wanted to film all the extremely horrifying scenes and follow the style of a mythological horror film.

At worst, it might get cut or fail to pass censorship in China, and it will be fine if it is sold abroad to recoup some costs.

Han Sanping also read this version of the script and said he would never dare to participate in it.

Later, Jiang Heng continued to revise the script, writing a scene in which Tang Monk and his disciples passed through the bustling Lion Country. Sun Wukong felt something was wrong, and using his Fiery Eyes to take a look, he found that it seemed like a prosperous paradise on the surface, but in reality it was a purgatory on earth.

The red sun was setting, evil spirits filled the air, and on the plains between the mountains, countless bones were exposed in the wilderness... The Monkey King was so frightened that his legs went weak.

But when he retracted his flaming eyes, what he saw was the bustling and prosperous Lion Country.

On the eve of filming, Jiang Heng felt that the scenes in this setting were still too bloody and horrifying, and even if they were filmed, they would definitely be cut.

Out of compromise for the sake of box office performance, the final plot was changed to the version that everyone saw after the film was released, adding a plot in which more than a thousand "ghost generals" and a hundred thousand wronged souls turned into three-headed, six-armed evil ghosts that were not in the original work.

Talking about the script change process, Zhu Jun looked a little embarrassed, because Jiang Heng's creative process was obviously contrary to his original intention.

The original intention was to shoot a mythological horror film, but the domestic film market had no rating system, so it was changed to the version currently released.

“But then again, movies are people’s art and serve the general public. I believe you must be very proud when you see so many students, white-collar workers, elderly people, parents and children gathered in the theater to enjoy the best and most advanced special effects and the unparalleled audio-visual enjoyment they bring us!” Zhu Jun began his closing remarks.

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "Of course. Being able to bring joy to so many people is the greatest affirmation of me...!"

After the interview, many staff members at the scene took photos with Jiang Heng and asked for his autograph, and Zhu Jun was no exception.

Jiang Heng asked in surprise: "You, this?"

Zhu Jun said: "I asked for this for a friend's kid. He was fascinated by Lion Camel Ridge after watching it, and he wanted to watch it twice and three times! But after I watched it, I found that the movie was really good. If the domestic film market can produce a few more movies like this, it will be a real revival!"

Jiang Heng signed his name with a smile, but Zhu Jun handed him another notebook. "A colleague's kid!"

(End of this chapter)