Chapter 79 Hero
Influenced by the success of Jiang Heng's many special effects blockbusters, and of course, mainly by the double success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in awards and box office, Zhang Yimou decided to shoot a martial arts blockbuster.

After finalizing the project and script with Zhang Weiping, the owner of Xinhua Noodles, Zhang Yimou began looking for actors.

For the role of the male protagonist Wuming, he not only needs to have a solid foundation in kung fu, but also strong box office appeal.

Zhang Yimou initially considered Jackie Chan, but felt that Jackie Chan's personality and image did not quite fit the character requirements, so he eventually gave up the idea and then invited Jet Li.

At this moment, Jet Li really has the idea of ​​making a martial arts blockbuster. The reason is naturally out of regret for missing out on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Chow Yun-fat, who has no martial arts background, was able to star in a martial arts blockbuster with a global box office of over 200 million US dollars. How embarrassing it must be for Jet Li, who has always been called the "Kung Fu Emperor" by the media!
So this time, Jet Li not only lowered his own price, but also put forward several demands.

First of all, of course, is the most important opponent actor, the actor who plays Changkong.

When Jet Li asked who he planned to cast in the film, Zhang Yimou mentioned a name.

Jet Li said, let Zhen Zidan come!
Zhang Yimou was stunned, because he had already made the decision, and if he changed people at the last minute, he would have to pay compensation!

However, Jet Li insisted again and again that, in his words, only by acting with a veteran action actor like Donnie Yen could he create dazzling sparks.

Zhang Yimou thought about the shocking battle between Huang Feihong and Nalan Yuanshu, and decided to agree.

Jet Li also said that the role of Canjian should be replaced by another actor!
Zhang Yimou hummed in confusion, not being able to believe his ears. You are the male lead, and you have to designate the two most important supporting roles. So, who is the director between us?

Jet Li quickly explained: "I am just giving a suggestion from the perspective of box office and awards!"

Zhang Yimou became interested and motioned for the other party to continue speaking.

"I think Director Jiang Heng is more suitable for this role than Liang Chaowei!"

"How do you say this?"

Jet Li said: "In terms of fame, Director Jiang Heng is far more famous than Liang Chaowei, especially in Europe and America!"

With just this one sentence, Zhang Yimou almost agreed.

His purpose in making "Hero" was very simple, one was to win awards, the other was box office.

Especially in Hollywood, the Oscars require publicity and operation. If Jiang Heng could take part in the performance, it would make the publicity much easier.

Jet Li continued, "And I have met Director Jiang Heng. He is young and handsome. Although he has no martial arts background, he can achieve good results through action design and post-production editing."

What was not said was that Liang Chaowei had no foundation in martial arts, so why did we have to choose him!
Zhang Yimou agreed with that and immediately said worriedly, "But he is busy shooting a big movie, so he may not be willing to participate!"

Jet Li said: "I heard that his company in Hong Kong is preparing an action movie and has invited Zhen Zidan to star in it. Director Jiang will also make a cameo appearance. So he should not be opposed to acting."

After listening to this, Zhang Yimou thought it was worth a try.

There will be no conflicts in schedule.

Filming in Hong Kong has always been quick. From preparation to completion, two or three months is considered good.

But he has to be extremely cautious with his movie "Hero", and the filming will not start until after next summer at the earliest.

"Okay, Director Jiang is filming in Beijing, so I'll go visit him!"

In order to show his sincerity, Jet Li was also willing to go along.

Called in advance and arranged a time.

On this day, Zhang Yimou, Jet Li, and Zhang Weiping walked into the "Pacific Rim" crew in the digital studio of China Film Group. Looking at the green screen in the studio and the various performances of the actors wearing motion capture photography suits facing the void, Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping were amazed.

"Can you take a picture of a monster that's dozens of meters tall?" Zhang Weiping said in an incredulous tone.

Jet Li said: "I heard that they use the reflective film on the clothing to capture the trajectory of the movement, and then combine the trajectory data with the pre-built model. As for how to do the specific special effects, you have to ask the professionals!"

Zhang Yimou and the others looked at Yuan De who came out to greet them. The latter subconsciously rubbed his big bald head with his hand and said with a smile: "Well, that's about it. I don't have much education, and I don't understand those high-tech things!"

The group came up to Jiang Heng and waited for the scene to be finished before they had time to talk.

"I was very busy with my filming duties and was unable to meet you all in person. Please forgive me!"

Zhang Yimou was a silent person. He wanted to be polite but felt it was okay to not say anything, so he just said "hmm" and walked away.

Jet Li laughed and said, "This is the busiest part, I understand!"

Zhang Weiping said: "Were all the scenes in Lion Camel Ridge shot this way?"

Jiang Heng smiled and said, "It's about the same, but by comparison, this one is easier to shoot!"

Zhang Weiping wondered: "Why?"

Jiang Heng said: "The blue lion, white elephant, leopard, etc. in Lion Camel Ridge retain some features of the original prototypes when they are transformed into human form. This requires motion capture of the actors' facial expressions and then combining them with the digital models. However, the mechas and monsters in this play do not have this feature. They just fight each other!"

Zhang Weiping seemed to understand something and said with a smile: "That's pretty good!"

He turned to Zhang Yimou and said, "If this movie of ours makes money, we'll make a monster movie in the future!"

Zhang Yimou did not comment, but just said "hmm" lightly.

Jiang Heng instantly thought of the Great Wall and Da Tiantian, and thought to himself that it would be better if you didn’t take any pictures!

Because of limited time, Jet Li directly stated his intention and said that he wanted to invite Jiang Heng to star in "Hero" and play the role of Canjian in the film.

Jiang Heng was stunned when he heard this, thinking, isn't it true that if you are a good actor, you can become a director?
Why do people always want me to make movies recently?
Subconsciously refused: "It's not appropriate!"

Zhang Weiping said, "It's suitable, Director Jiang. Your fame, image, industry status and ability are all suitable for this role. Moreover, our film "Hero" should be regarded as the first commercial blockbuster in the mainland, except for you. Whether from the perspective of supporting Chinese language or from the perspective of banding together for warmth, your participation is too important!"

Zhang Weiping is indeed quite capable, as he has been able to keep Zhang Yimou, one of the leading directors of Chinese-language films, on his side for many years.

After hearing what was said, he didn't know how to refuse.

Of course, I didn’t really want to refuse.

As for snatching Liang Chaowei's role, well, the two of them didn't have much in common, so there's no question of guilt.

I immediately thought of Zhang Manyu, who played opposite me in the film. She seemed to be a little older!

When Zhang Yimou saw this, his heart skipped a beat and the familiar feeling came back. He thought, would he also change actors?

If you guys change the circle, how can I take pictures?

Inexplicably, a sentence popped up, "Director Jiang, you don't have any other requests, right?"

Jiang Heng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "No, just schedule the time in advance and don't waste too much time!"

(End of this chapter)