China Entertainment special effects started in 1997

Some works need to go through the test of time before they can be accepted by the audience.

For example, when Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" was first released, both the mainland and Hong Kong audiences felt that it was noisy and incomprehensible.

But just a few years later, it became a classic movie in the hearts of many people and even influenced a generation.

When "The Legend of Zu" was first released, it was also criticized as a bad movie, but looking back more than ten years later, it was found that it had become the pinnacle of fairy-tale movies.

"Hero" is similar. With Jiang Heng's works as a precedent, both the audience and the critics have greatly reduced their tolerance for this blockbuster.

Some film critics said that "Hero" is just imitating "Ashes of Time", and it has been refined in terms of plot, artistic conception, supporting roles, space, etc., and the action scenes have been upgraded.

The main purpose of the film is to explain the point of view, not to tell a good story, which is the biggest difference from Jiang Heng's commercial blockbusters.

These days, the audience is "educated" by various entertainment programs, but they don't think there is anything wrong with it. It's mainly because they are used to it.

However, many viewers could not bear it and posted short comments on Douban, saying that I spent money to watch the movie for fun, not to listen to you preaching.

There are quite a few such reviews, and they resonate with many people.

Seeing this, some media also published many reviews criticizing "Hero".

For a time, the reputation of the movie was mixed, which made Zhang Yimou very depressed.

Zhang Weiping felt even more aggrieved. Before the film was released, he felt that it would be no problem to get a box office of 500 million or 600 million.

But looking at the box office trend at the moment, it would be good to have 200 to 300 million, and there are still many fans who went to Jiang Heng to watch the movie.

But no matter what, money is definitely made, but not as much as Jiang Heng's film. After comforting myself a few times, I was relieved.

I am just a businessman. It's okay to make money. What does reputation matter!

In the literary and art circles, the first big shot to "fire" at "Hero" was Mr. Jin Yong.

He admitted that he liked Zhang Yimou's "Red Sorghum" and "Ju Dou" were also very good, but he disliked "Hero" the most.

He thought that the film was whitewashing the tyrant Qin Shihuang and deceiving the audience, and he thought it was a ridiculous film.

The second big shot who criticized "Hero" was Zhang Yimou's old classmate Chen Kaige.

In an interview with the media, he bluntly said that he did not like the film "Hero".

He thought that this film was very problematic, did not like its theme, the film was empty, and did not think that sacrificing individual lives to achieve the collective was right.

When talking about his views on Jiang Heng's films, Chen Kaige was even more disdainful, thinking that Jiang Heng was just a "Yangshi Lei" (a family of royal architectural masters in the Qing Dynasty), and could only be regarded as a craftsman in the film industry. He made some colorful and eye-catching things according to the inherent routine, and he would never become a master in his life.

Then he said that his "The Promise" was both art and business, and so on and so forth...

The reporters were looking for fun and were not afraid of trouble. They tried every means to interview Jiang Heng, wanting to hear his latest evaluation of "Hero" and his attitude towards Chen Kaige.

However, Jiang Heng's whereabouts were hidden and he rarely attended commercial activities, so the reporters could not find an opportunity.

On the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival Gala, Jiang Heng was blocked by a group of reporters when he came to CCTV.

"Hello, Director Jiang. "Hero" has received mixed reviews since its release. As one of the leading actors in the film and a famous commercial film director, can you tell us more about your views on this film?"

"Time will tell everything!" Jiang Heng said expressionlessly.

The reporter was still not giving up, "What do you think of Director Chen Kaige? He said that you are a 'style thunder' in the director circle, and you can only be regarded as a craftsman, and you will never become a master in your life?"

Jiang Heng smiled, "The title of master is not something he can decide, but only those recognized by the masses. Some people may be called masters, but if every work is not recognized by the public, who can they be called masters?"

After that, he walked into the studio and ignored the reporters.

The reporters were so excited when they heard the answers they wanted, and naturally they would not stop him from asking more questions.

They went back to write their articles, repeatedly dismantling and processing Jiang Heng's words, and produced an article that made Chen Kaige's blood pressure soar after reading it.

It is said that Chen was so angry that day that he threw a lot of good things.

And he spread the word outside, letting Jiang Heng see what a master is.

Jiang Heng was so amused and confused after hearing this, and he really didn't know what he could prove, "The Promise" or "Legend of the Demon Cat"?

To be honest, he really didn't understand why the fifth-generation directors always liked to fool around and make some things that were too high-brow for the masses.

If we really talk about art, the later works of a certain master are not as touching as those of "Chief Jia".

"Still Life in Three Gorges" and "A Touch of Sin" realistically depict the living conditions of the lower-class people.

In comparison, some masters are too out of touch with reality.

Just like some stars who have been away from ordinary people for too long, they will eat sky-high breakfasts and think that they can live a good life in Shanghai by just delivering a few takeout orders.

Jiang Heng had the idea of ​​investing in art films instantly, so he called the two CEOs of iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures.

The general manager is Du Huan, who also graduated from Beijing Film Studio and founded Bonanza with Yu Dong in history.

The vice president is Li Xiaowan, who was the vice president of Guangxian Media in history.

These two are both capable people, and having them manage the company saves Jiang Heng a lot of worries.

He didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "I was busy making movies before and didn't have much time to take care of the company's affairs. You two have always been the ones worrying about it. I asked you to come here today because I want to talk about future development."

The two of them were all excited when they heard this.

Du Huan said: "Director Jiang, we have long had the idea of ​​having a good chat!"

For people like them, salary alone is definitely not enough. They are willing to join iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures because they see the company's development.

It's just that Jiang Heng has been focusing on making movies and doesn't care about the company's development, which makes the two of them a little discouraged.

At this moment, they are all excited to hear the good news.

Li Xiaoping said: "Director Jiang, I've been waiting for a long time!"

Jiang Heng said: "Let's talk about the first goal first, listing. I plan to transform the company into a joint-stock company and list it around 2006 or 2007. By then, you will all get a certain amount of equity."

As the film and television company with the highest revenue in China, iQiyi, Youku and Tencent are already a giant at this moment, not a startup company.

Du Huan and Li Xiaoping can only be considered company executives, not founding members.

Giving equity is nothing more than an incentive, because the company's main revenue is earned by Jiang Heng.

The relationship with Du Huan and Li Xiaoping is not particularly close, so the equity that can be given to the two is not much.

Even so, the two are extremely excited and feel that they finally see hope.