Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 594 Mars Base
In the pre-production team for Wang Hao's new film "The Martian," the mechanical design group alone had more than forty members.

Among these people are long-time employees who have collaborated with Wang Hao on several films, especially "Gravity," in which they participated in almost all of them.

Some are highly educated new employees recruited from major universities. They have unique insights in both technology and ideas, and they are extremely interested in movies, especially science fiction movies and the StarCraft cinematic universe.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to join Xinghe Group and Wang Hao's film crew from a different industry.

These people are responsible for the Mars transport vehicle and the robot dog "Benben," as well as the spacesuits worn by astronauts, the spaceship "Kuafu" that travels between Earth and Mars, and the Mars base "Taoyuan."

Compared to the previous ones, the latter two are undoubtedly more complex and troublesome to design, and therefore naturally require more manpower.

Besides designing these props and buildings, another task for the film's pre-production team at this stage is to determine the location for the outdoor scenes.

In the movie The Martian, in addition to the interior of the Martian base "Peach Garden", there are also the interior of the spaceship "Kuafu", some scenes of the China Space Center on Earth, and the exterior of the Martian ground with almost as many shots as the interior of the Martian base.

Of course, the Martian crew couldn't actually go to Mars to film on location, so these exterior scenes were either filmed using pure CG effects or in a location on Earth that was similar to the surface of Mars, and then processed in post-production.

The original "The Martian" was filmed in Wadi Rum, Jordan's famous "Rose Desert".

But Wang Hao had another option: the Northwest of his own country, where there are also Gobi desert landscapes and red rock formations similar to the surface of Mars.

A week earlier, the assistant director, cinematographer, and art director from the pre-production team of "The Martian" had already flown there to scout locations.

According to the information they have sent back, there are indeed quite a few Danxia landforms in Northwest China that resemble the surface of Mars.

However, excluding some remote and harsh environments that are far from cities and towns, there are not many truly suitable locations.

First, there is Jinchuan District, JC City, GS Province. There is a place nearby with Gobi desert landforms, red rock formations, and other topography and natural conditions that are quite similar to Mars.

In addition, when the location scouting team for "The Martian" found the location, the local government, while pleased, also told the production team that the local government of JC City, GS Province, was currently working with the Southern Research Institute of Space Technology in SZ City, the China Intercontinental Communication Center, and other institutions to prepare for a project called "Space C Project".

The plan is structured around a model of "entertainment + cultural creativity + cultural tourism," encompassing projects such as aerospace science popularization reality shows, themed films, documentaries, and study tour camps. It also includes the construction of a Mars simulation survival base based on the Martian terrain features of JC City, for the filming of science popularization programs and youth experiences.

The plan aims to disseminate aerospace knowledge through innovative methods, inspire young people's enthusiasm for scientific exploration, and ultimately create a national aerospace science popularization base.

Now that Star River Pictures wants to choose a location similar to the surface of Mars for the filming of "The Martian," this is undoubtedly a huge boon for the JC city government's plans, so the location scouting team has been warmly welcomed locally.

Coincidentally, another location submitted by the location scouting team also had a similar situation.

The second location is the Eboling Yardang area, located 60 kilometers west of Lenghu Town, Mangya City, QH Province. Situated in the Qaidam Basin, this area boasts the largest Yardang landform in China and is known as "the most unlike Earth place on Earth." It is also called "the most Mars-like place on Earth" due to its similarity to Martian landforms, a name that has been circulating among many off-road driving enthusiasts.

However, unlike JC City, the Martian-like landscape of Lenghu in Qinghai is relatively remote, with no large cities nearby.

Lenghu Town, the only one of its kind, was transformed into one of the four major oil fields in the country in the 1950s when geological exploration teams discovered large amounts of oil resources in the area. Thousands of oil workers flocked here.

Hospitals, schools, cinemas and other supporting buildings sprang up in this Gobi town. At its peak, the town had a permanent population of 100,000.

However, after the millennium, as resources gradually depleted and a large number of workers left, Lenghu, which had prospered because of oil, also declined and fell into obscurity.

Therefore, at this time, Lenghu had a permanent population of less than 300 people, and a large number of buildings were vacant, making it a very ordinary ghost town in Northwest China.

But the region has encountered an opportunity this year. Not long ago, by chance, Tian Cairang, the leader of Lenghu Town, met Qu Xiangdong.

Qu Xiangdong is the chairman of BJ Xingzhi Exploration Culture Development Group Co., Ltd., whose company has been engaged in the design of in-depth cultural experience products for many years.

After seeing the photos and videos of Lenghu's scenery, Qu Xiangdong was amazed, saying that capable people always share the same ideas.

Qu Xiangdong immediately associated this environment with Mars in science fiction novels and movies, so the two hit it off and decided to create a "Mars" cultural tourism brand in Lenghu, giving Lenghu a second "life" through science fiction.

The "Lenghu Mars Town Project" was officially launched this August.

This project was planned, invested in, and operated by Lenghu Mars Town Cultural Tourism Development Co., Ltd.

Based on local resources and characteristics, the operations team tailored an IP operation plan for Mars Town, with technology at its core and popular science, science fiction, and scientific innovation as its extensions.

After learning that Xinghe Pictures and Wang Hao were searching for Martian landscapes for their new movie, the local area, like JC City, strongly wanted to recruit Wang Hao to film there.

Looking at the information sent back by the site survey team and the conditions offered by the developers of the two locations, Wang Hao couldn't help but frown.

It wasn't because the conditions were bad; on the contrary, the conditions and benefits offered by the two local governments were very generous, and they were eager to recruit the "Mars Rescue" crew.

Wang Hao didn't want to participate in either of the projects in those two places. He believed that developing cultural tourism projects in such remote locations was unreliable. No matter how much promotion they received, if they couldn't attract a large number of tourists to travel long distances, the projects would ultimately end up being a mess.

In comparison, if Wang Hao really wanted to build a Mars base based on the Martian landscape and the movie "The Martian," he might as well choose a place with a better surrounding environment and more complete supporting facilities.

So Wang Hao directly called Bai Lang, the photography director in charge of scouting locations.

"Hmm, neither of these locations will work. Forget it, let's stick to the original plan and find a suitable environment near the Dunhuang Film City to create an artificial landscape."

I'll contact the leaders there and the person in charge of [Northern Galaxy Cinema] about this later. You guys go to Dunhuang for a few days first, contact your local colleagues, and wait for me to arrive.

After contacting the site scouting team, Wang Hao indeed made a phone call to the top leader in Dunhuang City responsible for investment promotion and culture, explained the situation, and said that he would come over to discuss it in detail.

The leaders of Dunhuang City naturally welcomed this move. After all, since Xinghe Group and Dunhuang City Investment acquired Dunhuang Film City and transformed it into "Northern Xinghe Film City", the number of film and television crews received by Dunhuang each year has tripled, thanks to Xinghe Group's strong industry strength and the powerful IP appeal of "Xinghe Cinematic Universe".

Meanwhile, the number of tourists has increased by 60% on the original basis. The resulting GDP growth and the reputation of the cultural tourism industry have made the leaders of Dunhuang feel fortunate that they had made great efforts to win the investment of Xinghe Group.

It is precisely because of this, with Dunhuang as a model, that JC City and Lenghu Town have decided to vigorously develop cultural tourism projects related to the "Mars Base".

After reviewing the work of the pre-production team for "The Martian" and arranging his own tasks, Wang Hao flew to Dunhuang that evening on the company's private jet.

Accompanying him were the person in charge of art design and set construction, as well as several employees. They were likely to be quite busy in Dunhuang for the next few months.

Early in the morning, the private plane carrying Wang Hao landed at Dunhuang Airport, where the deputy director of the Dunhuang Municipal Bureau of Culture, who had already received the news, was waiting for him.

After meeting, since they had already eaten on the plane, Wang Hao and the deputy director didn't exchange many pleasantries before getting into the arranged car and heading to the municipal government.

There, the two sides held a short meeting, where Wang Hao explained his purpose in detail to the leaders of Dunhuang, including the needs of the new film and how his filming work would proceed.

Having enjoyed a successful collaboration during the filming of "Ball Lightning" and tasted the benefits of combining cultural tourism with a major IP, the local government leaders were extremely welcoming to the arrival of Wang Hao's new film crew.

Upon learning that the Northern Galaxy Cinema in Dunhuang would need to be expanded to include a Mars base for filming, the local government wholeheartedly supported the project.

It's just that expanding the area requires land acquisition. These cities in the Northwest have plenty of wasteland and Gobi Desert.

Therefore, the meeting between the two sides can be said to have been very successful, and they reached a consensus on many issues.

Seeing that things were settled, Wang Hao did not stay in Dunhuang for long. After all, he would definitely have to come back and stay for a long time when the movie was officially filmed, and building relationships with the local government leaders was not something that could be done in a short while.

After having a welcome banquet arranged by the Dunhuang government at noon, Wang Hao inspected the operation of [Northern Galaxy Cinema] in the afternoon before once again taking a private plane back to Beijing.

While Wang Hao was flying back and forth across the country for his new movie, the creative team behind "Sword Echoes in Shushan" had just finished traveling between various major cities.

During the recent National Day holiday, this rare fantasy film from China grossed 15 billion yuan at the box office.

Compared to other works by Galaxy Group and the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, this achievement may not be particularly impressive.

However, as the opening work of the [Shushan Cinematic Universe], this achievement is enough to give the entire project team full confidence.

After all, the movie is still showing in theaters. Judging from this trend, the final box office of "Swords of Shushan" is likely to be around 25 billion yuan, while the entire movie cost only more than 3 million yuan. This is undoubtedly a huge profit.

Considering the return on investment alone, subsequent projects in this series have already been booked.

After all, Galaxy Group's mature film industrialization system is no joke. The filming and production of "Sword Echoes in Shushan" is not just about this one film; the materials generated can also be used in the next film.

This is the benefit of film industrialization: it can reduce the production costs of films, especially film series, through economies of scale, technology, and the accumulation of materials.

A film like "Swords of Shushan" would cost at least 5 million yuan to make if it were produced by Huayi Brothers, Enlight Media, or Wanda Group, but if it were produced by Xinghe Pictures, the cost would only be half of that.

Moreover, "Swords of Shu Mountain" not only achieved impressive box office results, but also received positive reviews online.

Although Wang Hao, a professional, thinks that the plot of "Sword Echoes in Shu Mountain" is old-fashioned and the story is mediocre, it can't help but be praised by its peers.

Nowadays, fantasy movies are extremely rare, while there are many TV series. However, most of those so-called fantasy dramas are just using the fantasy label as a front, and their core is still that of idol dramas.

Basically, it's about the most beautiful woman (or handsome man) in the four seas and eight wastelands being favored by the Heavenly Venerable (or God), then one of them is banished to the mortal world, and the other pursues her closely. They love each other but cannot be together, yet they still insist on being in love even in death.

Besides the story being a deceptive facade, the costumes, props, and art style of these works are also strikingly consistent. They all feature terrible special effects and studio-style sets, and the costumes are either predominantly white, blue, pink, or yellow, creating a somber and unsettling atmosphere.

Or they wear exaggerated, embarrassingly over-the-top metal armor and fussy decorations, along with bright red, purple, and colorful clothes, just like in online browser games.

In contrast, "Swords of Shushan," with its more realistic feel and plot that is no longer limited to romance, is truly a breath of fresh air, creating a differentiated competition with the works currently on the film market.

Especially nowadays, most of the mainstream audience are young people in their twenties and thirties, and they haven't seen such works in the past ten years or so.

The last similar work was "Chinese Paladin", so seeing such a well-made fantasy film suddenly made the audience feel refreshed, very novel and interesting.

This is similar to Tsui Hark's "The Legend of Zu" from more than ten years ago. At the time, audiences who were heavily influenced by Hong Kong films thought it was nothing special, but more than ten years later, its reputation among younger audiences has reversed. The principle is the same.

(End of this chapter)