I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 307 - 307 306.Epic Blockbuster_1

Chapter 307: 306.Epic Blockbuster_1 Chapter 307: 306.Epic Blockbuster_1 The young director Zhang Yuefan had been having a rough time lately.

His previous film “College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam!” won Best Special Effects at the Yannan University Student Film Festival, although he had no idea why the jury gave him that award, having it was still better than nothing.

However, at the time of the festival, Lu Ban’s “Cry” was also in the running, and winning Best Special Effects in front of “Cry” led many spectators who didn’t know the truth to believe that the special effects of “College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam!” were incredibly impressive, even outclassing the eye-opening “Cry”.

Once the movie was actually released online, viewers who felt deceived started complaining about being misled, ridiculing what they called crappy special effects while giving “College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam! College Entrance Exam!” low ratings, and some even speculated whether Zhang Yuefan was related to the jurors.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuefan’s reputation took a hit, and producers previously interested in collaboration abandoned their plans.

If he had been an ordinary director, this would have been the time to curse fate and harbor resentment toward Lu Ban, viewing him as a rival and preparing for revenge.

Going forward, that would probably lead to failed revenge, seeking backing from a senior, resorting to unscrupulous methods to badmouth Lu Ban, and then being humiliatingly defeated in a direct challenge, ultimately leaving him disheartened.

But Zhang Yuefan was different.

He was simply a salted fish.

The reason he made films was that it was all he knew how to do, and it earned him money. That’s how he ended up sticking with it.

With no movie projects coming in and no one offering scripts for him to tweak, Zhang Yuefan simply started delivering food as he had no other source of income.

While delivering food, he gathered inspiration, never knowing when he might come up with an idea for a film like “Mad Delivery”.

If that didn’t work out, then delivering food could suffice, which actually paid decently in Yannan.

If all else failed, he would just have to go back and take over his family’s factory.

Today, after finishing a day’s work, Zhang Yuefan lay on his bed, took out his cellphone, and prepared to watch some videos before sleeping.

He hadn’t scrolled past two videos of reckless kids actually getting into trouble when he saw the new teaser of the Silence project.

“‘Magic Tide’, sounds like a blockbuster by the name.”

Although Zhang Yuefan had kept Lu Ban’s contact information, Lu Ban was like a social Black Hole, rarely posting normal moments in his circles, often just sharing food and animal photos on video sites and Weibo. Lately, he had shared his Corgi, which was indeed quite cute.

So, Zhang Yuefan had no idea when Lu Ban had whipped up this film.

Many of his colleagues in his circle were completely different.

They’d post about preparing for a new project with a message like “New script, this one’s definitely going to be a hit!”, start looking for actors and then post “Talked with XXX today, hoping for collaboration,” initiate the shoot with an update “Good start to the shoot, everything’s going smoothly,” and then they’d post photos every day as if they were bent on announcing to the world how hard they were working.

But in reality, they might just be running errands.

For some people, showing off their hard work is more important than the hard work itself.

Lu Ban, however, was different. He made a fortune in silence.

You could tell he was patient.

Zhang Yuefan clicked on the video and turned off the barrage of comments.

The teaser started with a dense forest, the trees lush and obscuring the sky.

A voiceover then began.

“What you see is merely the facade of the Black Forest. The true danger lurks in the shadows, and when the Blood Moon rises, the Demonic Tide will arrive.”

This was a slightly weathered male voice, which, combined with the play of light and shadow in the footage, conveyed a sense of unfolding storytelling.

Then, the screen showed snowscapes, fortresses, armed soldiers, and others, with a heavy and tense atmosphere, poised for action.

Immediately, the camera switched to a first-person perspective.

It seemed to be someone lying in the snow, holding a crossbow in hand, watching tensely ahead, with the camera’s lens fogging and clearing with each breath, also with a slight undulation, creating an immersive experience.

“It’s coming.”

The weathered male voice said.

“What’s coming?”

Another, somewhat greener male voice asked in return.

“The Demonic Tide.”

The man answered.

No sooner had he spoken than a giant, silver-gray wolf suddenly leaped out from the darkness ahead of the camera.

At the same time, synchronizing with the rhythm of the music, the scenes flickered by, showing a pack of wolves charging in from a distance, a person clutching a crossbow getting their body distorted by something in the shadows, a man with a dagger desperately slicing his own throat, and a storm sweeping through the forest.

In the end, there was a young and a slightly older soldier looking at the pillar of light fluttering beneath the dark sky, a vista of utter despair.

“Are we going to die?”

The younger soldier asked.

“Yes, of course, we’ll die,”

The older soldier answered, then turned around to face the vast tide of monsters.

“But not today.”

Then, the camera moved toward the surging wave of the Demonic Tide, like a crow swooping over the land, eventually gliding above the creatures and soaring upward, finally freezing on the crimson, blood-like moon.

The title of the movie “Magic Tide,” as well as the names of some of the production staff and cooperating entities, appeared, but without a release date.

After watching this trailer, Zhang Yuefan slowly put down his phone.

He originally was just biding his time, content with coasting through life.

But now, seeing Lu Ban’s trailer, his settled heart was challenged.

Based on the content of the trailer, it wasn’t the kind of horror-thriller that Lu Ban excelled at, but a bona fide fantasy action blockbuster.

This kind of movie, like a AAA game, requires vast financial, human, and material resources to produce.

You could say horror films might only need an abandoned hospital and some effects, but the grand scenes showcased in the trailer for “Magic Tide” could not be produced without exceptional coordination ability.

Directors able to make such genre films are undoubtedly big names.

What Zhang Yuefan found hard to believe was that just last year, Lu Ban was almost at his level, only able to make low-budget films like “Cry,” where the plot took precedence over effects and settings. Yet now, he had become a director of blockbuster commercial films.

To say he wasn’t moved would be impossible.

No matter how much Zhang Yuefan preferred to lie low, he loved cinema, and facing a trailer of this caliber, it was hard not to be touched.

The texture of this trailer, its storyboarding, the sense of depth that it conveyed, all far surpassed the superhero flicks he usually watched. This wasn’t just a commercial blockbuster; it was an epic!

The industry once loved to make epic films, often drawing on history, mythology, biographies, etc., and some were completely fictional, but gradually, these kinds of movies almost vanished. One reason was the high cost, requiring a lot of human and material resources with low-profit margins, and another was the scarcity of fresh material to adapt—many classics had already been done, and remakes weren’t cost-effective.

But now, was Lu Ban really about to make an epic film?