Dream retold for the silver screen

Movie trilogy brings one of China's most well-known and beloved mythological stories to life, Xu Fan reports.

Over the span of a decade, film director Wuershan — who recently celebrated his 51st birthday — has steadfastly devoted himself to a singular pursuit: training his actors and helming the Creation of the Gods trilogy.

To better visualize the fantastic world portrayed in the mythological tales, Wuershan visited New Zealand to meet with director Peter Jackson, and learned from his experience directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

"Jackson said he felt exhausted most days. We benefited from his experience and drew up the schedule more scientifically, which helped me avoid feeling overly tired. I even managed to lose weight and stay fit during the shooting", said Wuershan during a recent interview.

With a huge budget, the trilogy began its preparation in 2014. It took nearly five years to write the scripts for the three movies, which were filmed over nearly 350 consecutive days. The crew consisted of 8,000 members and there is a stellar cast including Chinese American actor Kris Phillip, better known domestically by his Chinese name Fei Xiang, veterans Huang Bo and Li Xuejian, as well as actress Yuan Quan.

As the tales also feature a group of young princes who possess exceptional martial arts skills, the director selected almost 30 young actors, most of whom had not previously performed in a movie, from a pool of 15,000 applicants, honing their acting chops as well as skills, such as horse-riding and archery.

Naran depicts the crucial role of Daji — a fox demon who disguises herself as a stunning beauty. To help the actress vividly portray her character, which combines the traits of both animals and humans, Wuershan requested that she regularly visit a zoo and closely observe the behavior of foxes. Additionally, the director assigned her the task of noting down her observations in diaries and reporting them.

Now, audiences can judge for themselves the fruits of the filmmaker's efforts. The first installment of the franchise, Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms, has been drawing Chinese movie lovers to cinemas nationwide since its release on July 20, becoming one of the biggest summer blockbusters.