News culture This 130 million dollar film was supposed to compete with James Cameron’s “Avatar”: it was never released!
To get into the cinema, it’s not just enough to have a well-filled wallet, you also need a strong back and a concept that lasts depending on the target market, Chinese businessman Jon Jiang will have learned that the hard way, he says, who competes with Avatar wanted and in the end had the feeling that I had thrown money out the window: 130 million invested and absolutely nothing in sight!
Empires of the Deep, the phantom competitor to Avatar that never saw the light of day
Who else butAvatar can compete Avatar ? This question is currently difficult to answer, since the history of cinema has shown us that only James Cameron himself has exceeded the limits of his masterpieces and permanently established himself in the ranking of the most profitable feature films of the seventh art. However, there was a time when James Cameron’s universe almost proved to be a worthy opponent. In fact, I’m watching the first part of the franchise Avatar struck more than one viewer and inspired just as many others, including Chinese real estate tycoon Jon Jiang.
Quite financially wealthy and full of ideas and inspiration for the scenario – there were 40 different versions in total -, Jiang begins to imagine the outlines of a film project to be called Empires of the Deep (even though he almost named himself Mermaid Island). With a hefty budget of $130 million, the Chinese ogre wants to hunt on the American giant’s land and even make a trilogy. However, directing is not for him. It was then that he decided to approach blockbuster greatness : Irvin Kershner, the filmmaker behind it Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back ! The problem is that this story of a mermaid queen defending her kingdom in the middle of ancient Greece doesn’t seem very relevant to a Western audience. He then makes suggestions to Jiang, but he brushes them aside.
Nothing goes right in the production of the film and nobody wants it!
Do you trade its mythological story for people discovering a lost kingdom? What next ! Jiang continues to meet with directors (Scott Miller, Michael French, Pitof) before signing an agreement with Jonathan Lawrence. However, this is only the first trouble in a long series of adventures that will gradually lead to this Empires of the Deep towards failure. After the director, what poses a problem is the management of the extras, which reveals enormous deficiencies on the film sets, places where we are trying to construct a film whose script is not quite ready… Originally there were 500 copies, but apart from 20 copies, almost all of the extras disappeared due to constant non-payment. But despite this, the project is moving forward and can even boast of having signed the face of its main heroine, played by Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace).
Aside from a rudimentary-looking 3D trailer and new, slightly more flattering images in 2010 than 2012, The film’s production stalled until 2014 ! To give the film a boost, Jiang tried to make a big move and contacted Michael Kahn, Steven Spielberg’s official editor. However, the process stagnates when things don’t get stuck internally, but around the film: No US trader is willing to take the risk given what they have seen so far… This umpteenth setback therefore forces Jiang to make the decision to turn to crowdfunding, but here too the tycoon comes face to face with reality: The mobilization is insufficient and prevents people from thinking about a theatrical release. Certainly abandoned and in the limbo of cinema history, the film will have brought Jiang nothing but a very large sum of $130 million.
