QINGDAO -- The Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, an emerging mega movie and television industrial center in east China's Shangdong Province, ushered in a new era of growth through its partnership in producing the 2023 Chinese epic fantasy film "Creation of The Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms".
China's first ever the blockbuster to carry the epic myth genre, "Creation of The Gods 1: Kingdom of Storms" was inspired by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel Investiture of the Gods, which narrates the history of the Shang (c.1600BC-1046BC) and Zhou (1046BC-771BC) dynasties. It blends history and mythology to show how Ji Fa, a righteous lord, led a rebellious army to overthrow the notorious tyrant King Zhou 3,000 years ago.
The film has achieved tremendous commercial success, raking in over 1.9 billion yuan (around 262.55 million U.S. dollars) as of August 12.
The film's crew started the shooting in the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis in February 2018 and it took nearly two years to complete the filming.
During the period, nine large studios in the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis industrial park were used, one of which even covers an area of 10,000 square meters. Horse farms and wheat fields were also temporarily set up in the park for film production. The crew even recreated a virgin forest in the 10,000-square-meter studio to create the mysterious atmosphere in ancient times.
Hosting a huge crew of over 8,000 people, the challenging filming process, and smooth cooperation among the various departments not only set a fine example in the development of China's film industrialization, but also elevated the industrial park's service capacities, according to Sun.
In addition to hardware equipment, the industrial park has attracted groups of professional filmmakers through working with the film.