- Title: China's online movie makers draw more viewers, and maybe regulators too
- Date: 6th January 2017
- Summary: LANGFANG, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA (RECENT - DECEMBER 16, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ZOMBIES RUNNING ON SET "ZOMBIE ERA" DIRECTOR SHEN CHENYAN DIRECTING EXTRAS EXTRAS PRACTICING FALLING AS SHEN WALKS PAST CAMERAMAN GETTING READY ACTORS RUNNING FORWARD TO KILL ZOMBIE CAMERAMAN FILMING ACTORS KILLING ZOMBIE SHEN WATCHING ON MONITOR / SHEN STANDING UP AND SAYING (Chinese): "GOOD, EXCELLENT" BEIJING, CHINA (RECENT - DECEMBER 12, 2016) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SHEN'S APARTMENT COMPLEX VARIOUS OF SHEN LOOKING THROUGH PREPARED MATERIALS FOR SHOOT (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ZOMBIE ERA DIRECTOR, SHEN CHENYAN, SAYING: "In the middle of this year, I decided to leave cinematography for a bit and try and do my own projects, it just so happens that the quality and quantity of online movies are going up so it's a great opportunity to try out a few of my own thoughts, and to fulfill my initial intention of becoming a film director." BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) TRAIN PULLING INTO STATION IN FRONT OF ADVERT FOR YOUKU, ONE OF THE MAIN ONLINE MOVIE SCREENING PLATFORMS PEOPLE ON THEIR PHONES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WATCHING VIDEOS ON THEIR PHONES BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 6, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON BEIJING STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 32 YEAR-OLD NURSE SURNAMED WEN, SAYING: "I watch more movies online. You can save more money watching movies online, and my work takes up too much of my time, so I watch more movies online. I see very few movies in the cinema. Sometimes I might go with friends to see movies at the cinema. But I very rarely go." TWO ELDERLY WOMEN RUNNING FROM TRAFFIC BEIJING, CHINA (JANUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF BEIJING QISHUYOUYU CULTURE MEDIA, THE COMPANY BACKING "ZOMBIE ERA" PEOPLE WORKING IN OFFICE MAN WORKING / ZOMBIE MOVIE POSTER IN BACKGROUND ZOMBIE MOVIE POSTER BEIJING QISHUYOUYU CULTURE MEDIA CO-FOUNDER LIU ZHAOHUI SITTING AT DESK AND TALKING CIGAR IN ASHTRAY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) BEIJING QISHUYOUYU CULTURE MEDIA CO-FOUNDER, THE COMPANY BACKING "ZOMBIE ERA", LIU ZHAOHUI, SAYING: "People who produce the best works are still able to make do with what we have, that is to say they can dance with handcuffs, it's not that we are aspiring to this but we have to have this ability, you have to try and freely express yourself in the current situation, this freedom is of course limited... perhaps we've really just got used to it." YANJIAO, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA (RECENT - DECEMBER 15, 2016) (REUTERS) CAMERA FILMING ON SET OF "30 DAYS TO CULTIVATE LOVE" DIRECTOR ZHU SENLIN WATCHING VARIOUS OF DOCTOR IN FILM "30 DAYS TO CULTIVATE LOVE" USING BANANAS TO SHOW PATIENT HOW HIS PENIS COMPARES TO THE AVERAGE MAN DOCTOR ON SCREEN PRODUCER OF "30 DAYS TO CULTIVATE LOVE", LIU YONGQI, WATCHING FILM BEING RECORDED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) "30 DAYS TO CULTIVATE LOVE" PRODUCER, LIU YONGQI, SAYING: "Why is it that the market approves of the stuff they do? Because they have new and creative thoughts, some really out there ideas. The difference with cinemas is that with those films there's a system which has already set out a box for you. It doesn't matter where you go so long as you don't step out of the box. When online movies first got started you could do whatever you want." CAMERAMAN FILMING ACTORS STANDING ACTORS BEING WATCHED ON SCREEN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) "30 DAYS TO CULTIVATE LOVE" PRODUCER, LIU YONGQI, SAYING: "The country managing them is a good thing. So long as their influence isn't over the top or they over intervene with the creative process of these young directors. They need to be given a space - that's my suggestion - they need to be given some space." DIRECTOR WATCHING ACTORS ON SCREEN ACTORS WALKING OUT
- Embargoed: 21st January 2017 11:06
- Keywords: film movies China online internet regulators censorship online films online movies entertainment
- Location: BEIJING / LANGFANG AND YANJIAO, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA
- City: BEIJING / LANGFANG AND YANJIAO, HEBEI PROVINCE, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XXZQ6D
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: It's a cold morning in an abandoned factory complex outside Beijing and a pack of the walking dead are on the loose.
The heroine races forward and plunges a knife into the chest of one of them. "Excellent!" yells director Shen Chenyan, and another scene is in the can for the post-apocalyptic thriller "Zombie Era", the latest domestically-produced movie aimed at a growing online audience in China.
As China's biggest Internet companies spend lavishly on films and TV shows to satisfy consumer demand for video streaming, it has opened the door to a new generation of directors like 27-year-old Shen.
The former cinematographer, who oversees 100 cast members and crew on the Zombie Era set near the capital Beijing, said he would have waited years for the chance to direct a traditional cinema release.
"The quality and quantity of online movies are going up so it's a great opportunity to try out a few of my own thoughts, and to fulfill my initial intention of becoming a film director," he said.
China's box office ended 2016 with its smallest growth in a decade, up only 3.7 percent to 45.7 billion yuan ($6.6 billion) from a year ago, clouding the outlook for cinema operators in the world's second largest movie market.
A slowing economy and fewer foreign blockbusters were among the factors blamed for softer ticket sales last year compared to a nearly 50 percent jump in 2015.
Wen, a 32-year-old nurse in Beijing, said he rarely goes to a cinema these days.
"I watch more movies online. You can save more money watching movies online, and my work takes up too much of my time, so I watch more movies online," he said.
Investors like Liu Zhaohui, the co-founder of Beijing Qishouyouyu Culture Media, see an opportunity. Liu is providing funding for Zombie Era and said his company backed 100 films for the online market in 2016.
For years online movie makers have largely flown under the radar of China's tightly-regulated film industry.
"When online movies first got started you could do whatever you want." said Liu Yongqi, executive producer of the online comedy "30 Days to Cultivate Love", about a man who believes he has terminal testicular cancer and is determined to have a child before he dies.
But directors and producers say that could change this year.
Online films could come under more scrutiny when a new film law takes effect in March. It will require film makers to submit scripts for approval and obtain a license for distributing, screening or transmitting "through information networks such as the Internet, telecommunications networks or radio and television networks".
Some people in the industry say more oversight to weed out excessively lurid or gory content may not be such a bad thing.
"People who produce the best work are still able to make do with what we have. That is to say, they can dance with handcuffs," Liu from Beijing Qishouyouyu Culture Media said.
Back on the set of "30 Days to Cultivate Love", Liu the producer agreed. "The country managing them is a good thing. So long as their influence isn't over the top or they over intervene with the creative process of these young directors. They need to be given a space - that's my suggestion - they need to be given some space."
Perhaps, he added, increased regulation just shows how popular online movies are actually becoming. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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