- Title: CHINA: Hundreds turn out for premiere of Hong Kong's first 3D porn
- Date: 14th April 2011
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (APRIL 12, 2011) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** VARIOUS OF FANS VARIOUS OF ACTORS ON STAGE DIRECTOR, CHRISTOPHER SUN, ON STAGE (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, CHRISTOPHER SUN, SAYING "This is the first 3D, the very first category III erotica made here in Hong Kong in 3D format. And what we're going to expect that people don't take it as an erotic or any gross thing to look at. Try to take it as an entertaining movie for adults." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING OUT OF SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR, CHRISTOPHER SUN, SAYING "Actually we have already drawn a lot of tourists and also, I say, they are actually ordinary Chinese people. Of course they are adults. There's no way to show this film there in China so they just come by and try to watch it. And the pre-booking according to our information, the booking from China is huge. Is almost taking up 25 percent of our booking. So it will be huge here, we hope so." PEOPLE ENTERING THE CINEMA PEOPLE QUEUING OUTSIDE CINEMA (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN BANKER, SAYING "Well, I heard it was Hong Kong's first 3D porno movie so not many have watched one of those, right? So I thought, why not?" (SOUNDBITE) (English) FEMALE FINANCIAL SECTOR WORKER, SAYING "I think people should really view this movie as more a romantic movie with kind of a lot of sexual scenes just coming in-between. Actually I liked it a lot better than I expected and I think there's a deeper message to the movie than just people expecting to see body parts flying around." (SOUNDBITE) (English) INDIAN BANKER, SAYING "Well, it was funny, the women were kind of hot, and I didn't use the tissues."
- Embargoed: 29th April 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China, Hong Kong, China
- City:
- Country: Hong Kong
- Reuters ID: LVAD13PBVIKBOCVNBQ3TXQWYBDTK
- Story Text: Hundreds of people turned out on Tuesday (April 12) to watch the premiere of Hong Kong's newest film.
No ordinary porn flick, "3-D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy" is being touted as the territory's first 3-D erotic film.
First out of the gates, the soft porn Hong Kong film comes as the stricken industry, hit hard by free Internet porn in recent years, turns to 3-D as a potential money-spinner, following on from the success of Hollywood blockbusters such as James Cameron's Avatar.
"This is the first 3D, the very first category III erotica made here in Hong Kong in 3D format. And what we're going to expect that people don't take it as an erotic or any gross thing to look at. Try to take it as an entertaining movie for adults," said Director, Christopher Sun.
Seven simultaneous screenings in central Hong Kong were arranged for the premiere of the film to be released on April 14 -- Sun said he hopes it will run over a month, and, importantly, over the Easter holiday.
Based on a classic Chinese erotic text, "The Carnal Prayer Mat," the $3 million film follows a young man as he befriends a duke and enters a world of royal orgies and other sexual peccadilloes.
The producers are hoping the erotic period drama will prove a titillating hit with 3-D-glasses-wearing audiences and help develop a lucrative, niche film market.
"Actually we have already drawn a lot of tourists and also I say they are actually ordinary Chinese people. Of course they are adults. There's no way to show this film there in China so they just come by and try to watch it. And the pre-booking according to our information, the booking from China is huge. Is almost taking up 25 percent of our booking. So it will be huge here, we hope so," said Sun, whose father, Stephen Shiu, was responsible for the original 1991 erotic film "Sex and Zen," which grossed over USD$2.6 million and held the mantle as the city's highest-grossing adult film for over a decade.
The film was punctuated with slapstick comedy and amusing script which offset some of the more explicit sex and sometimes shocking violence.
"Well, I heard it was Hong Kong's first 3D porno movie so not many have watched one of those, right? So I thought, why not?" said one Indian banker, working in Hong Kong, who preferred to remain anonymous.
"I think people should really view this movie as more a romantic movie with kind of a lot of sexual scenes just coming in-between. Actually I liked it a lot better than I expected and I think there''s a deeper message to the movie than just people expecting to see body parts flying around," said another unidentified woman working in finance who said she had seen many regular 3D films and was impressed with the quality.
"Well, it was funny, the women were kind of hot, and I didn't use the tissues," joked the banker, referring to the packet of tissues distributed with the 3D glasses at the entrance of the theatre.
The movie began filming last August on the leafy fringes of Hong Kong in a shabby film studio on a set evoking a subterranean sex lair in ancient China and stars Japanese, Korean and Hong Kong actors.
Taking almost twice the time to shoot than conventional films and with a higher budget, more advanced equipment and elaborate lighting, the take-up of 3-D productions has been relatively slow in the porno industry despite early excitement at its promise.
Despite this, other major 3-D sex flicks are now reportedly in the works. Adult entertainment firm Hustler is reportedly working on a three-dimensional porno-spoof of the lithe, blue aliens in "Avatar," while Italian director Tinto Brass plans to film a 3-D version of his classic 1979 erotic film "Caligula," based loosely on the dissolute life of the Roman emperor.
The Hong Kong film has attracted the attention of distributors across Asia and Europe. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
