CHINA: ORDINARY PEOPLE IN REMOTE PROVINCE GET CHANCE TO STAR IN TELEVISION DRAMA ON CABLE TV

Record ID: 857130

  • Title: CHINA: ORDINARY PEOPLE IN REMOTE PROVINCE GET CHANCE TO STAR IN TELEVISION DRAMA ON CABLE TV
  • Date: 19th November 2004
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF TV DRAMA
  • Embargoed: 4th December 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: PUJIANG COUNTY, SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Entertainment,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA91J0US2OPZW48SAOXTWUCEO31
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Tinsel town comes to a remote Chinese province where ordinary people get a taste of stardom in a homegrown television drama.
    Instead of saying hello, people in Pujiang county are now greeting each other with a question - "Have you seen so-and-so on TV?"
    Since August, this small town in Sichuan province has become the focus of a unique community tv project where the stars of the show are ordinary villagers.
    It's the ultimate in low-budget film making.
    Farmers, tailors and factory workers have all caught the acting bug - debuting in a tv drama recounting stories gleaned from life in this small county.
    The tv drama is broadcast five times week on cable tv with a viewership of several thousand.
    The project is the initiative of the Cultural Office of Pujiang County. Led by Liu Jiangyou, the team came up with a script, rented a video camera and a drama was in the making.
    "Through making TV drama we can help ordinary people get a taste of the entertainment world. They can be involved in shooting, watching and talking about the production. This is also one of the ways to be involved in mass media," said Liu Jiangyou, vice curator of Pujiang County's Cultural Office.
    The stars of the show are completely untrained and work for free - but the actors and actresses are revelling in their fifteen minutes of fame.
    Zheng Yanfen is more familiar with tilling the fields of Pujiang County than with life under the spotlight - but she's loving every minute of the glamour of television.
    "I admire real actors and actress very much before. I respected them for a long time. I think it is amazing that they can show themselves on TV. As for myself, I am very happy to act. It is fun," said Zheng.
    Now, some of these fledgling actors are dreaming of a dramatic career change, so inspired are they by their new experiences.
    "I never imagined (that I could act). I had a chance to act only because of this tv drama. I want to see whether I can make it or not. I have always wanted to be a actor,"
    said He Hongjin, a factory worker by trade.
    As the villagers settle down for a good evening's entertainment - watching themselves on tv - some are having to cope with a new found fame.
    Tailor Dong Xiuqing, who plays a matchmaker in the drama series, is often approached by fans on the street asking her to find partners for them.
    Dong enjoys the fame, but admits that acting is a tough challenge.
    "I think I am not good at acting, it is really funny (to see myself act). I never imagined that I would look like this on TV,"
    said Dong Xiuqinq.
    And while the dramas of Pujiang County may never become a blockbuster series, they are giving locals a taste of small screen fame.
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