Feng Xiaogang criticized the success of reality TV adaptations. (Photo : REUTERS)
Adaptation of reality TV shows into movies is becoming a hot trend in China. However, leading film director Feng Xiaogang asserts that this could stifle the creativity of the domestic film industry.
His comment could not be timelier, since it came after it was announced that "Running Man" did really well in the box-office charts. Not only did it landed on top of the charts, it also managed to overtook a foreign blockbuster, Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies."
"Running Man" is a feature spinoff from a popular local reality TV show, patterned after a Korean format. To have managed this achievement is no small feat.
Incredulously, the film reportedly took only six days to make. However, it raked in significant profits, earning around $61.96 million just after 10 days.
The upcoming Chinese New Year holiday will be featuring another intensely popular reality TV adaptation, "Dad, Where Are We Going?"
This trend is worrying for Feng Xiaogang, the director behind domestic blockbusters "Aftershock" and "Cellphone." The trend can affect the motivation of filmmakers, who would start to question whether their efforts would be worth it in the end.
"If this trend goes on, no movie producers will invest in any serious films by filmmakers. A film that takes a couple of days to make earns hundreds of millions of yuan at the box office, which disheartens filmmakers. Will any other people bother making a good film?" the director shared on the TV show "Hidden Energy."
His comments, however, did not sit well with the People's Daily, which is the official organ of the ruling Communist Party. On an opinion piece, Feng's remarks were deemed an underestimation of the "audience's intelligence and aesthetic sense when it comes to films."
