The Chinese film industry is brewing something up for science-fiction fans.
To offer more than just Hollywood sidekick roles, local movie production companies are shifting toward creating more sci-fi films soon, industry insiders said.
Film critic Yan Peng, who is also the planning supervisor of Beijing Galloping Horse Film & TV Production Co., said that movie houses have started working on sci-fi projects with huge financial budgets. There is at least one film that invested over a hundred million yuan ($16 million), he revealed.
Yan said that the move not only suggests the growing interest of investors, but the rise of enthusiasm from the industry as well. He pointed out that the Chinese film industry has evolved over the years, prompting it to have its own sci-fi titles.
One of the much-awaited sci-fi films is the adaptation of Chinese fiction writer Liu Cixin's bestselling saga, "The Three-Body Problem."
Further, writer-turned-director Han Han disclosed plans for a sci-fi fil project after his successful directing debut with "Continent."
Even with the success of many foreign sci-fi films like "Gravity" and "Transformers," the local film industry is still lagging behind mainly due to outdated technology.
Beijing Normal University professor and film critic Wu Yan said that China is no doubt lacking experience in film production, especially in art design and computerized special effects.
Other critics, meanwhile, blame some established directors' lack of sci-fi culture, but believe younger filmmakers are pulling off a challenge.
As many were from the 1970s and lived up reading sci-fi novels, filmmakers must be more knowledgeable of the craft, said China Scientific and Cultural Industry Net CEO and writer Zheng Jun.
"Eyes of Mars" executive producer Lu Bingshu said that film production is indeed a laborious task, but all their efforts will be worthy contributions in developing the genre.
Though many sci-fi projects are in the process, Chinese filmmakers fret that viewers may not fully accept the shift in genre.
Chinese movies labeled as "sci-fi," Zheng said, are often seen as rip-offs of its Western counterparts, making them less valuable to the audience.
Yan, nevertheless, encouraged the public to patronize the local film industry. He said that with the rise of Western sci-fi films with Western themes, there should be local productions that would embody the Chinese way of thinking.