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Thread: The Wandering Earth

  1. #16
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    First forum review

    Netflix snuck this one out without any press. I've been following all the posts about what's coming to Netflix in May specifically for this title and no mention. It's not even popping in my 'new releases' even though the Netflixbots know I watch a lot of Chinese cinema. I had to search it out. WTH Netflix?

    But on to the review. It's 2001 HAL meets Space 1999. If you accept the whole notion of moving earth to another system with rockets, then you're good here. That always bugged me about 1999 but it was two of the IMF so I let that slide. This is Wu Jing so I'll let it slide again. It's a rousing patriotic tale, a lot of self sacrifice, a lot filial piety, uniting after a speech on hope, tension from waiting for a program to load (we can all relate), that sort of thing. It's also predictable from the first scene, if you know your Chinese cinema story arcs. The CGI was good enough for Netflix, not sure if it would've held up on the big screen. Maybe. Wu Jing was great in it. He has really risen as a megastar and I'm so delighted at that because I always liked his screen presence. There were some good moments for sure, some interesting peeks into how PRC imagines the future. I enjoyed it once it got going and I could park my brain outside, getting past the whole moving planet thing. It has some sloppy sino sentimental bits, but the caricature take on foreigners was interesting, reminiscent of how Asians were depicted in Hollywood, and sometimes still are. It's worth the view if you're interested in international sci-fi.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #17
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    The Wandering Earth

    More news from Cannes - Shanghai Fortress has Shu Qi in it so I guess I'm in although I'm really more interested in the wake of The Wandering Earth.

    ASIA MAY 13, 2019 1:30PM PT
    Cannes: China’s Times Vision Bets on Sci-Fi ‘Shanghai Fortress’ (EXCLUSIVE)

    By REBECCA DAVIS


    CREDIT: TIMES VISION

    Chinese sales and distribution company Times Vision has brought two new titles to Cannes this year, including “Shanghai Fortress,” a big-budget summer sci-fi blockbuster that producers hope will replicate the success of “The Wandering Earth.” Its other film at the Marche is family drama “Looking Up.”

    “Shanghai Fortress” stars Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and Chinese idol Lu Han, one of the country’s highest-paid celebrities, who rose to fame as a member of the South Korean boy band Exo. It is expected to debut in early August, with China Film Group as the primary distributor.

    Adapted from a popular sci-fi novel by writer Jiang Nan, the futuristic romance was produced by HS Entertainment Group Inc. The firm was behind the 2013 romantic comedy “So Young,” the directorial debut of actress Vicky Zhao Wei and the 2017 TV series “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” a palace drama.

    “Looking Up” is a family drama starring Deng Chao (Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow,” 2016’s “The Mermaid”) that centers on the changing relationship between a father and his young son. Deng directed the feature jointly with writer-director Yu Baimei (“Devil and Angel,” “The Break-Up Guru”). It is set to hit Chinese theaters July 26, with Maoyan as the China distributor.

    Times Vision recently sold the rights to action thriller “Savage,” the debut feature from Chinese screenwriter Cui Siwei, to numerous territories worldwide. Rights were purchased by Well Go for North America, Wild Bunch for France, Koch Films for Germany, Cai Chang for Taiwan, At Entertainment for Japan, NK Contents for Korea, and Encore for in-flight.

    The film debuted April 30 in China but, overshadowed by “Avengers: Endgame” and “Capernaum,” has not performed very well, making just $3.92 million (RMB27 million).

    But Times Vision CEO Nathan Hao told Variety he was optimistic for the prospects of his new slate, particularly “Shanghai Fortress.” “We think the film will have a good chance because there’s been such great achievements in the world box office and streaming for ‘The Wandering Earth,'” he said. That film debuted in February and has gone on to become the second-highest grossing film of all time in the country, with earnings of $677 million (RMB4.66 billion), paving the way for the genre in the Middle Kingdom.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #18
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    PRC's big box office winners

    DECEMBER 18, 2019 1:28AM PT
    China’s Box Office Total Breaks All-Time Record
    By PATRICK FRATER
    Asia Bureau Chief


    CREDIT: COURTESY OF CHINA FILM GROUP

    The Chinese box office has broken its all-time yearly record, with local films accounting for eight of the top 10 movies so far in 2019 and a few more anticipated releases yet to come. The previous record total, set last year, of RMB60.7 billion – $8.67 billion at current conversion rates – was overtaken last Friday, according to data from online ticketing agency Maoyan.

    With nearly two weeks to go until the end of the year, and a clutch of big titles to be released during the busy Christmas season, 2019’s takings could show several percentage points of growth from last year. Maoyan chose not to issue a forecast, noting that some 2019 releases remain fluid even at this late stage.

    The record-breaking haul seemed an unlikely outcome throughout the first half of the year, when the local industry was dogged by uncertainty caused by the Fan Bingbing tax scandal. That triggered a sharp slowdown in production from mid-2018, as well as financial difficulties for studios large and small.

    The crucial Chinese New Year period in early 2019 did deliver a record total and a breakthrough for Chinese sci-fi, with “The Wandering Earth” taking RMB4.66 billion ($665 million). But the total did not match the rate of cinema construction, and the season included several disappointments.

    Summer was rescued by the unexpected performance of Chinese animated film “Nezha,” which achieved RMB4.97 billion ($710 million), making it China’s second-highest-grossing film ever. And the early autumn, which included a clutch of patriotic movies with releases intended to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, turned into blockbuster season. Winners were “My People, My Country” and “The Captain” (previously known as “The Chinese Pilot”). It also threw up the unlikely breakthrough of oft-delayed “Better Days,” a local film that got yanked at the last minute from the Berlin Film Festival because of Chinese censors.

    Among foreign titles, the only two to figure in the year’s current top 10 are “Avengers: Endgame” and “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.”

    Maoyan noted that this year has seen a marked polarization of the Chinese box office. “Nezha” and “Wandering Earth” together account for nearly one sixth of the entire annual total. “China needs more high-quality movies to drive the steady growth of the box office,” it said in an announcement. It highlighted “Song of Youth,” “The Legend of Hei” and “White Snake” as examples of low- and mid-budget successes.
    THREADS
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    Gene Ching
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  4. #19
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    To Netflix

    Game of Thrones makers to adapt Chinese sci-fi classic for Netflix
    7 hours ago


    HBO
    Can the Games of Thrones team pull off a Chinese sci-fi saga?

    Netflix has announced it's recruited two of the masterminds behind Games of Thrones to adapt bestselling Chinese sci-fi novel The Three-Body Problem.

    Writers David Benioff and DB Weiss will work on the series with True Blood writer Alexander Woo.

    The news has drawn mixed reactions with some fans doubting a US adaptation of the Chinese story will work.

    The book is the first instalment of the trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past by writer Liu Cixin.

    First published in 2008, the books were soon translated into English and have received both critical acclaim and a global readership, counting former US President Barack Obama and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg among their fans.

    The plot of the saga spans from China's Cultural Revolution to events several thousand years in the future.

    "Liu Cixin's trilogy is the most ambitious science-fiction series we've read, taking readers on a journey from the 1960s until the end of time, from life on our pale blue dot to the distant fringes of the universe," Netflix cites writers and executive producers Benioff and Weiss as saying.

    "We look forward to spending the next years of our lives bringing this to life for audiences around the world."

    The pair signed an exclusive deal with Netflix in 2019.


    GETTY IMAGES
    Benioff and Weiss brought the Game of Thrones books to the small screen
    The streaming company has not released any information on the release date nor other details about the series.

    Fears over 'western stereotypes' of China
    By Zhijie Shao, BBC News Chinese

    Before Liu Cixin and his "Three-Body" series, Chinese science-fiction was not prominent, even among Chinese audience. The country has a history of suppressing its development, which used to be seen by the government as "a western view of the future of mankind".

    Liu's work captured the imagination of Chinese fans in both scientific and philosophical terms without avoiding some controversial parts of Chinese history and society, bringing an innovative sense of modern China to the world stage. And he did it without being a dissident.

    A whole new generation of Chinese sci-fi authors and fans have emerged after Liu's success.

    On the Chinese internet, Three-Body fandom continues to go strong. A group of fans even made an experimental adaptation in Minecraft style,

    But when it comes to a proper film adaption, many fans doubt that China's sci-fi film industry is sophisticated enough to handle the grand ideas presented in Liu's books.

    A case in point: the first attempt of a film adaptation of "Three-Body" was announced in 2015 and reportedly finished filming in only a few months. It was never released.

    Now with Netflix and a team of western writers involved, fans are instead worried that the Chinese characters and historical events in the story might fall into "western stereotypes".

    Either way, they're worried they could never enjoy it as much as they have the books.

    Liu Cixin, the Chinese author of the novels, will be involved in the project as a consulting producer.

    "I have the greatest respect for and faith in the creative team adapting The Three-Body Problem for television audiences," he said in a Netflix statement.

    "It is a great honor as an author to see this unique sci-fi concept travel and gain fandom across the globe and I am excited for new and existing fans all over the world to discover the story on Netflix."

    The movie adaption of The Wandering Earth, another Cixin novel, in 2019 became one of China's highest-grossing films of all time.


    NETFLIX
    Liu Cixin's trilogy has become an international bestseller

    The Netflix announcement was welcomed by some fans hoping the producers will create a series as successful as Game of Thrones while others were doubting it was the right team.

    Many Chinese netizens were pointing out that they did not think that US producers could do justice to the novels.

    Others though said Netflix will be free of any censorship constraints while a Chinese adaptation would be limited in how it could portray events around the Cultural Revolution for instance.

    Chinese streaming platform Tencent earlier this year announced its own adaptation of the novel after having already launched a comic book adaptation last year.
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    Gene Ching
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  5. #20
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    Ng Man Tat

    Comedy Icon Ng Man Tat No Longer Looks Frail And Sickly Thanks To Tai Chi
    By*ILSA CHAN


    Ng Man Tat
    Now he wants everyone to get fit with [him] .
    Published15 AUGUST, 2020 UPDATED 21 AUGUST, 2020

    Now he wants everyone to get fit with [him] .

    After years of being plagued with health problems, veteran Hongkong comedian Ng Man Tat seems to have turned his life around.

    Earlier in the week, the actor, who is best known for being Stephen Chow’s sidekick in the auteur's slapstick comedy classics, took to social media to share a short clip of himself practising tai chi. Along with the clip, he wrote: “Get fit with me. Everyone can become a master.”

    Meet "Master Ng"
    Dressed in a white singlet and black pants, “Master Ng” not only appeared energetic and in good spirits, but also looked fitter and healthier than he has in years.

    He also dyed his hair black, which made him look younger than his 67 years.

    Man Tat has come a long way health-wise
    This is a far cry from how he looked a year ago when he was photographed looking frail and reportedly needed help walking.

    Man Tat looking frail just last year
    The comedian’s health struggles started in 2000 when he was diagnosed with diabetes, and almost had to amputate one of his legs.

    In 2014, he was diagnosed with heart failure after a viral infection, and this spurred him to change his lifestyle. Despite his efforts, he revealed in 2015 that he could only recover 50 per cent of his heart’s function.

    Last year, those photos of Man Tat looking frail also sparked concern about his health.

    Man Tat at a promotional event for 2019 Chinese sci-fi flick The Wandering Earth
    Photos: Weibo
    Read more at https://www.8days.sg/sceneandheard/e...hanks-13020638
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    I know it says Tai Chi but the pix look more like the Brocade.
    Gene Ching
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  6. #21
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    The Wandering Earth 2

    We'll split this into its own indie thread in 2022 or so...assuming the lights are still on around here...

    Dec 2, 2020 12:21am PT
    ‘The Wandering Earth’ Sequel Sets Chinese New Year 2023 Release Date


    By Rebecca Davis


    Courtesy of China Film Group
    Director Frant Gwo has announced that the sequel to his sci-fi hit “The Wandering Earth,” China’s third highest grossing film of all time, will release over the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday, consistently the country’s biggest movie-going week of each year.

    “The Wandering Earth” became a surprise hit after its 2019 Lunar New Year debut, beating competitors including Ning Hao’s “Crazy Alien” and Han Han’s “Pegasus” to top that year’s holiday box office. Produced by Beijing Culture on a budget of around $50 million, it grossed $691 million in China, but less than $6 million in North America. It was later picked up by Netflix.

    “After two years of pre-production and thinking about the script, we’ve decided to initiate our shooting plan for ‘The Wandering Earth 2,’ and at the same time have set our release date for New Year’s Day 2023,” set to fall on Jan. 22, Gwo told the public during China’s Golden Rooster Film Festival, which concluded at the weekend. Though a title has yet to be announced, the script is largely completed, he said, adding: “Next, we will try to begin new production processes, and will involve more new technologies.”

    The sequel will again be directed by Gwo, produced by Gong Ge’er, and supervised by sci-fi titan Liu Cixin, who wrote the original 2000 novella from which the first film was adapted.

    “The preparation work for ‘The Wandering Earth 2’ has already been ongoing for some time. We have created a new world full of science fiction elements and are looking forward to audiences discovering new, better plots and more details,” Gong said.

    Fu Ruoqing, vice chairman of China Film Group, which is backing the sequel, said that the challenge of shooting the sequel will spark a rising tide that will lift all boats, improving technical standards in a manner that will benefit the film industry at large. “ ‘The Wandering Earth 2’ will explore ways of streamlining and standardizing production that hopefully will make films get better and better,” he said.


    "Wandering Earth 2" Poster
    A new poster issued for the sequel features the phrase “Goodbye Solar System” written out again and again in numerous languages. “There is a feeling here of the earth setting sail, with the sun on the right side indicating that we will move forward towards a brighter world,” Gwo said of the poster. Promotional materials and events featuring Wu Jing seem to indicate that the bankable star of the original will return for the second instalment, despite his character meeting a seemingly inescapable bad end in the first.

    An extended, 3D “special edition” version of the original film that runs 12 extra minutes is currently back in cinemas, where it has grossed $500,000 since its Nov. 26 debut, ranking a low ninth at the box office Tuesday local time beneath the Harrison Ford-starring “Call of the Wild.”

    Liu’s Hugo Award-winning trilogy “The Three-Body Problem” is set to be adapted into a high-profile TV series by “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss alongside writer-producer Alexander Woo for Netflix. The announcement has stoked early controversy due to objections from U.S. politicians concerned about giving such a platform to Liu’s work given his support of Chinese government policies in Xinjiang, a region where an estimated one million ethnic minority Uyghurs have been placed in internment camps.

    Expectations in China remain high for “The Wandering Earth” sequel, where fans accustomed to the lightening speed production schedules of most Chinese blockbusters bemoaned a release date so atypically far in a future. “Still two whole years to go, but I’m so excited!” wrote one user on China’s Twitter-like Weibo social media platform.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  7. #22
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    The Wandering Earth II

    Gene Ching
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  8. #23
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    CNY box office

    Chinese film industry gets boost from strong showing over Lunar New Year
    With takings of just under US$1 billion, this year’s holiday period beat the 2019 and 2022 performance, although it was below 2021’s record level
    Full River Red by the acclaimed director Zhang Yimou and the sci-fi drama The Wandering Earth II were the most popular features over the holiday
    Yuanyue Dang in Beijing
    + myNEWS
    Published: 9:00pm, 28 Jan, 2023


    An audience settles down for a screeing of Full River Red at a cinema in Shanghai. Photo: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images

    The Chinese box office performed strongly over the Lunar New Year holiday, lifting the gloom over the country’s film industry and giving a strong boost to the country’s economic recovery.
    As of Saturday, takings stood at 6.8 billion yuan (US$973 million), compared with 5.9 billion yuan during the 2019 Spring Festival and just over 6 billion last year, according to box office statistics provider Maoyan Pro.
    However, the figure was still below 2021’s record figure of 7.8 billion yuan.
    The most popular film was Zhang Yimou’s historical suspense film Full River Red, which accounted for 2.7 billion yuan, followed by the sci-fi movie The Wandering Earth II, which accounted for 2.2 billion.
    According to Maoyan Pro, over 120 million people went to the cinema in China during this year’s Spring Festival holidays.
    A total of seven new films were released in China during this year’s Spring Festival, all of which were domestic films.
    Public interest in Full River Red and The Wandering Earth II, based on a story by the popular sci-fi author Liu Cixin, was boosted by online arguments by rival fans about which of the two films was better.
    Other major releases have not fared so well however. Hidden Blade, a second world war spy thriller, had mixed reviews leading to the ratings website Douban, not disclosing the film’s rating for a while.
    But another new release – Ping Pong: The Triumph, a drama about the men’s team’s victory in the 1995 world championships – was suddenly withdrawn from release on Wednesday because of its dismal box office ratings.
    The Spring Festival has long been regarded as a barometer for the fortunes of the domestic film industry because it has become customary for people to go to the movies during the week-long holiday.
    The box office suffered during the early stages of the pandemic, with many releases being cancelled in 2020 and total takings reaching just over 10 million yuan.
    Although the zero-Covid restrictions in place during the 2021 and 2022 Spring Festivals did not appear to have a significant impact, with several patriotic blockbusters and high ticket prices helping to boost takings.
    Ticket prices for this year’s Spring Festival season fell to 53.5 yuan, down from 56.1 yuan last year.

    All the films released during the holiday were domestic ones. Photo: Getty Images
    The total number of screenings was also down on previous years as the length of films was generally longer this year.
    Financial media outlet 36Kr argued that although the box office total is not as high as in 2021, this year’s Spring Festival performance is already a positive one for the film market.

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    Yuanyue Dang

    Yuanyue joined the Post in 2022 and covers culture and society news. He graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor's degree in journalism and holds a master’s degree in anthropology from University College London. Previously, he worked as a features reporter for Esquire China, The Beijing News and Initium Media.
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