Entertainment

Terribly good?

Guo Jingming’s new film confounds critics who thought they’d hate it
Oct 7, 2016 (WiC 342)

Writer-director Guo Jingming is no stranger to controversy. In the same year that he became China’s highest paid novelist – he was believed to have made Rmb700 million ($105 million) in 2007 – he was also voted the country’s most hated ...

She’ll see you in court

Veteran director hopes for an Oscar with his latest black comedy
Sep 30, 2016 (WiC 341)

Pan Jinlian is one of very few female characters in The Water Margin, one of the four classic novels in Chinese literature. But she has a huge impact. Pan’s adulterous affair leads to the murder of her husband Wu Dalang, and her name soon ...

Educational programme

TV series strikes a chord with China’s middle class parents
Sep 23, 2016 (WiC 340)

In China, most parents believe that to succeed in life, it is important to give their children a leg-up as early as possible. In Guangzhou, parents can even enroll their three year-olds in a “CEO training course” for Rmb50,000 ($7,500) a ...

Stomach churning

Decision to release Bourne movie in 3D in China causes nausea backlash
Sep 2, 2016 (WiC 338)

Not every filmmaker is a fan of 3D cinema technology. Some, like JJ Abrams, have argued that 3D films do little to enhance the cinematic experience (“When you put the glasses on, everything gets dim”). Others don’t like the trouble of ...

An ill-suited match

A movie star’s very messy divorce has got social media buzzing
Aug 26, 2016 (WiC 337)

The tumultuous relationship between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had all the elements of a tabloid reporter’s dream story: Hollywood megastar breaks up with the French mother of his two children (Vanessa Paradis) to pursue his love interest on ...

Fighting to retain fans

New blockbuster is mauled by critics, but luckily it’s insured against failure
Jul 29, 2016 (WiC 335)

After years of growth, China’s box office reported a surprising halt in the second quarter of this year. Data from Entgroup shows that ticket sales contracted 7% in the period. The fall was the first year-on-year quarterly decline in five ...

Drawing comparisons

Controversy over Japanese influence on animated film
Jul 22, 2016 (WiC 334)

The release of the smartphone game Pokemon Go on July 6 sent Nintendo’s shares skyrocketing $17 billion in a single week – with players across Australia, New Zealand and the United States taking to the streets to hunt down the ...

Opposing voices

Dutch firm wins row over TV hit, as regulator pushes for Chinese content
Jul 15, 2016 (WiC 333)

Since The Voice of China first appeared on Zhejiang Satellite TV in 2012, it has been a massive commercial success. So Canxing Productions, the firm behind the hugely popular television franchise, can’t have been too pleased when its ...

Run, rabbit, run

Meet China’s most popular national mascot
Jul 8, 2016 (WiC 332)

Over this year’s Easter weekend, one British TV channel endured a barrage of criticism after it decided to air the 1978 animated adaption of the classic novel Watership Down. Parents were quick to complain that the film, featuring ...

China’s Michelin stars

A culinary drama has an extravagant budget but divides critics
Jul 8, 2016 (WiC 332)

After collecting years of data, Netflix found that on average, it takes subscribers a week to binge-watch an entire season of their favourite television series. And those viewers are dedicating a significant amount of time to do so: they watch ...