China IP: You said before that if film fans ask for your autograph on pirated DVDs of Kekexili, you would be happy all the same. But now if someone asks you to sign a pirated DVD of City of Life and Death, what would you do?
Lu Chuan: I would sign it for him anyway! (laugh). A creator is not a businessman (sigh). Once the film comes out, we are always happy to have fans like our work. It is gratifying that I only found one pirated DVD of City of Life and Death. It was a very high quality pirated product, so the fan may not even know whether it was pirated or not. Still, I can tell it from the genuine one. I think there have been improvements in the awareness of supporting genuine products, more or less. So far I have not seen anyone asking for my autograph on a pirated DVD with plastic packaging. I remember clearly when Missing Gun and Kekexili came out, I encountered all kinds of pirated DVDs. There were seven or eight versions of them.
China IP: As a director, do you think piracy could also provide a channel of distribution?
Lu Chuan: I think it is hard now. In the past, most of Jia Zhangke’s films were in fact disseminated by pirated DVDs, because at that time it was extremely hard for his film to enter the normal distribution channels. At present, there are no more “underground directors.” Moreover, most people bought pirated disks in order to save money instead of to see a good movie. Piracy would not play an important role if a director’ films cannot step into cinemas
China IP: Have you ever bought pirated disks?
Lu Chuan: I don’t buy pirated products now. To be honest, I bought them when I was younger. I have to admit it and there is no excuse.
China IP: Now you also set up your own film company. Is anti-piracy one of the working tasks?
Lu Chuan: It certainly is. However, all that a company can do is to keep the film confidential from the script writing to distribution phase, because a lot of previous pirated products were spread out from the inside before. However, we can do nothing in the law enforcement phase after issuing the video.
China IP: Personally, what do you think is the most effective way to curb film piracy?
Lu Chuan: I hope the country’s laws will be more stringent. From my perspective, knowledge is wealth. In reality, if money is stolen it is deemed as theft. However, if the wealth of knowledge is pirated, it is not deemed as theft. I think laws will become more effective if piracy is dealt with as a criminal offense.
China IP: Currently the box office revenues of films are very high. Do you think this is because that the damage of piracy is reducing or the overall situation is getting better?
Lu Chuan: I do not think so. I believe that the harm of piracy is still not diminished.
By Zhou Yi, China IP
(Translated by Li Yu)
