http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article346946.ece
A
young, unemployed film-maker's 20-minute internet parody of Chen Kaige's latest
movie The Promise has delighted China's online audiences and raised the hackles
of the country's most prestigious - and pompous - film director.
Hu Ge, 31, a multimedia editor from Shanghai, said he made a parody of Chen's
￡24m fantasy epic "just for fun" because he thought the original was "boring and
unoriginal".
When Chen, who also directed Farewell, My Concubine, heard about Hu's take on
his latest masterwork, he flew into a rage, accusing him of being "unimaginably
shameless" and threatening to sue him for defamation. In the parody, the title
of which translates as something like The Steamed Bun Murder, Hu has reduced the
sweeping historical epic, with its emphasis on honour, swordplay, physical
prowess and mysticism, to a gratuitous murder over a tasty snack.
Reviews of The Promise have been at best lukewarm - one commentator on the
official Xinhua news agency website said the pale plots had disappointed many
"who have subsequently been thrilled at Hu's caustic mickey-take".
The Promise has taken in about ￡14m in box office receipts. The Steamed Bun
Murder, however, has been an instant success watched by millions online.
Chen, believing his work to have important messages about "love, freedom, and
destiny", said he hoped everyone who watches it can "just enjoy it and feel like
they had a spiritual shower". Hu thought differently. He went to see The Promise
on Christmas Eve and felt that he had been robbed of the ￡5.40 ticket price. He
decided to play with the footage for his own and his friends' amusement.
Hu said he was shocked when he heard that Chen was threatening to sue, adding
that he doesn't have any money to pay legal costs. "I didn't think Chen would
take it so seriously," he said. There has been a remarkable backlash in China's
chatrooms - almost all of it against Chen. "As an internationally acclaimed
director, Chen should not be that narrow-minded," said one blogger, while Chen's
former wife Hong Huang was quoted as saying: "He is too petty-minded to tolerate
a little bun."
A young, unemployed film-maker's 20-minute internet parody of Chen Kaige's
latest movie The Promise has delighted China's online audiences and raised the
hackles of the country's most prestigious - and pompous - film director.
Hu Ge, 31, a multimedia editor from Shanghai, said he made a parody of Chen's
￡24m fantasy epic "just for fun" because he thought the original was "boring and
unoriginal".
When Chen, who also directed Farewell, My Concubine, heard about Hu's take on
his latest masterwork, he flew into a rage, accusing him of being "unimaginably
shameless" and threatening to sue him for defamation. In the parody, the title
of which translates as something like The Steamed Bun Murder, Hu has reduced the
sweeping historical epic, with its emphasis on honour, swordplay, physical
prowess and mysticism, to a gratuitous murder over a tasty snack.
Reviews of The Promise have been at best lukewarm - one commentator on the
official Xinhua news agency website said the pale plots had disappointed many
"who have subsequently been thrilled at Hu's caustic mickey-take".
The
Promise has taken in about ￡14m in box office receipts. The Steamed Bun Murder,
however, has been an instant success watched by millions online.
Chen, believing his work to have important messages about "love, freedom, and
destiny", said he hoped everyone who watches it can "just enjoy it and feel like
they had a spiritual shower". Hu thought differently. He went to see The
Promiseon Christmas Eve and felt that he had been robbed of the ￡5.40 ticket
price. He decided to play with the footage for his own and his friends'
amusement.
Hu said he was shocked when he heard that Chen was threatening to sue, adding
that he doesn't have any money to pay legal costs. "I didn't think Chen would
take it so seriously," he said. There has been a remarkable backlash in China's
chatrooms - almost all of it against Chen. "As an internationally acclaimed
director, Chen should not be that narrow-minded," said one blogger, while Chen's
former wife Hong Huang was quoted as saying: "He is too petty-minded to tolerate
a little bun."
