Acclaimed crime film features cast of bloggers
- By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China.org.cn, July 10, 2012
|
|
|
All-star cast and bloggers attend the premiere of "Beijing Blues" in Beijing, July 9, 2012. [Photo by Zhang Rui / China.org.cn] |
"Beijing Blues", the much-anticipated police drama film widely acclaimed in Chinese cultural circles held its premiere in Beijing Monday.
"Beijing Blues," also known in Chinese as "Detective Hunter Zhang," the new police movie by Chinese director Gao Qunshu, is a bold take on Chinese modern society (read our review of the film). The film won the Golden Goblet Award for best director at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival in June.
But one award may not be enough. The organizers of the Monday premiere held a fake award ceremony, amusingly titled "Shuang Yu Shu International Film Festival," to promote the movie. "Shuang Yu Shu" is actually the name of the neighborhood in Beijing where the story takes place.
"Beijing Blues" is based on true stories and real characters. It revolves around the life of Zhang Huiling, a Beijing detective known for his long tenure investigating robberies, organized crime and fraud cases.
The movie assembles a group of amateur actors, most of whom are famous bloggers, writers, and poets, with publisher and writer Zhang Lixian playing the leading role as Zhang Huiling. Microblog enthusiasts should recognize many familiar faces in the film, including Wang Xiaoshan and Shi Hang.
Leading man Zhang Lixian was awarded the best actor of the fake "film festival" without surprise. Actor Huang Bo flattered Zhang after the film screening ― being invited to the premiere is "humiliating," he half-joked. "Their performances are so great, how can we professional actors cope with this?"
Famous Chinese directors He Ping, Zhang Yuan, and Gu Changwei, actors Huang Bo, Xu Zheng, Ni Dahong, famous TV hosts Bai Yansong, Cai Jing and Wang Xiaoya, and many famous producers, cultural celebrities and portal website executives such as Luo Yonghao, Chen Tong, Liu Chun as well as Zhang Huiling himself attended the Beijing premiere on July 9.
Boasting more than 10 million combined followers on their online blogs, the "all-star cast" hoped to generate a lot of buzz in China for the unique, funny, bittersweet and realistic documentary-style film, while denying claims that the work was self-indulgent.
The film will hit Chinese screens on July 20. Producers hope the movie can gross 100 million yuan (US$15.7 million) at box offices.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)