Chinese director Zhang Yimou has laughed off a spate of online
video spoofs mocking his blockbusting films.
A series of parodies containing clips from his films have
received tens of thousands of clicks online, with 66,000 people
viewing a fabricated video depicting a love affair between Zhang
and renowned Chinese actress, and often heroine of Zhang's films,
Gong Li.
"They are interesting. We really don't care about these web
pranks, as long as they can entertain people," Huash.com quoted
producer Zhang Weiping, Zhang's long-term partner, as saying.
"Web spoofs have become very popular in China. As long as they
don't infringe upon intellectual property and producers' legal
rights, we uphold online pranks that make people laugh," Yang Yang,
a spokesman for Zhang, said.
Yang said pranksters often parody popular movies which has
resulted in Zhang's new movie Curse of the Golden Flower
attracting wide public attention before its release at the end of
2006. The online spoof version has received 26,000 hits so far.
Web spoofs have become so popular that a new slang term has been
coined - "e-gao". But some directors are struggling to see the
funny side.
One of the most popular e-gaos is a 20-minute short film
entitled The Bloody Case of the Steamed Bun, using clips
from director Chen Kaige's big-budget epic The Promise.
Chen has filed a lawsuit against its author Hu Ge.
China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television
announced new rules in August aimed at cooling the fad - "and
protecting morality and intellectual property" - by authorizing
only a select few websites to screen the short films.?
(China Daily December 1, 2006)