News on Entertainment & Culture in China

Cinemas get a Jurassic jolt

Are Hollywood studios going the way of the dinosaur in China?
Jun 24, 2022 (WiC 590)

Even though nearly three decades have passed since Steven Spielberg’s 1993 dinosaur epic Jurassic Park first hit the big screen, the franchise has found new ways to connect with old and new fans. Jurassic World Dominion again ...

Game show

Tencent’s reality TV show pushes eSports further into the mainstream
Jun 17, 2022 (WiC 589)

Last week Tencent announced it will be rolling out a global version of its hugely popular mobile game Honor of Kings by the end of this year. The game has been described as a mobile adaptation of League of Legends (designed by ...

Meet the she-EOs of the Song

Drama about female entrepreneurs contrasts with tycoon’s bankruptcy
Jun 10, 2022 (WiC 588)

Before she became known around the world for her role in Disney’s remake of Mulan, Liu Yifei, 34, was popular in China for her roles in costume dramas. Her career started when she was just 15, becoming the breakout star in 2003’s ...

Candy that left a sour taste

Starlet faces big fine over infringing China’s advertising laws
Jun 3, 2022 (WiC 587)

Last week we wrote about how German carmaker Audi was embroiled in a media storm after an advertisement featuring Andy Lau was found to have copied content from an earlier video made by Chinese internet personality Beida Mange. Audi had to ...

Poetic licence

What are the lessons of Audi’s disastrous venture into verse?
May 27, 2022 (WiC 586)

In the 1980s Saatchi & Saatchi was renowned for its creativity and skilful application of advertising techniques in political campaigning in the UK. The “Labour Isn’t Working” campaign designed by the agency earned widespread acclaim in ...

Crawleys back in China

New Downton film fails to win audiences in China
May 27, 2022 (WiC 586)

At a time when Covid lockdowns mean that fewer films are screening in China’s cinemas – especially in cities like Beijing and Shanghai – a foreign movie made an unexpected debut in the country last week. Downton Abbey: A New ...

Legal eagles

Why CCTV’s ‘rule of law’ drama is winning over few fans
May 20, 2022 (WiC 585)

Over the years, courtroom dramas have offered some pretty memorable quotes. For instance, there’s Jack Nicholson famous line: “You can’t handle the truth!” at the end of A Few Good Men in 1992. In Erin Brockovich eight ...

A chapter closes

Adaptation of hit novel shows all is not well in China’s entertainment scene
May 13, 2022 (WiC 584)

Until recently writer Ma Boyong had a spotless record. The 41 year-old novelist has seen a number of his bestselling books adapted into TV series and films, such as  2019’s critically acclaimed The Longest Day of Chang’an, a ...

Cantopop remix

Hunan TV’s new show is a nostalgic paean to Hong Kong’s music scene
May 6, 2022 (WiC 583)

Late last year Hunan Satellite TV launched the reality show Night in the Greater Bay. The series was a spin-off from Call Me By Fire. It came about when the five Hong Kong contestants, which included Jordan Chan, Julian Cheung ...

Fit for all

How a little-known Taiwanese singer turned into an online sensation
Apr 29, 2022 (WiC 582)

According to a study that focused on physical activity in the UK, most people were less active during pandemic lockdowns (this won’t strike most readers as a revelation). The study revealed that an overwhelming majority worked out less ...

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