After "The Wandering Earth", what is the next step for Chinese science fiction?

The Spring Festival festivities went down and millions of people returned to work, but that did not stop the rise of "The Wandering Land", which won the fierce box office competition at the biggest Chinese holiday.

On Sunday, the film had already grossed more than 3.8 billion yuan (560 million US dollars), the second highest total in the Chinese film industry. And Maoyan, the largest online movie ticketing service in China, predicts a final figure of about 5 billion yuan (740 million US dollars).

It has not been successful in cinemas either, as it has been mentioned 1.96 billion times and is part of the 400 million threads on Sina Weibo, the Chinese response to Twitter.

While the film continues to take the lead after the holidays, many critics and insiders have turned away from the film to focus on how it could inspire other films of the genre and the national industry as a whole.

What makes a science fiction blockbuster?

The genre of science fiction was once considered a difficult prospect for Chinese filmmakers, because of the large investments required for special effects.

After Liu Cixin won the Hugo Award in 2015 and became the first Chinese winner in science fiction literature, he was expecting a lot of an adaptation or an original screenplay from him, but he's not sure. 39, ultimately acted as a bonus, rather than a necessity.

-A natural result of the development of the film industry

"When the water flows, a channel is formed," said La Peikang, chairman of the board of directors of China Film Co., Ltd.. – the main production company behind "The Wandering Earth" – explaining that the emergence of a national science fiction film is the natural result of the development of the Chinese economy, which also expanded the scale of the film industry.

In the past, the special effects technology was not enough and the investment risks were too high, but sooner or later we (the Chinese) had to have our own sci-fi film productions, La said, and revealed that pre-production on "The Wandering Earth" began at least six years ago.

"We can not always repeat stereotyped genres, focusing on ancient dynasties, martial arts, novels and children's films, we need a diverse structure." At the time (he six years ago), we thought we were missing science fiction genre, "La said, adding that it would provide a huge space for film producers and directors.

-A rising generation of filmmakers

Chance was needed for Frant Gwo to be on board, La said, confessing that the company had been trying to find a foreign manager to take over early, but that most of them were unavailable.

"He did a lot of research on science fiction movies and has the passion and interest in it – he was well prepared, with a lot of research in the field, so he was the right person," La .

As a member of the latest generation of Chinese filmmakers, Gwo's talent and perseverance impressed the producers.

"Without three to five years of intensive and meticulous work and planning, no one could make a good sci-fi movie," La said.

During pre-production, Gwo and his team developed more than 3,000 concepts, more than 8,000 storyboards and at least 10,000 physical accessories. From dozens of teams, the team gradually expanded to 7,000 people. 75% of computer-generated image effects (CGI) were made by national companies such as Base FX, which has studios in Beijing, Wuxi and Xiamen.

-Added a Chinese mind to a well-used genre

The first Chinese science fiction film, "The Wandering Earth" has, to some extent, paved the way for a new genre.

But while many are drawn to the large scale of the film – a key picture is a show of the Earth itself propelled by thousands of thrusters – what is more remarkable is the culture, values ​​and feelings Chinese in the texture of the film, offering a new twist on the genre.

A major theme of the film is the homecoming, as it is represented by the film that takes place during the Chinese New Year, but it is more than a novelty for viewers, it represents centuries of Chinese history that have been absent from this type of genre.

"Chinese movies do not have superheroes.Most of them are ordinary people.Everybody in my movie is ordinary," said Frant Gwo, "but their decisions and actions finally make them heroes. "

"It could be a trend towards collectivism, which is familiar to the Chinese public," Gwo said. "Chinese films should have our values, a Chinese soul, that is to say that values ​​have no norms, there are no good or bad values. There are only different cultures. "

And judging by the returns, this Chinese soul has not only seduced Chinese viewers, but also Westerners: "The Wandering Earth" has so far reported US $ 3.82 million in North America, surpassing all other Chinese films presented in this territory.

You might also be interested in: "Wandering Earth": China's first inspiring step for sci-fi film, what else?

A decisive step, but what's next?

While talking about "The Wandering Earth", critics and insiders all chose a specific word to describe the meaning of the film: milestone.

Having been so successful, it's not hard to imagine that there could be a number of similar films in the pipeline.

A potential gold rush for sci-fi films

The Peikang said it was certain that a number of distinctly Chinese science fiction films would be screened on the big screen over the next two years, which portends a fever of investment in the genre. This is also what Gwo expects from his film: he will inspire more filmmakers and bring more investment.

"We are thinking about the possibility of spin-offs," La said, adding that China Film Co., Ltd. was going to release two sci-fi movies later this year, with the same production values ​​as "The Wandering Earth." .

The mentioned that the company was also working on a long-term plan to produce more sci-fi movies and had already bought the rights to several other genre properties, thus suggesting that a period of prosperity was in the works .

-A systematic film industry is still in need

However, despite the success of "The Wandering Earth", many are still aware that there is a big gap between the Chinese film industry and Hollywood.

He mentions that the success of "The Wandering Earth" is limited compared to what Western films of the same kind can achieve.

Frant Gwo agrees: "China is 25 to 30 years behind Hollywood in filming, and post-production is 10 to 15 years behind schedule," he said in a statement. 39, an interview with CGTN, but the young director obviously has greater ambitions. .

"I hope to be able to categorize the workflow of the Chinese film industry in five sci-fi films. During the production of this film, the workflow of the American film industry was still ambiguous but we can now see the outlines, "he said. "I think with three to five other films, we could get a general idea of ​​what it looks like."

Video of Zhang Xinyue

Photograph of Ma Jian

Cover image designed by Li Yueyun

Copy Editor: Josh McNally

The interview of Frant Gwo directed by Li Jianhua

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