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Director Zhang Yimou and actress Gong Li
attend a special screening of "Curse of Golden Flowers" in New
York, Nov. 27, 2006. Photo Gallery
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BEIJING,
Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- 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.
