"I hope to use my sincerity and empathy to impress the audience, and tell the story of my hometown and China to everyone." Chinese filmmaker Jia Ling recently entered the United States with her self-directed and starring movie "Hot Hot" Los Angeles, speaking at a special North American screening.
"Hot" is the box office champion during China's Spring Festival this year. It tells the inspirational story of an overweight woman who rises up from adversity and grows into a boxer. China Film Data Information Network shows that as of March 20, the film’s cumulative box office in mainland China exceeded 3.4 billion yuan.
Sony Pictures, one of the five major Hollywood film companies, bought the international distribution rights of the film. It will be screened in more than 200 theaters in North America on the 8th of this month. This is a large number, which is rare among Chinese films that have entered North American theaters in recent years. . According to data from the box office statistics agency Comesco Analytics, the film's first weekend box office revenue reached ninth place on the North American weekend box office list, and the total box office in the first ten days of release exceeded US$1.5 million.
Hollywood playwright Noel Donfeld said that this comedy is exciting and embodies qualities that can transcend language barriers and impress audiences from different cultures.
There is more than one Chinese New Year movie that shines on North American screens. "Article 20" directed by Zhang Yimou and "Flying Life 2", which tells the story of racing, have also "went overseas" one after another, and their performances have been remarkable.
In fact, in recent years, when some Hollywood blockbusters have tried to open up the Chinese market by shooting in China and inviting Chinese actors to participate, more and more Chinese films have entered overseas markets represented by Hollywood and gained good reputations. Unlike the early "going abroad" works that highlighted traditional Chinese culture, the themes of these films are more diverse, including realistic themes that reflect the lives of contemporary Chinese people, as well as science fiction works that have made leaps and bounds. They go to the world with a more confident attitude, making overseas audiences look at domestic films with admiration.
Jia Ling has another task in Hollywood this month - to supervise the production of the American version of "Hello, Li Huanying". This fantasy comedy will be released in China in 2021, and Sony Pictures announced last year that it had purchased the rights to remake the English version.
Jia Ling expressed the hope that these "hot" Chinese stories will help overseas audiences "feel the growing power and vitality of Chinese films."
