Latest news with #iQIYI
The Star
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
C-drama star Li Yitong and top singer-actor Liu Yuning lead the way in China's latest fantasy offering in 'A Dream Within A Dream'
Photo Image: Courtesy of iQIYI The summer heat is back and premiering on June 26 in IQIYI, is the historical romantic comedy 'A Dream Within A Dream', starring top television stars Li Yitong and Liu Yuning. The streaming giant's latest and much-anticipated series promises an entertaining twist on the traditional costume drama genre by uniquely blending modern humour, interactive plot mechanics, and self-aware storytelling. Produced by Linmon Pictures and co-produced by iQIYI, directed by Guo Hu, with screenplay by Ren Zhuangliu and Xia Luote, 'A Dream Within A Dream' follows the enchanting story of Song Xiaoyu (Li Yitong), a struggling actress, and Nan Heng (Liu Yuning), a cold-hearted ruler, who unexpectedly meet when she is transported into the fictional world of her own script. Once inside her script, Song Xiaoyu transforms into Song Yimeng, a doomed character within the story. Every attempt she makes to alter her scripted fate results in bizarre, predetermined deaths. To break free, she must collaborate closely with Nan Heng, confronting unexpected dangers and unraveling the deeper mysteries of the script's world. 'A Dream Within A Dream' also innovates by blending contemporary humour with popular tropes of historical romance dramas, presenting a fresh, comedic narrative style. Highlights teased in trailers, including intense wedding showdown scenes, a dramatic scene of choosing whom to save when two characters simultaneously fall from a city wall, and visually striking slow-motion kiss scenes, have already sparked considerable anticipation among viewers. The series also highlights how an ordinary girl and a cold-hearted ruler overcome the chains of fate, rewriting their story and crafting a romantic tale filled with laughter and tears. About Liu Yuning Liu Yuning, 35, is a Chinese singer, actor, and the lead singer of Modern Brothers. In 2018, Liu rose to stardom by his covers on platforms YY's Live Streaming and Douyin. Forbes China also listed Liu on their 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2019. His debut album won the "Media Recommended Album" award at the 2020 Chinese Top Ten Music Awards, and his second extended play "Listen•Ning" (2020–21) won the Most Popular EP award in 2021 Chinese Top Ten Music Awards. Outside of music, Liu also gained recognition as an actor through his roles in television series such as "A Journey to Love in 2023" and "The Prisoner of Beauty" in also this year. Many of his fans are excited of him acting alongside Li Yitong, among the leading tv actresses in China, in 'A Dream Within A Dream'. About Li Yitong Li Yitong is a Chinese actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Wan Mei, an assassin in the 2018 Chinese television series "Bloody Romance" and as Huang Rong in 2017 TV series "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", one of the most loved tv series of all-time in East Asia. It was also the series that made Li Yitong a household name in China. She also won many fans when she acted as Lu Wenxi (Abao) in the 2019 Chinese television series Royal Nirvana and Fu Rou in the 2021 Chinese television series Court Lady, another top series in China. She is also a big star for iQiYI having acted in many of its top C-dramas including "The Knockout", "Warm on a Cold Night", "Hi Producer" and "Spy Game".
The Star
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
iQIYI's new Xianxia drama 'Feud' is winning rave reviews and now a big favourite in South-East Asian countries
C-dramas are continuing to make big waves in the South-East Asia region and IQIYI's latest offering "Linjiangxian (Feud)" starring Bai Lu and Zeng Shunxi is the latest tv series to win many hearts in this part of the world. On June 15, the fantasy romance drama, hit a heat index of 10,000 on iQIYI, rapidly becoming a global phenomenon hailed as the "new benchmark for fantasy romance dramas." It is also the first drama in the Asian streaming giant network that has hit the top benchmark this year. The rising popularity also signifies that the drama's plot has reached an exciting and gripping climax, as the truth between heroes Li Qingyue and Bai Jiusi is fully unveiled, with their intertwined love and hatred leading towards an imminent decisive confrontation. Thus, this further showcases the powerful appeal of high-quality fantasy content in the international market. Impressive Global Reception and Widespread Audience Acclaim Since its premiere on June 6, "Feud" has consistently climbed in popularity, reaching over 6,000 on the heat index within just two hours of release, and surpassing 9,000 within 24 hours, demonstrating significant global appeal. Currently holding a steady rating of 8.2 on MyDramaList, "Feud" has notably maintained the top position on iQIYI's platforms in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico, as well as prominently in China's Taiwan and China's Hong Kong regions. The simultaneous launch of Thai and Vietnamese dubbed versions on iQIYI has further fueled the show's explosive popularity and discussion by tv experts throughout South-East Asia. Innovative Storytelling Ignites Global Discussions Breaking away from traditional fantasy romance tropes, "Feud" captivates viewers with an innovative plot centered around "three marriages and three separations," creating a uniquely intense "love-hate" dynamic. Discussions such as "the first fantasy drama centered solely around hate" and "intense plot pacing with no dull moments" have gone viral on social media. Picture perfect Bai Lu's character Hua Ruyue and Joseph Zeng's Bai Jiusi are caught in intricate emotional entanglements, with multiple climactic scenes per episode propelling the storyline forward, igniting global viewers' enthusiasm. Superb Performances Bring Fresh Character Perspectives Bai Lu impressively tackles dual roles, masterfully portraying stark contrasts between innocence and complexity, receiving wide acclaim from viewers. Joseph Zeng also breaks the mold of traditional fantasy leads, providing a nuanced portrayal of a character outwardly gentle yet inwardly conflicted. Supporting cast members such as Chen Xinhai, Liang Yongqi, Zhao Qing, Pan Youcheng, and Dong Chunhui also deliver notable performances, garnering universal praise. Excellent Blend of Eastern Aesthetics and Special Effects Approximately 70% of "Feud" was filmed on location at Hengdian World Studios, beautifully integrating Lingnan architecture with traditional Eastern aesthetics to deliver an immersive visual experience. Meticulously designed costumes, props, and sophisticated digital effects combine to create an enchanting fantasy world, deeply immersing viewers in its richly detailed setting. As "Feud" continues to captivate audiences worldwide, iQIYI's upcoming new dramas "A Dream Within A Dream," starring Li Yitong and Liu Yuning, and the martial arts drama "The Journey of Legend," starring Cheng Yi are also expected to be big hits with South-East Asian and East Asia fans in time to come.
The Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
In a push top strengthen its presence in South-East Asia, streaming giant iQIYI adds rising Chinese star Chen Zheyuan into its stable
Chen Zheyuan, acclaimed for popular dramas such as "Hidden Love," "Handsome Siblings," "The White Olive Tree," and "The Darkness and Dawn," enjoys notable popularity in international markets, especially across South-East Asia. He is best known for his roles in the wuxia drama 'Handsome Siblings (2020)' and is a big favourite among South-East Asian fans. In order to solidify his position as a fast rising star in Asia, the young actor as officially been appointed as the iQIYI International Global Ambassador. He will take part in the upcoming 'iQIYI Starship' international campaign. Through a longstanding and multifaceted relationship with iQIYI, he has earned public admiration for his acting skills and relatable on-screen persona. 'This collaboration with Chen Zheyuan will effectively boost our brand influence in the global market, allowing more international viewers to discover and appreciate high-quality Chinese content,' said Li Kaichen (KC Li), Vice President and Head of APAC & Middle East at iQIYI. Chen Zheyuan shared, 'I'm honored to be appointed as iQIYI International's Global Ambassador. Through the 'iQIYI Starship' initiative, I hope to bring more outstanding Chinese content to global audiences and look forward to deeper cultural exchange and engagement.' For the record, Chen was born on October 29, 1996, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. He graduated from the Department of Performance at Shenzhen University. In 2015, Chen participated in the variety programme 'King of Pop', and subsequently debuted in the entertainment industry as part of the boy group Mr. Bio. In 2017, Chen made his acting debut in the youth drama "All About Secrets", based on the novel by Rao Xueman. In 2018, He starred in the fantasy wuxia drama The "Legend of Zu 2" and costume comedy drama "Hello Dear Ancestors". He made his big screen debut in the comedy film "Miss Puff" the same year. " Then came his career breakthrough in 2020. Chen became known to audiences after starring in the wuxia drama "Handsome Siblings" in 2020, based on the novel Juedai Shuangjiao by Gu Long. He was praised for his portrayal of the protagonist, Xiao Yu'er ("Little Fish"), And there has has been no stopping the young star since then who has been actiong in many series and movies since then. He also took the lead in the recent iQIYI war and military hit drama series "The White Olive Tree" earlier this year. Chen plays the role of protagonist Li Zan, a bombs unit soldier dispatched to a war torn East country. The 'iQIYI Starship' campaign will launch with events in Bangkok and Jakarta: June 29 – Bangkok Meet & Greet with Chen Zheyuan in Bangkok, Thailand. June 30 – Telkomsel & iQIYI Strategic Partnership & iQIYI Indonesia Launching Event with Chen Zheyuan in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
iQIYI celebrates fifth annual Golden Screenwriters' Night, advancing stronger industry ecosystem for screenwriting talent
BEIJING, June 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 11, iQIYI, China's leading online entertainment platform, hosted the annual Golden Screenwriters' Night, honoring 62 screenwriters and 20 outstanding works spanning films, drama series, and animation. Now in its fifth year, the event has become a signature initiative that highlights iQIYI's leadership in cultivating China's screenwriting ecosystem, champions emerging talent, and reinforces the platform's long-term commitment to premium storytelling. This year's event showcased a wide spectrum of screenwriting voices and styles. For example, iQIYI's acclaimed drama series "We Are Criminal Police" and "To the Wonder" received "Most Influential Screenplay" and "Most Innovative Screenplay," respectively, for their resonant storytelling. The emotionally charged film "Like a Rolling Stone" was awarded "Best Female-Centered Screenplay," while the heartwarming theatrical release "Viva La Vida" earned "Best Adapted Screenplay for Theatrical Film." In animation, the creative comedy "Oh My School Season 5" received "Best Original Screenplay for Chinese Comics." Xiaohui WANG, Chief Content Officer of iQIYI, highlighted the evolving role of screenwriters in a rapidly changing industry. He shared that creators are being innovative in their understanding, expression and the emotional depth in their works. He added, "What we saw in this year's works shows both a relentless pursuit of quality and a willingness to push boundaries." Newly introduced honors this year also spotlighted outstanding writing in both modern and period drama adaptations, alongside female-centered narratives. These additions reflect iQIYI's continued refinement in celebrating genre-specific storytelling and its growing efforts to create space for a broader range of creative voices. Since its launch in 2020, Golden Screenwriters' Night has made meaningful strides in raising the visibility of screenwriters across the industry. Reinforcing the event's reputation for professionalism, this year's honorees were selected by a distinguished panel of film directors, actors, scholars, and industry experts through a rigorous evaluation process based on criteria including thematic depth, artistic merit, originality, and audience impact. Beyond recognition, iQIYI actively supports emerging talent through long-term programs such as the Online Film Young Creators Project, which offers funding, mentorship, and comprehensive support for promising new filmmakers. By fostering innovation and championing original ideas, iQIYI remains committed to cultivating an inclusive environment that nurtures content excellence and contributes to the sustainable growth of the broader creative industry. CONTACT: iQIYI Press, press@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE iQIYI
Atlantic
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
How I Accidentally Inspired a Major Chinese Motion Picture
In December, a friend sent me the trailer for a new Chinese movie called Clash. It's a sports comedy about a ragtag group of Chinese men who start an American-football team in the southwestern city of Chongqing. With the help of a foreign coach, the Chongqing Dockers learn to block and tackle, build camaraderie, and face off in the league championship against the evil Shanghai team. Funny, I thought. In 2014, I wrote an article for The New Republic about a ragtag group of Chinese men who'd started an American football team in the southwestern city of Chongqing. With the help of a foreign coach, the Chongqing Dockers learned to block and tackle, built camaraderie, and—yes—faced off in the league championship against the evil Shanghai team. The Chinese studio behind Clash, iQIYI, is not the first to take an interest in the Dockers' story. My article, titled 'Year of the Pigskin,' was natural Hollywood bait: a tale of cross-cultural teamwork featuring a fish-out-of-water American protagonist, published at a moment when Hollywood and China were in full-on courtship and the future of U.S.-China relations looked bright. It didn't take much imagination to see Ryan Reynolds or Michael B. Jordan playing the coach—a former University of Michigan tight end who'd missed his shot at a pro career because of a shoulder injury—with Chinese stars filling the supporting roles. Sony bought the option to the article, as well as the coach's life rights. When that project fizzled a few years later, Paramount scooped up the rights but never made anything. Now a Chinese studio appeared to have simply lifted the idea. I texted Chris McLaurin, the former Dockers coach who now works at a fancy law firm in London. (Since my original article published, we have become good friends.) Should we say something? Should we sue? At the very least, one of us had to see the movie. Fortunately, it was premiering in February at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. I booked a flight to the Netherlands. The movie I saw, which came out in Chinese theaters last month, did not alleviate my concerns. But the film, along with the conversations I had with its producer and director, provided a glimpse into the cultural and political forces that led to Clash 's creation. Indeed, the trajectory of the IP itself—from the original article to the Hollywood screenplays to the final Chinese production—says a lot about how the relationship between the United States and China has evolved, or devolved, over the past decade. What began as a story about transcending cultural boundaries through sports has turned into a symbol of just how little China and the U.S. understand each other—and how little interest they have in trying. I went to China in 2011 because I had a vague sense that something important was happening there. I moved to Beijing, with funding from a Luce scholarship, and started looking for stories. They weren't hard to find. The years after the 2008 Beijing Olympics turned out to be a remarkable era of relative openness. Many international observers saw Xi Jinping's rise in 2012 as the beginning of a period of liberalization, the inevitable political outcome of the country's growing prosperity. For journalists, China was a playground and a gold mine at once. We could travel (mostly) freely and talk to (almost) anyone. Along with the wealth of narrative material came a sense of purpose: We felt as though we were writing the story of the New China—a country opening up to the rest of the world, trying on identities, experimenting with new ways of thinking and living. The story that captivated me most was that of the Chongqing Dockers. It was one of those article ideas that miraculously fall in your lap, and in retrospect feel like fate. I'd heard that McLaurin, another Luce Scholar, had started coaching a football team in Chongqing, so I flew down to visit him. The first practice I attended was barely controlled chaos: The team didn't have proper equipment, no one wanted to hit one another, and they kept taking cigarette breaks. 'It was like 'Little Giants,' except with adult Chinese men,' I wrote to my editor at The New Republic. He green-lighted the story, and I spent the next year following the team, as well as McLaurin's efforts to create a nationwide league. The movie analogy was fortuitous. Just before the article was published, Sony bought the IP rights, as well as the rights to McLaurin's life story. The project would be developed by Escape Artists, the production company co-founded by Steve Tisch, a co-owner of the New York Giants. Maybe the NFL, struggling to break into the Chinese market, would even get involved. The deal changed McLaurin's life. Sony flew him and his mom out to Los Angeles, where a limo picked them up at the airport. He met with Tisch and the other producers. They floated Chris Pratt for the role of the coach. One executive asked McLaurin if he'd considered acting. McLaurin also met with high-level executives at the NFL interested in helping establish American football in China. He'd been planning to apply to law school, but now he decided to stay in Chongqing and keep developing the league. In retrospect, the China-Hollywood love affair was at that point in its wildest throes. As the reporter Erich Schwartzel recounts in his 2022 book, Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy, China spent the late 2000s and 2010s learning the craft of blockbusting by partnering with Hollywood filmmakers and executives. Hollywood studios, meanwhile, got access to the growing market of Chinese moviegoers. (In 2012, then–Vice President Joe Biden negotiated an agreement to raise the quota of U.S. films allowed to screen in China.) It was, in effect, a classic technology transfer, much like General Motors setting up factories in China in exchange for teaching Chinese workers how to build cars. Erich Schwartzel: How China captured Hollywood With a potential audience of 1.4 billion, every U.S. studio was trying to make movies that would appeal to the Chinese market. This led to some ham-fisted creative choices. The filmmakers behind Iron Man 3 added a scene in which a Chinese doctor saves Tony Stark's life, though it wasn't included in the U.S. cut. The Chinese release of Rian Johnson's time-travel thriller, Looper, contained a gratuitous sequence in which Bruce Willis and Xu Qing gallivant around Shanghai. In the same film, Jeff Daniels's character tells Joseph Gordon-Levitt's, 'I'm from the future—you should go to China.' The threat of being denied a Chinese release also resulted in countless acts of self-censorship by Hollywood studios. Sony changed the villains of its Red Dawn remake from Chinese to North Korean in postproduction, and removed a scene showing the destruction of the Great Wall of China from the Adam Sandler film Pixels. In this environment, Hollywood put a premium on stories that could appeal equally to American and Chinese audiences. That usually meant going as broad as possible and leaning away from cultural specifics, as in the Transformers and Marvel movies. But in theory, another, more difficult path existed, the Hollywood equivalent of the Northwest Passage: a movie that incorporated Chinese and American cultures equally. This could be a breakthrough not only in the box office but also in storytelling. It could even map a future for the two countries, offering proof that we have more in common than we might think. The producers at Sony apparently hoped that a 'Year of the Pigskin' adaptation could pull off that trick. 'The movie we want to develop is JERRY MAGUIRE meets THE BAD NEWS BEARS set in China,' Tisch wrote in an email to Sony's then-chairman and CEO, Michael Lynton. 'This is the perfect movie to film in China.' But there was a puzzle built into the project. 'The struggle for me was trying to figure out who the movie was for,' Ian Helfer, who was hired to write the screenplay, told me recently. His task was to create a comedy that would be a vehicle for a big American star while appealing to Chinese audiences. But nobody in Hollywood really knew what Chinese audiences wanted, aside from tentpole action movies. They seemed happy to watch Tom Cruise save the world, but would they pay to see Chris Pratt teach them how to play an obscure foreign sport? Helfer's vision mostly tracked the original article: An American former college-football star goes to China and teaches the locals to play football. Everyone learns some important lessons about teamwork, brotherhood, and cultural differences along the way. He turned in a draft and hoped for the best. Most Hollywood projects die in development, and the autopsy is rarely conclusive. Exactly why the Sony project fizzled is not clear. Helfer said he'd heard that Sony's China office had objected to the project because it didn't feature a Chinese protagonist. Whatever the reason, when the 'Pigskin' option came up for renewal in 2017, Sony passed. By then, the China-Hollywood wave was cresting. The Zhang Yimou–directed co-production The Great Wall, released in 2017 and starring Matt Damon, flopped in the United States. That same year, the agreement that had raised the quota of U.S. films in China expired. Xi Jinping, who was turning out not to be the liberal reformer many Westerners had hoped for, railed against foreign cultural influence and encouraged homegrown art. His plan worked: Although China had depended on the U.S. for both entertainment and training earlier in the decade, it was now producing its own big-budget triumphs. In 2017, the jingoistic action flick Wolf Warrior 2 broke Chinese box-office records and ushered in a new era of nationalist blockbusters. At the same time, however, U.S. box-office revenues had plateaued, making the Chinese market even more important for Hollywood profits. After Sony declined to renew, Paramount optioned the rights to 'Year of the Pigskin,' and the development gears ground back into motion. This time, there was apparent interest from John Cena, who was in the midst of a full-on pivot to China, which included studying Mandarin. (He hadn't yet torpedoed his career there by referring to Taiwan as a 'country' in an interview, after which he apologized profusely in a much-mocked video.) The Paramount version of 'Pigskin' died when the studio discovered belatedly that football wasn't big in China, according to Toby Jaffe, the producer who'd arranged the deal. 'They realized that it wasn't well-suited for the Chinese market,' he told me recently. 'So the reason they bought it for maybe wasn't the most logical analysis.' The option expired once again in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic snuffed out whatever flame still burned in the China-Hollywood romance. McLaurin's China dreams were fading too. His hopes for a broad expansion of American football in China—he had started working for the NFL in Shanghai—seemed out of reach. He left China and went to law school. I figured we'd never hear about a 'Pigskin' adaptation again. When I met the Clash producer and screenwriter Wu Tao outside a hotel in Rotterdam in February, he greeted me with a hug. He told me he couldn't believe we were finally meeting after all these years, given how our lives were both intertwined with the Dockers. 'It's fate,' he said. Wu has spiky hair, a goatee, and an energy that belies his 51 years. He was wearing a bright-green sweater covered with black hearts with the words THANKYOUIDON'TCARE spelled backwards. We sat down at a coffee table in the hotel lobby alongside the director of Clash, Jiang Jiachen. Jiang was wearing computer-teacher glasses and a ribbed gray sweater. Wu, who'd produced and written the script for Clash, right away called out the elephant in the room with a joke. He had stolen one line from my article, he said with a chuckle—a character saying, 'Welcome to Chongqing'—but hadn't paid me for the IP. (This line does not actually appear in the article.) 'Next time,' I said. Wu said he'd been working as a producer at the Chinese media giant Wanda in Beijing when, in 2018, he came across an old article in the Chinese magazine Sanlian Lifeweek about the Dockers. He'd already produced a couple of modest hits, including the superhero satire Jian Bing Man, but he wanted to write his own feature. He was immediately taken with the Dockers' story, and a few days later, he flew to Chongqing to meet the players. They mentioned that Paramount was already working on a movie about the team, but Wu told them that an American filmmaker wouldn't do their story justice. 'In the end, Hollywood cares about the Chinese market,' Wu told me. 'They don't understand China's culture and its people.' He paid a handful of the players about $2,750 each for their life rights, and bought the rights to the team's name for about $16,500. Wu also met up with McLaurin in Shanghai, but they didn't ultimately sign an agreement. 'I understood that, in his head, this was his movie,' Wu said. But Wu had his own vision. Shirley Li: How Hollywood sold out to China Wu got to work writing a script. By 2022, he'd persuaded iQIYI to make the movie and gotten his script past the government censorship bureau with minimal changes. In summer 2023, they began shooting in Chongqing. Wu told me that he'd set out to tell the Dockers' story from a Chinese perspective. 'It's easy to imagine the Hollywood version, like Lawrence of Arabia,' he said. 'A white Westerner saves a group of uncivilized Chinese people.' Even if he'd wanted to tell that kind of story, Wu knew it wouldn't fly in the domestic market. 'We're not even talking about politics; that's just reality,' Wu said. Jiang added, 'It's a postcolonial context.' This argument made sense to me in theory, but I was curious to see what it meant in practice. That evening, I sat in a packed theater and took in the film. Clash opens with a flashback of Yonggan, the hero, running away from a bully as a kid—behavior that gets him mocked as a coward. (His name translates to 'brave.') It then cuts to adult Yonggan, who works as a deliveryman for his family's tofu shop, sprinting and careening his scooter through Chongqing's windy roads, bridges, and back alleys. When Yonggan gets an urgent delivery order from an athletic field where a football team happens to be practicing, the team captain watches in awe as Yonggan sprints down the sideline, takeout bag in hand, faster than the football players. He gets recruited on the spot. Although Clash has the same basic framing as the American film treatments—an underdog team struggling against the odds—the details are original, and telling. Instead of focusing on the coach, the story centers on Yonggan and his teammates, each of whom is dealing with his own middle-class problems: Yonggan's father wants him to give up his football dreams and work at the tofu shop; the war veteran Rock struggles to connect with his daughter; the model office-worker Wang Peixun can't satisfy his wife. The coach, meanwhile, is not an American former college-football star, but rather a Mexican former water boy named Sanchez. He wanted to play in the NFL, he tells the players, but in the U.S., they let Mexicans have only subordinate jobs. The sole American character is, naturally, the captain of the evil Shanghai team. Notably, there's no mention of 'American football' at all; they simply call the sport 'football,' which in Mandarin is the same as the word for 'rugby.' As for the tone, it's hyperlocal in a way that feels authentic to the material. Characters trade quips in rat-a-tat Chongqing dialect. Jokes and references are not overexplained. The film has a catchy hip-hop soundtrack featuring local artists. It also embraces tropes of Chinese comedy that might feel cringey to American audiences: abrupt tonal shifts, fourth-wall breaks, and flashes of the surreal, including an impromptu musical number and a surprisingly moving moment of fantasy at the end. (There are also the predictable gay-panic jokes.) I had been dreading a lazy rip-off, but this felt like its own thing. To my surprise, the audience—which was primarily European, not Chinese—loved it. At both screenings I attended, it got big cheers. When festival attendees voted on their favorite films, Clash ranked 37th out of 188 titles. (The Brutalist came in 50th.) After watching the film, my griping about the IP rights felt petty. Sure, Wu had blatantly lifted the premise of my article. (I looked up the Chinese article that Wu claimed first inspired him and saw that it explicitly mentioned my New Republic article, and the Sony movie deal, in the first paragraph.) But he'd done something original with it. It occurred to me that even if Wu had taken the story and reframed it to please a domestic audience, I was arguably guilty of the same crime. Just like Wu, I had been writing for a market, namely the American magazine reader of 2014. American narratives about China tend to be simplistic and self-serving. During the Cold War, China was foreign and scary. In the 1980s, as it began to reform its economy, American reporters focused on the green shoots of capitalism and the budding pro-democracy movement. In the post-Olympics glow of the 2010s, American readers were interested in stories about how the Chinese aren't all that different from us: See, they play football too! Or go on cruises, or follow motivational speakers, or do stand-up comedy. I was writing at a cultural and political moment when American audiences—and I myself—felt a self-satisfied comfort in the idea that China might follow in our footsteps. What Hollywood didn't realize is that Chinese viewers weren't interested in that kind of story—not then, and certainly not now. Part of me still wishes that a filmmaker had managed to tell the Dockers story in a way that emphasized international cooperation, especially now that our countries feel further apart than ever. But the liberal-fantasy version was probably never going to work. I'm glad someone made a version that does.
