Publicity needs
Li Zhong said that these movies are a way for the local governments to promote tourism. Cities and tourist sites can become famous overnight because of a movie.
Xie Jin's movie Hibiscus Town (1986) drove up tourism in Xiangxi, the western part of Hunan Province, and Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002) left beautiful impressions of Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province.
Zhangjiajie, a northwestern tourist city in Hunan Province, has increased its popularity nationwide using James Cameron's movie Avatar, proclaiming the scenic area as the inspiration for the film.
Crowning itself as the hometown of Avatar, as many scenes from the film claimed to be sourced from Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, tourists now go to Zhangjiajie to get a taste of Avatar. Some local governments want to experience the same fortune.
Hotspring World (2010) is a film set in Changping district, Beijing.
"We hope more people discover Changping and its hotsprings through the movie," Fang Yan, deputy director of Changping district, said at the film's premiere.
The scenes from the film are from the six hotsprings in Changping. 3D technique is used to highlight the beauty of hotsprings. As local reports said, the movie brands Changping as an ideal city for hotsprings.
Li said that the eagerness of local governments creates commercial opportunities, and movie companies and crew want to profit from these vanity projects.
"Usually, the publicity department will recruit scripts for this purpose. Or some movie companies lobby the governments for investment."
"Of course, there are young directors with big dreams who use it as a launching pad for success," said Li, "But they are the minority."
Striking a balance
Most local movies fail to materialize, often resulting in sensationalizing the local area.
"They have small chances of debuting at theaters and are mostly shown on local TV stations or movie channels on CCTV," said Li.
Such films are spread either through Sina Weibo or made into DVDs and distributed as souvenirs. Some manage to be broadcast at local cinemas or TV stations through administrative means, as entertainment for local people.
Changping's Hotspring World was reportedly made into 50,000 disks and distributed to rural home inns and holiday villages. Tongdao, Tongdao, which had an investment of over 8 million yuan, ended up showing in a few cities, with lackluster reception.
The wasted fiscal funds has experts pushing for transparency in the financial cost of such movies, to avoid corruption and improve quality.
"Most are not successful, because local government intervenes too much," Cao said.
Local governments turn a blind eye to the storyline and want merely promotional local elements, which usually appear too blatant and awkward, according to Cao.
"The eagerness for publicity is understandable, but it should be based on respect for artistic creation," he said.
Cao stresses that movie directors should insist on carrying out their ideas. "They [Jinhu county] provided us convenience in terms of site and hoped we can add some local elements in the movie," he recollected.
"But I'm insistent on these additions not affecting the core of the story; this is good for both sides."
Editor: Liu Xiongfei
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