'Shanghai Fortress' collapses at box office

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Director Teng Huatao (fourth from left) alongside stars and crew members to promote the film in Shanghai on June 16. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Ji Shaoting, founder and CEO of the Beijing-based sci-fi company Future Affairs Administration, says Shanghai Fortress has many flaws, but it's still a film that deserves praise.

"Although extraterrestrial beings are a familiar theme seen numerous times in Hollywood, they're still a fresh subject for Chinese filmmakers," she says.

Ji also mentions that director Ning Hao's blockbuster Crazy Alien, inspired by another Liu novel, The Country Teacher, is underestimated, even though it gives a comedic touch to such a story.

"Crazy Alien performed well at the box office, not to mention The Wandering Earth. Such popularity of sci-fi was hard to imagine just three years ago. Every industry encounters obstacles when something new is started. I believe the potential for Chinese sci-fi productions is still high," Ji says.

Guo Jing, a veteran producer who is now making an online sci-fi series adapted from a short story by another Chinese Hugo Award winner, Hao Jingfang, says Shanghai Fortress won't exert much influence over sci-fi, as a film usually starts preparations two or three years before the shooting.

"Chinese sci-fi cinema needs more qualified writers and a mature industry chain, but it will get better in the future," Guo adds.

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