Chinese director Chen Kaige has decided to sue Hu Ge, who produced a widespread web video adaptation of Chen's new 280-million-yuan (US$35 million) production, The Promise. 

 

Hu re-edited The Promise into a video titled A Murder Sparked by a Chinese Bun. He put extracted images from The Promise into a new storyline to make fun of characters in Chen's film. The video spread on the Internet from early January.

 

Despite an earlier promise by Chen Hong, producer of The Promise and wife of the director, that they would not sue Hu if he did not use the video commercially, Chen Kaige showed a totally different attitude when interviewed at the Berlin Film Festival.

 

"We have determined to sue and solve the problem completely," Chen said. "He has lost any sense of morality."

 

Hu said: "I read it on the Internet and was stunned. I never thought he would actually sue me. I have not made a penny from the video. But now I could lose money if I lose the lawsuit."

 

Hu said he was still waiting for papers from the court. He said he did not have direct contact with Chen and does not even know in which court Chen sued him.

 

"I haven't consulted any legal experts. I'm waiting till the papers arrive," Hu said. "But I think I will not make any new adaptation works in order to avoid trouble. And as I'm busy doing my own job, I don't have time, either." Regarding Chen's comment about him, Hu said: "People in entertainment circles just talk like that, but I don't want to be involved in this circle."

 

Hu has just published his second adaptation work titled The Empire of Spring Festival Transportation, which is also widespread on the Internet.

 

Hu, a native of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, now lives in suburban Shanghai and makes his living by selling audio equipment and making sound effects.

 

Interested in filmmaking, as well, Hu said he can make a good film with 400,000 yuan (US$49,322), 1.7 percent of the money Chen used to make The Promise. 

 

(China Daily February 14, 2006)