China Media Monitor Headlines Archives

Beijing Haidian People's Court ordered leading mainland online video operator Youku to pay China's Anti-Piracy Union RMB450,000 (US$65,885) in compensation for copyright infringements on 47 TV dramas on November 26, according to Beijing Business Today. Rival online video site Voole.com, one of the Union founders, announced that the Union plans to file another lawsuit alleging Youku has infringed the copyright on 242 TV dramas. Youku will have the opportunity to lodge an appeal.

Jieli Publishing House has sold more than 1.5 million copies of the four volumes in the Twilight series, Beijing News reports. The vampire romance series by US author Stephenie Morgan Meyer has sold around 85 million copies worldwide. The first two volumes have been adapted into two popular films, Twilight and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. The first film in the series premiered across China on November 25.

In the future all organizations may need to obtain a license from the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) before they can operate in the mainland film industry, SARFT Film Bureau Vice Director Zhang Hongsen told Nanfang Daily. The Film Bureau is currently drafting new regulations setting out the requirements organizations will have to meet in order to enter the mainland film industry. Under the new regulations, some non-commercial, state-run film organizations will have to cease operations unless they can transform themselves into commercially-oriented, private enterprises.

US-New Zealand co-production District 9 opened across China on November 26 after the producers cut some of the violent scenes from the film at the request of the censors at the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT). Mainland distributor China Film Group (CFG) said it has distributed more than 300 prints across China.

In related news, Wuhan TV station has apologized for airing unauthorized footage from US-New Zealand co-production District 9 ahead of the premiere. The station has promised to provide the film's production companies and the CFG with an undisclosed amount in compensation. The CFG has said it is satisfied with the outcome.

Hengdian World Studios will partner up with Hong Kong’s Salon Films and Australia's AMPCO Films to co-produce a martial arts film called The Last Dragon: Search for the Lost Pearl (Xun Long Duobao), according to a November 23 press conference. The film will feature an international cast, with Australian actor Sam Neill joining Hong Kong's Jordan Chan and mainland actress Wang Ji. Hengdian has signed an agreement to co-produce four more films with AMPCO Films, but the titles have yet to be finalized.