娱乐英语新闻:Feng Xiaogang faces Aftershock ambush

BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Feng Xiaogang is indisputably one of the most successful commercial directors in China. His new blockbuster Aftershock is expected to exceed his previous 1-billion-yuan-plus ($147 million) box office results but its rampant use of product placement and high ticket prices are attracting attention to the film for all the wrong reasons.

Aftershock centers on the Tangshan Earthquake that hit Tangshan, Hebei Province, on July 28, 1976 and details survivors' lives in the aftermath. The film also marks Feng's move from comedy to a more serious genre.

Aftershock previewed Sunday night in Tangshan and premiered Tuesday in Beijing and while its content received positive reviews, its overtly-commercial nature, did not.

The 135-minute film, costing 100 million yuan ($14.76 million) to produce, contains at least six obviously-placed products, including alcohol, a bank, insurance, a cell phone, car and sportswear.

Feng faced the press in Beijing after the premiere and met a tirade of questions on the product scenes.

"Like it or not, product placement is and will be an important part of the Chinese film industry," he said. He explained that in Hollywood a film can profit through several channels, but Chinese filmmakers can only choose between the box office and product placement.

"We used to be able to make money from DVD sales but it is a dead end now as DVD sales have declined from 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) to a maximum of 800,000 yuan ($118,080)," he said.