娱乐英语新闻:Sequel to controversial film "Tiny Times" to open soon

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhuanet) -- China's best-selling author Guo Jingming announced that his controversial directorial debut Tiny Times will soon have its sequel on big screens on Aug 9.

Guo declared the news on his micro blog on Thursday night and received 60,000 comments and 260,000 reposts in 12 hours.

Tiny Times 2 sees the characters, a group of pretty teenagers, graduate from university and enter a sophisticated world of adults.

The first film stirred controversy after its June 27 premiere but grossed 450 million yuan ($73 million).

Some critics, however, condemned the lavish exposure of luxury products and the materialistic values the story delivers.

Tiny Times is adapted from Guo's serial novels. Guo himself defines it as China's Gossip Girls and Sex and the City.

Tiny Times 2 will compete with several domestic films in early August. Romantic comedy One Night Surprise starring Fan Bingbing, and Crimes of Passion, the reboot of a popular TV drama in 1997, will both be released on the same date.