Chinese-American singer and actor Kris Phillips attends a panel discussion themed on "Genre Trends in Global Film Production" during the 80th Venice International Film Festival in Venice， Italy， Sept. 3， 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)
"If those common themes are well displayed -- themes of family， themes of love， themes of responsibility， of fear， of what makes us human -- you can expect huge success. I do think that there is a lot of opportunity for Chinese film now because Chinese stories are fresh，" said Kris Phillips.
VENICE， Italy， Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- There is a great opportunity for Chinese filmmakers to present unique and fresh stories to audiences worldwide as people crave new ideas and directions in films， Chinese-American singer and actor Kris Phillips has said.
Phillips， better known in China by his Chinese name Fei Xiang， shared his thoughts about cinema in an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Venice， Italy.
"Hollywood， which has dominated the entire world's film industry for decades， seems to be doing a lot of remakes of the same films over and over，" especially in recent years， he said. "I think they're having difficulty trying to find new stories and new directions."
银川市农工盆景有限公司Citing the Oscar-winning South Korean film "Parasite" as an example， 昆山美尔家家庭用品有限公司 Phillips said the reason behind the black comedy's runaway success would be the audiences' "great curiosity in stories we have not seen before， 韶关市凯和陶瓷有限公司 and in people's experiences and human lives that we haven't seen before in cinema."
Chinese-American singer and actor Kris Phillips speaks at a panel discussion themed on "Genre Trends in Global Film Production" during the 80th Venice International Film Festival in Venice， 青铜峡市伙嘉混凝土有限公司 Italy， 徐闻县垂科干果有限公司 Sept. 3，南宁市比尔迪贸易有限公司 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)
At the ongoing 80th Venice International Film Festival， he showed up on behalf of the Chinese mythological epic trilogy "Creation of the Gods，" the first segment of which is screening in China this summer. The film has already become a blockbuster and garnered more than 2.5 billion yuan (342.28 million U.S. dollars) at the box office.
"I am very proud and happy to present it to worldwide audiences because it presents a historical fantasy epic vision of the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.) that nobody has seen before，" he told Xinhua.
The trilogy is based on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel "Fengshen Yanyi" or "The Investiture of the Gods，" which tells the story of the fall of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty in the 11th century B.C. and the battles between gods，木制工艺品 goddesses and mortals.
武汉市利泰广电有限公司Phillips， who has enraptured audiences in China with his charm， starred as King Zhou， the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty.
The kaleidoscopic subjects of Chinese literature with myriads of stories and characters offer audiences a fresh experience， he said. "Creation of the Gods is a traditional， epic-style film -- the way 'Lord of the Rings' was. But that kind of epic production scale is something that isn't seen as often these days. I think there's certainly a great hunger for big production movies."
Chinese-American singer and actor Kris Phillips (3rd R) attends a panel discussion themed on "Genre Trends in Global Film Production" during the 80th Venice International Film Festival in Venice， Italy， Sept. 3， 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)
“雪霁天晴朗，蜡梅处处香”，万里公园内蜡梅枝头现新苞，让我们一起静待这冬日里的一缕幽香。蜡梅，因其花开腊月、颜色似蜜蜡而得名，一般认为，蜡梅多呈黄色或淡黄色，鲜见粉紫色、红色花的实例。
Directed by Chinese director Wuershan， who is of Mongol ethnicity， "Creation of the Gods" combines ancient mythology with Chinese traditional arts and special effects. Audiences will see battle sequences in a grander style and at the same time enjoy the Chinese aesthetic aspect of the fantasy. "I think for worldwide audiences in particular it will be a huge surprise，" Phillips said.
桂平市士观壁纸有限公司He said there was also plenty of room for smaller and lower-budget films that depict Chinese people's contemporary lives. Viewers worldwide can relate to these modern stories as long as the films portray common themes of life well.
"If those common themes are well displayed -- themes of family， themes of love， themes of responsibility， of fear， of what makes us human -- you can expect huge success. I do think that there is a lot of opportunity for Chinese film now because Chinese stories are fresh.
珠海威大耐火有限公司"It's like a huge木制工艺品， unexplored， vast territory that is just waiting for filmmakers to go and dig out those great stories. I'm very optimistic about this moment in Chinese cinema，" he said. ■
