Chinese Superman now in the making

 　　BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhuanet) -- In the not so distant future, a dark brooding figure could be looking over Shanghai's World Financial Center, ever vigilant¹, to protect the people.

　　But this masked hero won't be Batman; he won't even be American, he will be Chinese.

　　Or, at least, that is the plan, according to Magic Storm Entertainment, a film financing company recently formed by a partnership² between Hong Kong's Ricco Holdings and the United States' Pow! Entertainment.

　　Pow! Entertainment, founded by legendary³ comic book hero creator Stan Lee, hopes to introduce the superhero genre⁴ to China, through Magic Storm Entertainment. Lee is most famous for co-creating some of the world's best-known heroes including Spiderman, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk.

　　Magic Storm Entertainment CEO Eric Mika says the idea is to create entertainment projects that Asian audiences can identify with. According to Mika, the ultimate goal is to make a film that can relate to Chinese and Asian audiences while also retaining a Hollywood appeal.

　　"Asians, not just Chinese, find it very difficult to relate to an American film, because what Hollywood usually does is to project an American view of the world, and certainly in China, we project a China image that Americans think is China," Mika says. "There have been so many Hollywood films that are set in China but there's no identification with the audience."

　　While the goal is to create a Hollywood-style movie that appeals to a Chinese audience, the superhero genre may prove to be the hardest part of the endeavor as the concept of super human beings fighting crime and saving the world is not quite to Chinese tastes.

　　Professor Wu Guanying of Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design, says Chinese heroes are more human and the kind that audiences here can identify with because of cultural ties. Wu says that heroes of Western movies appear to lack a certain depth when compared to Chinese martial⁵ art heroes.

　　"Chinese audiences have culturally different tastes from Western audiences," Wu says. "Western superheroes aren't very human and leave a disconnect with the viewers."

　　Wu, who designed the 2008 Beijing Summer Paralympics mascot⁶ Fu Niu Lele, and was one of the designers behind the 2008 Summer Olympics Fuwa mascots⁷, says that if he were to design a Chinese superhero he would have him embody⁸ the characteristics Chinese people value, such as being just and friendly.

　　However, Wu is also quick to point out that, "Younger audiences in China have grown up in a global world, and are not afraid to explore the unfamiliar⁹".

　　Liu Jiagang, an interactive¹⁰ multimedia¹¹ designer, who grew up on a steady diet of comics and Superman, Batman movies, is eager to find out if a Chinese super hero movie will match up.

　　"I'm afraid they might just repackage a foreign story in a Chinese shell," Liu says. "If they can do it well like the Batman movies (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), I would happily watch it."

　　He is most excited about Stan Lee's involvement in the Magic Storm project.

　　Unfortunately, no other details are forthcoming. Pow! Entertainment will only say the live-action movie is set in contemporary times and Stan Lee could not be reached for comment.

1 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

5 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

6 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

7 mascots   

n.吉祥物( mascot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the mascots was the platypus. 吉祥物一是鸭嘴兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Information on all things Olympic, including logos, mascots, venues,and bid candidates. 所有事情奥林匹克，包括的标识语，吉祥物，地点，和出价候选人的信息。 来自互联网

8 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

9 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

10 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

11 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。