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Rebellious writer steps into film

2014-07-25 16:04 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Si Huan
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Poster of Hanhan's directorial debut The Continent.

Poster of Hanhan's directorial debut The Continent.

The rebellious and unconventional Han Han never follows — he leads. The high school dropout is China's most outspoken blogger, a bestselling writer and editor-in-chief of an alternative literary magazine that published only one issue but sold 1.5 million copies. He shocked many people when he decided to start a professional racing career in 2003, and he did really well.

Now he enjoys his new title — film director. Han released his feature film directorial debut, "The Continent," on Thursday, an effort he says is more challenging than writing.

The 32-year-old Shanghai native, named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people worldwide in 2010, has more than 38 million devoted fans on Weibo, which seems likely to be a strong boost to the film's box office.

The versatile Han, who is called an "opinion leader" for his generation, has included his new feelings about life and growth in this road movie.

"Compared with publishing a book, as a filmmaker I must take more responsibilities in marketing and distribution," Han says. "Shanghai is my hometown. I have a strong connection with the city. I hope that the film can be well-received here in the city."

The film revolves around three young men living on an eastern Chinese island who take a driving journey to find new meanings and goals in life. It took Han and his team more than three months to shoot the movie. Helicopter, yacht and race car were among the transportation modes used in parts of the journey.

Contrasting his sharp and rebellious image, a smiling Han looks gentle and well-mannered. He is praised by almost all the actors in the film for his Virgo traits.

"Han doesn't look like a first-time film director at all," says Feng Shaofeng, an actor in the movie. "He is very considerate, responsible and elegant. He is patient and calm when he responds to unexpected circumstances."

Lu Jinbo, Han's publisher and his friend for more than 10 years, says he was deeply impressed by Han's diligence and talent as a filmmaker.

"During the shooting of the movie, Han worked for more than 12 hours a day," Lu says. "It occurs to me that writing is just like Han's first love, car racing is a romantic encounter in his life, and filmmaking is probably his final destination."

"The Continent" is set in the same time period as "Tiny Times 3," whose director, Guo Jingming, is also a popular writer and has always been compared with Han. Some might consider them rivals of their generation.

No matter whether they acknowledge it, Guo and Han are thought to have a sort of connection, with many things in common: popular post-1980s top-earning authors, heartthrobs and bloggers with vast fan bases, top-prize winners at the New Concept national writing competition in their teens, and strong ambition in diversified fields of publication, music production and filmmaking.

However, they also have remarkably different backgrounds, personalities and styles of writing. Fans of each used to be engaged in a long-time "fight" and debate on the Internet.

Guo comes from a small city in Sichuan Province. After gaining popularity among young people, he loved to post photos of himself on his blog clad in varied luxury brands, and those of his grand dream house. He even shared how he cleaned his face with expensive cosmetics in a total of 10 steps.

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