A poster of Go Away Mr. Tumor

 

Many pieces of online literature have been adapted into films or TV series in China, as shown by the films Love is Not Blind and Fleet of Time, as well as by the TV series Empresses in the Palace and The Journey of the Flower. These programs brought in great benefits for producers and gained popularity among viewers. Given these successes, film enterprises and television channels are scrambling to obtain the rights to adapt popular pieces of online literature to the screen.
 

However, not all pieces of intellectual property (IP) related to these tales are valuable. Vice-President Luo Li of the Shanghai-based China Reading Limited, an online reading and literature platform, said at a forum recently that a high-value IP should include both IP in its legal form, namely the rights and benefits associated with any intellectual product, as well as the subsequent rights to spin-off products, such as online games, stage shows, and theme parks.
 

Another issue is that a popular online story does not necessarily generate a screen hit. Most pieces of online literature must cater to the reading habits of online readers, whose reading time tends to be fragmented. Accordingly, the plot must be simple so that readers can get back to it easily. In fact, the energy and time required for a screen adaptation is usually far more than the time it took to write the original story, said Han Yan, director of Go Away Mr. Tumor, a recent film adaptation from a popular comic series.
 

Nevertheless, Han did recognize the positive interaction between online literature and the film industry. He said there is a complementary relationship between the two. When rewriting online literature for the screen, playwrights should emphasize and elaborate on specific characters and scenarios that could inspire sympathy among the audience.

Scholars at a forum “Online Literature and China’s Film Industry,” said that originality within the process of adaptation is of great relevance. They said online creations provide us with new thinking patterns. Screenwriters can learn story structures, setting and plots, along with basic details, from these stories. But they should probe into the real needs of audience, and develop the story according to the logic of a play based on characters drawn from online literature.
 

The forum, held in Beijing, attracted scholars, screenwriters, directors and other related professionals to discuss topics on the integration of online literature and the film industry.