A senior official with the Beijing Radio, Film and TV Bureau has announced that a specialist censorship department will be established in Beijing next year to monitor and, if necessary, reject low quality screenplays.
Li Wei, head of the bureau's policy and regulations department, has announced measures to tackle the problem of low quality films and TV series, the Beijing Times reported. Li said that in order to monitor the quality of would-be productions, a specialist department will be established under the recently launched Capital Film & TV Industry Alliance.
Top officials at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television decided to act following the glut of TV series about spies and the imperial harem on primetime Chinese television.
Li commented that, to date, there has been no such department to monitor and, if necessary, censor scripts, either in Beijing or elsewhere in China. Previously, only some award committees invited experts to read and comment on screenplays. However, within the next year, the new department will be established and it will invite experts from all walks of life to examine and evaluate potential scripts.
Discussing the role of the new department, Li said: "If the experts find that a script has simply copied an existing idea or is likely to adversely influence young people, they will not permit the story to be funded and filmed."
He added: "This ban will be effective. If the producers still decide to go ahead after having being rejected, they will not get investment from the Alliance; furthermore, many TV stations are members of the Alliance and would, therefore, not broadcast the film or series in any case. As a result, it would be pointless for the producers to go ahead with projects which have been rejected by the new department."
In addition to its function of monitoring potential scripts, the department will also look to uncover promising new scripts. If an expert finds a good story, they will contact the writer and recommend the script to film studios. Then, the Alliance, in collaboration with the studio, will find a professional director to film the project. .
The Capital Film & TV Industry Alliance will also support, train, nurture and promote the elite studios, corporations and celebrity writers, in order to help them get more funds from domestic and foreign investors as well as greater government recognition.
The Alliance will also establish a trade platform, encouraging outstanding films and TV series to feature at international expos and festivals, by providing funding to cover booth rental, translation fees and the promotional budget.
Li said the Alliance will also encourage film and TV corporations to acquire foreign mainstream TV channels as well as launch TV channels abroad.
"We hope we can bring Chinese culture to the international community and make a profit at the same time," said Li.
There are 1,247 film and TV companies and institutions in Beijing, 132 of which have joined the Capital Film & TV Industry Alliance. But this is just the first batch. The Alliance aims to broaden its membership next year by launching a "financing system" in conjunction with Beijing's banks, which will improve companies' access to investment and funding.