12 May 2007 - 'The Closet' thriller hits the screens as anticipated

12th May 2007

Jing Hua Paper

'The Closet' thriller hits the screens as anticipated

The thriller film, 'The Closet' directed by Cao Jiannan, starring Francis Ng and Michelle Ye will be aired nationwide (in China) today.  The film which was framed to be a plagiarized work of online novel 'The Girl in the Dark' was requested to be disallowed from airing by the author Zhou Haohui.  However, due to no agreement could be reached from both the novel author and the film production team, the movie thus still hits the screens nationwide as expected (on May 12th).

Earlier on, the media reported that 'The Closet' was suspected to be a plagiarized work of online novel 'The Girl in the Dark'.  Both works not only have major similarities in their plots, they even share the exact same names for the four lead characters.  A day before last, the investor party invited the author of 'The Girl in the Dark' and also the scriptwriter of 'The Closet' Zhang Jiangnan to speak before each other.  Zhou Haohui requested for 'The Closet' to be disallowed from airing.  The investor has already signed a contract of responsibility, and if the plagiarism is proven, they will investigate the appropriate compensation from Zhang Jiangnan.  On the other hand, the release right was already given, thus under the condition of weather or not Zhang Jiangnan has commit plagiarism, the film still aired as initially scheduled.

It is reported that this will be the last thriller film that Francis Ng will play in.  As this film has numerous strange and terrifying scenes in addition to the extreme violence and risks and dangers, he is unable to withstand further shocks.  He immediately went to Japan to receive physiological treatment in Japan once this movie was aired.  Francis Ng frankly admitted that he has not watched this movie after the editing; neither does he feel like watching it as he did not want to recall anything concerning the filming of it.

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12th May 2007

Sin Jing Paper

'The Closet' airs as scheduled after the uproar of plagiarism

The thriller film, 'The Closet' directed by Cao Jiannan, starring Francis Ng and Michelle Ye will be aired nationwide (in China) today.  As to the allegation that the film scriptwriter plagiarized an online novel 'The Girl in the Dark', the investor expressed that the author of the novel has had requested the movie to be disallowed from airing through lawyers.  However, the responsible party assumes that, "If this matter (plagiarism) is true, we are also another victim."

Earlier on, the media reported that the new movie, 'The Closet' starring Francis Ng and Michelle Ye is suspected to be a plagiarized work of an online novel, 'The Girl in the Dark'.  Not only the plots share major similarities, even the names of the four leads were exactly the same.

It is reported that the investing company has arranged for a meeting with both parties after receiving a lawsuit letter from Zhou Haohui.  In the meeting, both parties stood strong by their stands.  The movie's scriptwriter Zhang Jiangnan insisted that 'The Closet' is his original creation.  Zhou Haohui and other lawyers expressed that they hope the investing company to suspend the scheduled nationwide airing, with intentions to sue the investing company for copyright infringement.

The responsible person (of the investing company) expressed, "We are extremely supportive of Zhou Haohui's actions, because if this matter (plagiarism) is proven to be true, we are too a victim.  Because we have signed the certification of originality with Zhang Jiangnan to ensure that 'The Closet' script is an original piece of work.  We have had many investigations on this matter, and if the plagiarism is true, we will take legal actions against Zhang Jiangnan."  At the same time, 'The Closet' release right has already been approved, although facing a series of uproars, but as this matter has yet has a conclusion, the film will still be aired as scheduled initially.  If Zhang Jiangnan is proven to plagiarize, the investing company will seek legal compensation from him.