A CHINESE movie star recently sparked controversy when he implied that aircraft carriers constitute the prerequisite for selling movies overseas.

    Jiang Wen, when promoting “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” told an interviewer: “The top priority (for China) is to develop aircraft carriers. When China has twice as many such carriers as the United States, everything will be easy.

    “Perhaps the U.S. makes awful movies, but the whole world is willing to accept them because they have aircraft carriers as their support. It’s useless to have intellectual property alone.”

    Jiang was answering questions from a reporter with Beijing Youth Daily about the possibility of Chinese films possessing the global appeal of Hollywood spectacles such as the “Star Wars” franchise. Various interpretations and comments have surfaced in response to Jiang’s remark.

    Some said he has placed importance on the overall power of a country rather than using the tunnel vision of the film industry alone. Others argued that he was attempting to attribute the low quality of Chinese films and their lack of competitiveness on the international market to the country’s military might compared with that of the United States.

    Jiang, also a formidable film director, is known for his maverick ways in making films and dealing with the media.

    Unlike his peers, he rarely sticks to the script when making public appearances.

    (SD-Agencies)