Chinese remake of "High School Musical"

[Madara]

Here's what was reported in Friday's New York Times:



"Disney is developing a Chinese film version of its original “High School Musical” television movie to be released there next summer, a Disney spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse. “Disney High School Musical: China” will rework parts of the story about high school students dealing with rivalry, romance and peer pressure as they try out for a school show. The new version will be set at a university, for instance, since Chinese high school students are so focused on academics that they would not have time to devote to singing and dancing, the report said. The movie has begun filming in Shanghai and stars six young actors drawn from across China."



Too bad they didn't think to cast JunJun and LinLin. That would have given me more of a reason to want to see it.



I just hope that Chinese writers supply some original songs and some traditional-style numbers. However, I'm afraid it might be just Chinese-language versions of the songs from the Disney Channel originals. And Chinese performers imitating Zac, Vanessa, Ashley, et al.

[vanillacat]

[quote name='Madara' post='72330' date='Nov 29 2009, 08:36 PM']The new version will be set at a university, for instance, since Chinese high school students are so focused on academics that they would not have time to devote to singing and dancing, the report said.[/quote]



University Musical just doesn't have the same ring to it~ (also, LOL CHINA. Oh, you and your tyrannical oppression of teenagers. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hawhaw.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';/' /> )



I've heard - and now this is based off of only a few people I've talked to, so don't take my word for it - that Chinese university at this point is not really all that different from American university, or really university anywhere else. They have lecture halls, they have labs, they have more labs, they have performance theaters... I'd be curious to see the differences.

The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.* It's not like China doesn't have pop music...

[tinytext]*what do you mean, mercilessly pimping my boybands? I haven't the foggiest clue what you're talking about. [/tinytext]



The problem lies with the fact that Disney's producing it; and Disney isn't exactly known for being culturally sensitive or delicate. My guess is that'll be a straight-up remake; same songs, same plot, same everything except with Chinese faces and Chinese-language songs. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/nono.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':pimp:' />

[neshcom]

[quote name='vanillacat' post='72336' date='Nov 30 2009, 01:19 AM']The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.[/quote]

Damn, you got me hooked on that. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /noway.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';/' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':pimp:' /> I'd probably watch it if it had songs like that. Probably.

[Joel]

[quote name='neshcom' post='72344' date='Nov 30 2009, 10:54 AM'][quote name='vanillacat' post='72336' date='Nov 30 2009, 01:19 AM']The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.[/quote]

Damn, you got me hooked on that. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /noway.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';/' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':pimp:' /> I'd probably watch it if it had songs like that. Probably.

[/quote]



That's kinda of cheating. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... >/rofl.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> That's just the chinese version of Super Junior. Same type of korean songs, but just sung in Chinese. Unless a lot of Chinese music sounds like this (because I wouldn't really know), then I would love to hear some more.

[strawberryjam]

[quote name='vanillacat' post='72336' date='Nov 29 2009, 10:19 PM'][quote name='Madara' post='72330' date='Nov 29 2009, 08:36 PM']The new version will be set at a university, for instance, since Chinese high school students are so focused on academics that they would not have time to devote to singing and dancing, the report said.[/quote]



University Musical just doesn't have the same ring to it~ (also, LOL CHINA. Oh, you and your tyrannical oppression of teenagers. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hawhaw.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':omgwtf:' /> )



I've heard - and now this is based off of only a few people I've talked to, so don't take my word for it - that Chinese university at this point is not really all that different from American university, or really university anywhere else. They have lecture halls, they have labs, they have more labs, they have performance theaters... I'd be curious to see the differences.

The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.* It's not like China doesn't have pop music...

[tinytext]*what do you mean, mercilessly pimping my boybands? I haven't the foggiest clue what you're talking about. [/tinytext]

[/quote]

This post makes me sad. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[vanillacat]

[quote name='neshcom' post='72344' date='Nov 30 2009, 11:54 AM'][quote name='vanillacat' post='72336' date='Nov 30 2009, 01:19 AM']The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.[/quote]

Damn, you got me hooked on that. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /noway.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':noway:' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> I'd probably watch it if it had songs like that. Probably.

[/quote]



<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... anana2.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D/' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nceman.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... banana.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... dancey.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':dancey:' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... dancer.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' /> <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... kowota.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wota:' /> Glad to hear it! I totally abandoned Hello!Project for these guys. Sorry, girls, but try competing with THAT.



[quote name='strawberryjam' post='72401' date='Dec 1 2009, 06:37 PM'][quote name='vanillacat' post='72336' date='Nov 29 2009, 10:19 PM'][quote name='Madara' post='72330' date='Nov 29 2009, 08:36 PM']The new version will be set at a university, for instance, since Chinese high school students are so focused on academics that they would not have time to devote to singing and dancing, the report said.[/quote]



University Musical just doesn't have the same ring to it~ (also, LOL CHINA. Oh, you and your tyrannical oppression of teenagers. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hawhaw.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' /> )



I've heard - and now this is based off of only a few people I've talked to, so don't take my word for it - that Chinese university at this point is not really all that different from American university, or really university anywhere else. They have lecture halls, they have labs, they have more labs, they have performance theaters... I'd be curious to see the differences.

The "show" they're trying out for might be more traditional... or it might be more, um, not.* It's not like China doesn't have pop music...

[tinytext]*what do you mean, mercilessly pimping my boybands? I haven't the foggiest clue what you're talking about. [/tinytext]

[/quote]

This post makes me sad. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sad:' />

[/quote]





Why? <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /ph34r.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ph34r:' />

I didn't mean to make you sad, Shelly! I feel like I just kicked a puppy or something! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':sad:' />

[ShinUkyo]

I'm definitely interested in this. I'm a huge fan of HSM, and I have no doubt that Disney will do a good job with it. I'd prefer if they used original songs, of course, as it'd be slightly obnoxious to just hear covers of the ones we already have. Not that I'm likely to get too into them, either way, as I've never been a huge fan of Chinese Pop. For me to truly appreciate pop music, I need to have a good understanding of the language being spoken. That's why, to no surprise, 99.9% of the pop music I own is in either English, Japanese, or Spanish. Of course the composition and arrangement are more important than the lyrics, overall, since it's all based on chord progressions and musical structure that have existed for hundreds of years (and which transcend any particular language). But still, if all you care about is the instrumentation and such, then there's better places to find that. Heavy metal, jazz, classical, and so forth. To me, the lyrical content has always been an essential factor in pop music. Even when the lyrics are vapid, in the meaning of the words themselves, they still have a powerful effect if utilized correctly.