Crowd pleaser or tear-jerker? For his next film, Chinese comedy filmmaker Feng Xiaogang has chosen to do a tear-jerker, despite the record-breaking success of his latest comedy, "If You Are the One."

Feng said on Wednesday that he is working on a film about a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that flattened the northern Chinese city of Tangshan on July 28, 1976.

Feng's "If You Are the One" raked in 300 million yuan (US$43.88 million) in box office revenues over a period of 19 days after its release on December 18 last year. The light-hearted comedy about a man seeking his Ms. Right is Feng's most successful film yet at the box office and one of the most profitable Chinese films ever made.

But Feng believes a story like the one in "Tangshan Earthquake" is far more emotional. "Every time I tell the story, people cry," Feng says.

The film is an adaptation of Chinese-Canadian writer Ling Zhang's novel "Aftershock", which depicts how the Tangshan earthquake changes the life of a seven-year-old girl.

Feng says his film will not be a mere tear-jerker. "At the end of the day, I want people to feel warmth in their hearts."

The director denies allegations that he has jumped on the bandwagon to shoot a quake film after last year's Sichuan earthquake. He explains that the idea to shoot "Tangshan Earthquake" came long before last year's tragedy.

"This is a film that the Tangshan city government wants to remember the tragedy three decades ago," Feng says, "and I respect such a government." The Tangshan government is one of the major investors of the 200-million-yuan film.

Feng says making such a film is not going to be easy. "It is the biggest challenge I'd ever faced, and I felt too much pressure to fall asleep at night." Feng says he wants to retell a tragedy as real as possible while paying homage to the victims.

Although rumors allege big-names like Zhang Ziyi and Chen Daoming will star in the film, Feng says casting is yet to begin. The film is expected to premiere next year on the 34th anniversary of the Tangshan quake.

(CRIENGLISH.com February 27, 2009)