Zhang Yimou plans to direct first online drama in over three decades

With blockbusters Snipers and Full River Red in his repertoire, filmmaker Zhang Yimou won the Annual Outstanding Director award of the 2022-2023 M-Chart, an industrial honor organized by China Movie Channel, the country's most influential movie broadcaster.

The award ceremony, which gathered around 100 top actors, actresses and musicians, was held in Jingzhou, Hubei province on April 9.

Known as a leading figure in China's "fifth-generation directors", Zhang is one of the country's most internationally recognized auteur. His recent historic suspense film, Full River Red, has raked in 4.54 billion yuan ($659.4 million) to become the highest-grossing movie of Zhang's 36-year directorial career.

Interestingly, in a sideline interview with Chinese reporters before the ceremony, Zhang revealed that he plans to direct League of Legends, an online drama inspired by the eponymous video game. The story is about an e-sports legend and a high school student who exchange souls.

The news quickly spread online, exemplified by the fact that the hashtag for Zhang's first online drama has earned 290 million clicks on the popular microblogging platform Sina Weibo.

Aside from Zhang, a string of A-list celebrities also received the M-Chart awards, including the annual outstanding contribution award for actor Li Xuejian, the annual outstanding actor award co-won by Wu Jing and Zhang Yi, as well as the annual outstanding actress award going to Xi Meijuan and Yuan Quan.