Film Booster, Movie Sites in War of Words Over Bad Reviews

(Beijing) — A war of words this week between a state-run movie booster and two leading film review sites had all the hallmarks of a Hollywood family-feud drama. The central theme was betrayal, and straddling the battle lines was a parent-like Communist Party trying hard not to take sides.

On one side of the battlefield were Douban and Maoyan, two of China’s most popular film-rating sites. On the other was a state-owned film publication, which accused the pair of unfairly trashing films, saying malicious reviews may harm the industry’s development.