Hollywood blockbusters enlightened the Chinese people on what science fictions are, said Liu Cixin, writer of the original novel for the latest Chinese sci-fi film "The Wandering Earth".

"I really want to say thank you to those U.S. blockbusters because they brought up the first-generation of sci-fi lovers in China," Liu said in an exclusive interview with CCTV.

As the original writer, Liu said he was surprised how well the movie was made. "It was out of my expectations," he said.

"But it would have been a totally different one if I filmed it," Liu added.

"I'm a sci-fi fan. But a movie is made to entertain the general public, in addition to just die-hard fans," he explained.

According to Liu, there is a difference between the Chinese and U.S. movie audiences and that's a reason why the movie should not be made exactly like the original novel.

Trust matters

One of the keywords of the interview is "trust."

"Not so many people have faith in a Chinese sci-fi movie," Liu told CCTV.

"Building trust between producers, investors and the audience is the biggest challenge here," he said. "And I think this movie did the job."

The mistrust from the audience can be found in the online reviews of the movie.

Some say the movie has many flaws in the plot, like "is it really necessary to escape from the solar system?"

Liu replied, "Of course we don't need to escape soon. But the day will come. That's why it's a movie instead of a crisis."

Liu is one of the most renowned sci-fi novel writers in China. His most famous work "The Three-Body Problem" is also being made into a movie, which is also widely anticipated.

"I'm part of the movie production team. The team has a spokesperson. So I won't jump up and reveal the release date now," Liu told CCTV.