JINAN, China — As the trial of disgraced former senior Chinese politician Bo Xilai ended Monday, government representatives announced that crime drama legend Dick Wolf will be brought on to consult PRC producers on the pivotal scene where Bo’s sentence will be handed down.
“Mr. Wolf’s experience with scripted courtroom drama is second to none in this industry,” Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee Liu Qibao announced earlier today. “We at the People’s Central Committee wanted Mr. Bo’s sentencing to have the most professional production, and Dick Wolf was the obvious choice.”
Wolf, the legendary producer of Miami Vice and the Law and Order franchise, said through a publicist that after exploring the American criminal system for almost 30 years, he wanted the challenge of portraying a justice system unconstrained by Miranda rights, due process, or unplanned outcomes.
“I have long been an admirer of the Chinese government’s scripted courtroom theatre,” read Wolf’s statement, which praised the Chinese government’s commitment to “spectator value above all else.” “It is a tremendous privilege to work with some of the greatest writers and actors in propaganda history. The Bo Xilai trial has already provided great moments of scripted drama, from Bo pretending to rescind his confession to invented claims of a love triangle. It will be my immense pleasure to contribute to such accomplished courtroom cinema.”
Bo, on trial for corruption and abuse of power for blocking an investigation into his wife—who is alleged to have murdered a British businessman—could not be directly reached for comment about the news, though his representatives assured reporters of his complete acceptance of the government’s direction of the trial.
“Bo Xilai is as excited as everyone else about Mr. Wolf’s involvement with the final stages of this performance,” an official told reporters on condition of anonymity. “[He] understands that the pivotal sentencing scene will be what really sticks in the audience’s mind afterwards, and trusts that Dick’s attention to production values and the human element of the law will honorably portray him as he is pronounced guilty and sentenced to 15 years in Masanjia Labor Camp.”
