HONG KONG, Aug. 31 (AP) -- China's most famous directors have grabbed the world's attention with serious films about Peking opera stars, concubines caught up in vicious rivalries and families enduring the turmoil of the nation's early communist years.

It's all really heavy stuff that wows the art-house crowds.

But Feng Xiaogang (pronounced FUNG SHEE-YAU GAHNG) _ one of China's most successful commercial directors _ has chosen a lighter path. His recent movies are about an increasingly cosmopolitan and wealthy China. The characters chat on mobile phones, drive BMWs and star on TV shows.

"Big Shot's Funeral" (2001), partly backed by Columbia Pictures' Asian division, is a hilarious story about a Hollywood director's personal crisis while filming a remake of "The Last Emperor" in Beijing, starring Donald Sutherland.

"Cell Phone" (2003) follows the breakdown of a philandering TV host who juggles calls from different girlfriends on his mobile phone.

Feng didn't train at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, which has churned out some of China's most famous directors, including Chen Kaige, who did "Farewell to My Concubine," and Zhang Yimou, who made "Raise the Red Lantern," "Judou" and "To Live."

The 48-year-old director started out as a designer for a Chinese army Peking Opera troupe. He moved on to television, then film, and worked his way up the ladder. His film-making was shaped by years of experience _ not, as Feng puts it, the "art-house, experimental" fare favored by film students.

The lanky, chain-smoking director wears his hair in a crew cut. His crooked, stained teeth and slender frame make him look more like a tired laborer than a stylish filmmaker.

Feng's eyes project an intense gaze, but he doesn't lock it on the interviewer. One actress who has worked with him, Zhou Xun, said, "I get the feeling his brain never stops working. It's always churning."

Feng speaks with the business savvy of a movie company executive.

"When the budget has reached a certain scale, investors aren't willing to invest without the North American market, without good pre-sales," he told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

When he talks about the Oscars, he doesn't mention artistic issues. Instead, he discusses how an Oscar delivers great marketing for foreign films.

And he shows a sophisticated understanding of global viewer demographics.

"For North America, they need things to be more straightforward. They hope the story and narrative are even simpler, the relationships between characters aren't that complicated," Feng said.

Feng's new movie is "The Banquet," a US$15 million (€11.7 million) epic adaptation of "Hamlet" set in ancient China that stars Zhang Ziyi. Among his collaborators are composer Tan Dun and designer Tim Yip, both Oscar winners for their work on the Ang Lee kung fu hit "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

The director said he instructed Tan and Yip to use lighter, minimalist colors and classical, not ethnic, music.

"In each frame, three quarters are dark, and one quarter is illuminated by a very specific kind of light," Feng said.

"The director has a very balanced ability in literature, imagery, and sound," Tan said.

Directors Zhang and Chen are moving more in Feng's direction, mounting mainstream blockbuster productions like "Hero," "House of Flying Daggers" and "The Promise." And they may be motivated partly by Feng's commercial success.

Feng outsold famed fellow Chinese director Zhang domestically in 1999 and 2000, according to statistics in the recently published book "Who Created the Miracle of Chinese Film."

The combined ticket sales of Zhang's two 1999 movies, "Not One Less," and "The Road Home," starring Zhang Ziyi, totaled 38 million Chinese yuan (US$4.8 million; €3.7 million). Feng's "Be There Or Be Square," grossed 39 million yuan (US$4.9 million; €3.8 million).

Feng's release in 2000, "Sorry Baby," crushed Zhang's "Happy Times," outselling it 50 million yuan (US$6.3 million; €4.9 million) to 5 million yuan (US$628,000; €491,000).

Feng offers a succinct summation of his philosophy on favoring popular acclaim over critical praise from select jurors at top film festivals.

"There are so many viewers around the world. Your fate won't be doomed when a few people don't like your movie," he said.

Veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Andy Lau, who worked with Feng on "A World Without Thieves," is a fan.

"He's a craftsman. He uses the most local, the most down-to-earth methods to guide people into his movies," Lau said.

Film scholar Michael Berry of the University of California at Santa Barbara said Feng represents "a very different mode of entertainment film making."

"His popularity and themes dealt with in his work is a clear and tangible sign of China's economic and cultural transformation," Berry said.