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Thread: Wanda & AMC

  1. #16
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    7 Huayi IMAX!

    I'm excited for TC0 & CZ
    Huayi thinks big
    By Stephen Cremin
    Thu, 13 September 2012, 12:05 PM (HKT)

    China's Huayi Brothers Pictures Co Ltd 華誼兄弟影業投資有限公司 has expanded their partnership with IMAX Corporation to digitally remaster seven forthcoming films in the large screen format.

    Huayi previously released FENG Xiaogang 馮小剛's Aftershock 唐山大地震 (2010) in IMAX in July 2010, which contributed to its — at the time — record-breaking RMB665 million (US$105 million) box office.

    Feng's new film, wartime drama Back to 1942 一九四二, is among the new titles being converted. Although no opening date has been announced, Huayi confirmed that it will release the historical epic this year.

    The new IMAX lineup launches with martial arts fantasy Tai Chi Zero 太極1 從零開始 on 27 Sep, followed by Tai Chi Hero 太極2 英雄崛起 on 25 Oct and Jackie CHAN 成龍's Chinese Zodiac 十二生肖 on 20 Dec.

    Three yet to be announced films will also be presented in IMAX format.

    The new deal was announced by IMAX Corp CEO Richard GELFOND (pictured right) and Huayi's president James WANG Zhonglei 王中磊 (pictured left) at Beijing's CBD Wanda IMAX Theater yesterday.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #17
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    Wanda

    This is a good overview of who Wanda is.
    Timeline of Wanda's expansion in cultural industry
    Updated: 2013-01-03 07:56
    By Liu Wei ( China Daily)

    Wanda Cultural Industry Group has been nicknamed "a flagship of China's cultural industry" since the day it was founded on Dec 1, because of its scale, assets, variety of businesses and potential.

    It has an ambitious blueprint that covers various ventures, including its art collection, movie productions, distribution and exhibition, stage show, theme parks and film bases.

    Wanda has proved its foresight in the cultural sector by its success in film industry since it entered the business seven years ago. At present, its cinema line is the most powerful among Chinese film exhibitors.

    Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Collection (the late 1980s)

    Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin is a veteran art collector known for his insight and generosity. China Entrepreneur Magazine revealed that as early as 1992 he could spend 8 million yuan ($1.27 million) on a work by Fu Baoshi, a modern Chinese painter who died in 1965.

    Insiders say Wanda's art collection could stock a museum. According to the company's website, the group focuses on collecting paintings and calligraphic work by famous modern and contemporary Chinese artists, and has owned roughly 1,000 pieces valued at 10 billion yuan in total.

    Cinemas (2005)

    Wanda owns the largest cinema chain in Asia and the second-largest in North America. It has 86 five-star cineplexes in China, most of which are located in downtown areas of cities across the mainland. It also owns the most IMAX screens in China. Among its 1,000 screens, approximately 50 are IMAX. Wanda Cinema Line holds around 15 percent of the market share in China.

    In September, it completed acquisition of AMC Entertainment and its 5,048 screens in North America.

    Media (2007)

    Wanda purchased Popular Cinema, which was China's most popular movie magazine in the 1990s but was struggling to survive the fierce market competition until Wanda acquired it this year. Wanda also has interests in China Times, a weekly business & finance magazine, and Global Business, a monthly magazine.

    Film and Television Bases (2009)

    Wanda is building a film and television production base in Dalian, Northeast China.

    Karaoke (2010)

    Wanda owns 45 "Superstar" karaoke centers nationwide and plans to have 130 by 2015, making it the largest operation of its kind in China.

    Theme Parks and Resorts (2010)

    Wanda plans to build world's leading theme parks in Beijing, Dalian in Northeast China and Xishuangbanna in the southwestern province of Yunnan. The construction of the Dalian park is expected to be completed in 2015. The Xishuangbanna park will start construction soon. The Beijing theme park, tentatively named Dreamchasing City, is located in the eastern district of Tongzhou and is scheduled to open in 2016.

    The group is also building a recreational park, involving film production and technology, in Wuhan.

    Stage Show (2010)

    Wanda has a joint venture with the Franco Dragone Entertainment Group in the US and will invest $1.6 billion to launch five stage shows in Wuhan, Dalian, Sanya and other cities. The Wuhan show will premiere in 2014.

    Film and Television Production (2011)

    The company's website notes that the group invested $80 million to found the Film & TV Production Company in 2011. It has produced or distributed a small number of works this year, but plans to make more than 10 movies or television works annually after 2013.

    Some of the company's better-known projects include the production and distribution of The Warring States in 2011, starring veteran Sun Honglei and newcomer Jing Tian, the distribution of Taiwan director Wei Te-sheng's epic Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale in May, and the production of a romantic feature called Holding Love, starring Yang Mi and Liu Kaiwei, in June.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #18
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    Great overview by Frater

    This sums up the story so far quite nicely.
    Lost in translation
    By Patrick Frater
    Thu, 28 March 2013, 10:30 AM (HKT)

    Many headlines over the past year have marvelled at the growth of the Chinese film industry – the box office records, the number of new cinemas opened each day and its blow for blow tussle with Hollywood.

    So when international critics and buyers got a chance to see Lost in Thailand 人再囧途之泰囧, China's low budget box office miracle, at last month's Berlin film market they rushed in. They emerged bemused by a comedy which is slick and competently made, but is very parochial in its subject and humour, and which has minimal appeal outside China's borders.

    The reviewers' disappointment is typical of an older dichotomy, namely how to sell Chinese films abroad while also building an industry at home. The problem may become more acute before it is resolved.

    While box office in China has grown very substantially, some 30% in each of the last two years, making the country now the number two theatrical market behind North America, exports of Chinese film has waned. According to the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT) 國家廣播電影電視總局, the overseas box office of Chinese films dropped by 49% in 2012.


    Changing Export Markets

    European buyers warmed to Chinese and other Asian films in the early part of the century when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍 (2000) singlehandedly blasted out a new market. Distributors and audiences worldwide tuned in to Chinese costume action films and settings and were able to ignore the traditional hurdles of subtitles or unfamiliar stars that normally make such films a tricky sell.

    It was followed by In the Mood for Love 花樣年華 (2000) albeit in a different genre, which broke BO records in territories including the UK, then by Hero 英雄 (2002) and House of Flying Daggers 十面埋伏 (2004). Hong Kong's Infernal Affairs 無間道 (2002) trilogy also kept Cantonese language films in buyers' minds.

    The success of these films helped Sony/Columbia open a production office in Hong Kong and encouraged other producers and stars to cash in by delivering the next film in the vein of Crouching Tiger. There were some unhappy knock offs such as Flying Dragon, Leaping Tiger 龍騰虎躍 (2001) and Roaring Dragon, Bluffing Tiger (aka Heroes on Fire 南國風雲 (2000)).

    The boom occurred at a time video was still strong and provided robust ancillary market support following theatrical releases. Video and DVD sales have since tumbled in Europe and North America – major retail chains HMV and Tower Records went bust as a result – and have not been fully replaced by paid-for online sales.

    Collapsing video, global economic recession and the revival of local films in some territories has meant that distributors are no longer keen to acquire as many Chinese films as they were in the early 2000s.

    "We simply don't buy as many Chinese films as we did in the Contender days," says Jo Sweby, who previously headed acquisitions at UK genre video label Contender Entertainment Group before she and Contender joined multinational distributor Entertainment One (eOne). Similarly, Showbox Media Group, a rival UK video group which used to be a mainstay, has not bought a Chinese film for two years.

    The problem of changing markets is not one uniquely faced by Chinese films. "International markets are increasingly difficult, because output deals and co-productions leave little room for indie or foreign fare," says Albert LEE 利雅博, CEO of Emperor Motion Pictures Ltd 英皇電影有限公司, which as a producer straddles Hong Kong and China and is also a Hong Kong distributor. And many local Asian film industries have succeeded in growing the domestic share of their home markets.

    But the failure of Chinese films to connect in international sales markets is significant considering how many film funds in the pre-financial crash period were posited on slates of new Crouching Tigers and the idea of Chinese films becoming a global currency.

    In particular, the North American market, which was rarely the most lucrative for Chinese films, but was often the most symbolic, has changed dramatically.

    Several indie distributors such as Magnolia and IFC have scaled back on theatrical releasing, in favour of ventures into premium-video-on-demand and ultra-VoD (showing on video before theatrical). Other Asian specialists in North America ImaginasianTV, Tokyopop and Indomina Releasing have closed their distribution arms. Similarly, the Hollywood studios, have slashed their buying of Asian titles, and many Chinese titles have waited in vain for a deal.

    Well Go USA Inc remains a traditional distributor that opens titles aimed at cross-over audiences in theatrical release ahead of other windows, though it actually makes more than 70% of its revenues from old fashioned DVD sales. Rival, China Lion Film Distribution Inc seeks the Chinese diaspora audiences and wherever possible gives its titles day-and-date outings at the same time as their China or Hong Kong releases.

    US exhibition giant, AMC Entertainment Inc, which is now owned by Chinese property and cinemas giant Wanda, has itself also put a toe into the US distribution arena. It acquired and released Lost In Thailand in Feb 2013 (grossing just $57,000 in its first two weeks) and is aiming for two releases per year.

    "There are several factors that have [negatively] affected box office revenue of Chinese films in the US," says Well Go CEO Doris PFARDRESCHER. "VoD has become an easy way to watch movies, especially with theatrical and video windows shrinking. Second, genre. Chinese films that do well in the US are martial arts action, however the films that are currently doing well in Chinese territories are comedies, romance and fantasy films – all of which have a hard time translating overseas."

    "It is not necessarily true that the market-ability of Chinese film is declining. At China Lion our BO in 2012 was up 100% over 2011," says China Lion founder, Milt BARLOW, who left the company earlier this month. "The real issue is there is still not enough focus from Chinese studios and sales agents to get a meaningful US release up and running. With piracy as our top competitor for Asian American audiences in North America, if we are not day-and-date with Asian home countries then the film is dead. And let's get real, mainstream Western audiences do not want to see these films."

    continued next post
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  4. #19
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    continued from previous

    We're very pleased to be working with Well Go USA now. The have bought our topmost banner to promote Bangkok Revenge and Muay Thai Warrior, as well as supplied several prizes for our sweepstakes. I encourage you to support them.

    Genre Identity

    The kind of movies Chinese film-makers are serving up is an equally tricky issue. They are widely seen as too parochial or formulaic.

    Mainland China's censorship system, which makes certain subjects taboo, and on the other hand requires every film to be acceptable for general release – China does not have a rating or classification system like most other countries – is blamed by film-makers and overseas distributors alike for narrowing the range of films being made.

    Producers including Edko Films Ltd 安樂影片有限公司's Bill KONG 江志強 and Lion Rock Productions 獅子山製作有限公司's Terence CHANG 張家振 say that such restrictions mean that they are unable to make contemporary thrillers for the mainland market, though they do so from Hong Kong instead. (Kong was last year responsible for Cold War 寒戰 which was released in China and achieved over $40 million at the box office.)

    "Filmmaking is all about genres and having a strong antagonist. Without the bad guy, the good guy has nothing to do, but it's hard to make contemporary movies because crime today won't pass censorship," mainland director CHEN Daming 陳大明 has said.

    EMP's Lee sums up the sales agent's dilemma. "Chinese comedy doesn't travel. Action films are beaten by US films for special effects. Drama needs stars and we don't have them. And historical martial arts is over-exposed," he says.

    Scholars such as Film Business Asia's chief critic Derek ELLEY argue that today's 700 title per year output from China is far more cutting edge and innovative than it is given credit for. Supposedly taboo subjects such as ghosts and time travel are indeed making it on screen. China even enjoyed its first monster action adventure Million Dollar Crocodile 百萬巨鰐 last year.

    But perceptions are hard to change and Chinese film may remain stuck until sales agents and marketers actively promote China's diversity and use international platforms such as festivals to do so. "I don't need to see any more glorifications of Chinese history. I'm surprised these films still have any success with Chinese audiences. It is no surprise that Chinese film exports are dropping," says Christoph TERHECHTE, head selector at the Berlin International Film Festival's Forum section.

    While China's domestic market remains so robust there is little incentive to make huge efforts to curry international favour.

    "Chinese companies have no idea about international sales. That's because they are so strongly focussed on their home market. It is like Japan in the 1970s," says EMP's Lee. "China is our opportunity. We should actually redeploy staff from our international side to the China operations," says Lee. "And in fact we are already doing so."

    There are exceptional films,which enjoy sales success. But they are few. "The China market has evolved into such a monster that [mainland China] films don't travel either in Asia or the rest of the world. Lost In Thailand is an example," says LIM Teck 林德, head of Clover Films Pte Ltd, a Singapore distributor, which has now begun making its own Chinese-language movies.

    "[Jackie CHAN 成龍's] CZ12 十二生肖 is one of the rare Chinese films that did connect – it did well in China and broke records around Asia. The challenge is to balance local and international needs – to find the next CZ12."

    Others point to a factor that even the censors cannot be blamed for: mood. "Chinese movies have become very dark, there is rarely a transcendent hero," says producer and Chinese film commentator Bey LOGAN. "The Warlords 投名狀 (2007), Bodyguards and Assassins 十月圍城 (2009), The Guillotines 血滴子 and Back to 1942 一九四二 were not fun. The Last Supper 王的盛宴 was also very dark. Its director LU Chuan 陸川 tells me that's the darkness in Chinese people's soul. But that's why people can be turned off. It's also why the Ip Man 葉問 (2008) films were well regarded. They are simple stories of individual heroism that are well told.

    Technical Factors

    Technical, industry-specific factors may also hinder Chinese films from punching at their full weight in international markets.

    "It is difficult for foreign distributors to programme and market Chinese films because they have so little forward certainty over the date of release," says Infernal Affairs producer Nansun SHI 施南生. "That gives problems with censorship and materials."

    In the longer term history and economics may anyway work in China's favour. A decade from now the picture may be one where other Chinese firms have followed Wanda Media Co Ltd 萬達影視傳媒有限公司's example and acquired their own stakes in Hollywood, and one in which foreign firms like Village Roadshow Pictures Asia Ltd 威秀電影亞洲有限公司 and Fox International Productions are fully embedded in Chinese production.

    Already, these companies' films like Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 西游 降魔篇 and Hot Summer Days 全城熱戀熱辣辣 (2010), have put Chinese audiences and tastes first and made money locally for their backers. International sales are simply treated as a bonus.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #20
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    More on Wanda

    120 IMAXs in China. Wow.

    Everything is in place. Now all Wanda has to do is deliver some international blockbusters.

    China's Wanda Pushing Film Credentials With 'The Palace'
    5:14 AM PDT 8/13/2013 by Clifford Coonan


    Wang Jianlin, chairman of Wanda Group and China's second richest individual
    The conglomerate, whose chairman Wang Jialin is China's second richest individual, wants to be a major player in the cultural industries as well as a real estate giant.

    Wanda Media, the production and distribution arm of Chinese real estate conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, is stepping up its efforts to become a major player in the "cultural industries" with the opening of costume drama The Palace.

    The movie is a love story set during the Qing Dynasty and features Zhou Dongyu, who made a big splash for her role in Zhang Yimou’s Under The Hawthorn Tree, and also features Lu Yi, Zhao LIying and Chen Xiao.

    The movie was directed by Pan Anzi and opens in China today.

    In May of last year, Wanda bought the North America's second-largest theater chain, AMC Entertainment, for $2.6 billion to create the world's biggest cinema owner, and the group is keen to exploit the distribution synergies that the acquisition offers.

    For the next three years, the company plans to distribute nine films and produce eight annually.

    "With the support of Wanda Group, the company is also seeking to set up slate financing agreements with major Hollywood studios to get the financing and distribution rights for China, while also seeking to co-produce films with international companies," the group said in a statement.

    Among Wanda Media's production credits so far are Keanu Reeves' directorial debut, Man of Tai Chi, Police Story 2013 with Jackie Chan and The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven 3D with Donnie Yen and Chow Yun-fat.

    As a distributor, Wanda has Jim Sheridan's Dream House, the Taiwanese epic Seediq Bale and Eng Dayyan's Inseparable with Kevin Spacey and Daniel Wu.

    A key factor behind the expansion of the Chinese film business has been the number of cinemas opening in the shopping malls springing up over China. Many of those malls are being built by Wanda.

    Wanda group has assets of $48 billion and an annual income of $23 billion, and operates 71 Wanda plazas, 38 five-star hotels, 6,000 cinema screens, 57 department stores and 63 karaoke outlets across the country.

    The company is Imax's largest international exhibition partner since a deal last month when its exhibition unit Wanda Cinema Line Corp. pacted with Imax for up to 120 new theaters for China.

    Wanda and Imax revised their 2011 joint revenue share agreement to add at least 40 and as many as 120 new theaters to be located throughout China, and the deal also extended Wanda's lease terms for all new theaters to 12 years, from 10, and will see Wanda commit to up to 210 theaters.

    "We have set a great goal for this company. In 2020, the revenue will reach 80 billion yuan, ranking within the global top 10 of cultural industry players," company chairman Wang Jianlin told a gathering of entrepreneurs in December.

    All told, Wanda comprises 11 companies working in nine different areas, including Wanda Cinema Line, AMC Theaters, its theme park business, gallery and a film magazine.

    The group's culture unit, the Beijing Wanda Culture Industry Group, has registered capital of five billion yuan ($820 million) and total assets of 31 billion yuan ($5.06 billion).

    "The Chinese film market is very big these days, and all flowers should be blossoming in this garden," said The Palace's scriptwriter Yu Zheng, adding that he expects the movie to have broad appeal.
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  6. #21
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    Odd Variety piece

    Odd time to drop this with The Grandmasters having it's national release today. I'm reposting it here mostly because I reminds me of our Chollywood Rising column in our current print issue. Our copy editor Gary Shockley took over for this installment, and some of his comments are echoed in the article below.

    Chinese Cinema: Have Pics, Can’t Travel
    August 30, 2013 | 12:07PM PT
    Filmmakers focus on local market but int’l expansion may come from corporate giants
    Patrick Frater
    Asia Bureau Chief

    While the Chinese film industry is booming at home, with production volume, cinema numbers and theatrical box office all racing ahead, film exports are going almost nowhere.

    Official figures are vague on the value of overseas sales achieved by Chinese rights holders, but data points to overseas box office for Chinese films dropping for the past two years.

    In some quarters this is a cause for concern, but for others it is a matter of sublime indifference. That’s because they are too busy figuring out how to profit from this domestic golden era.

    “China’s companies have no idea about international sales. That’s because they are so strongly focused on their home market,” says Albert Lee, CEO of Emperor Motion Pictures, another conglomerate that straddles Hong Kong and China.

    When local films can gross anywhere between $30 million for “Say Yes” to the $200 million earned by “Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons” and “Lost in Thailand,” (pictured) China’s filmmakers will not go to the trouble of learning the complications of overseas territories for only marginal extra income.

    While the new commercial movie crop is well-made and marks a refreshing break with the past, its stories are also more local. They may resonate with audiences in Asia, but for audiences in the U.S. and Europe, the new films, young directors and little-known TV and Internet stars may remain remote.

    “For Chinese-language films, only kung fu movies work internationally,” says Bill Kong, head of Hong Kong- and China-based conglomerate Edko. In August he unveiled plans for “Rise of the Legend,” an attempted revival of Wong Fei-hung, one of the iconic characters of the Chinese action genre.

    The irony here is that Kong was one of the producers of Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” a surprise global hit that was largely responsible for a massive surge of interest in Chinese movies in 2000. Unfortunately the boom, which had happened at the tail end of the video and DVD era, did not last. Also, the great financial crisis in the West meant many film funds never took off, output deals were allowed to expire, and U.S. and European buyers became more risk-averse — across the board, not just with Chinese movies.

    The structure of China’s film industry has also hampered overseas success, especially its censorship system. Stories must not only steer clear of sex, drugs, religion and present-day politics, but also sci-fi, time travel, ghosts and contemporary thrillers. Censorship has also made international co-productions tricky, as regulations do not officially permit multiple versions of a Chinese film.

    Filmmakers such as Chen Daming have complained that such rules make it difficult to have a strong antagonist, while John Woo’s producer partner Terence Chang says a contemporary crime thriller, such as the Chinese version of “The French Connection” he dreams of making, is out of the question because crime, corruption and police procedures are all taboo.

    After liberalization in 2000-01, this meant a clustering of titles in “safe” genres: martial arts and ancient historical action.

    Film regulators have gradually eased up and a genre normalization has taken place. The transformation has become more apparent with a succession of local hit movies this year, ranging from romantic comedies “Say Yes” and “Wedding Diary” through glossy actioner “Switch” to “American Dreams in China” and “So Young,” light contemporary dramas projecting a hip and aspirational universe contrasting with the naive simplicity of Chinese film just a decade or two ago.

    In the longer term, the weight of history and economics may be on China’s side. China’s booming economy will draw in international talent, investors and co-producers such as Oriental DreamWorks, Legendary Pictures, Village Roadshow or Fox Intl. Productions. Chinese companies like China Film, Enlight, Le Vision, Bona Film or Huayi Bros. will seek the prestige and brand enhancement that comes from being a Hollywood player. Few believe that property-to-cinema group Wanda’s acquisition of U.S. cinema chain AMC is the last move in the Chinese film industry’s international expansion drive.
    Gene Ching
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  7. #22
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    Wanda's Qingdao entertainment complex

    Maybe I should change the name of this thread to Wanda Rising.
    Wanda unveils Qingdao entertainment complex

    By Kevin Ma
    Sun, 22 September 2013, 17:50 PM (HKT)

    Dalian Wanda Group Co Ltd 大連萬達集團股份有限公司 unveiled plans for the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis 青島東方影都, a RMB30 billion (US$4.9 billion) entertainment complex, at its opening ceremony in Qingdao today.

    The 5.4 million square meter complex – targeted for a June 2016 launch – will include a production studio, film museums, a convention centre, a hotel resort and a yacht club.

    Wanda Group chairman WANG Jianlin 王健林 announced that it has signed tentative agreements with several production companies and talent agencies. He estimates that 100 domestic and 30 international productions will be filmed at the complex each year.

    Wang also announced that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the four top talent agencies in the world and the China Film Association 中國電影家協會 have offered their support in creating the Qingdao International Film Festival 青島國際電影節.

    If approved by the central government, the first edition of the festival will be held in Sep 2016.

    This morning's ceremony – including a 30-minute red carpet ceremony – featured appearances by representatives from SAPPRFT, Hollywood studios, American talent agencies and the AMPAS.

    International stars like Leonardo DiCAPRIO, Nicole KIDMAN, John Travolta, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tony LEUNG Chiu-wai 梁朝偉, ZHANG Ziyi 章子怡, HUANG Xiaoming 黃曉明, Vicki ZHAO 趙薇 and Donnie YEN 甄子丹 also attended.

    Local media reported that Wanda paid a rumoured RMB1 million (US$163,000) attendance fee for the appearance of certain local stars. It is not known if Hollywood stars were paid to attend.
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  8. #23
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    cultural fish bone

    I love that. I'm so going to use that. Cultural fish bone can refer not only to Chinese film. It plays a huge part in Chinese martial arts.

    Chinese cinema on the world map
    By Kevin Ma
    Tue, 22 April 2014, 09:30 AM (HKT)
    Sales Feature



    While co-productions have been on the tip of everyone's tongues at this year's Beijing Film Market 北京國際電影節電影市場, local industry insiders took part in a seminar organised by local media sina.com 北京新浪互聯信息服務有限公司 to explore why Chinese films have yet to make a dent on the world cinema map and whether there are new ways to bring Chinese cinema to the world.

    Hollywood films have been a great financial success over the world. However, China, the world's second biggest territory for films, has yet to see its homegrown products receive the same treatment around the world. Revenue from foreign sales of Chinese films saw a decrease in 2013, while domestic hits like Lost in Thailand 人再囧途之泰囧 (2012) and Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 西游 降魔篇 failed to make much box office abroad.

    However, Bona Film Group Co Ltd 博納影業集團有限公司 Chairman YU Dong 于冬 remains optimistic about the situation, believing that Chinese cinema is in a decade of transition and that the industry needs to take three steps to reach the world: 1) Cultivate buyers' taste for Chinese films by selling them in bulk at a low price; 2) Send talents overseas by participating in international co-productions ("Even if they're just cameos"); and 3) Bring international production teams to work on Chinese films and tell Chinese stories.

    The first two steps have already been taken — Yu said Iron Man 3 turned WANG Xueqi 王學圻 into one of the most widely seen faces in the world, despite being in just one scene — and the third step is already in progress with Jean-Jacques ANNAUD's Wolf Totem 狼圖騰.

    Producer WANG Weimin 王為民 revealed that the 3-D drama has sold very well overseas, including an US$8 million minimum guarantee in Europe. Wang credits China Film Group Corporation 中國電影集團公司 for not only choosing to adapt a story that audiences are familiar with, but also boldly stepping out and invite an international team to tell a Chinese story.

    However, Wang and other guests acknowledge the difficulties in getting international audiences to accept Chinese films.

    Wang offered a very simple answer to the problem: "Film is a consumer product. As filmmakers, we have to make consumer products that audiences will accept. Why can't Chinese films go to the world? Chinese films-makers don't know enough about the world. Your products have to inspire audiences' desire to see it."

    "The problem with Chinese stories is that Chinese society is a sentimental society, a society of acquaintances. We're always telling human stories, but our stories don't explore human nature," China Film Promotion International 中國電影海外推廣中心 general manage ZHOU Tiedong 周鐵東 said.

    Zhou introduced the idea of "cultural fish bone", referring to the fact that foreigners have trouble eating Chinese fish dishes because the bones are not picked out. "We must take out the things that make our films difficult for audiences to swallow. This is how Hollywood films succeed. They tell global, universal stories. Their films basically have no 'cultural fish bones'. They connect to audiences of any culture, any age," Zhou said.

    However, Wanda Media Co Ltd 萬達影視傳媒有限公司's Jerry YE 葉寧 expressed doubts about stripping cultural specificity for the sake of reaching a wide audience. "We can't just step out for the sake of stepping out. We have to do it while confident about our culture," Ye said.

    Yu added that the biggest issue facing China now is deciding which genres have a better chance at selling abroad. He used to opportunity to reveal that Bona is planning to produce an international version of Alan MAK 麥兆輝 and Felix CHONG 莊文強's Overheard 竊聽風雲 (2009) series. Instead of selling remake rights, Bona wants to co-produce an English-language remake with a Hollywood company. The film, about shady dealings in the financial world, would be set on Wall Street and feature mostly American actors as well as several Chinese actors.

    "In foreigners' eyes, we may have good stories, but they were not well told. Infernal Affairs 無間道 (2002) had a great story, so Hollywood bought it and made it universal," Zhou responded, "It's a good idea for Bona to lead the Overheard remake project, but the Chinese side cannot lead the story and the script. We may have a good story that Hollywood wants, but the story must become universal."

    Ye concluded the forum by pointing out that in terms of export potential, Chinese animation is one of the healthiest genres in the industry because of the possibilities in branding, making it very different from other types of films. "Animated films don't necessarily have to make a profit at the box office as long as they can help build a brand," said Ye.
    Gene Ching
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    a little dated...

    ..but still relevant.

    Asian conglomerates seek starring role in Hollywood studios
    By Richard Morgan December 2, 2014 | 2:10am
    Modal Trigger


    Donnie Yen in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend," slated for an August 2015 release. Asian companies are screen testing their interest in Hollywood studios.
    Photo: AP

    Hollywood is prepping for the next wave of Asian invasion by companies hungry to own a piece of a studio.
    “The markets are beginning to ignore these reports because we’ve heard so many of them,” said Steven Azarbad, whose New York-based Maglan Capital owns a piece of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. “At this point we need to see a deal to believe it.”
    Tony Wible, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets, has no doubt we will.
    “A lot of places around the world have seen how well the US has done exporting media,” he said. “Now they want to do it.”
    The desire is so great among Asian conglomerates, Wible added, there’s even a phrase for it — “ambition for soft power.”
    This ambition is most pronounced in China, which last year surpassed Japan as the largest film market outside the US.
    You can count China’s Dalian Wanda Group as the latest Asian company screen testing its interest in a studio.
    Like Hangzhou-based Alibaba and Shanghai-based Fosun before it, Beijing-based Wanda has Lionsgate squarely in its sights.
    Only it won’t settle unless it obtains a majority interest in the studio behind “The Hunger Games,” as well as such TV productions as “Mad Men” and “Orange is the New Black.”
    “We want control,” Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin said in a Bloomberg interview on Monday.
    Wanda, which two years ago acquired AMC Entertainment in the US to become the world’s largest cinema owner, is already committed to investing $1.2 billion to build a Beverly Hills base.
    Moreover, as part of its publicly declared ambition to control 20 percent of the global cinema market by 2020, it’s committed to building an $8.1 billion, 20-studio entertainment complex in eastern China.
    Both of those projects, however, may be more feasible than wresting control of Lionsgate.
    Mark Rachesky, Lionsgate’s chairman and largest shareholder, previously held discussions with Alibaba and Fosun to sell at least a part of his 37 percent stake.
    But the lack of a deal — Alibaba’s interest remains alive, sources said, while Fosun invested $1 billion with former Warner Bros. head Jeff Robinov to form Studio 8 after ending its talks with Lionsgate — is making skeptics of some Hollywood investors.
    That’s part of the reason Wanda insists its investment in any US studio gives it control. “They want to make sure whatever product it creates will also sell well in China,” Wible said.
    Tokyo-based SoftBank doesn’t appear as control-oriented as its Chinese counterparts, having settled two months ago for a $250 million minority investment in Legendary Entertainment.
    “They’re still learning the business,” said Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan, who noted SoftBank also demonstrated an ability to keep its ambitions in check by cutting off takeover talks with DreamWorks Animation SKG.
    Gene Ching
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    DMG & Valiant

    I don't really know Valiant but it looks like they just cashed in big time.

    Chinese Film Company DMG Bets on Superheroes
    DMG Entertainment, Valiant Entertainment to develop films, toys and theme parks


    This comic book cover released by Valiant Comics shows the cover of "Shadowman" No. 5. PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS
    By LAURIE BURKITT
    March 8, 2015 10:09 p.m. ET

    BEIJING—Chinese film company DMG Entertainment is striking a deal with independent comic book publisher Valiant Entertainment in a move to develop films, toys and theme parks for China’s superhero-crazed consumers.

    Beijing-based DMG is investing an undisclosed amount in Valiant to expand publishing, film, television and licensing of Valiant’s comic characters, it said in a statement on Monday. DMG said that it invested “eight figures” in U.S. dollars toward the expansion and another “nine figures” toward producing films and television programs based on Valiant characters, without releasing further details. A spokesman didn’t immediately provide further financial details.

    The statement said the companies will focus on Chinese language content to build iconic characters in China and the Asia-Pacific.

    DMG is betting on China’s strong appetite for action films and superheroes. In 2013, the Chinese company co-produced with Walt Disney Co. “Iron Man 3,” which pulled in $121 million from China’s box offices, more than a quarter of the movie’s $409 million global ticket revenue, according to film database Box Office Mojo. The top 10 grossing films in China last year included “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” at No. 6 with $116.5 million in ticket sales, and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” at No. 7 with $115.6 million.

    Film studios in recent years have produced hits based on superheroes from major comic-book publishers. They include Batman and Superman, owned by Time Warner Inc.’s DC Entertainment, and Spider-Man and the Avengers, from Disney’s Marvel.

    Valiant, an independent publisher, has a stable of characters that includes X-O Manowar, Shadowman and Harbinger.

    DMG and Valiant, formed in 1989 and based in New York, want to build a franchise business that looks more like the one in the U.S., where film characters generate revenue far beyond the screen. The companies will create toys, games, live events and theme parks, the statement said.

    Companies like Chinese entertainment giant Dalian Wanda Group Co. are attempting the same thing, creating films and characters and opening parks in China. Universal Parks & Resorts announced in October plans to open a $3.26 billion park in Beijing in the future.

    “Audiences in China and the rest of the world are hungry for heroic stories they can more easily relate to,” said DMG President Wu Bing in the statement.

    Write to Laurie Burkitt at laurie.burkitt@wsj.com
    Gene Ching
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  11. #26
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    Wanda's surge

    This speaks to the essence of this thread right now.

    Wanda Cinema's earnings surge in 2014



    By Kevin Ma

    Mon, 13 April 2015, 09:45 AM (HKT)
    Exhibition News

    Wanda Media Co Ltd 萬達影視傳媒有限公司's cinema chain reported a huge surge in earnings in 2014, according to an earnings report released on Friday.

    In 2014, Wanda Cinema Line Corporation 萬達電影院線股份有限公司 earned RMB5.34 billion (US$860 million) in operating revenue, representing a year-on-year rise of 32.7%. Net profits was up by 32.9%, from RMB602 million (US$97.0 million) in 2013 to RMB801 million (US$129 million) in 2014.

    With a market share of 14.2%, Wanda Cinemas is the biggest cinema chain in China. With 369 new screens in 40 new cinemas in 2014, Wanda now operates 1,616 screens in 182 cinemas across the nation.

    Wanda is also the first cinema chain in China to be publicly listed. Guangzhou Jinyi Cinemas 廣州金逸電影 also applied to be listed earlier this year, but was disqualified. Shanghai Film Group Corp 上海電影集團公司 and China Film Group Corporation 中國電影集團公司 are also preparing IPOs.

    Gene Ching
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    I was toying with changing the title of my Chollywood Rising column...

    ...the coverage has shifted more to TV. But now, I think I'll stick with it.

    China Has Hollywood’s Attention. It Wants More
    Alibaba and other Chinese players see more than stars in Tinseltown
    Anousha Sakoui
    September 4, 2015 — 9:46 AM PDT


    An impossible mission partially funded by Alibaba. Photographer: Bo Bridges/Paramount Pictures

    Alibaba’s Jack Ma, China’s second-richest person, made headlines last year when he visited Hollywood looking for deals. He met with studio executives such as Sony Pictures’ Michael Lynton and sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game with superagent Ari Emanuel and actor Jet Li. One memento of the trip surfaced this summer in the form of the Paramount Pictures hit Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation. Alibaba Pictures Group invested in the feature, which generated $479 million in global box office through Aug. 30, and got the rights to sell merchandise and tickets to its 367 million customers in China when the film opens there on Sept. 8.

    The deal with Viacom’s Paramount is one of more than a half-dozen in the past year between U.S. studios and Chinese companies that are quickly putting down roots in Hollywood. Alibaba, Dalian Wanda Group, Huayi Brothers Media, and others want to funnel films through their media outlets at home, as well as deepen their understanding of the lucrative business. “China is trying to learn why Hollywood is so successful,” says Stanley Rosen, a University of Southern California political science professor who studies the relationship between the mainland and the U.S. film industry. China, he says, wants to master the business “from the bottom up.”



    Hollywood is happy to help. It needs the cash plus access to theaters in China, where the government limits the number of imported movies and controls how they are released. Such connections are crucial since China, projected to overtake the U.S. in box-office receipts by 2020, accounted for most of the growth in global movie ticket sales last year.

    China’s would-be moguls hope to use stronger Hollywood ties as a way to make even more money off entertainment. When Mission: Impossible opens there, Alibaba will sell tickets online through its Taobao Movie unit, one of the country’s major ticketing platforms, which offers advance seat selection. People can pay using Alipay, Alibaba’s version of PayPal. The company also is planning to build China’s answer to Netflix and HBO, via a new service called Tmall Box Office.

    Alibaba acquired a company called ChinaVision Media Group in 2014 to help it enter the business and renamed it Alibaba Pictures. The company sold HK$12.2 billion ($1.6 billion) in stock in June. Alibaba Pictures shouldered an undisclosed portion of the $150 million cost of making Mission: Impossible and said it’s looking for more ways to invest in Hollywood. (Paramount, which declined to comment for this story, said in June it hoped the deal was “the first of many collaborations” with Alibaba.)

    State-backed China Movie Channel also invested in the spy flick, saying it would promote the film and sell tickets online. In a first for U.S. audiences, the names of both Chinese companies were displayed in the opening credits of the movie, following the century-old practice of studios like Paramount.

    Last year, China’s theaters brought in $4.8b

    People close to Alibaba say Ma’s strategy is to invest in specific films, rather than in studios. But real estate mogul Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man, is making bigger bets on infrastructure. Wang’s Dalian Wanda Group operates the world’s largest chain of movie theaters and is building the planet’s biggest studio theme park, Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, on the coast of Shandong province. Wanda controls the No. 2 U.S. theater chain, AMC Entertainment Holdings, and last year bought land in Beverly Hills, where it plans to erect a $1.2 billion complex it calls its “first important step into Hollywood.”

    Wanda, which footed the entire production cost of Southpaw, the summer release from Weinstein Co., also donated $20 million to a museum being built in Los Angeles by the motion picture academy that awards the Oscars; its film history gallery will be named after Wanda. Wang, who’s talked of buying stakes in studios Lionsgate and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, wants to control 20 percent of the global film market by 2020.

    Over the past year, U.S. studios “are going to these big companies with single pictures and saying, ‘Would you like to invest?’ ” says Robert Cain, a partner at Pacific Bridge Pictures, a film producer and consultant. “They’re investing because the opportunity is now being presented, and that’s only a recent phenomenon.”

    Huayi Brothers Media, a Beijing-based moviemaker and distributor, raised about $560 million in August from investors including Ma’s venture capital outfit and Tencent Holdings, as well as Shanghai-based Fosun International, which has put $200 million into the Studio 8 production company on Sony’s Hollywood lot. Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital is among the backers of STX Entertainment, run by Robert Simonds, producer of films such as The Pink Panther and The Wedding Singer.

    “China is trying to learn why Hollywood is so successful”—Stanley Rosen, University of Southern California


    Even the Chinese government is getting in on the action. Besides Mission: Impossible, state-run China Movie Channel, the country’s No. 3 TV network, invested in Paramount’s Terminator: Genisys. China Film Group, the government-run distributor of all foreign movies, took about a 10 percent stake in Universal Pictures’ car-heist thriller Furious 7, which cost $190 million to make and grossed $1.5 billion globally—a quarter of that within China. There are risks, of course. China Film also invested in Sony’s Adam Sandler box office disappointment Pixels.

    Cain says China’s government is able to use its control over its lucrative home market to influence U.S. studios and exert soft power—the kind of cultural influence that’s made Hollywood a global ambassador for America. China Film invested in The Great Wall, a thriller starring Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe about an elite force making a last stand for humanity on China’s snaking barrier. It’s targeted for a November 2016 release by Universal. Says Cain: “On a broad scale, China is steadily gaining more and more influence in Hollywood, and you won’t see a Chinese villain probably ever again in a Hollywood movie.”

    —With Lulu Chen and Haixing Jin

    The bottom line: More than a half-dozen Chinese companies have struck deals with Hollywood in the past year.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #28
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    Here's the same story...

    ...from a different perspective.

    Chinese pour big bucks into blockbusters
    Would-be movie moguls are investing in Hollywood in a bid to grow the industry at home

    PUBLISHED: 4:16 AM, SEPTEMBER 7, 2015
    LOS ANGELES — Alibaba’s Jack Ma, China’s second-richest person, made headlines last year when he visited Hollywood looking for deals. He met with studio executives such as Sony Pictures’ Michael Lynton and sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game with super agent Ari Emanuel and actor Jet Li.

    One memento of the trip surfaced this summer in the form of the Paramount Pictures hit Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation. Alibaba Pictures Group invested in the feature film, which generated US$479 million (S$682.10 million) in global box office through Aug 30, and got the rights to sell merchandise and tickets to its 367 million customers in China when the film opens there this week.

    The deal with Viacom’s Paramount is one of more than half a dozen in the past year between American studios and Chinese companies that are quickly putting down roots in Hollywood. Alibaba, Dalian Wanda Group, Huayi Brothers Media, and others want to funnel films through their media outlets at home, as well as deepen their understanding of the lucrative business.

    “China is trying to learn why Hollywood is so successful,” says Mr Stanley Rosen, a University of Southern California political science professor who studies the relationship between the mainland and the US film industry. China, he says, wants to master the business “from the bottom up.”

    Hollywood is happy to help. It needs the cash and access to theatres in China, where the government limits the number of imported movies and controls how they are released. Such connections are crucial since China, projected to overtake the US in box-office receipts by 2020, accounted for most of the growth in global movie ticket sales last year.

    China’s would-be moguls hope to use stronger Hollywood ties as a way to make even more money off entertainment. When Mission: Impossible opens there, Alibaba will sell tickets online through its Taobao Movie unit, one of the country’s major ticketing platforms. People can pay using Alipay, Alibaba’s version of PayPal. The company also plans to build China’s answer to Netflix and HBO, via a new service called Tmall Box Office.

    Alibaba acquired a company called ChinaVision Media Group in 2014 to help it enter the business and renamed it Alibaba Pictures. The company sold US$1.6 billion in stock in June. Alibaba Pictures shouldered an undisclosed portion of the US$150 million cost of Mission: Impossible and said it’s seeking more ways to invest in Hollywood.

    State-backed China Movie Channel also invested in the spy flick, saying it would promote the film and sell tickets online. In a first for US audiences, the names of both Chinese companies were displayed in the opening credits, following the century-old practice of studios such as Paramount.

    In the past year, US studios “are going to these big companies with single pictures and saying, ‘Would you like to invest?’ ” says Mr Robert Cain, a film producer, consultant and Pacific Bridge Pictures partner. “They’re investing because the opportunity is now being presented, and that’s only a recent phenomenon.” BLOOMBERG
    Gene Ching
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  14. #29
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    Merchandising

    Most movie merch is 'Made in China' anyway...

    Hollywood Execs Flock to Mtime's China Merchandising Expo (Exclusive)



    From left: Mtime CEO, Kelvin Hou: DreamWorks Animation CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg; Raman Hui; Alessandro Carloni, director of "Kung Fu Panda 3"; Zeng Maojun, president of Wanda Theater Group
    Mtime

    by Patrick Brzeski 12/14/2015 1:35am PST

    DreamWorks' Jeffery Katzenberg pitches 'Kung Fu Panda 3' and Disney's Andy Bird touts 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' to some 800 cinema-chain managers at an event devoted to China's surging movie merchandising sector.

    The rapid emergence of movie merchandising in China — what many are calling the next great boom sector of the country's entertainment industry — was on full display in Sanya over the weekend, as DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffery Katzenberg and executives from Disney and Legendary Pictures flocked to the southern Chinese resort town to pitch their latest pictures and related consumer goods directly to Chinese movie theater owners.

    The occasion was the second edition of MCon, an annual film-industry convention hosted by digital media group Mtime, the company behind one of China's leading movie websites and mobile ticketing platforms. Founded by former Microsoft executive Kelvin Hou, Mtime has been described as Fandango, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Entertainment Tonight all rolled into one.

    As host of the two-day event, Mtime booked a sprawling Shangri-La luxury resort and flew in over 800 Chinese theater managers — collectively controlling a majority of the country's 31,000 movie screens — along with a roster of Hollywood power players, including Katzenberg, Walt Disney's international president Andy Bird, Legendary Pictures vp Jamie Kampel, and execs from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Mattel and the Motion Picture Association.

    Over the past year, Mtime has made a bold bet that China's intellectual-property protection and consumer market have both reached the crucial stage where the country's moviegoing masses are ready to open their wallets for high-quality, licensed goods associated with their favorite film franchises.

    In 2014, global retail sales of licensed merchandise hit $241.5 billion, with 44 percent of those sales coming from the character and entertainment category. But North America accounted for nearly 60 percent of the worldwide total, with Asia contributing under 10 percent — this, despite the tremendous gains of the Chinese box office, which is expected to surpass North America as the world's largest film market over the next three years.

    "China has enjoyed explosive box office growth, but 80 to 90 percent of film revenue still comes from ticket sales," said William Feng, the Motion Picture Association's general manager in China, during opening remarks at MCom. "The industry is in its infancy, but I believe merchandise will be a key focus of China's movie market over the next several years."

    Over the past 11 months, Mtime has launched 55 brick-and-mortar stores in cinemas in 10 cities, laying the groundwork for a cross-country online-to-offline merchandise service. On Thursday, the company released the final piece, Mtime PRO, a B-to-B mobile app that facilitates one-stop merchandising sales between Hollywood studios and Chinese movie theaters — made possible by an industrial chain of design, production, logistics and customer-service systems developed by Mtime over the past two and a half years. Mtime also has quietly signed a range of merchandise deals with all of the big six Hollywood studios. Mtime declined to share terms or details of its agreements, but it said some are ongoing and others are on a per-picture basis.

    During MCon, the participating studios each gave an in-depth presentation on their latest tentpoles — including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Kung Fu Panda 3 and World of Warcraft — along with an introduction to the myriad consumer products they have developed with Mtime for each title, which the cinema chain reps could then buy directly from the new Mtime PRO app.

    Disney placed life-size stormtrooper figures throughout the venue, attracting constant crowds of selfie-snapping theater-chain staff. Katzenberg and Kung Fu Panda 3 director Alessandro Carloni made a surprise appearance at a banquet lunch to personally serve Chinese steamed buns, the preferred snack of Po, star of the Kung Fu Panda franchise.


    DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg serving dumplings to Chinese guests at Mcom.

    Opening Jan. 29 in North America and China, Kung Fu Panda 3 will be the first release from Oriental DreamWorks, the joint venture established by DreamWorks Animation, Shanghai Media Group and China Media Capital.

    Introducing the film to a room full of several hundred theater-chain heads during the DreamWorks session, Katzenberg stressed the authentically Chinese elements of both the story and production process (Disney's Star Wars talks were closed to the press).

    "For me personally, it is exciting to see how this movie is a big part of the journey of DreamWorks itself," Katzenberg said, adding: "The first film was made in Los Angeles and dubbed from English into Chinese. We were thrilled that it was embraced by the Chinese people ... but the third film is a truly Chinese movie on every level."

    Kung Fu Panda 3 will be released in both English and Mandarin-language versions. Katzenberg said a Chinese team was consulted at each stage of the pic's production, ensuring that the Mandarin-language script's humor and slang were precisely calibrated to local sensibilities.

    "This is the most technologically advanced film in the history of our studio," he said. "Never before has a film been animated in two languages," he added, explaining that not just the character's mouths but also their body language and facial expressions were created separately for the English and Mandarin-language versions of the film.

    Oriental DreamWorks vp Kitty Xu later took the stage, saying, "We are confident that Kung Fu Panda 3 will surpass Monster Hunt to become the highest-grossing Chinese film ever."

    She then launched into a detailed overview of the exhaustive range of Chinese products that Oriental DreamWorks has developed for Kung Fu Panda 3's rollout, spanning toys, house wears, footwear, jewelry, apparel, electronics and much more.

    As is customary at industry conventions nowadays, at least a third of the assembled guests were looking down and thumbing smartphones. This time, however, many may have been placing merchandise orders on Mtime PRO.
    Gene Ching
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    Wanda acquires Legendary

    Wanda now owns Legendary and AMC. Fascinating.

    Tue Jan 12, 2016 11:22am EST Related: ENTERTAINMENT, DEALS, CHINA
    Wanda goes to Hollywood: China tycoon's firm buys film studio Legendary for $3.5 billion
    BEIJING | BY SHU ZHANG AND MATTHEW MILLER

    Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has bought U.S. film studio Legendary Entertainment for about $3.5 billion, turning its chairman into a Hollywood movie mogul as China's richest man steps up a drive to diversify his business empire overseas.

    At a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday, Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin said he plans to package Legendary, behind hits like "Jurassic World", with existing movie production assets in China and sell shares in the merged operation in an initial public offering (IPO).

    The move makes Wanda the first Chinese firm to own a major Hollywood studio - a sign of the country's growing power in the global movie world, industry watchers said.

    The executive gave no further details on the IPO plan, but said was acquiring Legendary Entertainment for both intellectual property reasons and the studio's movies. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month a deal to secure a majority stake in Legendary had been agreed.

    "Wanda Cinema already has made tremendous development in China, but it isn't enough," said Wang, whose personal wealth is estimated by Forbes magazine to be about $27 billion. "Movies are global, and our company certainly wants to add our voice to the world film market."

    The deal is Wanda's biggest overseas acquisition ever and comes as Wang accelerates a drive to diversify a giant with 2015 revenue of $44 billion away from its core, but slowing domestic property operations. With deals to buy into everything from financial services to Spanish soccer club Atletico Madrid, Wanda said on Monday revenue rose 19 percent last year.

    Under the deal announced on Tuesday, Wanda said it will buy an unspecified majority stake in Legendary. As part of the transaction, Legendary's founder and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Tull will continue to head up the movie maker.

    Founded in Dalian, a city on China's northeast coast, and now based in Beijing, Wanda is already the world's biggest movie theater operator, having bought AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, North America's second-largest cinema chain, for $2.6 billion in 2012. It also owns Australian movie theater company Hoyt's Group, and Wanda Cinema Line Corp, the group's domestically listed firm, is the biggest theater operator in China.

    "The deal reflects the emergence of China as the next generation of Hollywood investors and represents a shift from Japan," said Dan Clivner, co-managing partner and media M&A attorney at Sidley Austin in Los Angeles.

    Wang said that the Legendary's intellectual property - with prospects for movie tie-in promotions - would add value to its motion picture and television production business. That would lead to greater opportunities for joint production, he said, while bolstering its tourism and cultural businesses also.

    China's booming movie industry, fueled by the country's growing urban middle class, saw box office revenue increase 49 percent last year and exceeded 40 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) for the first time, according to data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

    In 2013, Wang, flanked by Hollywood A-listers like Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman, broke ground on a 50 billion yuan "motion-picture city" project in the eastern city of Qingdao, demonstrating his ambition to build China's own version of Hollywood.

    Attending Tuesday's Beijing news conference, Legendary's Tull told reporters that he would continue to run daily operations, and that Wang had been "insistent we run operations and continue to run things the way we always have."

    Founded in 2000, Legendary has made hits such as "The Dark Knight" and "Man of Steel", as well as "The Hangover" film franchise.

    Legendary generally provides half the financing for movies whose budgets can run up to $200 million or more. It also has an agreement with China Film Co, the largest and most influential film company in China, to co-produce movies.

    Both Wang and Tull dismissed concerns that Wanda's investment would lead to censorship or alter the content of its motion pictures.

    "I'm a businessman," said Wang. "I buy things to make money, so I don't really think about government priorities. My main consideration is commercial interest."

    Tull said that Legendary had already built up a brand in China with its blockbusters and wasn't looking to change its content.

    "Frankly, we make movies that we want to see and thankfully they work here in China."

    (Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)


    Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, gestures as he speaks ahead of a signing ceremony with Spanish soccer champions Atletico Madrid in Beijing, January 21, 2015.
    REUTERS/JASON LEE
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