2nd Hollywood China Film Festival to be Launched in L.A., Vancouver
Chinese movies have gained incredible momentum in recent years both domestically and on the global stage. This year alone, two Chinese movies will compete for Best Foreign Picture at the Oscars. As reported by China Radio International, this upcoming China Film Festival will be a wonderful opportunity for American moviegoers to learn about China while enjoying the best of the country’s latest movies.
Man Behind “Banquet” Aspires To Be China’s Warner
Opportunities seem endless in today’s China, and if used right they can create miracles. Such is the case with the producer of “Banquet,” a company that grew from scratch to the largest private media conglomerate in China only in 12 years! This story from Xinhua.net features one of the two brothers who founded this corporation.
“This year, Huayi Brothers has invested more than 100 million yuan (12.5 million U.S. dollars) in two major productions, “The Banquet” and “Battle of Wits”, a potential blockbuster that will be released at Christmas. With the two epics and two other low budget films in the vanguard, they are launching a new onslaught on the box office both in China and overseas.”
The Rise of the Small Screen In China
The ongoing economic boom and exciting happenings in China make this country a perfect testing ground for new forms of media. With the rapid expansion of the cell phone market, mobile TV is ready to take off. Following that, as suggested in this article from Asia Times, watching movies on the cell phone screen will soon become a real-life experience.
“The Chinese cell-phone movie has just celebrated its first birthday, so the industry is only in the initial stage. A large majority of movies still rely on clumsily arranged humorous or erotic subject matter (the latter being more popular) to attract viewers.”
China, Hong Kong pick costume dramas for Oscar
Following one of the previous postings about China’s selection of its Oscar candidate, the choices have been made. Two of the country’s largest productions in the past year have both obtained their candidacy status, one on behalf of Mainland China, the other representing Hong Kong. Based on this story from The Hollywood Reporter, one of the two movies has already sold its U.S. distribution rights to Sony.
“Films seldom break even in China because of rampant DVD piracy. Many filmmakers here believe that a foreign prize and overseas distribution are the only sure way to recoup investments.”
Film Funds Help Talented Directors Take Off
The unexpected success of an indie comedy in China has thrust the entire independent movie sector into spotlight. In turn, industry practitioners have started to pay much more attention to funding indenpendent film producers in the country. As suggested in this article from China Daily, opportunities in this respect have also attracted the attention of a major Hollywood studio.
“Asian New Director is the rough equivalent of the Sundance Institute started by Robert Redford in the United States. Initially organized in 1981, the Sundance Institute (named for Redford’s role in the 1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” opposite Paul Newman) played a key role in the first productions of many important people in today’s Hollywood. Among them was Steven Soderbergh, who won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his 1989 movie “sex, lies and videotape” and also won an Academy Award for Best Director for “Traffic” in 2000.”