Jia Yueting Dubbed “Laolai,’ Blacklisted by China’s Top Court
Tech entrepreneur Jia Yueting, founder and former CEO of Le.com, a Chinese online video platform, is now blacklisted by China’s top court, after failing to pay his loans. On a list published on December 11, Jia has been officially added to the database for debt defaulters, mostly due to the money he owed to Ping An Securities. Chinese regulations state that individuals on the list are not allowed to travel first-class on planes and trains, visit hotels, nightclubs, and golf courses, purchase properties, cars, rent offices, or spend money on luxuries in general. Jia is currently in the U.S. working on Faraday Future, an electric vehicles startup. Read more on yuleguan001
Where is The Next Hit Disney IP
For years, Disney movies, characters, and licensed merchandise have been wildly successful, but in 2017, both Disney’s revenue and profit dropped, for the first time since 2009. The appeal of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck may not be what it once was, but China remains one of Disney’s most profitable markets, especially for licensed merchandise. According to the 2017 LIMA Global Survey, China is the fastest growing market for licensed products. After the remarkable success of the 2013 3D movie Frozen, Disney has yet to come up with another IP movie adaptation that is as influential. DreamWorks’ animation Trolls quickly became a hit when it was released in 2016, and with the rise of Chinese-made IP adaptations, many of which have been well received by the Chinese audience, they pose another challenge to Disney’s success in the Chinese market. Read more on TMT Post
Tencent to Help Animation and Comic Creators Get Sustainable Income
With 120 million active users on its platform, Tencent Animation and Comics is making an effort to support its creators and change the way they are paid. At the recent Animation and Comics Conference in Hangzhou, Tencent announced its plans to fully actualize the commercial value of popular content on the website, providing more resources and funds for the creators, partnering with investors, and developing more original IP content. With a platform like such, animation and comic creators can look forward to better opportunities in the future. Read more on Ent Group
Director Yuen Woo-ping and Producer Tsui Hark Explain ‘The Thousand Faces of Dunjia’
‘The Thousand Faces of Dunjia,’ a highly anticipated fantasy-wuxia film, tells the story of a group fighters with supernatural powers as they battle an ancient evil. A remake of the 1982 movie with the same title, the new version captured the essence of the original movie, and has added new stories and new concepts, according to Director Yuen Woo-ping at the recent premiere in Beijing. Among the various interpretations of what “Dunjia” is, producer Tsui Hark believes it to be a strong power across time and space, hence the supernatural powers the fighters possess. The movie is set to be released on December 15 in Chinese cinemas. Read more on Mtime
