Le Vision Pictures Changed Company Name to Associate Itself with Sunac China
Le Vision Pictures, a film production company and subsidiary of the troubled LeEco, has changed its name to Le Chuang Entertainment (乐创文娱）, according to an internal letter from the company’s CEO Zhang Zhao to its employees. The new name indicates an association with Sunac China, whose Chinese name also includes character Chuang (创). Zhang said in his letter that the company would continue to produce quality films and develop valuable IPs with support from Sunac. After LeEco’s financial problems emerged in 2016, Sunac China invested about $2.4 billion into the company as a rescue bid. Sun Hongbin, CEO of Sunac China recently called the investment a failure but remained optimistic about LeEco’s film division. Read more on Sina.com
Huayi Brothers Media Posts 2017 Revenue Jump
On March 26, Chinese production company Huayi Brothers released its 2017 annual report. According to the report, the company’s total revenue exceeded 3.9 billion yuan, a 12.64 percent jump compared to the previous year. During the reporting period, Huayi Brothers participated in the production and distribution of several box office hits, including Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (Tsui Hark), Youth (Feng Xiaogang) and The Ex-File: The Return of the Exes, totaling 5.1 billion Yuan at domestic box office. In the global market, Huayi Brothers joined forces with STX Entertainment as a co-producer for films such as The Foreigner, A Bad Mom’s Christmas, and Molly’s Game. Among them, Molly’s Game received two Golden Globe nominations and one Oscar nomination. Read more on entgroup.cn
Liu Yifei and Wang Baoqiang Among Winners of China’s Razzie Awards
The 9th Golden Broom Award (China’s Razzie Award) recently held its award ceremony in Beijing. Actor Wang Baoqiang’s directorial debut Buddies in India won three awards, including the Most Disappointing Director, the Most Disappointing Film, and the Most Disappointing Screenplay. Surprisingly, Wang showed up and received the prize in person, which was the first time an A-lister appeared on the stage of this ceremony. Wang made an apology to the audience and promised to work harder to become a better filmmaker in the future. This year’s most disappointing films also included Once Upon A Time, while the Most Disappointing Actor and Actress went to Zheng Kai and Liu Yifei, respectively. Read more on Mtime
Plot of Feng Xiaogang’s ‘Cell Phone 2’ Unveiled
Recently, China’s media regulator announced a new batch of films that had been approved for production. Feng Xiaogang’s next film Cell Phone 2, a follow-up to his 2003 hit comedy Cell Phone, appeared on the list. According to the announcement, Cell Phone 2 will continue to center around TV host Yan Shoyi and tell funny stores between him and his friends online and offline. The film is mainly written by Feng’s frequent screenwriter Liu Zhenyun. Feng once mentioned that Hollywood talents also participated in the writing of the script, which explores the relationship between technology and human beings. Read more on Mtime
