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Wanda’s Legendary Entertainment Names Attorney Joshua Grode as CEO
Legendary Entertainment, a U.S.-based media company and a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group, has named attorney Joshua Grode as CEO. About a year ago, founder and former CEO of the company Thomas Tull exited the studio, and the CEO position was vacant since then. Joshua Grode comes to the company from law firm Irell & Manella, where he had a distinguished career as an attorney. During his tenure at Irell & Manella, Grode worked on several large-scale merger and acquisition cases in the entertainment sector, and also worked on Legendary Entertainment’s productions, including ‘Pacific Rim‘ and ‘Kong: Skull Island,’ as a legal consultant. Read more on Mtime
Zhao Wei’s Husband Expresses Resentment for Being Wronged by Media
On November 9, Chinese billionaire actress Zhao Wei and her husband Huang Youlong were banned from the securities markets by China Securities Regulatory Commission for five years for spreading fake information to raise funds. Since then, the couple, especially Zhao, has been heavily reported and criticized by media. Some media outlets even made speculations about how Zhao’s husband made his initial fortune, suggesting that Huang once worked as a chauffeur for a corrupted high-level government official. On December 4, Huang Youlong posted a statement on Chinese social media Weibo to express his resentment towards media. Huang claims that he has never been a chauffeur for any government official. He also says that maybe he was too optimistic about the stock securities markets and lacked experience in this area, but he never intentionally did anything illegal in order to make money. Read more on yuleguan001
Blue Sky Studios’ ‘Ferdinand’ Set for January 19 China Release
American 3D computer-animated comedy film ‘Ferdinand’ has been scheduled to release across China on January 19, 2018, according to the recently released official Chinese poster and trailer of the film. Presented by Twentieth Century Fox Animation and produced by Blue Sky Studios, ‘Ferdinand’ is adapted from classic Spanish children’s book ‘The Story of Ferdinand,’ and made by the same crew that make ‘Ice Age‘ and ‘Rio.’ Read more on Mtime
Demand for Online Streaming Content is Becoming Inelastic in China
According to the official data released during the 5th China Internet Radio & Audio Convention, five hundred and fifty five internet TV drama series were registered with SAPPRFT for release during the first ten months of 2017. In addition, the number of users signed up for Chinese online streaming services is 565 million this year, 61% up compared to the number five years ago. Meanwhile, the number of paid users has also been growing. Industry insiders point out that after focusing on growing the number of productions over the past a few years, Chinese streaming platforms are in the process of switching focus to improving the quality of original content. According to the 2018 plans recently released by top streaming platforms, several acclaimed filmmakers, such as Feng Xiaogang, Stephen Chow, and Guan Hu, will make original series next year. Read more on Ent Group
