WWE Wrestler John Cena to Star in Jackie Chan’s ‘Project X’
American professional wrestler John Cena will star in Jackie Chan’s film “Project X”, playing the role of a former American marine. He will team up with Chan’s character, a private security contractor with an organization called the Snow Leopard Commando Unit, to stop an attack that targets a Chinese-run oil refinery located in Baghdad. The film will be directed by Scott Waugh(Need for Speed) from a screenplay by Arash Amel(Grace of Monaco). Read more on Mtime
A Look at Chinese Online Variety Shows in Q1 2018
As China’s online video sector rapidly expands this year, leading platforms continue to increase their efforts in producing original content, including original variety shows. According to data from Vlinkage, among the top 30 variety shows released in Q1, the number of online variety shows increased by 13.3%, and iQiyi produced 43% of them. In addition, iQiyi’s online variety shows were viewed about 4.4 billion times in Q1, the highest compared to other platforms. iQiyi’s success can be largely attributed to the success of talent show Idol Producer, which garnered 2.97 billion views in Q1. Tencent Video soon released Producer 101, a show similar to Idol Producer. Currently, these American-Idol-like talent shows are the most popular type of variety shows in China. In addition, variety shows about street dance and technology were also popular in Q1. Read more on entgroup.cn
Perfect World Pictures Announces 40 Film and TV Works at Shanghai TV Festival
Yesterday, Perfect World Pictures hosted a special event during the 2018 Shanghai TV Festival. At the event, the company announced 40 upcoming film and TV projects. Launched in 2008, Perfect World Pictures has been keeping a relatively low profile in China’s entertainment sector. However, this low-profile company has produced an impressive number of hit films, TV series and variety shows over the past ten years. With a strong focus on content, Perfect World Pictures currently has five core content-creation teams as well as several subsidiaries in film and TV production. In addition, Perfect World Pictures has been actively investing in or even producing foreign films. Among this year’s Oscar-winning films, three are co-produced by or with investments from Perfect World Pictures. Read more on yuleguan001