Official still of ‘The Greatest Showman’
Chinese Companies’ New Hollywood Approach
According to a recent announcement from China’s Bona Film Group, the company will invest in upcoming American biographical musical drama film ‘The Greatest Showman’, which is produced by Twentieth Century Fox and stars Hugh Jackman. Meanwhile, Chinese firm Starlight Culture Entertainment Group has just launched a $100 million fund for Hollywood filmmakers to develop films. With China’s crackdown on investment into Hollywood, it seems that investing in foreign films and filmmakers instead of production studios is becoming a new trend. Read more on yiqipaidianying
BRICS Co-production ‘Where Has the Time Gone’ Set for October 19 Release
Executive produced by Chinese director Jia Zhangke, and directed by filmmakers from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries, feature-length movie ‘Where Has the Time Gone’ will open across China on October 19. Along with the announcement of the release date, a poster and a trailer of the film are also released. The film consists of five short films, all centering around the theme of ‘Where Has the Time Gone’. While people in BRICS nations are all experiencing rapid economic growth, how they perceive such growth can be different due to different cultural and historical backgrounds, which is what this film tries to capture. Read more on Mtime
86 Percent Chinese Audiences Willing to Pay for Genuine Films
Last week, China Youth Daily conducted a survey on the Chinese film market with 2001 moviegoers. 46.5 percent of the survey respondents believed that an increasing number of films available in the Chinese market are genuine works, and 86.2 percent of the respondents are willing to pay for movies they consider genuine. which are defined as movies of artistic merits, sincere and skilled acting, and decent production values. Read more on Xinjiang Daily
According to Huayi Brothers’ recent semi-annual report, the company sees 0.15 percent decrease in total revenue and 42.12 percent increase in net revenue for the first half of 2017. While China’s media and entertainment industry sees a 17.21 percent average increase in total revenue, Huayi’s revenue drop seems bizarre. Over the past a few years, Huayi has been reducing its investment in film productions, and focusing more on capital and property management instead. They company broke ground on a new film studio in Nanjing back in June, and plans to build 20 more such projects across 13 Chinese cities. Without prioritizing film productions, it remains to be seen if movie studios/theme parks will bring continual success to the company. Read more on TMT Post
Chinese Film ‘The Taste of Rice Flower’ Applauded at the Venice Film Festival
On September 2, a press screening of Chinese film ‘The Taste of Rice Flower’ took place at the 74th Venice International Film Festival. After watching the film, audiences applauded for the film for a long time, and some audiences left the screening with tears in their eyes. According to a staff member of the screening venue, ‘The Taste of Rice Flower’ is the best received movie at the venue since the opening of the festival. ‘The Taste of Rice Flower’ is Chinese filmmaker Peng Fei’s second feature. His first feature ‘Underground Fragrance’ was screened and awarded at the 2015 Venice Days. Read more on 1905.com
