HUAYI BROTHERS USA COMPANY PICKS FIRST MOVIE TO FINANCE

 

2:11 PM PST 10/17/2014 by Kim Masters    Hollywood Reporter

 

Chinese production company Huayi Brothers has selected its first movie to be financed through its new U.S. company: a Chinese-language remake of the Robert Downey Jr./Marisa Tomei romantic comedy Only You. The film will star Tang Wei, who appeared in Ang Lee's 2007 film Lust, Caution,and Feng Shaofeng. Released by Sony's Tristar label in 1994, Only You, directed by Norman Jewison, starred Tomei and Downey as two soulmates who eventually find each other.

 

The remake will be directed by newcomer Zhang Haoand produced by Feng Xiaogang.

Read more China's Huayi Brothers Plans to Invest up to $150 Million in Jeff Robinov's New Company

Sony, which declined to comment, is in negotiations to join the co-production as a financing partner and would distribute the film in all territories outside Asia. Budgeted at $7 million to $9 million, the movie is set for release in the summer of 2015.

 

Huayi has also acquired the Chinese rights to Brad Pitt's Fury, Johnny Depp's Mordecai and John Wick with Keanu Reeves. In September, the Huayi Brothers announced a $130 million U.S. subsidiary to invest in film and TV production and distribution.

 

 

China To Spend $163 Million A Year To Support Movie Business

China to spend $163 mln a year to support movie industry

BEIJING Thu Jun 19, 2014 8:19am EDT

 

(Reuters) - The Chinese government will spend 1 billion yuan($163 million) a year to support the domestic movie industry, including producing films and funding the construction of digital cinemas, state media said on Thursday. The money will go to help produce five to 10 films a year and build the cinemas mostly in the poorer center and west of the country, the official Xinhua news agency said. "The cultural development fund will specifically promote movie-making technology, help exports of Chinese films, invest in commercial productions and build film websites," it said.

Xinhua did not say over how many years the government would provide such funding. 

 

Banks would also be encouraged to lend to the sector, production companies would be encouraged to list on the stock market and issue bonds, and insurance companies would be encouraged to buy stakes in film companies, it added. Hollywood has traditionally dominated China's box office, but Chinese films overtook their U.S. rivals in 2013 taking more than 58 percent of the box office, according to state media, and the government has been keen to boost domestic talent. U.S. studios have been taking steps to appeal to the fast-growing Chinese box office, which hit 21.8 billion yuan last year. Production companies like Viacom Inc's Paramount Picture and DreamWorks AnimationSKG Inc have hired Chinese actors and set up co-productions with Chinese firms to make inroads into the mainland market.

 

China's Film Industry Taking Measures to Compete With Hollywood

 

JUNE 20, 2014

 

The Chinese film market has been experiencing a huge boom in the past few years, and if the recent reports coming out of the region are any indication, the numbers are destined to move even higher. New developments, including tax breaks, film funding, and other major changes to the Chinese film industry, are making it possible for the region to compete closely with Hollywood in the near future.

 

Of course, to say that China is on the verge of catching up with the United States and Canada (the two countries are counted together in the MPAA’s market reports) when it comes to the global share of ticket sales is still a bit of a stretch. In 2013, U.S. and Canada earned $10.9 billion at the box office while China came in a distant second at $3.6 billion. But despite the wide gap, it’s the explosive trend over the past couple of years coupled with the fact that China is not anywhere near its full potential in market share that many onlookers believe it could one day be the largest film market in the world.

 

In an attempt to make its domestic film business more competitive with Hollywood, the Chinese government recently outlined several measures including tax incentives and a fund for state-approved films. The Chinese finance ministry said on its website that the changes would “enhanc[e]the overall strength and competitiveness of Chinese films.” The film fund will reportedly distribute $16 million between five to ten films with “influential themes.” Additionally, “competitive films” will be offered assistance while Chinese films in general will receive added support when they move overseas, along with professional movie website design. 

 

But it’s the tax exemptions in particular that could have a huge impact on China’s rapidly growing film market. According to THR, any income from a film company’s screenings in villages and rural areas will be completely exempt from tax. That includes income from copyright transfer, film distribution, and screenings. Similar tax exemptions will exist for film distribution in central and western China where rapid cinema expansion is already occurring and a massive population of future movie-goers exists. When paired with the government’s plan to invest in theater infrastructure and its encouragement of financial institutions to invest in the growing industry, you start to get the sense that China will edge closer to the number one box office spot sooner rather than later.

 

Although most of the measures have not been established yet, it’s already obvious how much the government’s push for film is impacting the Chinese film industry. It was announced June 19 that the state-owned China Film Group would finally go public after years of negotiations. The Chinese film giant, which does everything from producing, to importing and exporting, distributing, operating theater chains, selling film equipment, and even managing talent, is planning a $740 million IPO before it hits the stock market listing in Shanghai.

 

Additionally, it was announced on June 20 that China’s Light Chaser Animation Studios had raised $20 million from GGV Capital with lofty goals of competing with Pixar Animation Studios. Light Chaser, which was founded by Gary Wang and was purchased by Youku for $1 billion in 2012, is aiming to create, “world-class animated films with a Chinese cultural touch.”

 

“The movie market in China is booming, and certainly there is a very significant growth space for Chinese animated feature films,” GGV Capital managing partner Jixun Foo wrote in a statement. “We are impressed by the vision and execution capability of Light Chaser. Within a very short period of time, they have built up an excellent team and a world-class animation production pipeline. It’s very exciting that Light Chaser’s animation and CG capabilities are already at a level close to Hollywood.”

 

And don’t forget about Hollywood’s role in the China boom as ticket sales continue to increase. For years, American studios have recognized the potential for exporting films to China, but governmental measures make it far more difficult for Hollywood to get a foothold in the industry. The biggest impediment by far is China’s restrictions on how many foreign films may be shown in Chinese cinemas. In 2011, the cap stood at only twenty imports per year, but in recent years the number has increased to a soft cap of 34.

 

Hollywood has also explored hybrid American/Chinese productions in recent years to stretch the appeal of its productions in China. In a trend that is sure to continue in the coming years, films like the upcoming Transformers 4: Age of Extinction have heavily marketed to Chinese audiences through advertising and also feature Chinese actors and locations. Transformers 4 will even be edited completely differently for Chinese audiences.

 

But the strategy has also been likened to Hollywood pandering, and it isn’t difficult to see why. The Chinese release of Iron Man 3 for example had three minutes exclusive to the film that feature Chinese movie stars Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing, but viewers noted that the added scenes seemed to be completely disconnected from the film. Early promotion seems to indicate that Transformers 4 more successful integrates the Chinese and American content, but it’s hard to see the strategy not interrupting the creative process. 

 

But regardless of how or if Hollywood can profit from the Chinese explosion in film, there’s no doubt that the China will soon become a worldwide name in film. And one day, it might even overtake Hollywood.

Read more: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/entertainment/chinas-film-industry-takes-measures-to-compete-with-hollywood.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3G           

 

 

China Publishing Group Launches Digital Subsidiary, Preps for the Future

 

• In 2009, China ran up $1bn in sales of digital content, and the market is growing at an estimated 40% annually. In response China Publishing Group -– China’s largest state-sponsored publishing conglomerate — has launched Digital Media Co. Ltd., a new digital media and technology subsidiary.

 

 

China’s Wanda Unveils $8.2 Billion Movie Fund

 

            CLIFFORD COONAN

 

 Wanda’s huge investment plan is an attempt to turn China’s movie industry into the world’s biggest within 5      years, and includes the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis which contains a 10,000-square-meter film studio, 19 smaller facilities and a theme park.

 

QINGDAO, China – China's Wanda Group has unwrapped an $8.2 billion film investment plan to transform the country's movie industry into the world's biggest within five years, and group chairman Wang Jianlin said the company, which bought the AMC theater chain last year, is just starting to expand globally.

 

 

Hollywood A-listers turned out in force in searing sunshine in Qingdao, northeastern China, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman and Harvey Weinstein there to show moral support for the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis complex, which is slated to open in 2017 in the eastern Chinese port city. The facility will include a 10,000-square-meter film studio and 19 smaller facilities, along with a theme park similar to the Universal Studios franchise. The project will also include a permanent auto show, a yacht center, an international hospital, hotels and bars. "The future of the world’s film industry is in China because we have 1.3 billion people, and we will have the biggest film business in the world by 2018," Wang told the assembled glitterati, which also included the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, as well as John Travolta,Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ewan McGregor, Kate Beckinsaleand Christoph Waltz. Several agents also attended, including WME's Mike Simpson and UTA's Jeremy Zimmer.

 

Wanda has signed agreements with film studios and talent agencies to have about 30 foreign movies produced at the new facility every year, as well as 100 local films.

 

 

Cannes: China's Wanda To Launch Qingdao Film Festival In 2017

Cannes: China's Wanda to Launch Qingdao Film Festival in 2017

Hollywood Reporter 9:39 AM PST 05/16/2014 by Georg Szalai

 

CANNES – Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda on Friday highlighted its previously announced intentions to build a film studio and media complex in China and unveiled plans to launch a new "major international film festival" in Qingdao, China in 2017.

 

The company, which owns U.S. exhibitor AMC Entertainment, also said here that it has named Rose Kuo, most recently executive director of the FIlm Society of Lincoln Center that presents the New York Film Festival, CEO of the new Chinese festival. Kuo is also a former artistic director of Los Angeles’ AFI Fest.

 

The Qingdao International Film Festival, set to debut in the fall of 2017, "will be a first-class international film festival and serve as a bridge between Eastern and Western filmmaking cultures," Wanda said.

 

Wanda also said that Stephen Mensch would serve as CEO of the Qingdao Oriental Movie Industrial Park. He previously served as director of strategic production partnerships and studio operations at Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting. Mensch began his career in entertainment as general manager and vp of sales and marketing for feature systems production equipment.

 

The news was announced by Hawk Koch, president of the Producers Guild of America and special advisor to Wanda.

 

 

                                               Blockbuster Growth in China's Film Industry

 

By Alexis Lai, CNN

updated 11:46 PM EST, Tue February 19, 2013

 

(CNN) -- A locally-produced slapstick comedy was the runaway box office hit last year in China, but international films swept the top 10 highest-grossing films in the country. Industry insiders say international influence is only set to grow, as Chinese censors loosen restrictions on foreign films and more fans make a habit of seeking out the latest blockbusters. Last year, the country's box office receipts increased 30% to over RMB 17 billion ($2.7 billion), making China the world's second-largest box office

 

China's Top Ten Box Office Hits in 2012 1. Lost in Thailand RMB 1,004,610,000($161M) 2. Titanic 3D RMB 947,580,000 ($152M) 3. Painted Skin: The Resurrection RMB 704,510,000 ($113M) 4. Mission: Impossible-- Ghost Protocol RMB 674,710,000 ($108M) 5. Life of Pi RMB 571,050,000 ($91M) 6. The Avengers RMB 567,920,000 ($91M) 7. Chinese Zodiac RMB 535,330,000 ($85M) 8. Men in Black 3 RMB 504,150,000 ($80M) 9. Ice Age: Continental DriftRMB 449,130,000 ($72M) 10. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island RMB 388,490,000 ($62M) 

 

On the fifth episode of CNN's monthly show "On China," host Kristie Lu Stout traveled to Hengdian World Studios to discover what strikes a chord with Chinese viewers. There, she asked Dan Mintz, CEO of DMG Entertainment Group, and acclaimed film directors Jin Yimeng (Eva) and Lu Chuan what Chinese filmgoers want to see.

 

On the surface, the script for success is not dissimilar to what works in the United States, they said. U.S. films, including "Titanic 3D" and "Mission: Impossible-- Ghost Protocol" comprised seven of the top 10 highest-grossing films in 2012, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. While foreign films accounted for only a quarter of the 303 movies screened in Chinese theatres last year, they took in over half of overall ticket sales (52.4%).

 

Chinese moviegoers seek escapism, according to Jin, China's first female director to exceed RMB 100 million ($16 million) at the box office. She struck gold with her 2009 romantic comedy, "Sophie's Revenge," which featured international Chinese star Zhang Ziyi. Previously, Chinese romantic comedies were primarily low-budget efforts that failed to capture audiences, she said.

Indeed, the highest-grossing film in China last year (RMB 1 billion or $161 million) was "Lost in Thailand," a locally-produced lowbrow, slapstick comedy featuring two rival colleagues battling snakes and gangsters to win the favor of their boss. In contrast, Lu's "The Last Supper," a dark historical film dramatizing the transition between the Qing and Han dynasties, felt flat when it was released in late November. "People struggle for [the] whole year, they want some entertainment," he said.

It is not to say that Chinese audiences only welcome comedic fare. While it did not crack the top ten, "Looper," a futuristic sci-fi movie by U.S. writer-director Rian Johnson and starring Bruce Willis, was still a big hit both internationally and in China last year.

 

Its scenes in Shanghai aside, Looper's projections of the future mirrored the ongoing question of China's trajectory, said Mintz, whose company co-produced the movie. "There's never really been a film that has talked about mainland China in the future, and that I think is very, very specific to what Looper was," Mintz said. "It's obviously a powerhouse...but where is it going to be in the future?"

 

Easy access to theaters is also driving mainland viewers to the silver screen. China has over 12,000 movie screens and it is adding more at a rate of eight to 10 each day, Mintz said. Cinemas in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai are comparable to those in the U.S., Lu added. But the guests said the overriding factor in increasing box office sales is a growing predilection for young Chinese to visit the cinema every week.

 

"I know some young people, they go into movie theatres every week and sometimes if they like [the movie], they watch [it] three times," said Jin.

 

     China Government Adds Movie Fund

 

 February 8, 2012

 

Yang Buting

 

The Chinese government is to make a push into Hollywood with the launch of a new film fund. Former China Film Group Corporation chairman Yang Buting will head China Mainstream Media National Film Capital Hollywood Inc, which claims to be China's first government-backed film investment fund. "The focus of the film fund will be to co-finance and co-produce the projects which have large box office potential in the world marketplace including China. These types of projects will allow more films to reach the ever-growing China market," according to a statement. China Mainstream has offices in Beijing and Beverly Hills, California, and describes itself as a "a turnkey gateway partner for Hollywood". "The strong government support and the extensive knowledge of the company's executives in film, financing and marketing enable the company to become a major film fund supporting top level films in both China and the US With a Western movie-making approach and a management supported by financing from China, the company will become a gateway partner to Hollywood," said Yang.

 

 

China's Wanda to Create Movie Fund to Attract Hollywood Productions

 

Hollywood Reporter 11:18 PM PST 10/07/2014 by Abid Rahman

 

 

The Oriental Movie Metropolis will benefit from $163 million of funding annually

 

China’s Dalian Wanda Group Corp. is planning to establish a $163 million (1 billion yuan) annual fund to attract movie producers for its yet-to-be-completed mega studio project Oriental Movie Metropolis the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

 

 

The Oriental Movie Metropolis has been dubbed the 'Chinese Hollywood' for its ambitious scope and the plans for it to be a center for TV and film production in China. Located in coastal city of Qingdao, Oriental Movie Metropolis was announced with much fanfare last year as Hollywood A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Catherine Zeta Jones and Nicole Kidman attend the ground-breaking ceremony. Movie execs such as Sony serior vp Ralph Alexander and then international division president of Universal Pictures David Kosse were also in attendance at the ceremony. 

 

Wanda's billionaire chairman, Wang Jianlin, who has made aggressive commercial and property moves in the entertainment industry as well as flirting with the idea of acquiring a Hollywood production house, said the planned fund would work with the private sector to recreate Hollywood in China. Wang added that the Qingdao district government would provide subsidies of up to 10% of any production studio's annual revenue. 

 

Wang has said in the past that Oriental Movie Metropolis will be the largest studio in the world, and he intimated that he is fully prepared to back the project to success. “The Oriental Movie Metropolis will certainly succeed,” he said.

 

The Journal reported that a number of Hollywood players were in the room at the announcement of the planned fund including Weinstein Co. COO David Glasser, deal maker John Sloss and the Zhang Qiang, the new head of the Alibaba Pictures Group. 

 

Read more Cannes: China's Wanda to Launch Qingdao Film Festival in 2017

 

 

China Woos Hollywood Sudios with Film Fund

 

The Associated Press Posted: Mar 08, 2012 4:03 PM ET Last Updated: Mar 08, 2012 4:01 PM ET

 

China extended its courtship of Hollywood on Wednesday, with government officials touting a new fund for co-financing movies. The push comes just weeks after China's leader-in-waiting, Vice President Xi Jinping, unveiled rules that would give foreign films better access to its booming box office and a larger percentage of ticket receipts.

 

China is looking to learn from Hollywood and develop the ability to make commercially successful movies on par with the biggest blockbusters. U.S. studios are trying to break further into China, where box office receipts rose more than a third last year to $2 billion US...........

 

 

 CHINA MOVES ON HOLLYWOOD WITH DEAL TO FUND TWO FANTASY EPICS

 

China moves on Hollywood with deal to fund two fantasy epics

World of Warcraft adaptation directed by Duncan Jones and swords-and-sorcery flick Seventh Son will both be part-funded by the state-owned China Film Group, after eight-figure deal

• News: China hints that it may relax film quota for arthouse titles

•  

• Ben Child

•  

• theguardian.com, Tuesday 15 April 2014 08.42 EDT

 

 

Duncan Jones, director of Moon and Source Code, will direct Warcraft, one of two Chinese-funded epics. Photograph: Erik C Pendzich / Rex Features

 

China Film Group has made the first major investment in Hollywood by a state-owned firm, with an eight-figure deal to part-fund the fantasy epics Warcraft and Seventh Son, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

 

China has been making its presence felt in Hollywood in recent years, with the world's most populous nation due to overtake the US as the globe's biggest box office by 2020. Disney subsidiary Marvel co-produced superhero sequel Iron Man 3 alongside Chinese company DMG Entertainment last year, adding Chinese characters and additional scenes for the local release in order to bypass the country's strict quota system. The quota, which currently allows 34 foreign movies into Chinese cinemas each year, is said to be increased soon, allowing 44 titles to screen.

 

 

China Fund To Support Film Projects Worldwide

China Fund to Support Film Projects Worldwide

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

Published: February 6, 2012

 

 

LOS ANGELES — If Chinese versions of Rupert Murdoch and Oprah Winfrey teamed up with, say, China’s J. P. Morgan to start a film fund, this would be it.

 

Imaginechina, via Associated Press

 

Yang Lan and her husband, Bruno Wu, are partners in Harvest Seven Stars Media.

 

Sun Media Group, founded by Bruno Wu, who is often compared to Mr. Murdoch, and his wife, Yang Lan, sometimes likened to Ms. Winfrey, is joining Harvest Fund Management to create an $800 million fund that will back entertainment ventures in China and around the world, company executives said Saturday. “The goal is pretty straightforward; it’s to make a maximum return, of course, for the investors,” Mr. Wu said of the enterprise, which is aimed at a booming Chinese market for global film. He and Lindsay Wright, the vice chairman of a Harvest global investment unit, spoke jointly by telephone.

 

The fund, called Harvest Seven Stars Media Private Equity, is expected to invest in existing entertainment companies. But it also will provide backing for individual filmmakers and build an entertainment distribution system in China and elsewhere, Mr. Wu and Ms. Wright said. Its initial pool of capital, they added, will probably be expanded in the near future.

 

Last year, the Motion Picture Association of America said it expected the number of cinema screens in China to increase to more than 16,000 in 2015 from about 6,200 in 2011, as Chinese box-office receipts grow to a projected $5 billion from $1.5 billion. At the same time, China has been under pressure from the entertainment industry in the United States to ease censorship, open its markets and crack down on chronic film piracy. “The awareness, and urge, and strong desire to protect” intellectual property has never been higher in China, Mr. Wu said. He and others, he said, have been lobbying the Chinese government for tougher antipiracy measures.

 

Regarding markets, Mr. Wu said he and fellow investors are eager to ease the way in China for blockbuster-style films from abroad — one of the biggest hits there lately has been “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” — by joining in substantial co-productions.

Asked whether the venture might back a company as large as the current incarnation of DreamWorks Studios, which was built around a $325 million stake from Reliance Entertainment of India but is now in search of new financing, Mr. Wu said, “Yes.” Harvest Seven Stars is being advised by the Creative Artists Agency, through its Beijing office. Several deals with film producers are being completed, Ms. Wright and Mr. Wu said. Given the agency’s involvement and the producer negotiations under way, the new venture appears to be pointed toward a Hollywood alliance sooner rather than later.

 

Mr. Wu, one of China’s wealthier entrepreneurs, and Ms. Yang, long a television talk show hostess, already control a media empire with television, print and online components. The new film-oriented fund is backed by their Sun Redrock Investment Group. Harvest is participating in the new venture through its Harvest Alternative Investment Group, which Ms. Wright leads. She described Harvest as the second-largest asset manager in mainland China. The new venture will operate from Hong Kong and Beijing, Ms. Wright and Mr. Wu said.

 

   

    China Online Giant Baidu Launches Film Funding Unit

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 | 07:14AM PT

 

Patrick Frater

Asia Bureau Chief

 

HONG KONG – China’s leading search engine Baidu has set up a film funding unit for small investors to back movie productions. The giant company partnered with leading state-controlled investment company, Taiwan’s Central Picture Corporation and the DeHeng law firm.

 

The Baifa Youxi platform allows investors to put up as little as RMB10 ($1.63) and to earn yields of up to 16% linked to box office performance. Investors may also receive bonuses such as tickets or videos.

State news agency Xinhua quoted Li Zimin, GM of the service, as describing the product as a hybrid of film industry and consumer finance.

 

The start date of the fund was not disclosed, though Xinhua said that its first exercise was an investment in “The Golden Era,” the already completed Tang Wei-starring biopic directed by Ann Hui that was the closing film at the Venice festival.

 

It was reported that Baifa Youxi raised RMB18 million ($2.93 million) for the movie, some 20% above target, from 3,300 small investors. China’s online giants are relative newcomers to the film sector, but potentially have huge advantages in the sector. These come from their huge reach, their social media components and their ability to handle online payments.

 

Earlier this year, e-commerce giant Alibaba launched a crowd-funding service called Yue Le Bao. Messaging and games giant Tencent last week officially launched its film investment division Tencent Movies+.

 

 

 

Transformers Hauls in More At Box Office in China than USA

 

'ansformers' hauls in more at box office in China thanin U.S.

 

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" was adored by its fans in China, despite negative reviews from critics and controversies surrounding its product-placement deals with Chinese companies. (Industrial Light & Magic / Paramount)

By LOS ANGELES TIMES STAFF

 

'Transformers' grosses $260 million in its first 17 days of release in China, breaking record set by 'Avatar'

'Transformers' has made about $50 million more in China than in the U.S. and Canada.

No major U.S. film releases in China in the coming month due to a period reserved for domestic productions

 

“Transformers: Age of Extinction” keeps extending its lead over “Avatar” as the top-grossing movie ever in China, dominating the mainland box office for a third consecutive week and taking in $52 million in the seven days ending Sunday.

 

In its first 17 days in theaters in China, the Michael Bay film grossed $260 million, $36 million above the record set by “Avatar” in 2010, according to figures from Shanghai-based consulting firm Artisan Gateway. With two weeks left for the Paramount Pictures film in Chinese cinemas, it looks like it could reach the $300-million mark before it completes its run in the country.

 

The fourth film in the “Transformers" series was adored by its fans in China, despite negative reviews from critics and controversies surrounding its product-placement deals with Chinese companies. It took in $115 million in its second week in China while only generating $36 million the same week in the U.S. This past week, it sold $35 million more in tickets in China than in the U.S., where its total haul now stands at $209 million.

 

 

 

Australian producer AMPCO Studios has set up a China film fund and committed to two Australian-Chinese movies

 

Patrick Frater

Asia Bureau Chief

 

HONG KONG – Australian producer AMPCO Studios has set up a China film fund and committed to two Australian-Chinese movies. The deals were signed last week during an Australian trade delegation to China led by Andrew Robb, Australia’s federal minister for Trade and Investment.

 

The $15 million China Co-production Film Fund is a joint venture between AMPCO and Shanghai Yao Qiao Culture Development Company, and is intended to assist with the financing of Australia-China treaty co-productions. It will provide cash flow finance for the Australian Producer Tax Offset and distribution guarantees, as well as gap finance and resources for marketing and publicity. AMPCO and another Australian production firm Cascade Film will go into production in July with Shanghai Film and Video Technology Company on “Tying The Knot.” Budgeted at $6 million the romantic comedy will be directed by Nadia Tass (“Matching Jack,” “The Big Steal”.) Producers are AMPCO’s Mario Andreacchio, SFVTC’s Yuan Lutai, Shen Chen (China), the film’s scriptwriter David Parker and Tass.

 

AMPCO and Chinawood Media Corporation are also in the process of setting up “Shimalaya,” an aviation-adventure based on actual events surrounding the last aid supply route into China during WWII, through the Himalayas. Budget is in excess of $20 million. The project will be led by executive producers Andreacchio and Chinawood’s James Xia, with Dale Roberts, from Adelaide’s KOJO. Chinawood’s James Wang will also produce alongside Andreacchio, with the film to be directed by Taiwan’s Roy Chin. Tony Coombs from Burma Road International, packaged the project and brought it to AMPCO.

 

“This is a very personal story for me. These are stories I heard first hand while growing up. The human side is inspiring,” said Chin, whose father was a navigator in the Chinese Air Force that assisted in the war effort. “This is one of the great untold spectacular stories of WWII. The U.S. pilots, worked with pilots from a number of the allied countries. Over 600 planes were lost in what is one of aviation’s greatest airlifts,” said historian Jeffrey Greene, who developed the original concept and penned the screenplay.

 

AMPCO previously produced “The Dragon Pearl” (pictured) the 2011 family mystery drama that was the first Australia-China co-production.  Last year the company also announced $15 million 19th century gold rush adventure “Gold Road” as another Australo-Chinese venture, with  Shandong Film & TV Media Group. It also acquired rights to best-selling young adult fantasy series “The Alchemyst: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.”

 

 

 

   Resolution Becomes First Hollywood Agency to Take Chinese Investment

 

Bison Capital Holdings will invest in Jeff Berg's agency

 

Bison Capital Holdings, a Beijing-based financial company, has invested in Resolution, Jeff Berg‘s talent and literary agency, the companies said Tuesday. Resolution did not disclose the size of the investment, nor how large a stake Bison would take in the year-old agency. Berg has been looking to expand his company's footprint in China, discussing options with Jahm Najafi, his initial investor, and David Unger, an agent he tasked with mounting a strategy for the world's largest country.

 

“This partnership will allow us to fund strategic expansion in the global marketplace,” Berg said in a statement. Major agencies CAA and WME have taken outside investment, but from U.S.-based venture capital firms. CAA has its own office in Beijing, and every large agency and film studio is looking for new opportunities in China, where moviegoers spend more on films than in any country but the United States.

 

 

 

Chinese Studio Huayi Brothers To Invest $130 M into USA Branch

AT 6:08 AM SEPTEMBER 16, 2014

Ater dominating mainland China’s 2013 box office with $487.6 million in receipts, Beijing-based studio Huayi Brothers Media Corp. has announced plans to expand into the United States.

 

Huayi Brothers said it plans to invest $130 million to establish a wholly owned subsidiary in the U.S. for producing and distributing movies and TV shows, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange late Monday.

 

The company’s total box office from the eight movies it released in the mainland in 2013 was $487.6 million, the highest among Chinese film-production companies. Huayi Brothers has a fruitful partnership with Chinese action star Jackie Chan, with box-office hits such as “Rob-B-Hood” in 2006 and “CZ12” in 2012. The upcoming war movie “Fury,” starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf, is co-produced by Huayi Brothers and is set to be in theaters in October. The company said in May that it is involved in two Hollywood movies slated for 2015: the political thriller “John Wick,” featuring Keanu Reeves, and the Lionsgate action comedy “Mortdecai,” starring Johnny Depp.

 

Huayi Brothers' announcement of a U.S. subsidiary comes just weeks after Chinese real estate firm, cinema operator and film producer-distributor Wanda Group said it would set up an L.A. office to handle entertainment-sector investments -- including investment in local film production companies or global theatrical releases.

 

 

                                                       Manka Brothers Signs $2 Billion Deal

 

                                                                                        September 27, 2014

 

Manka Bros. has entered into an exclusive agreement with The Happy China Magic Film Co. to produce and distribute up to 100 MOVIES over the next 5 YEARS. This deal is worth up to $2 BILLION and puts Manka Bros. at the top of the entertainment pyramid in China.

 

 

China Billionaire Buys L.A. Land for Foray Into Hollywood Films

 

Dalian Wanda Group, which controls the second-largest U.S. cinema chain, won the bid for a piece of land in Los Angeles as the Chinese company sets its sights on Hollywood.

 

Wanda, the Chinese developer controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin, plans to invest $1.2 billion after beating more than 10 bidders for the 32,000 square meter (344,320 square foot) plot in Beverly Hills, the company said in a statement on its website. Wanda plans to set up an office in the city and help China’s entry into Hollywood’s film industry, it said.

Wanda, which in 2012 bought U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) for $2.6 billion, is among Chinese companies seeking acquisitions overseas to gain foreign expertise, brands and technology. AMC Entertainment sold more than 21 million Class A shares for $18 each in an initial public offering in December.

Wanda said last year it plans to invest 50 billion yuan ($8.1 billion) to build an entertainment park in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao that will include a movie museum and 20 studios scheduled for completion in 2017.

 

 

 

 

27 November 2013

 

 

The global market for specialty films is projected to be worth $6.0 billion in 2013 and grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.0% until 2018, according to a brand new market report from Smithers Pira.