Elusive quest for China’s next blockbuster
BEIJING: It’s been 18 years since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon starring the likes of Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi had scorched a path of glory in box offices around the globe.
Likewise for Hero, starring Jet Li and directed by Zhang Yimou. That blockbuster was released in 2002.
Since then, it’s been an embarrassingly dry run for made-in-China movies. Bigbudget movies heavy on computer animation like the Journey to the West series, Monster Hunt and The Mermaid had all scored massive receipts in China, but generally flopped in international markets.
So the quest continues for the next global blockbuster from China.
This issue has been debated during the on-going Beijing International Film Festival.
In what is seen as a quest for the next blockbuster, Cinedigm, one of the largest independent studios in the United States, had signed an agreement with six Chinese partners.
Seven insiders from the Chinese and American film and TV industries held a panel discussion on further coproduction and co-distribution and on the grave challenges facing Chinese film corporations wishing to compete on the global stage.
Chris McGurk, Chairman and CEO of Cinedigm, who delivered the keynote speech, reckons that the overseas market is a great opportunity for Chinese film content providers and can be expected to boom in the next ten years.
As a veteran who has worked in the US movie and television industries for more than 30 years, McGurk believes that the huge success of the two movies was not accidental and can be duplicated.
“Both of these films told the sort of stories that Western audiences can relate to, with a clear progression from beginning to middle to end. They were linear in form and non-chaotic in presentation, which Western audiences are comfortable with,” McGurk said.
The two films’ directors well understand Western storytelling sensibilities. Ang Lee, who had directed Crouching Tiger, and Zhang Yimou had studied the film elements, including visuals, pacing and character development, with Western audiences and selected top-notch stars known to US audiences, such as Chow Yun- Fatt and Michelle Yeoh for Crouching Tiger, and Jet Li for Hero.
Yu Jianhong, President of Youth Film Studio, agreed with McGurk, adding that “One of the key factors in film marketing is to produce a good story that resonates with the domestic and international audience.
“There are some misunderstandings in the process of film creation. Some think that the story line should be more complicated and audiences should find one clue after another in watching the movie. And that’s not true.”
“Picking the right partner is one of the key factors for their success,” adds McGurk, who held that the careful marketing and wide promotion Sony Classics did for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and that Miramax Films did for Hero effectively convinced Americans to think the two were must-see movies.
In recent years, the film industry in China has undergone massive growth spurts. In 2012, the Chinese comedy film, Lost in Thailand, grossed more than 1.27 billion yuan (US$191 million) at the Chinese boxoffice, representing the first movie in China to earn over a billion yuan.
Last year, Wolf Warrior 2 raked in a record 5.68 billion yuan.
From Lost in Thailand to Wolf Warrior 2, the domestic film industry growth has not really translated yet into a similarly burgeoning business outside of China.
On the other hand, Hollywood hits like The Avengers, Transformers or Star Wars consistently earn more than twice their domestic box office and home entertainment revenues outside of the United States.
But McGurk remains optimistic.
He predicted: “I believe we are at the doorstep of an even greater new global age for Chinese cinema.”
Bai Yicong, CEO of Shanghai Linghe Media Company, echoed McGurk’s opinion and said that Chinese filmmakers should consider more options in selecting film materials.
“At present, many Chinese filmmakers seem to appeal to a majority Chinese taste and produce many similar films.
“They may make a lot of money in the short run, but, actually, this behaviour is totally harmful to the entire industry in the long term. In the process of going global, more movies of different genres should be provided to viewers,” Bai added.
At present, many Chinese filmmakers seem to appeal to a majority Chinese taste and produce many similar films. They may make a lot of money in the short run, but, actually, this behaviour is totally harmful to the entire industry in the long term. – Bai Yicong, CEO of Shanghai Linghe Media Company