The Chinese Film Market

We deliver the latest news on the film market from Beijing, Taipei and Hong Kong. Our goal is to demystify the Chinese film market and to facilitate co-productions.

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Business Opportunities in the China Market - Video-on-demand

By Hua Yang

China’s video-on-demand (VOD) market is growing fast alongside the number of paid subscribers. Baidu-backed iQIYI, one of the largest online video providers in China, announced that the company's paid streaming subscribers have reached 5 million as of June 15, 2015, a 765 percent annual increase.

Zhu Huilong, Senior Vice President of Youku Tudou Inc, one of the leading online video players in China, forecasts Subscription VOD (SVOD) revenues to reach a total of $234 million to $313 million in 2015, and $626 million to $939 million in 2016.

Zhu also predicts that the SVOD market in China will ultimately reach the same as the film box office.

As the demand expands, foreign VOD platforms like Netflix might be possible to grab a share of the booming market, but the road seems not easy.

Netflix, which has been aggressively expanding its services in international markets, has claimed that it would enter China in the near future but still hasn’t revealed a specific way to tap the market.  

 Strong Local Competition

Apart from iQIYI’s 5 million paid subscribers, Youku Tudou reported 1 million subscribers at the end of 2014 and has recently struck a deal with Walt Disney and its Marvel division. 

Tencent Video and other major players probably have a similar figure. Tencent Video has been offering the so-called Hollywood VIP service, centering on classic Hollywood titles with a few more recent movies, which looks like what Netflix did five years ago.

To offer online streaming service, foreign companies must obtain an operating license first. As China is known for difficult regulatory system, it won’t be an easy job.

On the content side, as Chinese video sites have been directly making deals with Hollywood studios. More and more titles on Netflix are available on local players. For those original content featuring sex and/or violence, they would probably rarely pass the censorship.

 Shrink of the Theatrical Window

The films’ release structure is reshaping in China as well. Online streaming sites apparently want to make movies accessible out of theaters as soon as possible.

The window for popular local movies is about a month, and that for movies with medium and small cost may be only two weeks or one week.

But online streaming sites are not satisfied with the idea of waiting for one month to get the movie. They have been pushing to shrink the duration of the theatrical window. Films like BEIJING LOVE STORY have been put online right after their theatrical runs.

They are also in a hurry to put Hollywood blockbusters online, especially for those that could not be released in China. For R rated films, they will never pass the censorship in China but now they could get a place online. Take TED 2 for example, it has been put on iQIYI only two weeks after its release in the US.

 Huge Licensing Fees

iQIYI and Youku Tudou along with other Chinese video sites including Tencent Video, Sohu Video and LeTV operate similarly to Netflix’s subscription video service, which offers upfront licensing fees for content.

The licensing fee has been growing fast. Particularly in the past two years, the Internet giants represented by Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent (BAT) are massively reshaping the movie industry, making the licensing fees soar.

In 2010, the exclusive licensing fee of actor-director Jiang Wen’s LET THE BULLETS FLY was 5 million yuan ($ 782,000); but it’s reported that the exclusive licensing fee of his GONE WITH THE BULLETS in 2014 has rocketed to 30 million yuan ($4.7 million).

The soaring licensing fee has put online video sites under great pressure. Youku Tudou, which is listed in New York, is currently unprofitable while iQIYI’s is also reported to fail to make a profit.

On the other hand, most of China’s video sites sell subscriptions at around 20 yuan ($3.13) per month, which is much lower than the subscription fee on foreign sites like Netflix.

The huge potential VOD market in China is certainly worth a try, but the business model is still a myth to solve.

 – This article was published on the CFM Toronto issue.

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Business Opportunities in the China Film Market - FILM LOCATION TOURISM

by Xu Jia

Chinese films’ overseas location scout has repeatedly proved to be a continuous drive for Chinese tourists to visit those film locations. Director Feng Xiaogang’s IF YOU ARE THE ONE was one of the first such cases in recent years, making Japan’s Hokkaido a popular tourist destination among Chinese youth in 2008. In 2012, the local comic road movie LOST IN THAILAND (by Xu Zheng) saw an train of Chinese tourists going to Thailand – 3 times more during the Spring Festival than a year before. In these 2 years, over 50 Chinese movies were partly shot in France, Singapore, Nepal, and The United Arab Emirates, etc.

FINDING MR. RIGHT (by Xue Xiaolu), another classic example was mostly shot in Vancouver, though its Chinese name means When Beijing meets Seattle – since Vancouver is close to Seattle and could offer various production facilities. The film enjoyed Canada’s tax rebate.

Paris has been a lasting location for Chinese films, from the recent PARIS HOLIDAY to THE NIGHTINGALE, China’s pick for the Best Foreign Language Film for the Oscars in 2014. Also, Film France offered Jackie Chan information when he was making CZ12 and wanted to shoot in a castle.

In FIVE MINUTES TO TOMORROW, Mauritius offered the whole crew free local accommodation during the shooting.

Veteran producer Jiao Aimin expressed that the tax rebate was an important factor that SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW (by Xu Jinglei) was shot in Prague. The film was originally set in Paris, but then the cost would be too high. At the time, the Czech Tourism Office and Czech Embassy offered great help in location scout and policy guidance, so the film was relocated to Prague. A significant rise of Chinese tourist going to Prague has then been witnessed after the film’s release – this also includes screenwriters and other filmmakers.

Internet has broadened the Chinese youth’s horizon – if there is enough budget, most would like to go out and see the foreign countries personally – during a working holiday, a gap year or a study trip; if no budget, to go to the cinema and watch a picturesque film is not a bad temporary alternative.

A love story that takes place in an exotic place, sometimes, is more likely to win more at the box office. Working titles like A Fairy Tale in New York, A Chinese Girl in Manhattan, Vancouver Diary, Welcome to San Francisco, My Big Fat British Wedding, Love in Havana, Love in Milano, Love in Brussels, I left My Heart in Aegean Sea, My Big Fat Australian Wedding have appeared on the Chinese production list after the above mentioned successful foreign location scout. It is expected that local costumes, delicacy and religious elements will be featured in these films, which would partially satisfy the youth’s wanderlust, or plant a seed to inspire their future travels.

Above all, Southeast Asia is a handy option – it is close to China, with sunny beaches and relatively cheaper prices of production. Director Chen Sicheng set his sophomore film DETECTIVE CHINATOWN totally in Thailand, hoping to create a Chinese franchise of detective movies. Director Eva Jin explained what she chose Penang as the overseas location for her comic picture ONE NIGHT SURPRISE: I love Malaysian culture and there are a lot of Chinese people living there. Penang is a photogenic place with a number of beautiful locations and fresco.

Meanwhile, after President Xi Jinping’s official visit to India in September 2014, it is noticed that a number of comic road movies have been registered for production. New Zealand is a similar case.

Foreign film commissions can consider inviting Chinese producers and screenwriters to visit their cities, which could inspire a lot more story ideas – a win-win in the long run.

- This article was published on the CFM Toronto issue.

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GADGETS

By Xu Jia

WeChat

http://www.wechat.com/en/download.html

To do business with Chinese people, it is not a bad idea to download an APP called WeChat. Developed by China’s largest Internet company Tencent, WeChat is like WhatsApp, LINE, or KakaoTalk, only with more functions.

An IM application, WeChat is also a very important tool in film marketing: Almost all the film companies – SOE, private, or joint venture – each have a WeChat account to publicize their newest posters, trailers and relevant gossip; the social media marketing agencies update their public WeChat account daily to keep the potential movie-goers interested to buy tickets; film professionals form different WeChat groups – investment, production, marketing, distribution – to discuss questions: the info flow is constant and contacts quickly get to know each other. There is even a built-in function to facilitate users to buy film tickets at a cheaper price – Wepiao has now become one of the major mobile box offices in China.

FORK

http://www.dafork.com

FORK is somewhat like a LINE Camera, but more comic-based.

Think about why Lego and IKEA are so popular: you might understand why FORK has recently become a cult APP in China. Users can add different stickers onto pictures, from roaring Japanese characters, FAMICOM images, funny magazine covers, to Emoji expressions, conversation bubbles and classic comic images, etc. Fellow users can also modify your picture in their own styles – inventive and interactive. Within 3 months, FORK has already collaborated with Uber and M&M’s in marketing. Movie marketing pros also find FORK exciting: JURASSIC WORLD, HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES, MONSTER HUNT, JIANBING MAN and MONKEY KING: HERO IS BACK all invited FORK to launch their character stickers. Upon its China release, TERMINATOR GENISYS also jumps on the bandwagon.

Xiaokaxiu

http://www.xiaokaxiu.com

An APP that stimulates a local Lip Sync Battle. Quite similar to dubsmash. A product by Miaopai (China’s Vine), invested by SINA (NASDAQ: SINA) and StarVC (founded by actress Li Bingbing and actor Ren Quan and Huang Xiaoming), Xiaokaxiu gives a mobile outlet to people’s desire to exhibit their acting talents, seriously or just for fun.

A number of APPs become a fashion due to celebrity effect – this one is no exception. When actress Wang Luodan lip-synced talk show hostess Jin Xing’s joke, the whole show biz went crazy. Stars lined up to lip sync this episode, followed by a mob of ordinary netizens to download this APP and do as such. Movies, mini series and music videos offer infinite choices of clips – netizens are never tired of mimicking. These UGC short videos can be easily shared on WeChat, Weibo or QQ – China’s top 3 social media. It’s like all of a sudden, everybody becomes an actor or actress. Amusing ourselves to death? It is the age of entertainment.

- This article was published on the CFM Toronto issue.

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China’s Production List in Q2, 2015

Note: Translations in brackets only apply to those films that haven’t disclosed their English working titles.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT, previously known as SARFT) have approved a total of 893 film projects in the second quarter of 2015. About 87.6 percent are feature films, of which 142 are romance-leading dramas; the rest includes 36 animations, 27 documentaries, 7 films of special genre, 23 co-productions and 18 other documentaries for educational purposes. 

Soccer-themed Films

Soccer-themed films are slated to become the next big trend as a total of 17 soccer films appeared on the Q2 production list, including 足球先生 (Mr. Soccer), 谁是球王 (Who Will Become the Soccer Legend), 足球之翼 (The Wings of Soccer) and 一战成名 (Goal).

President Xi Jinping, who is widely reported to be a keen football fan, revealed a soccer reform plan in March 2015. Since then, film studios have released a variety of soccer projects with hopes of cashing in on the hype.

Most of the screenplays are inspirational stories, such as how a soccer team or a player struggles to succeed.

Road Movies 

It has been almost three years since actor director Xu Zheng’s LOST IN THAILAND smashed China’s box-office records, taking in $208 million, and more road movies are on the way.

Director Ning Hao’s BREAKUP BUDDIES starring Xu Zheng again raked in a massive $195 million in 2014. With LOST IN HONG KONG to be released in September 2015, Xu Zheng has already started a new project LOST IN INDIA, which will be produced by his own studio Beijing Joy Leader Media and the series’ current producer Beijing Enlight Pictures.

Others include LOST ON JOURNEY 2, 爱囧 (Love On the Road), 错位囧途 (Switched), 越老越疯狂 (Older nd Crazier), 天上飞来大鲸鱼 (Dreams) and 跨越八度 (Octaves).

Meanwhile, a total of 24 scripts take place in a foreign country, among which South Korea has emerged as the top pick.

The Second Sino-Japanese War Movies

A total of 28 scripts center around the Second Sino-Japanese War in the second quarter of 2015. Most of them are war films including 智斗鬼子 (A Smart War) and 激战黎明 (Fight At Dawn) while some are love stories like 长城恋歌 (The Great Wall Love Story) and 温柔的子弹 (Soft Bullets).

It is assumed that the record-high figure is due to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1945. The war, which was later merged into the Second World War, was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. Commemorations took place in a lot of places in China in 2015.

Soft Sci-fi Flicks

About 16 soft sci-fi films are shown on the Q2 production list, including 爱情魔法 (Love Magic) and 星际航行 (Interstellar Travel) that use the science elements as a backdrop rather than the central topic.

In recent years, soft sci-fi fictions have gained great popularity in China, with writers and readers expanding considerably, such as Liu Cixin and Chen Qiufan. Their works give filmmakers abundant sources to draw on. Liu Cixin’s THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM series is being adapted by Shanghai-based Yoozoo Pictures.

 Book Adaptations 

After the huge success of book-adaption SO YOUNG in 2013, which took in $118 million at box office, Chinese studios have been clamoring to pick up the film rights of every popular novel, especially young adult novels. A total of 21 book-based scripts were approved in the second quarter of 2015.

China Film Group Corporation, the largest state-run film enterprise, is working on 暗恋·橘生淮南 (Crush) and 最好的我们 (The Best of Us), both witten by Bayue Chang’an (Liu Wanhui), whose THE STOLEN YEARS has been put on the big screen in 2013 and grossed $24 million. CRUSH follows a girl who secretly admires a guy for 11 years while THE BEST OF US takes a nostalgic look at two teenagers who sit next to each for three years.

Beijing Enlight Media, the leading producer and distributor of 2012 hit LOST IN THAILAND, acquired the film right to 如果我活着回来，就接受现在的人生 (I Will Accept Whatever Life Throws At Me If I Come Back Alive), a story of a guy who quits his job and travels to Motuo, a county in Tibet.

Gu Anbei’s FALL IN LOVE LIKE A STAR has been put into adaptation by Enlight Media’s subsidiary H&R Century Pictures and will be released in December 2015. The film, casting Li Yifeng and Yang Mi, tells a love story of an A-list star and his agent.

Beijing Asian Union Culture & Media Investment, a subsidiary of Alibaba Pictures, obtained four books’ film rights, including one online novel赖宝日记 (Laibao’s Diary) and three books, 我们住在一起 (Live Together), 曾有一个人，爱我如生命 (He Was the One) and 三生三世十里桃花 (Three Marks of Existence), of which THREE MARKS OF EXISTENCE is co-developed by Asian Union and Ruyi Films, the one behind SO YOUNG.

Chen Xiaoqing’s Huo Sang cases are being put into a film series by Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary, which sealed a three-year deal with Lionsgate in 2015. Chen’s detective fiction adopts a similar framework of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes case.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhenyun’s ONE SENTENCE WORTH TEN THOUSAND, which was awarded the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2011, is being developed by his own company, Xilaozhuang Films. The Mao Dun Literature Prize is one of China's most highly regarded literary awards and is awarded every four years.

There are also new takes on Ming Xiaoxi’s SUMMER'S DESIRE and Gu Man’s BOSS & ME. The two young adult books have already been adapted as TV shows in recent years and Gu Man’s YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE has already been put on the big screen in 2015. 

Other books include Annie Baby (Li Jie)’s ENDLESS AUGUST, Wang Xiaobo’s 绿毛水怪 (Love Like Monsters), 法门寺密码 (The Code of Famen Temple), 毕业那天我们一起失恋 (Split Up After Graduation), 夜半笛声 (Flute At Night), 枕旁的陌生人 (The Stranger Sleeping Next to Me), 路从今夜白 (Gu Yebai & Lu Youyan), 黑家洼 (Northern Shaanxi) and 只道是年少 (When We Were Young). 

Song Adaptations

Chinese film studios have gone on the hunt for anything that has the potential to be turned into films. Songs have emerged as the second largest source after novels.

The Q2 production list witnessed nine films sharing the same name of Chinese songs, including pop songs like Taiwanese pop singer Jay Zhou’s 三年二班 (The Class), Taiwanese indie band Sodagreen’s WALK THE ROAD OF LOVE and folk ballad singer Song Dongye’s MISS DONG, and classic songs from the 1990s or earlier, such as Taiwanese Zhang Yusheng’s MY FUTURE IS NOT DREAM and Hong Kong singer-actor Andy Lau’s LOVE YOU FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS.

One script is even named after a line from actor-director Zhao Wei’s THE LEFT YEAR which bookends the young adult film, that is, 前任也曾是对的人 (Ex Was Once the One).

Unlike book adaptations, these films’ storylines almost have nothing to do with the lyrics, however, the association of the songs will make the film’s marketing much easier.

 Leading Screenwriters 

Yu Baimei, screenwriter and co-director of 2014 blockbuster THE BREAKUP GURU, reveals his new project, FROM DEVIL TO ANGEL, a comedy of a love-hate relationship. The film is based on a play he wrote in 2012 and will again be co-directed by him and actor-director Deng Chao.

Director-screenwriter Wang Xiaoshuai, is involved in two scripts, 我想有个家 (I Want A Home) and 土地 (The Land). Wang is best known for his art house films that focus on history and youth. THE LAND depicts the countryside life of a couple in their 60s while I WANT A HOME follows a college graduate who wakes up in an IKEA store. Many Chinese shoppers love to sleep in IKEA beds.

Barbara Wong Chun-Chun, screenwriter and director of popular rom-coms GIRLS and THE STOLEN YEARS, unveils a new script named 深圳风云 (Shenzhen Attack), centering on the false information of a terrorist attack on a Shenzhen Airlines plane.

Shu Huan, screenwriter of LOST IN THAILAND, is working on 电子遗书 (Suicide Notes), following a guy who tries to delete the suicide notes he sent before anyone reads them.

水中少年 (A Watertown Boy), written and to be directed by Raymond Zhou, one of China's most famous film critics, gets the approval in the second quarter. It is about a boy who grows up without his parents being around.

Zou Jingzhi, who co-wrote Wong Kar-wai’s martial arts drama THE GRANDMASTER and Zhang Yimou’s COMING HOME, is involved in a new project, 武林外传之武侠外传 (Swordsman). The film looks like the sequel of the 2013 comedy MY OWN SWORDSMAN, which was spawn from a TV show.

Eva JIN Yimeng, screenwriter and director of several popular chick filcks including ONE NIGHT SURPRISE, reveals a new film 歌舞人生 (Life Musical), a story of a spoiled guy who loses everything suddenly and meets his true love. Jin graduated from Florida State University and is one of the earliest filmmakers to make chick flicks in China.

Co-productions

The Q2 production list witnessed three China-western co-productions, namely 纽约·女人·熊猫 (New York, Women And Panda), DRAGON FORCE and already released HOLLYWOOD ADVENTURES, a big leap compared with Q1’s zero. DRAGON FORCE, which involves a Canadian cop, a Chinese detective and a European official, is co-developed by China Film Group and Emmerson Denney, a Canadian feature film production company. NEW YORK, WOMEN AND PANDA, on the other hand, is by Guangzhou Ouhua Animation Technology Co and Pandamotion Picture, following a New York designer who goes to China to look for pandas.

Major Production Houses 

China Film Group Corporation sets up seven scripts in the second quarter of 2015. Apart from the two book adaptations mentioned above, the rest five include an opera, a fantasy film, an action film and two co-productions, namely DRAGON FORCE and西游伏妖篇 (Journey To the West).

Wanda Media Co, the film unit of Dalian Wanda Group, China’s largest commercial property company and the world’s largest cinema chain operator, gets involved in four projects, including a sci-fi film记忆战 (War of Memory), a co-production 无锁不能 (Magician) and two comedy films, 大叔同萌 (Father) and DETECTIVE CHINTANG.

SMG Pictures, a subsidiary of multimedia conglomerate Shanghai Oriental Pearl Media Co, reveals two scripts, Hi, 好久不见 (See You Again) and 合法伴侣 (Legal Partner). The former is about a love triangle and the latter follows two bros who pretend to be a gay couple to stay in the UK.

Shanghai Film Group Corporation, formerly state-owned but now one of Shanghai Orienta Pearl’s subsidiaries, has three films on the plate. Apart from book adaption THE CODE OF FAMEN TEMPLE, the company also has 未来对我说 (My Future) and reality show-based HIDDEN ENERGY.

Huayi Brothers Media, one of the largest private studios in China, unveils a new drama, 美满人间 (Happy Marriage), following a female lawyer who accidently becomes a wife and mother of two children.

Bona Film Group, a leading film company in China, again takes stakes in two co-productions, the third installments of FROM VEGAS TO MACAU and 湄公河行动 (The Mekong Act), depicting the hunt for the criminals who killed 13 Chinese on the Mekong.

Beijing Galloping Horse Group that produced 2014 hit FLEET OF TIME, starts a new comedy 憨先生和逗太太 (Mr. and Mrs. Funny), a story of how a couple deal with their probems in their middle age.

Jackie Chan’s Yaolai film and TV company is working on the sequel of CZ12 and a rom-com 玫瑰男仆 (Personal Footman). CZ12 grossed a total of $141 million in 2012.

Fujian Hengye Film, which produced popular rom-coms GIRLS and THE STOLEN YEARS, continues to develop romance films. The three projects on the Q2 production list are all talking about love, including book-based WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, 除了爱，我们什么都不会 (We Know Nothing Except Love) and 奇妙的朋友 (Amazing Friends).  

Alpha Pictures, a subsidiary of Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture Co, one of the largest animation businesses in China, reveals a total of three animation projects, 入学考试 (Entrance Exam), 功夫料理娘 (Kung Fu Chef) and 巴啦啦小魔仙之魔箭公主 (Balala the Fairies: Princess Arrow).

  Glossary of popular characters in recent Chinese films:

The emergence of Chinese genre films 

1. 吃货/ chī huò/ Foodie 

Someone who has an ardent and enthusiastic interest in good food.

Examples: THE GOD OF COOKERY; JULIE AND JULIA

 2. 暖男/ nuǎn nán / Sweet Guy

A guy who cares much about his partner and is always there for her.

Examples: MEET MISS ANXIETY; PARIS HOLIDAY

 3. 小鲜肉/ xiǎo xiān ròu / Fresh meat

A guy who is young (usually under 25), cute and has a huge fan base.

Examples: 20 ONCE AGAIN; SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW

 4. 女汉子/ nǚ hàn zǐ/ Wo-man

A girl who exhibits characteristics considered typical of a guy.

Examples: WOMEN WHO FLIRT; ONE NIGHT SURPRISE

 5. 剩女/ shèng nǚ/ Leftover woman

A female who stays unmarried till 30 or even older.

Examples: LET'S GET MARRIED; GO LALA GO!

 6. 男闺蜜/ nán guī mì/ Male bestie 

A guy who has a very close relationship with a girl but stays in the friend zone.

Examples: LOVE IS NOT BLIND; THE STOLEN YEARS

 7. 备胎/ bèi tāi / Rebound guy/ girl

Someone who is a backup, a just-in-case or a plan B.

Examples: GIRLFRIEND BOYFRIEND; DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART

- This article was published on the CFM Toronto issue.

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Young Adult Movies Have Taken Off in China

by Hua Yang 

Young adult movies seem to beis now becoming Chinese studios’China’s favorite genretype film of movie to make produce these days. After the huge box office success of LOVE IS NOT BLIND back in 2011, films adapted from a young adult novel or with that audience in mind have been rampaging through Chinese theaters. Here’s a look at top 10 young adult movies that have reaped millions of dollars in China.

LOVE IS NOT BLIND (2011)

As the forerunner of this young adult movement, LOVE IS NOT BLIND opened to immediate commercial success in 2011, laying groundwork for its successors. The film grossed a total of $56 million at the box office with a low budget of $1.4 million.

It is a romantic comedy adapted from an online novel that has been popular on the Internet, telling a story of how a woman deals with her break-up with her boyfriend in the following 33 days. The film was released just before November 11, the Singles’ Day (imagine 11.11) in China.

SO YOUNG (2013)

SO YOUNG, based on popular writer Xin Yiwu’s best-selling novel, is acttress Zhao Wei's directorial debut. With a nostalgic look at college romance in 1990s, the film became and still is the top young adult hit of all time in China with over $118 million at box office.

TINY TIMES 1.0-4.0 (2013-2015)

Best-selling author Guo Jiming’s TINY TIMES franchise was adapted from his own novel series, which revolves around the relationship among four Shanghai girls who go through high school and college and then enter the real world.

Despite being criticized for promoting materialism, the franchise has gained great popularity among the post-90s female demographic, taking in a total of $290 million for the four installments with the last one released in July 2015.

THE CONTINENT (2014)

Han Han, a best-selling author and blogger who is often compared to Guo Jingming, made the jump to the big screen with THE CONTINENT. The film follows three guys who grew up together on the east side and set off for a journey, earning $101 million in China.

FLEET OF TIME (2014)

FLEET OF TIME, released as BACK IN TIME in North America, is another coming-of-age film adapted from a popular novel by Jiu Yehui. It follows a group of friends who experience high school, college and eventually adulthood together through the 1990s and 2000s. Directed by Zhang Yibai, the film took in $93 million.

MY OLD CLASSMATE (2014)

MY OLD CLASSMATE bears the same title as a popular campus folk by musician and TV celebrity GAO Xiaosong, who also produced the film. The screenplay, which tells a love story of one couple from high school through university, wound down at a cume of $73 million at box office.

THE LEFT EAR (2015)

Taiwanese singer and actor Alec Su brought Rao Xueman’s popular novel THE LEFT EAR to the big screen in 2015. The film tells the story of a deaf girl who falls in love with one of her friends, grossing $79 million in China.

20 ONCE AGAIN (2015)

20 ONCE AGAIN (MISS GRANNY) is a remake of 2014 Korean hit MISS GRANNY, following a 70-year-old woman who is magically restored to her beauty of 50 years earlier. The film stars hugely popular former EXO member Lu Han and was initially intended to be released side-by-side with the Korean version. 20 ONCE AGAIN took in $59 million.

SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW (2015)

Casting another popular former EXO member Kris Wu Yifan, SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW got a lot of hype. Directed by actress-helmer Xu Jinglei, the film tells a story of a girl who goes to Prague and meets a young guy there. It was released just before Valentine’s Day in 2015 and grossed $45.2 million. 

FOREVER YOUNG (2015)

As the latest to join the youth movement, FOREVER YOUNG is based on a hit song by He Jiong, the host of China's hippest variety show HAPPY CAMP, which has lasted 18 year. It is about a group of young musicians and dancers who go through college. Released in July 2015, one day after TINY TIMES 4, the film ended up with a total of $61 million.

These films’ success in recent years seems to prove that Chinese young adult films could be counted on to become box office powerhouses, especially when based on best-selling books or in some cases popular songs.

It is not hard to notice that most of these films employ a similar formula: adapt a best-selling young adult novel or anything with that audience in mind; cast young popular actors and actresses; release at a major box office period; target at mainly young female moviegoers.

But strictly speaking, current China’s young adult movie is more like a theme rather than a genre, or at least not the exact genre defined in Hollywood.

Chinese young adult titles rely heavily on the tenets of romance and pains. Elements like unexpected pregnancy, abortion, studying aboard and friend’s death have served as the basic premises for these movies.

But in Hollywood, young adult genre covers a much wider rage of interests, not only coming of age and first love, but also rebellion, fantasy, sex and angst.

 So, what's the catch in China? 

One explanation is that these films, to some extend, documents or reflects the youth born in the 1980s and ‘90s in China, which has never been done before and therefore appeals to current young adults. Before the trend, there were only films describing the youth born in the 1960s and ‘70s, which are much more serious.

Young moviegoers, especially young females, have been dominating China’s box office. In 2014, there are a total of 830 million admissions, in which, 19- to 30-year-olds account for more than 50 percent.

So it’s no wonder that films flashing back to the 1980s and ‘90s could have done so well at China’s box office.

Starting with a popular young adult book or a song is also less risky for film studios as they already have brand recognition and target at the most profitable audience.

TINY TIMES 4.0, the final installment of the series, has already hit theaters in July 2015, but there are plenty of other young adult movies in the works, such as SO YOUNG 2, the sequel of the 2013 hit, and SUMMER'S DESIRE, based on popular writer Ming Xiaoxi’s book.

 Where does it end?

While a bunch of Chinese young adult films have struck box office gold, there are others who didn’t make it into the big leagues.

SINGING WHEN WE'RE YOUNG in 2013, a retro high school movie produced by Andy Lau, only grossed $364,000 and another youth-centered film in 2013, YOUNG STYLE, also flopped than soared, taking in less than $5 million.

The list is getting longer. In 2015, the much-anticipated young adult film THE ARK OF MR. CHOW ended up with a meager total of $8.2 million.

The craze on high school or college love will have an expiration date, especially when people are pounded by the onslaught of similar films, which is the nature of almost any popular trend.

When the buzz dies down, young audiences will probably start looking for other things besides coming of age or puppy love in a young adult film. The millions of dollars conferred by a young adult hit are always for the few, not the many.

At the moment, though some films are successful financially, they are poorly put together as film studios are in hurry to cash in on the young adult movie hype. But they will not be able to get away with it when the market cools down. When that time comes, the standard will be set higher.

However the glut is unlikely to end in the near future, as film studios have already picked up dozens of novels and stretch as far as possible.

- This article was published on the CFM Toronto issue.

[cfilmart]

Watchdog Bans Broadcasts of Works by Tainted Stars

By CAO YIN (China Daily)

Recent arrests set bad example, government says.

The country’s top press and media watchdog has ordered TV stations and other outlets to stop broadcasting material featuring stars who use drugs or visit prostitutes.

The ban, which covers online media, film producers and publishers, is intended to keep the industry healthy. It applies to films, advertisements and TV and radio shows.

Celebrities who break the law should not be invited to appear in programs, and transmission of their works should be suspended, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said in a statement.

Recent cases involving stars using drugs or visiting prostitutes have harmed the image of the entertainment industry and set a bad example for young people, the statement added.

On Aug 14, Jaycee Chan, son of kung fu superstar Jackie Chan, was detained after he allegedly allowed others to take drugs at his home in Beijing. A month later, prosecutors ordered the arrest of the singer and actor.

Taiwan actor Kai Ko was caught using drugs in the apartment, and was given 14 days detention.

In July, Zhang Mo, son of actor and director Zhang Guoli, was arrested for a second time for using drugs, following his detention for smoking marijuana in 2012.

A month earlier, screenwriter and novelist Chen Wanning, known by his online name Ning Caishen, was detained for possessing and using methamphetamine.

In other cases, Wang Quan’an, the Golden Bear-winning film director, and actor Huang Haibo were detained in Beijing on suspicion of hiring prostitutes.

News of the ban spread on Sina Weibo on Wednesday, and the statement was forwarded more than 2,300 times within three hours.

Micro-blogger Longke Harry agreed with the move, saying that stars should set a good example, as they are public figures.

However, another Sina Weibo user, Liu Huichao, disagreed, saying: “Good films or other works cannot rely on one star. Instead they are the fruit of many celebrities. So it’s not reasonable to eliminate the products.”

The Beijing Trade Association for Performances announced last month that it will not hire celebrities involved in drug abuse or prostitution.

Liu Zhongkui, the association’s deputy head, said, “Stars should not only keep a good image in the public, but should also be disciplined offstage.”

Earlier this year, the association and 42 Beijing performing arts organizations agreed to avoid employing stars who use drugs.

[cfilmart]

Jonathan Wolf Talks About AFM

By Xu Jia

Jonathan Wolf has been Executive Vice President of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) and Managing Director of the American Film Market (AFM) since 1998. He has guided the expansion and restructuring of AFM, which now hosts over 8,000 film professionals from more than 70 countries. He talks to The Chinese Film Market  about the changes of AFM over the years and his opinion about the China film market.

  CFM: What are the major changes that happened in AFM since 1998?

WOLF: In the late 1990s, we started a long-term shift to engage the production community: build value for the production community at the AFM, deliver services to them, and really bring the community to the show, in order to diversify the market and make the market more relevant to the entire film industry. Over the last 15 years, we have continued to build programs for producers, writers, film commissioners, festival directors, studio facilities, post-production facilities, lawyers, bankers, agents, etc.

We have launched a five-day conference program to help producers learn about what is happening in the film industry. We have launched a producer’s forum so that the experienced producers could interact with industry leaders coming from everywhere. We have an online community called AFM 365, where the participants can visit before the Market, meet each other, schedule meetings, and see who has the right projects.

We serve the exporter, the seller; we serve the importer, the buyer; and we serve the production community. Each of our services is designed around one of our three audiences.  

  CFM: Each year, there are a lot more Chinese attendees going to AFM, but some were overwhelmed by the scale of AFM and did not know what to do. Do you have any suggestions for the new comers?

WOLF: I think the first thing they have to do is to understand the American Film Market is a trade fair, like the trade fair in any other industry. Many who come to the AFM thinking it more of a festival and they anticipated a slower-paced environment. When they come to the AFM, they see there are almost 30 theaters screening simultaneously, and there are close to 400 companies that they can have meetings with, they are not prepared. So the first thing is to anticipate you are coming for business.

The second thing is scheduling meetings. More than half of the meetings that take place at the AFM were scheduled in advance. But many who are new think that they can just walk by and start talking to someone. But they usually find that after walking into an office, the person they want to meet with is not available for the next two days. They are somewhat surprised. So you need to determine who is important to meet with and to reach them three weeks in advance.

  CFM: Do you see a decline of the number of visitors going to real markets due to online distribution, especially with the help of Cinando?

WOLF: No, because buyers do not come to the market for screening, in the first place. 30 years ago, everyone was sending a VHS screener via mail. 15 years ago, everyone was sending a DVD via mail. Today they are sending a password to Cinando in the email. But for those who are screening new films, they want to screen them in the theater. They will require the buyer to come to see it in the way it should be seen, which is in the theater, with no interruption.

We have actually seen the opposite. We have seen the technology has increased the value of coming to the markets because everyone wants to communicate face to face. The average attendance in market screening whether it is Cannes or AFM is about 30 buyers. This is because the majority of the independent films are pre-sold in some territories. This is what is going on both here and in Cannes, but more heavily in AFM. The majority of the business is to sell films that are in pre-production or have started shooting, or have finished the production but are not ready to screen. 

This is sort of like an auto show. You put the car on the f loor of the auto show, but you have not put your light on it.

  CFM: I can see that the Chief Operating Officer of BONA Film Group Jeffrey Chan is an IFTA member. How many Chinese members are there in IFTA?

WOLF: We are an export trade group. For the most part, we do not look after the production interest of our members because the production is very local. The issue of producing in Mainland China is different from the producing in the US or in France, but the export issues are in common. So companies who join IFTA are companies who are exporters. And this is their business interest we look after.

The export market for China is really just to grow: a lot of the films are still coming through Hong Kong-based exporters. And we have 8 members in Hong Kong. We have more members in Hong Kong than we do in New York City.

Our No.1 city of members is Los Angeles, No.2 is London and No.3 is Hong Kong. A lot of the films coming out of Mainland China have export potential, and they are frequently handled by companies in Hong Kong: Let the Bullets Fly  was made in Mainland and exported through Emperor Motion Pictures in Hong Kong.

  CFM: A growing number of Chinese students going to the US to study filmmaking. Could you give them some advice if they would like to stay there as a filmmaker?

WOLF: When people use the word “filmmaker”, it means different things to different people. Now the director is almost always hired, so the advice for the director is more about how to build a CV and become visible and look for a job.

The advice for producer is very different. The producer is the entrepreneur. They have to find scripts, learn how to raise funds and understand the marketplace and the values, and how the business works. The producers really have to start with the audiences that they feel they can best reach. If they are producers coming from China to learn the film industry here, they have to decide what kind of films to produce and they have to choose to live in the environment where they feel they can be successful. My only warning to them is our world produces more college graduates with film degrees than we make films. So it’s a very challenging field. 

CFM: What kind of US-China co-productions could succeed in your opinion?

WOLF: I’m not an expert in that but I’ll give you some opinions. I haven’t seen a true successful US-China co-production, but each person has a different definition of success. For the US side, to make a US-China co-production is just usually saying how I can get my money in China, or I have a great idea for a film about Chinese history that can be made from the American perspective.

That tends not to work. From China’s standpoint, it is frequently about accessing the US talent and expertise. The challenge lies in the different way of telling stories. The big question for China over the coming decade is will the film industry follow in the direction of India which produces 1,000 films a year for the local market, but with over a billion people in the country, they do not need the export market. Or will it follow in the direction of maybe the Hong Kong industry 10 or 20 years ago: to look for the global marketplace in storytelling and to make a film that will work worldwide versus the homeland only. So far, we’ve seen the industry in China moves more in the direction of India and produce for the local marketplace because it is so big.

[cfilmart]

5 Models of Chinese-Korean Cooperation in Film

At present, the major film cooperation between China and South Korea goes like this: the Chinese partner is responsible for major investment, promotion and distribution while the South Korean partner is responsible for the script, crew and post-production. In general, the following 5 cooperation models are in fashion:

1. Location shooting.

         Flying Warriors비천무 2000, location: all over China

         Warrior 2001, location: Liaoning, China

         Tang Poetry 2003, location: Beijing, China

         Seoul Raiders2005, location: Seoul, South Korea

         The Yellow Sea황해2010, location: Harbin & Yanji, China

  2. Actor collaboration

* Chinese actors cast in Korean films.

         The Warrior 2001, actress:Zhang Ziyi

         Failan 파이란2001,actress:Cecilia Cheung

         My Wife is a Gangster 마누라 2006, actress: Shu Qi

         Breath숨2007, actor: Chang Chen

         Late Autumn 만추2012,actress: Tang Wei

         The Thieves도둑들2013, actress: Simon Yam

* South Korean cast in Chinese Films.

         So Close 2002, actor: Song Seung-heon송승헌

         Seven Swords 2005, actor: Kim So-yeon 김소연

         The Promise2005, actor: Jang Dong-gun 장동건

         The Myth2005,actress: Kim Hee-seon김희선

         A Battle of Wits 2006, actor: Si Won-choi 최시원

         Sophie’s Revenge 2009, actor: So Ji-seob소지섭

         Season of Good Rain 2010and Reign of Assassins2010, actor: Ahn Sung-kee정우성

         The Grandmaster2013, actress: Song Hye-kyo 송혜교

  3. Joint investment and distribution.

* Wind Struck 내여자친구를소개합니다 2004

         Director: Kwak Jae-young 곽재용

         Distribution: CJ Entertainment [South Korea], EDKO Film Co.,Ltd. [Hong Kong].

  * Seoul Raiders 2005

         Director: Jingle Ma

         Distribution Company: Media Asia Group [Hong Kong], Mediasoft Films (South Korea) (all media).

  * Seven Swords 2005

         Director: Tsui Hark

         Production Company: Beijing Ciwen Digital Oriental Film, TV Production Co. Ltd., East Entertainment Holdings Limited and SCS.

  * Daisy 데이2006

         Director: Lau Wai Keung

         Production Company: i Film Co. Ltd., Basic Pictures, Surprises Ltd., iLoveCinema.  

         Distributor: EDKO Film Co. Ltd., Showbox/Mediaplex   (2006).

  * Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon2008

         Director: Daniel Lee

         Production Company and Distributor: Taewon Entertainment, Visualizer Film Productions Ltd., Bona Film Group Ltd., China Film Group Corporation. 

         6. A Wedding Invitation 이별계약 2013 

         Director: Oh Ki-hwan오기환

         Production Company and Distributor: CJ Entertainment, China Film Group Corporation. 

  7. Mr. Go미스터고 2013

         Director: Kim Yong-hwa김용화

         Distributor: Showbox, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation.

                   4.  South Korean director or writer in cooperation with a China film production team.

²  Last Bus모반쳐 2009, by Min Joon-ki. 

²  Hearty Paws 2  마음이 2, 2010, by Lee Jeong-cheol이정철 and Wang Ping.

²  Flying Duck 2010, by Baek Seung-hoon.

²  Love Finally2011 andDiaries of the Cheating Hearts 2012, by Han Seung-hwan.

²  Tears in Heaven 2011, by Kim Se-hun김세훈.

²  Season of Good Rain 호우시절 2010 and Dangerous liaisons 2012, by Hur Jin-ho허진호.

²  Bunshinsaba (2012, 2013, 2014), by Ahn Byeong-ki 안병기.

5. With Visual Special Effects technology cooperation.

²  The Assembly 2007, by Feng Xiaogang

²   After Shock 2010, by Feng Xiaogang

²   Reign of Assassins 2010, by: Chao-Bin Su

²  Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon 2013 적인걸2: 신도해왕의 비밀 by Tsui Hark

  Special thanks to Zhou Janwei @小韩0221, the researcher for South Korea film history, member of Shanghai Film Critics Council, translation of The South Korean Film.

[cfilmart]

iQiyi Pictures Exhibits Crowdfunding in Busan

BUSAN - Oct 5, 2014. Li Yansong, President of iQiyi Pictures, talked about the new crowd funding launched by iQiyi and its parent company Baidu at the KOFIC industry forum in the 19th Busan International Film Festival.

The crowd funding project Baifa Youxi offers film audience assorted privileges: different amounts of “investment” are linked to varied consumer rights. Fans and film-goers can participate a film’s celebration party, can enjoy free tickets and can get customized star talk videos.

Back on Sept. 21 in the launch party of Baifa Youxi, Chairman of China Film Group La Peikang said to the press: “This marks a good beginning of star-fan interaction. By utilizing big data from Baidu, companies and stars can better understanding the users (viewers), in order to create more grounded films liked by more. Baifa Youxi could build an online dream works to better serve industry elites, various investors and consumers with distinctive demands.

Over one million of users took part in the crowd funding of THE GOLDEN ERA. 18 million RMB is said to be raised within 3 minutes.

Li Yansong expressed that Baia Youxi is a project to invite anybody who is interested in film and filmmaking to participate in the making and promotion of a film. This new model can help the creative team learn about the audience’s needs much in advance and can, to some extent, solve the problems of film financing.”

Since the declaration of establishment on July 17, iQiyi Pictures has signed a package deal with GONE WITH THE BULLETS, directed by Jiang Wen, to grant investment, offer online ticketing and distribution and develop a video game, etc. The film is anticipated to be the highest-grossing Chinese film ever.

"Baifa Youxi builds a sustainable win-win ecology, connecting internet, finance and the film industry. Film financing and production in China will be more flexible and efficient accordingly. 10 more films are expected to be joining the iQiyi crowd funding project for an amount up to 80 million USD. More importantly, this enables more effective risk management in terms of box office," added Li.

Li also envisioned iQiyi Pictures to build ties with the Korean film professionals.

[cfilmart]

Nuts and Bolts of the China Co-Productions: Focus Korea

By Allen Wang & Jesse Weiner

The annual quota for the screening in mainland China of foreign revenue-sharing films remains at 34 (mostly Hollywood blockbusters) and another 30 to 40 mid-budget foreign films sold into China on a flat-fee basis. China might increase quotas for imported films by 2017 as part of World Trade Organization talks.

  China’s film market is posed to break records again this year with the theatrical box office hitting $2.2 billion (13.4 billion RMB) in the six month period ending in June (a 22% increase from the same period last year) and with estimates of close to $5 billion for the whole of 2014. At the six-month mark, 2014 has seen imports account for 53% of the market. Movie screens are also still being built at the incredible rate of approximately 10 to 13 each day. China had 18,200 screens at the end of 2013 -- compared with 40,000 in the US – and would need about 133,000 screens to have the same number of screens per capita as the US. It does not appear, therefore, that the massive growth of the market will be losing steam anytime soon.

Main Considerations on Chinese-Korean co-productions

In fact, the first major consideration is the choice of a co-production partner. When choosing that partner, the Korean producer is strongly advised to perform at least basic due diligence to fully understand the potential partner's movie investment, distribution, production (especially, co-production) experience and history, level of capitalization, level of connectedness to Chinese media outlets and movie regulatory authorities, etc. In any event, non-disclosure agreements and memos of understanding should also be signed at the outset to avoid intellectual property misuse/appropriation issues.

The choice of film script is surely also of utmost importance. As per Chinese regulations, the film script must possess Chinese elements and some amount of the film must be clearly shot in China.

The Co-Production Contract

While the memo of understanding or letter of intent that should have been signed at the beginning of negotiations between the producing parties stipulated the most basic terms of the deal, the co-production contract will spell out those terms in much greater detail (in hopes of avoiding later misunderstandings). Some of the main considerations for the co-production contract are as follows:

Territories.  The parties are advised to spell out clearly their respective rights (including the collection of box revenues) in specified territories and time.

Project Approval. A project would be non-existent if it fails to be approved as an official co-production.

Credit.  In China, it should be noted that regulations stipulate that it must be the Chinese producer that receives the “Presented by” credit in the first position.

Intellectual Property.  It must be clear stipulations for how the copyright may be used in different territories and who will be able to profit from derivative and ancillary rights.

Production Company and Fees.  For China-Korean co-production projects, if it's the Korean side that shall undertake the actual production/shooting, the fees for such services may follow the customs of South Korea. Moreover, it can also be agreed how (i.e., the manner and priority in the revenue waterfall) net profits will be distributed to the relevant parties. 

Censorship

It should first be understood that there is no movie rating system in China; censorship can therefore be seen (at least to some degree) as an alternative method to ratings. In practice, there are three topic areas that are considered most sensitive: political, national values, and historical fact.  That is, the ideas of films must ultimately convey positive power to society, and which will not engender conflicts or societal unrest. Additionally, sympathy cannot generally be afforded to the evil ways of human nature, and the “evil wins” scenarios are likewise unacceptable. A film can pose acute questions (societal or otherwise), but must also give people the hope to solve the problem.

The authority in charge of censorship is SAPPRFT. The first round of censorship will be the review of the script for the obtaining of the Film Shooting Permit (review should be completed within 20 work days). The second (and final) round of censorship is the review and assessment of the content and technical aspects of the completed film (this review should be completed within 30 work days) to obtain the Public Screening Permit.

Those films that ultimately fail in passing censorship are mostly those that involve themes of eroticism, superstition, excessive violence or those that take a “wrong stand” on political issues. It should also be noted, however, that it’s only very rarely that a script or completed film will receive a non-recourse failure notice. That is, changes to the project will often be called for, and the producers will then have the chance to make such changes, as need be.  

Tax

Tax issues can seem complex, and even more so when dealing with cross-border entertainment transactions. It’s surely advised to consult with legal/tax professionals on specifics of your deal. A simple overview on two main aspects of tax in the China film business follows.

Box Office Calculation Bases

Begun in 2004, computer software that tracks the box office numbers is now supposed to be installed in greater than 95% of Chinese cinemas, data from which forms the basis for the most accurate calculation of China box-office revenue.

The taxes applied to such overall box office ticket sales include: 1)  the “Special Film Fund” tax of 5%  (used to support the making of special-themed films and to support the renovation of movie theaters) and, 2) a Value-Added Tax (VAT) of 3.36% (also applied to 100% of ticket sales).  After deduction of the two aforementioned items, the remaining box office amounts will be allocated according to agreements between the theater (chain) and the production/distribution companies.

 请嵌入此插图，谢谢！

For a purely domestic film (or flat-fee imported film) the Chinese production/distribution parties may collect approximately 43% of the box office, with the cinema chain company collecting 7%, and the theater operator collecting no more than 50% (as per SAPPRFT rules). For an import that is of the revenue share variety the proportion of revenue shared among the foreign producer, the Chinese distributor, and the cinema (chain) is generally 13:35:52, respectively. (When the foreign producer is a US company the proportion is adjusted to 25:30:45, as per a deal struck between the US and China in 2012.) Based on different market expectations for particular movies, revenue share of the box office can (and does) often fluctuate.

  China-Korea Agreement on Co-Productions and Recent Projects

After a tentative film co-production agreement was signed last year, China and South Korea signed a full film co-production agreement on July 3, 2014, which will give joint productions domestic film status, thereby avoiding China's quota limitations for foreign films. However, as approved co-productions are generally treated as domestic films anyway, the true advantages of such an agreement will need to be evaluated in the future. The agreement does allow for somewhat more leeway in the contributions of each party in the way of main talent and financial commitments versus ordinary co-productions. But the main advantage for now may simply be that the imprimatur signifying strong government support for co-productions will likely encourage Korean stars and directors to work in China and attract more investment and resources from the Korean film industry to China, in additional to increasing Sino- Korean co-operation in special effects and craft exchanges – at a perfect time, too, when larger-scale Korean productions aimed at China are on the rise.

That is, while initial China-Korean cooperations beginning in 2000 provided dismal box office results, recent co-production successes, such as A Wedding Invitation (CJ E&M and Beijing Century Media) and Mr. Go (Showbox/Mediaplex and Huayi Brothers), along with the "Korean Wave" of popular South Korean culture hitting China hard over the past several years (note the incredible success of TV drama My Love from the Star), and the future of Korean films and dramas in China seems brighter than ever.

________

Allen Wang and his team are based at the Yingke Law Firm headquartered in Beijing. Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is one of Allen Wang’s clients.

[cfilmart]

Youku's Heyi Film Unites with Top Korean Studios

BUSAN - Oct. 4, 2014 China’s leading video site Youku Tudou Inc. (NYSE: YOKU) has just held a party “China Meets Korea” at the 19th Busan International Film Festival.

Allen Zhu Huilong, Senior Vice President of Youku told THE CHINESE FILM MARKET that Youku has the exclusive distribution rights of all CJ Entertainment’s films in China from 2013 to 2015. Youku has also bought 50 films from LOTTE and Showbox. Some of the films have been screening on Youku and are very well-received, for example: SECRETLY GREATLY and ARCHITECTURE 101. China’s film distribution market is now under major restructuring.

BIFF Festival Director Lee Yong-kwan joined Victor Koo, Chairman and CEO of Youku Tudou Inc., to announce a new collaborative project MN9: Asia’s Master and Newcomers Project.

MN9 means 4+4+1: 4 experienced filmmakers and 4 new talents selected by Youku and BIFF will each direct a micro movie; and the masters will select 1 micro movie to realize a feature film for theatrical release. These films will be funded by Youku and can access various resources of this online platform.

In the past years, Youku Original has premiered umbrella films like BEAUTIFUL 2012 and BEAUTIFUL 2014 at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, involving directors like Ann Hui, Tsai Ming-liang, Kim Tae-yong, Kang Je-gyu and Christopher Doyle.

Youku Original also made serious efforts to discover new talents via a series of “Support Young Filmmakers” projects. One of the most successful case being OLD BOYS, a micro film funded and co-developed by Youku later turned into a feature and got a local B.O. of 33 million USD.

This August, Youku announced to establish a film branch: Heyi Film, with Lee Yong-kwan as an independent director.

Lee said this evening that the MN9 project would have his support and expect to be the best of its kind in Asia. He also thank Koo for this epoch-making cooperation opportunity.

Koo stated that K-pop and Korean variety shows have been quite popular in China, but due to the quota system, not so many Koreans films are accessible in Mainland China. Thanks to the co-production treaty signed this July between two countries, there will be a rise of Chinese-Korean co-prods, MN9 is Youku’s attempt to spot new creative talents in both countries.

Kim Ki-duk and Park Chan-wook are expected to lead the MN9 project.

There is a Heyi Film & Youku Tudou Award at the Asian Project Market 2014: a project chosen from the official APM line-up will be granted 30,000 USD.

[cfilmart]

Alibaba Reshaping China’s Film Business

Alibaba’s shares opened at $92.70 per share, 36% higher than its IPO price of $68 on September 19, 2014. Its founder and CEO Jack Ma is now China’s richest man.

After building China’s e-commerce from the scratch and helping millions small businesses grow, Alibaba will continue to reshape China’s film business.

1.      The Alibaba ecology

Alibaba is much more than an e-commerce platform: sellers, buyers, logistics, online payment system, banking, insurance, cloud computing and advertising, etc. are some of its branches.

Untold synergy is generated in this gigantic Alibaba ecology composed of all kinds of business. For example, Alipay evolved from a payment system to a financial services platform.

Just imagine: if Alibaba continues to expand its crowd-funding Yulebao for filmmaking, utilizes its clouding computing to offer video streaming services, develops part of its insurance business into completion bond to navigate more film productions. This ecology is an open book of possibilities.

 2.      When Alibaba uses its Big Data

By the end of 2013, there are together 231 million of buyers on all Alibaba platforms: 5 billion packages are delivered from Alibaba in 2013, 54% of the total number in China that year. Alibaba GMV hit $82 billion in Q2, 2014, outselling Amazon and eBay combined.

The consumers’ data is a vast blue ocean to explore: what kind of fashion they chase, what are the most-frequently purchased brands, what kind of books and DVDs they choose – the consumers’ gender, age group and regional differences also creates a rich profile for daily market research.

At the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2013, in a forum people talked about the top two most-searched keywords in China at the time: milk power and divorce, which might partially explain the popularity of films and TV dramas like Finding Mr. Right, Dad, Where Are You Going?, and later, We Get Married and Divorce Lawyers.

Popular content conversely influences people’s purchasing habits: it is estimated that at least 500 million RMB worth of “We Get Married-style” fashion has been sold on Taobao, Alibaba’s C2C e-commerce platform, during and after the screening of this national hit.

3.      When e-commerce integrated into content

This August, Vice President of the state-run China Film Group (CFG) Zhang Qiang has left for Alibaba Pictures to become its CEO. Months ago, Jet Li joined Alibaba Pictures as an Independent Director

It would not be difficult to envision that one day Alibaba Pictures inserts e-commerce into its film production: whether you are watching 3D films in the theater or online video on a subway, mobile applications can enable you to buy the very product that you see in the film, almost instantly.

Such experimental content has already existed in some countries. It is just a matter of time that it appears in China and Alibaba is the most likely site to make this happen.

If the scale goes big, this would restructure China’s advertising and marketing businesses as well.

Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent have each build its own film division. In China, the battle between internet companies entering the film industry has just begun. We will see how Alibaba is going to reshape the local film business, and how fast.

[cfilmart]

The 51st Golden Horse Awards Nominees Announced

TAIPEI - Oct. 1, 2014 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee announced today nominees of the 51st Golden Horse Awards. There are altogether 138 features, 186 short films, 35 documentaries and 5 animation features submitted this year.

BLACK COAL, THIN ICE receives 8 nominations, including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress, followed by BLIND MASSAGE with 7 nominations and KANO with 6 nominations.

Nominees for Best Leading Actor include CHANG Chen (BROTHERHOOD OF BLADES), CHEN Jian-Bin (A FOOL), LIAO Fan (BLACK COAL, THIN ICE), Masatoshi NAGASE (KANO) and Sean LAU (THE WHITE STORM).

Nominees for Best Leading Actress are CHEN Shiang Chyi (EXIT), GONG Li (COMING HOME), GWEI Lun-Mei (BLACK COAL, THIN ICE), TANG Wei (THE GOLDEN ERA) and ZHAO Wei (DEAREST).

Chair of the Committee Sylvia CHANG also announced recipient of this year’s Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year Award Jimmy HUANG, for his continuous efforts in producing Taiwanese films with great diversity, which expands the realm and imagination of the industry. This year Jimmy has produced PARADISE IN SERVICE, KANO and CAMPUS CONFIDENTIAL.

Joan CHEN, two-time Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actress winner, will lead the jury along with final-stage jury members including Stanley KWAN, Aaron KWOK, CHEN Po-Wen, HWARNG Wen-Ying and Stephen FUNG. They will join other shortlist-stage jury members to vote for the winners.

All nominated films will be screened in Golden Horse Film Festival starting from November 6. The awarding ceremony will be held on November 22 at National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall in Taipei City, live broadcast by TTV with Red Carpet starting from 17:30. The program is also live broadcast overseas in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and The United States, etc.

[cfilmart]

400 Years A Romance

By Ninja Tsui

MY LOVE FROM THE STAR is the most rated Korean TV drama on China’s biggest film and TV fan site Douban. According to Douban statistics, over 93,000 arty youths have watched it and over 32,000 wrote excited comments. Beer and fried chicken have become a national snack in China among the young because that is the main characters’ regular food in this TV drama; a type of YSL lipstick is said to be sold out in China because that is what the female character Cheon Song-yi uses; go searching on China’s largest C2C shopping site Taobao, you’d find millions of commodities labeled “the same style as can be found in My Love from THE STAR”: dresses, shoes, cosmetics and bags.

It has gone beyond any Korean TV drama because China’s President Xi Jinping mentioned it during his visit in South Korea that MY LOVE FROM THE STAR is adored by China’s young people and it has deepened the understanding between the young from both countries. Furthermore, China’s first lady Peng Liyuan was reported to say to the press that Mr. Xi used to look like the male protagonist acted by Kim Soo-hyun 김수현.

Why a foreign TV drama can be so popular in China?

  The Language

In 1990s, Hallyu, aka Korean Wave, flooded in China and there is a growing number of Chinese studying Korean. There are currently over 100 universities that offer a Korean major in China, besides thousands of different private courses all over the nation. Some Chinese websites featuring Korean language study guide has a daily PV of 200,000. Official statistics indicates in 2013, there were 450,000 Chinese students that went to South Korea to study. This number is expected to reach 500,000 in 2014. The top 3 chosen majors of these students are: business, technology and engineering, and arts.

Baidu Index has a clear picture of those who are interested in “Korean language study” in China from Sept. 2013 to Sept. 2014: the most economically-developed regions are, without an exception, on the list – Zhejiang, Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Shandong and Shanghai. Interestingly, this list also echoes that of Korean-TV-drama-lovers over the same period of time. The only difference being the gender ratio: among the TV drama viewers, there are 44% male. One might wonder how many of these male viewers are actually watching Korean drama due to some girl’s influence or urge, a thing which does happen in China. Meanwhile, it is noticeable that the above groups have very strong purchasing power.

  The Cast

Korean Wave has a long history in China and Chinese fans are familiar with quite a number of A-listers from South Korea. Kim Soo-hyun is the new favorite. Fans remember clearly his roles in Giant, Dream High, The Thieves, The Moon Embracing the Sun and Secretly Greatly; go great lengths to sing odes to his face, eyes, eyebrows, lips and gestures.

The female lead Jun Ji-hyun 전지현 has been liked in China for a much longer period of time. It all started with a film that was popular in Asia: My Sassy Girl, in which Jun played a naughty girlfriend of a rather dull guy. Their playful love was like a Korean version of Jeux d'enfants. It’s just that the girl is louder, more mischievous and violent. In 2001, it refreshed the traditional Asian vision about how a girl should behave and the film spread in most Asian countries like wildfire. Jun was only 20 that year and instantly became a superstar. In China, years after her first strong filmic appearance, people would refer to her as the Sassy Girl. But of course, Chinese audiences could not forget her roles in the films like Il Mare, Daisy, The Thieves and The Berlin File. It may give you a start, but think about it: Jun Ji-hyun has remained an A-lister for about 15 years already. Amazing energy!

Would THE STAR be as popular in China as it is today with a different cast? Hard to say. It is also doubtful whether the creators have considered the Chinese audiences’ tastes and preferences while casting.

  The Story

A tall handsome young man with supernatural power and millions of fortune who has lived for hundreds of years is desperately in love with a girl. Sounds familiar? Maybe this reminds you of Twilight written by Stephenie Meyer. But hey, vampire is now history. In the case of MY LOVE FROM THE STAR (simplify as “THE STAR” in the following text), we are talking about an alien. There is no such creature on earth. He has to come from another planet, charming and traceless. A natural mystery.

Chinese audiences are not unfamiliar with such a knight in the shining armor: dramas like It started with a Kiss, Meteor Garden, In Time With You all have a male character that sound like Do Min-joon, but THE STAR blends them all and creates a new sensation: almost an all-in-one boyfriend type: His home is a museum. He is eloquent and knowledgeable. He can move fast as light. He can even stop time! There is nothing he cannot do and the girl does not even have to speak out her concerns.  

Dreaming of a time travel? Ride with Do Min-joon!

Then what kind of a girl should he falls for?

Someone he met 400 years ago still lingers in his heart.

Here comes Cheon Song-yi, played by Jun Ji-hyun. A national goddess with elegance, wits and any good qualities that you can imagine, Song-yi does not care about her grace or status once falling in love. Independent and tough, she would be a kind friend to girls and a gentle girlfriend in front of her love. Moreover, actress Jun Ji-hyun did a homerun in her performance. At some point, the audiences are reminded of that sassy girl from 2001.

  According to screenwriter Bo Bonnie’s observation, the character building in THE STAR is quite different from the past pop Korean TV dramas. In Success Story of a Bright Girl, the main storyline is about the male protagonist’s career development; in My Name Is Kim Sam-sun, the story goes around Kim Sam-sun and her boyfriend run a business jointly, while in THE STAR, the girl’s career takes the majority of the story – her story is the real history. Sure enough, as an alien richer than Bill Gates, Do Min-joon does not need a job or career. So this is a story about how the national darling proves her own innocence, escape jeopardy and rise back to the top. Girl power is the core of this story; also presented is a beautiful dream of everlasting romance.

A script echoes the current social values shall not find it hard to meet its audiences. If you know some Chinese slang, you’d notice a recent catchphrase: Nv Hanzi, loosely translated as tomboy, an existence that challenges China’s traditional girl image. Song-yi is a Nv Hanzi, only cuter if need be.

  The Platform

Three top Chinese video sites screen this drama: iQiyi, Youku and Le TV. So great was the passion of THE STAR ‘s fans that the video sites decided to offer Chinese transcript synchronizing the TV drama’s broadcasting in South Korea this February, something that has never done before in China.

According to a KBS employee, the price of each episode of THE STAR is about 30,000 USD, so the total price of this drama would be less than 4 million USD. But it generates 1 billion hits on iQiyi alone and brands like CHANEL, Dior, Samsung and Estee Lauder, etc. – millions of profits, which further activates video sites promotion of THE STAR.

It is predicted that the Korean TV drama’s price will continue to go up. Also to be noted is that a Chinese parody of THE STAR is now available on China’s video sites.

[cfilmart]

Dennis Liu the Genius

By Xu Jia

I ran into director Dennis Liu’s work thanks to the North America Chinese Directors Short Film Collection finalist. PLURALITY, a 14-minute short film, tells a story of THE GRID, an urban system that tracks all human movements to reduce crime in New York in the year of 2023. It presents the question of privacy and surveillance with a fluid eloquence. Simply amazed by the director’s creative force, I had but one question: how big is the budget for such an expressive cast and clever VFX. A quick search suggests Dennis Liu has directed videos for artists such as Diane Birch, Mariah Carey, and Michael Jackson. He also made commercials for brands like Apple, AT&T and Pepsi. The fancy music video he made for Jolin Tsai has over 20 million hits on Youku while the one he made for Justin Timberlake has recently won 3 Clio Awards. It is not an overstatement to say that Dennis Liu might be able to surpass Ang Lee in filmmaking. Here is the director sharing his odyssey with The Chinese Film Market.

  XJ: How much did PLURALITY cost? You seemed to have a very professional production team and cast. 

DL: The cost is hard to define. I used to say a few thousand dollars, but you could say it cost me two years of my life and a lot of my own spare time, which is in a way, incredibly expensive. I’ve been making films since high school and through NYU Tisch, so it was mostly with friends on the weekend. But let’s just say it wasn’t very much. We didn’t even have enough money to shoot RED or Alexa, so it was all shot on 5D Mark II. 

  Some days, it was literally me and the actors. We ran around NYC on the weekend mornings, and the editing is fast so I think it gives an illusion much bigger than it actually was. I’ve been directing commercials and music videos for years in New York, so a lot of the crew helped on spare time. The actors did it all for free. It was done on a lot of favors. So it’s probably worth a lot more than we actually paid for. 

  XJ: You mentioned in an interview that you did most of the VFX on your own, but how did you make it exactly?

DL: So the story goes, I’ve been filming music videos and commercials professionally for a few years. I had worked with several respected VFX companies who helped me on some VFX for some pretty big commercials. I figured that they would help me do all the VFX.

  In the end, they weren’t really interested in helping at all, since I had no money!! This was a real eye-opener. Even with relationships - it didn’t matter. By then, I had already shot over half the movie! I had a little background in VFX from film school, so I just started doing it all on my own. I had another couple friends who helped with the complicated shots, but in the end, I had to do probably 75% of the shots. I basically took time off and just rammed through it. This is why the film took two years to finish. I had already known some basics, so that helped. But I’m glad I went through that hellish, awful process because I’m a lot better and faster now. I know that VFX is the future of the film industry for number of reasons, and I’ve been trying to bolster that skill as much as I can.

  XJ: How was your experience making videos in China?

DL: I have so much fun shooting in China!! I studied at Beijing University when I was in high school for a summer, and my family visited Taiwan when I was growing up, so it's great to be back. I never thought I would be filming in Asia, since my heart was always looking to LA and Hollywood. That being said, sometimes it feels more comfortable in China. I'm a minority director in the US. There really aren't that many directors of color in America. I actually am on the DGA Eastern Diversity Council, and you'd be shocked at how low the numbers are. Only 14% of US union TV shows are directed by minority men. And it is even worse for women. If you're a minority woman trying to direct in the US for union shows, the statistic is 2%. Can you imagine, 2 out of a 100 shows are directed by minority women?

  It was hard when I first started filming in China, and I would get lonely. There's so much travel in filmmaking that no one tells you about in film school, but I have friends there now and it's a lot more fun. China is not without challenges and it is difficult to shoot in. I have shot in many places around the world, and it's probably one of the hardest places I've ever shot. Even with my language advantage, I need to lead a lot more than in the US. In the States, I think people anticipate you a little more, and love to offer their ideas, which help the project. In China, a lot of people stand around and wait for your next move. You really have to decide everything. In a way, that's so refreshing, and in others, incredibly exhausting. I think it's largely a cultural thing; in China the mentality is - he's the director, so he tells me what to do. In the US, I do feel like the hierarchy is better structured. Each department head will bring their craft to the job as much as they can. And no one can truck equipment better and faster than LA. Those trucks pack up and go faster than anywhere.

  XJ: Could you talk a bit about your upbringing please? Any cinematic influence from your family?

DL: I was born in Saskatchewan Canada, and raised in Watertown, Connecticut. I consider myself Asian American. Our family was pretty traditional, and I learned Chinese, played the piano and violin, etc. Looking back, those several years playing instruments is critical to how I direct my music videos today. I wish I had studied Chinese more as I’m pretty adequate but not fluent yet. And, I’ve been more and more shooting in China. 

  Like most Taiwanese families, my parents initially were not very thrilled with the idea of me going into filmmaking and always were telling me to think of a “back-up” career! But when I got into NYU for film school, I think they finally came around to it. Although, even in film school I think they were wondering what my back-up career would be! I had been filming since high school and wanted to make films since I was 12 so I just never stopped. I liked to write stories as a kid and I never stopped. I’m a total black sheep. My brother is a doctor, my sister a lawyer and the other sister works at American Express, so the whole building sets and scouting in weird far out places is all pretty foreign to them. I have trouble explaining to them what I do other than showing them the end product. But they are supportive. 

  XJ: What does film mean to you?

DL: I think PLURALITY was a really great experience because I had a horrible senior thesis at NYU, and I didn’t have the energy to make another film for years. I got very discouraged because I had very high expectations for my thesis. I finally got over the hump that I could make a good film on my own. 

  The most important thing is that it gave me my confidence back, and that was a hard thing to rediscover. I think PLURALITY has shown me how tough the road is, even when I had a solid response from Hollywood. I met a lot of people from the film. There was a lot of, “That was great, what else do you have?” 

  In the end, you really just need to have someone take a chance on you, and that’s what I guess I’ve been waiting for. Then, hopefully when people look back, they’ll say, “Well, I knew that was going to happen, Dennis always made good stuff.” … But until then, it’s a lot of waiting. Who’s the person who’s going to make that leap of faith for you? 

  XJ: How on earth did you grow into such a talented filmmaker?

DL: I still feel like I have a lot left to learn!

  I did it a lot when I was younger. I kept making movies with my friends. I was lucky in some ways to jump on Final Cut Pro version 1 when it just came out. When you get to NYU though, it’s amazing how many incredible filmmakers and artists that actually attend. The competition is very tough and many of my friends aren’t even trying to direct anymore, which makes me sad because several of them were great directors and better than me. But there’s quite bit of luck involved too. 

  You really have to sacrifice a lot. You have to want it really bad that money doesn’t matter, and nothing else matters. You just have to want it more than anyone else. You have to keep excelling for your very best. It’s not easy. At NYU, I think the most successful of us ended up not going to too many classes and just made films together on the weekends. That was probably the best schooling you could get - from learning from your mistakes. 

XJ: What are your current projects? What your fans and followers could expect, for instance, in the next 5 years?

DL: I'll have a feature done in the next 5 years for sure. It may be a small indie though if I can't dig up the financing for it. I'm flirting with the idea of doing one of them in China. I just hope people are going to be still watching movies by then! It seems like the young generation has an even shorter attention span than my generation! I just finished a music video for Jolin Tsai, which was great, and a big spectacle. I'm working on a silly sketch comedy for fun with some friends. I try not to get too pigeonholed. If there's an idea that I find interesting and challenging, I'll try to do it. I really just want to keep learning and get better at my craft. I'll probably never leave music videos, even though the budgets are terrible. I just have so much fun in them and they're probably my favorite thing to do in filmmaking. I might do another short, but I think I'm just ready to gun for my first feature. 

[cfilmart]

Michael C. Ellis: "China Is Too Big To Ignore"

ZURICH (Sept. 27, 2014) In the Zurich Summit, Michael C. Ellis, President and Managing Director in the Asia Pacific Region of Motion Picture Association, delivered a keynote speech to a crowd of industry professionals: "China is now too big to ignore." Ellis used charts to show the rapid growth of the screens and box office in China in the past five years. Statistics also indicated that a number of Hollywood titles earned quite a big proportion of their box office in Mainland China. For example, TITANIC 3D, 41% of its global B.O. came from China; PACIFIC RIM, 28% and CLOUD ATLAS, 21%. This summer TRANSFORMERS 4' raked in $ 299million in China, 30% of its total B.O. worldwide. Challenges aside, this market is truly too big to ignore. The following panel continued this statement, joined by Gong Yu, Founder and CEO of iQiyi; Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Producer from Stone Angels and Benjamin Kramer, Film Finance Agent of Creative Artists Agency. Kramer observed the different practices in the Chinese industry and said the business CAA is now having in China is "a process of learning and adapting." Le Pogam, however, said the reason why France and China have thus far worked really well is because both countries generally have the same kind of habits in the film industry. He envisioned a China to be the "best example of co-habitation of different cultures" in a foreseeable future. And he thinks there is a group of believers to realize co-productions with EU in China. Gong Yu first shared the online video market size: "iQiyi has over 100 million unique visitors each day and the advertising revenue of Chinese video sites has reached 15 billion RMB, 15% of TV's ad income." Local traditional television stations thus are afraid of the "threat" posed by video sites. Two facts are unsettling for established players: 20% of China's BO came from online ticketing; crowd funding suggests new film finance model out of the big studios' control. Gong Yu said traditional players in fact need not to be scared, because in the future, both ecosystems shall co-exist. iQiyi Pictures was founded on July 17 and has invested in several films. Also starting this year, iQiyi has signed agreements with Venice Film Market and Busan's Asian Film Market to launch iQiyi China Night. According to Gong Yu, this is a long term investment to bring in more foreign titles to China via online distribution, and to facilitate iQiyi's co-production talks. The Summit was co-launched by Winston Baker Film Finance Forum and Zurich Film Festival, for business leaders and creative pioneers. 2014 marks its 5th edition.

[cfilmart]

Han Han On the Road

by Xu Jia

On July 21, 2014, Han Han spoke to a group of curious journalists who have just watched his debut film The Continent at a press conference, talking about his childhood dreams.

His voice was a bit trembling.

“When I was little, I had four dreams: to become a scientist, to become a good writer, to become a champion car racer and to become a filmmaker. My first dream turned out a nightmare when I failed mathematics in high school. My second dream came true at 17 when I found my copyright novels actually sold less than those pirated copies.  Ten years after I took my first car-racing, I became a pro and earned seven annual championships.”

He continued to say that at 20, he had a vision to realize a film after 30. He did a few music videos at his 20s and appeared in Jia Zhangke’s documentary I Wish I Knew four years ago.

He will be 32 in a month and his first feature film raked in over 600 million RMB this summer.

 The Continent is a film about a road trip of adventure, disillusion and self-discovery of young islanders exploring a vast continent. Three buddies drive from the very east of China to the far west. One gets lost once the trip starts; another (Jiang He) is caught in a fleeting romance while the third is disillusioned by a hitchhiker they picked up in the woods. They are somehow frustrated by this strange and dramatic outside world. In the end, however, Jiang He becomes a successful writer and manages to retrace that romance.

Han Han refused to admit it an autobiographical film, yet stating each of the character shows one aspect of him.

The story is considered fragmented but the dialogue is as witty as that in Han’s novels. He has been good at the wordplay.

Wooed or booed by different groups of audience, Han is never short of fanatic fans: he has 40 million followers on Weibo, who make creative comments under each status of his. No long after he posted pictures of his then 2-year-old cute little daughter last year, he was hailed “Father-in-Law of the Nation” and fans became even more addicted to anything he’d post; comments grew like a snowball.

Han Han has been a national icon for almost 15 years, ever since he dropped out high school at 17 and labeled as a “rebel” after appearing in a national talk show, openly criticizing the rigid Chinese education system. Praise and criticism flew from all corners of China, some applauded for his prematurity and quick wit; others worried about his future. His first novel Triple Door sold more than two million copies, and thus began what the local media called “Han Han fever”.

Han did not perch on the altar and smile at fans’ worship. As he went on writing, he moved to Beijing, in the hope of becoming a pro car-racer. In difficult times, he once stayed in a basement room: car racing cost a fortune.

A cultural celebrity as a rookie in the racing team, Han started anew. It took him several years to go for a real race.

Fast and furious, he won one championship after another.

Citizen Han Han started blogging about China’s various social problems and was crowned a Gongzhi, public intellectual. Time magazine listed him as one of "World's Most Influential People in 2010".

The off-road rally races took him to all parts of China, which later proves quite a convenience for location scouting of the film. 

Han described a passion for films since little: when writing novels, he’d have clear images about each scene; when composing dialogues, he’d have both parties in mind talking to each other. So it is natural that he makes a film of his own. After all, it is just an alternative way to have a conversation with the world.

Writers can be sensitive and emotional, but car racing demands one to be cool and collected, abided by rules and regulations. Han Han tries to find a balance between the two and this balance turns essential during his filmmaking. He used two pairs of words to describe this film: nostalgia and humor, confessions and departures.

The Continentproject started when Han Han felt that he was ready. That was the May Day of 2013: his publisher Lu Jinbo and veteran art film producer Fang Li inked the deal. Han wrote the script in six months, during which the location scouting was also finished.

Budget ready. Cast on set. Fine weather. Camera ready.

Action!

As much as Han sees the film’s potential flaws, he is proud of its industrial procedure: a crew of 200 finished shooting the film in about two months; they spent 20 days in traveling from the east of the nation to the very west and back, with assorted equipment and props, and finally completed the post-production within 40 days, a mission almost impossible to most local film crews.

On set, he was relentless and persuasive. He learned to adjust actor’s performance and pacing, to locate and work with the right talent, and most importantly, he established his own visual style.

Han believed a director should be an absolute dictator after assiduous study and careful listening.

He did not get mad at people but trusted soft conversations better solutions once in conflict.

He disliked close-ups, thinking them quite disruptive.

He did not use hand-held filming unless in a real need.

He thought an informative long shot would look much better than a disorienting moving shot. 

He generally did not accept actors to make impromptu change of lines on set.

He had Japanese musician Takeshi Kobayashi on board for the film’s soundtrack.

At the end of shooting, he admitted a yearning for writing, because he realized filming was too restricted by the weather and other unpredictable thing.

The film finished shooting on May 26 and announced to have the national release on July 24 – not much time left for marketing anymore.

Han invited Pu Shu to sing the film’s theme song. Also a national sensation, singer Pu Shu has not published any new songs in the past ten years and offered a Demo he wrote recently.

Han later recalled that it was an instant decision.

“I once conquered the mountain and crossed the sea and came across all kinds of people; I once owned everything, which then disappeared in a minute; I was once frustrated, disappointed and disoriented, until I realize the ordinary is the only answer,” thus wrote Han Han in the lyrics.  

The song went viral partly because people missed Pu Shu’s music so much, partly because what the song delivered. Upon release, the song was shared on Weibo, WeChat and all other social media. It has already branded the most successful marketing mavericks of the year. 

Moreover, an Instagram account that Han Han himself built 15 weeks ago had gathered 59 million followers: an astounding number in China, because there were not so many Chinese users on Instagram, and some registered only to follow him. He posted pictures of the setting, the cast and once again his daughter, his cult status as the “Father-in-Law of the Nation” was confirmed. The posts, comments and jokes converted into real purchase of film tickets when The Continent hit the cinema.

Han Han fulfilled his role as a director in the publicity period, traveling among cities to thank the fans, attend press conferences, and accept interviews. People have long forgotten the label “rebel”, who defied all sorts of conventions.

Han traced his earliest film experience when his father bought a VCR and rent four tapes of movie: Speed, True Lies, Jurassic Park and The Terminator 2: Judgment Day in his boyhood. He watched the four movies over one night and was totally shocked. He valued the pace of these four films and was impressed by their humanistic touch. He also confessed that the four movies had an impact on his writings: he could not bear a page of dull words.

American films and Hong Kong films were cited as the big influence, together with some Taiwan films.

In early August, as the fans were still mesmerized in the thrill of the film and the media celebrating Han’s another triumph, Han Han has left quietly for his next race.

The Han Dynasty has just begun.