Sino-US cooperation in filmmaking on the rise
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A scene about China in "2012" [qq.com] |
One of the obvious manifestations of this is a more positive image of Chinese people, in co-produced and US studio works.
In "The Forbidden Kingdom" (Gongfu Zhiwang), directed by Rob Minkoff of Lion King and backed by Huayi Brothers and Lionsgate, Jackie Chan and Jet Li played two kungfu masters, who are kind, thoughtful and humorous.
Disney's "The Secret of the Magic Gourd" (Baohulu De Mimi), adapted from a Chinese author's work, shapes a three-dimensional Chinese kid, who has typical shortcomings but is still lovely.
In "The Painted Veil" (Mian Sha), starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts, the Chinese officer played by Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong is a courageous gentleman no less attractive than the protagonist, a British doctor.
Pleasing the audience is natural, according to Tan Fei, a veteran film critic and publicist of film and TV. "China is such a big market. Any sensible businessman knows the importance of pleasing consumers here. In '2012,' which premiered in China recently, Chinese even build the modern Noah's Ark," he says.
"Also, in co-filmmaking, people of the two countries develop wider and deeper communications, which helps them better understand each other and get a full picture."
Cooperation between the US and China film industries is a win-win process, Tan says.
"America wins a big potential market, while China learns about professionalism, marketing strategies and sophisticated production procedures," he says.
Wang Zhonglei, president of Huayi Brothers, says his team was like a sponge, absorbing and learning everything it could from Columbia Pictures when they co-produced Feng Xiaogang's "Big Shot's Funeral" (Da Wan) in 2000.
Huayi's budget schedule, more accurate than most local companies at that time, was accurate to about 10,000 yuan (US$1,400), but Columbia's budgets were to the exact cent.
Huayi listed all the items needed on one page, while Columbia had 10 pages of 2,000 items for every department's budget, and every department had an accountant. Many Chinese film companies have adopted the same detailed bookkeeping methods, which is professional and benefits the industry in the long term, Wang says.
John Woo says that when making "Red Cliff" he was impressed by the diligence and intelligence of the young Chinese he worked with, which convinced him that China could create international blockbusters.
When "Lust, Caution" premiered in Shanghai in 2007, Ang Lee booked the best seats for his crew from Shanghai Film Group, which cooperated with Focus Features. At the premiere, he bowed lowly in recognition of the Chinese crew's hard work.
"Although Europe, Australia and New Zealand are still priorities for Hollywood thanks to their similar cultural backgrounds, Sino-US cooperation in filmmaking has risen in terms of both quality and quantity in recent years," says New Film's Huang Qunfei. "China and America, as each other's second-biggest trading partners, will definitely both win from more comprehensive cooperation in the film industry."
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