In an effort to further penetrate the lucrative Chinese media market, The Walt Disney Company has embarked on it's first local co-production. Warner Bros and Sony's Columbia have previously produced movies in partnership with local firms, but China was never going to be an easy nut to crack. BVI hopes that this will only be the first of many films they shoot in China with local audiences in mind.

 

Based on the Chinese novel by Zhang Tian Yi, who received considerable fame in the 1930s for a series of satirical short stories, and who was then assigned in the 40s by the new communist regime as an official writer of children's literature, The Secret of the Magic Gourd is a co-production between BVI, The China Film Group Corporation, and Hong Kong's Centro Digital Pictures.

 

Centro, now considered one of the foremost visual effects houses in Asia, made a name for themselves in the West when Tarantino used them on his Kill Bill films, which contained many homages to HK cinema, particularly that of the Shaws and Bruce Lee.

 

Since The Lion King in 1995, Disney has released nineteen films in China, and this is the next logical step. Magic Gourd is produced specifically for the Chinese market, and with the involvement of China Film they ensure domestic release. China Film is one of the countries main production and distribution companies and the only authorized importer of foreign films.

 

Magic Gourd began principal photography in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, on October 29th of this year. It's actor are from the mainland and from Hong Kong, and the film is being shot in Mandarin. Hong Kong visual effects supervisor Frankie Chung, who worked on Kung Fu Hustle, is making his directorial debut. Principal photography on the film will wrap in 2006, and a China-wide release is planned for later in the year. China Film will distribute Magic Gourd on the mainland, whilst BVI will handle Hong Kong and Taiwan distribution.

 

(hkfilmart December 29, 2005)