Boardroom Empire
- Source: Global Times
- [21:32 March 23 2011]
- Comments
Stephen Fung, Daniel Wu and Wang Zhonglei. Photo: CFP
by Leng Mo
With its 2011 H-Scheme and 10 blockbuster coming up in 2011, as announced last month, privately owned entertainment company Huayi Bros Media Group (HY), famous for Tony Chan's Hot Summer Days and Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle, teamed up with Hong Kong independent film company Diversion recently to increase the reach of the entertainment empire's ambitious dreams.
"We are going to make the first ever real entertainment empire in China within three year," predicted Wang Zhongjun, founder and CEO of HY, at a recent press conference. "HY is the first in China to have the potential and ability to do so."
Film diversion
Last year's domestic box-office achieved a 10-billion yuan ($1.52 billion) annual record, with three of the four top-grossing films, Aftershock, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame and If You Are the One 2, all produced by HY, resulting in box office returns of about 1.7 billion yuan ($259 million).
"HY has always been an entertainment pioneer in Chinese film in terms of commercialization and marketing. Their good filmmaking results benefits from their great marketing sense; they fund studios for A-listed directors and producers, and promote their artists't; it works well at the box-office," film critic Hu Liang told the Global Times.
The new H-scheme includes 11 blockbuster made by top directors and producers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Chinese Zodiac directed by Jackie Chan, a Detective Dee sequel to Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) directed by Hark Tsu and Painted Skin 2 by Wuershan.
"H stands for High Hopes. It is not just a new annual film plan for HY; we hope to make a new wave revolution for Chinese films. We chose well-known filmmakers, as well as new emerging directors such as Wuershan and Pang Ho-Cheung.We hope to add new blood," Wang said.
Last week, in another move made by HY, signing up a five-year contract with newly founded Hong Kong independent film company Diversion, owned by young Hong Kong actor-directors Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu, HY showed how it is practicing its scheme.
"In Hollywood, it is common to see big film studios cooperating with independent company to make films, like Miramax with Disney, and Legendary Pictures with Warner Brothers. We offer the marketing, distributing and cinema lines while Diversion offers their idea and production," explained Wang.
