Film Finance Forum Focuses on Collaboration Trends and Foreign Talent

Industry trends and strategies for success between Chinese and international entertainment businesses were discussed at the China Film Finance Forum yesterday.
 

　　Industry trends and strategies for success between Chinese and international entertainment businesses were discussed at the China Film Finance Forum during yesterday\'s ongoing 2016 Shanghai International Film and TV Festival.

　　High-level executives, award-winning filmmakers and decision-makers joined two panel discussions that explored a new era of Chinese and Hollywood studio collaboration.

　　The forum was presented in collaboration with the festival by finance conference organizer Winston Baker.

　　Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia, said the real possibility of China’s box office surpassing the U.S. market doesn\'t mean the Chinese film industry is already mature. It was, she said,"a 17-year-old youth."

　　"The Chinese film industry is \'speed-dating\' with different genres, production methods, technologies and demands," Eliasoph explained.

　　"As a foreign company that runs a localized operation in China, all my colleagues are Chinese. Establishing a local production company shows respect for the Chinese film industry and audiences," she added.

　　Wang Yibing, who directed "Crazy Stone" with Ning Hao, said that from a producer\'s perspective, making films is not something to be rushed. It\'s like preparing the land and achieving results gradually, he noted.

　　Michelle Yang, founder and president of Vantage Entertainment, and Shan Dongbing, founder and president of Dongwa Pictures, shared their insights on the highs and lows of the Chinese film industry.

　　They commented that as international projects are being developed in China, there is also integration of resources between both the China and U.S. film industries.

　　The second half of the finance forum shifted focus to talent management in Hollywood and China.

　　Host Steve Saltzman, a partner in Loeb & Loeb, coordinated the discussion between Spencer Baumgarten of Creative Artists Agency, Max Michael from United Talent Agency, and Andrew Ooi of Echelon Talent Management.

　　The talent agents agreed the project itself is the highest priority for international movie stars when they consider taking part in Chinese film productions.

　　"It comes down to the script," Ooi said.

　　Baumgarten said the emerging Chinese film industry is a great opportunity for international actors and actresses.

　　But it’s important, he said, that Chinese companies provide as much information as possible about their movie projects when reaching out to talent agencies abroad.

　　Max Michael commented on the appeal of Chinese film production to foreign artists.

　　"A lot of clients are able to make films in China and are willing to make films in China. They are aware of their popularity and they want to take advantage of that," he said.

　　The agents agreed on the high importance of Chinese production companies connecting directly with foreign talent agents rather than independently approaching artists.