It is not difficult to understand this mind-set. Big scenes blockbusters are what Hollywood is good at and have already gained a solid fan base not only in China, but also around the world.
According to a report from Nanjing-based Yangtze Evening Post, Hollywood filmmakers "draw a conclusion" that in China, fantasy, historic and adventure genres are more approachable in regard to cooperation.
"Because such stories can combine both Chinese and Western cultures, and actors from both sides can star in them. At the same time, such scripts are easier to be made into blockbusters," the newspaper wrote.
"Another important thing is that such themes will not be met with a lot of trouble when handed to the censors.
Good neighbors
Compared with the US, movies co-produced with China's neighboring countries, Japan and South Korea, are more in the vein of the romance, comic and horror genres.
Already screened this year are South Korean director Oh Ki-hwan's A Wedding Invitation and Japanese director Tetsuo Shinohara's Sweetheart Chocolate, as well as comedy film Mr. Go and horror flick Bunshinsaba 2.
As Yangtze Evening Post reported, as early as the end of 2012, the Korean Film Council had come to Beijing for a forum together with South Korean actors like Kim Tae-yong, Kwak Kyung-taek, and Kim Sang-Jin. The Chinese representatives included Wanda, Orange Sky Entertainment and Beijing Galloping Horse.
Charm of Chinese stories
A new sign for 2013 is that popular novels from Chinese writers have become a major target for many foreign filmmakers.
The contract signing of Zangdi Mima between China Film Co., Ltd and Oriental DreamWorks sets one such example. Translated as The Tibetan Code, the film is an adaptation of a popular Chinese novel of the same name.
According to a report from Shenzhen Economic Daily, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dream Works, once said The Tibetan Code series will be made into a Chinese version of Indiana Jones.
Wolf Totem, a 2004 award-winning novel by Jiang Rong, attracted the attention of French director Jean Jacques Annaud. Starting the project seven years ago, the film finally started to shoot in July 2012 and was completed earlier this month.
"Co-operation between different countries to make films is not a new thing, especially between European countries," Chen Shan, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, told the Global Times. "It is a natural thing when films go international."
But what interests Chen is that while China used to invite directors and film technical teams to work on Chinese projects, recent years have seen more Chinese companies investing in Hollywood projects, with the 2012 film Looper and the upcoming Kung Fu Panda 3 being such examples.
"Chinese film companies see the performance of such Hollywood blockbusters played globally, and know there can be a cake to share when investing in them," Chen said.
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