2 votes

Inside China and Hollywood’s frayed relationship: ‘We need to stop trying to keep the status quo, because the status quo is gone’

2 comments

  1. rosco
    Link
    This reads like almost any other industry and there needs to be some form of reciprocity. Without jumping on the anti-China bandwagon, the authors point about soft power was interesting. But I...

    This reads like almost any other industry and there needs to be some form of reciprocity.

    Without jumping on the anti-China bandwagon, the authors point about soft power was interesting. But I think there are domestic examples as well. I noticed that with all blockbusters coming out of the US/UK, China is effectively a non-entity or reflected positively. Spoilers for the new James Bond below.

    The most obvious example to me was the new James Bond. The entire end of the movie focused on the potential "international powder keg" moment of missile striking the island. They had mentioned the island was in disputed waters in the South China Sea and then proceeded to talk about potential aggression from Russia and Japan. China wasn't even mentioned. If you know the history of the South China Sea, particularly the 9 dash line, you will have heard about the aggressive behavior of China and their refusal to adhere to UNCLOS. They are using funding to screen for and remove negative content. I think that is a soft power we need to take note of as well.

    8 votes
  2. cloud_loud
    Link
    As I follow the box office it was clear that China was keeping away these Hollywood blockbusters so that their movie “The Battle of Lake Changjin” could be the highest grossing movie of the year....

    As I follow the box office it was clear that China was keeping away these Hollywood blockbusters so that their movie “The Battle of Lake Changjin” could be the highest grossing movie of the year. To keep in line with the 100th anniversary of the CCP.

    An interview that the article has is with the former head of Tencent Pictures, who’s job was essentially to make American movies that would also appeal to Chinese audiences. They co-produced Wonder Woman, Kong: Skull Island, Venom, Bumblebee, Terminator: Dark Fate, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (which did not receive a Chinese release date), and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick.

    Another recent thing is that on a Chinese forum that someone shared on r/boxoffice shows a lot of people are angry that it seems that China will not be giving Spider-Man a release date.

    4 votes