The Hollywood Reporter has released its second Hong Kong Filmart daily issue, including a look at the industry’s confidence in China, a chat with Hiroyuki Sanada and news of iQiyi’s latest release.
Waning Confidence in China
Uncertainties emanating from the massive mainland China market dominated industry talk during the first day of Hong Kong Filmart on Monday. THR takes a look at how, after years of serving as the global industry’s heroic growth engine, China has recently offered multiplying causes of concern instead. Said one executive: “Of course, everyone still wants to work with China or get into China, but there is a lot less excitement and confidence than there was just a year ago.”
Kung Fu Traveler Jumps
Crimson Entertainment acquired the rights to Chinese streaming-video giant iQiyi’s sci-fi action film for a North American release this summer. Directed by Xian Feng, it stars Asian martial arts master Tiger Chen as a Chinese military general combating an alien takeover of Earth. The film was released in China in February exclusively on iQiyi and China Movie Channel, where it generated more than 20 million views in its first week.
Hiroyuki Sanada on Life
One of the very few Japanese actors to make a successful transition to Hollywood, Sanada is next seen onscreen in Life, a sci-fi horror directed by Daniel Espinosa and also starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Ferguson. He spoke to THR about not working in Japan for more than a decade, the journey from black-and-white film to CGI and doing his own stunts in his mid-fifties.
Click here to download the Day 2 PDF.
Click here to download the Day 1 PDF.
