14 May 047: A Solution to China’s Closing Door
Creative Director/Producer Christopher Chen discusses the growing markets outside China’s borders. He offers a solution to China’s closing door.
Additionally, Christopher explains why tech companies have an edge over traditional media companies. He comments on why Hollywood content doesn’t appeal to the majority of China’s population. This is the more rural population in third and fourth-tier cities. He
KEY POINTS
IS HOLLYWOOD OUT OF FAVOR IN CHINA?
Notwithstanding, the people who live in first-tier cities (Shanghai, Beijing, etc.) number about 175 million. Thus, this segment of the population is open to western culture and watching Hollywood movies. However, the majority of Chinese people live in third and fourth-tier cities. This is about 800 million people. On the contrary, according to Christopher, western culture is still alien to those folks. This makes for an uphill battle for Hollywood to sell content to China.
CHINA’S CLOSING DOOR: SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR A CHINESE PRODUCER?
Alas, Christopher says this question is 10-12 years too late. It’s very difficult now for westerners to get money out of China. And the pro-western business Chinese people have already gotten their money out of China.
FYI, you can download my e-book “Co-Production Targets”. This has a chapter on Chinese companies that have offices in Los Angeles. These companies typically have funds outside of China.
CHINA’S CLOSING DOOR: IF NOT CHINA, WHAT MARKET IS GROWING?
Indeed, the Asia Pacific is where the growth is. This is especially true in South East Asia. To illustrate, Disney and HBO moved their headquarters out of Hong Kong to Singapore. Singapore has a strong banking system. Unlike Hong Kong, Singapore doesn’t have a national security law. To illustrate, Christopher says America’s presence in the Asia Pacific will only get stronger.
THAILAND – THE NEXT FRONTIER?
Granted, it seems like China is (for now at least) closing its doors to the west. The good news is the Asian Entertainment market is booming. The streaming market is growing (i.e. Disney Plus). The biggest winners will be Asia-Hollywood content. In particular, Christopher says, Thailand will offer the most opportunities.
TECH’S EDGE OVER TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Furthermore, Apple and Amazon are giving traditional media companies serious competition. Firstly, the forecast is that high-tech improvements in content consumption (i.e. faster pipelines) are encouraging. Thus content will double or triple over the next several years. Moreover, Christopher spoke of big growth in the digital effects and gaming industries. Furthermore, Asia has the most gamers in the world. The downside though of movies using games as IP (think “Uncharted”) is that original content will take a hit.
The Asia-Hollywood Greenlight Podcast – Episode 47
Christopher Chen, Creative Director / Producer, The Monk Studios, Beijing Office
Show Notes
Host: Caryn McCann
Website: The Asia List – where Hollywood and Asia meet https://chnlist.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CHGreenLight
Twitter: @AHGreenLight https://twitter.com/AHGreenLight
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caryn-mccann-5718058/
WRITER PROMOTION: Writers – sign up for “The Asia List”. The first 50 writers that sign up can upload their first script for free. No credit card is required. Use this link: Writer promotion https://chnlist.com/first-script-free/
Guest: Christopher Chen
Company: The Monk Studios website: www.themonkstudios.com
Instagram: ChristopherChen-2099
Sister company (in Mumbai) Tau Films: taufilms.com
Contact The Monk Studio for animated films
Contact Tau films for Visual Effects
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