LOS ANGELES, July 25-- With the two largest film markets in the world facing economic turbulence and other uncertainties, industry experts are trying to envision and even predict what future looks like for U.S.-China co-productions in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic and explosive growth of China's own film industry. Some are very bullish on the prospects, while others are more wary. Belle Avery, producer of "The Meg," the most successful U.S.-China co-pro ever made, after her tremendous success there, still has multiple co-productions in development in China. "I knew synergistically China would be the right place to do my co-pro," she told Xinhua Friday. John Penotti, President of SK Global, told Xinhua earlier, "There have been many peaks and valleys in the U.S.-China co-pro market, but you can't focus on that. It's a continuum." During an online webinar hosted this week by the China Institute and the Peking University Alumni Association of New York, Daxing Zhang, the producer of such notable films as "Red Cliff," "Kung Fu Hero," "Man of Tai Chi," and martial artist on many of Hollywood top blockbusters, like "The Matrix," "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor," "Charlie's Angels," "Daredevil," said that there are other important reasons to consider a China co-production film. He stressed that the greater Box Office profit-share that foreign producers get for co-productions is a significant factor to consider. |