Imagine Yourself doing Kung Fu like Jet Li!

After three years of intensive training with Wu Bin, Li won his first national championship for the Beijing Wushu Team. After retiring from Wushu at age 19, he went on to win great acclaim in China as an actor making his debut with the film Shaolin Temple (1982). He went on to star in many critically acclaimed martial arts epic films, most notably the Once Upon A Time in China series, in which he portrayed folk hero Wong Fei-hung.

At today Milken Institute Global Conference panel on “Can Hollywood Speak Chinese,” a number of film industry chiefs who have overcome hurdles and succeeded doing business in China – IM Global founder and CEO Stuart Ford , Relativity founder and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh , STX Entertainment CEO-Chairman Robert Simonds and Lionsgate Co-COO Brian Goldsmith – shed light on how they’ve obtained financing, released films and essentially navigated the culture’s business practices. Kavanaugh, whose first Chinese co-production was the Jackie Chan-Jet Li 2008 film The Forbidden Kingdom, explained the current high stakes at the box office.

Jet Li film The Forbidden Kingdom, explained the current high stakes at the box office. Currently, whenever a studio releases a movie over there, it can take home only 25% of the box office revenue. “You live or die by your box office receipts. You have to make your money in two weeks,” Kavanaugh explained. In addition, the TV market there still is regulated by propaganda, and the Chinese government has a tendency to shut down new streaming outlets. Kavanaugh mentioned that it’s a current impediment in doing business there for film companies.

“Don’t look at China as a way to extract dollars. What they’re saying is, ‘We’re willing to let you own more of our box office, but you have to do it here,” added the Relativity chief.

Relating to the same point, Kavanaugh advised: “In 2008 when box office was booming, a number of studios started putting buildings up over there, such as Fox and Disney. Those buildings have literally disappeared. The Chinese are about displaying their culture. It’s the reason why I never opened a Relativity building over there. You never do anything that shows you’re going to impact their culture or take it over.”

by Anthony D’Alessandro