Americans have been fascinated by China ever since the 1930's, and the Middle Kingdom continues to hold a special place in the minds and imagination of Hollywood.
Now, there is increasing interest in tapping the Chinese market, because China's economy was growing rapidly, at least before the recession, and, with the recovering global economy, it will continue to grow.
American companies are now setting up studios in China to produce for the Chinese market.
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-chinamovie30dec30,0,4398976.story
That's fine and dandy, but they must not forget the lessons of the past decade - cheapest is not necessarily best. Chinese production may be cheaper, and there may be an internal market, but, as of now, Chinese facilities and workers are not as good as American ones - and that is now clear.
The other lesson that has emerged is that, while the Asians are hardworking, their cultures don't tend to encourage innovation or creative thinking, while the American (and British and Canadian) cultures do foster creativity and individuality. This was the difference that allowed the US to beat Japan in the 1990's, and this will be the difference that will allow the US to stay ahead of China.
I would also be very wary of investing in China, however, because of the endemic corruption, not to mention the lower quality of their workforce. Furthermore, with the substantial Chinese populations in LA, San Fransisco, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver, the local producers could easily make programs for the Asian market, so there would be a lesser need to go overseas. That said, the Chinese film industry is maturing rapidly, and some of them will soon be floating shares.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/24/entertainment-as-china-movie-studio-listing_6925134.html
In fact, by 2010, the Chinese market may reach a trillion dollars.
http://www.allbusiness.com/services/business-services/3988641-1.html
So there will be a market for setting up in China and also for selling products in China. But will China overtake the US? I doubt it. The last article I quoted says that China will overtake the US by 2050, but pundits were saying that about Japan 20 years ago, and look what happened. Furthermore, China is already experiencing serious demographic problems, with its one child policy. The issue of China's future is beyond the scope of this thread, but suffice it to say that, despite its huge population, China will not be overtaking the US anytime soon.
For the people of this forum, who work in the business, then, the bottom line will be this: the Chinese market will offer opportunities, and the Chinese companies will also offer competition, but, in the end, the American film industry should compete on quality of its work, and therein will lie its advantage.
The bigger market than China is India. Warner Bros, Fox Searchlight, Sony Films.. everyone is coming to India and especially, after the success of Slumdog
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The bigger market than China is India.
That's probably true, though China's economy is larger than India's. If you have a link, I'd love to read it. ?:)?
Bollywood is doing very well, and it does have an English-speaking component, since India is part of the British Commonwealth, so Hollywood would be very interested in it.
Over time, there will be links between Bollywood and "Beijingwood" (?), and shows will be made about the interactions (romances) between Indians and Chinese. But, because these two countries are still relatively small and will remain so for the next two decades, the largest center on Earth will still be the United States, or, perhaps more accurately, the United States and Canada.
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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul
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Bollywood is doing very well, and it does have an English-speaking component, since India is part of the British Commonwealth, so Hollywood would be very interested in it.
True, and Bollywood is going through a major change in film making style which will definitely appeal to Hollywood. And, a major tie up between Anil Ambani and Dreamworks of 825$ million prove the importance of Indian Cinema in the world.
http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail.html?news_id=59723
You can always find Big Bollywood movies in UK Top 10 countdown. I remember Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi reaching at number 6 or something last year.
China doesn't have that English component which is a drawback. Moreover, censorship of Chinese govt is absurd which can prevent the growth.
I've been thinking that North America can provide good quality films for export to China and India, as in "Chinese/Indian immigrants makes good in America". This would also be a good TV series. There are lots of Indian and Chinese actors in Vancouver, LA, New York, and other parts who would love to get such roles.
Hollywood is pretty much popular in India, especially among the youth. I think the reverse should be happening now, as in casting more Indians (at least in major supporting roles)in Hollywood movies. Kal Penn and Irfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire) are doing decent work in Hollywood. There is a huge South Asian population in America and one can't deny their culture significance.
In fact, Indian characters are coming into Hollywood movies and tv series. Take "The Big Bang Theory" for example. It's a story of 4 geeks and one girl, out of which an Indian character is in the main lead.
The Hollywood Reporter is saying that the Chinese market is huge and has potential, but its industry lacks sophistication and proper infrastructure.
The New York Times (NYT), meanwhile, is saying that China's economy will soon be larger than Japan's.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/business/economy/02yen.html?ref=global
The NYT seems to think that China is going to be top of the league, but I would disagree. I would say there is potential in China, but, as in any business, making use of that potential is fraught with problems. That said, I would seriously consider making film/tv products for export, but, of course, I will be asking for my money up front.
I wouldn't doubt the chinese economy too much for their labor and upcoming Chinese-American contribution. Although China does not traditionally foster creativity the amount of Chinese-Americans returning to china to work there makes them a force for sure. Also the government is relaxing a lot more with their traditional communist ways. They are fostering quite a bit of entrepreneurs and the emperor said "to be rich is to be glorious." That statement is an example of how they are changing to be capitalist/communist society. I don't know their future plans because mixing communism and capitalism just seems like a bad idea in the long run. Im personally not investing much because of this but the people of China with growing standard of living might change things for the better.....or there will be WWIII. Lets hope the former and btw the original post is a bad a** post that everyone should read.
Yes, the government is relaxing its ways, and it's following Deng Xiao Peng's dictum, "To get rich is glorious". That said, the country still has a steep learning curve, and it will run into problems as it tries to get into something as tough as film.
According to the NYT, China is hoping to create news organizations to rival News Corp and Time-Warner, and it will almost certainly succeed to some extent, but, the question will become, who would you trust with your news, a free-press American company, or a Chinese company with ties to the Communist Party of China?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/global/05yuan.html?ref=business
Free Press American Company. The problem with China is that they want to control everything. They'll ban movies, games, music, websites and what not just to give rise to their own content.
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Originally posted by naviobb
Free Press American Company. The problem with China is that they want to control everything. They'll ban movies, games, music, websites and what not just to give rise to their own content.
Exactly!
I wonder, though what the situation is like in India. I understand it's a democracy, and I also understand Bollywood is doing very well, but, beyond that, I know nothing.
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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul
The other lesson that has emerged is that, while the Asians are hardworking, their cultures don't tend to encourage innovation or creative thinking, while the American (and British and Canadian) cultures do foster creativity and individuality.
That is a dangerous stereotype. Even if it were true, China's population is approximately 4 (four) times larger than that of the US. To actually believe that China would follow Japan's path (come close, but never quite overtake the US economy) is naive. Japan is less than half the population of the US.
It is always amusing to hear US-centric views about the world. Bollywood produces many more movies than Hollywood; they sell more tickets than Hollywood (3.6 billion annually, vs. 2.6 billon in US), make more movies (over 1,000 per year, vs. around 800 in US), they're growing much faster, and in every respect, they are powerful force in global entertainment.
China is rapidly approaching the economic market power of the US. When it gets there (and it will), it will simply buy all the needed talent from elsewhere (just as US bought creative talent from Europe during its growing period). As time goes by, the imported talent will pass knowledge and experience to the home grown talent, and in a generation or two, first foreign language taught in American schools will no longer be Spanish; it will be Chinese.
Whoever positions themselves early for this will probably benefit the most.
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Exactly!I wonder, though what the situation is like in India. I understand it's a democracy, and I also understand Bollywood is doing very well, but, beyond that, I know nothing.
India doesn't control anything. We love to have every kind of cinema here. I remember The Da Vinci Code was banned in few states because of some religious organizations but other than that, nothing.
I, also agree with your point on not encouraging the creativity. People like to play safe here. They don't want to take risks. That's a problem.
And, I agree with what Vasic said.
