Could China save the Australian production industry?
Films produced with Chinese audiences in mind are making a killing in this massive market and local film-makers should be cashing in says David May in a piece that first appeared in Encore.
Looper, Iron Man 3, Transformers 4, Bait 3D. What’s the one thing these films have in common other than the fact they’re not likely to end up in your local art-house cinema? They have all been made or are being developed specifically with the Chinese film-going public in mind.
Traditionally Chinese censors would simply leave “controversial” scenes from western movies on the cutting room floor, such as shots of a Chinese security guard being gunned down in last year’s Skyfall or the same sex romance plot in Cloud Atlas. But many film-makers and studios, both here and in Hollywood, are now gearing their films specifically towards a Chinese release.
Don’t think the censors are going to be thrilled with Iron Man’s displays of western military might? Not to worry, scenes shot especially for the Chinese release featuring domestic celebrity Fan Bingbing should help balance things out.
With explosive growth in recent years, China has become the world’s third largest film market (Australia is somewhere around ninth), worth close to $3 billion. The demand for films is so great in the world’s most populated country that just last month IMAX signed on to build 75 new theatres over the next three years – to put this in context, consider that Australia has only five. Competition for distribution in this booming market is already intense as only 34 foreign films are allowed to screen each year (20 on traditional screens and 14 IMAX/3D).
Enter Australian/Singaporean/Chinese co-production Bait, a splatter thriller centering on a shark let loose in a Gold Coast supermarket. The film-makers shot additional material for the overseas release, prominently featured Singaporean/Chinese cast members and were subject to the scrutiny of their foreign investors, but the efforts paid off and the 3D film went on to make more than $20 million at the Chinese box office. It has not all been smooth sailing for our local film-makers, however, as after the Chinese backers on co-production The Dragon Pearl saw the monstrous portrayal of the revered Chinese dragon in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, they almost pulled the plug by demanding the Australian producers change the titular beast to a panda. Thankfully they were convinced The Panda Pearl would be a tough sell but the challenges posed by the Chinese film authorities are clear.
Hollywood may be poised to sink its teeth into the Chinese market, but with Australian trails already blazed, local film-makers are well positioned to make a play for the increasingly profitable market to the north.
David May is a fledgling documentary film-maker based in Sydney. Visit his website: DangerouxFilms.com
This story first appeared in the weekly edition of Encore available for iPad and Android tablets. Visit encore.com.au for a preview of the app or click below to download.
