Move over, Jianbing Man; China could soon be getting its first real superhero movie.
Joe and Anthony Russo, the directing duo famous for their work on the Captain America franchise, are turning their talents to Chinese-language films.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Russo brothers have partnered with Beijing based United Entertainment Partners, and Chinese private-equity fund, HDQH, to finance a startup studio, Anthem & Song. Quoting an unidentified source, the story claims the Chinese financiers are prepared to spend $200 to $300 million to co-finance the studio’s initial run of films.
The Russo brothers say they have no plans to direct Chinese-language films, but instead hope to develop and produce two Chinese films through Anthem & Song by the end of 2017.
The Russo’s developed their business venture through the nurturing of relationships, called guanxi (关系) in Chinese. “We made a lot of friends on that trip and just fell in love with Chinese cinema,” said Joe Russo. “We made a bunch of personal trips back to Beijing to nurture and grow those relationships in the film business there.”
The Russo’s were quick to praise the merits of Chinese culture. “China has such a rich cultural history and tradition of storytelling, and also this huge domestic market that is undergoing explosive growth,” said Anthony Russo. “So they’re at this really interesting moment of exploring what their domestic cinema is, and how it relates to international cinema.”
The Russo’s already have a short list of collaborators they want to work with. “We’re trying to engage Jiang Wen,” said Joe Russo. “We love what he did with Gone With the Bullets. We’ve also sat down with Ning Hao (Breakup Buddies) and we’re talking with Wu Jing (The Breakup Guru) about a couple of projects.”
“What Joe and I get excited by, creatively, is exploring all of the different forms of filmmaking,” explained Anthony Russo. “So this is sort of like a new venue for us to explore Chinese cinema and see where it takes us. It’s a very fun creative thing, and it’s made possible by the fact the industry is growing so fast there.”
China’s booming box office has been making headlines around the world, having grown by an amazing 49 percent last year. However, ticket sales have long been mired by accusations of box office tampering that tend to hurt foreign ticket sales. Last year’s box office champion, Monster Hunt, was accused of running “ghost screenings” in which films are shown to an empty theater of seats purchased by the distributor. Recently released Ip Man 3 faced similar accusations.
Another contentious aspect of Chinese filmmaking is that all films released in China must abide by state censor regulations. As authorized by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT), not only can a censor remove scenes from a film to be released in China, but they have the authority to change it at will.
As reported by the Global Times, Chinese film censor Liu Huizhong took offense to a scene from Gasp (2009) that dared to depict Tiananmen Square during an overcast day:
Even though the square only appeared in the background of the movie, Liu could not allow it to pass…
Presenting his worry that it might have some political implications, he convinced the other censors that the tone was too gloomy and that the scene needed to show the prosperity of modern society. The movie was sent back so the studio could make changes.