LINE

Text:AAAPrint
Sci-tech

Internet giants in scramble to grab space on big screen(2)

1
2016-03-31 08:45China Daily Editor: Feng Shuang
A scene from the upcoming fantasy epic, Warcraft.
A scene from the upcoming fantasy epic, Warcraft.

The third film, based on Taiwan wuxia (martial arts) author Gu Long's classic novel Moonlight Blade, now adapted into a Tencent computer game, is to be made into a namesake action movie directed by Xu Haofeng, known for his last year's hit Master.

Separately, Guo Jingming, a best-selling novelist and the director of China's highest-grossing franchise, Tiny Times, is teaming up with Tencent to develop his novel Legend of Ravaging Dynasties into a movie, a TV series, an animated production and games.

Explaining why film industry veterans are teaming up with Internet giants, Chen Yingjie, head of the Black Body Studio, which is affiliated to Tencent Pictures, says: "The movie industry is not short of money or talent. So the reason Guo has chosen Tencent Pictures is because Tencent has wide reach."

Tencent's "pan-entertainment" strategy aims to establish a string of entertainment platforms to connect more and more users.

Besides, within the next two years, Tencent plans to team up with leading video-sharing site Bilibili.com to produce at least 20 animated series.

In a related development, Tencent is also seeking alliances in Hollywood.

One example of this is fantasy epic Warcraft, based on a namesake games series.

The movie has been co-financed by American studio Legendary Pictures and Tencent Pictures.

Tencent is, however, not the only Internet giant creating a buzz at the movies. Compatriot Alibaba is also flexing its muscle in the movie market.

After investing in Tom Cruise's action epic Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation, Alibaba Pictures, the film arm of the Internet giant, will reportedly produce an animated movie adapted from My Fair Princess, one of China's most popular TV series.

Award-winning actress Zhao Wei, also the main star of the 1998 series, will direct the film.

Alibaba plans to buy out leading video-streaming site Youku Tudou. This is seen by industry players as an indication that the e-commerce giant wants to have its own platform to release films online.

But as Internet magnates eye the movie market, industry veterans are concerned.

Xu Zheng, the director of the box-office hit Lost in Hong Kong, says that while the Internet can help with movie promotion and marketing, it is not as successful when it comes to developing quality material.

"Big data research cannot always accurately predict when audiences will laugh or cry," Xu says at the 2016 Boao Forum for Asia.

  

Related news

MorePhoto

Most popular in 24h

MoreTop news

MoreVideo

News
Politics
Business
Society
Culture
Military
Sci-tech
Entertainment
Sports
Odd
Features
Biz
Economy
Travel
Travel News
Travel Types
Events
Food
Hotel
Bar & Club
Architecture
Gallery
Photo
CNS Photo
Video
Video
Learning Chinese
Learn About China
Social Chinese
Business Chinese
Buzz Words
Bilingual
Resources
ECNS Wire
Special Coverage
Infographics
Voices
LINE
Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.