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BEIJING, Sept. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- It's a work in progress, but the Chinese and U.S. movie industries are joining forces to become a global phenomenon. Among the trailblazers bringing Chinese glamour to Hollywood is actress Li Bingbing. Meanwhile, U.S. actors are increasingly coming to China to make films.
Tom Cruise's star continues to burn brightly here in China. 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' raked in more than half a billion yuan in its first week, and is expected to double that over its run. It's the latest in a series of hook-ups between Hollywood and China, not just in investment, but also in casting.
This commercial triumph follows last year's U.S./Chinese co-production 'Transformers: Age of Extinction', which surpassed 'Avatar' to score the record take for a foreign film at the Chinese box office. Paramount Pictures partnered with Chinese movie studio, '1905 Dot Com', shot some of the scenes in China, and cast Chinese actress Li Bingbing in one of the lead roles.
"My face and my being represent Chinese culture. In any Hollywood movie, my performance speaks for my Chinese roots. I think gradually more people will get to know China through my films. What I show on-screen is not only something contemporary but also what Chinese culture has given to its people in the past five thousand years," Actress Li Bingbing said.
After working on several Hollywood films such as 'Forbidden Kingdom', 'Resident Evil' and the 'Transformers' franchise, Li has become the most-talked about Chinese actress in Hollywood.
"I think Chinese actors have to be in an international market. We have to step out of our comfort zone and go overseas. That's because the market needs China and the audiences there. I never planned to be an actress when I grew up, but thanks to the growing film market in China, I got my opportunity to do something very exciting and challenging," Actress Li Bingbing said.
U.S. filmmakers have realized that Chinese glamour adds to the global appeal of its action and superhero franchises - from actresses Zhou Xun in 'Cloud Atlas', Qing Xu playing Bruce Willis' wife in the movie 'Looper' , and Wang Xueqi starring in Marvel's "Iron Man", to the luminescent Shanghai skyscrapers in "Skyfall".
Meanwhile, Hollywood actors are coming to China, such as Nicolas Cage appearing in HIS first Chinese-made action movie, 'Outcast'. It's an English-language film set in 12th-Century China, and was released simultaneously in China and the U.S. early this year.
"I want your culture to find something in me that I have not found yet, and hopefully improve my work. I'm always learning. I always want to learn. I consider myself a student of film performance. If a Chinese actor or Chinese director brings out something in me that's new for me, I wanna go there," Actor Nicolas Cage said.
These trends were explicitly acknowledged at the recent 88th anniversary of the TCL Chinese movie theater in Hollywood. Putting their hand and footprints in cement for the occasion were Huang Xiaoming and Zhao Wei - the leads of the 2015 movie 'Hollywood Adventures' - along with director Justin Lin. The film is about a young man who goes from China to Hollywood to find his girlfriend.
"I'm very proud to be the first-ever Chinese actor to leave my imprints here, and I just want to say that being able to make 'Hollywood Adventures' here in America has been a great experience for me, and I think there is just such a great alliance between the Chinese film industry and the American film industry, and I just hope the spirit of collaboration will continue for the future," Actor Huang Xiaoming said.
Even Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti got in on the act:
"Hollywood is open for business again, and we will roll out the red carpet to help you shoot your next co-production right here in Tinseltown," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
With a projected growth of 30 percent in coming years, the Chinese box office has become singularly alluring for Hollywood. Of course, as the countries' respective movie industries join forces, different mindsets will come into play, but the process is well underway.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
