Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., based in Santa Monica, CA, is in talks to produce a Chinese-language sequel of its magic-themed “Now You See Me” films, which were popular in China after first screening in 2013. Shooting has already begun on a Chinese spinoff of its “Step Up” dance franchise.
Sony Pictures Television, meanwhile, plans to make a trilogy of Chinese-language films based on its thriller series “Chosen,” which has streamed on Sony’s online Crackle network since 2013. Huang Dai, a Beijing-based executive from Sony Pictures Television, said the series will give Chinese viewers shows with “the quality and style of American TV drama.”
Sony already scored one hit with “Apartment for Newlyweds,” a Chinese-language remake of the 1990s American sitcom it produced for NBC, “Mad About You.”
The remakes are being produced as joint ventures with Chinese companies, exempting them from government quotas on foreign films and TV content. Buyers include China’s video streaming sites, including Alibaba Group’s Youku Tudou, and the iQiyi site owned by search engine giant Baidu Inc.
These sites and others are competing for fresh original content to boost their paid subscriptions.
Buying battle-tested Hollywood films and TV shows with a record of success—with ready-made plots, characters and narrative arcs—is seen as a quick way to bulk up on offerings.
The writers will also make changes to ensure the shows pass muster with Chinese censors, who can take a dim view of dark, violent content. In the original series, a lawyer and father are drawn into a bloody killing game. In the Chinese edition, the man’s family works together to save one another by “courage and wisdom,” Ms. Dou said.
“We hope that the show can have a positive ending, instead of as dark as the original,” Ms. Dou said.
“But we will keep the parts that reflect great imagination and skill in the original shows.”
iQiyi aims to offer the first installment to its more than 20 million paid online video subscribers later this year, she said.
In addition to action yarns, Chinese audiences go for romance and comedies, according to EntGroup, a Beijing-based film research firm. That may help explain the popularity of “Apartment for Newlyweds.”
The American version starred Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser as a newlywed New York couple. The 30-episode Chinese version, set in Shanghai, has garnered more than 350 million views on Alibaba’s Youku.com, according to the click numbers shown on the streaming site.
“We are already working on other similar projects based on foreign formats and would like more opportunities in the future to work with Hollywood professionals,” said Hao Derong, deputy manager of Shanghai-based China Syndication Entertainment, the show’s Chinese production house.
On the cinema front, shooting began in Beijing last month on a Chinese-language “Step Up” film, which will spice up the dancing action with martial arts elements. The film is a co-production of Lions Gate and two Chinese firms, Infinity Pictures, a production outfit backed by Chinese private-equity media empire China Media Capital, and Yue Hua Entertainment.
Lions Gate is also in talks with Beijing-based Leomus Pictures International to produce a Chinese “Now You See Me” film.
The first two films in the series struck a chord with Chinese audiences, who have shown a fondness for magic and gambling themes, said Qiu Jie, Leomus’s chief executive. The first film had scenes in Las Vegas, and the sequel had action in the Chinese gambling mecca of Macau. “Now You See Me 2” raked in 638 million yuan ($92.8 million) in China, beating its U.S. box office of $65 million.
Remakes of hit shows have a history of becoming popular in other markets, including the U.S. hit comedy “The Office,” which was adapted from the British original, and the world-wide popularity of the music talent shows based on the original “Pop Idol” in Great Britain.
iQiyi’s Ms. Dou says the trend is still in its infancy in China, and likely to grow. Adapting “Chosen,” she said, is “the first step for us.”
Source: Wall Street Journal | Photo: THR