“Wolf Warrior 2” almost singlehandedly rescued the Chinese box office this year, as the high-octane hostage action flick blasted its way to more than $860 million in China. And on Nov. 1, film leaders from both sides of the Pacific can see the blockbuster for themselves at the Asia Society’s U.S.-China Film Summit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
The eighth annual event will be held from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on the first day of November, followed by a gala at 6 p.m. New Motion Picture Association of America President Charles Rivkin will give the opening keynote, and Miao Xiaotian, president of the China Film Co-Production Corporation, will also be a spotlight speaker.
The Asia Society will also honor two notable Chinese film pioneers at the event, Bona Film Group Chairman and CEO Yu Dong, whose firm was the first Chinese film company to list on the Nasdaq, and writer, director and actor Feng Xiaogang, who has had two films submitted as China’s entries for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
The summit will host numerous other speakers from China and Hollywood including Ellen Eliasoph, President and CEO, Perfect Village Entertainment Group, Tomas Jegeus, President, Fox International Productions, Jie Lian, Chairman, Perfect Village Entertainment Group, Wendy Reeds, Executive Vice President, Lionsgate, Yu Jianhong, Vice President, Beijing Film Academy, Chloe Zhao, Filmmaker, “The Rider” and “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” and Catherine Zhang, Director of International Content Creation, Youku Tudou.
Chinese investment into Hollywood has dramatically slowed over the last year as the country’s regulators have cracked down, but it remains an important market for the film industry — and its growing box office has made successes out of domestic disappointments like “Warcraft” and “xXx: Return of Xander Cage.” And entertainment execs on both sides of the ocean continue to look for ways to maximize both markets.
“Despite economic and political challenges in the past year, Hollywood and China have forged ahead with new models of collaboration,” Asia Society Executive Vice President Tom Nagorski said in a statement. “Asia Society’s U.S.-China Film Summit enhances these ties by connecting industry and cultural leaders to share ideas and celebrate pioneers in international film.”