4:15 PM - 5:15 PM
Session A:
China – Filmmaking on the Mainland and in World Cinema
The creative experience of China is overwhelmingly evident in the world film culture. The film industry in China, along with films being produced by expatriate Chinese in the United States and in Europe, now represent a strong part of the greater world entertainment experience. It is a fascinating and enlightening process to witness because it is not simply a national industry putting its identifiable mark on a world marketplace, but rather, a subtle cultural experience finding its way into the cinematic form. Chinese film makers, producers, directors as well as actors are everywhere in the film industry, from producing low budget independent films in Beijing to blockbuster films in Hollywood. In this session, we welcome a group of film makers who represent this wide range of interests and experience.
Peter Shiao, founder, Celestial Pictures and Ionic Worldwide Studios
Hong Xie (Hunter Xie), Leading Chinese Film Director, Beijing
Luo Yen, Producer, Writer & Actor, "Pavilion of Women"
Lisa Atkinson, Director, Soliton Images, LLC
Jinshu "John" Zhang, Partner, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Moderator
Additional speakers to be announced
Luo Yan, a highly popular actor in China, was twice nominated for the "Hundred-Flower
Award," China’s Oscar equivalent, for the films "The Student Dormitory" and "The Girl in Red." She got her BA in Shanghai Drama Institute in China and MFA in Boston University. She produced, wrote and starred in "Pavilion of Women," the Universal (Universal Focus) release film based on the book by Nobel Prize winning author, Pearl S. Buck, of the same name. "Pavilion of Women" was shot in English on location in China with Willem Dafoe as the male lead. The film was produced by her company, Silver Dream Productions. The film was also successfully distributed by Shanghai Moonstone International, a distribution company owned by Luo Yan since 1995, in 888 theaters in China and received the highest box office record in China co-production film this year. Due to the film’s success, Luo Yan is starting a film marketing and distribution company in China, "Moonstone China," which is picking one or two American film titles to release later this year. The next project in development for Luo Yan and Silver Dream Productions will be "Bamboo Circle" a feature about an OSS mission in China during the WWII. John Zhang is an Of Counsel in the Los Angeles office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, a full-service international law firm. Zhang has served as lead corporate counsel on numerous mergers,
acquisitions, private placements and public offerings of securities, and other sophisticated business transactions involving a full spectrum of firms ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Having received his education from some of the most prestigious Chinese and American schools, Zhang also has extensive experience assisting clients in effectively conducting business in cross-cultural settings. Zhang’s additional areas of experience include entertainment and technology matters. Fluent in Chinese, he is frequently quoted in American and Chinese media on various legal issues and a frequent speaker to business delegations from Asia. Zhang graduated from the University of California at Berkeley law school; earned two graduate degrees from the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Hawaii; was a Graduate Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China; and earned his undergraduate degree from the Beijing University, Beijing, China.Peter Shiao is a media entrepreneur and producer of films and television. He is a founder and director of convergence entertainment company Ionic Worldwide Studios, a founder of Los Angeles based film production company Celestial Pictures, and a founding advisor to Softbank backed Internet company Reelplay.com. Prior to his pursuits in the entertainment industry, Shiao enjoyed a career in public policy as a political appointee and pubic interest lobbyist. In late 1999, Peter with partner former Tristar Pictures Chairman Mike Medavoy formed Ionic Worldwide Studios to produce, distribute, and deploy interactive content across existing and new media platforms. Prior to founding Ionic, Peter actively produced and developed movie and television projects under his production banner Celestial Pictures. Atop the list of projects that Peter developed and produced is RESTLESS, a romantic comedy released theatrically in the United States and internationally in the summer and fall of 2000. Shot entirely on location in Beijing using both Western and Eastern actors and crew, RESTLESS overcame every logistical, language, cultural and political barrier to become the first official US-China film co-production in history. RESTLESS is the first film of its kind that will be distributed in China outside government quotas and onerous taxes due to its special status. Many studios have followed suit since using this unique approach. Peter’s other notable credits include CHARLIE APANA, a 1920 Hawaiian detective story attached to Chow Yun-Fat which Peter conceptualized, developed and is attached to produce with John Woo’s Columbia based Lion Rock. Peter is especially proud to have developed his father’s Chinese fantasy novel, THE IMMORTALS, as an English language television show with Lions Gate. Other films created under the Celestial Banner include: Debut, a teen hip-hop story completed in 1999, and Persona Non-Grata, a PBS election year special on campaign finance reform. Before starting Celestial Pictures, Peter convinced the Chinese government to let him produce the 1995 Shanghai International Film Festival as the only venue for international film trade in the People's Republic of China. The concurrent US - China Film Industry Conference also organized by Shiao was successful in spearheading a number of important intellectual property rights and entertainment co-venture initiatives that set the ground for substantial media activities in China. Peter is the former director and chief to the Select Senate Committee on the Entertainment Industry, Special Senate Committee on the Pacific Rim, the Senate Special Task Force on Re-building Los Angeles, and the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance, Claims and Corporations in the California Legislature. Prior to his work in the California Legislature, Peter worked in Washington, DC as a public interest lobbyist for the City of Los Angeles, a congressional aide, and director of communications for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center where he oversaw federal mediation of Black/Korean tensions in South Central Los Angeles. Peter received his bachelor’s degree from UCLA in Political Science/Mass communications. He was a recipient of the prestigious Senate Fellowship where he also completed graduate work in public policy. Peter currently sits on various boards, including the internet start-up REELPLAY.Com and is on the advisory committee of the Asia Society. He loves Chinese literature and makes his home in Venice Beach, California.
Hong Xie (Hunter Xie), Leading Chinese Film Director, Beijing: By all accounts, Hong Xie (Hunter Xie) ranks easily among the top ten best-known directors in China, where he enjoys the best box office record among all the movie directors. Xie boasts over ten blockbuster films and dozens of hit television series, which were great commercial successes throughout China and other parts of Asia. Five of his films were then No. 1 in box office revenue throughout China and he is widely hailed in China as the best-selling director of all times. His works are known to almost every household in China as well as in some other parts of Asia. According to the statistics, his films have grossed well over three hundred million ticket sales. Born to the family of a renowned play director, actor and theatrical educator, Xie began his art training in earnest at a tender age. His stage career actually started at age six when his exceptional acting talent was discovered. By age 12 he was a guest broadcaster at a national radio station. At the age of 18, he was the only one selected from thousands of eager candidates from his region to join the military as a professional play actor. By age 20 he was already playing leading roles and was promoted to a stage director and playwright. It was during this period that he wrote his first play, Road to Brilliance. The play was presented at the annual national military theatrical festival and selected to be adapted to a full-length feature movie by August 1st Studio, one of the most powerful film studios in the country. He placed first out of twenty applicants selected from a pool of over 30,000 participants countrywide in the national college entrance examination in the summer of 1979 and was admitted to the Department of Film and Television Production of the Chinese Central Academy of Drama. This prestigious academy has produced such international movie stars as Gong Li (Chairwoman of the Review Committee at the latest Berlin International Film Festival), Xia Yu ("Best Actor" award recipient at Venice International Film Festival), Jiang Wen (recipient of the "Board of Adjudicators Award" at the Cannes International Film Festival), and Zhang Ziyi (the supporting actress in 2001 Oscar nominee for "Best Picture," Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon). A well-recognized honor student, Xie was elected to chair the College Students Association in Beijing and the Student Association of his school. Xie has directed world-famous plays such as Die Without a Burial Place written by French writer Jean-Paul Sartre, The Peer Gynt by Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Johan Ibsen and The Mousetrap by British writer Agatha Christie. He directed and wrote the play The Old Town God's Temple, for which he won nine awards, including "Best Director," "Best Play," and "Best Writing," at the Chinese Play Awards Ceremony. Xie’s first novel titled The Kung Fu Heroes was written in a new genre of warrior theme. This was the first novel of its kind ever published after the Great Cultural Revolution. Its two million copies in first printing were immediately sold out after first hitting the market. Xie has also become one of the most influential voices for movie critiques and reviews. Upon release of his movies, Zhang Yimou, Xie’s college classmate and another world-renowned director, often would invite Xie to comment on the new release and share his insights. Xie has composed and written the lyrics for many songs in his films and TV series, several of which songs have won national awards. Since the 1990’s when the Chinese film industry threw open its door to the outside world, Xie has traveled extensively in Europe and the United States and participated in many international film festivals. He has done a lot of researches on many directors in the U.S. and other countries and their works. He has a keen eye for the subtle differences between American and Chinese movies and pays special attention to Hollywood movie styles and the requisite elements for great commercial successes. Presently, Xie is making finishing touches to a screenplay, which has been written particularly with American and international audiences in mind. Actively seeking collaborative partners in the U.S., Xie expects to become yet another Chinese director with a household name recognition this side of the Pacific