The new slate is a massive step up from the incremental additions it has made to its production lineup since last year when it boarded the Wong Kar-wai-produced “Ferryman.”
It said that the slate represents a mix of original concepts — “Zhengtu”,“Storming 30 Years” and ”No Other Love” – as well as movies that are either remakes or based on previously established properties. Its Renny Harlin-directed “Legend of the Ancient Sword” is based on a property that has already been shot as a TV series, and carries the alternative title “Sword of Legends 2.” Others include “Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossom,” “The legend of Zu 2” and visual effects blockbuster “Asura..” The lineup also includes youth-skewing “Qi Huan Zhi Lv” and “Qing He Male College.”
Other previously announced projects and investments include “The Heroic Age”, “Ferry Man 2”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”, “Star Trek Beyond” and “REAL.” It expects to release “Ferry Man,” “Peach Blossom” and “Ao Jiao Yu Pian Jian” this year or in 2017.
It also unveiled a sharply expanded number of partner companies; producers and companies built around upcoming stars. They include: HS Gala Pictures, Ruyi Films, Ningxia Film Group, Zhenjian Pictures, Filmko Pictures, Hehe Pictures, Cheng Xiang Films, Black Ant Flim, Straw Bear Film Production, Phoenix Legend Films and Sun Entertainment Culture.
The company sees itself as a pioneer of integration between the traditional film industry and the Internet said that it has a three pronged strategy: develop an integrated industry value chain; building and export scripts which apply Internet-related techniques; and optimizing platform services.
The company, which has share listings in Hong Kong and Singapore separate from the Alibaba parent company, now has interests which stretch from online ticketing technology to a minority share stake in Dadi, China’s second largest private-sector cinema chain.
Source: Variety by Patrick Frater