“If you attend film forums in Shanghai or read policy documents, you can see there is a huge amount of emphasis on creating local, domestic Chinese blockbusters,” she says.
In her book Hollywood Made in China, University of Virginia media professor Aynne Kokas notes that, in policy circles, China’s perceived lack of cultural sway compared to its economic might is called a “cultural trade deficit,” which they are keen to close.
“The stories of China should be well told, voices of China well spread, and characteristics of China well explained,” he told members of the Politburo (which oversees the ruling Communist Party), in a 2014 speech. Beginning in 2012, president Xi Jinping articulated his vision of the “Chinese dream,” which included extending the country’s power through cultural means and promoting Chinese values abroad through mass media. Those players are interested in co-productions like The Great Wall in part because of a larger political agenda, experts say. “What we’re seeing is the emergence of some very powerful players in the Chinese market, and that’s changing things very dramatically.”
“The Hollywood industry has pretty much dominated international film distribution, and, to some extent exhibition, in the wealthy countries for almost 100 years,” Curtin says. And it’s part of a growing trend of Chinese-American collaborations - from Lust Caution to Kung Fu Panda 3 and the upcoming Now You See Me 3 - designed to appeal to a global audience, and raise China’s profile as a film producer and distributor. Though Hollywood has long exported its products to East Asian markets, The Great Wall reverses this dynamic: It’s a blockbuster built to go West. Before 2011, when the project was being developed by American owners, American director Ed Zwick was attached ( The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond) the final product, in theaters today, was helmed by one of China’s most famous filmmakers, Zhang Yimou. Co-produced by the China Film Group and Le Vision Pictures, The Great Wall is the first production from Hong Kong-based Legendary East, a standalone media company affiliated with United States-based Legendary Pictures (owned by Chinese real estate and entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda since 2011). But to dismiss The Great Wall as Hollywood-business-as-usual is to erase the role of Chinese talent and capital in the film’s production.
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