Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.
China has the technical talent to make great films as well.
Hong Kong Director, John Woo, thinks he can prove to Hollywood that China can make first-rate films, too.
Lin Chi-ling, Chow Yun-fat, and Tony Leung have committed to working with John Woo to make “Battle of Red Cliff” about a key war in 208 that determined China’s earlier political geography.
The Chinese government wants the flick released during the lead up to the 2008 Beijing
Games as a showcase for Chinese history.
Besides the first-rate actors, John Woo wants to show the world that China has the technical talent to make great films as well.
The budget is ‘under $50 million.”
Woo hopes to ‘educate foreign audiences about Chinese culture.’
It has been my experience that audiences do NOT want to be educated, they want to be entertained.
China may indeed have the technical talent and the actors and actresses of Hollywood caliber…but, it will be a while before they have the audiences…or I should say the English-speaking audiences.
But then, I may be pretty narrow-minded about this – thinking the US audience is the only one that matters. One of the best movies I have ever seen was the Chinese film ‘Together.’
Perhaps John Woo can pull this off after all.
What do you think?
I think that there have been a few Hollywood calibur Chinese films, and it would not be farfetched at all. Besides the fact that the average American audience likes to be entertained with mindless vilence, fart jokes, and bare breasts, I’d like to think that stories with strong plots, great acting, and highly developed characters can still sometimes succeed.
Maybe it won’t be a huge blockbuster, but I feel that all but a few of the best films are.
Example of excellent foreign films that were pretty successful in the US include:
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Amelie
The Pianist
and others