If you didn’t know already Alibaba founder Jack Ma just became the richest man in China after going public on the NYSE. Now movie producer Janet Yang (The People vs. Larry Flynt) is in the beginning stages of setting up an international co-production focusing on the business savvy CEO.
The tentative title is Alibaba (creative!) and the script was penned by Bruce Feirstein. I guess spending two hours in a dark room watching a man get incredibly rich is biopic worthy. Read more about this here.
Talpa, the Netherlands based production group involved with such hits as The Voice and Utopia has just made a deal with Tencent to develop reality based programming for the Chinese market. Already involved in the Chinese version of The Voice, they will focus on creating non-scripted projects for Tencent’s online video platform.
I really think a show like Real Concubines of Chongqing or So You Think You Can Race Pigeons could be a huge hit. But in all seriousness many “non-scripted” series are quick to get stale and disappear from many network lineups.
Tencent is currently one of the largest internet companies in the world, with hands in everything from instant messaging to micro-blogging. This push towards TV and film production is becoming quite common among major internet companies and should stimulate China’s output as more restrictions are being placed on foreign content.
Matt Damon and Bryan Cranston could be lining up to climb Zhang Yimou’s upcoming Legendary Pictures production of The Great Wall. The Bourne trilogy star is in talks for the lead in the China-themed thriller, while Breaking Bad‘s Cranston would play the villain. Reports indicate that Cranston is only interested if he plays opposite Damon.
The Great Wall is a supernatural thriller with a major China component. Damon’s participation is still questionable, as he’s shooting Blade Runner director Ridley Scott’s The Martian, with another Bourne installment on the slate after that. Go here for the full story.
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