CHINA’S DOMESTIC FILMMAKERS FACING INCREASED THREAT FROM U.S.

China’s decision to raise the number of Hollywood films it allows to be shown in the country annually from 20 to 34 and the assorted co-production deals being hammered out between Chinese and American producers will have a detrimental effect on the domestic film industry, filmmakers attending the Shanghai Film Festival agreed. In an interview with Daily Variety, Yu Dong, chairman and CEO of China’s Bona Film Group, commented, “The next five years will be the last chance for Chinese movies” to compete against Hollywood. He predicted that Chinese filmmakers will be forced to turn to the Internet to find an outlet for their work. Earlier this month it was reported that Bona Film Group was in talks with Hollywood studios about developing co-productions. The official China Daily recently reported that News Corp, which owns 20th Century Fox, has made an unspecified investment in Bona, and it quoted Yu as saying, “Now we have a much larger opportunity to bring Chinese films directly into the mainstream market through our relationship with News Corporation.”