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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Wednesday 8 March 2017
Jackie Chan: Hollywood competition
means better China films
LOUISE WATT and the U.S. are expected percent. They receive 40 Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan, delegate to the Chinese
Associated Press to reach a new agree- percent of ticket revenues People’s Political Consultative Conference gestures as he
BEIJING (AP) — Jackie ment this year on how in other markets. speaks at a press conference on the sideline of the CPPCC at
Chan says letting more many foreign films to allow It’s unclear how much the media center in Beijing, Tuesday, March 7, 2017.
Hollywood movies into the into China, now the world’s effort President Donald
Chinese market would the second-biggest movie Trump’s administration will Associated Press
pressure Chinese filmmak- market after North Amer- put into promoting Holly-
ers to make better films. ica. An expanded quota wood’s interests in China.
China sets a quota on the would mean more com- Trump has been criticized
number of foreign mov- petition for domestic films, by various Hollywood stars
ies allowed to be shown in which last year accounted and fired off his own insults
the country, trying to fend for 58 percent of the total at others.q
off a cinematic wave that box office, or 26.7 billion
could swamp local film- yuan ($3.8 billion).
makers and loosen the rul- In 2012, then-Vice Presi-
ing Communist Party’s grip dent Xi Jinping and then-
on culture. U.S. Vice President Joe
However, competition can Biden negotiated a five-
be good, Chan said. year deal to allow 34 for-
“It is this pressure that eign films to be shown in
makes our filmmakers work Chinese cinemas each
harder and shoot better year on a revenue-sharing
films,” Chan told report- basis. State media reports
ers at a news conference have suggested that a
in Beijing on Tuesday. “If new deal could see the
we had shot our own films quota increased by 10 films
behind closed doors with- or more.
out any competition, we In addition to the quota, a
wouldn’t have had the handful of extra Hollywood
growth in box office we movies were let in last year
have today.” to try to boost a disappoint-
The Hong Kong action star ing slowdown in box office
is a member of the official receipts.
advisory body to the na- Apart from expanding
tional legislature, which is the quota, Hollywood ex-
meeting this week in the ecutives hope to increase
Chinese capital. their share of ticket sales in
Negotiators from China China from the current 25
