East West Bank’s China chief revealed at the Shanghai International Film Festival that more China-Hollywood collaborations are underway. He added that U.S. firms are now making deals with prospect partners in the country.
Bennett Pozil, the executive vice president and head of corporate banking at East West China, said "the opportunities that [the firm] are involved in at the moment are being dominated by picture-by-picture versus overall larger investment."
Pozil added that cinemagoers are more likely to see what they "saw earlier this year with Hunan/Lionsgate and Huayi/STX."
The Pasedana-based bank led the debt financing for the co-investment deal with Lionsgate and Hunan TV, which is worth $375 million. It was also the sole financier of the STX Entertainment-Huayi Brothers deal involving the co-financing co-production and distribution of 12 to 15 film releases annually.
"That being said, I know that there are companies here that are talking to companies in the U.S. So I'm expecting that there will be more deals that are similar to the ones that we have recently seen," Pozil further remarked.
Currently, East West Bank is co-financing "Hollywood Adventures," which is regarded as the biggest Chinese-language film shot in Los Angeles. Produced by Enlight Media, Sun Seven Stars Entertainment and Justin Lin, the film is also expected to be one of the biggest Chinese films for the summer season.
Apart from this, the bank has financed the upcoming "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," co-produced by Sony Entertainment. It is also working on another U.S.-China co-production: an action adventure to be helmed by Renny Harlin and will star Jackie Chan, Fan Binbing and Johnny Knoxville.
"I think this is just the beginning. Chinese investors and Chinese companies. They've had a few years to study the West, and can figure out in terms of expanding their business internationally, what kind of partner they want to have and what type of projects to invest. They are pretty savvy in terms of what films they want to choose. I think we will continue to see that trend expand," he stressed.
More than film and television content, East West Bank is also eyeing venture in projects involving digital content, new media and other technology-anchored endeavors.