China's first fully funded Hollywood movie is made possible by a partnership with Dick Cook Studios. (Photo : Getty Images)
China has broken boundaries after gaining its first ever fully funded Hollywood flick through a partnership with Dick Cook Studios.
According to China.org, the film adaptation of John Flanagan's "Rangers Apprentice" becomes the first Hollywood film to be funded solely by Chinese investors.
Teaming up with the production studio owned by former Disney executive Dick Cook, the $120-million project is set to showcase the best-selling fantasy fiction from the Australian author under the direction of "Crash" helmer and five-time Oscar nominee Paul Haggis.
On Tuesday, Cook told the New York Times that the project had long been in his list for his solo production studio.
According to the outlet, Dick Cook Studios will be bringing more Chinese money into Hollywood thanks to a potent partnership with an entertainment firm in China known as Film Carnival, among others.
"They are the perfect partners as they share our vision of telling great stories for the entire family to be enjoyed across the globe," he said in a statement cited by the Los Angeles Times.
Moreover, Film Carnival explained that while they are the first, they will definitely not be the last to invest in Dick Cook Studios, saying that the deal "will pave the way for other Chinese investors to have the opportunity to invest in Dick Cook Studios motion pictures on an individual basis."
"Rangers Apprentice" is a 12-book series that follows the story of Will, an orphan who becomes an apprentice to a ranger named Halt to protect his fantastical world from different threats that come their way.
The first book in the series titled "The Ruins of Gorlan" showcases how Will gets accustomed to using the bow and arrow, which is considered to be a ranger's secret weapon and uses it to help Halt prevent an assassination attempt of the King.
Other books in the saga include "The Burning Bridge," "The Icebound Land," "The Oakleaf Bearers," "The Sorcerer of the North," "The Siege of Macindaw," "Erak's Ransom," "The Kings of Clonmel," "Halt's Peril," "The Emperor of Nihon-Ja," "The Lost Stories" and "The Royal Ranger."
