Conquering the people’s republic of cinema1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWith China set to be the biggest film market outside of US, everyone in the movie business wants a slice of its pie, writes Stephanie Bunbury.
What came through most clearly at last week’s inaugural presentation of ScreenSingapore was the bewildering pace of change in the movie industry. Jon Landau, one of the producers of Avatar, kept declaring that all films would be made in 3D within a decade. Michael Werner, the chairman of the much-admired sales agent Fortissimo Films, suggested only half-humorously that soon, all films would have their first run on the internet. Only the hits would show in cinemas.
But while you could (and people did) argue with these predictions, one thing came through with certainty. Before long, the world’s biggest cinema audience will be Chinese. The only reason that isn’t already the case, says Greg Coote, is that China has few cinemas.
Coote, the former head of Village Roadshow, is the chairman of ScreenSingapore and an equity investor based in Los Angeles with runs on the board, including the Matrix series and Avatar.
