Latest update October 21st, 2015 12:41 PM
Producer Josh Dong Leads The Trend In Chinese-Korean Co-productions
Josh Dong, co-founder and President of C2M Media Group, is a producer in ko-productions like A WEDDING INVITATION (Oh Ki-hwan, 2013), MISS GRANNY (Leste Chen, 2015), THE PEACEFUL ISLAND (Chang Youn-hyun, 2015), MAKING FAMILY (Jo Jin-Mo, 2015), and CRYING OUT LOVE IN THE CENTER OF THE WORLD (Kwak Jae-yong, shooting), etc. C2M is also working with American producers in HIGH SPEED and NEUROMANCER, etc..
Josh Dong shares with readers of THE CHINESE FILM MARKET about his experience of working with Korean filmmakers and advice to producers and developers.
On why C2M started to work with Korean filmmakers in 2011
C2M was founded in 2011 and made a strategic decision to work with Korean production companies. This decision was based on the fact that China’s listed film companies like Huayi Brothers and Bona Film Group had already dominated the cinematic cooperation between Mainland China and Hong Kong; also, Chinese production companies began to work with American companies at the time, but mostly in a financial aspect. Korean filmmakers are good at making genre films, so we decided to make co-productions with them. Our first film was A WEDDING INVITATION, a project we started in 2011 with CJ Entertainment. There were very few co-productions between China and South Korea – most were financial co-operations. A WEDDING INVITATION was different. Thanks to producer Jonathan H. Kim and Paolo Lee, one of my C2M partners, we got a great kick-off.
On building mutual trust
C2M was one of the earliest Chinese production companies that showed interest in A WEDDING INVITATION project, at a time when people thought it was a big risk. C2M believed in the film’s motif and story line, and a decision to co-produce this film with CJ Entertainment was made within three or four days. The film later earned the highest B.O. among the Chinese-Korean co-prods by the year 2013. This satisfying collaboration led to a series of ensuing cooperation. To work with CJ Entertainment was a monumental start for C2M.
On collaborating with Korean screenwriters
In the Chinese-Korean co-productions C2M created, some scripts were rewritten for the China market from Korean scripts; some were developed by the director’s team; some were written by a Korean writer and then rewritten by a Chinese writer.
The collaboration can be divided into 2 parts: a Korean writer writes the first draft and then the Chinese writers will localize it. One example for localization: in the Chinese version of MISS GRANNY, the old ladies gather to play Mahjong, a quite local act, and different from its original Korean version.
It is not always necessary to have the Korean writer live in China and write, because Korean writers are better at structure, plots and genre film writing while the Chinese writers have the natural ability to cater for the local tastes.
Filling the gaps in the Chinese film industry
In the current Chinese film market, there is a severe lack of good and productive production companies – in South Korea, there are about 3,000, while in the U.S., there are over 30,000. One of the most urgent problems to solve in the China market is the shortage of good content – not many production companies are willing to spend time to develop quality projects. This has historic reasons – the major studios used to be state-owned enterprises and the budget used to come from the authorities, so private film companies are still learning to function.
Meanwhile, the revenue sharing-model is also a problem – in South Korea, the production company can get about 20% of the B.O. revenue and some American ones 50%, while in China, it is zero. This can be a huge incentive for film companies to develop good projects. But in recent years, some of the
C2M thus decided to use the revenue-sharing model with its production partners. Also, C2M recruits a number of young minds to nurture creative producers in co-productions.
On what we can learn from Korean filmmakers and the Korean market
South Korea has very segmented markets: the technical market, such as VFX, explosion team, and make-up business, which all tend to be Asia’s best; Korean audiences are very familiar with genre films, such as crime, action and thriller – genre films can be less celebrity-based. If a market can accept more genre films, it will be less dependent on famous stars and established directors – younger creative people can have more opportunities.
Korean filmmakers are more capable of developing films, some as professionals as the American filmmakers that we work with. Chinese writers tend to discuss about the story and its creativity, while Korean writers cares more about the story’s perspective, point of view – they care more about whether the audience will be interested in that POV. Korean writers are also quite aware of the commercial elements of genre films – in this respect, the Chinese writers need to learn fast. When developing a film project, we need to be clear about its appeals and charms.
C2M is now nurturing different producers: IP producers and executive producers to develop good scripts and make them into good films.
Some advice for Korean filmmakers
Chinese filmmakers and Korean filmmakers have very different ways of working, so in the earlier stages, we encountered some problems, but now things are changing.
With the success of the Chinese remake of MISS GRANNY, even directors like Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook and Yun Je-gyun are considering making films in China. Bigger budget films can be realized in this market.
To enter the China market, finding a suitable local partner is key – nowadays, lots of companies are willing to offer investment, but when problems happen, they are not necessarily willing or able to solve them. So more research and communication should be done before signing the agreement.
The Chinese market is more complex than it used to be. The bubble of rom-com will soon burst. Gone are the days that a so-so co-production script can get a go in studios. To work with Chinese companies in co-productions, to prepare great scripts is essential.
Besides, some of the Chinese companies reach out for famous Korean directors due to their fame, not their style – so awkward things can happen when a renowned art film director was asked to make a fast-paced comic film for a market he knew little about.
It is noticed that those who can speak both Chinese and Korean have a huge advantage in co-productions. I can see that some Korean directors, producers, screenwriters and studio employees are learning Chinese now.
Back to filmmaking itself, to get to know each other before co-produce a film is the priority – what are both sides’ edge, pursuits and pace. Script is always the fundamental thing.
Besides working with famous directors, C2M will keep supporting talented and devoted younger directors. We will help them build a solid script and an efficient crew. China’s film market will open up sooner or later.
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