The chief executive of DreamWorks Animation was in Beijing on Friday to attend a news conference announcing a China film project called "Tibet Code," an adventure movie based on a popular Chinese book series set in ninth-century Tibet.
The project is a co-production of Oriental DreamWorks -- a Chinese joint venture with Glendale-based DreamWorks Animation -- and Chinese investors, including China Film Group, the nation's main film distributor.
Seeking to tap into China's rapidly growing film market -- the second-largest in the world, after the U.S. -- DreamWorks Animation unveiled its Chinese joint venture last year to operate a studio in Shanghai that will produce animated movies and other entertainment for the Chinese and global market. The studio plans to co-produce the third installment of the "Kung Fu Panda" series, which has been a big hit in China.
At Friday's news conference, Han Sanping, chairman of China Film Group, said "Tibet Code" would help export China's culture and values to the world, a long-term strategic goal of the Chinese government.
Katzenberg, who was visiting China to attend this week's premiere of his company's "The Croods" there, was not available for comment late Friday afternoon. A company spokeswoman declined to comment on the announcement about "Tibet Code."