China’s Huading Awards, a vote-based awards show that celebrates top Chinese talent in athletics and entertainment, is getting a big Hollywood boost in its attempt to establish itself as China’s answer to the Oscars.
Quentin Tarantino, Nicolas Cage, Sam Worthington, Jeremy Irons, and Mathew Perry have all landed in Macau to attend the awards gala that will be held Monday night at Sheldon Adelson’s Venetian Casino in the former Portuguese colony turned Chinese entertainment enclave. Event insiders say Nicole Kidman also landed in Macau this morning and will make a turn on the red carpet. Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai and Jackie Chan will be representing the Chinese industry, as will Booboo Stewart (Twilight, X-Men) and other upcoming Asian stars.
Established in 2007 by Beijing-based media company Global Talents Media Group, the Huading Awards are held several times throughout the year at various Chinese destinations, feting stars in all fields. Veteran live-show producer Don Mischer -- producer or director of numerous Academy Award shows, Olympics opening ceremonies, and Super Bowl halftime shows, along with the latest Obama inauguration -- signed on in July to consult on a revamp of the event.
Various Chinese events -- such as the Golden Rooster Awards, the Shanghai Film Festival's Golden Goblet Awards, and Beijing's Tiantian Awards -- are vying for dominance in the live awards space, as the Chinese industry looks to offer its own alternative to the Oscars.
One of Hollywood’s most experienced producers of televised gala events, Mischer said in July that it was the creative freedom of the project that attracted him: “Most television has become kind of bottom-line business, where it's profits and commercials that make the difference. Now I have an opportunity to work on a project I can take real pride in.”
The surprise attendance of top Hollywood names such as Cage, Kidman and Tarantino comes just weeks after industry A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman and Harvey Weinstein, among others, turned out in force at a surprise event in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao, where the country’s leading property and cinema developer Wanda Group announced it would be investing $8.2 billion to build a world-class film studio and entertainment complex.
As Mischer said as he was gearing up to work on the Huading Awards, ““Everyone -- movie stars and musical artists -- in L.A. that I work with wants to establish a connection with their fans in China.”
He also added that after the Macau event, he plans to collaborate with Global Talents to bring the Huading show to Los Angeles in May 2014.