Golden Leaf Pictures and Guangdong Hua Zhi Jie Media announced the signing of a co-production for a feature film to be shot entirely in China. Shanghai Rifles will be produced by Golden Leaf Pictures’ President Gerald Olson who stated: "We are excited to work with Xin Xin Fang and her team to create an adventure based in the historic context of China during the 1870s. HZJ Films has broken new ground by partnering with Golden Leaf Pictures to make American style films that will appeal not only to audiences in China, but also to film lovers throughout the world." Olson has numerous feature film and television credits as a producer, and has served as an executive at New Line Cinema and HBO.
HZJ Film’s Xin Xin Fang stated: "China has nearly 1.4 billion in population which is a huge film market. The advantages of American movies are their perfect combination of high technology production and universal storytelling, while China filmmakers have been focusing on ideological and artistic films. In the future, the most successful film releases will be from Sino-American co-productions.”
Shanghai Rifles is based on a USA written screenplay that will incorporate Chinese elements for distribution in China. This release will feature a star from both the West and China. The American lead role is a former U.S. Marshal who is sent by a USA company to deliver its shipment of rifles. He is joined by his Chinese counterpart on the trail where they encounter Chinese bandits who rob them in transit. Both develop stronger bonds as they must go after their shipment and the bandits.
Dan Nelson, CEO of Golden Leaf Pictures stated: "It is a honor to create a bridge to China by building a successful long-term relationship with HZJ Films and Ms. Fang. David Svec, of indiePlanet Distribution, added: "Our shared vision is to market films produced in China that have high production value, great stories, and the right content, successfully positioned for worldwide distribution."
San Jose City Councilman, Ash Kalra, attended the signing and stated: “San Jose is proud of being home to Golden Leaf Pictures, and the potential of many high quality productions with the partnership with HZJ Films is promising.”