China's Huading Awards will be held in the U.S. for the first time next month when ChinaGlobal Talents Media Group (GTMG) and Don Mischer Productions shoot the Huading Film Awards show at the Ricardo Montalban Theater on June 1.
It’s the latest sign of a growing closeness between the world's biggest and second-biggest film markets. In 2013, 11 of the top 20 films at the Chinese box office were U.S. films.
"The Chinese love movies, and American films are a major part of the Chinese cinematic explosion," said Don Mischer, who has previously produced the Oscars, the Emmys and President Barack Obama’s inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial.
"Ten new movie screens open in China every day, and last year the Chinese box office grew more than 35 percent, a testament to the world's fastest-growing movie market," he said.
The bilingual award show will be broadcast in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and on the International Chinese Network (ICN) and will present awards for both Chinese and international films.
The show is expected to reach an audience of up to 600 million viewers through broadcasts on more than 60 TV channels in China alone, and an additional 400 million viewers online, the organizers said.
The awards are selected by the public in China, with a projected 80 million fans voting through polls and surveys that will honor the best films, directors, producers and actors in the industry.
Categories will feature the presentation of separate awards for Chinese and global films, including Movie of the Year, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Song, Emerging Actor/Actress, Animated Film, Costume Design and a Lifetime Achievement award.
Last year’s event was held in Macau in October and was attended by Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage, Quentin Tarantino, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Perry, Jeremy Irons and Sam Worthington, and featured a live performance by Avril Lavigne. That event was also co-produced by Mischer.