A Chinese company has poured US$105 million, the bulk of its production budget, into a major Hollywood production, announced the manager of the company on Wednesday, the fifth day of the Shanghai International Film Festival.
It was the first time that Qiu Huashun, CEO of Dreams of Dragon Pictures had shone a light on the company's deal to co-produce "Cloud Atlas" together with Hollywood studios.
"Cloud Atlas," set for worldwide release on December 6, 2012, is helmed by "The Matrix"'s Wachowski siblings and German director Tom Tykwer. The picture boasts an assembled cast of big names including Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant, as well as China's number one actress Zhou Xun.
Qiu said that the idea for the project was first brought up by American producer Grant Hill when they met one and half years ago. Hill, who has produced several blockbusters such as "The Tree of Life," "Titanic," and "The Thin Red Line", told Qiu that he had read the most exciting screenplay ever – "Cloud Atlas". After pitching the script to Qiu, Grant suggested Qiu's company get involved in the project as well by investing US$180 million.
Tempted though daunted by the proposal, Qiu, after consulting his peers, decided to take the plunge. He hired six lawyers from both China as well as Britain to undertake a six-month negotiation, reducing the investment from its original US$180 million to US$105 million.
Meanwhile, Dreams of Dragon Pictures simultaneously bought the picture's distribution rights for a whopping US$3 million and put up US$5 million to purchase a 9 percent stake in the picture's global revenues and royalties, Qiu said. As a result, his company became the picture's second biggest stakeholder following a large Swiss pharmaceutical company, Qiu added.
In a press release, Dreams of Dragon Pictures has stated that "Cloud Atlas" is the first major international commercial production that a Chinese company has invested in. Throughout the history of Chinese cinema, this particular investment is the largest overseas deal ever brokered by a Chinese company. Dreams of Dragon Pictures claims the move, if successful, can create international distribution channels for China's film industry.