China Movie Channel, HBO Announce Partnership For Two More Standalone Martial Arts Movies
The Chinese film industry has some pretty big goals in mind, some of which are the subejct of discussion held at the annual China Night Party in France where buyers are looking up titles to suit their brands. The business end of things here also extends to HBO Asia and China Movie Channel who are, according to an exclusive report over at The Hollywood Reporter, are pairing once again for two more martial arts titles following Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Ying.
“We were very pleased with how our first collaboration turned out, so we are very happy to be partnering with HBO on two more high-quality TV movies that celebrate Chinese culture and history,” Zhang Ling, vice president of China Movie Channel, told THR at the Cannes film festival.
Zhang declined to share further details about the new projects. But, like their predecessors, each film is expected to be a standalone story exploring the life of a legendary martial arts master from Chinese history — together, the movies will form a loose series, or portfolio, of martial-arts sagas.
“We are looking to partner with more experienced entertainment companies from around the world,” Zhang said. “These collaborations give our talents and creative teams an opportunity to learn from Hollywood production experience, and they also help us share Chinese culture with the world in very professional way.”
Both ‘Qing-era’ titles, Beggar So and Wong Kei-Ying, were directed by action veteran Guo Jian-yong (Red Cliff, The Transporter) and aired exclusively in mainland China and across 23 Asian markets, as well as through HBO Asia and pan-Asian channel, RED by HBO. Both films are also available on VoD in the U.S., and if you’re looking, Google Play would be a swell place to start.
