Huayi Brothers for Esquire

November 24, 2011 | Posted in Mainland China,Photoshoot, Tagged
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The brotherhood of Huayi males remains strong, but where did all the girls go?

Huayi Brothers President Wang Zhonglei (center above) brought twelve of the hundred artists of Huayi Brothers for an Esquire photoshoot. Featuring actors (L-R above) Lu Yi, Alec Su, Zhang Hanyun, Deng Chao, Duan Yihong, Du CHun, Li Chen, Feng Shaofeng and Liao Fan opposite female stars (L-R  below) Yao Chen, Huo Siyan, Xu Fan and Ady An.

An interesting note is how few major female stars they have.  After Fan Bingbing, Zhou Xun and Li Bingbing have subsequently left in recent years, Huayi is left without any major film star.  While Yao Chen and Ady An Yixuan have remained largely successful, the female side of Huayi is still missing the star power it once had.  Unlike previous years, this year haven’t seen any major Huayi films starring its own female leads.

More group pictures below the cut. (more…)

Hunan TV and subsidiaries earnings up 4,326%

May 13, 2011 | Posted in Mainland China, Tagged , ,

Forbes China names Hunan TV as the top promoter of China's new stars, including top actresses Zhao Wei and Yang Mi, singers Jane Zhang, Li Yuchun and Zhang Jie, and hosts Xie Na, Wang Han and He Jiong.

In the first quarter of 2011, Hunan TV’s owner company  earned 207 million yuan, up 4,326 percent year-on-year.  It also had a 1,295 percent surge in its 2010 net profit, according to Capital Vue.

Huayi Brothers also had a 76.46% increase in earnings in 2010, and a further in the 263% year-on-year surge in first quarter of 2011 in net profit.

Can we just take a moment and stare at those numbers? How long can the boom last? Is it a dangerous bubble?

Zhou Xun, Huayi, United Nations produce environmentalism comic books

November 16, 2010 | Posted in Mainland China, Tagged , , ,
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Zhou Xun on a recent environmental issue of Fashion Bazzar

Last week, actress Zhou Xun, along with Huayi Brothers and the United Nations, revealed their English- Chinese comic book promoting environmentalism. The first 100,000 copies of the book, featuring 16 popular artists from mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, will be distributed to schools for free.

The project has been a two-year dream of Zhou Xun’s, who has continuously been active in various environmental causes and was named a Champion of the Earth by the U.N. earlier this year for her efforts.

“To me, environmental protection brings me happiness in all aspects of my life. I do not feel it is an obligation, but rather a personal responsibility that leaves me feeling fulfilled. I hope with this comic book, such happiness can be shared with all readers. I also hope children around the world will have the opportunity to read it, so that they will start protecting our Earth and the environment,” Zhou Xun said.

Huayi Brothers President Wang Zhonglei, who was also present at the press release, said that Huayi has also produced a cartoon about environmentalism this year.

sources: china.org.cn ; sohu

Huayi Brothers ft IHQ – when Rain, Lee Dahae, Jang Keunsuk, Kim Taehee and Song Seungheon come to China

Two of the biggest entertainment empires from China and Korea – Huayi Brothers and IHQ – have recently announced a collaboration effort in TV drama production.

“This co-production won’t just be Korean actors filming in China, but really tell the story between Koreans and Chinese. We will film in both countries, and complete post-production in Korea,” said Hao Lin, head of Hao Lin Studios of Huayi Brothers.

Two series are currently in production – spy series “Kung Fu” and modern love story “Autumn Rhapsody.” From the Korean side, “Kong Fu” will star Rain (IHQ), Lee Dahae(IHQ) and Jang Keunsuk (Huayi) and will tell the tale of a Korean-Chinese spy war against Japanese imperialism during WWII (Benji: Ah, yes, if there’s anything to unite China and Korea, it’s anti-Japanese sentiment~). The series is co-produced by the Hao Lin Studios and the Korean Studio that brought you “Iris.”

“Autumn Rhapsody” is a modern love story of two couples, one in Korea and one in China. The Korean couple will be Kim Taehee (IHQ) and Song Seungheon (IHQ). No Chinese actors have been announced yet, though Huayi Brothers CEO said “We will choose the best artists to join the cast. Huayi has a lot of acting resources, and we’ll find the right artists to join the filming. That doesn’t exclude big names like Li Bingbing (Huayi) and Deng Chao (Huayi) as long as the roles are right.”

In recent years, Huayi has been increasingly collaborating with foreign companies, including “Hot Summer Days” with Fox and “High School Musical” with Disney this year. Last year, Huayi and Shanghai Media Group also collaborated with Korea to remake the comedy “Nonstop.” IHQ, too, has been eyeing outside Korea with projects such as film “Blood Vampire” starring Jun Ji-yun.

source: sohu

And you know, Wang Zhonglei just signed BOBO as actors yesterday. Fu Xinbo will take the first series and Jing Boran the second one, thank you very much. (Wang Zhonglei: =_=)

Chinese Entertainment in English news round-up

Guo Jingming's new fantasy series

Described as "a Japanese Anime," "the Golden Compass" and the"Lord of the Rings," Guo Jingming's "Mark of the Cavalier" is criticized for its lack of "Chineseness"

Some English articles on Chinese entertainment news written in ways that I can only wish I could:

The articles include a fascinationg discussion on Guo Jingming’s new fantasy novel and its debut in literary typhoon Ba Jin’s Harvest, a CNN interview with Huayi CEO Wang Zhongjun and actor Daniel Wu, critiques on Fan Bingbing’s fashion at Cannes and translations of Han Han’s blog posts.

A fantasy novel in a serious literary magazine: Guo Jingming in Harvest

Guo Jingming (郭敬明), the magazine editor and writer of phenomenally-popular YA fiction, has a novel coming out in the summer supplement to Harvest (收获), one of China’s most respected literary magazines.
In Harvest’s case, readers who see the magazine as a bastion of serious literature have accused it of betraying its standards to take advantage of Guo’s popularity. Making matters worse is the subject matter of Guo’s new book: Mark of the Cavalier (爵迹) is the first volume of a new epic fantasy series. Is Harvest repositioning itself to compete with the pulps?

read more of this article here. (more…)

Can you solve these two mysteries?

Huayi Music has announced that it would sign a new male artist who is an already famous competition(?) winner. This time, they decided to show off his voice before revealing his name. The choices given in the official guessing game are Shin, Jam Hsiao, Yoga Lin and Aska Yang.  From the choices given, Shin and Aska Yang are more likely since Shin has worked with BOBO before and Aska Yang has been trying to leave his old company. Of the four, it also sounds most like Aska Yang. But on second thought, it sounds like Allen Su without his signature style.

Can you guess who’s the lucky man to join Jane Zhang and Laure Shang’s company?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzNY3NALZBM] (more…)

High School Musical still sings for BOBO; Lu Yi joins the brotherhood

Huayi's Jane Zhang and BOBO at the recent Baidu Awards, where they took away a combined number of five awards

Huayi's Jane Zhang and BOBO at the recent Baidu Awards, where the three took away five awards

Once upon upon a June night, news first surfaced about a High School Musical starring BOBO. After months of inactivity, when almost everyone forgot about the movie, today, in an interview during Huayi’s 2009 Plans Press Conference, BOBO mentioned the movie again.

BOBO’s “Always Ready” to climb the ladder of success
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvKNl83cFvw]

Also during the press conference, it was revealed that Huayi Brothers brought management company Long-D, which means that former Long-D stars like Lu Yi, Tian Liang, Jessey Meng and Annie Yi will now belong to Huayi.  It also announced its partnership with the Italian sportswear company Kappa.
(more…)