Written by on Jun 25, 2014. Posted in On Location

Former Warner Bros exec makes China deal with new film company venture

A former Warner Bros executive has made a major deal with a Shanghai media conglomerate that could result in more US-China co-productions. Jeff Robinov oversaw Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy for Warner Bros and his new Studio 8 venture has partnered with Fosun International Ltd.

“We are happy to partner with Fosun, a well-respected Chinese company with global investment capabilities,” Robinov commented.

“Both China and the US possess the film markets with the most influence and potential and we are excited to unite the markets, teams, technologies and respective advantages and work together on building a number of top-level films including co-production films between China and other countries.”

Added Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun Group: “Our partnership will combine the resources of China and Hollywood to build a global platform not only focusing on movie and entertainment investment, but also aiming to integrate our resources around the world.”

Robinov’s deal is just the latest development in China’s increasing involvement with US studios and production companies. The state-run China Film Group recently announced a partnership with Paramount on a feature film based on the life of 13th Century traveller Marco Polo – not to be confused with the separate Netflix miniseries – and will also co-produce the upcoming Hollywood fantasies Warcraft and Seventh Son.

Robinov’s deal is the latest development in China’s increasing involvement with US production companies.

Paramount’s big-budget action movie Transformers: Age of Ultron has targeted more comprehensive distribution in the lucrative Chinese market by filming key sequences on location in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Hollywood has also supported China’s recently-announced new studio complexes, such as the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis.

(Photo: Paramount Pictures/Michael Bay)