James Cameron mulls co-production of films in China

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Avatar" and "Titanic" film director James Cameron said on Sunday, April 22 that hewas looking at co-production of films in China, but would have to weigh issues like censorship and other restrictions before making any decisions, Reuters reported.

Hollywood has begun paying serious attention to China, despite the problems of government controls and piracy, reflecting the fast-growing Chinese middle class spending more money intheatres and less on pirated movies.

The next "Iron Man" film, for example, will be co-produced in China under a joint agreement between Walt Disney Co, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment.

Disney also said it would work with China's Ministry of Culture and Tencent Holdings to promote the animation industry in China, while Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc in February said it would build a studio in Shanghai as part of a joint venture with some of China's biggest media companies.

"Avatar", Cameron's blockbuster flick about an alien race, was the highest-grossing movie in China in 2010, raking in 540 million yuan ($85.6 million) in only 15 days. Though they form a small percentage of movies screened, Hollywood movies drew 44 percent of the 10 billion yuanin sales receipts that year.

A deal hammered out during Vice President Xi Jinping's February visit to the United States paved the way for the import of 14 premium format films, such as IMAX or 3-D, which will be exempt from China's annual quota of 20 foreign films per year.