Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai will produce and direct two web series for China’s Huanxi Media Group, as part of a wide-ranging pact with the company.
Renowned for arthouse classics such as The Grandmaster and 2046, which are usually several years in the making, Wong Kar Wai has not previously ventured into internet content. The first web series, comprising 12 episodes, is expected to complete production in 2017, with the second following before the end of a six-year deal.
Both Wong Kar Wai and fellow Hong Kong filmmaker Peter Ho-sun Chan have signed six-year production pacts with Huanxi, founded by Dong Ping, which is also international streaming service MUBI’s partner in China.
The two filmmakers will become shareholders in Huanxi and also serve as members of the company’s artistic advisory committee. Huanxi has exclusive ten-year online rights to the Wong Kar Wai web series, along with two to four films directed and produced by Chan (American Dreams In China).
Huanxi also has deals with leading mainland Chinese filmmakers Xu Zheng (Lost In Thailand), Ning Hao (Breakup Buddies), Li Yang (Blind Shaft) and Liu Xingang (Five Star Hotel). See the full story on Screendaily.
Dong Ping was previously head of ChinaVision Media Group, which was sold to Alibaba in 2014 and became the foundation of the tech giant’s film arm, Alibaba Pictures.