Major studio, amusement project launched
By Yang Jian |
August 8, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Shanghai, along with US film giant DreamWorks Animation, is to invest more than 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) to build a culture and entertainment complex along the Huangpu River.
The city yesterday launched Oriental DreamWorks, a joint venture with the US film company, to build the complex titled "Dream Center" as well as create a world-class animated film studio.
The center in Shanghai's Xuhui District will include theaters, shops, restaurants, bars and hotels and will open in 2016, while the studio will co-produce "Kung Fu Panda 3," the long-anticipated third installment of the blockbuster, and plans to release the animated film in 2016.
"We have formed what we think is a very valuable strategic partnership to make world class feature animation," Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation, told a press conference in Shanghai yesterday.
DreamWorks Animation owns about 45 percent of Oriental DreamWorks, with the rest held by China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd. The companies are seeking partners to finance investment in the Dream Center in Shanghai, said Li Ruigang, chairman of China Media Capital and CEO of Oriental DreamWorks.
The cultural and entertainment complex will feature a "Dream Walk" - a riverside corridor with flowers and trees as well as the world's largest IMAX screen, which can be used for film premieres and other events. The center will also feature art galleries and studios.
Its centerpiece Kung Fu Panda Pavilion will showcase cutting edge technologies, Li said.
"It's an incredible metropolis here with many beautiful aspects to it but it doesn't have that sort of cultural, entertainment center to it, and that's what sort of got us started on this idea," Katzenburg said.
The Dream Center will be a "celebration of great theater, great art, great culture, great music, all in one place," and will target 18- to 34-year-olds, he said.
The project will be "complementary" to the Shanghai Disneyland that is under construction, and quite different from a theme park, Katzenberg said, adding the two projects will "enhance the success of each other."
The first phase of Shanghai Disneyland in the Pudong New Area is expected to open in 2015 and attract 7.3 million visitors a year.
The Dream Center will be the flagship attraction of the West Bank Media Port of Huangpu River planned by Shanghai's Xuhui District government that is expected to see 20 million visitors a year, the district government said at the press conference.
Meanwhile, the Oriental DreamWorks studio plans to release one to three films a year following its first solely created feature production in 2017 and employ as many as 2,000 production professionals.
Li said it aims to be the largest animation production base in China and will also explore opportunities in online games, musicals and consumer products. It has seven scripts in development, one of which will be the firm's first original production, said Li. The name and content of the first work will be announced by year's end.
"We're very confident that the creative talent exists here in China. We're very enthusiastic about building a studio to promote Chinese cultures to the world," Katzenburg said.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" will be a sequel to the 2011 and 2008 films, which generated more than US$600 million each in worldwide ticket sales.
The movies, which are about a bumbling panda who becomes a martial arts hero, are hugely popular in China.
The city yesterday launched Oriental DreamWorks, a joint venture with the US film company, to build the complex titled "Dream Center" as well as create a world-class animated film studio.
The center in Shanghai's Xuhui District will include theaters, shops, restaurants, bars and hotels and will open in 2016, while the studio will co-produce "Kung Fu Panda 3," the long-anticipated third installment of the blockbuster, and plans to release the animated film in 2016.
"We have formed what we think is a very valuable strategic partnership to make world class feature animation," Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive officer of DreamWorks Animation, told a press conference in Shanghai yesterday.
DreamWorks Animation owns about 45 percent of Oriental DreamWorks, with the rest held by China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd. The companies are seeking partners to finance investment in the Dream Center in Shanghai, said Li Ruigang, chairman of China Media Capital and CEO of Oriental DreamWorks.
The cultural and entertainment complex will feature a "Dream Walk" - a riverside corridor with flowers and trees as well as the world's largest IMAX screen, which can be used for film premieres and other events. The center will also feature art galleries and studios.
Its centerpiece Kung Fu Panda Pavilion will showcase cutting edge technologies, Li said.
"It's an incredible metropolis here with many beautiful aspects to it but it doesn't have that sort of cultural, entertainment center to it, and that's what sort of got us started on this idea," Katzenburg said.
The Dream Center will be a "celebration of great theater, great art, great culture, great music, all in one place," and will target 18- to 34-year-olds, he said.
The project will be "complementary" to the Shanghai Disneyland that is under construction, and quite different from a theme park, Katzenberg said, adding the two projects will "enhance the success of each other."
The first phase of Shanghai Disneyland in the Pudong New Area is expected to open in 2015 and attract 7.3 million visitors a year.
The Dream Center will be the flagship attraction of the West Bank Media Port of Huangpu River planned by Shanghai's Xuhui District government that is expected to see 20 million visitors a year, the district government said at the press conference.
Meanwhile, the Oriental DreamWorks studio plans to release one to three films a year following its first solely created feature production in 2017 and employ as many as 2,000 production professionals.
Li said it aims to be the largest animation production base in China and will also explore opportunities in online games, musicals and consumer products. It has seven scripts in development, one of which will be the firm's first original production, said Li. The name and content of the first work will be announced by year's end.
"We're very confident that the creative talent exists here in China. We're very enthusiastic about building a studio to promote Chinese cultures to the world," Katzenburg said.
"Kung Fu Panda 3" will be a sequel to the 2011 and 2008 films, which generated more than US$600 million each in worldwide ticket sales.
The movies, which are about a bumbling panda who becomes a martial arts hero, are hugely popular in China.
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