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Friday, 4 August 2000

BEIJING MOTION PICTURE &
TELEVISION CONFERENCE - DAY 2

The future of the movie business in China revealed itself today…for about a tenth of a second. After that, it was all questions. But let's not jump to too many conclusions. The ongoing buzz phrase for this conference has been "open exchange of ideas." Today was the wide public face. Tomorrow, the conversation starts in earnest. How open the exchange is will only be known in time.

We started the day with breakfast at 8 a.m. "WHAT?," you wonder. "No Taiji?!?!?" Uh, no. No wake-up call equals no Taiji. And Chinese cooking equals a breakfast of toast and coffee. Of course, that may be my fault. The bacon was scary, the scrambled eggs were…inexplicable and I couldn't even consider a shot at the soy, bean curd whatever the hell that was. I know, I'm an American food wimp. So sue me.

We had to rush out of breakfast because we left for lunch at 11 and I had to figure out how to get onto the Internet to send the column in and check my e-mail. I was eventually told that calling my ISP in Los Angeles was my best bet. And so I did. 27 minutes for only $58.22. Cool. Looks like that phone call is only going to be for column transmission for the rest of this trip. If you want to call me on your bill, I'm at the Capital Hotel in Beijing, 651-29988.

Lunch was at a popular, newish restaurant in the Chinatown section of Beijing. Yes, there is a Chinatown in this China town. If the photos transmit, you can take a look at some of the remarkable ways of letting you know that the food is fresh. From fish to snails to turtle to snake, it's quite the live menagerie. And just feet away, apparent poverty. There is a lot of modernization in Beijing, but there is also a real sense of the ancient and the poor still overwhelming the newer grandeur at times.

Lunch was quite good, though I barely got to taste the many offerings, as we had to run to the official opening of the conference. As we got to the convention center, we were sent into a small, beautifully furnished room, where we were greeted by various dignitaries. And it fit the mold of current relations that we Americans stood around, waiting for our hosts to give us the word to sit and our hosts refused to sit, not wanting to be rude to their American guests. Eventually, an announcement was made and we worked it out, but we spent a long while smiling at one another and nodding.

Once seated, we were greeted with a series of speeches and we were asked if any of we Americans had anything to add. Normally, I would warm to the task, but I am a journalist and it is not my role here to lead, but to watch. And so I waited…and waited. Eventually, Shawn West, a.k.a. K. Shawn West Hankins, of HBO Movies, led the way, offering his thanks and that of his company, Time-Warner, for the invitation to the party. Well, I certainly wasn't about to rise in the name of the oligopoly of Time- Warner. More kind words were exchanged and we eventually headed into the big hall, where about 100 Chinese civilians were already waiting, joined by our group of about 80, Chinese and American.

The big speeches were…well, speeches. It reminded me why guys who get elected get elected. They give great speech. If you are not a professional charismatic, public speaking is probably not for you. Of course, that hasn't stopped anyone yet. And to be fair, if style wasn't valuable, content often was.

There's no real point in me speaking about the American speakers. I know what they have to say. But the Chinese perspective was occasionally amazing. Once again, this is a first impression based on these speeches, so temper your reading and keep an eye out for further speculation based on further conversation. But…

There seemed to be a heavy focus, on the part of the Chinese speakers, on technology as the route to this country's success in the film business as they continue to pursue a more open business relationship with the world. Now, I haven’t had to ask why they believe that being up-to-date will help them build their film distribution or production businesses in more significant ways than currently possible…or possible 10 years ago for that matter. It seems like a rather backward concept to me…one that Hollywood has fallen prey to in the past. I don't have a problem with movie technology, but in the end, the movies are a lot more than technology. I don't think that these people don't understand that. However, it is a classic mistake of Hollywood to make determinations about the future based on the performance of specific movies. Here as in much of the rest of the world, Titanic is the big dog of all time. And so, effects mean a lot in China. And sex, someone tried to explain, won't sell. Of course, in that case, the example was The Last Emperor and a scene with the emperor and two concubines. I think that if the Chinese government wants to let sex sell, it surely will.

But I digress…

It seems to me that the effort here is to prepare China for the future and then to allow the west to have more access to this enormous market. Or perhaps there is no real intent to open the gates all that wide, but the creative types understand that if the door is opened wide enough, there is no stopping the flow of Hollywood entertainment.

There was also an interesting report on Chinese film distribution. Here are the short strokes. China now has about 3000 screens, many of them way below traditional American standards. There are about 150 films released each year here, 10 from America, 40 from other outside countries and about 100 from here in China.

But now, I must go. My apologies. It's been a long day, I'm still dealing with jet lag and I thought I could take the karaoke on as pre-column writing exercise. No. I'm blindingly exhausted and I'm not thinking cleverly enough to ask your indulgence as a writer. In fact, I'm so tired, I can't even seem to get the digital camera to download. So, I will ask your indulgence for my premature absence. I'll catch up tomorrow. Promise.

READER OF THE DAY: From The J: "Just wanted to wish you a great trip, and an interesting conference, it was fun to read your arrival journal this AM. As a movielover and a person with an interest in the changes happening in China, the subject of how our movies get there and play there has interested me for a while, and I thank you for taking the trip and reporting to us on the conference--should be very interesting. What a huge potential audience, but what mystery clouds that country. I'm particularly interested in what, if anything, is said at the conference about video piracy. If it's talked about, please mention what's said in thb. Thanks so much. Hope the jet lag isn't too bad, and the conference is everything you hope it will be."

E ME: Video piracy is the first topic of tomorrow morning. I'll try to be awake.