Big Panda v Little Rabbit tale hits screens
Jiang Ping, president of the company, used to work in Toronto and Los Angeles in the movie industry, but was drawn back to China due to its huge market potential.
"Films are demanding greater amounts of visual effects, especially after Kung Fu Panda and Avatar," she said. "Without special effects, movies will lack visual impact and attraction. In the US, the development of the movie industry relies on technological innovation. From this angle, I think China needs high-level post-production companies.
"The supercomputer in Tianjin is also one of the reasons we decided to go there. The computing speed will cut down our production cycle and thus the cost.
"We hope we can produce several influential movies each year here. These productions could also attract more talent and drive the development of the local economy and
Jiang said the company plans to spend 18 months training 300 people for the project. One of the biggest coups for China's movie industry in 2012 was James Cameron choosing to cooperate with Tianjin North Film Group to set up its 3-D movie studio in Tianjin. "3-D movies are the future of the movie industry, which we are focusing on developing," said Wang Dafang, president of the group. Tianjin North is working with French documentary director Luc Jacquet on a film about forests around the world, and is negotiating work with American studios to make the sequels to Hidden Dragon and Crouching Tiger and 2012. And, perhaps most importantly, the group's Dong Fachang is producing The Legend of a Rabbit 2, due for release next year. Perhaps this one will stand up to the might of Kung Fu Panda.
