Episode 91 – 'Red Carpet' w/ Author Erich Schwartzel - a podcast by Phi Phenonenon
from 2022-07-22T10:02
Though it had been widely predicted to happen sometime later this decade, China managed to surpass North America during the pandemic 2020 — during the first year of decade — in domestic box-office. A big part of that was the fact that China had built more movie theaters than North America. On this episode, we discuss:
whether I say something in this interview that disqualifies me from ever working for a studio movie that needs China’s box office;
the definition of “dumb money” investors, and how this applies to the China’s access to the American moviemaking process
why did a movie like Wolf Warrior 2, the first movie in the worldwide top-ten, get completely ignored domestically in America?
what contribution the Russo Bros., famously of the Marvel Avenger movies, added to Wolf Warrior 2?
Also:
the Eastern ethos and religious philosophies that are being applied to Chinese big-budget productions like The Wandering Earth,
alongside what the Asian crossover effect of K-Pop, Parasite, and Squid Game;
the difference between Russia’s successful mid-50s film production/censorship from China’s current state-based film distribution.
Erich Schwartzel covers the film industry in the Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau. He joined the Journal in 2013 and has written dozens of front-page stories on life and business in Hollywood, specializing in features where commerce meets culture. His work can be found here.
Further episodes of Phi Phenomenon
Further podcasts by Phi Phenonenon
Website of Phi Phenonenon