上世纪90年代中后期，《亡命天涯》（The Fugitive）和《泰坦尼克号》（Titanic）作为第一批美国好莱坞大片登陆中国市场。宏大的场面、震撼的特效、引人入胜的剧情以及精彩的表演令中国影迷深深着迷，人们甚至专门为它们创造了一个新名词——“美国大片”。
此后，美国大片在中国风光无限。1995年，《亡命天涯》票房收入达到3,300万美元，占中国年度票房总收入的三分之一。1997年公映的《泰坦尼克号》票房收入达到5,700万美元，打破了《亡命天涯》创下的记录。2010年，电影《阿凡达》（Avatar）更是收获了2.14亿票房。我有一个16岁的侄女住在中国中部，她曾经和同学排了一个小时的长队才买到《阿凡达》电影票， 25美元的票价相当于她母亲月收入的十分之一。目前好莱坞进口大片几乎已占据中国电影票房的半壁江山。
据说，甚至中共高层领导人也爱看美国大片，比如江泽民以及习近平。习近平曾经说过，好莱坞电影场面宏大而真实，“价值观明确，善恶界限分明”。因此，他在2月份访问美国期间签署协议、允许更多的好莱坞3D影片和Imax影片在今后进入中国市场也就不足为奇了。
中国的市场潜力已经吸引梦工厂（Dreamworks）和传奇电影（Legendary Pictures）等制片公司开始接触中国公司并寻求合作。但中国媒体大腕、投资家吴征却逆向而动。这几年他已经多次赴好莱坞，希望寻找合适的电影制片商合作，投资有全球票房潜力的英文和中文电影，并且要在中国和亚洲其他地区建立娱乐分销体系。
46岁的吴征是阳光红岩投资集团（Sun Redrock Investment）总裁，该公司是中国最大的私人媒体投资集团之一。曾在法国和美国接受教育的吴征常常被拿来与鲁伯特•默多克作比较。吴征1999年和他的妻子、中国知名电视谈话节目主持人杨澜一起创建了阳光传媒集团（Sun Media Group）。阳光传媒的投资涉及20多家中国媒体公司，覆盖2亿多消费者。
吴征正在通过嘉实七星媒介私募基金（Harvest Seven Stars Media Private Equity）拓展其媒介帝国的疆域。拥有8亿美元资产的嘉实七星媒介私募基金于2012年2月由阳光红岩投资集团和中国两大基金管理公司之一的嘉实基金共同成立。最近几周，吴征公布了他在好莱坞进行的头两项投资： （1）与投资家及制片人杰克•艾伯茨合资成立“联合东方制片”（Allied Productions East），准备拍摄的《大清留美幼童》（Mission Boys），讲述的是十九世纪七十年代20名中国高中毕业生被送往美国哈佛大学（Harvard）和耶鲁大学（Yale）学习的故事；（2）与完美风暴娱乐公司（Perfect Storm Entertainment）导演林诣彬合作，每年拍摄两到三部电影，包括巨制片和低成本影片。
据消息人士称，吴征最近还与吴宇森【曾执导《碟中谍II》（Mission Impossible II）、《喋血双雄》（The Killer）和《变脸》（Face/Off）】及其合伙人特伦斯•常就可能的合拍项目进行会谈，并试图“收购大型好莱坞电影制片公司的股份”。
吴征最近两次就中国电影业机遇及其自身商业追求接受《财富》杂志访问。以下为经过编辑的采访实录：
为何决定来投资好莱坞？
首先，随着中国经济的不断发展，娱乐领域支出快速增长。中国电影市场正以前所未有的步伐向前迈进。票房收入去年猛增四成，达到21亿美元，排名全球第三。我敢肯定，今年票房收入将超过日本，跃居世界第二。到2015年，中国票房收入可能会达到50亿美元。现在，电影业基础设施正处在建设和加强阶段。到2015年，银幕数量将从目前的6,200块增加到16,000块。我们缺少的是叫座的好电影。
其次，大多数在美国反响很好的好莱坞电影同样也能在中国和日本取得成功。但很可惜的是，除了李安导演的《卧虎藏龙》（Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon）和吴宇森导演的《赤壁》（Red Cliff）之外，中国电影还无法在国际市场受到青睐。而且《卧虎藏龙》和《赤壁》还都是合拍片。中国巨制影片和影星在国外市场并未受到广泛关注。
第三，投资中国电影仍然有较大风险，比其他领域风险更大，因为中国电影业缺乏成熟的基础设施和切实可行的机制。很多制片商还是在老旧的摄影棚拍摄，他们的作品成本效率并不高。此外，我还没看到比较好的商业模式。因此很多中国投资者都赔了钱。这就是我来好莱坞的原因。
嘉实七星媒介私募基金瞄准的是哪类项目？
我们希望在以下三个领域展开运作：并购、亚洲区分销，以及与制片厂和独立制片人合作开发电影内容。如你所见，我们宣布的头两项交易都与创意内容相关。我们热切期望为美国的知名制片公司和制片人提供投资，从而创造出能为全球市场接受并得到好评的中美合作电影作品。
不久的将来，我们希望打造两大平台。一个是金融平台，为现有的制片公司提供直接股权投资。另一个是集中化营销平台，建立分销渠道，或者为大型国际制片公司提供进入亚洲市场的营销通路。在北美和欧洲电影票房收入下滑之际，亚洲展现了巨大的市场潜力。我们将与好莱坞合作伙伴一起打造一体化的亚洲分销平台。对于我们自己的电影来说，我们可以充分利用亚洲市场，好莱坞的同行则可以利用他们欧洲和美洲的分销网络辅助我们。
虽然中国政府近期严打盗版，但中国的盗版情况依然猖獗，电影行业每年因此损失数百万美元。你打算如何应对盗版问题？
我对此表示乐观。我们还在继续与中国相关监管机构合作。我也确实看到了情况有了很大改善。这几年政府开展了声势浩大的行动来打击互联网非法下载行为。很多互联网门户网站都加入了打击盗版的行列，并花费巨资买断知识产权。
我同意DVD盗版市场仍然很大。但买过这种盗版光盘的人都知道，它们质量非常低劣，不再能满足普通影迷的需求。随着大片票价越来越能让大众接受，影院设施越来越舒适，人们都希望在电影院获得上佳的体验。
好莱坞多年来一直向中国政府施压要求放松审查制度。审查制度会对你的电影事业有何影响？
我认为中国的电影审查问题被西方媒体过分渲染了。我总是提醒西方记者，中国确实会进行很多审查，但如果电影本身没有明显的政治问题、过多的暴力场面和露骨的色情内容，绝大多数好莱坞电影都是允许在中国放映的。实际上，西方影迷和中国影迷之间在品味和接受度方面的差距正在逐步缩小，而不是扩大。因此，我对未来的形势持谨慎乐观态度。
在过去几年里，通过出口中文文化产品和主办法兰克福以及伦敦书展等国际性文化活动，中国政府不断加大所谓的“软实力扩张”力度。您认为您的投资属于中国软实力建设的一部分吗？
首先我想强调的是，我们并不是一家政府性机构。我们在中国是一家完完全全私有化的公司。我们致力于制作高品质的娱乐产品，获取利润。如果我们在商业运营过程中取得的成功有利于中国形象，它也只是一个副产品，就跟好莱坞对美国的作用一样。那是我们的光荣。
When the first batch of Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fugitive and Titanic entered China in the mid and late 1990s, moviegoers were blown away by their cinematic grandeur, breathtaking special effects, riveting storytelling and impressive performances. China even coined a new phrase for the Hollywood tent pole productions, "Meiguo Da pian" or "Big films from the U.S."
Since then, "big films" have become truly big in China. In 1995, The Fugitive raked in $33 million, accounting for more than one third of the country's annual ticket sales. The record was broken in 2007 by Titanic with $57 million and then Avatar's $214 million in 2010 -- my 16-year-old niece living in central China lined up for an hour with her classmates and paid about $25, an equivalent of one-tenth of her mother's monthly salary, to see Avatar. At present, Hollywood imports account for about half of China's box office takings.
Even senior Communist leaders such as past president Jiang Zeming and Xi Jinping, the soon-to-be Party secretary and president, are said to be fans of "big films." Xi has been quoted as saying that Hollywood movies are grand and truthful and that they show "a clear outlook on values and clearly demarcate between good and evil." It was not surprising that during his trip to the U.S. in February, he signed an agreement that would allow more Hollywood 3D and Imax films into China.
The profit potential in China has prompted studios such as Dreamworks and Legendary Pictures to reach out to companies there and forge joint ventures. But Bruno Wu, a big-name Chinese media entrepreneur and investor, is moving in the opposite direction. Over the past year, he has taken numerous trips to Hollywood in search of deals with filmmakers and studios, investing in English and Chinese language content with global box office potential, and building an entertainment distribution system for China and other parts of Asia.
Wu, 46, is chairman of Sun Redrock Investment, one of the largest privately-held media investment groups in China. Educated in France and the U.S., and often compared to Rupert Murdoch, Wu founded the Sun Media Group in 1999 with his wife, a well-known television talk show host. Sun Media Group has investment interests in more than 20 Chinese media companies, reaching more than 200 million consumers.
Wu is expanding his media empire through Harvest Seven Stars Media Private Equity, an $800 million film fund established in February 2012 by Wu's Sun Redrock Investment and Harvest Fund Management, one of the top two management companies in China. In recent weeks, Wu unveiled his first two investment projects in Hollywood: 1) Allied Productions East, a joint venture with financier-producer Jake Eberts to develop "Mission Boys," the story of 20 Chinese high school graduates who were sent to the U.S. in the 1870s to study at Harvard and Yale; and 2) A partnership with director Justin Lin, of Perfect Storm Entertainment, to deliver two to three films a year from blockbuster to specialized fare.
Wu is also currently in talks with John Woo (Mission Impossible II, The Killer and Face/Off) and his partner Terrance Chang over possible co-production deals and trying to "acquire stakes in major Hollywood studio brands," according to sources briefed on the matter.Wu spoke twice with Fortune recently about China's opportunities in the movie business and his own aspirations. Below are edited excerpts of the interviews:
Why did you decide to come to invest in Hollywood?
First, with the development of the Chinese economy, the entertainment expenditure has gone up dramatically. The Chinese movie market is moving at an unprecedented pace. The box office sales surged about 40% to $2.1 billion last year, the third-largest in the world. I'm sure it'll surpass Japan and become the second-largest this year. By 2015, the ticket sales in China might reach $5 billion. At the moment, the infrastructure is being built and enhanced. The number of screens will increase from the current 6,200 to more than 16,000 in 2015. We lack good movies to attract people to fill the theaters.
Second, most big Hollywood movies that work well in the U.S. are equally successful in China and Asia. Unfortunately, it doesn't work in reverse, with the exceptions of directors Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon and John Woo's Red Cliff, both of which were actually co-productions. Big Chinese movies and stars aren't seen as widely outside China.
Third, investing in Chinese films is still a risky business, much riskier than elsewhere because the Chinese film industry lacks infrastructure and a workable system. Many filmmakers are operating in the old production studios and their productions are not cost effective. In addition, I haven't seen any good business models. As a result, many Chinese investors have lost money. That's why I've come to Hollywood.
What kind of projects is Harvest Seven Stars Media Fund targeting?
We hope to operate in three areas - mergers and acquisitions, distribution in Asia and movie content through joint partnerships with studios and individual filmmakers. As you can see, the first two deals we have announced are all related to creative content. We are eager to provide funding for well-established studios and well-known filmmakers in the U.S. and create US-China co-productions that are globally acceptable and popular.
In the near future, we intend to build two platforms. One is the finance platform -- making direct equity investment in existing studios. The other involves a centralized marketing platform -- building a distribution channel or providing marketing access to the Asian market for major international studios. At a time when ticket sales in North America and Europe are declining, Asia has tremendous potential. We'll team up with our Hollywood partners and build a consolidated Asian distribution platform. For our own content, we can leverage the Asian market and our Hollywood peers can supplement us with their European and American distribution networks.
Piracy in China costs the film industry billions of dollars each year. Despite the recent government crackdown, it's still pretty rampant. How do you plan to deal with piracy?
I'm optimistic about the issue. We continue to work with the Chinese regulatory agencies on the issue. I truly see the situation improving dramatically.
Over the past several years, the government has launched extensive programs to crack down on illegal downloading from the Internet. Many Internet portals are joining the fight against piracy and are spending a sizable amount of money buying up intellectual property rights.
I agree that the DVD piracy market is still very big. However, if you buy a copy, you'll notice that the pirated DVDs have very poor quality. They can no longer meet the needs of regular moviegoers. As the ticket prices for "big movies" are becoming more affordable and theater facilities are becoming more comfortable, people are looking for a great experience in the theaters.
For years, Hollywood has pressured the Chinese government to ease censorship. How will censorship affect your movie ventures?
I think the censorship issue in China is overplayed by the Western media. I always remind Western journalists that it is true there is a great deal of censorship here, but an overwhelming majority of Hollywood titles are allowed to be shown in China without any problems, as long as the movie has no explicit political agenda, excessive violence and overly explicit sexual content. In fact, the gaps in taste and acceptance levels between Western and Chinese moviegoers are narrowing, rather than widening. I'm cautiously optimistic about the situation.
Over the past few years, the Chinese government has stepped up what is referred to as "soft power expansion" through the exports of Chinese cultural products and sponsoring international cultural events, such as the Frankfurt and London book fairs. Do you consider your investment part of China's soft power building?
First, I want to emphasize that we are NOT a government entity and we are a 100% privately-held company in China. We are interested in making high quality entertainment products and gaining a decent profit. If in the process, our success benefits the Chinese image, that is a byproduct, just like what Hollywood has done for the United States. I'm proud of that.
