Asians weren't selling out with The Great Wall....I see their vision

[Trajan]

Chinese are lowkey finessing

At first glance it seemed to me like the Chinese were OD dikkriding with The Great Wall movie starring Matt Damon and some other assorted cacs. But in reality the movie is Chinese funded, Chinese directed..but they threw in Matt Damon to get that international appeal. They make hundreds of Chinese movies every year so they're not worried about their image like that. On top of that they know nobody is going to see an all-Chinese movie but Chinese people.

Matt Damon is literally expendable to them. It's the same way Asian starts like Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Bruce Lee had to come to Hollywood back in the day....in the future Hollywood stars might be going over to Shanghai or Hong Kong to get on.

In the long term, they want to crush Hollywood's building.

Read between the lines:

Despite a long tradition of movie-making, and much critical acclaim for its directors overseas, China has never yet produced a truly global blockbuster.

But this is being billed as the moment when Chinese film finally takes on the world.

The Great Wall is one of the most lavish and expensive films ever shot in China.

Directed by the living-great of Chinese cinema, Zhang Yimou, it makes use of vast theatrical sets, elaborate costumes as well as great Chinese cultural icons like, er, Matt Damon.

Matt Damon?

The US superstar's leading role in the swashbuckling Chinese showcase has already been the subject of much controversy.

The accusation that a Caucasian male star has somehow been shoehorned into the piece to give the film a more direct appeal to American and European audiences is something that also rankles with Zhang Yimou.

"Matt Damon plays a foreign mercenary who comes to China to steal gun powder," Mr Zhang tells me.

"Of course he is a foreigner. For the director, we never consider the race question first. We always think about the story first. If the story flows, if the story is good."

Mr Damon joins the massed ranks of the Chinese army on top of perhaps the greatest cultural icon of them all, the Great Wall, built not to keep out men, according to the fantastical plot, but monsters.

The budget of at least $100m (£80m) underwrites a US-China collaboration of a kind that is becoming increasingly common nowadays.

And such collaborations align neatly with one of the political priorities of the Chinese government: to expand its international cultural influence.

The Great Wall: China takes on the world with new Matt Damon film - BBC News

They're trying to get some money out here. They also cast Matt Damon as a shady cac coming to steal shyt from China lol.

 

[Trajan]

As Hollywood comes to China in desperate search of new, lucrative audiences, China is desperate to harness something of the elusive magic.

If it can build its own film industry, the argument goes, it can use it to develop its so-called "soft power", in the same way US movies have carried American values and norms around the world for a century or more.

And that appears, on some level at least, to be what The Great Wall is trying to do.

It can appeal to Chinese and international audiences alike, hence the internationalised plot line, allowing the incorporation of a Hollywood star.

And it carries a central message about time-honoured Chinese ingenuity (the gunpowder), as well as lasting cultural power (the Great Wall).

Matt Damon though is having none of it.

"No, I didn't for a second think this film was a propaganda tool," he says.

"I think our world is a much better place when we're talking to each other and collaborating and making art together."

They got Matt Damon c00ning

 

[↓R↑LYB]

They got Matt Damon c00ning

They need to throw Matt Damon on the c00n train

 

[Saiyajin]

even if they were going for this, it still looks absolutely pathetic to whitewash your OWN country like that

they could've just cast a chinese lead and spent the money they paid on Matt Damon, to advertise on American networks.

 

[Trajan]

They need to throw Matt Damon on the c00n train

The Alt-Right are going to start their own c00n train once the Chinese are through

Them motherfukkers flipped the script.

 

[Trajan]

even if they were going for this, it still looks absolutely pathetic to whitewash your OWN country like that

they could've just cast a chinese lead and spent the money they paid on Matt Damon, to advertise on American networks.

Chinese are longterm planners breh.

Anyway, they produce plenty of Chinese films every year. How many have you seen? I don't think a few more ads are going to make people watch it. They're trying to build a production house to rival Hollywood's finest. They want to have a legendary epic under THEIR control not some ''international'' film seen by aficionados. In the future they might not even cast non-Chinese. But for now, random Chinese actor Hollywood A lister

Plus they're finessing Cacs out of some money:

The accusation that a Caucasian male star has somehow been shoehorned into the piece to give the film a more direct appeal to American and European audiences is something that also rankles with Zhang Yimou.

 

[CarbonBraddock]

don't understand the logic of people only seeing a movie if there's a white person in it or not seeing it if it's all chinese. if i watch a trailer and that shyt is good, and the reviews are good, then i will watch the shyt, don't matter if they are purple or zebra-skinned.

 

[Trajan]

don't understand the logic of people only seeing a movie if there's a white person in it or not seeing it if it's all chinese. if i watch a trailer and that shyt is good, and the reviews are good, then i will watch the shyt, don't matter if they are purple or zebra-skinned.

White people are very tribal. Generally, you have to have a white person in the film for it to pop in the West. Also, Hollywood is the biggest cultural machine out there. Borrowing Matt Damon gets you a look in. He's known worldwide. Plenty of people see films depending on the cast.

 

[BigMan]

 

[Insun Park]

Chinese production is

 

[Trajan]

Chinese production is

That's what they're trying to change.

 

[el_oh_el]

Based on actions I've seen from China, I definitely agree with the OP

 

[Mandarin Duck]

don't understand the logic of people only seeing a movie if there's a white person in it or not seeing it if it's all chinese. if i watch a trailer and that shyt is good, and the reviews are good, then i will watch the shyt, don't matter if they are purple or zebra-skinned.

Are you white?

 

[loyola llothta]

Chinese movie production still i rather watch super sentai


Korea take the cake anyway . i understand China longtime game plan, its just like how Japan did with they manga and anime culture with jpoo now but still....

 

[SuikodenII]

Chinese movie production still i rather watch super sentai


Korea take the cake anyway . i understand China longtime game plan, its just like how Japan did with they manga and anime culture with jpoo now but still....

Absolutely..... The Handmaiden