As the movie begins its global rollout with a debut in China on Friday, the biggest hurdle awaits: Getting audiences to show up. The picture stars Matt Damon as a European mercenary detained at the wall who joins forces with Chinese soldiers to repel an army of monsters.
“I don’t know if middle America or Europe or markets around the world will embrace this film,” said Peter Loehr, one of the movie’s producers. “Ultimately the audience decides.”
Hollywood is watching, as several production companies are planning similar U.S.-Sino projects and see “The Great Wall” as a harbinger for their prospects.
As an official co-production between U.S. and Chinese companies, “The Great Wall” combined cast and concepts from both countries in what is believed to be the most expensive movie ever shot exclusively in China. It offers a prelude to what the future of large-scale moviemaking—from preproduction to release—might look like between the two countries.
“I need this movie to succeed,” said a producer on one of those coming co-productions. The prospects are mixed.
“The Great Wall” is expected to be a hit in China, but box-office analysts aren’t hopeful about its chances in the U.S., where it debuts Feb. 17.
In that regard, the movie is another example of a new economic reality in Hollywood, where a solid performance in China can compensate for lousy returns stateside. Once a blip on studios’ radar, the Chinese box office grew nearly sixty-fold from 2003 to 2015, when its revenue passed $7 billion, and is expected to become the biggest in the world in 2019.
The movie’s financiers include Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures, Legendary Entertainment—now part of China’s Dalian Wanda Group Co.—China Film Group, and Le Vision Pictures.
Because “The Great Wall” is a co-production, its financial backers based in the U.S. will receive a bigger slice of the ticketing revenue generated in China, and aren’t beholden to marketing rules that Chinese authorities use to make sure their country’s releases aren’t overshadowed by foreign movies.
Helping get “The Great Wall” over its first hurdle: hiring China’s version of Steven Spielberg to direct. Zhang Yimou’s early films were banned in China, but he has since become his government’s go-to creative ambassador. Mr. Zhang directed the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics, earning him the unofficial title “national master” for his ability to juggle big-budget spectacles and state-backed projects.
“We had a lot of lobbying with some of the censorship board to get them to come around to this, and having a big director certainly helped with that,” said Mr. Loehr, who is also chief executive of Legendary East, the company’s China joint venture.
Filming in China posed inherent problems, like Beijing’s infamous pollution. “How do I look Matt Damon in the face when he’s the only one not wearing a mask?” one producer asked in a meeting.
Clearer skies and more space were found when the crew started filming in Qingdao, a coastal city 400 miles southeast of the capital where Wanda is constructing a sprawling real-estate development known as Wanda Studios Qingdao. Wanda bought Legendary for $3.5 billion in early 2016.
Several Chinese firms are lobbying U.S. studios to move productions to their new sound stages. If the experience of workers on “The Great Wall” is any indication, that migration will feel like a throwback to a more manual, less-regulated moviemaking era.
Costume-armor supervisor Levi Woods had just finished working on “Warcraft,” another Legendary action epic, when he joined “The Great Wall.” The 100 suits needed for “Warcraft” were designed by computer software and 3-D printed, whereas the 500 suits needed on “The Great Wall” were handmade from prototypes created by a sculptor.
Many Western crew members adjusted to a set that didn’t observe some of their longstanding safety practices, such as when Chinese workers applied a sealant that isn’t allowed on sets elsewhere. “I nearly passed out from the fumes that came out of a spray can,” said one crew worker.
Harnesses were routinely ignored when climbing scaffolding, said Guy Micheletti, the movie’s key grip, who supervised lighting and rigging crews. “You had to be a policeman,” he said. A producer said department heads tried to be extra-vigilant on set and pass on best practices.
“The Great Wall” wrapped filming last year, but its challenges didn’t end there. In casting actors that appeal to both markets, it found itself in political hot water.
When the movie’s first trailer was released, several Asian-Americans bemoaned Mr. Damon’s “white savior” narrative in a Chinese story. “Our heroes don’t look like Matt Damon,” said Chinese-American actress Constance Wu.
Mr. Loehr urged critics to see the movie before passing judgment.
A marketing push now under way in China includes tie-ins with Yum Brands Inc.’s Pizza Hut and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., and Mr. Damon traveled to Beijing earlier this month, showing off his handwriting with Chinese characters in a press conference.
Does all the work add up to ticket sales? “We’ll see what happens,” said Mr. Loehr.
Source: Wall Street Journal by Erich Schwartzel
