CHINA: John Travolta, Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Zeta-Jones are among a stellar cast of A-list actors appearing at the announcement by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, of a new 'motion picture city'

Record ID: 855832

  • Title: CHINA: John Travolta, Leonardo DiCaprio and Catherine Zeta-Jones are among a stellar cast of A-list actors appearing at the announcement by China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, of a new 'motion picture city'
  • Date: 22nd September 2013
  • Summary: ACTRESS NICOLE KIDMAN WALKING / HUGGING ANOTHER ACTRESS KIDMAN WALKING TO HER SEAT KIDMAN SITTING DOWN WANG JIANLIN, CHAIRMAN OF WANDA GROUP, WALKING TOWARDS STAGE WANG BOWING TO AUDIENCE AND STANDING BEHIND PODIUM
  • Embargoed: 7th October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • City:
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA55FW4LQMYQVMPSF5QGUD9Y3OA
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  • Story Text: A rare Hollywood star-studded red carpet event on Sunday (September 22) in China's eastern port city of Qingdao for the ground breaking ceremony of a massive new film studio and entertainment park.
    It's the latest foray by China's richest man, property developer Wang Jianlin, into the film industry after his company Dalian Wanda Group closed a $2.6 billion buy-out of U.S. cinema chain AMC Entertainment.
    Wang is splashing out 50 billion yuan ($8.17 billion) on the new "motion-picture city" which he described as the biggest-ever single investment in the movie and television industry.
    And he was surrounded by Hollywood executives and stars including John Travolta, Nicole Kidman and Catherine Zeta-Jones for the occasion.
    When completed in 2017, the Oriental Movie Metropolis will boast 20 sound stages, a massive convention and exhibition complex, a sprawling shopping mall with an indoor amusement park and seven resort hotels.
    The project also will include a yacht club with 300 berths.

    "The cultural industry, which is also called the entertainment industry, is a higher level industrial model. In the West the development of this industry has slowed, but in China it's a sunrise industry that's just starting. So we have great hope," Wang said in an interview with Reuters.

    "If the Western entertainment industry can develop together with the Chinese industry then there should be a great future. That's why these big Hollywood stars, when invited by the Chinese, are willing to come. They wouldn't have come here before," he added.
    Wang was named by Forbes as China's richest man with personal wealth of $14 billion, and the Qingdao project also represents the latest move by Wanda Group to parlay its real estate and shopping mall development into a leisure and entertainment empire.
    Wanda Group, which is privately held, has invested in 72 Wanda Plazas across China, along with 40 five-star hotels. The company also owns 6,000 movie screens, 62 department stores and 68 karaoke centres.
    Wang this year also announced a 1 billion pound ($1.57 billion) British investment that included the purchase of Sunseeker, Britain's largest luxury yacht maker by sales.

    "We have a clear goal that our entertainment company will be a top 20 company in the world in its industry by 2016, and in 2020 be a top 10 entertainment company. We are aiming high in the cultural and entertainment industry," Wang said.
    To cap the day, Wanda sponsored a second red carpet event in the evening with the Hollywood and Chinese celebrities, who expressed their excitement over the new Wanda film studio project and hopes for a Qingdao international film festival in the coming years.
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