ON the eve of June 1, Interna-tional Children's Day, KungFu Panda 2 was screened inChina, a release scheduled asa gift for the nation's kiddies. The boxoffice surpassed RMB 100 million in thefirst weekend (May 28 - 29), overwritingthe record 100 million of Avatar's firstthree days. Though the movie's perfor-mance was not ideal in the U.S. market,it knocked out the status quo in manycountries:in France, it was a top draw inits first week after release.
　　Kids enjoyed the animation, while ac-companying grown-ups sighed at the useof iconic Chinese symbols. Chinese movieshad these resources at their disposal (KungFu and the panda bear) but it took Ameri-cans to put them into a blockbuster.
　　Last year the total box office in Chinaexceeded RMB 10 billion, to which JamesCameron and other "foreign aids" made agreat contribution. However, even this fig-ure is dwarfed by other media industries.The profit of one leading online portalsuch as Tencent, for example, surpassedthe entire movie industry last year. Ac-cording to the 2011 China Film IndustryResearch Report recently released by theChina Film Association, Chinese produc-ers don't enjoy a hefty share of the rev-enues from overseas market.
　　The capital and distribution problemsthat used to beset Chinese producers areno longer obstacles to absorbing signifi-cant proportions of their markets, butthe current pitfall is that they cannotmake movies that really grab Chineseaudiences. Beijing Screenings, held an-nually for the last 15 years, is the place forinternational buyers hunting for Chinesemovies worth their distribution rights. AsOutlook Weekly said, foreign producers'impressions of Chinese movies were oftenthat they "don't understand" them.
　　
　　"Getting It"
　　
　　So, some Chinese filmmakers andeven amateurs started to mull over the"secret" of Kung Fu Panda's success. Thepanda mimics an American teenager fromspeech to behavior. But his appearancemakes it easy to love the "curie" for audi-ences around the world, even in China.And this time he came back to his home-town in Sichuan, and had a Chinese-styleadventure there.
　　Compared to the first'hit movie, thesequel is definitely more Chinese. How-ever, professionals explain that after all,it is not new for Hollywood to absorbthe essence of another culture, packageit commercially and sell it to the world.Luo Xuan, CEO of BMC Animation, oneof China's leading 3D animation houses,said in a nation of immigrants like theU.S., Hollywood was engaged in cross-eultural understanding projects as early asthe silent movie age. Creators were forcedto transform special elements of differ-ent ethnic groups and make them easilyunderstandable for those of a differentlanguage and cultural background. "Thisspecialty became a good sword, armingthe Hollywood that prevails today in theworld."
　　Hollywood spent long time forging that sword. When Mulan (1998) was shot,hundreds of Disney animators came toChina to collect data. The site researchallowed them to understand the essenceof Chinese traditional art-its featuresof tranquility, balance and harmony. Toprepare for Kung Fu Panda, heads of dif-ferent departments also came to Chinapersonally. They made reference to manybooks about Chinese ancient art, architec-ture, totems, costumes, food and scenery.Based on this data, a panda world wascreated that was acceptable to many Chi-nese people.
　　"Mark Osborne, one of the directors,spent 3o years on Chinese culture," RaoShuguang said. Rao is deputy director ofthe China Film Art Research Center anddeputy director of the China Film Archive.He said we should appreciate the greateffort Hollywood has made to exploreChinese culture and deploy the elementsso cleverly to win over Chinese audiences.
　　In his opinion, Hollywood's investiga-tions and research were very specific anddetailed. Research of other cultures is notnew. As early as 1927, the US Departmentof Commerce issued a series of reportson foreign countries' film markets. Theone on the Chinese film market listedthe number and distribution of cinemas,ticket prices and advertising methods. Iteven researched and described Chineseaudience's tastes, and made sure of thefact that "American movies are morepopular among Chinese than those madeby any other countries, as they aetuallylike 'the good prevails over evil' motif andHollywood Nappy ending' formula."
　　However, it is true that Americanssometimes misuse exotic elements. Chi-nese producers would never make a pandaa Kung Fu master, as it was an unthink-able match with the cultural image thepanda represents. But the Kung Fu Pandaidea, some experts believe, may very wellhave been a hit because Americans werenot "kidnapped" by the cultural symbol,or confined within the limitations of theimage. They "let their imagination fly."Some Chinese thought it "outrageous,"but others found it fresh and engaging.
　　Before Kung Fu Panda, Chinese film-makers were shocked by Mulan, a tradi-tional Chinese figure with a Disney label.They never expected that it would becomea box office smash around the world. Theheroine Mulan was instantly one of themost popular symbols of the culture, andthe theme song rode on top of U.S. musiccharts for several weeks in a year whenthe Titanic theme song My Heart Will GoOn dominated the charts. Some Ameri-can parents even named their adoptedChinese daughters "Mulan." The adaptedmusical was sold out from Mexico to thePhilippines. In Hong Kong Disneyland,every visitor has a photo taken with theresident cartoon figure Mulan.
　　More than 10 years later, China shot areal-life version of Mulan. "Foreigners canmake popular movies based on this story,why can't we?" one of the producers said.But the result was disappointing, anddescribed as "just so so." An online com- ment was more detailed:"The love storywas too dominant, while the essence ofthe original story was lost." This versionwas regarded as far worse than Disney's.He put it bluntly, "The Chinese filmmakerdid a worse job interpreting Iris own coun-try's story."
　　"China doesn't lack good stories, but wedon't tell them the right way," said ZhouTiedong, general manager of China FilmPromotion International (CFPI). He be-lieves the Chinese stories Hollywood bor-rowed were more successfully realized onscreen than many of their other borrowedtales. "The box office returns of Mulan andKung Fu Panda are the best proof."
　　Hollywood is now the model ofChinese filmmakers, some of whomhave "abandoned" the dream of mak-ing "French movies." Gao Qunshu, amiddle-aged director well known for his"European style" TV dramas, shot a newmovie last year Wind Blast that the crit-ics regard as very Hollywood and veryWestern-charging horses, car chases,gunplay, fire, and of course passionatelove scenes. "The movie was an attemptto localize Hollywood style," said Gao.There's little argument that Hollywoodprovides an effective model for how toproduce movies and tell stories.
　　Many people thought it easy to copyHollywood, but that was wrong, said Pro-fessor Li Daoxin with the School of Art,Peking University. "Techniques and sldllsare very important, but the most impor-tant thing is to replace their essence withthe essence of our culture."
　　In his opinion, Avatar and Kung FuPanda were culture capsules that actuallypassed on the American spirit. He doubtsan Avatar could be made in China. On theother hand, we can make sci-fi, disasterand war films with our own culture at thecore which express the feelings of Chinesepeople, and resonate with all human be-ings. "To make good films, we should stickto our cultural background and values."
　　Many contemporary Chinese film-makers badly want to be "recognizedby the world" now, which is regardedas misguided by Professor Li. "For somany years, they hurried to 'go global,'but had no idea how to move a Chinese-speaking audience, nor did they seemto be interested in that challenge. Todate we have not seen a single movieapplauded by all Chinese-speakingpeople or emblematic of the spirit of theChinese nation, not to mention Chinesemovies doing well in the Asian market."
　　When foreigners and even Chinesepeople find some Chinese movies "hard tounderstand," it means the story or char-acters are unrealistic or illogical. JiangWen, actor and "amateur" director, chosea slow pace, directing only four films in16 years. His first film In the Heat of theSun (1994) made Xia Yu, an 18-year-old freshman, the best actor selection atthe Venice Film Festival; his second filmDevils on the Doorstep (2000) won himthe Grand Prix of Cannes. His latest workLet the Bullets Fly (2010) broke the boxoffice record that "blue chip" director Feng Xiaogang set in China.
　　"What I benefited most from my stud-ies at the Central Academy of Drama is apractice called observing life. I practicedit for the antire four years of college life,"Jiang Wen recalled. He played an oldhusband in the theatrical production ofhis graduating year. The script demandedhe should always get his wife's attentionby starting a sentence with "sweetie" buthe changed the device to "I say," whichwas an informal oral appellation betweenhusband and wife in times past. "Wonder-ful!" teachers and classmates applauded."It was from real life," Jiang said. He stilladmired several older-generation direc-tors - their movies, so deeply rooted ineveryday life, had a special charm, so "Youbelieved in their stories absolutely."
　　
　　A Language Known by All
　　
　　The Chinese market attracts foreignblockbusters and also foreign producersseeking co-production opportunities. In2010, 46 of the 47 Chinese films screenedoverseas were co-produced. Jean JacquesAnnaud's new film is an adaptation of theChinese bestseller Wolf Totem.
　　"In recent years, the number of co-productions has increased 10 percent an-nually," said Zhang Xun, general managerof China Film Co-production Corporation,"and this year saw a big jump." Chinesefilmmakers used to look for opportunities,but now more and more foreign produc-ers come to their door. "The policy for co-productions has been relaxed recently."Last year the Chinese film administrationand its Singapore counterpart signed anagreement that co-productions betweenthem will enjoy the same governmentalfunding and incentive policies as domesticfilms.
　　In the past a co-production usuallymeant a simple infusion of capital, mate-rial and talent. But now investors will ac-tively participate from the very beginningof the process-drafting scripts, tweakingplots, and discussing the context of ac-tions. Zhang holds the opinion that coop-erative scripting will bring different ideasand cultures together.
　　In Zhang Yimou's early movies,folklore is the best carrier of commonconcepts and feelings between differentcultures. The practices like "jolting themarriage sedan" in Red Sorghum (1987)and the red lanterns in Raise the RedLantern (1991) were criticized as pseudofolklore by domestic critics, but a filmprofessional believed these folk symbolsallowed Western audiences to understandwhat the director wanted to express-the vitality of the nation, and women'sdespair and depression in a traditionalpatriarchal society.
　　"We should also develop a way oftelling stories that audiences like, other-wise it's impossible to have an effectivedialogue and communication," said RaoShuguang. He added that those expectinga good performance in overseas marketsshould follow common communicationrules no matter on what operation level orstage of the process. Modern mass com-munication is audience-centered insteadof disseminator-centered, so the charac-teristics and psychology of audiences aretaken more seriously. Some Chinese filmsneglect the differences in culture and ex-pression, which makes overseas audiencesconfused, even excluded and resentful.
　　In this regard, a scholar who used tobe an interpreter for French audienceshad the same sentiments. "In Chinese warfilms, a common scene is the commanderinspecting his troops and saying 'Com-rades, thank you for your dedication!'If we translate that literally into Frenchas 'vous avez de la peine!' or 'vous avezsouffert!', the audience would be at a loss.Don't belittle such trivialities as interpre-tation and translation; they are essentialto cultural communication."