Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is too literate to call himself an “arms dealer”, as Sony Pictures did to portray itself as a resource unconnected to streaming platforms.
But regardless of Bob Dylan’s literature and references, new Changin’ Pictures aims to become a premier, independent supplier of premium Asian TV content to streaming creators. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its starting point and will unveil the first five series from its Pan-Asia 20-title slate.
Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but were not able to easily access it under the old film and television distribution systems. With live broadcasts making everything available everywhere, and audiences no longer rejecting subtitles, high-quality Asian dramas can travel and carry on.
Standard examples he gave include not only Squid Game, which was built locally in South Korea and has become a global phenomenon via Netflix, but also Pachinko on Apple TV+. Asia’s multilingual drama was not specifically set up for Korean or Japanese viewers, but was authentic enough to work for global audiences including those in both countries.
Chan has a proven track record, directing the songs “The Warlords” and “American Dreams in China,” producing “Bodyguards and Assassins” and directing Academy Award-nominated “Better Days.” But his place in history comes from the launch of the Pan-Asian co-production movement at the beginning of the century.
Drawing on his Thai-Chinese-Hong Kong heritage and (unfinished) education in the United States, Chan and Applause Pictures have worked with filmmakers including Kim Ji-won, Park Chan-wook, Mik Takashi, Hur Jin-ho, Nonzi Nimebuter, and Pang Brothers on a slate of highly-produced Asian films. independent. These screenings included “The Eye” and “Jan Dara”, which were innovative and modern enough to play festivals, create small franchises and remakes, yet local enough to enjoy decent box office hits across East Asia.
Then, with the rise of the Chinese film industry and its ten-year opening from 2012 onwards, Chan spent most of his time exploring the rocky path between the industries of China and Hong Kong.
Changin Photo Logo.
“This new project is something I started 20 years ago,” Chan joked. “I wanted to do this long before the coronavirus hit, but the pandemic has given me time to think about it.”
Three well-funded companies led by producers – Golden Karavan, RSVP and Applause Entertainment – are already operating in a similar fashion within India. But Chan refutes the notion that director-led Changin’s photos are late for the streaming party or that the “content is king” moment has now passed that broadcasters have been limiting the costs of acquiring content: “The only difference between now and 20 years in the past is that the cost of Distribution and display much less [on streaming] And that we know audiences are obsessed with Asian content.”
A key part of how Changin ‘Pictures’ operates is to develop its offerings and produce, if necessary, before engaging with the platforms.
“We can’t wait for streamers to fund a show, judge it with their algorithms and test things on screen,” says Chan, who is also keen to keep some traits in the game for his filmmakers. “The power of streaming devices is huge, which means if you do things their way, the product will likely only get a 10% extra cost. Or, these days, the cost is plus eight.”
To ensure the new company’s independence from sign studio-like tendencies, and to escape the institutional censorship it holds in China, Chan put several million dollars of his own money into Changin’ Pictures and amassed nearly nine figures of American capital. He remains conservative about his backers, but says most of his funding comes from Hong Kong and Singapore, or from Chinese sources that have kept some of their cash outside the mainland. He says he will not accept a dilution of the minority ownership position.
It’s an arsenal large enough to allow Team Changin’ Pictures to call up the shots and take some risks. They plan to spend up to $2.5 million per episode on production – well above average TV production budgets in Asia and higher than many Asian feature films – and strategically, start with a Korean-language series.
“We have two very good scripts. Both have been unanimously approved by our greenlight development team. Both are adapted from famous webtoons,” says Chan, explaining the account behind not using Changin ‘Pictures’ Donnie Yen or Zhang Ziyi cars in the opening maneuver.
Chan also calculates that producing premium content for live broadcasts may be “ten times less risky” than Asian producers’ traditional reliance on theatrical box office.
So the first two projects will be green lighted without the cap that comes with a commission or upfront sale. “We have to show we’re not cheating. We have to bite the bullet,” he says.
Speak like a real gunslinger.
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