China's Superhero

China's Superhero
By Kathrin Hille



Hang up your cape, Superman. Here comes the Annihilator - all the way from China.
망토를 두르세요, 슈퍼맨. 중국에서 파괴자가 왔어요.

Perhaps trying to promote the country as one of the good guys, China is financing a Hollywood movie starring a Chinese superhero who saves the world. The new superhero has been invented by Stan Lee, the 89-year-old creator of figures such as Hulk and Ironman.
아마도 좋은 사람들 중 한 명으로 그 나라를 홍보하기 위한 시도겠지만, 중국은 세상을 구원한 중국인 슈퍼히어로가 출연한 할리우드 영화에 자금을 지원하고 있습니다. 이 새로운 히어로는 헐크와 아이언맨과 같은 인물들을 창안해낸 89살의 Stan Lee에 의해 개발되어 왔습니다.

The Annihilator, the main character of the 3D movie scheduled to open in 2014, "trains in Qigong in China and then comes to America, where he becomes a superman accidentally," Wang Guowei, president of National Film Capital, the state-backed film fund, told the FT.
3D 영화의 주인공인 The Annihilator는 2014년 개봉될 예정이며, "중국에서 기공무술을 훈련한 뒤 우연한 기회에 히어로로 거듭나게 된 미국으로 오게 됩니다," 라고 정부지원의 영화제작비를 받은 National Film Capital의 대표 Wang Guowei가 FT에 말했습니다.

"Then he returns to rescue the world - including China - from a crisis. The idea of China rescuing the world strategically competes with the 'China threat' theory."
"그 후 그는 대공황에서 중국을 포함한 세계를 구하기 위해 돌아옵니다. 세계를 구하는 중국이란 아이디어는 '중국위협론'에 대한 전략적인 맞대응입니다."

"Our country puts too much emphasis on 'going out' - or portraying a certain image abroad. "The harder you strive to do that, the less you will succeed," he added, noting that Chinese film exports were "almost zero".
"우리나라는 '외적인' 것 혹은 어떤 특정 이미지를 해외에 보여주는 것을 과도하게 강조하고 있습니다." 중국의 영화수출이 거의 없음을 언급하며 "밖으로 보여주는 것에 집착할수록, 성공하기 더 힘들어지는 것입니다."라고 그가 덧붙였습니다.

It was a myth that Chinese ideals were always different from other peoples' thinking, Mr Wang said; 98 per cent of Chinese values were in line with global values.


The Annihilator demonstrates China's fast-growing influence in the global film industry. The project is on top of a list of 10 international films National Film Capital said it would co-finance, with a total investment of $230m.
Most of The Annihilator's $100m budget will come from China, though much of the artistic input is from the US, with a script written by Dan Gilroy, author of The Bourne Legacy. It is also being produced by Hollywood-based Magic Storm Entertainment.
Chinese box-office sales jumped 30 per cent last year to $1.2bn, compared with flat or falling sales in other major markets including the US. In the first quarter this year, China surpassed Japan as the world's second-largest movie market by ticket sales, making it the largest foreign market for Hollywood.
While more than 70 per cent of Chinese film ticket sales came from Hollywood productions, foreign film showings are limited. That means that co-productions are Hollywood's best bet for a bigger piece of the pie.
National Film Capital, founded by a number of state-backed institutions, is chaired by Yang Buting, a former head of China Film Group. Started in 2008, it’s latest activity was in February with the creation of a new fund for Hollywood investments.