Le Vision teams up with Hollywood

Le Vision Pictures, a Los Angeles-based Chinese studio and unit of Letv, is gearing up to boost its presence by partnering with Hollywood.

The US arm of Le Vision Pictures (Le VP), the third-largest private film studio in China by total box office, has acquired Lionsgate's epic fantasy feature Gods of Egypt for release in China and plans to co-produce 10 films with Hollywood.

By acquiring Gods of Egypt, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Gerard Butler, for distribution in China, Le VP will take advantage of its online-to-offline marketing and distribution model that has proven successful with Hollywood franchises such as The Expendables 2 and 3, which were co-financed and distributed by Le VP, said Zhang Zhao, vice-chairman of Letv and CEO of Le VP, while announcing the 10 films on Monday in Beverly Hills, California.

The 10 films are mostly fantasy or sci-fi rendition of classic stories, such as 8 Immortals - Portal to the Demon World, which follows a teen outcast and his friends after giant demons invade Beijing; King of Kings, an epic fantasy depicting the war between two Chinese Gods; Peony Pavilion, a fantasy romance adaptation of a Chinese romantic tragedy; and a reinterpretation of the iconic opera Turandot.

The only realist film is The Valley Life, adapted from a best-selling Chinese web novel portraying how Chinese programmers and engineers studying abroad come to realize their American dreams in Silicon Valley.

Except Zodiac: The Year of the Snake, which involved Jayson Rothwell as screenwriter and Bernie Goldmann as a producer, Le VP didn't reveal Hollywood partners for the other nine films or a timeframe for production.

Le VP USA also has teamed up with Rob Minkoff, director of The Lion King and Mr. Peabody & Sherman to co-develop and produce a live-action comedy, Silkworms, and an animated feature, Wolf Totem.

The company has recently partnered with Dark Horse Comics, which Zhang said introduces a "next-gen Internet IP" model that "opens up more opportunities across platforms and devices to leverage intellectual properties with global franchise potential".

Dark Horse Comics is expected to produce comics or animations of six popular Chinese online serial novels that Le VP USA has acquired. The novels have garnered more than 400 million hits in China, including The Path to Immortality, The Descendants of Straw Mountain, Gods of China, The Naughty Queen, Magical Days, and P.A.I.U. - Paranormal Activity Investigation Unit.

The contents will be released on all Letv's terminal platforms.