Wall Street Journal 2013.3.12
Web Entrepreneur Gary Wang Is Opening Studio to Produce Animated Movies for China
HONG KONG—After running China’s largest online video site, Tudou.com founder Gary Wang is gearing up to start his next project: China’s answer to Pixar.
A well-known Internet entrepreneur in China, Mr. Wang plans to create an animated-film studio in Beijing next month to make movies primarily for domestic audiences. The 39-year-old said he already had secured tens of millions of dollars in funding from an international group of investors. He declined to name the investors.
“I wouldn’t have done this five years ago, but now the time is right,” he said, citing an improving environment for movie distribution, promotion and copyrights in China. With more theater screens across the country and rising income levels in urban areas, the potential return justifies the investment, he said.
A well-known Internet entrepreneur in China, Mr. Wang plans to create an animated-film studio in Beijing next month to make movies primarily for domestic audiences. The 39-year-old said he already had secured tens of millions of dollars in funding from an international group of investors. He declined to name the investors.
“I wouldn’t have done this five years ago, but now the time is right,” he said, citing an improving environment for movie distribution, promotion and copyrights in China. With more theater screens across the country and rising income levels in urban areas, the potential return justifies the investment, he said.
China is the world’s second-largest movie market, after the U.S., with box-office sales of 17.07 billion yuan ($2.74 billion) last year, according to government statistics.
Although the budding market is huge, China’s animation industry is still in its infancy, and Mr. Wang’s studio will be going up against Hollywood and its deep pockets. Many U.S. family movies, suc
China is the world’s second-largest movie market, after the U.S., with box-office sales of 17.07 billion yuan ($2.74 billion) last year, according to government statistics.
Although the budding market is huge, China’s animation industry is still in its infancy, and Mr. Wang’s studio will be going up against Hollywood and its deep pockets. Many U.S. family movies, such as DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, have proven popular with Chinese audiences, while homegrown alternatives haven’t emerged. Last year, DreamWorks set up a joint venture with state-owned Shanghai Media Group Inc. and two other domestic film companies to build a film studio in Shanghai.
“Kung Fu Panda” franchise, have proven popular with Chinese audiences, while homegrown alternatives haven’t emerged. Last year, DreamWorks set up a joint venture with state-owned Shanghai Media Group Inc. and two other domestic film companies to build a film studio in Shanghai.
Mr. Wang’s move to animated films comes after he stepped down in August as chief executive of Tudou Holdings Ltd., when the business he founded in early 2005—the same year YouTube started—merged with rival online video company Youku Inc. in a nearly $1 billion stock deal. Though he was praised for his vision as Tudou spearheaded the growth of China’s online video market, the business never became profitable, as copyright issues and the cost of acquiring licensed content kept it cash-strapped for years.
With the animation studio set to open on April 1, Mr. Wang’s leadership abilities will be put to the test again.
“We need to take a very long-term view,” given that each film will take several years to produce, he said. The investors who have already agreed to help fund his new studio are aware of the long-term nature of the business, he said.
Born in the southeastern province of Fujian to doctor parents, Mr. Wang said he hated schoolwork as a teenager and failed Chinese college entrance exams. In 1993, he moved to New York and attended the College of Staten Island.
Mr. Wang’s move to animated films comes after he stepped down in August as chief executive of Tudou Holdings Ltd., when the business he founded in early 2005—the same year YouTube started—merged with rival online video company Youku Inc. in a nearly $1 billion stock deal. Though he was praised for his vision as Tudou spearheaded the growth of China’s online video market, the business never became profitable, as copyright issues and the cost of acquiring licensed content kept it cash-strapped for years.
With the animation studio set to open on April 1, Mr. Wang’s leadership abilities will be put to the test again.
“We need to take a very long-term view,” given that each film will take several years to produce, he said. The investors who have already agreed to help fund his new studio are aware of the long-term nature of the business, he said.
Born in the southeastern province of Fujian to doctor parents, Mr. Wang said he hated schoolwork as a teenager and failed Chinese college entrance exams. In 1993, he moved to New York and attended the College of Staten Island.
Two years later he graduated with a degree in international business, and got his first full-time job—as a salesman of apparel snap fasteners. His customers were fashion designers such as Anna Sui and Isaac Mizrahi, even though he wore an ill-fitting $90 suit and didn’t know how to pronounce Christian Dior,Mr. Wang said.
“Going to the U.S. was eye-opening,” said Mr. Wang, casually dressed in a black shirt and bluejeans. “I realized that there are people with very different ways of thinking.” For instance, an English professor at Staten Island showed him that original ideas can be rewarded. Although every sentence on his first essay in English was corrected in red ink—which could have resulted in a failing grade in China—the professor still gave him a B-plus because of the “thought” he presented in the assignment.
He later studied computer science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and obtained an M.B.A. at Insead in France. Before Tudou, he worked at German media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE & Co.
Mr. Wang—who has written a script for a Chinese play and a libretto for the San Francisco Ballet—said he believed his understanding of art and technology, combined with his experience at Tudou working with local content developers, will make him well-positioned for the new animation venture.
While recruiting talent in China, Mr. Wang, who speaks fluent English, is also looking for directors, storyboard artists and senior animators in the U.S. In January he visited Los Angeles and San Francisco for two weeks to meet potential candidates. “I get the impression that everyone there is excited about the Chinese market,” he said.
But that same interest in the Chinese market means Mr. Wang’s new venture will face tough competition from Western rivals looking to expand there.
Chinese live-action movies may rely on local actors and focus on dialogue, but animation is a more difficult market, said Dan Mintz, chief executive of China-based film company DMG Entertainment. “With animated films, you’d be really competing directly against Hollywood.”
Mr. Wang is aware of that, but sees an opening. “There are very few animation movies that Chinese people can call their own,” he said. “It will take time, but this could be potentially bigger than Tudou.”