Deals
Jack Ma, Spielberg Strike Deal to Bring Hollywood to China
- Oscar-winning director’s Amblin ties up with Alibaba Pictures
- Alibaba-Amblin deal is latest Chinese overture to Hollywood
Spielberg, Ma Team Up to Bring Hollywood to China
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It’s a casting director’s dream. Jack Ma, China’s richest man, and the highest-grossing Hollywood auteur of all time have struck a deal to work together to produce and finance films for the world’s second-largest movie market.
Alibaba Pictures Group Ltd. is buying a stake in Amblin Partners, the production outfit backed by Steven Spielberg to work together on production, marketing and distribution both globally and in China. It’s the latest in a spree of deals over the past two years intended to help U.S. studios tap what could soon be the world’s largest box office, while hopefully imparting a little of that Hollywood movie-making magic to increasingly ambitious Chinese households.