Wanda Hopes $8 Billion Film Complex Will Bring Industry Stardom
- Competition, censorship pose challenges to seaside film hub
- China’s dream factory hasn’t yet wowed Hollywood filmmakers
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Four gigantic, Chinese characters are aligned on a hill overlooking a seaside film studio complex, in a nod to the fabled Hollywood sign, the American cultural icon in Los Angeles.
Except this is northern China’s port city of Qingdao, where Dalian Wanda Group Co., a real-estate, retail and entertainment conglomerate, is opening its doors to an audacious 50 billion yuan ($7.9 billion) world-class film production hub, called the Oriental Movie Metropolis, or Dong Fang Ying Du.