Long march of Dan Mintz
It made 120 million yuan ($19.55 million) at the box office on its first day and 600 million yuan in less than two weeks in the Chinese mainland. Despite some questions and doubts about many things, not the least of which were the awkward alliances on the business end of the film, the huge earnings of the US-China joint-venture Iron Man 3 at Chinese mainland theaters has made this movie a subject the domestic film industry cannot ignore.
In fact, as one of three major partners behind Iron Man 3 (the other two being Marvel and Disney), DMG, or Dynamic Marketing Group, has gained a great deal of attention from both domestic and international circles as well. The question on everyone's mind is how this Chinese commercial company made the leap to becoming a co-producer on such a huge Hollywood franchise film.
In a face-to-face interview with the Global Times last week, Dan Mintz, CEO of DMG, revealed his thoughts on doing co-production works and shared some of DMG's movie-making experiences.
From advertising to movies
Located on the top floor of a 25-floor building in Beijing's CBD (Central Business District), the headquarters of DMG is decorated like a mini Chinese garden in the sky: a stone bridge, a small pound stocked with goldfish, Chinese style pavilion and a giant Buddha head sculpture on the wall. If you did not know Dan Mintz in advance, the Zen-like feeling might cause you to think the DMG boss is a devout Chinese Buddhist.
While denying any religious connection to Buddhism, Mintz has absorbed enough culture to speak fluent Chinese, even with a Beijing accent. He told the Global Times when DMG was established in 1993 with Chinese cofounders Wu Bing and Xiao Wenge, the three shared a movie dream. Back then, China barely had a movie market. But by looking ahead for what might happen first in the media side, the trio chose advertising.
For over a dozen years, DMG worked with leading sporting goods companies and the banking sector. And to a large degree, the advertising experience benefited DMG in its later specialty - implanting ads into movies.
In 2009, the three DMG partners finally saw an opportunity to achieve their original movie dream. The company invested in The Founding of a Republic, a film that was presented as a gift for the people on the 60th anniversary of the birth of People's Republic of China, and assisted in the areas of filming, publicity and distribution.
Later on, DMG also produced the romantic comedy and box-office hit Go Lala Go! (2010) as well as Sci-fi thriller Looper (2012) starring Bruce Willis.
Why DMG?
Before and after the screening of Iron Man 3, rumors were abundant that the cooperation between DMG and its US counterparts had seen some rough going. But Mintz said he was quite pleased with the process and satisfied with the result.
"One should never pay too much attention to the judgment of outsiders. The point is whether you can make it," said Mintz. He emphasized that both sides understood the difficulties of each other, so the cooperation process was very pleasant.
For a successful deal with Marvel in Iron Man 3, Mintz said that they had prepared for three years. And part of that preparation came from the types of movies DMG cut their teeth on: The Founding of a Republic, Go Lala Go! and Looper.
"The Founding of a Republic shows we can cooperate with the [Chinese] government, Go Lala Go! proved our ability to adapt a story and implant ads, and Looper is [a successful case of] Chinese-foreign co-production," Mintz explained.
All the three elements are important factors for a Hollywood movie company to consider when selecting a Chinese company with which to cooperate.
Having substantial experience in dealing with Hollywood, Mintz knows the key ingredient to a successful cooperation is to develop a good script.
"Now as Iron Man 3 is screened all over the world, [all audience members] can see the words 'Marvel Studio in association with DMG Entertainment,' but few people know DMG, nor do they care. What they care about is whether the movie's story is good or not," Mintz told the Global Times.
Starting from the very beginning, according to the 49-year-old CEO, the focus of DMG, unlike other Chinese movie companies, was to produce movies for a global market that include Chinese elements. Even though the Chinese movie market has become the second largest in the world and is very likely to be No.1 in a few years, Mintz believes no single market can be compared with the global one.
This way of thinking takes Mintz and his DMG partners another step closer to moviemakers in Hollywood.
Cooperation road
Having worked in China for almost 20 years, Mintz has observed how difficult it is for Chinese films to resonate beyond the mainland. Even in Hong Kong and Taiwan, mainland pictures do not sell very well.
He suggested that before eyeing the global market, mainland movies should go step by step; first courting audiences in Taiwan and Hong Kong, then among Chinese-speaking audiences in Malaysia and Singapore, and outward to the Asian market.
In cooperating with Hollywood, Mintz said there are five difficulties a Chinese company has to overcome: distance, language barrier, cultural differences, different ways of conducting business, and most importantly, how to touch the Hollywood giants.
"[China and the US] have completely different opinions on the market: the US is definitely consumer first, while in China you have to convince two sides - the government and the consumers," Mintz noted.
Having a century-long movie history, Mintz said there is now a very standard way of doing business in Hollywood, even in the very beginning regarding how to develop a script and how to talk with partners about a story.
Moreover, he stressed, it is difficult for small companies in Hollywood as well: someone with only capital to invest will never be taken seriously.
"You should see your own value, and know what you can do. Have a goal [in every phase of development]: why you do this and how to do it," Mintz said, and he believes a movie that can go global will be welcomed in China, but it is hard for a purely Chinese movie to make that leap.