Wanda lures Hollywood to China with 40 per cent rebate offer
BEIJING — Chinese entertainment giant Wanda is offering producers a rebate of 40 per cent to promote its upcoming $8 billion movie studio in eastern China in an ambitious bid to establish the complex as a major production base in Asia.
The 408-acre (165-hectare) Qingdao Movie Metropolis is due to open in the port city in August 2018. Not just a movie studio, it is slated to include four indoor theme parks and even international schools to encourage foreign filmmakers to live there with their families.
In an announcement Monday in Los Angeles, Wanda said the next installments of “Pacific Rim” and “Godzilla,” made by Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment, would be filmed in Qingdao, as well as unspecified films by Lionsgate.
Wanda said it and the Qingdao city government had established a film and TV industry development fund to enable Chinese and international producers to receive a rebate of 40 per cent of their Qingdao production expenses.