“THE WOLF AT THE DOOR”：HOLLYWOOD AND THE FILM MARKET IN CHINA FROM 1994-2000（一）(2)

　　Related to this ，and most fundamentally ，the move toward a market economyhas confronted the Chinese government with a serious dilemma and a basic contradiction.Moreover，this dilemma has consistently revealed the familiar pision betweenfilm bureaucrats and film professionals.Since the reforms began there has beenan on-going tension between two often-contradictory goals.On the one hand thereis the need to "administer"film production to ensure the release of politicallydesirable films ，what the Chinese call "main melody films"（zhu xuanlu）。Onthe other hand，there is the need to release films that can succeed in the market.（11）Hollywood films have been successful in China because of their entertainmentvalue.For Chinese films to compete successfully they will also have to providean acceptable level of entertainment.Yet ，as an important recent Circular jointlyissued by the State Administration of Radio ，Film and Television and the Ministryof Culture made very clear，the "basic task of the film industry"remains buildinga "socialist spiritual civilization".It must be ensured that "social benefits aregiven primary consideration"over "economic results."（12）Thus ，film professionalsare likely to continue to be constrained in their ability to compete for Chineseaudiences.Faced with the new specter of WTO，their frustration appears particularlyacute.（13）

　　HOLLYWOOD IN CHINA，THE EARLY YEARS：1994-1995

　　The opening of "The Fugitive"（wangming tianya ，or "Fleeing to the Ends ofthe Earth"in Chinese ）on November 12，1994in six Chinese cities was hailedin both the Western and Chinese press as "an event of historic significance"anda great box office success.（14）Equally important for our purposes ，many ofthe problems and contradictions that have plagued the film market in China can beseen in embryo form during the "run"of "The Fugitive".These include the conflictbetween economics and ideology，the issue of intellectual piracy ，and the struggleamong bureaucratic agencies to control the profits of Hollywood productions.

　　Within a week of the film's opening to packed houses the movie was suddenlywithdrawn in Beijing with various official and unofficial explanations offered.The official China Business Times reported that the film was withdrawn because somefilm industry officials believed it would allow foreign distributors to "invade"China's movie market.（15）Other sources reported ，more precisely ，that theproblem stemmed from a struggle between the Beijing Film Distribution Company andthe China Film Import and Export Corporation over the rights to proceeds from thefilm.China Film had booked the movie directly with Beijing theaters，bypassingthe local distributor.When the local Beijing distributor lost the battle it tookthe matter to its parent unit ，the city's Cultural Bureau ，and to the CentralPropaganda Department ，claiming that the film violated Chinese political mores，that in fact showing the film was the equivalent of "using socialist money to fattenthe capitalist pig."（16）In fact，throughout June and July 1994the Chinese pressdebated the impact of the importation of ten blockbuster Hollywood films on theChinese film industry and on Chinese society more generally ，with various filmindustry professionals suggesting the advantages and disadvantages of this decision.

　　The more immediate matter of "The Fugitive"was resolved when the Film Bureauwithin the Ministry of Radio，Television and Broadcasting issued Document No.348（mentioned above ），to take effect on January 1，1995，allowing the authorizeddistributor to deal directly with Chinese cinemas ，thereby opening up the distributionmarket.（17）By mid-January 1995"The Fugitive"had reopened in Beijing with muchfanfare in the local press.（18）

　　Such blatant ideological appeals in defense of socialism against the encroachmentof Western capitalist products were soon to be limited primarily to the remnantleftist media.While a considerable number of American movies were indeed vetoedby China Film -or more often not even submitted by the studios because of the likelihoodof a veto -once a film was accepted the main concern became box office receipts.However ，politics has always been a factor in the relationship.The success ofthe studios in gaining approval for their films and even the assessment of the filmsin the Chinese media has been dependent on a studio's "sincerity"toward China and，in extraordinary circumstances，on the larger issue of Sino-American relations.The most obvious examples ，to be discussed below，are the bans on Columbia Tristar，MGM ，and Disney for their American films with Chinese themes in 1997，the debateover Disney's "Mulan，"and the total ban on American films following the bombingof the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in May 1999.

　　"The Fugitive"was also plagued by the now-familiar problem of intellectualpiracy.Copyright violations of American films and music recordings had been anissue in Sino-American relations even before Warner Brothers had reached an agreementfor Chinese cinemas to show "The Fugitive".According to industry estimates ，Chinesetheft of copyrighted products such as films and compact disks totaled around $800million annually.The Motion Picture Association of America （MPA ）and the recordindustry had been pushing the Clinton administration to slap China with a "Special301"designation，thereby branding it as a blatant intellectual property abuser.Such a designation might then result in quick retaliation against Chinese goodsentering the United States.However ，as the administration was reviewing the then-annualdecision on China's "most-favored-nation"status in 1994，the decision was madeto extend the deadline from April 30to June 30，in an effort to reach a solutionwith the Chinese government.It was a process that would be repeated often in subsequentyears.（19）

　　Hollywood took heart，however，in June when U.S.trade representative MickeyKantor put China on the Super 301watch list of countries suspected of toleratingtheft of intellectual property，effectively giving it six months to enforce copyright.This was followed by a landmark decision by a Chinese court in favor of a copyrightinfringement suit filed by the Walt Disney Company against a publisher of children'sbooks.The publisher was found guilty of illegally publishing and distributing booksbased on Disney animated films featuring such characters as Mickey Mouse，Cinderella，Peter Pan and Snow White.（20）
　　The Chinese government，however，ironically soon found itself identifyingwith Dr.Richard Kimble ，the protagonist of "The Fugitive ，"when it was accusedof permitting at least three state-run cable television stations in southern Chinato broadcast the film.In addition，it was clear that the pirated videos beingshown derived from one of 29Chinese factories known to be producing illegal copiesof American products，ranging from corn flakes to blockbuster films.China Filmdenied authorizing duplication，distribution or broadcast rights of "The Fugitive"to any company or inpidual.Suggesting that intellectual property rights werenew to China and some cable operators may not have been aware they were breakingthe law ，China Film -the state import monopoly -issued a notice in Renmin ribaocalling for tough action against the Chinese bootleggers.（21）But the damagehad been done.As successful as it was，pulling in 25.8million yuan at the boxoffice，"The Fugitive"was far less successful than it would have been had it notbeen withdrawn from Beijing theaters in November and had it not been widely piratedand shown on Chinese cable television.It remained for the second American film ，"True Lies，"starring Arnold Schwarzenegger，to fulfill the promise suggestedby "The Fugitive".

　　By November 1994Hong Kong's Golden Harvest Entertainment had signed a dealto release the first Hong Kong film in China，also on a revenue-sharing basis.Jackie Chan's "Drunken Master II"was chosen with a release date set for December10.Equally significant ，Golden Harvest announced that Jackie Chan's "Rumble inthe Bronx"would be released simultaneously in mainland China ，Hong Kong and Taiwanduring the Spring Festival（Chinese New Year）1995，in an effort to minimizepiracy and maximize the box office.（22）The stage was set for Hong Kong and Hollywoodto compete for the potentially lucrative China market.

　　Having learned the lessons of "The Fugitive ，"Chinese authorities went togreat efforts to support the first imported megaproductions of 1995，"Rumble inthe Bronx"and "True Lies".Each was overwhelmingly successful and thus contributedgreatly to a revival of the Chinese film market.The success of these films alsotriggered a renewed debate in the film industry about protecting national cinema，one that continues today as China prepares to join the WTO.The impact of "Rumblein the Bronx，"particularly in Guangzhou （Canton），can hardly be overestimated.This was the first time that Jackie Chan fans -and they are legion in China -couldsee their favorite hero on the big screen rather than on the blurred monitors ofvideo parlors.Box office receipts during the two-week run in Guangzhou amountedto three million yuan ，far surpassing those gained from the rampantly pirated"Fugitive ，"and breaking all box office records up to that time.In Beijing aswell，now seemingly free of bureaucratic squabbles ，a new and carefully plannedmarketing strategy was employed and "Rumble in the Bronx"brought in 5.16millionyuan during the Spring Festival.（23）