Company Town : China Liberalizes Showing of U.S., Hong Kong Movies

HONG KONG — On the eve of trade talks in Beijing about closing down black markets for pirated goods and opening up markets for legitimate American products, Chinese moviegoers learned they’ll be seeing more U.S. hits soon.

Jack Valenti, chairman of the Motion Picture Assn. of America, said the Arnold Schwarzenegger thriller “True Lies” is coming to China in March.

Just this year, the Chinese government is allowing a limited number of first-run “quality films” from Hong Kong and the United States to play in China under a special profit-sharing plan in which China and the foreign film company split ticket receipts.

The Harrison Ford hit “The Fugitive” opened in several Chinese cities last year, setting box office records until it was pulled from screens. Though it was a big moneymaker for the government, theater owners squabbled over their take of the receipts, and officials worried that foreign films’ success would squelch demand for domestic movies, Chinese newspapers reported at the time.

“The Fugitive” will reopen tonight in Beijing, the Beijing Evening News said Thursday.

Despite the success of “The Fugitive,” the handful of authorized films can’t compete with legion underground cinemas showing unauthorized laser disc versions. Gaining popularity are “motorcycle mystery theaters,” where moviegoers buy tickets and wait for a motorcyclist to deliver whatever happens to be the laser disc of the day. Last spring in Guangzhou, a southern Chinese boom town close to Hong Kong, one of the underground hits was--”The Fugitive.”

The music industry faces the same problem with high piracy rates and low market access. Only about 100 U.S. titles are legitimately allowed into China each year; millions of copies of other titles are sold illicitly. This week, U.S. entertainment industry executives arrived in Beijing to bolster trade negotiators and help persuade Chinese officials that wiping out piracy and developing a legitimate industry will bring in more revenue for the state and give local talent a chance to grow.

“The seven major movie companies I represent, the largest producers in the whole world, are anxious to invest millions of dollars in China,” Valenti said. “But we can’t make those investments unless our property is protected.”

Industry executives cite Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were once thriving black markets for copies of U.S. movies and records but are now bustling centers for local talent.

Beijing, though not ready to throw open the door, is beginning to bow to Chinese consumer demand for entertainment imports. MTV will soon begin limited music video broadcasts. In December, a Los Angeles-based entrepreneur started negotiations for a radio pop countdown that would also drive demand for new music. But a stumbling block could be censorship, another opaque way to control too-successful tunes.