Film critic predicts Hollywood affair with China

Having already acquired a significant share of the American movie theater industry through ownership of the AMC chain, China may soon attain a stronger on-screen presence in Hollywood films as well.

Such was the prediction of Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire while speaking to the Schaumburg Business Association at its monthly breakfast meeting Tuesday.

During a year in which the domestic box office has declined by 15 percent, the burgeoning Chinese market is being looked to with hope by American movie studios.

"China is the new frontier," Gire said.

Already generating about $2.2 billion a year in movie ticket sales, China is adding about 13 new movie theaters every day, Gire said. Box office revenue is expected to grow to $5 billion per year by 2017 and $11.6 billion per year by 2020.

"Those numbers make the people in Hollywood very antsy ... and very hungry," Gire said.

The result? More big-budget movies made in China, and more Chinese actors given prominent roles in those films, he predicted.

And it's already started. This year's "Transformers 4," though largely an American movie, featured 35 minutes of action set in China along with some Chinese product placement that might have been subtle to Western audiences, Gire said.

Efforts to make China a friendly market for American films have gone so far as to include a plug for the Chinese Communist Party in "Transformers 4." Gire related that in one scene, when confronted with the threat of an alien spaceship, one character in China proclaims that the central government will have to be called on to help.

Gire wrapped up his presentation by discussing how a critic sees a film differently than a general audience member - and screened the famous shower scene from "Psycho" to make his point.

While most people only have to decide if they liked a movie or not when they leave the theater, a critic assesses its permanent value and has to build a case to back up his or her judgment.

While most members of an audience are meant only to be frightened and disturbed by "Psycho," a critic sees and appreciates the component parts of Hitchcock's artistry and understands why they work - or when they don't, Gire said.

Though Gire considers a Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" the best film of 1992, it made only $2.9 million - probably what the catering cost on the set of "Transformers 4," he said.

The money a film makes at the box office can never be the judge of its value, Gire said. He teased his business-oriented audience that was likely the most anti-business sentiment they were ever likely to hear.