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Last week Relativity Media, a Hollywood film studio, filed for bankruptcy protection. But even before its fall from grace, Chinese companies including Alibaba Pictures,Baidu,Dalian Wanda,Tencent and Huayi Brothers Media Corp had been eyeing the business closely.
上周，好莱坞制片公司相对论传媒(Relativity Media)提交了破产保护申请。但在好莱坞电影失去曾经的荣耀之前，包括阿里影业(Alibaba Pictures)、百度(Baidu)、大连万达(Dalian Wanda)、腾讯(Tencent)和华谊兄弟(Huayi Brothers Media Corp)在内的中国公司一直密切关注着这一行业。
A lot of Chinese money has already found its way into California. In the past year Chinese investors have put billions into Silicon Valley companies including Uber, Airbnb and LinkedIn.
大笔中国资金已经设法进入了加州。在过去一年里，中国投资者斥巨资与包括优步(Uber)、Airbnb和领英(LinkedIn)在内的硅谷公司展开合作。
But of late China Inc has become increasingly focused on the US film industry — in a bid to crack how to make Hollywood blockbusters with Chinese characteristics. This relationship has a natural complementarity. US studios have the know-how but are cash-strapped and risk averse, while the Chinese have abundant capital and an appetite for risk, which lends itself to financing films.
但最近，中国公司日益聚焦于美国电影行业，以期弄明白如何制作出具有中国特色的好莱坞大片。这种关系有一种天然的互补性。美国电影公司拥有专业技能，但资金紧张且厌恶风险，而中国公司资本充足，愿意冒险，这对电影融资来说最合适不过了。
Hunan Television and Broadcast, a government-controlled company, has already put $375m into Lions Gate Entertainment, the studio behind the blockbuster action film series The Hunger Games.
中国国有控股公司——湖南电广传媒(Hunan Television and Broadcast)已经斥资3.75亿美元，与曾制作发行系列动作大片《饥饿游戏》(The Hunger Games)的狮门娱乐(Lions Gate Entertainment)开展合作。
Fosun, a privately held conglomerate, plans to spend up to $200m backing Studio 8, an independent studio founded by Jeff Robinov, former head of Warner Brothers. And an arm of Citic, the Chinese state-owned group, has committed $125m to a venture run by Dick Cook, a former Walt Disney executive.
私人控股公司复星集团(Fosun)计划斥资至多2亿美元投资于独立制片公司Studio 8，后者由华纳兄弟(Warner Brothers)前总裁杰夫圠宾诺夫(Jeff Robinov)创立。中国国有集团公司中信集团(Citic)旗下子公司承诺拿出1.25亿美元投资于由华特迪士尼(Walt Disney)前高管迪克錠克(Dick Cook)运营的一家公司。
Certainly, the economic fundamentals make sense. China is already the second-largest movie market after the US by value of tickets sold, and it is expected to become the largest by 2020. If the country is to shift from a manufacturing-led, export-driven economy to one based on domestic demand and services, entertainment will become ever more important.
当然，从经济基本面来说这也是合理的。按票房收入计算，中国现在已经是仅次于美国的全球第二大电影市场，并有望到2020年成为全球最大的电影市场。如果中国经济从制造业占主导地位的出口驱动模式转向基于内需和服务的模式，娱乐业将会变得前所未有的重要。
For non-Chinese companies seeking to profit from this growth market, local partnerships offer a way of keeping a greater share of revenues. Regulations restrict the number of entirely foreign films that can be shown and the percentage of box revenues that foreign studios may collect.
对寻求从这种增长型市场获利的外资公司来说，与当地企业合作可以获得更大的收入份额。中国监管机构对国内播放的外国电影数量以及外国电影公司获得的票房收入比例做出了限制。
It is for these reasons that Chinese technology companies have been visiting Los Angeles in search of content, strategic investors and film distributors. A few months ago, Sequoia Capital China was part of a large contingent of Chinese entrepreneurs that spent days with executives at Fox,Sony Pictures Entertainment and STX Entertainment.
正是出于这些原因，中国科技公司一直前往洛杉矶寻求内容、战略投资者和电影发行商。几个月前，一个规模庞大的中国企业家代表团与福克斯(Fox)、索尼电影娱乐公司(Sony Pictures Entertainment)和STX娱乐(STX Entertainment)的高管进行了数天的接触，红杉中国(Sequoia Capital China)就在其中。
New companies are also looking at getting involved. Li Ruigang, former president of Shanghai Media Group, is heading China Media Capital, a vehicle to invest in content on both sides of the Pacific. Some of the most successful technology entrepreneurs and investors in China want to take big stakes in CMC. In addition, some strategic players are considering partnering with online asset management firms in China to help crowdfund potential acquisitions.
新公司也在考虑涉足其中。上海文广新闻传媒集团(SMG)前总裁黎瑞刚执掌了华人文化产业投资基金（China Media Capital，简称CMC），后者是一家投资于太平洋两岸内容的机构。中国一些最为成功的科技企业家和投资者希望大规模入股CMC。此外，一些战略投资者正考虑与中国在线资产管理公司建立合作关系，以帮助众筹资金、执行潜在的收购。
Donald Tang, a former Bear Stearns executive who shuttles between Los Angeles and Shanghai, has formed a venture with backing from Tencent and others to capitalise on this trend. He has already orchestrated two of the biggest marriages between Hollywood and China: he was deeply involved in Dalian Wanda’s $2.6bn purchase of AMC, the US’s second-biggest cinema chain, and Huayi’s commitment to put hundreds of millions of dollars into STX (which also has money from China-based Hony Capital and the growth capital arm of TPG, the private equity firm).
在腾讯和其他机构的支持下，在洛杉矶和上海之间穿梭的贝尔斯登(Bear Stearns)前高管唐伟(Donald Tang)成立了一家合资企业以利用这种趋势。在好莱坞与中国的最大规模的合作交易中，唐伟已经策划了其中两宗：他深度参与了大连万达斥资26亿美元收购美国第二大电影院线AMC，以及华谊兄弟承诺向STX投资数亿美元的交易，后者也获得了中国弘毅投资(Hony Capital)和私人股本公司TPG旗下增长资本部门的资金。
Of course, the Chinese are not the first to succumb to the lure of Hollywood. But whether they succeed will depend on their willingness to accept a reliance on intermediaries and co-investors, such as Mr Tang. “They have a lot of ambition but not a lot of knowledge,” says one mainlander familiar with the Chinese initiatives.
当然，中国人并非是首批被好莱坞魅力征服的投资者。但他们能否成功，将取决于他们是否愿意依赖中介机构和唐伟等合作投资者。一位熟悉中国举措的大陆人表示：“他们野心勃勃，但缺少深厚知识。”
Historically, Chinese companies have been reluctant to pay for advice — or acknowledge their need for it. Yet it is often not enough simply to pay the highest price. Sellers want certainty that a deal will be done, but all too often Chinese buyers fail, either because they cannot get approval or because they lack the financing. Still, one day it will probably be a Chinese dragon that roars out from American movie screens before the opening titles roll.
从历史上来看，中国公司一直不愿为咨询意见或者所需信息付费。然而，仅仅支付最高价通常还不够。卖家当然希望达成协议，但中国买家一再失败，原因要么是无法获批，要么是它们缺少资金。不过，总有一天，在片头字幕滚动之前，美国电影屏幕上很可能有一条中国龙呼啸而至。
