Zhang Yimou, China’s most famous filmmaker, on Tuesday announced a partnership to make movies with a Beijing-based production company, Le Vision Pictures, best known for distributing its content online.

Under the arrangement, Le Vision Pictures will have what executives called a “long-term, exclusive deal” with Zhang to create movies for theaters and the Internet. Zhang, who directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, is known for creating critical favorites like “Red Sorghum” and “Raise the Red Lantern” as well as spectacles like the martial arts film “Hero.”

The announcement puts to rest widespread speculation within the Chinese film industry about where Zhang would land after being courted by numerous companies. He has been seeking a new production and financing partner for almost a year after a bitter falling-out with his longtime friend and producer, Zhang Weiping, and Beijing New Picture Film Co., in the aftermath of lackluster profits from their most recent collaboration, the World War II-era epic “The Flowers of War,” starring Christian Bale.

However, the announcement came at a delicate time for both parties.

On Tuesday, LeTV, the online TV and film portal that owns Le Vision Pictures, temporarily suspended trading of its shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in response to a statement from Sharp, the Japanese television manufacturer, denying LeTV’s assertion that the two companies were collaborating on a smart-TV product. Late Tuesday, LeTV said shares of the portal would resume trading on Wednesday.

And Zhang recently has been subjected to public scrutiny surrounding allegations that he fathered up to seven children with three or four women, in potential violation of family planning laws.

Further details of the agreement were not made public. Zhang Zhao, the chief executive of Le Vision Pictures (and no relation to the director), said only that the deal came together “within the span of a few weeks.”

With a fast-growing audience for online videos in China, the collaboration represents an opportunity for Zhang and Le Vision Pictures to broaden their audiences.

LeTV, which has been referred to as China’s Hulu, was one of the first video websites in China to buy the copyrights to a large number of films and television shows. At a news conference, Zhang underscored his need to “keep up with the times and keep up with the pace of the young audience on the Internet.

Source: https://www.wftv.com/ap/ap/entertainment/chinese-filmmaker-in-deal-to-make-films-for-theate/nX5W5/