JJ_BPK
09-30-2020, 08:18
1) As will all celebrities, their talents are not politics, so I for one don't want to hear their mumblings.
2)More interesting in this article is the fact that China is financing such a large percentage of the film industry. I would have thought that the Chinese government would marginalize any foreign entertainment and force its politized internal brands?
I have read several articles this year toting the Chinese pressure on the film industry to alter, adapt, and literally re-write films so that they, the Chinese, are shown as good guys rather than the villains.
Is this article showing us that the Chinese also are manipulating the perception of USA politics by squeezing the movie industry?? As the Left Coast leans heavily to the Left, the Chinese may not need to squeeze too hard..
‘The Rock’ Has Sold His Soul to China
Russia cannot buy the United States, but the Chinese can. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. They bought Joe Biden and his family. And now they’ve bought Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
By Edward Ring, September 28, 2020
The man Forbes magazine lists as the world’s highest-paid actor, Dwayne Johnson, has just endorsed Joe Biden for president. In a seven-minute video pinned to his Facebook profile, Johnson, also known as “The Rock,” explained, “In this critical election, I believe Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the best to lead our country, and as my first ever (public) presidential endorsement, I proudly endorse them for the presidential office of our United States.”
From reading through what are now over 100,000 comments in response to Johnson’s Facebook post, it’s clear at once that Johnson’s endorsement backfired. There are almost no comments supporting his decision. Roughly 95 percent of the comments are expressions of anger and feelings of betrayal.
Perhaps Johnson has laid an egg. Perhaps he didn’t know his fans at all.
Or perhaps he didn’t care about his American fans.
There’s a truism in the world of finance: “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” But if you’re Dwayne Johnson, or Lebron James, or countless other luminaries of sports and screen, you’ve put that time-tested wisdom aside in a mad dash after the Chinese market.
Never mind the slow but relentless inertia of history, and the inevitable clash it portends between the United States and China. If all you’re paying attention to is recent results and trends, the future for motion pictures, sort of like the future for professional basketball, is not in America, but China.
A look at some of the Rock’s blockbusters over the past decade suggests the real reason he’s endorsing Biden. He wants to please his Chinese partners.
For example, “Furious 7” in 2015 grossed $353 million in the United States but raked in $390 million in China. “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017 grossed $225 million in the United States and $392 million in China. Even more recent blockbusters delivered ongoing disparities. “Rampage” in 2018 grossed $101 million in the United States versus $159 million in China. “Skyscraper,” also released in 2018, grossed $68 million in the United States but hit $98 million in China.
Moreover, as most of America’s barely 40,000 movie theaters struggle with reopening, and may never fully rebound, China’s 70,000 movie theaters were reopened in August. And whereas the United States has 12 movie screens per 100,000 people, China only has five screens per 100,000. In other words, there is room for growth. Surely the future of movies is in China.
The Rock’s New Tequila Brand Eyes Chinese Consumers
It’s not just movies where the approval of the Chinese regime is critical to Johnson’s financial success, but also to smooth the way for sales of his new brand of tequila. Launched earlier this year, Johnson’s “Teremana” tequila is attacking a sleeping giant, the Chinese market for tequila.
Despite being heavy drinkers, the Chinese are just beginning to discover tequila. It is outsold by most all other imported Western spirits, with whiskey selling 10 times as much into the Chinese market as tequila. After a sustained marketing effort by tequila distillers, however, China is now considered the next big market. And who better to introduce tequila to the Chinese consumer than Dwayne Johnson?
Don’t rock that boat, Mr. Rock. Never mind Hong Kong, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, the South China Sea, the Silk Road debt traps, or the COVID bug. And never mind the overwhelming (and overwhelmingly unhealthy) influence Chinese money is having in almost every U.S. institution from academia and media and Big Tech to Hollywood. There’s money to be made.
link: (https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/28/the-rock-has-sold-his-soul-to-china/)
Troubling 😡😡
2)More interesting in this article is the fact that China is financing such a large percentage of the film industry. I would have thought that the Chinese government would marginalize any foreign entertainment and force its politized internal brands?
I have read several articles this year toting the Chinese pressure on the film industry to alter, adapt, and literally re-write films so that they, the Chinese, are shown as good guys rather than the villains.
Is this article showing us that the Chinese also are manipulating the perception of USA politics by squeezing the movie industry?? As the Left Coast leans heavily to the Left, the Chinese may not need to squeeze too hard..
‘The Rock’ Has Sold His Soul to China
Russia cannot buy the United States, but the Chinese can. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. They bought Joe Biden and his family. And now they’ve bought Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
By Edward Ring, September 28, 2020
The man Forbes magazine lists as the world’s highest-paid actor, Dwayne Johnson, has just endorsed Joe Biden for president. In a seven-minute video pinned to his Facebook profile, Johnson, also known as “The Rock,” explained, “In this critical election, I believe Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the best to lead our country, and as my first ever (public) presidential endorsement, I proudly endorse them for the presidential office of our United States.”
From reading through what are now over 100,000 comments in response to Johnson’s Facebook post, it’s clear at once that Johnson’s endorsement backfired. There are almost no comments supporting his decision. Roughly 95 percent of the comments are expressions of anger and feelings of betrayal.
Perhaps Johnson has laid an egg. Perhaps he didn’t know his fans at all.
Or perhaps he didn’t care about his American fans.
There’s a truism in the world of finance: “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” But if you’re Dwayne Johnson, or Lebron James, or countless other luminaries of sports and screen, you’ve put that time-tested wisdom aside in a mad dash after the Chinese market.
Never mind the slow but relentless inertia of history, and the inevitable clash it portends between the United States and China. If all you’re paying attention to is recent results and trends, the future for motion pictures, sort of like the future for professional basketball, is not in America, but China.
A look at some of the Rock’s blockbusters over the past decade suggests the real reason he’s endorsing Biden. He wants to please his Chinese partners.
For example, “Furious 7” in 2015 grossed $353 million in the United States but raked in $390 million in China. “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017 grossed $225 million in the United States and $392 million in China. Even more recent blockbusters delivered ongoing disparities. “Rampage” in 2018 grossed $101 million in the United States versus $159 million in China. “Skyscraper,” also released in 2018, grossed $68 million in the United States but hit $98 million in China.
Moreover, as most of America’s barely 40,000 movie theaters struggle with reopening, and may never fully rebound, China’s 70,000 movie theaters were reopened in August. And whereas the United States has 12 movie screens per 100,000 people, China only has five screens per 100,000. In other words, there is room for growth. Surely the future of movies is in China.
The Rock’s New Tequila Brand Eyes Chinese Consumers
It’s not just movies where the approval of the Chinese regime is critical to Johnson’s financial success, but also to smooth the way for sales of his new brand of tequila. Launched earlier this year, Johnson’s “Teremana” tequila is attacking a sleeping giant, the Chinese market for tequila.
Despite being heavy drinkers, the Chinese are just beginning to discover tequila. It is outsold by most all other imported Western spirits, with whiskey selling 10 times as much into the Chinese market as tequila. After a sustained marketing effort by tequila distillers, however, China is now considered the next big market. And who better to introduce tequila to the Chinese consumer than Dwayne Johnson?
Don’t rock that boat, Mr. Rock. Never mind Hong Kong, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, the South China Sea, the Silk Road debt traps, or the COVID bug. And never mind the overwhelming (and overwhelmingly unhealthy) influence Chinese money is having in almost every U.S. institution from academia and media and Big Tech to Hollywood. There’s money to be made.
link: (https://amgreatness.com/2020/09/28/the-rock-has-sold-his-soul-to-china/)
Troubling 😡😡