EXTRAORDINARY ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES CO-DEVELOPMENT DEAL DURING GROUND-BREAKING CHINA INDIA EVENT AT THE SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Slate of Three Films will include the Actioner OPERATION WILD, with Renny Harlin aimed to direct
SHANGHAI (June 19, 2018) –– Renny Harlin and Daljit DJ Parmar’s Extraordinary Entertainment announced today that it will be entering a China/India co-development deal with India’s B4U. This is a result of a fruitful and high-profile China/India event that took place today at the Shanghai International Film Festival, hosted by the Australian AACTA’s Asia International Engagement Program and in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, and Shanghai Franlyn Media. Indian Consul General Anil Kumar Rai attended as the guest of honor on behalf of the Indian government.
The first of three films in Extraordinary and B4U’s co-development slate is the actioner Operation Wild, written by Brian Brightly (Inside Man 2, Bleed) with Renny Harlin (Skiptrace, The Legend of the Ancient Sword) set to direct. The film will co-star prominent Indian and Chinese actors. While plot details are being kept under wraps, Operation Wild is described as a large-scale action adventure story, in which two elite combat warriors from China and India lead covert forces to shut down a global wildlife poaching criminal organization.
This ground-breaking event has created an opportunity to engage in intercultural dialogue between the Chinese and Indian film industries, providing a platform to encourage further collaboration in culture and cinema. This co-development deal follows an impressive run of Indian films in the Chinese box office in recent years, including Indian films Dangal, which made $200 million (1.29 billion yuan) and Secret Superstar, topping the imported movies box office with over $118 million (746 million yuan).
“There is a very unique cultural synergy between Chinese and Indian cinema. The enormous success of co-production films like Kung Fu Yoga and other Indian films has helped pave the way for Indian content in China. Building on this, we are excited to develop our new China-India film slate beginning with Operation Wild and our partner B4U, one of India’s most renowned Entertainment companies,” said Extraordinary Entertainment’s CEO Daljit DJ Parmar.
Extraordinary Entertainment’s CCO Renny Harlin also commented: “I’m a huge fan of Indian cinema and feel that the talent in India, both in front of and behind the camera, is some of the best in the world. The stories are original and the films are filled with genuine energy and passion that touches the heart. I firmly believe that these combined markets will be the most potent force for storytelling in the world, breathing new life into the global film industry.”
B4U’s CEO Ishan Saksena commented: “I have known DJ and Renny for years and have loved working with them. I was thoroughly impressed with their emphasis and detail behind the human emotions that underpins the storylines of their slate of Indo-China films. I think these films will highlight the emotional bond and cultural values that are common between the people of China and India. B4U is very proud to be with Extraordinary on this ground-breaking partnership.”
Lawyer Cao Yu negotiated the deal on behalf of Extraordinary, which is represented by UTA globally, with legal representation by Stephen L. Saltzman, Paul Hastings LLP, and Haiwen & Partners in China. Brightly is also represented by UTA.
About Extraordinary Entertainment
During Cannes last month, Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) and Producer Daljit DJ Parmar (Kung Fu Yoga) launchedExtraordinary Entertainment, a production and finance company based in Beijing and Hong Kong. Parmar serves as CEO and Harlin as Chief Creative Officer. The company focuses on developing international co-productions, as well as local language Chinese productions, and is backed by funding from strategic investors targeting the Chinese market, with a pipeline of $10MM-$50MM Action/Sci-Fi/Comedy/Adventure theatrical feature films, and new age premium scripted online television series. The outfit also serves as a directing vehicle for Harlin, as well as a platform for top Chinese up-and-coming directors.
Extraordinary Entertainment’s current slate includes Solara, which Harlin is aimed to direct and produce with Parmar, from the writing team of Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt (London Has Fallen, Expendables 3, Olympus Has Fallen). Solara is a Chinese tentpole Sci-Fi epic adventure revolving around an international team who have to work together in order to save the earth from a global catastrophe which threatens the entire human existence.
About B4U
B4U network is India’s leading Media and Entertainment company with a host of Bollywood movie and music channels that have presence and viewership in over 100 countries. B4U is also a large movie studio which successfully releases 10-15 movies per year. B4U’s recent successes include movies such as, “Queen” (IIFA best film 2014), “Airlift” (top 10 highest grossing films 2016), “Kaabil” (blockbuster film of 2017), “Punjab nahi Jaungi” (released 2017, and highest grossing film in Pakistan cinema history), Punjabi film “Carry on Jatta 2” (currently in theatres-highest grossing punjabi film in Indian cinema history), and “3 Stories” (official selection Shanghai Film Festival 2018).