Fosun invested in Studio 8, and Hunan TV signed a deal with Lionsgate. But the transaction did not go through, leading to a falling out with STX.Īt the time, several studios were beginning to land major Chinese investments. Tang sought to follow up his slate deal with STX with a deal for TV. “You have to have a facilitator who has no ego, or a facilitator who really understands how both sides think,” Tang said at the UCFTI Expo in 2015. With his cultural fluency on both sides of the Pacific, he was well positioned as a go-between. He was an advisor on the sale of AMC Theatres to the Dalian Wanda Group in 2012, and helped connect STX Entertainment with Huayi Bros. When the company went under during the financial crisis, Tang decided to focus his attentions on the growing ties between China and Hollywood. He eventually returned to China as a banker for Bear Stearns based in Hong Kong. Tang, who declined to comment for this story, grew up in Shanghai and came to the U.S. “He has no real understanding of the basic fundamentals of the film business.” “When he speaks, he speaks in riddles that make no sense,” says one former employee. Or was it, like a lot of China-Hollywood marriages, a confection of bromides and blind optimism? But some are left to wonder if there ever any substance to Tang’s ambitions. The independent film business is notoriously difficult, and the landscape is littered with failures. The rapid rise and sudden fall of Tang’s media empire has critics and observers scratching their heads. Less than a year later, Tang’s lenders have seized control of the company and forced Open Road into bankruptcy. It was a rude introduction to the business, and it didn’t get better from there. Even worse, the film - though highly regarded by critics - failed to gain traction in the awards race. Two weeks later, the film opened to a dismal $3 million on 821 screens. Open Road was forced to cancel the red carpet, though the screening went ahead in a somber mood. But the night before, a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, killing 58 people.
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