Make Way for Chollywood!

B2 First · Gapped Text · Ready for B2 First 4th Edition Workbook, Macmillan Education Limited

You are going to read a newspaper article about the Chinese film industry. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A–G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

While she recognises how important special effects are, they can't exist in isolation.

In addition, the writers have failed to rise to the obvious challenge.

In fact, the latter title became China's first sci-fi blockbuster.

This has been done over the last four years to try to get the two markets to share ideas.

Conversely, films made in China are certainly on the increase.

They have the ability to engage everyone, a kind of universal appeal.

This figure is only expected to rise, which spells good news for the Chinese film market.

It earned an incredible $539 million in the first 12 days of its release in February 2019. Its phenomenal success was rather unexpected and it now sits in second place behind China's highest grossing film, Wolf Warrior 2. It very much looks like movie-goers prefer to see home-grown movies rather than Hollywood ones. The box office receipts certainly seem to reflect this trend with more than half preferring these to those made in America.

And other countries are starting to stand up and listen. The Hollywood Insider reported that, while Hollywood's position on the global stage was somewhat uncertain, Chinese language films were not only sold but showing an upward trend. Artisan Gateway, which carried out the report for the magazine, stated that revenue had fallen by just over 15% every year for American films released in China.

And they show no signs of decreasing any time soon. So, what is the appeal for Chinese audiences? What is encouraging them to look closer to home when making their movie choices? In short, what has changed in Chinese film-making? Stephanie Xu, who works for the US-Asia Innovation Gateway, puts it down to good storytelling and improvement in production.

Rather, it's the stories that leave a lasting impression and encourage people to head back to the cinema time and again. Ms Xu led a team of four writers from Hollywood who attended a special conference for Chinese scriptwriters in Beijing in January 2019.

The American writers get a great deal of inspiration from their Chinese counterparts. It makes them think of other ways in which to tackle script writing. They seem to be especially interested in how they approach storytelling and character development. Stories like Mulan and Kung Fu Panda are based on Chinese culture and traditional stories. These are often new to western audiences and nostalgic for domestic ones.

If Hollywood wants to compete with China, it's going to have to up its game. The old formula needs to be revised with a fresh, new approach to win back their market share.

There aren't many people in the world who haven't heard of Hollywood and Bollywood. Well, another film industry is slowly but surely making a big impact. It's challenging those two global giants for the top spot. Make way for the Chinese film industry, or Chollywood! With the success of such films as Operation Red Sea, Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth, China appears to have found a formula for keeping their own domestic audiences entertained. ___ It earned an incredible $539 million in the first 12 days of its release in February 2019. Its phenomenal success was rather unexpected and it now sits in second place behind China's highest grossing film, Wolf Warrior 2. It very much looks like movie-goers prefer to see home-grown movies rather than Hollywood ones. The box office receipts certainly seem to reflect this trend with more than half preferring these to those made in America. ___ And other countries are starting to stand up and listen. The Hollywood Insider reported that, while Hollywood's position on the global stage was somewhat uncertain, Chinese language films were not only sold but showing an upward trend. Artisan Gateway, which carried out the report for the magazine, stated that revenue had fallen by just over 15% every year for American films released in China. ___ And they show no signs of decreasing any time soon. So, what is the appeal for Chinese audiences? What is encouraging them to look closer to home when making their movie choices? In short, what has changed in Chinese film-making? Stephanie Xu, who works for the US-Asia Innovation Gateway, puts it down to good storytelling and improvement in production. ___ Rather, it's the stories that leave a lasting impression and encourage people to head back to the cinema time and again. Ms Xu led a team of four writers from Hollywood who attended a special conference for Chinese scriptwriters in Beijing in January 2019. ___ The American writers get a great deal of inspiration from their Chinese counterparts. It makes them think of other ways in which to tackle script writing. They seem to be especially interested in how they approach storytelling and character development. Stories like Mulan and Kung Fu Panda are based on Chinese culture and traditional stories. These are often new to western audiences and nostalgic for domestic ones. ___ If Hollywood wants to compete with China, it's going to have to up its game. The old formula needs to be revised with a fresh, new approach to win back their market share.

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