PARAMOUNT PICTURES, SHANGHAI FILM GROUP & HUAHUA MEDIA SIGN STRATEGIC AGREEMENT

Hollywood, CA and Shanghai (January 19, 2017) – Paramount Pictures Chairman & CEO Brad Grey, Shanghai Film Group Chairman Ren Zhonglun, and Huahua Media Chairman Wang Kefei jointly announced today their companies have entered into a three-year strategic agreement. 

Messrs. Grey, Ren and Wang recently met this past November in Shanghai to finalize terms of the deal. 

As part of the long-term strategic agreement, the three entities will work closely together in a spirit of cooperation and will actively seek opportunities for co-productions.  

Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media will also co-finance Paramount’s full slate of films over the next 3 years as part of the agreement. 

In addition, Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media will open and jointly maintain an office on the Paramount lot starting later this year.

“Shanghai Film Group’s long and successful history as a prolific studio, coupled with Huahua’s strong track-record in the Chinese market and its growing reach globally, make this a natural and powerful move for Paramount,” said Grey.  “We look forward to working with these two highly-respected entertainment industry leaders, Chairman Ren and Chairman Wang, and their entire organizations in the years ahead.” 

Chairman Ren said, “SFG is very honored to work with Paramount, which has produced so many internationally acclaimed classics and boasts very strong worldwide distribution, and Huahua has always been our firm partner. We look forward to working with Chairman Brad Grey and his team, with the hope this long-term and deep cooperation can help promote Chinese films worldwide and achieve a win-win situation.”

Chairman Wang said: “Huahua was founded to bring the highest quality to the audiences that filmmaking had to offer. For the past few years, we partnered with Shanghai Film Group to successfully bring great story telling to the Chinese audiences. Our initial projects with Brad Grey and his team at Paramount also proved successful. Today, I am delighted that our three companies have come together to devote our resources not only to serve our domestic viewers, but for audiences across the world.”

Paramount Pictures has partnered with Huahua Media on several films to date, including Transformers: the Age of Extinction; Jack Reacher: Never Go Back; Star Trek Beyond and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Shanghai Film Group was previously an investor on Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.