CATDOLL: Oriental DreamWorks quietly changed its leadership and is currently rushing to produce "Kung Fu Panda 3"

Oriental DreamWorks' new CEO has been in office for almost four months and has yet to be officially announced to the outside world. They may be busy making "Kung Fu Panda 3".

The reporter learned that the new CEO James Fong (Fang Gan) officially took office in November 2014, and is mainly responsible for all businesses of Oriental DreamWorks, including content production, distribution, consumer derivatives licensing, etc. James Fong's appointment was quite low-key, and the information available so far is his previous resume.

James Fong joined Amazon in 2012 and is responsible for Amazon China's third-party platform business, including "Sell on Amazon", "Amazon Logistics" and "Global Selling" projects. Prior to joining Amazon, James Fong was the managing director of TMT investment at Dahua Tongyin, responsible for Internet investment, financing and strategic consulting business; he also served as the managing director of NBA China Strategy and Investment, responsible for investment and business development of sports performance centers, Internet and basketball leagues; before that, he also worked for Microsoft China and served in the US Air Force.

Oriental DreamWorks was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between China Media Capital (CMC), Shanghai Media Group (SMG), Shanghai United Investment Co., Ltd. (SAIL) and Hollywood’s DreamWorks Animation. DreamWorks Animation is famous for producing “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Kung Fu Panda” series. Li Ruigang, the founding chairman of China Media Capital, serves as the chairman of Oriental DreamWorks.

James Fong's predecessor, Guenther Hake (Chinese name Han Gang), was the senior vice president of Disney's Greater China Consumer Products Division. He worked in this position for a year and a half and is now the head of Turner Broadcasting China under Time Warner Group. Guenther Hake's joining at that time was considered to help enhance Oriental DreamWorks' ability in the development of derivative products.

But now it seems that Oriental DreamWorks is more concerned about the production of Kung Fu Panda 3. In January this year, Kung Fu Panda 3 was identified as a co-production by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, which means that this animated film, which will be released in North America in the spring of 2016, will not occupy the quota of imported films when entering the Chinese market. At the same time, DreamWorks Animation and its Chinese partners will enjoy a 43% higher box office share than imported films. This is the first animated film produced by the joint venture. Previously, Oriental DreamWorks was more involved in the distribution of American companies in China.

The Kung Fu Panda series has only produced two films in 2008 and 2011, but the adorable Po has already grossed nearly $1.3 billion worldwide, becoming a veritable money-making machine. In the Chinese market, the Kung Fu Panda series has earned a total of about $120 million at the box office.

So far, James Fong has not made a public appearance. According to the reporter, the IP (Intellectual Property) of Kung Fu Panda 3 is currently in the hands of Oriental DreamWorks, which is also conducive to the subsequent development of the image of the joint venture company.

DreamWorks Animation's recent performance has been poor, with many of its films failing to perform as expected, and the company has taken a series of measures, including layoffs, cutting production costs, and reducing film production. At the same time, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, believes that China is "very important" to the joint venture. In the past three years, he has come to China almost every month. The company's chief financial officer, Fazal Merchant, said that Katzenberg has close ties with China and is very familiar with the market, and that the Chinese market is the company's "blessed land."