KEVIN GEIGER | Fretful Laowai Summer Vacation Show
Today Kevin Geiger & I bring you a special “Fretful Laowai: Summer Vacation" edition of Big Fish! In it we discuss our new alliance on the movie I’m developing in France, film festivals, some recent guests on my new podcast “If I Knew You Better”, my appearance on “The Carl King Podcast”, and what the changing tides (personal, professional, international) mean for us both. We aim for fun, informative, & thoughtful too; hope you enjoy it!
KEVIN GEIGER links:
Peewee Frog books http://peeweefrog.com/news.html
Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com
BRENDAN DAVIS on “The Carl King Podcast”:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-carl-king-podcast/id1202709564?i=1000440895085
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/carlkingdom/brendan-davis-interview-carl-king-podcast-15-060619
or SEARCH it in your favorite podcatcher
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
JAMES GOODNIGHT | Photography, China Car Culture, & Expat Life Hacks
James Goodnight is an Arts Center graduate who adventured around the US after school, but that was just the start. He moved to Beijing 10 years ago and built a career as a commercial photographer, specializing in car ads. He’s also a big fan of indoor watersports, and tells us all about that. James’ story involves a lot of synchronicities and I just had one of those days myself yesterday, so I share my own weirdly funny tale in the intro.
JAMES GOODNIGHT links:
Web: http://james-goodnight.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flywave_official/
Flywave WeChat: flywave_china
LISTEN -
“If I Knew You Better”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
KEVIN GEIGER | Revenge of the Fretful Laowai Radio Hour!
Returning champion Kevin Geiger (Magic Dumpling, Peewee Frog; ex-Disney) is back for another freewheeling China chat! We start with an outline and let it rip from there. Big fun, and a big reason I rebooted the podcast. We talk about returning home & expat ennui (hence the “Fretful Laowai” show handle), our new projects, how to (and how NOT to) package and produce a feature film (note: it really helps if you hire a rockstar cinematographer, and then he brings on partners who’ve worked on Green Book, the latest Star Wars, Interstellar, etc) and lastly: how to tell if you’ve been in China for too damn long. Enjoy!
KEVIN GEIGER links:
Peewee Frog books http://peeweefrog.com/news.html
Magic Dumpling Entertainment www.magicdumpling.com
Huhu Studios http://huhustudios.com
《神隐桃花源》“Shen Yin Tao Hua Yuan” / “Hidden in the Peach Blossom Garden” https://www.awn.com/blog/breaking-boundaries-beijing
SEARCH “If I Knew You Better” in all podcatchers OR listen / learn more below:
LISTEN - APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 / WEB PLAYER: http://ifiknewyoubetter.libsyn.com/website/ LINKS https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/knew-resources
“How China Works”: LISTEN - APPLE: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-iTunes / ANDROID: http://howchinaworks.libsyn.com / SOUNDCLOUD: https://tinyurl.com/HowChinaWorks-Soundcloud / STITCHER: https://tinyurl.com/hcw-stitcher / WEB PLAYER: https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com
“Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom”: APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2 / SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/brendan-davis-2 / STITCHER: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/brendan-davis/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom / WEB PLAYER: http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
MARTIN BARNES: Mountains of Imagination
“I used to introduce myself in the wrong way, and I used to talk about the mechanics, because I felt like that’s what people needed to know, and that that’d make me appear to be an expert. But I don’t need to know how my 4G works for me to buy a smartphone. I want to know: what are the results I get? And so I realized by my mistakes, I need to show the audience in my message. So my message went from WHAT I do, to WHY I do it.”
- Martin Barnes
Today’s guest is Martin Barnes. Martin is from South London and came to China 14 years ago. He has a very eclectic background and has worn a lot of hats professionally, mostly centered around art and design. He’s created logos, t-shirts - including a run back in the day with past show guest Dominic of Plastered8 - and done loads of work for advertising agencies, major car companies, etc.
His current company though, Mountains of Imagination, is based on designing presentations - you know, the need to stand up in front of a person or a group and drive a PowerPoint as you talk - in a way that you not only most effectively tell your story, but that you ENJOY yourself while doing it, too. The genius of this approach, as I saw for myself firsthand when I heard Martin speak at a event a few weeks ago, is that if you can prepare properly and relax enough to enjoy yourself while speaking, then your audience can relax enough to enjoy listening to you, and the story you’re sharing will stick in a way that isn’t possible otherwise.
This simple insight has proven to be a very successful one for Martin to build a company and a career around, but it’s the life lessons he learned leading up to this moment in his life that he shares in the interview that I think hit home the strongest with me. There’s a relevance in Martin’s methods to communicating that can positively impact ALL endeavors and transactions, both in business and in life. I think this is a very special one, and I hope you enjoy it.
On a personal level, I had a few takeaways that I’d like to share, too...
The first is about WeChat. I’m going to do a totally unpaid plug for WeChat - not that they need it here in Asia, but those of you listening from places where it hasn’t become the norm yet: my advice it to get it - it’s free - and learn it, live it, love it. I have friends & family back home that I’m basically their only WeChat friend, and we use it ALL THE TIME. Get it. Then add me! My WeChat ID is just my name, BrendanDavis, with no space between Brendan and Davis. Easy.
But the conversation also got me thinking about opportunity. As we talk about in the episode, opportunities are everywhere, but the ones in China are particularly significant. And interestingly, it’s the very things that often drive people from more Western cultures a bit crazy here that are the same things that CREATE massive opportunity for innovation.
For my industry, it’s the awareness that China will never be Hollywood. And I don't think for a second that it wants to be. It just wants to be...itself. But it's still discovering what that means. Luckily, I think I can help. Which is why I’M here. :D
On a more universal note, my take on things it that as an outsider, we need for our contributions to bring enough value that we are worth the extra effort it takes for locals to deal with and take care of us (between language issues, cultural difficulties, the higher pay we expect and the higher expectations that go along with that) and vice versa.
Anyway, speaking of opportunity and in the spirit of asking for what you want and need, and since you never know who's listening who might need exactly what I have to offer, I'm going to be super candid here and share that the personal benefit of hearing Martin’s lessons was that it gave me extra fuel to help me work out the business plan for the new company I want to build here - and the show is one small part of that.
I’m proud of the growth in both quality and audience that we’ve had so far, and with support, I can continue to make it better and better and also expose it to a much wider audience, which is essential to make this what I see that it can be.
So if you're a potential sponsor or partner for the show, please reach out and let's discuss what that could look like. And in the meantime: if you feel that you receive value from the show, you can help support it with a share, a like, a comment, or a donation to the cause. Support links to Paypal and WeChat Pay are in the show notes and on the website, crazyinagoodway.com. It's fast, it’s easy, and it would really make a difference. Thanks!
Okay, now on with the show. This one is long and in-depth, and highly practical but fun and philosophical, too. Enjoy it!
Martin Barnes & Mountains of Imagination:
http://www.mountainsofimagination.com
Start With Why by Simon Sinek:
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
https://startwithwhy.com/
Brendan Davis on WeChat:
BrendanDavis
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
BFMK website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
BFMK Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
Other links to LISTEN:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-links/
SUPPORT BFMK via PayPal or WeChat:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/donate/
BFMK PayPal direct DONATION link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=K5W6EANCYSQHU
JESSE WEINER: Entertainment Law in China
#019 - Entertainment Law in China | Jesse Weiner
This week’s episode features Jesse Weiner. Jesse is an entertainment lawyer with 10 years experience living and working in China. And although he is based back in Los Angeles now, Jesse expects to spend much more time coming back to China now that the entertainment business here is reaching a new stage of maturation.
First, a few housekeeping notes:
As long time listeners are aware, the release day of the show each week has shifted around a bit since I first launched. This has been due to a variety of reasons, but the last two weeks have drifted to Thursday and I think that will become the new home for now. A practical benefit of this has to do with the time difference between the US and China, and how that affects information flow back and forth, which is often a factor.
For instance, in the unedited raw interview for this episode, Jesse spent about five minutes discussing a particular business deal he had been in the middle of, now closed, that is unprecedented and very interesting. If I released this episode with that chunk of information, it would've been a Big Fish exclusive! But of course, the clients have their own timetable for when they are going to put out their press release, which is “not yet”...and the back-and-forth between the US and China to nail that down pushed us an extra day this week. So I pulled that little chunk out of the final interview. Once the news is announceable, though, I will release it as a very short bonus feature for this episode.
There is a great deal of information in this one, with something for everyone, but lots that is especially of interest to my friends working in the film and TV business internationally or those who follow it. We talk about the current state of evolution of the industry, and do a deep dive into the mechanics of what works and what doesn't work between these two business cultures.
Also, it turns out that Jesse actually had a pretty cool story before ever deciding to enter law school. He has a graduate education in music, and initially came to China as a composer and conductor as well as being a professor at the Central Conservatory, which is the most preeminent music school in China. In the episode he draws a parallel between conducting music and the practice of law that I think probably only he could make, so check it out.
My last note is that while many of the recent few shows lately have had a heavy entertainment business focus, the next few episodes will shift things up a bit. If you’d like to give me feedback about the show in any way, please contact me at the links below. Thanks!
Jesse Weiner:
http://www.yingkeinternational.com/office/united-states
jesseweiner@yingkelawyer.com
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
BFMK website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
BFMK Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
Other links to LISTEN:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-links/
SUPPORT BFMK via PayPal or WeChat:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/donate/
BFMK PayPal direct DONATION link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=K5W6EANCYSQHU
ROB CAIN: The China-Hollywood Experiment
#014 - The China-Hollywood Experiment | Rob Cain
“I think (he) did a great disservice, to both himself and the industry, with his boastful approach, his pretty outlandish claims about everything he was going to accomplish, the really profligate spending, and that came back to bite him.” - Rob Cain
Today’s guest is Rob Cain. Rob is a partner in Pacific Bridge Pictures. He has worked for more than 25 years in Hollywood and the global entertainment industry, primarily as a production, finance, strategy and creative development expert. He writes a column for Forbes magazine focusing on the Chinese and Indian film industries and their intersections with Hollywood. Rob is also an award-winning screenwriter, with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business, and he has been doing business in China since 1987.
The short version of all that is that Rob is one of the original “old China hands” in the entertainment business, and his insights into the Hollywood-China experiment are as good as they get.
Before I get into the rest of this, let me share one note about what I mean when I say that I’m not trying to get too political here. By that, I mean that I’m not trying to stir anything up, plus I want shows to age well and not focus too much on current events. But I DO want to be as candid and honest as is polite and prudent, and to let guests speak for themselves without me censoring them as much as possible. Today’s episode is perhaps the best example of testing this idea in practice that we’ve had so far. Hopefully I got the balance right.
In this chat, both Rob and I reveal or underline (respectively) our fundamental positions as being optimists by default, able to find bright spots and some successes now and hoping to see even more in the future. But we also get very candid about the challenges to those optimistic positions, institutionally and otherwise. The conversation skips the standard talking points to provide a small glimpse at how those who are the most in-the-know about the realities of the complicated China-Hollywood relationship oftentimes discuss it in private...
We talk about the impact of capital outflow restrictions, the excessive regulations aimed at controlling content, and the giant attitudinal / cultural mistakes made by Wang Jianglin in particular as an example of how NOT to successfully work with Hollywood, or to build a business here in China that attracts foreign talent organically. On a more constructive note, we dig deep into what we think the smartest people in China need to know to best work with the international system, and vice versa. We talk about the perfect hypothetical pitch for a successful co-pro, and discuss where specifically even the most Chinese films that hope to be export-worthy fall short: STORY. And we even talk a little about how to fix this.
There is loads of both executive-level thinking and on the ground, practical advice in this episode, so I really encourage anyone who is either working in the entertainment business or who aspires to to check this one out. If you’d like to contact Rob, read his writing at Forbes, or learn more more about or support the show, you can do that via the appropriate links in the show notes. And I hope that you like the deeper-dive approach to the subject matter in this episode in general. Please let me know.
Rob Cain links:
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1863014/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertdcain
Articles: Forbes
Blog: China Film Biz
Twitter: @robcain
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
BFMK website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
BFMK Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
SUPPORT BFMK via PayPal or WeChat:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/donate/
BFMK PayPal direct link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=K5W6EANCYSQHU
Other links to LISTEN:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/podcast-links/
COCA XIE: Building A Red Carpet Bridge Between China and Hollywood
Building A Red Carpet Bridge Between China and Hollywood | Coca Xie
This week’s episode features Los Angeles TV producer and red carpet host Coca Xie, which flips my show’s usual format on it’s head. I usually feature foreigners who have come to China to do something interesting, but now that we are a few months into the podcast I wanted to begin getting another kind of voice in the mix, namely: Chinese people who have taken their insights into things here and gone to another country in order to build a bridge to China from their new side of the sea. Every 10 episodes I will add one of these into the mix, and I can’t think of a better person to start with than Coca.
I have known Coca for just a few years, but in that short amount of time she has accomplished a great deal. She’s established herself in both New York and L.A. as a bilingual reporter and host for Chinese and China-centric entertainment shows and events, but as a producer, she’s building a platform that is the first of it’s kind and is uniquely positioned to connect the US and Chinese entertainment worlds like never before. She’s a genuinely nice person on top of being very driven, and there are lots of funny stories as well as sharp insights in this one, so I hope you enjoy it.
To learn more about Coca or the show, please visit the links below. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE wherever you get your podcasts, tell any friends you think would also like the show, and if you think you or a friend would be a great guest on the show, let me know!
Coca Xie - Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/littleleafyuko/?hl=en
Coca Xie - Weibo:
http://weibo.com/littleleafyuko
"BFMK" site:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2
CastBox:
http://castbox.fm/u/4711710