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

JESSE APPELL: The Comedy Scene in China

“I always sum up China in two words: cognitive dissonance.” - Jesse Appell

Boston native Jesse Appell has launched a successful business and speaks Chinese like a local, but that’s not all he’s accomplished during his time in Beijing. Jesse is one of only a handful of Westerners who is trained in the Chinese comedy art of xiangsheng, or crosstalk. It’s a discipline with a storied history here, and Jesse won a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to come study under a true master of the art, Ding Laoshi. But that was just the start of his career in China.

Jesse’s primary focus nowadays is on running the US-China Comedy Center here in Beijing. At the Center, they feature both single language and bilingual improv and standup comedy shows. Jesse founded the Center just about a year ago, but it’s already become a focal point for the growing comedy scene here. To give you an idea of what these shows are like, in the show notes I am including links to several examples of Jesse in action, which are subtitled and really funny regardless of your native language.

As a writer, Jesse has also been working hard to crack the elusive cross-cultural comedy code for movies. He has been developing a buddy picture that’s designed to truly appeal to both markets, and from what he says about it here, I think he might be onto something. 

This episode gets very deep into the worlds of comedy, creativity, and filmmaking, so it’s  especially worth checking out if you work in those worlds, aspire to, or just enjoy them and want to learn more. But Jesse’s thoughts about the obstacles to true communication are keenly observed, and should be interesting to anyone trying to understand the other cultural better. I hope you enjoy it!

Lastly, another quick reminder that we are still a featured show on the Castbox.fm website and the Castbox podcast app! Castbox works in your web browser, iOS, and they have an especially nice new app for Android devices. Please check us out on Castbox, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to us. 

US-China Comedy Center:
www.uschinacomedy.com

WeChat:
Uschinacomedycenter

Weibo:
@艾杰西

Jesse Appell - Chinese standup (subtitled):
https://youtu.be/UA2P-q9MxXk

"Chinese Mitch Hedberg" routine
http://m.youku.com/video/id_XNzU3ODkyNDgw.html 

Xiangsheng overview:
https://youtu.be/7QxW-KBE6EA

"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

Ximalaya:
http://m.ximalaya.com/82109155/album/8651374