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
AUGUSTA XU-HOLLAND: Acting With Purpose
#018 - Acting With Purpose | Augusta Xu-Holland
This week's guest is Augusta Xu-Holland. Augusta is from New Zealand, and she came to China originally to be involved in the renewable energy sector here. And like many foreigners before her, she found herself presented with opportunities to appear in film and television. But unlike most of the others, Augusta found success attaining larger and larger roles fairly early into her career here, and she is now a very busy professional actress. She also continues her work in the energy field and can increasingly use her growing profile in the arts to serve as an ambassador for her scientific interests.
This was a particularly enjoyable conversation for me on many levels. Regular listeners to the show know that I have a lot of friends and connections to New Zealand, so discovering NZ overlap between Augusta and I was a treat. But speaking strictly in a professional context, Augusta has a real insider's view of well the film and TV industry works here from an actor's perspective, so hearing her take on the ins and outs of the business was very enlightening for me and I think it will be interesting for you as well. As a special treat, Augusta runs through a handy check list of tips, tricks, and advice for people looking to work as talent in China and discusses some of the resources one needs to be familiar with to do so. But even if you're listening to this episode from a couch in Birmingham, Alabama, there's a lot to relate to, so I hope you enjoy it!
Augusta Xu-Holland online:
www.augustaxuholland.com
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm7468083/
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
JEFF POWELL: Chef de China
#017 - Chef de China | Jeff Powell
This week’s guest is Jeff Powell: owner and chef of Frost here in Beijing, but that only scratches the surface of his impressive career. In addition to being a master chef and an executive consultant in his industry, Jeff is also a father, a family man, and a very nice guy. In the interview, he’s incredibly open about the challenges and the downsides of his time here as well as generous with sharing valuable business information that will be applicable to almost anyone trying to build or launch an endeavor of their own here, too, so there’s lots to enjoy and learn from.
Jeff’s background includes a stint as Sous Chef at the world-famous Stars restaurant in San Francisco for Jeremiah Tower, who is widely acknowledged as the father of California & New American Cuisine and a man who Anthony Bourdain called “the first celebrity chef”. An interesting twist on the narrative is that while Jeff was cooking his way to glory in San Francisco, he also became a well-known rave DJ! But eventually he moved to China, and that’s where his life truly changed. During his time here, Jeff has had great successes, learned tough lessons, and learned loads to share that I found to be very moving as he told his story.
As they say in the restaurant business, we get seriously into the weeds a bit regarding the restaurant industry, but we jump around a lot too, from the professional to the personal, so I hope you enjoy the ride.
Links to find out more about Jeff’s restaurant Frost or to learn more about me, the show, or to show your support in any way are included in the show notes below. Now, please enjoy my interview with Jeff Powell!
Jeff Powell’s Frost:
http://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2017/06/26/xingfucun-thaw-frost-returns-comfort-food-troubled-neighborhood
Jeremiah Tower interview:
http://www.bonappetit.com/story/jeremiah-tower-last-magnificent-interview
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
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/
TROY'S TEAM: The Way of the Fist
#016 - The Way of the Fist | Troy’s Team
Welcome back to Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom! I'm Brendan Davis, your host, and this week’s episode features Troy Sandford plus Myra Mala and Mayela Magrou, who are core members of Troy's Team. Troy's Team is a martial arts and stunts team here in Beijing who also offer training in what they practice. Troy and his team members have distinguished themselves in many ways with their contributions to action filmmaking in China, and their work is really fantastic. If you like impressive action and martial arts sequences, you will want to check out their videos, and if you’re in or visiting Beijing, contact them to take a class!
This episode was a first for me in that I got to interview three people at once. The resulting conversation was fast-paced as well as being very thoughtful in places, and the four-way interchange made it more dynamic than usual. As much as I enjoy the regular one on one interviews, the experience of doing this one makes me want to seek out more small groups and teams to speak with in the future as well. Links to find Troy’s Team online and learn more about them are available in the show notes. You can also visit my website, crazyinagoodway.com, to learn more about me, the show, to make a donation and support my efforts here, or just to say hi and let me know what you think. Any support or feedback is always greatly appreciated.
Also, in the show intro I also talk a bit about my recent trip as a cultural ambassador to Dunhuang, in Gansu Province, which was pretty amazing on many levels. I was a guest of my friend Amy Chen and her team at Global Communications and Cooperation Company, led by Bruce Huang. I’ve previously participated in other events for Global in Gannan, also in Gansu Province, as well as at the Zambia Embassy to China here in Beijing, and there’s never a dull moment. In Dunhuang, I got to ride a camel in the desert, tour grape vineyards and participate in an official kick-off ceremony for the season, and appear onstage at an event and make a few thousand people laugh, which was awesome and a load of fun - but the most profound moment was getting to visit the Mogao Caves and stand inside Buddhist temples dug into the hillside, some dating back more than a thousand years, in the presence of priceless antiquities. These kinds of opportunities are just one of the benefits I’ve found of being local here, making friends of all kinds, and remaining open to new experiences. I’m very grateful for the unexpected gift of this trip, for seeing my old friends Amy and Bruce and making my new friends Chen, Koen, Jean, Larissa, Liu Yue, and everyone else, and I'm excited to see what comes next.
Thanks as always for listening, I hope you enjoy, and I’ll see you next week!
Troy’s Team links:
Web - http://www.troysteamaction.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/troysteamaction
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/troysteam/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/troysteam
WeChat - detroyt99
Dunhuang and the Mogao Cave Temples:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunhuang
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves
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/
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
LINDSAY ARTKOP: The Rhythm of Education
#015 - The Rhythm of Education | Lindsay Artkop
Today’s show has a special twist. Usually our guests have anywhere between 5 and 30 years of China experience under their belts, and those conversations yield information and insights that you can only get with a lot of time spent on the ground. But my guest this week is unique in many ways, and only one of them is that she just got home from her very FIRST China trip...
My guest today is Lindsay Artkop. Lindsay is a professional drummer educated at the prestigious Berklee School of Music, where she earned a B.A in Professional Music with concentrations in Drum Set Performance and Music Business. She began playing drums at age 6, and though still a young woman, she has already distinguished herself in the world of performance, recording, and drum education in the US. And thanks to her recent whirlwind tour of Dalian, Zhuhai, Macau and Beijing, she can now add China to the list of places she has taken her Drum Clinic Tour to. In this episode, Lindsay talks about the unique challenges of teaching in such a different culture than what she’s used to, and she shares the lessons she took away from her experience that she feels will last her a lifetime.
In addition to her schedule of recording and performing, she also has drum students who study with her in Los Angeles as well as around the world, by Skype. Lindsay's full bio is available at the link below; check it out to learn more about her professional work, and to learn from and enjoy her insights as a first-time visitor to the Middle Kingdom, I hope you will enjoy the interview.
Okay! Don’t forget that if you’d like to learn more about Lindsay or the show, contact me, or support the podcast in any way, links to all of that are available in the show notes. Now, please enjoy my interview with Lindsay Artkop!
Lindsay Artkop online:
http://www.lindsayartkop.com/bio
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/
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/
CLAUDIA MASUEGER: Making Fine Wine Fun in China
#013 - Making Fine Wine Fun in China | Claudia Masueger
“I’m a Swiss mountain girl coming from a village with 300 people. I arrived in China in 2008 with two suitcases full of wine samples and a will to rock the dragon.” - Claudia Masueger
This week's interview was a whole lot of fun, and the fact that wine was involved is only part of the reason. The real credit goes to the great energy brought to the table by my guest, Claudia Masueger. Claudia is the Founder and CEO of CHEERS Wines, a chain of retail wine stores based in Beijing. She is from Switzerland and her family has been in the wine business for four generations. Claudia combines her genetic wine knowledge, a big-hearted enthusiasm for life, a love of meeting new people and learning about them, and her business acumen in a way that makes CHEERS a true laowai success story in China.
CHEERS’ goal is to make wine drinking fun and affordable for the emerging new wine generation in China. When Claudia arrived in 2008, she had huge dreams for China’s wine market, and she’s made a big impact already. She first built a successful wholesale business with B2B sales, but a changing landscape and then a massive warehouse fire that shut them down for four months gave her time to reevaluate her strategy, and CHEERS Wines was born. CHEERS focuses on the retail consumer, selling high quality imported wines at affordable prices, and with a special emphasis on offering unpretentious wine education to customers so that they can feel comfortable learning about and enjoying wine from around the world.
Contact links and more information about Claudia and CHEERS Wines can be found below.
Also, in show news: I spent several days updating the website and also getting the Facebook page in order. Please check them both out when you have a chance, LIKE the Facebook page, and let me know what you think!
Lastly this week, a bit of personal news that also affects the show: I have been planning to launch a big international press push right around now for some time, but a surprise (and drastic hit) to my income a couple months ago has really limited my ability to do what I was planning to do. The show will always be free, but if you enjoy it and would like to help support my efforts to make it better and to get it in front of even more people, I’ve added a new DONATION page to the website that will help you do so...
You can make a one-time contribution in any amount via the PayPal link or WeChat QR code. All funds will be used to build the show, and everything helps. Note that PayPal tells me who donates, but WeChat is anonymous - so if you contribute via WeChat I won’t know who to thank unless you tell me, but thanks all the same!
CHEERS Wines:
www.cheers-wines.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers_Wines
Claudia Masueger:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-masueger-cheerswines/
WeChat: Tseringlo
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 DONATION 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/
BRAD BURGESS: Localization and Leadership in China
Localization and Leadership in China | Brad Burgess
"I think the question is whether or not you are willing to invest your energy and your time to be a little bit more long-term, because the Chinese people are long-term people. They are long-term thinkers, they are strategic people, and they are relational people. You need to put in the time, you need to build your friendships, and you need to demonstrate that you are someone they want to do business with. You need to be willing to put out without getting an instant return." - Brad Burgess
It is no small achievement to come to a foreign country, build your own business, and crown yourself CEO over a local team that you have hired and built yourself. However, it is quite another accomplishment to be hired as the CEO of a local company as the only foreigner, having worked your way up from the very bottom of your industry, but that is precisely what Brad Burgess has done - and more - over the course of his successful career working in marketing and public relations in China.
Brad has handled highly sensitive tasks ranging from promotion to crisis management for a confidential client list that includes celebrities, top business leaders, and others with delicate PR considerations. He has been able to do this in part because he has become truly localized, having set an intention from the very beginning to become a local guy as much as possible, studying the leadership styles and messaging of countless Chinese business and opinion leaders in the process.
We dig deep into Brad's strategic recommendations for success, both for foreigners working in China, as well as for Chinese who want to work with foreigners in overseas markets themselves. Along the way we unearth many tidbits of interesting information regarding Brad's journey. I think it's a really interesting interview, and I hope you enjoy it.
For more information or to contact Brad or the show, visit the links below. Also, please subscribe and tell a friend about the show if you haven't already. Cheers!
Brad Burgess on LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-burgess-585ba513/
Brad Burgess on WeChat:
吴大哥 (Bradley Burgess)
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
“BFMK" website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com.
“BFMK” Facebook (just launched, more coming soon!):
https://www.facebook.com/BigFishMiddleKingdom/
To LISTEN or SUBSCRIBE:
http://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com
Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2
CastBox:
http://castbox.fm/u/4711710
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/m/I6czuz5n5svzfh4dm3r2y6jx4ji?t=Big_Fish_in_the_Middle_Kingdom
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIENWrdP2tlqtbz2PRiRtqw
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
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
MATT WILLIAM KNOWLES: Acting in China, Los Angeles & London
#008 - Acting in China, Los Angeles & London | Matt William Knowles
My guest this week is American actor Matt William Knowles. Matt's story is pretty incredible: he played football at Clemson and had a real shot at playing professionally, but had his NFL dreams crushed along with his knee during his senior year. A humble guy, he decided to take a break and help others while he healed himself, and he ended up teaching English in Guizhou Province in rural China. He mastered Mandarin, was discovered singing Chinese karaoke by a talent agent in a bar, and was launched on his path to becoming a TV star and film actor in China. Along the way, he became the first non-Asian to study acting at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, which is essentially the Harvard of filmmaking in China, only more selective.
Cut to 2017: having made a significant name for himself in China, Matt has relocated to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and master stage acting. Meanwhile, he looks forward to the 2018 release of Asura, a giant Chinese $100M USD fantasy movie that provided him with what looks to be his breakout role, starring as Rawa, a heroic demigod battling evil. The film looks awesome and will hopefully cross borders and bridge cultures in much the same way that Matt himself has been doing in his work and in his life. Enjoy!
One 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 and they also have an iOS app, but they have an especially nice app for Android devices. Please check us out on Castbox, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to us.
Matt William Knowles:
http://mattwilliam.com
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
"Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom" on Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2
on Castbox:
https://castbox.fm/channel/Big-Fish-in-the-Middle-Kingdom-id571573
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
DOMINIC JOHNSON-HILL: Building a Brand in Beijing
"And then suddenly, like 10 million people knew my telephone number, and it was a turning point for the brand, because when that show started to air China-wide, my phone didn’t stop ringing for two years.” - Dominic Johnson-Hill, Plastered 8
#007 - Building a Brand in Beijing | Dominic Johnson-Hill
Dominic Johnson-Hill is a British punk-rock Renaissance man. He’s famous in China for many things but he is probably best known as being the man who single-handedly began the transformation of an almost 800 year old (!) hutong called Nan Luo Gu Xiang - dating back to the days of Kubla Khan - into becoming one of the busiest and most popular tourist and shopping / nightlife destinations in Beijing around the world. If you have ever visited Beijing or looked into it on travel websites, you’ve seen the area featured as a must-see. Dominic was the very first person to open a store there, and the rest is history.
He did this as the founder of iconic street wear brand Plastered 8, a truly “only in China” success story that you have to hear for yourself. I am an unofficial brand ambassador for Plastered myself, being a huge fan of their crazy and cool t-shirts (owning about 20 as of now), so I was excited to hear the tale of how he built the brand straight from the horse’s mouth. The story quoted above starts at about the 10-minute mark of the interview, but the whole thing is a wild ride that you have to hear for yourself. Among Dominic's other innovations and “media moments”, he has gotten worldwide press as being the creator of canned “Beijing Air”, but that only scratches the surface of his innovation and creativity. He has created a 30 square meter mural in the high-end Beijing art hotel The Opposite House, has been a TV host and presenter as well as frequent guest on talk and game shows here, he's a filmmaker who directs his own commercials, and much more.
This one is full of inspired and occasionally raunchy, hilarious content; if you’re highly sensitive you might wince a few times, but I grew up on Monty Python, Benny Hill, and other English humor, so I laughed throughout the talk. One note is that we did have a few Skype issues. I edited around them as well as possible, and as always I strive to make those edits seamless, but this week there are a small handful that you will probably hear. There are also a couple of places where the audio quality gets weird in general for maybe 5-10 seconds, but I don’t think it detracts from the comprehension of the stories being told, so I hope you can bear with those brief moments when they pop up.
Lastly, I’m excited to announce that starting this week, we are a featured show on the Castbox.fm website and the Castbox podcast app! Castbox works in your web browser and they also have an iOS app, but they have an especially nice app for Android devices. Please check us out on Castbox, and subscribe to the show wherever you listen to us. Enjoy!
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
Plastered 8:
https://plasteredtshirts.com
about Dominic Johnson-Hill:
http://plasteredtshirts.com/category/dominic/
Castbox:
https://castbox.fm
"Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom" direct links -
on Apple Podcasts:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187?mt=2
on Castbox:
https://castbox.fm/channel/Big-Fish-in-the-Middle-Kingdom-id571573
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
STEVE BARR: Screenwriting and Producing in L.A., New Zealand, and Beijing
#006 - Screenwriting and Producing in L.A., New Zealand, and Beijing | Steve Barr
“Over the last 30 years, they (China) have raised more people out of poverty than ever before in the history of the human race, which is amazing. (Most of) the young people in China have such an optimistic view of the future because their life has gotten better every single year.” - Steve Barr
This week’s episode was recorded on location from the 2017 Shanghai Film Festival, but the guest is one of my best friends from L.A. Steve Barr is a writer, producer, and occasional actor who has worked and traveled extensively throughout and between the very different film industries in Los Angeles, China, and New Zealand. His recent credits in one or more of those capacities include Born to Dance, Chronesthesia, Hang Time, and the remake of Pete’s Dragon, in which he had a small but memorable supporting role.
In this interview, Steve discusses the unique challenges and opportunities inherent to the various filmmaking systems, and he explains his working process with a level of detail and candor that will be especially useful to anyone working in a creative industry such as film. He also shares lessons and thoughts that will particularly resonate with anyone who’s spent significant time in China, but which are applicable to travelers in foreign lands regardless.
We cover a lot of ground in this one. As we say in the interview, I want to give full disclosure upfront that Steve and I are not only long time friends, but that we are and have been business colleagues in all three countries, too. Steve was a part of my previous company based in L.A., we are currently partners in a film production company in New Zealand with our friend Andy Conlan, and the partners in my Beijing film company hired him to write the screenplay for an upcoming historical epic film of ours. Steve is now part of that company too, so there are a lot of interrelationships here. Still, we make a serious effort to not be overly self-serving, as the goal of discussing some of our projects past and present is not promotional, but educational and practical. Because we have lots of shared real-world examples to draw from in our discussion, it helps us to be much more real than if we stayed strictly theoretical.
The episode is now available on Apple Podcasts, on most of the popular Android / Google apps, on the Chinese service Ximalaya - please search it in your favorite of those places - and of course on the Podcast player here. Of course I’m biased, but I do think it’s a fun conversation, and I hope you enjoy it! Please tell a friend, subscribe, or send me feedback below as you like.
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Brendan Davis on Twitter:
@VeritasInLux
Steve Barr on Twitter:
@BarrSteve
Steve Barr writing website (with Casey Zilbert):
http://www.scwheelbarrow.com
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
STEVE HOFFMAN: Silicon Valley with Chinese Characteristics
Episode #005 - Silicon Valley with Chinese Characteristics
I was very fortunate this week to get a chance for a proper interview with Steve Hoffman, aka "Captain Hoff". He is the Founder and Captain of Founders Space, a top tech incubator / accelerator from Silicon Valley that has been very successful in establishing themselves in China and elsewhere around the world as well. Steven is a very dynamic thinker and speaker who has had big business success globally, currently has a best-selling book in Chinese ("Making Elephants Fly"), and he has become a highly in-demand keynote speaker here, appearing in front of many millions of people in live audiences and simulcasts online throughout China in just this last year alone, so it is a real treat for me to welcome him to the show.
In our chat, Steven shares solid, actionable advice for those seeking to create or advance their startup, what types of projects they look for at Founders Space, and other information that is invaluable to business people of all kinds. And of course we devote a lot of energy to China-specific questions, and get deeply into the answers, whether it’s discussing the unique opportunities here, what China is better at than their counterparts elsewhere and vice versa, and much much more. It is jam-packed with great information and I hope you enjoy it!
Steven’s resume is varied and extensive. Quoting from the Founders Space website a bit, for more context:
"Always innovating on his life, Steven Hoffman, known as Captain Hoff, has tried more professions than cats have lives, including serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, angel investor, mobile studio head, computer engineer, filmmaker, Hollywood TV exec, published author, coder, game designer, manga rewriter, animator and voice actor.
Hoffman was Chair of the Producers Guild Silicon Valley Chapter, Board of Governors of the New Media Council, and founding member of the Academy of Television’s Interactive Media Group.
After starting three venture-funded startups in Silicon Valley, Hoffman launched Founders Space with the mission to educate and accelerate entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Founders Space has become one of the top startup accelerators in the world with over 50 partners in 22 countries. Hoffman has trained hundreds of startup founders and corporate executives in the art of innovation and routinely works with the world’s largest global corporations and venture funds. He’s also an LP in August Capital."
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Founders Space info:
https://www.foundersspace.com
Steven Hoffman full bio:
https://www.foundersspace.com/mentors/hoffman/
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
BENJAMIN SAPHIRO: Art & Identity
“The West was built on American steel; China, on bamboo.” - Benjamin Saphiro
My guest for Episode #004 is Benjamin Saphiro. Ben is a poet and painter from the Midlands area of Birmingham, England. He is an intuitive and bold artist, and he brings a very thoughtful, grounded perspective to the creation of his work and to his life. We talk about everything from Abraham Maslow to metaphysics to Black Sabbath. It’s a wide-ranging chat that also somehow manages to go by very fast, too.
All episodes are available in the usual podcatchers or you can listen HERE, on the site.
I first met Ben on a Beijing trip 9 months before I actually moved here. We have talked a lot before, and as a result we had a very personal, philosophical, and revealing talk here. We did this interview in person, at Ben's home, and his beautiful golden retriever Sandy kept us company, so if you hear something in the background that you can’t quite put your finger on, that’s probably her! It doesn’t interfere with the sound at all, and it made the interview feel very relaxed for us, so I hope that there will be more dogs or cats keeping me company in future episodes.
In this episode, we discuss the nature of identity and some of the ways that long-term travel and living away from your country of origin impacts your life and your work, among other things. So regardless of what YOU do for a living, or WHERE you are living, I think there’s lots to relate to. We were both in a particularly reflective mood when we recorded this, having enjoyed some drinks and a good catch-up conversation before we ever started recording, so I think that helped us to - occasionally - go deep. But it’s also very light and funny in places, and it’s an easy, fast listen, so I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Show Notes:
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Benjamin Saphiro:
http://www.bensaphiro.com
Carl King (composer):
http://carlkingdom.com
JENNIFER HSIUNG: Comedy & Family
Jennifer Hsiung - Comedy & Family
This week’s guest is Jennifer Hsiung. Jennifer is a Canadian born to Taiwanese parents; she lives and works in Beijing as a TV anchor and reporter, a budding standup comedian, and - as she is 7 months pregnant at the time of posting this - is a very busy mother of “two and a half” kids.
Jennifer first came to China on a cultural exchange trip, but her big break after she moved to the mainland was when she became a sports reporter for CCTV during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That opportunity led to many others as a reporter and news anchor, and Jennifer is now a host of the popular show “Culture Express” on CGTN, formerly CCTV English International, where she interviews prominent guests from the arts and entertainment world. She is also part of the growing standup comedy scene in China, which we discuss in detail.
This episode is as real as it is comedic. Jennifer brings a very interesting perspective to the show; as someone who is a foreigner from North America, but is of Asian ancestry, she has unique insights into both worlds that are worth hearing, and she has a way of making the truth funny that I think you’ll really enjoy.
If you DO enjoy it, please SUBSCRIBE to the show if you are new here, tell a friend or two about us, and check out the links below to get in touch or learn more!
"BFMK" Website:
https://www.crazyinagoodway.com
Jennifer Hsiung links:
https://www.facebook.com/JenExpress
https://www.youtube.com/user/pumpkinvive88
Weibo / WeChat: JenniferHsiung熊邦欣
Carl King (composer):
www.carlkingdom.com
CHINAVERSARY
Hey! Thanks for checking out my site, and (hopefully) my new podcast, "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom". I am writing this on May 20, 2017 China Standard Time, and today is my ONE-YEAR "Chinaversary":
It's the date I moved, after lots of visits and time spent here, to Beijing from Los Angeles. It was a big move, and a big deal for me at the time, but the weight and (mostly) powerful consequences of that decision grow by the day for me...so I wanted to talk about it with my friends, and as I've done so, lots of what they have had to say has been worth sharing with YOU, hence the podcast.
So I'm not sure how you ended up checking out this page, but I am glad you're here. There is a lot more to say about the hows and whys and ups and downs and benefits of me move, and on the podcast I will end up saying MUCH more than I would subject you to reading here. Hardly anyone reads blogs these days, right? Especially "groovy expat adventure" oriented ones.
But podcasts are a great, and growing, way to share information, insights, and entertainment with all kinds of people, in the comfort of their own ears and at their own pace / level of commitment, so...I humbly offer my contribution to that medium, and to the growing conversation focused on how East and West can best work, understand, and agree with each other.
The very first episode (featuring <7 minutes of me talking about the show and giving enough relevant backstory about myself to launch this sucker) is up and live NOW! You can check it out in iTunes HERE, search it on the Google / Android / Windows-friendly podcast aggregators by show name, or just listen to it online HERE.
But regardless of HOW you check it out, I hope that you DO - especially considering some of the interesting people I have lined up to interview for the subsequent episodes. I have venture capitalists, film and TV creators and personalities, standup comedians, screenwriters, philanthropists, artists and educators and business people of all kinds queued up to bring to you, one each week, and I really can't wait for you to hear what these folks have to say.
Okay! Please check out the show if you're interested, SUBSCRIBE if you like it, and and send me feedback or however you like. I am easy to find online and will reply as soon as I can. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the show!
Episode 001 is now LIVE!
In this first, short installment, I give an overview of what the show is all about, plus just enough backstory on me to give it all context:
Episode #001 - Welcome to BFMK | Brendan Davis
You can subscribe in iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/big-fish-in-the-middle-kingdom/id1237037187
or view it directly on the web HERE.
You can also search "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom" in your favorite pod app, or you can always subscribe to the RSS feed here on this site, via the link at the bottom of the page.
New episodes coming every week at 11:11AM Saturdays, China Standard Time. Please SUBSCRIBE, leave feedback as you like, and see you then!
- B
SMALL POST, BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
Considering what a big deal this is to me, and what a milestone this represents, this will be an incredibly short post:
On May 20, 2017, I am launching my new podcast.
It has been in the works for a long time; long before I moved to China, in fact. But as of May 20th I will have spent one entire year living here and building a company, so the time is right to finally do this.
The show is called "Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom", and I hope that you'll download it and give us a listen when we go live.
The premise is that each week I will interview a fellow foreigner who has likewise moved to China in order to either build their brand, launch a product, make a name for themselves, give back in some way, or just to be a part of this crazy adventure of living in the world's biggest entrepreneurial pond.
I currently have a 30-person-deep potential guest list made up of people from the film, finance, philanthropic, and mainstream business worlds primarily, but with some sweet curveballs thrown in for good measure. My first four interviews are lined up, and I will post a new one every week for 52 weeks a year until either I or you are absolutely sick of it - whichever comes first.
Our original theme music and other musical cues were composed by none other than the awesome Carl King (find him at carlkingdom.com), with drums by Mike Stone (https://soundcloud.com/demise-o)
Again: March 20 is the proper launch date. Internet gods willing, we will be available everywhere then - or if not, then shortly thereafter - so please keep an eye out.
Thanks in advance for checking it out when we go live. And to help me spread the word when the time comes, l'll have more info soon. Cheers!