With China and the U.S. boasting the world’s largest and most lucrative film markets, it’s not surprising that more and more joint efforts are being made between the two countries to produce films. One producer who continues to make successful strides through her work in the film industries of both countries is Yuxiao Wang. Wang, who’s earned more than 10 awards for her contributions as the producer of the films “Locked,” “Harmonica” and “She Gives Me Sight,” and recently produced the hit Chinese films “Talentik” and “Rift,” is currently producing two exciting upcoming films to be shot in the states, “Time Raider- Los Angeles Yin Yang Tomb” and “Rift 2.”
Earlier this year Wang began pre-production on the highly anticipated adventure feature “Time Raider- Los Angeles Yin Yang Tomb,” which weaves together horror element and centers on China’s most ancient profession-- tomb raiding.
Wang is currently working with Sky Culture Entertainment to produce the film, which follows a father and son who are assigned a secret mission to locate a missing compass stolen from a heavily guarded church; however, when they encounter an ancient curse, finding the compass becomes secondary to their fight for survival.
In the early stages, Wang says, “I participated in the idea generation of the story and revising different drafts.” She adds, “The reason for making this feature is because of the Tomb Raider shows’ hit in China. But nobody has ever tried to make this story happen overseas.”
Set in Los Angeles, CA, “Time Raider- Los Angeles Yin Yang Tomb” weaves in new challenges from those of traditional tomb raider stories, many of which center on the difficulties of carrying out their mission in a foreign country.
“It’s different than all of the other films I’ve produced and it will definitely show [Sky Culture Entertainment’s] creativity and production value,” explains Wang. “I’ve worked with Sky Culture Entertainment a lot because we all have similarly acknowledge the importance of stories and the collaboration of US and China, two of the biggest film markets.”
As the producer of the film, Yuxiao Wang is charged with handling a rather ambitious range of responsibilities that include everything from supervising the story and locking down all of the film’s locations to the film’s marketing and concept design.
In 2016 Wang was a lead producer for Sky Culture Entertainment on the film “Talentik,” which was released in February and earned close to 10 million views on Sohu Video, one of China’s leading online video platforms. Through her work with Sky Culture Entertainment Wang also produced the series “From East to the West,” which earned millions of views when it was released via livestream on NetEase Live beginning in July, with episode 5 earning a whopping 2.66 million concurrent viewers.
While the feature “Time Raider- Los Angeles Yin Yang Tomb,” which is slated to begin principal photography in February and is expected to be distributed to the Chinese market at the tail end of 2018, will be a new challenge for Wang, who had an integral role in generating the initial idea for the story, she has already proven herself to be the kind of behind the scenes mastermind who knows how to work cross-culturally and make the production of each project flow smoothly.
Chinese entertainment producer and TV host Coca Xie, who is considered the first Chinese producer and host to ever work for a major American news organization (The Wrap) and is often seen reporting from major red carpet events such as Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and the Billboard Music Awards, says, "I worked with Yuxiao in ‘From East to the West,’ and her critical activity and leading position helped the shooting of this show run smoothly. She always represents herself with a positive and professional demeanour… and I admire her ability to react and solve unexpected problems.”
In the same way that the projects she’s already produced for Sky Culture Entertainment have helped establish Yuxiao Wang with a strong track record of success, she has created an equally powerful reputation for herself as a producer at One All Entertainment, the production company behind the upcoming film “Rift 2.”
In 2016 Wang began producing the film “Rift,” which is currently in post-production and is slated to be distributed to have its theatrical release in the Chinese market early next year. Directed by Rena Yao (“3D Writer”), “Rift” is a thrilling sci-fi film that revolves around an astrophysicist caught between the complexity of two parallel universes and stars celebrated Asian actor Jack Yang from the hit films “Seven Pounds,” “A Leading Man” and “American Ultra,” as well as the award-winning series “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Still in the early stages of production, “Rift 2” is the second in the upcoming series of the “Rift” films from One All Entertainment, and it’s one that will propel producer Yuxiao Wang forward from her previous role as associate producer on the first “Rift” film to the role of lead producer.
“The production company reached out to me after filming ‘Rift’ and asked to work with me on the second film in the series, but this time as a lead producer. I think the reason is because I helped them solve a lot of problems during production, and I am already familiar with the story and crew,” explains Wang. “Plus I have a background working as a creative producer in story development, and I can help to make the story in the second film better.”
“Rift 2,” which will begin in 2019, follows up with the parallel universe depicted in the first film
however, instead of focusing on Zeng Yu, the Chinese astrophysicist and lead character in “Rift,” the the film will revolve around his next generation. Producer Yuxiao Wang will be developing the story, selecting the crew and solidifying shooting locations, as well as managing the schedule, budget and post-production, in addition to have a large say in who is cast in the film.