Asia Society Southern California Announces 2018 U.S.-China Entertainment Summit & Gala Dinner

LOS ANGELES, October 4, 2018 — Asia Society Southern California announced today it will host the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. The ninth edition of this signature event comes amid tensions between Washington and Beijing but also at a time of important milestones in U.S.-China entertainment collaboration.

Honorees include Michelle Yeoh, Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara and Elizabeth Daley, Dean and Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Among the Summit’s featured speakers are The Meg Director Jon Turteltaub; Jiang Wei, CEO of Legendary East; and Albert Cheng, COO and Co-Head of Television at Amazon Studios.

Janet Yang, Chair of the Entertainment Summit and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, praised the honorees as leaders who have global impact.

“Michelle’s iconic status is well known, but she outdid herself with her Oscar-worthy performance in Crazy Rich Asians,” Yang said. “We will undoubtedly look back on 2018 as a game-changing year for Asians and Asian Americans because of Kevin Tsujihara and Warner Bros.,” she continued, adding: “And, Dean Elizabeth Daley has steadily and brilliantly built a robust people-to-people relationship between China and the USC Cinema community that transcends anything Washington can do."

Michelle Yeoh will be honored for her achievements as an actress, producer and writer. A remarkably versatile talent, she has earned global acclaim in a career that spans Hong Kong, Hollywood, China and beyond, and won hearts through memorable roles in films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, Memoirs of a Geisha and most recently, Crazy Rich Asians.

Kevin Tsujihara will be honored for his vision and leadership. At Warner Bros., he has innovated to stay ahead in a dynamic global market and has advocated for diversity and inclusion. Two fresh results of his leadership: Crazy Rich Asians, which marked a cultural watershed for Asian and Asian-American talent; and The Meg, the most successful U.S.-China co-production to date.

Elizabeth Daley will be honored as an education pioneer. In a quarter century as dean, she has built the world’s premier film school through a commitment to diversity and global education. Among Dean Daley’s many international initiatives, the USC School of Cinematic Arts has had partnerships with Chinese universities for over a decade.

“Thank you to Asia Society for this honor, on behalf of the USC School of Cinematic Arts community,” Dean Daley said. “At USC Cinema we have a student body that reflects the global nature of our industry. We partner with film programs in China, and students regularly film projects on location there. There are professional collaborations in film, television and interactive entertainment, between Chinese and American companies that can trace their roots back to our classrooms. Our industries are collaborating in meaningful ways and we are proud to be a part of that.”

The 2018 Summit builds on Asia Society’s record of bringing together the most important executives, producers, investors and creative professionals in Hollywood and China. Founded at the U.S.-China Film Summit, it has been renamed the Entertainment Summit to reflect the evolution of business ties between the U.S. and China as well as the digital transformation of the industry. In addition to film and television, this year’s Summit will explore topics such as streaming, gaming and the online marketplace for everything from short-form video to crowd-sourced story ideas.

“I’m proud to be chairing our Summit in its ninth year” said Yang. “With such accomplished honorees and speakers — and there are more announcements to come — it will be our best ever.”

The Summit’s high-level speakers include:

Jiang Wei, CEO, Legendary East, and General Manager, Wanda Media

Albert Cheng, COO and Co-Head of Television, Amazon Studios

Kevin Lin, Co-Founder, Twitch

Jon Turteltaub, Director, The Meg

Eva Jin, acclaimed Actor, Writer and Director

Ben Erwei Ji, Producer, The Meg, and Managing Director, Reach Glory Entertainment

John Penotti, President, SK Global, and Producer, Crazy Rich Asians

Mike Ellis, President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, MPA

Jack Gao, CEO, Beijing TDFT Co., and former studio executive

Spencer Baumgarten, Partner, ICM Partners

Chantal Nong, Vice President, Production, DC Films, Warner Bros.

David Unger, CEO, Artist International Group

Christina Chou, Motion Picture/Literary Talent Agent and Corporate Development Executive

More program details to come. To register/buy tickets to the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit, click here.

The Summit will be held at the Skirball Cultural Center from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. The Gala Dinner will follow at 6:00 p.m. PST.

Asia Society Southern California produces the Summit in cooperation with Beijing Film Academy and the China Onscreen Biennial, and with the support of organizations including the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival and the Asian World Film Festival.

About the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit

The U.S.-China Entertainment Summit is the most prestigious U.S. gathering of Hollywood and Chinese entertainment-industry leaders. Founded in 2010 as the U.S.-China Film Summit, it has led the conversation about co-production, cross-border investment and the integration of Chinese and American talent. The trans-Pacific relationship has deepened and with the digital-led convergence of media, the 2018 Summit will look beyond film and TV to areas such as immersive entertainment and gaming, as well as digital technologies that are transforming media.

About Asia Society California

Asia Society Southern California is the leading nonprofit nonpartisan, organization dedicated to strengthening relationships and forging understanding among the people of Southern California and the Asia-Pacific region. ASSC is ideally situated in America’s gateway to Asia and since 1985 has played a pivotal role in enhancing cross-cultural ties. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Asia Society is based in New York, and has centers in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, DC, and Zurich.

For more information, please contact:

Maxine Leonard PR

Charlotte Hallam [email protected]