Jizhong Zhang(I)
- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Undoubtedly one of the most influential film personalities in China,
Zhang Jizhong is perhaps China's most well known TV series producer and
a recognizable entertainment celebrity in China. Over the past two
decades, Zhang Jizhong has several commercially successful, critically
acclaimed credits to his name as a producer.
With his unique understanding of Chinese culture, works produced by
Zhang Jizhong stand out for their epic story-telling structure,
large-scale battle scenes, martial arts, romance, and artistic
elements. His trademark production formula represents both cultural
transmission and strong financial returns. This formula's success has
made Zhang Jizhong one of the most sought after producers in China.
Zhang Jizhong was born in Beijing, China in 1951 and endured many
hardships in his early life because of his family's political status.
In 1978, he joined the Shanxi drama theatre group and become a stage
actor. He later moved on to acting in movies and TV series before
becoming a full-time producer.
Zhang Jizhong's first major production, China Central Television's
(CCTV) award winning historical epic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms,
made him the most sought after TV producer in China because of his
ability to recreate historical war scenes with large scale sets and
thousands of extras. Romance of the Three Kingdoms was followed by
Water Margin in 1997, another large scale adaptation of one of the Four
Great Classical Novels of China. The series was very successful
commercially and a recipient of critical acclaim.
Over the past ten years, Zhang Jizhong has produced several big budget
TV series adaptations of Louis Cha's wuxia novels, which have attained
commercial success in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian
countries. His wuxia TV productions are also known for launching the
careers of several top Chinese film stars, including
Liu Yifei,
Xiaoming Huang,
Jun Hu and Xun Zhou.
Zhang Jizhong has built eleven large scale movie cities in China, which
were funded by the local government and later became tourist
attractions, which developed the local economy from the benefits of
tourism revenue and infrastructure, as well as saved millions of
dollars of production costs. The Peach Flower Island Arching film city
in Zhejiang and the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils film city in Yunnan
province are two examples of success stories, and are now major tourist
destinations in China.
Zhang Jizhong is in the pre-production phase of his adaptation of
Journey to the West movie trilogy, another one of the Four Great
Classical Novels of Chinese Literature, with the story focusing on the
Monkey King, one the most well known hero figures in Asia. The movie is
planned to have first class visual effects and foreign talent, which
should rival those Hollywood fantasy trilogies such as Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter film series. Zhang Jizhong is
also developing a theme park, online game and television series based
on his digitized content of the Monkey King and Journey to the West.
Zhang Jizhong is perhaps China's most well known TV series producer and
a recognizable entertainment celebrity in China. Over the past two
decades, Zhang Jizhong has several commercially successful, critically
acclaimed credits to his name as a producer.
With his unique understanding of Chinese culture, works produced by
Zhang Jizhong stand out for their epic story-telling structure,
large-scale battle scenes, martial arts, romance, and artistic
elements. His trademark production formula represents both cultural
transmission and strong financial returns. This formula's success has
made Zhang Jizhong one of the most sought after producers in China.
Zhang Jizhong was born in Beijing, China in 1951 and endured many
hardships in his early life because of his family's political status.
In 1978, he joined the Shanxi drama theatre group and become a stage
actor. He later moved on to acting in movies and TV series before
becoming a full-time producer.
Zhang Jizhong's first major production, China Central Television's
(CCTV) award winning historical epic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms,
made him the most sought after TV producer in China because of his
ability to recreate historical war scenes with large scale sets and
thousands of extras. Romance of the Three Kingdoms was followed by
Water Margin in 1997, another large scale adaptation of one of the Four
Great Classical Novels of China. The series was very successful
commercially and a recipient of critical acclaim.
Over the past ten years, Zhang Jizhong has produced several big budget
TV series adaptations of Louis Cha's wuxia novels, which have attained
commercial success in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian
countries. His wuxia TV productions are also known for launching the
careers of several top Chinese film stars, including
Liu Yifei,
Xiaoming Huang,
Jun Hu and Xun Zhou.
Zhang Jizhong has built eleven large scale movie cities in China, which
were funded by the local government and later became tourist
attractions, which developed the local economy from the benefits of
tourism revenue and infrastructure, as well as saved millions of
dollars of production costs. The Peach Flower Island Arching film city
in Zhejiang and the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils film city in Yunnan
province are two examples of success stories, and are now major tourist
destinations in China.
Zhang Jizhong is in the pre-production phase of his adaptation of
Journey to the West movie trilogy, another one of the Four Great
Classical Novels of Chinese Literature, with the story focusing on the
Monkey King, one the most well known hero figures in Asia. The movie is
planned to have first class visual effects and foreign talent, which
should rival those Hollywood fantasy trilogies such as Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter film series. Zhang Jizhong is
also developing a theme park, online game and television series based
on his digitized content of the Monkey King and Journey to the West.