February 1, 2008 -- China Venture Films, LLC. expects to to sign a distribution deal for its new movie, "Milk and Fashion," in China in the next couple of weeks. This is the first feature film to showcase non-Asian foreigners speaking Chinese in the lead roles..

The movies features actors from the US and Europe in Chinese-speaking roles, including Rothstein's son, Kyle Rothstein, who plays a teenage ballet dancer nicknamed "Milk." The movie was filmed in Shanghai and Yunnan.

JAY ROTHSTEIN is the president of China Venture Advisors, Inc. and China Venture Films, LLC.

EMERGING CHINA: Can you tell us how you got into doing business here in China as a movie producer?

JAY ROTHSTEIN:

I have been doing this in China since 1993. I was born in the U.S. and first came here as a consultant to facilitate market entry for U.S. firms seeking to penetrate the bourgeoning Chinese market. I opened China Venture Films in 2002 when China opened the door to co-produced films. And it goes well.

The opportunities here are unique. Also, the costs here are much lower than in America. America makes plenty of movies each year, but the unions cause very high fees.

EC: Why did you go to Yunnan to do the movie "Milk and Fashion"?

JAY ROTHSTEIN:

I find it is an interesting place where I can meet many kinds of people, and it is a wonderful and right place for making movies, as it has a beautiful landscape. Filming on location is complicated, but it is really convenient for filming on location there -- for example, filming the old natural streets in Li Jiang.

Also, the Yunnan studio is more experienced than other provincial studios. There have been many film-making companies that have cooperated with the Yunnan studio before, such as the Japanese film makers.


EC: What is the main purpose of the movie "Milk and Fashion"

JAY ROTHSTEIN:

It talks about the ballet dancer, Milk, who befriends a Chinese girl, which shows that people are people, I mean, everyone is the same, even if we are from different cultural backgrounds.

This is not a love story, but a drama. A drama is different from love stories, and drama is a bigger than love stories, because the cultural issue is the main focus for drama. The purpose is to move people, and create new business opportunities.

We employed international film stars from the U.S., Poland, Taiwan, Canada, and so on, who can speak Chinese, so we also chose a Chinese-speaking director. I believe using foreigners who speak Chinese will make people curious to see the movie.

EC: What did you learn from this experience?

JAY ROTHSTEIN:

China now is really different from 20 years ago, more open-minded and welcoming to foreigners. The movie "Milk and Fashion" received the Chinese government's permission, and there is no politics in this movie. Compared with other countries, like countries from the Middle East which are religious and conservative, China has less prohibitions for cultural media, such as the movies.

But the main challenge we face is not accessing the China's audience or market, but Internet downloading. Many people download movies from websites for free, rather than paying for movie tickets.