A veteran film producer is speaking out about what he sees as Hollywood’s growing reliance on overseas markets such as China, arguing that more movies should be made entirely in the United States.
Chris Fenton, whose credits include Marvel’s Iron Man 3 and the Bruce Willis sci-fi thriller Looper, recently pointed to his latest project Bad Counselors as an example of what he describes as a ‘Made in America’ production model.
The comedy, which is set to be released on July 22, was filmed in the United States and employed an all-American cast and crew, according to Fenton.
Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Fenton said the project was created as a direct response to what he has long criticized as Hollywood’s dependence on overseas markets.
‘I always felt like if I’m going to call out something, if I’m going to say “Hey, here’s a problem,” I always wanted to balance that with a potential solution, so that’s what we did here with Bad Counselors,’ he told the outlet.
‘We went out of our way to make sure that we employed and hired only Americans,’ he continued. ‘It was really harmonious and a fantastic process… we ended up getting a really good movie out of it.’
Chris Fenton is speaking out about what he sees as Hollywood’s growing reliance on overseas markets such as China; Above, in 2017
Fenton, whose credits include Marvel’s Iron Man 3 and the Bruce Willis sci-fi thriller Looper, recently pointed to his latest project Bad Counselors as an example of what he describes as a ‘Made in America’ production model
Fenton has for years been an outspoken critic of Hollywood’s relationship with China, a topic he explored in his 2020 book Feeding the Dragon.
Expanding on those concerns, he argued that Hollywood’s efforts to gain access to the Chinese market came at a significant cost to the industry.
‘We placated them both by allowing their domestic industry to learn and progress as quickly as possible to become best in class like Hollywood,’ he explained to Fox News.
‘We censored our content, and we reprogrammed our content to fit the narrative that Beijing directed in order to have access to that market.’
As an example, Fenton pointed to Looper, which starred Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
According to the producer, parts of the story that were originally set in France were ultimately relocated to China as filmmakers sought to appeal to Chinese regulators and moviegoers.
Fenton contended that such efforts failed to deliver the long-term benefits many studios had hoped for, arguing that Hollywood’s position in the Chinese market has weakened considerably in recent years.
‘That market was about anywhere from 50% to 80% Hollywood titles. Now it’s under 5%,’ he said. ‘So, not only have we spread Beijing’s messaging around the world… but we also lost the market in the process.’
As an example, Fenton pointed to Looper, which he worked on, saying that during production parts of the story originally set in France were ultimately relocated to China as filmmakers sought to appeal to Chinese regulators and moviegoers
Fenton said the industry’s current challenges prove Hollywood needs to invest more heavily at home.
As studios face layoffs and mounting financial pressures, he argued too many productions are being lured overseas.
The producer is now advocating for federal incentives to keep jobs in America.
He maintains the U.S. already has the workforce and infrastructure to get the job done.
‘All it’s doing is allowing us to play on a level field with the rest of the nations around the world and once we get there, we’re going to be able to bring essentially a fully 2.7 million jobs back. Which, by the way, is about a quarter of a trillion dollars in wages, which is pretty unbelievable,’ he said.
The producer is putting those ideas into practice with Bad Counselors, which arrives in theaters nationwide for a limited run from July 22 to July 27.
Directed by Chris Dowling, the comedy centers on two hard-partying fraternity brothers who fake their way into jobs as Christian camp counselors in a bid to complete community service and stay in school.
The film stars Matt Cornett, Ramon Reed, Chris Klein, Brec Bassinger and Missi Pyle.
