A NEW Look at Hollywood with Chris Fenton
As Rep. Gallagher discussed with Newsweek last week, movies from Red Dawn to Top Gun 2 have altered portions of their films to accommodate the CCP. While some of these changes may seem minor, it’s a part of a larger trend where American companies – from the NBA to Twitter– allow the CCP to have an ever-growing influence on the bounds of acceptable public discourse and American popular culture. This doesn’t mean Hollywood producers are purposely promoting CCP propaganda in their work. Rather, it’s part of a larger debate between companies bottom lines and the values they hold.
To help explore the questions these companies face, Rep. Gallagher is joined by Chris Fenton, a film producer and author of Feeding the Dragon: Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA, & American Business. Chris, who spent years working with China on projects like Looper and Iron Man 3, shares his personal experience working to gain access to the Chinese market, outlines the problems that American companies face today, and how we as a society can chart a responsible way forward. Mike, an amateur film critic in his own right, also takes time to dive into some of the movies Chris has worked on, get his thoughts on the similar dynamics playing out between Hollywood and the NBA, and learn about Chris’ clever rolodex system as well.