China’s ‘Midway’ Backer Starlight Culture is on a Mission to Improve the Lot of Independents and Women

While most of the action onscreen in “Midway” involves Americans and Japanese, most of the money behind the movie is Chinese.

Starlight Entertainment, which put up 45% of the $98 million budget, sees itself as an ally of the independent movie scene.The Hong Kong stock market-listed firm first came to attention when it struck a deal with “Aquaman” director James Wan.

And it earned kudos for its investing smarts last year when it emerged as a backer of “Crazy Rich Asians.” This year it was a backer of Sierra/Affinity’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” a movie that had a production cost of some $25 million, was released by Lionsgate in the U.S., and grossed $96 million in worldwide theatrical.The company is headed by Peter Luo, who has indulged his passion for filmmaking by pushing the company through a share listing, and substantial fund-raising rounds.He says that

Read full article