How movie Cloud Atlas sank in US but soared in China despite co-producer’s brutal edit
The Wachowkis and Tom Tykwer’s adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel was a box-office flop everywhere except China, despite a starry cast
This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
Some feats of moviemaking are so insane they have to be applauded, if not exactly understood.
For many, David Mitchell’s 2004 novel Cloud Atlas, a 544-page metafiction epic spanning thousands of years and almost as many genres, would be the definition of unfilmable.
But for writer-directors Lana and Andy (later Lilly) Wachowski, who created The Matrix, and Tom Tykwer (Sense8) – no strangers to challenging material – it merely required a bold new approach.
Instead of seeking the backing of traditional Hollywood studios, they secured investment from companies in Germany and across the world – including US$10 million from China’s Dreams of Dragon Pictures – backed up with some of the Wachowskis’ own personal fortunes.
