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A Hollywood company will run the facility as talks continue with potential partners

Hong Kong could be on the verge of a Hollywood invasion as filmmakers prepare to build the city's largest 3D animation studio.

Few details have been decided, but two things seem certain: the studio will be created and run by a Hollywood company and will be located at Cyberport.

Douglas Glen, chief executive of Lion Digital Pictures, a company he formed recently to create 3D animated films, was in Hong Kong last week speaking at the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum.

Mr Glen said he could not reveal details of the planned studio because negotiations were still continuing. But he was able to confirm that his company planned to open a studio at the Pokfulam technology and property development.

'We will be coming to Hong Kong and we will certainly be setting something up in Cyberport. Beyond that, I cannot say anything more at this time,' he said.

He hoped to have negotiations wrapped up within a few weeks, at which time he would make a formal announcement about the studio and its alliances.

The one thing Mr Glen was able to talk about, however, was why he had chosen Hong Kong.

'If you are going to produce films to compete with the best of Hollywood, you will need a great team and we think we can put one together here. Hong Kong has equal influence of both east and west. It has a rich tradition and it is simply a great place to do business,' he said.

Mr Glen was general manager for LucasArts Entertainment, where he worked on computer and video games dealing with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Young Indiana Jones.

The leadership forum invited speakers in the animation and game development business from Hong Kong and abroad. Robin King, president of Imagina Corp of Canada, a consulting company for digital media, spoke about the great changes in the industry and the promise of the region. 'People talk about digital convergence but I like to think of it as digital divergence. I had to spend C$120,000 [HK$687,324] for a workstation in the 1980s but today almost anybody can afford one,' he said.

The impact this is already beginning to have on the industry is that you no longer have to be a wealthy Hollywood studio to get into the business.

'Who would have thought that a country like New Zealand would do so well?' he said, referring to the runaway success of Weta, the New Zealand company behind the technology of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Mr King said Cyberport was a great opportunity for people in the region to participate in an exciting business. 'What can you produce beyond Kung Fu movies? My message is to rally round Cyberport. You should create a cluster of experts here. I should like to see a shift from 'made in Hong Kong' to 'created in Hong Kong'. We need to foster new ways of doing things. I want to see great Chinese stories.'

Xin Chung, chief executive of Vykarius, a company that manages the outsourcing of game production, said there were pitfalls and possibilities awaiting 3D developers in China. 'It's hard. There is lots to overcome and it will probably break. People say to me: 'You are a pessimist.' I say: 'No, I am a paranoid optimist',' he said.

Despite that, he said demand for faster turnaround in the gaming market should lead to more work being done in China. Like Mr King, however, he also would like to see China and Hong Kong break away from the stereotypes. 'I should like to see China as a place not where you go to get your denims made cheaper, but where you go for quality work,' he said.



Big 3D animation studio plan for Cyberport