Wang Jianlin Aims to Create Hollywood, China

Executives of Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment joined Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Nicole Kidman and John Travolta in a Chinese seaside city to meet a man who will likely play a bigger role in their future. Wang Jianlin, China's richest man and the chairman of property-and-entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group Corp., said he is breaking ground on a 30-billion-yuan to 50-billion-yuan ($4.9 billion to $8.2 billion), mega-entertainment center that will include a theme park, a film museum, a wax museum and a massive film studio, which the tycoon promises will be the world's largest.

Closely held Wanda has signed agreements with four top global talent agencies to attract stars such as Kidman and DiCaprio to produce 30 films each year and attend an annual festival, the statement said. The company will also enlist 50 domestic film- and television-production companies to work with Wanda, ensuring that 100 homegrown films and shows are made each year. Wang not only wants a stronger foothold in Hollywood, he wants to re-create it in China, he said. A Chinese adaptation of the Hollywood sign draped above Beverly Hills is planned for the mountain overlooking the theme park-studio "Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis."