The film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a multi-national project, jointly produced by Columbia Tristar, Ang Lee's (
There have been reports that a Chinese producer invested in the film. But Hsu is quick to state that no Chinese investors were involved. "The US$15 million budget did not include a penny from Chinese investors," he said.
Originally, he said, a Taiwanese businessman who owns a listed electronics company expressed interest in throwing US$12 million into Crouching Tiger. "But soon after we signed the contract, Taiwan's stock market began to drop," he said.
"This businessman proposed to postpone the project for a year. But we did not have time to wait," said Hsu.
Hsu had initiated a lawsuit against the businessman but later dropped it because the businessman said to him: "I was moved by your devotion to film and therefore decided to invest. You are now making a film about chivalry. Please do not stab me in the back when I'm in trouble."
With the budget dropped, Lee had to seek investment from Columbia. Columbia picked up the project in the form of pre-sale.
"And the rest of the money we raised with a loan from insurance company," he said. A few deals in Cannes last year also helped round out the budget, Hsu said.
With Couching Tiger's box office receipts in North America alone having topped US$100 million, the loan from the insurance company has been cleared with a handsome profit to boot.
Hsu's own film Fleeting by Night, by contrast, although a best-selling film in Taiwan last year, still failed to cover its production costs. "The marketing and promotion system of Columbia was indeed a powerful boost for Crouching Tiger's commercial success," said Hsu.
Despite its major corporate backing, Hsu insists the film is still very much a Taiwanese production. "This is a big thing for Taiwanese film. I really regret to see that some in Taiwan not only show indifference to it, but also attack it," said Hsu, referring to criticism at home of the film.
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