Asia Society Southern California will host the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit and Gala on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. This signature annual event — which began in 2010 as the U.S.-China Film Summit — will be held at the Skirball Cultural Center from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST. The Gala Dinner will follow at 6:00 p.m. 

We are delighted to be honoring global leaders who have built bridges between the U.S. and China:

• Michelle Yeoh will be honored for her achievements as an actress, producer and writer. She is remarkably versatile talent. In a career that spans Hong Kong, Hollywood, China and beyond, she has earned critical acclaim and won hearts through memorable roles in films such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Tomorrow Never Dies, Memories of a Geishaand most recently, Crazy Rich Asians.

• Kevin Tsujihara will be honored for his vision and leadership. As Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO, he has innovated to stay ahead in a dynamic global market and has advocated for diversity and inclusion. Two fresh results of his leadership: Crazy Rich Asians, which marked a cultural watershed for Asian and Asian-American talent; and The Meg, the most successful U.S.-China co-production to date.

• Elizabeth Daley, Dean and Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, will be honored as an education pioneer. In a quarter century as dean, Daley has built the world’s premier film school through a commitment to diversity and global education. Among her many international initiatives, USC has had partnerships with Chinese universities for over a decade.
• Xu Zheng will be honored for his trailblazing work as an actor, writer, director and producer. His creative range spans from comedy to drama, and his films have had both commercial success and social impact. Lost in Thailand (2012) grossed more than $200 million and caused a surge in Chinese tourism to Thailand. His popular Dying to Survive (2018) struck a chord among the Chinese public and accelerated government efforts to lower prices for cancer drugs.

Janet Yang, Chair of the Entertainment Summit and a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, praised the honorees as leaders who have global impact.

“Michelle’s iconic status is well known, but she outdid herself with her Oscar-worthy performance in Crazy Rich Asians,” Yang said. “We will undoubtedly look back on 2018 as a game-changing year for Asians and Asian Americans because of Kevin Tsujihara and Warner Bros.,” she continued, adding: “And, Dean Elizabeth Daley has steadily and brilliantly built a robust people-to-people relationship between China and the USC Cinema community that transcends anything Washington can do."

The 2018 Summit builds on Asia Society’s record of bringing together the most important executives, producers, investors and creative professionals in Hollywood and China. Founded at the U.S.-China Film Summit, it has been renamed the Entertainment Summit to reflect the evolution of business ties between the U.S. and China as well as the digital transformation of the industry. In addition to film and television, this year’s Summit will explore topics such as streaming, gaming and the online marketplace for everything from short-form video to crowd-sourced story ideas.

Featured Summit speakers include: 

PoPing AuYeung, Casting director
Belle Avery, Producer, The Meg
Jing Cao, Counsel, O’Melveny & Myers
Bing Chen, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder, Gold House
Rong Chen, Senior Vice President, Perfect World  & CEO, Perfect World Pictures (USA)
Albert Cheng, COO & Co-Head of Television, Amazon Studios
Christina Chou, Agent and Corporate Development Executive, CAA
Melissa Cobb, Vice President, Kids and Family, Netflix
Lindsay Conner, Chair, Media & Entertainment Group, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Richard Drobnick, Chairman, Asia Society of Southern California
Mike Ellis, President & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, MPA 
Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief, Variety
Jack Gao, Founder & CEO, Beijing TDFT Co.
Qun Gao, Chairman, Starlight Culture Entertainment Group
Alexis Garcia, Partner, Endeavor Content
Ben Erwei Ji, Exec. Prod., The Meg & Managing Dir., Reach Glory Entertainment
Wayne Wei Jiang, CEO, Legendary East, & General Manager, Wanda Media
Eva Jin, Writer, Director and Producer
Glen Keane, Legendary Animator & Founder, Glen Keane Productions
Jonathan Landreth, Content Strategist, Asia Society Policy Institute
Kevin Lin, Co-Founder, Twitch
Lucia Liu, Agent, Asian Business Development. United Talent Agency
Tom Nagorski, Executive Vice President, Asia Society
Chantal Nong, Vice President, Production, DC Films, Warner Bros.
Andrew Ooi, CEO, Echelon Talent Management & President, 852 Films
Doris Pfardrescher, President and CEO, Well Go USA
John Penotti, President, SK Global, & Producer, Crazy Rich Asians
Bennett Pozil, Executive Vice President, East West Bank 
Stephen Saltzman, Chair, Asia Entertainment & Media, Paul Hastings 
Peter Trinh, Managing Director, International and Independent Film & Esport Groups, ICM Partner
Jon Turteltaub, Director, The Meg
David Unger, CEO, Artist International Group
Carrie Wong, Head, Local Production Film & TV Greater China, Sony Pictures
Cathy Yan, Director of Dead Pigs and the upcoming Birds of Prey
Catherine Ying, Managing Director and CEO, Gravity Pictures
Xiaogang You, Chairman, China TV Drama Production Association

More program details to come. For more information about the Conference, Gala Dinner and Sponsorship, please visit the Entertainment Summit website here.
To Register/Buy Tickets, please click here.