Fang Li built Laurel Industrial Company Inc., an earth sciences technological company, in 1992 in the United States. He then founded Laurel Films in 2000 and produced films like THE ORPHAN OF ANYANG (Wang Chao, 2001), SUMMER PALACE (Lou Ye, 2006), LOST IN BEIJING (Li Yu, 2007) and THE CONTINENT (Han Han, 2014). Fang Li is also an influential public speaker.
On Production: I loved watching movies at a younger age and watched a diversity of movies while studying in the U.S. Then I met director Wang Chao and produced one of his films, which entered Cannes – that festive atmosphere touched me so I continued producing films and gradually become a full-time producer.
It’s quite natural that I produced Han Han’s first film. Ever since I met Han, I have liked this liberal, kind and gentle young man – somewhat reminded me of myself at a younger age. Quite a free spirit. So when he decided to make a film, I felt we could build a team. Together with his publisher Lu Jinbo, we realized THE CONTINENT.
I work with different directors in different themes, as the society evolves. I produced small-budget art-house films and I produce commercial films – it’s not like my taste or preference has changed; it’s just that I have a wide range of interests and can work with different talents as long as it is a good project. When I was a student in the U.S., I watched all the documentaries available on WWI, WWII, Vietnam War, etc. I am also a football fan. Now I am developing a disaster film and a sci-fi. When the market is more mature, I will try even more genres.
I produce films not for profits, but for the film itself. I consider myself a volunteer, because a volunteer only does what intrigues him. To attract the audience to watch a quality film made by a dedicated team is great fun. The audiences’ cheers, tears and laughter are the reasons why I make films – anything I earn from producing films, I invest it back again in making new films.
On life: We are just one spot in a cycle, from life to death. We are just one of the million moments, so understand how short your life is, but you are so lucky – you are part of the cycle, you are part of the human civilization and development. But it is also sort of sad – the limit of your duration. The good thing is, even you only stay an average of 30,000 days, you can learn and then you can put your feelings onto so many lives, and you can learn so much unknown knowledge about the universe and about our civilization. We can stay very very (short period of time on earth), in comparison with human history, but you can experience one billion things. When you establish your own frame of reference in time and space, you’d be amazed by the contrast between a short life and the infinity of possible creativity.
With no anxiety to make a bigger fortune, I do whatever I like. I don’t care how much others earn. I only care whether I am doing what I like, unaffected. The most important return is not money, but pleasure, because your biggest investment is not money, but your life. Money is only an indirect return, but pleasure is a direct return. Think about the law of nature: it is amazing to be human and be able to change your destiny. If you set up your standard much lower, very quickly you enjoy your freedom. Then you can choose your lifestyle, and decide where to go, what’s good and what’s bad.
On the weakness of the Chinese film industry: The major threat lies in the director-centered system – if it continues to be so, the industry will not go far. Just because a director has so much power and influence here in China today that everybody wants to become a director, be it a screenwriter, an actor, an editor, or a costume designer – as being a director means the elevation of one’s social status. This results in the lack of different professionals in the industry. One dangerous thing to mention is the huge bubble – too many film companies are doing mergers and acquisitions, not so many are doing creative stuff, or build up a young team. Too much M&A could be dangerous, just like what the Silicon Valley experienced in 1999.