Chinese stories, Hollywood thrills

Photo provided to China Daily

Zhang's project, tentatively titled The Great Wall, will be co-produced by Chinese studios and Legendary East, a branch of Los Angeles-based Legendary Pictures. Legendary East also co-produced Godzilla 2014 with Warner Brothers.

What sets his film apart from other fantasy blockbusters, Zhang proudly notes, is the Chinese culture that propels the storyline.

"This film is a historic one, not only because it is my first personal attempt at working with Hollywood, but also because it will be a truly global blockbuster with strong Chinese elements."

Finding the right balance between appealing to an international audience and promoting Chinese culture will be a demanding challenge even for Zhang, one of the world's most acclaimed Chinese filmmakers.

"By and large, a film touches its audience with its story, emotions and characters," he says. "Visual effects are important, because today's audiences - mostly young people - expect to see spectacle in a film. But any attempt to promote culture will never be realized without an engaging story and convincing characters."

Edwards, whose Godzilla 2014 revolves around an emotional family tale, agrees.

"When computer-generated graphics were first invented in the early 1990s, there were a lot of breakthrough technologies," Edwards says.