To Research China, Hollywood Firms Tap Chinese Students

In a small office in Hollywood, three USC students with Chinese backgrounds scan social media sites to see what's trending. They're looking not at Facebook or Twitter, but at Chinese websites such as Sina Weibo, Youku, Renren and Qzone. ¡°They really allowed us to get a sense of how popular culture is translated and how it's being talked about." China has recently surpassed Japan as the second-largest movie market outside the U.S. Yet this country has little experience with Hollywood-style movie marketing ¡ª a vacuum that creates new opportunities for companies as such.

好莱坞聘用中国人研究中国

在好莱坞的一间小办公室里，三名来自南加州大学的中国留学生正浏览社交网站以搜索流行趋势。他们浏览的并不是脸谱或推特，而是如新浪微博，优酷，人人网和 QQ空间的中国站点，“这些网站让我们了解中国人是如何讨论和演绎流行文化。”中国目前超过日本成为除美国之外全球第二大电影市场，但这个国家对好莱坞式的电影营销几乎一无所知——这个真空地带为许多好莱坞公司创造了新的机遇。