EXCLUSIVE: Former Legendary Entertainment executive Vasco Xu is joining forces with Hong Kong business exec Brian Cheng and Chinese venture capitalist Sun Ge to launch a Los Angeles and Beijing-based international production venture, Conqueror Entertainment. Cheng and Sun will both serve as Co-Founders, with Xu as Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, overseeing corporate affairs, creative development, production, marketing, distribution and franchise management. Cheng is a member of one of Hong Kong’s biggest business families, while Sun is the founder Chinese VC company Grains Valley. Xu said the company will develop and produce feature films and series, both in English and Chinese, for the international and domestic Chinese market. It will have a dual track production strategy – producing English-language content for global distribution, and Chinese content aimed solely at the local market. Conqueror’s debut slate of projects includes Legendary/Tencent’s female-driven action comedy series Killer Maid, based on a popular Tencent Comics’ webtoon; R-rated comedy Tick Tock, written by Jay Adams and featuring Asian-American and African-American female leads; and buddy comedy My Mormon Bros, written by Gary King. “China and the Asian market in general has an abundance of excellent and unique materials and talent to be discovered. We will unite renowned Asian IP with a new class of young filmmakers to create next generation entertainment for the worldwide marketplace,” said Xu. Cheng and Sun said in a joint statement: “We aim to be an entertainment company that delivers universal stories from an Asian cultural perspective across film and television to the world. Vasco has an incredible taste in content and outstanding talent relations in the industry. This will be a new era for us.” Xu started his career at Paramount Pictures and CBS Films before being hired as an assistant to Mary Parent, Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production at Legendary. He then moved into a Creative Executive role working on films including Pacific Rim: Uprising, Skyscraper, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters and Dune. He also developed Adam Sandler’s Hustle before it was sold to Netflix, Sunrise’s mecha live-action film Gundam and Constance Verity starring Awkwafina. Xu also helped managed Legendary’s China-related affairs. His previous independent production venture Teahouse Pictures’ titles will be folded into the new venture. Cheng is executive director of NWS Limited, the flagship of Hong Kong conglomerate New World Development, owned by the Cheng family, which has business interests across infrastructure, services, property, hotels and retail. Sun started his career in China Baoan Group and Investment Bank Guotai Junan Securities. He then launched Grains Valley, which has invested in Chinese tech and cultural start-ups including vaccine manufacturer CanSino Biologics, bike-sharing company HelloBike and comics company Dongmantang, later acquired by Tencent. Related Story London Film Festival Review: Neil Maskell's 'Klokkenluider'
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