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The H Collective is a United States–based film finance, production, marketing and distribution company founded in 2017. The company was founded by Chinese financier Kenneth Huang and has Chinese and American backers. THC is headquartered in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and it has offices in
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. THC's "first global title" was the 2019 film '' Brightburn'', for which it was developing a sequel in 2023. THC acquired the rights to the ''XXX'' film series from
Revolution Studios Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC (operating as Revolution Studios) is an American independent motion picture and foreign sales company headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Hemming, founded in 2000, and based in Los Angeles, Los Ang ...
in 2018 to produce a fourth film, but faced a lawsuit from Weying Galaxy in 2020 over alleged misrepresentation and unauthorized transactions concerning those rights. In 2019, THC formed a partnership with Japanese technology conglomerate Rakuten, although it ended by 2023. THC expanded its operations to Saudi Arabia, focusing on film development and production in the Arabic-speaking market. THC also ventured into integrating
Metaverse The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction ...
,
Web3 Web3 (also known as Web 3.0) is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics. This is distinct from Tim Berners-Lee's concept of th ...
, and AI technologies into film production through its new subsidiary, H3 Entertainment. A 2024 investigation by ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' revealed that Kenneth Huang left the company with numerous lawsuits, substantial debts, and unresolved disputes, leading to his disappearance.


Company history

Prior to 2017, Chinese financier Kenneth Huang was
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
's connection to Chinese resources. In June 2017, he created The H Collective, which was launched during the 2017
Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF, , French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai'') is the largest film festival in Asia and China's longest-running international cinema event. The first festival was established in Octobe ...
with the goal of financing and/or producing four films a year in its first four years. For THC, Huang hired "experienced and trusted" Hollywood executives to make films. The company was financially backed by Huang and his brother Kent Huang as well as other Chinese and American backers. In the following September, the company hired as CEO Nic Crawley, who was the president of international marketing and distribution for
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
. The company subsequently hired Jenna Sanz-Agero as EVP Business Affairs and Operations and Ivy Sun as CFO. In April 2018, THC partnered with
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
to market and distribute THC's films. In the same month, Sherryl Clark was hired as THC's President of Production. Sanz-Agero was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, and Sun was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer. Del Mayberry replaced Sun as the CFO. In the following May, THC partnered with the online video platform company
iQiyi iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series. i ...
to co-produce three films. In May 2019, Japanese technology conglomerate Rakuten took a stake in THC's upcoming films, also establishing a joint venture with the studio to distribute films in Japan. By the following August, THC partnered with Rakuten to establish Rakuten H Collective Studio, a joint venture for film production in Japan, and Rakuten Distribution, which will primarily release films produced by THC. By September 2023, THC ended its partnership with Rakuten. (A journalistic investigation in 2024 revealed that Rakuten successfully sued THC and Kenneth Huang for $52 million for engaging in a
Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...
with their partnership.) In 2020, THC opened in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
an office that would focus on film development and production, with Mark Rau as Europe CEO. In January 2022, THC signed a co-production deal with Inqisam Studios, a Saudi Arabian sub-company of Nowaar Entertainment, to co-invest and produce films and TV shows with a focus on the Arabic-speaking market but aimed at global audiences. In the past year, multiple executives left THC's Los Angeles office, which was being overseen by Kent Huang. In September 2023, THC launched H3 Entertainment, a new company focused on integrating
Metaverse The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. The term ''metaverse'' originated in the 1992 science fiction ...
,
Web3 Web3 (also known as Web 3.0) is an idea for a new iteration of the World Wide Web which incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technologies, and token-based economics. This is distinct from Tim Berners-Lee's concept of th ...
, and AI technologies into film production. H3 Entertainment is based in Dubai and Hong Kong, with seed investors from London, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In 2024, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' conducted a six-month investigation and reported, "THC was a legitimate operation and Huang appeared to be the real deal. Until he was not. As quickly as THC blossomed into life, the company rotted from its sapling roots and Huang vanished from view... he left behind a litany of lawsuits; colleagues and investors owed tens of millions of dollars; a messy and unresolved dispute over the ''xXx'' franchise; mortgage defaults on a palatial Bel Air house; more than $160,000 in unpaid office rent; and scripts from writers, including ''John Wick'' scribe Derek Kolstad, with no clean chain of title."


Project history

The H Collective's first projects in 2017 were distributing and marketing in the Americas the films ''
Hanson and the Beast ''Hanson and the Beast'' () is a 2017 Chinese fantasy comedy film starring Feng Shaofeng and Liu Yifei. Plot Yuan Shuai, a debt-ridden animal-breeder, tries to get out of his financial predicament by finding a wealthy girlfriend through matchmak ...
'', ''
Wolf Warrior 2 ''Wolf Warrior 2'' ( zh, s=战狼2, t=, p=) is a 2017 Chinese action film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Wu Jing, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Celina Jade, Frank Grillo, Hans Zhang, and Wu Gang. The film is ...
'', and ''
A Better Tomorrow 2018 ''A Better Tomorrow 2018'' (), is a Chinese action film directed by Ding Sheng (director), Ding Sheng and starring Wang Kai (actor), Wang Kai, Ma Tianyu, Wang Talu, Yu Ailei, Lam Suet and Wu Yue (actor), Wu Yue. In this remake of John Woo's A Be ...
''. THC also started in June 2017 backing six projects including '' The Parts You Lose'' (ultimately released in 2019) and a fourth installment of the '' XXX'' film series (not yet produced). In April 2018, THC acquired the rights to the ''XXX'' film series from
Revolution Studios Revolution Studios Distribution Company, LLC (operating as Revolution Studios) is an American independent motion picture and foreign sales company headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Hemming, founded in 2000, and based in Los Angeles, Los Ang ...
. In October 2020, Weying Galaxy filed a lawsuit against THC alleging fraudulent misrepresentation in the ''XXX'' deal, claiming it was misled into contributing over $6 million towards acquiring derivative rights. Weying sought punitive damages and control over a joint venture, following discoveries that contradicted initial claims about the acquisition of rights, leading to financial and operational setbacks. In 2018, THC financed and produced the film '' Brightburn'' with Troll Court Entertainment, the company of
James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...
, one of the film's producers. With a release in 2019, ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...
'' called ''Brightburn'' THC's "first global title". The first film that was planned under THC's 2019 partnership with Rakuten is ''Beast'', based on a
Black List Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...
script by Aaron W. Sala, * * which was acquired in March 2018 by THC in a mid-six figure deal.
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born June 2, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adria in season 10 of the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'', Inara Serra in the sci-fi television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' (20 ...
was cast in the starring role, and
Espen Sandberg Espen Sandberg (born 2 June 1971) is a Norwegian film director and advertising producer, well known to work with his childhood friend and director Joachim Rønning on several projects such as '' Bandidas'' (2006), '' Max Manus: Man of War'' (2 ...
was hired to direct the film. Pre-production was planned in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in late March 2020, but due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic there, the preparation was halted. There have been no subsequent updates or announcements regarding the film's resumption. THC said in September 2023 that it was developing a sequel to ''Brightburn''. In the following April, a producer of the first film,
James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1996). He then began working as a director, starting wi ...
, said a sequel was unlikely due to issues with rights.


Filmography

Projects in development by The H Collective include ''The Vineyard'', ''Beast'', ''The Remainders'', and ''Shadow Song''.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:H Collective, The Mass media companies established in 2017 Film production companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles