Skydance, a diversified media company that creates event-level entertainment for global audiences, and Alibaba Pictures, Alibaba Group’s entertainment affiliate, announced Wednesday that they will join forces to finance and produce Flying Tigers feature film for global release.
It has been designated by Skydance Media and Alibaba Pictures as a high-priority development project.
The screenplay will be written by Oscar-nominated writer Randall Wallace (Braveheart) and the film will be produced by David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance together with a team from Alibaba Pictures.
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The Flying Tigers – formally known as the 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force – was a group of volunteer pilots from the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
Led by Captain Claire Lee Chennault, the group fought alongside the Chinese during World War II.
The Flying Tigers project will tell the story of the brotherhood formed by these intrepid soldiers.
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“This production partnership with Alibaba Pictures on Flying Tigers marks an important next step in our strategy to expand the reach of the Skydance brand on a global basis,” said David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media.
“Flying Tigers carries with it a rich legacy and a movie about this subject matter has been highly anticipated for a very long time,” added Zhang Wei, president of Alibaba Pictures.
Randall Wallace is a screenwriter, director, producer and songwriter who earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Writers Guild of America award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Braveheart.
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He also wrote and directed The Man in the Iron Mask, We Were Soldiers and Heaven Is For Real and wrote the screenplay for Pearl Harbor. Wallace is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels.
Alibaba Pictures began investing in Hollywood film with its stake in the 2015 Skydance film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in partnership with Paramount Pictures.
