Andre Morgan

Andre Morgan is a film producer and financial consultant.

Early Life

Morgan was born in a French military hospital in Rabat, Morocco while his father served as a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. As the family moved yearly to posts around the world, he attended multiple schools in Europe, England, and the United States.

In 1963, his father retired as the Navy’s then most senior-ranking enlisted man. Before taking a position with the U.S. Air Force Chart and Information Center in St. Louis, he moved his wife and son to Overland Park, Kansas.

Education

Morgan majored in Chinese History, Asian Studies, and Mandarin at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

Golden Harvest

Morgan traveled to Hong Kong in June 1972 for a one-year internship—the first granted to an American—with Golden Harvest, a fledgling Chinese motion picture company founded two years earlier by Raymond Chow, the former head of production for Shaw Brothers and previously program director for Voice of America.

As an intern, Morgan subtitled films. He then became an assistant marketing manager, vice president of international operations and producer and, finally, to partner and CEO. Morgan expanded Golden Harvest outside Hong Kong and Chinese-speaking market, opening offices in L.A., London, and Mexico City, and negotiating the acquisition of several cinema circuits. In 1978 he arranged the purchase of Pan Asia Films and formed a distribution alliance with Toho-Towa of Japan and the Cathay Organisation. Pan Asia films and Golden Towa dominated Pan Asian distribution for decades. In the process, he and partner Raymond Chow helped launch the international careers of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, John Woo, and Tsui Hark, among others.

American Film Market

In 1981, with colleagues Bobby Meyers, Robbie Little, Mark Damon, Andy Vajna, and Mario Kassar, Morgan co-founded the American Film Market (AFM), an annual 8-day event in Santa Monica, California where more than 8000 international film and television professionals from more than 70 countries pitch, screen, buy, sell, finance, and acquire independent films.

Ruddy Morgan Organization

Morgan sold his interest in Golden Harvest in 1984 and turned his full attention to Hollywood.

He cofounded the Ruddy Morgan Organization (RMO) with Albert S. Ruddy. RMO became the longest-running and most successful independent production company in the entertainment world, producing over 40 films and 400 hours of television, including the film The Cannonball Run, as well as the television series Martial Law and Walker: Texas Ranger.

Apart from reteaming with Sammo Hung for the successful CBS series Martial Law, Morgan also managed a variety of talent for RMO, including Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Stanley Tong, Dean Semler, and Brandon Lee.

In 2004 Shannon Lee, in order to save the reputation of her father, the late Bruce Lee, severed ties with Morgan.

In 2008 over financial and creative differences Albert S. Ruddy ended his partnership with Morgan.

China Film and Television

Morgan returned to China in 2000. He was the driving force in the creation of Hweilai Studios in Shanghai – the first private sector studio in China, opened in 2001.^[1] By providing a permanent state-of-the-art production and post-production facility, Hweilai produced not only Chinese content, but also English-language movies and television.^[2]

Since launching RMO in China in 2000, Morgan has produced Chinese language films. In 2002 he also Executive Produced Flatland, the first Sino-American television series. In 2005, he was the Executive Producer on the first Sino-American film co-production – Merchant Ivory’s The White Countess, starring Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave. His production of Peter Chan’s Perhaps Love, the first Chinese musical in 25 years, was chosen as Hong Kong’s 2006 Oscar entry, winning 22 international awards, including 6 Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2007, the epic The Warlords, starring Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, garnered 17 awards and 19 nominations, including Best Picture at the Hong Kong Film Awards. He also produced multiple television series in China.

Business and Finance

In 2005–2006, Morgan advised China National Overseas Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in its successful acquisition of the Nigerian deep offshore oil field OML246. At the time, this was the largest single international acquisition by a Chinese State Owned Enterprise (SOE).

The following year he negotiated the CCCG bid to partner with the Chagoury Brothers to reclaim 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) of Lagos Bay. The Eko Atlantic dredging contract was the largest ever awarded in Nigeria.

He has advised a diverse range of clients including the Chagoury Group, Bakrie Brothers (Indonesia), Hong Kong’s Media Asia, Singapore’s Mediaset, Standard Chartered Bank, various regional banks and financial institutions (such as HAO Capital), along with various government agencies.

Events

Morgan was special advisor to the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, helping to secure the 2008 Summer Olympics, the first such event hosted by China.

He simultaneously advised the 2010 Shanghai Expo planning committee, which hosted 246 countries and international organizations and a record-setting 73 million visitors from all over the world.^[3]

In his spare time, Morgan also lectures at the film departments of UCLA and USC, the Shanghai Drama Academy, and the Beijing National Film Academy.

Personal Life

While filming Farewell to the King, Morgan met his future wife, Maria Wee, Director of Marketing for Holiday Inns Malaysia, who had just returned home after completing her graduate studies in England. In 1995, they were married at Greystone Mansion and Gardens. Once the home of the American Film Institute (AFI), Greystone is now the site of the annual Hollywood Ball.

Honors

Morgan is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the Australian Stuntman’s Association, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, and various trade organizations.

He holds the honorary rank of Brigadier General in the Sarawak Rangers.

In 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) from Nantong University Radio and Television Department - the oldest teaching university in China.

From 2011-2013, Morgan was an Ambassador for Screen Singapore.

Current Activities

Today, Morgan commutes regularly between the U.S. and Asia. He continues as a frequent panelist and guest speaker for both media and business forums. He sits on the Advisory Board of the Asia World Film Festival and is Vice-Chairman of the Hollywood Chinese-American Film Festival, which he co-founded in 2005.

In traditional media, he founded and remains a partner in Shanghai-Based Siren Films Ltd., Morgan & Chan Films of Hong Kong, and the CEO of Windsong Pictures in Los Angeles. Morgan has half a dozen projects currently in the works. He is relaunching Cannonball Run with Warner Bros., producing Doolittle with Perfect Village (formerly Village Roadshow), Genghis Khan, Point Thunder, and others in various stages of development.

His most recent film, Reborn, releases in theatres throughout China in August 2018.

Filmography

References

External links

• Luke Ford: Interview with Andre Morgan
• Ruddy Morgan Organization
• American Film Market
• Andre Morgan on IMDb
• Andre Morgan interview on Al Jazeera English