Podcasts about china during

Having directed and produced such shows as Jack Ryan, Hunters, For All Mankind, Hell On Wheels, Legion, Waco, Goliath, and frankly too many others films and shows to count...Dennie Gordon is no stranger to working with giant crews on massive sets. Having also directed a feature film in China during the SARS outbreak, I think it’s safe to say that Dennie knows something about keeping her crew members safe despite the risks. And not more than 2 minutes into our interview, Dennie rolled the following grenade into the middle of the room: “I think the cameras are going to start rolling again when there’s a vaccine.” Whoah. So what does that mean for everyone who’s livelihoods depend on cameras rolling? On needing makeup and hair done, sets to be designed, built, and painted...lights to be set up, focused to be pulled, costumes to be purchased and fitted, and in the case of most of my listeners...footage that needs to be cut. What’s the plan if cameras don’t roll again until we have a vaccine? And are there alternatives? Will production flee to other states or other countries that are willing to take the risks? Are crew members going to have to choose between unemployment or signing death waivers? There are a lot of questions right now, and neither I nor Dennie promise to have the answers. But we do our best to discuss all of the various options out there so all of us can make more informed decisions about what comes next. Want to Hear More Episodes Like This One? » Click here to subscribe and never miss another episode Here's What You'll Learn: Despite the “when there’s a vaccine” grenade Dennie rolled into the room, she assures us the Industry is putting protocols in place to make sets as safe as possible. But we have a long road ahead. Why she thinks talk shows, game shows, stage studio events will come back much sooner. Location set pieces won’t come back for a while. The astonishing story of Dennie Gordon's experience working on a feature film in China DURING the SARS-COV2 outbreak. Insurance. Waivers. Liability… Who’s really going to take this on at the end of the day? What should we expect working on set to look like before a vaccine? How do we tell good stories while following physical distancing guidelines? How can creative professionals continue building their careers? After all, we never learn anything when we’re not working. How will we be able to collaborate at the same level as before? For example, if writer’s rooms are meeting on Zoom calls instead of in person, how much gets lost in the creative process? Why not create stories that reflect the reality we’re living in with COVID-19? Dennie’s thoughts on having everyone live on set as a closed community where everyone is tested. (Example: Tyler Perry who built a set on a former army barracks.) Does she think people will be willing to live in a quarantined set, isolated from family and friends for months just to have a job again? What about reality shows? Will they resume before scripted? People in some countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Czechoslovakia, Iceland, & South Korea have already started shooting. What opportunities does that present? How do you navigate production when one state says they’re not ready to start shooting because it’s unsafe and in the next state, they’re saying “We’re already making television, what are you guys doing over there?” Since it’s going to be more expensive for productions to operate and doing so with less people, and considering that so many people will want to work and do it for less money, what effect do you expect that downward pressure on wages to have and what would you hope to see? What are we going to do about post-production or are they in a good enough position with remote workflows? Can you still tell the same quality stories if you never meet your post-production crew in person? What does pilot season look like? Do we think the structure of the way we do the business side of things is going to change? What do you think is going to happen to television in general considering the expected reduction in the volume of shows that will be produced? What are some of the ideas you’ve come up with to pivot and be innovative when it looks like you may not be able to go back to directing for a year or two? Does it make sense for you to provide value in other ways such as mentorship? And what does mentorship and networking look like in the time of coronavirus? Dennie Gordon’s words of wisdom: “Use this time. When this is all over, people will be able to define themselves by how they used this time.” Why Dennie expects us to have to get much better at communicating their ideas to each other. Do you think we’ll end up going towards making features and not doing episodic T.V. for a long time because it’s just so hard to sustain the level of production T.V. requires? Can we expect a resurgence of small indie movies? Useful Resources Mentioned: How The World’s Biggest Producers Are Plotting Their Way Out Of The Pandemic Reopening Hollywood: From Insurance To Testing, Crowd Scenes & Craft Services, Here Are The Pandemic Problems Studios Are Trying To Solve Before The Restart Reopening Hollywood: Kurt Sutter On How To Bring Back TV Dramas After Coronavirus Shutdown What’s needed for Hollywood to get back to work safely? Ep85: Mentorship, Networking, and Surviving Hollywood Blockbusters | with Dody Dorn, ACE Ep97: When Are We Going Back to Work? And How Can We Earn Income Now? | Community Q&A Our Generous Sponsors: This episode is made possible for you by Ergodriven, the makers of the Topo Mat, my #1 recommendation for anyone who stands at their workstation. The Topo is super comfortable, an awesome conversation starter, and it’s also scientifically proven to help you move more throughout the day which helps reduce discomfort and also increase your focus and productivity. Click here to learn more and get your Topo Mat. Guest Bio: Dennie Gordon has been a trailblazing female director her entire career; spanning the worlds of feature films, television series, mini-series and branded content. Her range of genre busting entertainment spans an unusual spectrum of comedy and drama. After being one of the first women to graduate from Yale's School of Drama with an MFA in Directing, Gordon first gained recognition when A HARD RAIN was chosen by Showtime's Discovery Program. Thanks to Steven Spielberg, a rough cut of her film attracted the attention of George Lucas who donated the film's mix at Skywalker Ranch. A HARD RAIN, which Gordon also wrote, went on to win dramatic awards at the British Short Film Festival and the Hampton's Film Festival. This film also caught the eye of David E. Kelley who enlisted Gordon to helm multiple episodes of his television series including GOLIATH, (where she was Co EP) PICKET FENCES, CHICAGO HOPE, ALLY MCBEAL, and THE PRACTICE. Gordon has directed over 100 hours of network television including such critically acclaimed series as LEGION, which was on many critic’s lists as a top 10 show of 2017, with the “astounding direction of Dennie Gordon and her twisted visionary imagery taking the X-Men universe to a whole new level”. Her other work includes BLOODLINE, RECTIFY, EMPIRE, KINGDOM, POWER, HELL ON WHEELS, GRACE & FRANKIE, THE OFFICE, 30 ROCK, Aaron Sorkin’s SPORTS NIGHT, and HBO's TRACEY TAKES ON, for which Gordon won the DGA Comedy Award. Gordon recently completed the mini-series WACO, JACK RYAN Season 2 FOR ALL MANKIND for Apple, and THE HUNT starring Al Pacino. Gordon directed the comedy cult hit JOE DIRT starring David Spade, and Christopher Walken, and WHAT A GIRL WANTS starring Oscar Winner Colin Firth, Dame Eileen Atkins, and Jonathan Pryce. Gordon was the first American woman to direct a film for the domestic Chinese market, called MY LUCKY STAR. The 2013 film starred Oscar nominee Zhang Ziyi and Wang Leehom and was filmed in China and Singapore in the summer of 2012. MY LUCKY STAR was the number one film in China for 4 weeks on 5000 screens. Gordon is a sought after commercial director having completed campaigns for Honda, Toyota, Tsingtao beer and Xcel energy as well as campaigns with Jimmy Fallon, Betty White, Adam Devine and Don Cheadle. She recently completed a short dramatic film for Huawei, which was shot in Prague. She is repped by Little Minx and CAA. Dennie Gordon's website Dennie in the L.A. Times article: What’s needed for Hollywood to get back to work safely? Show Credits: This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Glen McNiel. The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet). Note: I believe in 100% transparency, so please note that I receive a small commission if you purchase products from some of the links on this page (at no additional cost to you). Your support is what helps keep this program alive. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Welcome to Finance and Fury, The Furious Friday edition.  In money system – need a reserve – gold, currency – gives a floor value which gives confidence Doesn’t provide much stability – Most central bankers use the same terms when talking about current international financial system – Incoherent – You have the AUD to USD drop, gold moves one direction, - completely disjointed – based around the models of international finance – not what they predict will happen – but still trying to manage Floating currencies are not stable - financial war easier – There has been a currency war going on since 2010 Remember QE – US dollars and treasury issues – what happens if your currency is pegged to USD? China – had to massively increase their money supply as well to keep currency exchange low – US growth from consumption, while China growth from exports – Yuan goes up, exports down But printing a lot of Yuan created inflation in china, along with the rest of the world – food, oil, commodities, USD is a form of global currency that assets are priced in If domestically you are experiencing inflation (or real devaluation of your currency) – price of food goes up Think about any financial asset – shares, property, bonds, gold, cash Each behaves differently in crash – shares go down, bonds gold go up, etc – but they are all priced in AUD If you crash AUD – our international buying power and wealth goes down – global system very fragile Very controlled - One country can devalue its currency to make it more competitive – has to be done slowly over time Think that is what the RBA is trying as well – based on theory – interest rates drop = carry trade = exchange rates change and drop due to interest levels here – but over time – demand for goods (now cheaper) go back up bringing currency with it Theory doesn’t work out so well – due to incoherent natures of currencies – Confidence – and that currencies of other countries are used as reserves What solution does the IMF see for its Reserves and stability of financial system problems? Gold? – but the price of gold would need to be pegged to USD$10k per ounce to form a currency reserve Hard to get enough – been trying – mining ramped up, China and Russia massively buying up gold Has every bar melted into new bullion to avoid fakes – fake gold going around But IMF have SDRs – China needed to hold a lot of gold to be accepted into the currency basket of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) Special drawing rights are supplementary foreign-exchange reserve assets – IMF wants it as an international reserve asset SDR is the unit of account for the IMF – “The SDR is neither a currency nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.” – what does that even mean? SDRs represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged – but only within the Financial System – There is no secondary market – unlike other forms of reserves/assets – bond etc SDRs originally a part of the monetary system - Bretton Woods arrangement post WW2. USA had almost all of the gold reserves of the world at that time – other countries left with little SDRs were intended as a supra-national currency that could be used instead of gold, thereby reducing dependence on gold (essentially the USA) – IMF first issued in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves (i.e. gold) Today - SDR 204.2 billion (equivalent to about US$291 billion) have been allocated to members, including 2009 - SDR 182.6 billion allocated in the wake of the global financial crisis -  to "provide liquidity to the global economic system and supplement member countries’ official reserves". The SDR was initially defined as equivalent to 0.888671 grams of fine gold—which, at the time, was also equivalent to one U.S. dollar. After the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the SDR was redefined as a basket of currencies – floating currencies in the end China and Russia are storing Gold and urging the IMF to replace USD as the global currency reserve with SDRs Don’t like the reliance on USD as China and Russia have been on the raw end of the US Fed and Treasury Price based on a combination (weighted average) of multiple currencies – The IMF has its own reserve which has multiple currencies basket is reviewed every five years - reflect the relative importance of currencies in the world’s trading and financial systems - currency weights remain fixed over the five-year SDR valuation – but values with cross-exchange movements daily United States Dollar – 41.73%, Euro – 30.93%, Japanese Yen – 8.33%, Pound Sterling – 8.09%, China – 10.92% Interest rates - weighted average of all the currencies   Why are Special Drawing Rights (SDR’s) Required? to move away from the United States dollar-based system – which has already way too much debt – $22trn debt If the USD collapses (as it isn’t money but built on $22trn of debt and agreements) – world suffers Large consumer but wouldn’t be able to buy – would require monetary restrictions – leading to global liquidity issues Just the value drop – We buy US shares – Share values drop – purely based on AUD versus valued in USD USD to AUD $1 – own a share worth $100USD – USD goes to $2 per AUD – shares worth $50 These rumours suggest that these countries propose that Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) become the de-facto reserve currency of the world – avoid this risk Due to the USD being a global currency reserve – countries forced to hold it as part of their reserves – more risk   China – During the last review concluded in November 2015, the Board decided that the Chinese renminbi (RMB) met the criteria for inclusion in the SDR basket. Criteria: Exports – one of the top five exports in the world and member of the IMF Freely usable currency by the IMF- widely traded to make payments for international transfers fully aware of the fragile economic condition in which the United States economy stands forced to buy more and more United States treasury debt if it wants to keep its own economy afloat A lot of excess USD in their trillions or reserves – Hope to solve these problems with SDRs – still buy 41%   Benefits of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR’s) System – These are based around if the model actually works Reduced United States Dependence - no longer have to depend on the currency of United States to trade with each other More Stable System - Since essential commodities such as gold, oil and food grains will no longer be exclusively traded in dollars, the United States government will not be able to exert an undue influence on their prices by increasing and decreasing the money supply of dollars as much - minimalizes their effect Balance of Payment Issues: If the world were to go off a dollar-based system it would resolve a lot of balance of payment issues that are being faced. The United States is running a perpetual trade deficit with countries like China.   Disadvantages of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR’s) System Money Supply Becomes An Administrative Decision: If Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) become the reserve currency of the world, then the IMF would be in charge of regulating the money supply – for the whole world – would not have an open market of their own, the decision regarding whether the money supply should be expanded or contracted would end up becoming an administrative decision - The fact that all other economic parameters are extremely sensitive to changes in money supply, this is a dangerous situation to be in. Under the Articles of Agreement, when certain conditions are met, the IMF may allocate SDRs to members participating in the SDR Department in proportion to their quotas (known as a general allocation). A special one-time allocation in 2009 enabled countries that joined the IMF after 1981 (i.e., after previous allocations) to participate in the SDR system on an equitable basis. Members can buy and sell SDRs in the voluntary market. If required, the IMF can also designate members to buy SDRs. Abstract Nature: The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are an abstract weighted average. They are not an actual currency that can be used by people. As such, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) will be extremely difficult to implement and manage, if they are ever introduced at the microeconomic level. The SDR mechanism is self-financing and levies charges on allocations which are then used to pay interest on SDR holdings – so IMF creates SDRs based on deposit currencies, loans them to a country and then the country needs to pay it back This is the current reserve system on crack Still have currency backing it:  replacing dollars with Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) would be like replacing one unstable system with another slightly less unstable system Nothing to stop the expansion of debt to fund projects SDRs serve as the premier mode of transfer for IMF loans to member nations in need of financial assistance SDRs are allocated via endowment or credit at the discretion of IMF authority while adhering the governing Articles of Agreement. The cost of borrowing, or yield to depositing, from the IMF is determined via the SDR Interest Rate (SDRi) – they will become the payday lenders of the world – predatory lending the IMF increased lending capacity to 690 billion SDR – in anticipation of global spending projects There are already agreements in place to dish out the loans - money created from the issue of SDRs – infrastructure projects across the world What projects going on? UN and their sustainable development goals – SDRs fit into this – need a global boost in the money supply to fund projects Studies and papers published on the benefits of issuing special drawing rights to low-income countries – part of infrastructure spending by the Governments Come back to this in the series on the UN Sustainable development goals – one part of the pie   The Bottom Line Special drawing rights are a form of world reserve asset - value is based on a basket international currencies SDRs are used by the IMF to make emergency loans and are used by developing nations to shore up their currency reserves without the need to run current account surpluses at the detriment of economic growth – Real part of the design – to make sure the high export countries don’t experience currency appreciation due to demand for goods Allows for a country to boost reserves (from a loan) to then increase their money supply and remain competitive German in EU example – strong exporter but EUR doesn’t reflect this - but on larger scale than just EU can only be accessed by members of the IMF- Central banks or nations who are members and play by rules Trouble is – I think most countries want this – China – still remains an exporter through lower inflation and still able to increase money supply to keep up with US increases Euro – China and USA are big trading partners – to make sure the Euro doesn’t collapse USA – want to avoid a currency collapse – as long as they stay the major economy still have largest weight of SDR – keep the game going Japan – Had no growth and inflation over a long time- been printing trillions of Yen – pumping into hard asset prices – but not enough inflation to start eroding their 240% debt to GDP Studies and papers published on the benefits of issuing special drawing rights to low-income countries – part of infrastructure spending by the Governments https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11079-011-9232-2 https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/08/01/14/51/Special-Drawing-Right-SDR   Thanks for listening, if you would like to get in contact you can do so here. 

This week on the Sinica Podcast, Kaiser and Jeremy chat with two former ambassadors to the PRC who served during the years marking the transition from the Hu/Wen administration to the rule of Xi Jinping: Jorge Guajardo of Mexico and David Mulroney of Canada. They discuss the significant challenges that they faced, the perceptible changes in China's diplomatic norms and practices during their tenures as ambassadors, and, finally, the benefits and drawbacks that their countries see from the Trump administration's more assertive posture toward China. Note: This show was recorded on December 20, 2018, five weeks before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sacked Canada’s latest ambassador to China. What to listen for on this week’s Sinica Podcast: 9:35: Ambassadors Guajardo and Mulroney speak about their experiences during their tenures in Beijing. Mulroney describes a change he noticed during his time as head of the Asia branch of Canada’s Foreign Ministry: “Dealing with the Chinese had become different. In the past, if there was a difficult decision or a tough negotiation, even if you came out on the short end, the Chinese would leave you something… That changed, and I saw it change on my visit as ambassador, where it was zero sum where they were going to walk away and leave you with nothing.” 25:26: Jeremy asks the two diplomats about the United States pressuring other countries to join the growing coalition that is pushing back against China on trade, and domestic discussions in their respective countries. Mulroney responds: “There’s a great fear of being seen to gang up on China, or to form a coalition against China. And that has, I think, precluded the possibility of really honest discussions of how we deal with China one on one. China has been remarkably successful in isolating countries, even big countries, like Britain and France. Canada has certainly felt that...” 29:47: Guajardo comments on changes in the U.S.-Mexico relationship and the effects this has on the relationship between the U.S. and China: “During all administrations prior to President Trump’s, there was sort of an unwritten rule with Mexico that Mexico would do all that was possible to block Huawei from building its telecommunications infrastructure. That changed with President Trump.” 37:45: How far should governments go in getting tough on China? Is there a red line, and if so, where is it? Mulroney explains: “Canada right now is dealing with the detention of a couple of Canadians, and an icy-cold relationship with China…a constellation of issues, Iran sanctions, the extradition treaty with the U.S., detention of citizens, but they all have something in common at the base…the suggestion that China has been a free rider in so many respects. We’ve come to this point before. We wring our hands and then China is given a pass. The one thing that President Trump has been getting right is that maybe we don’t give China a pass.” Recommendations: Jeremy: An essay by James Meek in the London Review of Books, “The Club and the Mob,” about the destruction of news media. Jorge: Travel to Mexico City! An affordable vacation spot with many direct flights, which will be fairly empty during the upcoming Easter holidays. David: The Duty of Delight: The Diaries of Dorothy Day, by none other than Dorothy Day. Kaiser: The comedy TV series Patriot, available on Amazon Prime Video.