Jackie Chan and UFC: Netflix plant-based diet documentary The Game Changers comes to China
- The Game Changers, about how top vegan and vegetarian athletes have benefited by eating a plant-based diet, is now streaming in China on Youku
- Co-producer James Wilks says China was on their mind from the very beginning given the country’s huge population and rising meat consumption
The Game Changers caused a bit of a fuss when it was shown on Netflix last October, and now the film about the benefits of a plant-based diet has reached China, where it is streaming on Youku.
Former UFC fighter James Wilks is the man behind the film, which began as an effort to document his recovery from injury but became a star-studded focus “on the benefits of eating more plants – through the lens of exercise and sports”.
It features some of sport’s biggest names, on and off the camera, with Lewis Hamilton and Novak Djokovic in executive producer roles.
It was another executive producer that was integral to getting the film to China, though: Jackie Chan, who Wilks says “played an important role in helping us get into the Chinese market”.
“We were very fortunate to have the support of people like Jackie Chan, CAA China and James Cameron [also an executive producer on the film], whose long-standing relationships in China helped us secure the appropriate approvals for distribution,” Wilks says.
“We chose Youku because of their very large viewership and focus on a younger, more sports-oriented demographic.”