‘Soap opera on cocaine’: how vertical dramas flipped Hollywood

In a faux castle atop a Los Angeles hill, a small film crew with their cameras flipped sideways squeeze into a bedroom and shoot a raunchy affair scene, under the gaze of their Chinese producer.

This is the brave new world of “vertical dramas,” a multi-billion-dollar industry that has taken Hollywood by storm in just two years, churning out algorithm-driven movies that are watched in addictive 60-second installments on smartphones.

With kitschy plots about werewolves and billionaires, budgets of just a few hundred thousand dollars, and breakneck filming schedules, this format from China is radically changing — and, some say, saving — a struggling industry.

Vertical dramas are like a “soap opera on cocaine,” says producer Vincent Wang.

“In 30 days, we can get a show together. Hollywood