In this task, you are given news articles and you need to generate a highlight, i.e., a short summary, with a maximum length of 10 lines.

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- In the decade since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, local movie-makers have faced daunting changes in the industry. A trend of fewer films being produced each year in Hong Kong at the time of the handover has continued into the 21st century. Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Soccer" is one of Hong Kong's all-time top-grossing films. People in Hong Kong's industry point to several causes for the comparatively leaner times: a lack of opportunities for new acting talent, inadequate training and schooling for people who produce movies and changing tastes within the Hong Kong public. At the same time, local film-makers have had to refocus their cameras for a new audience: mainland China. "The Hong Kong film industry came to a rude awakening [in the late 1990s] that the world was changing faster than it was in the age of new delivery systems for home entertainment and the Internet," says Bede Cheng, a local film archivist and curator. "Unfortunately, it seemed to be blinded by the 'golden age' of the '80s, where any film could easily rack in over $1.3 million." The box office numbers are sobering. In the early 1990s, Hong Kong released around 200 local features a year. By 1997, that number dropped to 85 films grossing $69 million, according to the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association (MPIA). By 2006, those figures slumped to 51 films grossing $37 million. Ten years ago, the top 10 grossing films accounted for 47 percent of the total box-office return; today, the portion is 58 percent. "1997, unfortunately, coincides with the beginning of the collapse of the local film industry -- a well-documented fact," says screenwriter Jimmy Ngai. "On the other hand, it also commenced the opening up of the mainland market. "The result is that the industry has grown more and more accustomed to looking north for both investment and box return -- nothing political, but more of a survival instinct. What needs not to be spelt out for film-makers venturing north is that one plays according to what goes with the territory." The new Chinese market has translated into an emphasis in contrasts of Hong Kong-made films, says film archivist Cheng. "Today production is down, with many majors like Chinastar and Golden Harvest scaling back," he says. "Most films are high-end productions with big stars, or low-end made with a shoestring budget for an easier return. "The number of screens is also down, with the consolidation of more multiplexes, usually owned or partly owned by distributors, which already have a steady supply of foreign films to fill the screens. Some once video distributors like Mei Ah and Universe have gone into production as a way to keep the pipeline flowing." In 2006, Hong Kong closed five small cinemas and re-opened one multiplex. Gary Mak, director of Broadway Cinematheque -- Hong Kong's last-remaining alternative-screening venue -- remains optimistic about more adventurous programming and distribution. But Mak points to a shortage of creativity in the local industry. "No talents, no formal training, in most areas such as script-writing, directing, acting, etc," he says. "Even the independent scene still needs more real talents -- or at least, real producers to pull together a really good project." Tim Youngs, Hong Kong consultant for Italy's Far East Film Festival, says changing tastes among Hong Kong movie-goers has also affected the industry. "Audiences have become increasingly dismissive of local movies, often referring to them as poor quality, and there are much fewer paying cinemagoers these days. "So the hometown audience shows less support for local movies, whether by not seeing local films or opting for piracy, while the declining number of films means less opportunities for film-makers, fewer chances to try out new things, and damage to confidence." Elizabeth Kerr, film critic and curator formerly based in Seoul, South Korea, agrees with Youngs' assessment. "For all the risk-taking businessmen out there [in Hong Kong], no one is willing to put their money where their mouth is and throw in some support. "The industry for the most part suffers from the cleave between that fluff -- which makes money -- and the more adult film-making of the smaller studios, distributors and indies." How is South Korea's film industry different from its Hong Kong counterpart? "The drive to attain world adoration," Kerr says. "Koreans truly believe they're making great art all the time. South Korea launched an active campaign on all levels -- corporate, government, education -- to train and cultivate a modern film industry." Still, Kerr sees reason for optimism. Films that best retain a Hong Kong style, Kerr maintains, likely carry "Category III" (under 18 not allowed) ratings: Movies that are "grown up and smart," she says. "Even if the films don't work, someone tried." In the end, it may be culture that poses one of the greatest challenges for Hong Kong's movie industry. "Around 1997, like lots of Hong Kong people, I kind of lost myself," says independent film-maker Chan Wing-chiu. "The film industry was already almost dead in the '90s. Why work for a sunset industry?" Chan's own first feature in 2005, "A Side, B Side, Sea Side," includes a scene with a gaggle of girls on Hong Kong's Cheung Chau island who are unable to communicate in Chinese with an Australian man speaking fluent Mandarin. The two parties end up conversing in English. "That's me," says Chan, referring to the girls. "I speak English better than Putonghua [China's official common language, also known as Mandarin]. Many Chinese say that now that Hong Kong is part of China, Hong Kong people must learn Putonghua. I disagree. In Hong Kong we all speak Cantonese. Hong Kong already has a bad reputation for Putonghua, but I don't feel ashamed. I'm proud to have grown up during the transition between 1997 and SAR. "Why do we have so many problems with China? Because our language, our culture, our values, our way of thinking are different. So we are not good at speaking Putonghua. Even in the cinema, we see Western movies, Japanese movies, Korean movies... but not many Chinese movies." Adds independent director Yan-yan Mak: "We are monsters. China says: 'You are not Chinese.' Gweilos [Hong Kong slang for Caucasians] say: 'You are Chinese.' After 1997, we lost the confidence to be Hong Kong people." E-mail to a friend .
Hong Kong film production has dropped almost 75 percent since early 1990s .
Mainland investment and market influences quality of Hong Kong films .
Problems include few opportunities for new talents and little audience support .

(CNN) -- Earlier this month, an AeroMexico plane made an important flight from Mexico City to Madrid. The flight wasn't notable for who was inside the cabin, but for what was inside the fuel tank: it was the world's first transatlantic commercial flight using biofuel. The engines on that flight were powered by a fuel mixture that was 30% biofuel from the jatropha plant, and the trip followed a pair of Mexican domestic commercial flights by Interjet that used the same formula. Mexico is known for its oil production, but it could be its less obvious flats of arid and marginal land that will be the future of Mexico's energy resources. The country has quietly positioned itself to become a potential leader in biofuel production as scientists develop a second generation of fuels derived from sources that don't compete for arable land or with food. Jatropha-based biofuels are being increasingly used in Mexico, and agave -- the plant from which tequila is made -- is being studied as a new source for ethanol. But some observers warn that Mexico's cumbersome land laws make it too hard to purchase the land needed for cultivation at competitive prices. Some biofuels, such as ethanol derived from corn and sugar, can indirectly raise the prices of staple foods in many places, along with raising ethical issues, said Gilberto Lopez Meyer, director of Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), the Mexican government agency that oversaw the biofuel flights. So in 2007, Mexico, along with 14 other member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization, committed to developing new strategies for second-generation biofuels that would not affect food production. "We returned to Mexico with a mission," Lopez told CNN. Lopez's agency teamed up with the state of Chiapas, where Gov. Juan Sabines had already made a name for himself pushing his state toward alternative fuels. Chiapas began cultivating jatropha, whose seeds contain oil that can be extracted and converted into biofuel. The state already uses a jatropha biofuel mix on its buses and trucks, and President Felipe Calderon was on hand in November of last year to inaugurate a biodiesal plant there. ASA partnered with American company UOP, which refined the Chiapas jatropha into jet fuel. When the standards for biofuel use in commercial flights was approved July 1, Mexico was ready to make the domestic Interjet and international AeroMexico flights a possibility. The goal of ASA, which provides almost 100% of the jet fuel in Mexico, is to commercialize and distribute biofuels, Lopez said. "We've been working on this project as part of a global effort to combat climate change," he said. By 2015, the goal is to have 1% of all jet fuel in Mexico be biofuel, and by 2020, 15%, he said. "This is a huge goal," Lopez said. "One percent doesn't sound like a lot, but it equals more than 40 million liters (10.6 million gallons)." Mexico has several things in its favor to become a leader in biofuels, he said. It has plenty of land not being used for food, it has a high demand for energy, and it is located next door to the energy-hungry United States. "Mexico has made the very important first step to be in a very priviledged place," Lopez said. Halfway across the world, researchers at Oxford recently published a study extolling the benefits that ethanol derived from agave. Agave can grow in arid land, and produces less than half of the carbon dioxide emissions produced by corn-based ethanol, Oliver Inderwildi, one of the study's authors, told CNN. Sugar-based ethanol produces even less emissions, but it needs arable land for cultivation. "We need every space we can get, every arable land, for food," Inderwildi said. "We think agave may be one part of the solution." For their study, the researchers did a life-cycle analysis for the production of ethanol based on a hypothetical plant in Jalisco, Mexico, where 90% of tequila is produced. Potentially, agave plantations could boost local economies and create jobs, Inderwildi said. Mexico, the native home of agave plants, stands to benefit if such an ethanol industry takes off. Food prices would be spared, but would drinkers have to pay more for their margaritas and tequila shots? The tequila business is very small compared to the fuel business, and is also more expensive than fuel ethanol, so Inderwildi predicts that alcohol prices would remain stable. And unlike tequila, which requires the harvesting of the agave stem only, ethanol production would also require harvesting the leaves of the plant. "Our study backs up that this is a good idea from an environmental perspective," he said. The catch, for now, is that neither jatropha or agave biofuel production is cost-effective. But technological advances and oil prices make such alternatives more desirable. When that tipping point comes, Mexico will be ready, the experts said. But James Row, CEO of Houston-based Producers Energy and part owner of a Mexican-based biodiesel company, told CNN that Mexico is still far from being an ideal place to produce biofuels. "Mexico is absolutely a perfect country for biodiesel, especially if it can be domestically grown," he said, but the country's ejido system -- collectively-held land in rural areas -- creates hurdles for private investment. The result is difficulty in finding continuous large areas of rural land that can be negotiated for use for cultivation, or high prices that make it cost prohibitive. Without land reform, issues with land availability will continue, and Mexico will fall a decade or more behind other countries in the biofuels sector, Row said. The demand is there, the land is there, but there is no way to get it, he said. "Now is the time for Mexico to get its act together for biofuels," he said.
Mexico has quietly positioned itself as a potential biofuels leader .
It oversaw the first transatlantic commercial flight using biofuel .
The agave plant also has potential for the country .
Without land reform, private investment in sector is tough .

(CNN) -- For Connor Hays, nothing said summer more than spending a day at Joyland Amusement Park. Back in its prime, the Wichita, Kansas, theme park drew families with novelty rides, carnival food and live entertainment. Hays, now 25, says he visited Joyland at least twice each summer when he was a kid in the 1990s. After moving back to his hometown earlier this year, Hays wanted to revisit his childhood amusement park. But he couldn't. Joyland was no more. The theme park, which had been operating for 55 years, closed in 2004. What Hays found instead was a heap of scraps from a forgotten place. With a camera in hand, the web designer walked carefully through the tall fields of grass that now surround much of the abandoned remnants of the theme park. Within the confines of Joyland, Hays was hit with a rush of memories from his youth. "My older brother and I would beg my parents to take us," Hays said. "When we got there, we would ride the same three rides over and over again." Those deep feelings of nostalgia associated with places like local, homegrown theme parks are quite common, according to Jim Futrell, a historian with the National Amusement Park Historical Association. "In this Internet era, people are looking for something different to do, and a lot of amusement parks are able to capitalize on that," he said. Attendance at U.S. theme parks increased by 59 million visitors from 2000 to 2013, said David Mandt, a spokesman for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. The jump in attendance is positive news for an industry that historically goes through cycles of park closures. From 2004 to 2008, amusement parks hit a slump with dozens of theme parks shutting their doors nationwide. This includes several smaller theme parks that closed in the mid-2000s, including some that had survived a century, Futrell said. Ohio's Geauga Lake and Pennsylvania's Bushkill Park, were examples of this trend, Futrell wrote in a 2006 article for Funworld Magazine. Those smaller theme park closures have left a void for some intrepid travelers who are looking for a more nostalgic amusement park experience. Our fascination with abandoned buildings . Jessica Georgia is one of those travelers who is always searching for a vintage or "Old Americana" place to explore. It's what brought her and her family to the gates of Land of Oz, a relic theme park, sitting all alone on top of Beech Mountain in North Carolina. Georgia stumbled onto the theme park while doing an online search for interesting places to visit with her family. There wasn't much information she could find on Land of Oz, except that it once operated in the 1970s before closing its doors. What she did find online were photos of a real-life version of "The Wizard of Oz." Its yellow bricks, steel gate and lush green trees sparked her curiosity. She and her family visited the park in late May and found that the gates to the theme park were open, so they stepped inside. Georgia, her husband and daughter walked carefully down the yellow brick road. The path was still brightly colored after all these years, with a few bricks missing here and there. "I don't think you are supposed to walk in the way we did," she said. "The gates are there, there were the yellow bricks, and the shell of what used to be a castle. The Tin Man was also there, and the trees looked like they were looking at you." Land of Oz may seem like an abandoned theme park, but it's actually not. The amusement park is closed, and the space has been converted into vacation rental property. Visitors can rent out Dorothy's house, which looks like an antique cottage, for two nights or more. Other parts of the park can also be rented for small events. The theme park hasn't been operational since the 1980s, when it first shut down. But the space went through a revival in the 1990s, according to Cynthia Keller, the property manager of Land of Oz and self-appointed "Keeper of Oz." Libraries are dying? Think again . "You get the grounds to yourself, and you can stroll the yellow brick road," Keller said. "We have been doing vacation rentals for the last 20 years." Spending the night in Dorothy's home and waking up on top of a picturesque mountain is an experience that keeps the park's rental calendar pretty much booked up, Keller said. Even those who aren't hardcore fans of the classic Technicolor movie enjoy spending time at the converted theme park. "We aren't crazy about 'The Wizard of Oz,' but I definitely had some nostalgia walking through," Georgia said. "I had a lot of childhood memories of watching that movie with my sister when we were little, and being able to pass that experience down to my daughter. It makes you want to be a kid again." Hays says going to Joyland with his parents always felt like a treat, giving him a "special feeling that is hard to recreate or describe once you have grown up." Although Hays doesn't have children yet, he hopes to share that same feeling with his own kids in the future. He plans on taking them to a theme park similar to Joyland. "There is something about local amusement parks," he said. "When you go to Six Flags, I don't think you have the same emotional connection to that park like a smaller theme park gives you."

During the mid-2000s, several smaller U.S. theme parks closed their doors for good .
Nostalgic travelers are looking for a more intimate theme park experience .
Vintage theme parks like Land of Oz learned to adapt by offering nostalgia for visitors .