'Iron Man 3' has a Chinese flavor
Source: Agencies |
May 1, 2013, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN superhero film "Iron Man 3" makes its Chinese debut today, it will include top Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and some scenes shot in China - additions aimed at tapping into the country's lucrative and booming cinema market.
Co-producer DMG Entertainment, a Chinese firm, and the Walt Disney-owned Marvel Studios hoped the changes would help ease the film's way past China's censors.
"There is no law of film in China, and so no specific standard. The members on the committee censor films totally by their own judgment," said Zhu Dake, a film critic based in Shanghai.
Every movie in China is seen by the Film Censorship Committee, made up of 37 members including officials, academics, film magazine editors and directors. They vet nudity, violence and politically sensitive scenes.
Western films must meet the committee's "amendment opinions" to be one of the 34 Hollywood films permitted in China each year, giving them a shot at a market where box office takings grew 30 percent in 2012 to 17.1 billion yuan (US$2.77 billion).
Imported films, which raked in over half the box office last year, have become flexible as a result.
Cuts were made to the latest James Bond film "Skyfall," while futuristic action thriller "Looper" added Chinese actors to its cast.
In "Iron Man 3," Robert Downey Jr stars as hero Tony Stark, while Ben Kingsley plays the "Mandarin," a half-Chinese villain - the kind of thing that could be a red flag for censors. In the Chinese version, however, the name is translated as "Man Daren," removing the overtly Chinese connotation.
"Iron Man 2" was also censored before it screened in China in 2010, with the words for "Russia" and "Russian" left untranslated in the subtitles and the spoken words muffled.
Nothing, though, is guaranteed. "Django Unchained," the Oscar-winning film from director Quentin Tarantino, was pulled abruptly from Chinese cinemas at its debut earlier this month for "technical reasons."
On April 26, the movie's US distributors said it had been given the green light for re-release this month. A Hollywood source said cuts had been made but declined to say what they were.
China's cinema goers do not always appreciate the meddling.
"Including Summer Qing is totally incongruous," a microblogger said of the Chinese actress who appeared with Bruce Willis in "Looper."
Co-producer DMG Entertainment, a Chinese firm, and the Walt Disney-owned Marvel Studios hoped the changes would help ease the film's way past China's censors.
"There is no law of film in China, and so no specific standard. The members on the committee censor films totally by their own judgment," said Zhu Dake, a film critic based in Shanghai.
Every movie in China is seen by the Film Censorship Committee, made up of 37 members including officials, academics, film magazine editors and directors. They vet nudity, violence and politically sensitive scenes.
Western films must meet the committee's "amendment opinions" to be one of the 34 Hollywood films permitted in China each year, giving them a shot at a market where box office takings grew 30 percent in 2012 to 17.1 billion yuan (US$2.77 billion).
Imported films, which raked in over half the box office last year, have become flexible as a result.
Cuts were made to the latest James Bond film "Skyfall," while futuristic action thriller "Looper" added Chinese actors to its cast.
In "Iron Man 3," Robert Downey Jr stars as hero Tony Stark, while Ben Kingsley plays the "Mandarin," a half-Chinese villain - the kind of thing that could be a red flag for censors. In the Chinese version, however, the name is translated as "Man Daren," removing the overtly Chinese connotation.
"Iron Man 2" was also censored before it screened in China in 2010, with the words for "Russia" and "Russian" left untranslated in the subtitles and the spoken words muffled.
Nothing, though, is guaranteed. "Django Unchained," the Oscar-winning film from director Quentin Tarantino, was pulled abruptly from Chinese cinemas at its debut earlier this month for "technical reasons."
On April 26, the movie's US distributors said it had been given the green light for re-release this month. A Hollywood source said cuts had been made but declined to say what they were.
China's cinema goers do not always appreciate the meddling.
"Including Summer Qing is totally incongruous," a microblogger said of the Chinese actress who appeared with Bruce Willis in "Looper."
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