If you go watch a movie in the theater or scroll mindlessly through Netflix, there is a high chance that what you are watching had to be approved by Chinese government. That is because of complicated relationship between Hollywood and China. For filmmakers, this could mean losing their freedom of speech. And for the audience, it might indicate brainwashing.
In 2019, China’s box office pulled in almost 9.3 billion dollars, just behind Canada and the United States combined. This explains why Hollywood might value its commercial gains in China more than ever. The problem is that the Chinese Communist Party is a big fan of censorship.
For instance, the 2012 remake of Red Dawn was originally written to contain Chinese invaders taking over a US town. To not anger China, the invaders were quickly changed to North Koreans.
Another example is Marvel’s Doctor Strange, which has a character named “The Ancient One”, who was originally a Tibetan man. In order to appease China, the character was cast as a woman of Celtic descent.
The China is not shy about banning films that may make it look bad. In Red Corner, one of the Richard Gere movies, the main character was a man falsely accused a crime in Beijing. Gere was a notable supporter of the freedom of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and was highly critical of the Chinese government. He claims that since that film, the movies he has been able to work on are severely limited, due to the CCP refusing to show movies starring him.
A more recent film, 2019’s Laundromat, was banned from China due to the movie tackling the subjects of the corruption within the Chinese government. The most recent Tarantino Movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was banned from China for portraying Bruce Lee negatively.
China has raised its influence in Hollywood by bankrolling a growing number of top-tier films. In 2019, over half of the 10 best movies voted by Time Magazine were financed by China-friendly firms.
Ten percent of Terminator: Dark Fate was financed China’s Tencent Pictures. In 2017, distribution rights outside of the U.S. for WWII film “Midway” were acquired by China’s Bona Film Group.
Chinese Conglomerate Wanda Group has worked with film studios on Jurassic World, The Dark Knight, and many more. In 2016, Dalian Wanda took over Legendary Entertainment, a Hollywood studio, and in 2017 it took over US camera operator AMC. Wang Jianlin, the founder of Wanda Group, is a member of the CCP.
In an effort to stop the CCP’s control over the US film industry, Senator Ted Cruz introduced the SCRIPT Act in May of 2020. This bill would cut off federal assistance to any studios if they censor their films to appease the China. It is safe to say that the Hollywood and China censorship story is tied to the overall U.S.-China relation.
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References:
Leading box office markets worldwide in 2019, by revenue https://bit.ly/33BmOyy
China’s Box Office Plummets $1.91 Billion in Two Months https://bit.ly/2XB8jac
Producers behind Red Dawn remake swapped Chinese flags and insignia for North Korean ones for fear of losing out on billion-dollar box office https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2237717/Red-Dawn-remake-swapped-Chinese-flags-insignia-North-Korean-ones-fear-losing-billion-dollar-box-office.html
‘Doctor Strange’ Writer Explains Casting of Tilda Swinton as Tibetan https://nyti.ms/3knwqmi
China’s Hollywood romance turns sour https://on.ft.com/3ikTCjz
CHINA BANS WORK WITH FILM STUDIOS https://wapo.st/2C493go
Richard Gere says he’s been dropped from big Hollywood movies because China doesn’t like him
https://bit.ly/3kguAnz
China Cancels Release of Tarantino’s ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ (Exclusive) https://bit.ly/31swatJ
The 10 Best Movies of 2019 https://bit.ly/2DCyGW6
Tencent Buys Help From the Terminator https://on.wsj.com/3gz9Sgc
Bona Film Group Stakes $80M On Roland Emmerich/Mark Gordon WWII Battle Pic ‘Midway:’ Cannes
https://bit.ly/31oUYTC
Dalian Wanda to Buy ‘Jurassic World’ Producer Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 Billion
https://bloom.bg/2DJX9ZO
Meet Wanda, the Chinese Company That Bought ‘Dark Knight’ Movie Studio https://nbcnews.to/3kh8uRI
Wanda Exec to Reaffirm Hollywood Ambitions with High-Profile Los Angeles Visit https://bit.ly/33yqCRd
#holloywood china # US – China
