Buzz
With over 1.4 billion potential moviegoers, it’s clear why Hollywood studios are eager to bring their films to China, a nation with a massive love for cinema.
As is often the case, Hollywood filmmakers are careful to consider the cultural sensitivities of the countries where they release their movies. In China, the communist censors have specific preferences, such as their dislike for talking animals and ghosts. For example, the makers of Mission Impossible III edited out a scene where Tom Cruise runs past a line of laundry drying in Shanghai, as Chinese culture finds tumble-dryers uncomfortable. Here are 10 key examples of such adjustments.
10. Extensive Editing for Censorship
Chinese censors have a long list of things they disapprove of, which might be surprising to western audiences. For instance, anything involving talking animals or ghosts is strictly avoided.
Movie producers have started to create versions of films that cater to Chinese preferences. A good example of this is 'Django Unchained'. The film, directed by Quentin Tarantino, faced challenges in China due to the country's resistance to explicit violence and nudity. Scenes depicting the torture of Django and his wife, along with a flashback of a slave being attacked by dogs, were removed. Despite these changes, the film only received a limited release and was pulled from theaters shortly afterward.
Chinese censors also have issues with scenes where Chinese characters are shown losing in a fight. In the film 'Skyfall', for instance, the sequence where James Bond kills a Chinese security guard was completely cut, along with a scene set in a Chinese prison.
9. Like Disney, But Without the Chubby Bears
Generally, Disney films are almost guaranteed a release in China due to their family-friendly nature. However, the movie 'Christopher Robin', starring Ewan McGregor as the adult Christopher Robin who has forgotten his childhood friends, faced censorship. Despite being a harmless fantasy, the film did not make it to theaters in China.
The potential reason behind the lack of distribution in China lies in the perception of Winnie the Pooh as a subversive figure. This notion began in 2013 when an image of Chinese President Xi Jinping walking alongside President Obama was compared to a picture of Pooh walking with Tigger, which led to the character being seen as a symbol of rebellion.
Since then, memes featuring the Chinese president and Winnie the Pooh have become quite popular, with the bear evolving into a symbol of resistance. Christopher Robin, however, never gained traction.
8. Altering One's Nationality
A surefire way to get a film banned in China is by mentioning Tibet. The country's strict policy on Tibet means they follow a 'See no Tibet, Speak no Tibet, Hear no Tibet' approach. This made it impossible for 'Seven Years in Tibet' to be shown. In fact, the film’s release angered China so much that it resulted in a ban for its director, Jean-Jacques Annaud, as well as for its stars Brad Pitt and David Thewlis, and the entire Sony Pictures distribution company from entering the country.
However, there are instances where compromises are made. For example, the movie 'Doctor Strange' is a notable case.
In the original graphic novels that inspired the Marvel movie, The Ancient One is a Tibetan mystic from the mythical Himalayan region of Kamar-Taj. Yet in the movie, this character is portrayed as a Celt. Yes, the Celts—famously known for their mysticism and their connection to the Himalayas.
7. Make the Chinese Character the Hero
It seems that flattery opens many doors, and the Chinese are no different. If you can portray the Chinese as heroes, your chances of receiving a distribution certificate increase significantly compared to if they were cast as villains.
Take 'The Martian,' for example, where the Chinese space agency steps in to assist NASA and helps rescue the American astronaut stranded on Mars, portraying the Chinese Space Agency as more capable than their American counterparts.
This approach certainly paid off, as 'The Martian' earned $50 million in its opening weekend in China.
6. Turn It Into a Travel Show
Many films are essentially enhanced travel documentaries. Production companies often receive financial incentives to shoot in specific countries, with attractive tax breaks and cash rebates playing a major role in selecting filming locations.
In exchange for the financial benefits, directors offer beautiful scenery and a two-hour-long visual tour of the location. Most of the time, these choices have minimal impact on the audience and can easily go unnoticed. After all, one picturesque old city tends to blend with another, doesn't it?
Sometimes, movies are a bit more on-the-nose. Take 'Looper' as an example: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is learning French. Jeff Daniels asks, 'Why French?' Gordon-Levitt, in a spot-on Bruce Willis impersonation, replies, 'I’m going to France.' This seems reasonable. But Daniels, from the future, counters, 'You should go to China.'
The message couldn’t be clearer: 'China may not be the dominant force now, but it’s where things are heading. Can we please secure the distribution rights?'
5. Obvious Product Placement, Even When It Makes No Sense
Product placement has been a staple in the film industry for a long time. It's an effective strategy to help cover some of those hefty production expenses. And if you can strategically use product placement to make an impression in a tightly controlled market like China, even better.
In Iron Man 3, we spot Dr. Wu enjoying a Gu Li Duo milk drink just before operating on Tony Stark. This was quite timely, as China was looking to rebuild trust in its milk industry after concerns over mercury contamination.
The film kicks off with a screen card posing a question: 'What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?' After a brief three-second blackout, the answer is revealed: Gu Li Duo, of course.
If you're wondering why you missed this particular product placement, it's because, unless you're in China, you likely didn't see it. An additional four minutes of footage were added, all designed to highlight Chinese actors or promote dubious milk drinks to a cautious public.
The producers seemed determined to break into the Chinese market, as the film also includes two Chinese supporting actors, a scene with cheering Chinese schoolchildren, and product placements for a Chinese tech company and a construction firm. They even altered the villain from The Mandarin, as depicted in the comics, to an Englishman posing as a Mandarin. Ridiculous, right?
At least they didn’t make Tony Stark use a Vivo phone. But poor Captain America didn’t have such luck. Iron Man 3 raked in a massive $121,000,000 in China. That’s a whole lot of milk.
4. Blame It On the Russians
The challenge with comic book-based films is that their source material isn’t always as commercially motivated as the film industry itself. So, it's easy to pin something like a deadly virus on China without a second thought.
Filmmakers, however, have a different focus. When Paramount Pictures brought Marc Foster on board to direct World War Z, they likely had the distribution rights in mind. To that end, they altered the origin of the zombie virus from China to Russia—because a) who would believe a virus could originate from China, and b) the Russian market is considerably smaller.
But in the end, they might as well not have bothered, since they didn’t secure a distribution deal in either China or Russia. Obviously.
3. Change The Entire Film
Sometimes, small adjustments to a film don’t really affect the final product. After all, who cares about what brand of milk the hero drinks? Most viewers probably don’t even notice those details.
However, there are instances when the changes are so drastic that the film becomes almost unrecognizable. Take The Karate Kid as an example—not the beloved 1984 classic with Ralph Macchio and Noriyuki Morita, but the 2010 remake featuring Jayden Smith and Jackie Chan, which was less than stellar.
In the original, set in Los Angeles, the new kid Macchio finds himself in a showdown with a karate-wielding bully, who also happens to be the boyfriend of the girl Macchio likes. He turns to his caretaker-turned-karate mentor to help him prepare for the fight.
It's essentially a kid-friendly version of Rocky (both films were directed by John G Avildsen). The 2010 remake, however, shifted the setting to Beijing, where Jayden Smith’s character moves.
The film should have been an easy pass for the censors. It was shot on location in Hong Kong, featured a host of Chinese actors, and had more product placement than you could handle. It was filled with iconic Chinese landscapes, even showing Jayden and Chan training in true Rocky fashion on the Great Wall of China.
But the censors weren’t on board. The Hong Kong setting meant that the film’s antagonist was Chinese. The portrayal of an older Chinese kid beating up a weak American kid didn’t sit well.
So, despite all that effort, it seemed like The Karate Kid might not make the cut after all.
To get it approved, the film had to undergo some pretty severe edits, which transformed the entire narrative. The gladiatorial elements were removed, turning it into more of a coming-of-age story about self-discovery and emotional growth.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the film even got a new title. The Karate Kid was rebranded as Kung Fu Dream.
2. Relocate Production to Hong Kong
One strategy to secure a crucial distribution deal is by partnering with the Chinese film industry and even filming parts of the movie there.
The Transformers series had long been popular in China, so when producing Transformers: Age of Extinction, they decided to collaborate with local Chinese production companies to capitalize on the potential.
The movie was co-financed with China, filmed partially in Hong Kong, and featured extensive product placements, including for a soy-milk beverage (in case you preferred it over regular milk) and the Chinese version of Red Bull.
Although the movie was less than stellar (no surprise there), it generated significant revenue, especially in China.
The movie earned $300 million in China, $50 million more than in the US, making up nearly a third of its total $1 billion earnings.
Who wouldn't want to watch a film where autobots seek the help of a mechanic (played by Mark Wahlberg) to defeat a bounty hunter trying to capture Optimus Prime?
Uh, actually, no.
1. Who Are Those Soldiers?
In 2012, MGM released a remake of Red Dawn. The original 1984 movie featured an unlikely duo of Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen as brothers who ditch high school to organize a resistance against the impending Russian invasion.
Okay, it's not the best film ever made, and the final scenes are ridiculously cheesy, but for some inexplicable reason, someone thought remaking it was a good idea.
This time, the brothers aren't high schoolers, but a marine on leave (played by Chris Hemsworth) and a football player (Josh Peck). A little less absurd.
And instead of a Russian army, the invaders are Chinese. I mean North Korean.
After filming wrapped, the studio realized that portraying China as the aggressor might not go over well in China, so they spent a significant amount of time and money digitally altering the enemy's uniforms and insignia.
Because North Korea doesn't distribute Hollywood films, so who cares about them, right?
It didn't quite pan out. The movie was never released in China.
