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American Movie Studios Appease Chinese Censors (nationalreview.com) 284

An anonymous reader writes: To stay on Beijing's good side, U.S. filmmakers are willing to kowtow to China's authoritarian regime, and there seems no limit to their willingness to acquiesce. Take Top Gun: Maverick, a long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic action film that made Tom Cruise a superstar. After the sequel's trailer was unveiled at San Diego's ComicCon last week, alert fans noted that the iconic leather flight jacket worn by Cruise's character in the original film had been altered. All of the patches from the original film were there except for flags representing Chinese adversaries Japan and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Those flags were missing. The culprits were soon pretty obvious. The Hollywood Reporter found that the Chinese company Tencent is co-financing the sequel. Co-producing the film along with Paramount Pictures is Skydance, which is partially owned by Tencent.

"Top Gun is an American classic, and it's incredibly disappointing to see Hollywood elites appease the Chinese Communist Party," Senator Ted Cruz of Texas lamented to the Washington Free Beacon. "The Party uses China's economy to silence dissent against its brutal repression and to erode the sovereignty of American allies like Taiwan. Hollywood is afraid to stand up for free speech and is enabling the Party's campaign against Taiwan." Senator Lindsey Graham, a colleague of Cruz's, chimed in. "I hate to see the flag removed because of Chinese financing," he said in an interview with TMZ. "It's nothing the government can do, but I think it sucks." Nor is Top Gun: Maverick the only example of genuflection. China is almost uniformly portrayed in American movies as a technologically advanced superpower (see movies such as The Martian, 2012, and Looper). In Looper, a science-fiction drama, a time-traveler is learning French and saving his money so that he can move to Paris. But his boss, who is from the future, says he is making a mistake.

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American Movie Studios Appease Chinese Censors

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  • This just in... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dallas May ( 4891515 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:17PM (#59005980)

    From the *real* article:

    "Hypocrites who endlessly promote the concept that making money and building wealth and power is the only virtue worthy of recognition, suddenly find themselves feigning disapproval at corporate mega-giant who does thing to make money. Hypocrites have yet to return any campaign bribe money from said mega-giant corporation."

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by geek ( 5680 )

      From the *real* article:

      "Hypocrites who endlessly promote the concept that making money and building wealth and power is the only virtue worthy of recognition, suddenly find themselves feigning disapproval at corporate mega-giant who does thing to make money. Hypocrites have yet to return any campaign bribe money from said mega-giant corporation."

      This is that awkward moment, the so called Liberal, proponent of free speech and liberty and human rights finds themselves on the side of the most brutal, inhumane and horrific regimes in human history simply because they don't like that someone has an (R) after their name.

      Congrats sunshine, you're now the very thing you claim to hate.

      • Re:This just in... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by ReverendLoki ( 663861 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:38PM (#59006194)

        There are certainly those people who are only ever capable of seeing two sides to any difference of opinion.

        In other words, it's possible to point out a politician's hypocrisy on this issue, and simultaneously condemn China's crackdown on free speech. But you do you, man.

      • From the *real* article:

        "Hypocrites who endlessly promote the concept that making money and building wealth and power is the only virtue worthy of recognition, suddenly find themselves feigning disapproval at corporate mega-giant who does thing to make money. Hypocrites have yet to return any campaign bribe money from said mega-giant corporation."

        This is that awkward moment, the so called Liberal, proponent of free speech and liberty and human rights finds themselves on the side of the most brutal, inhumane and horrific regimes in human history simply because they don't like that someone has an (R) after their name.

        Congrats sunshine, you're now the very thing you claim to hate.

        Actually we don't. If government should be hands off even in silencing foreign governments and their efforts to dictate speech terms for profit in their country, at the very least it is proper for our governments to demand disclaimers on movies, "Warning, this movie's content may have been altered to appease a dictatorship."

        That's part of the problem with current troll farms from Russia and China -- it's difficult to separate real opinions from manipulative dictatorship statements on message boards includi

      • by Megol ( 3135005 )

        No matter if your pathology is biological or by choice (indoctrination?) don't you see the obvious logical problems with that post?

  • by sinij ( 911942 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:19PM (#59006002)
    There was a period before US entered WW2 when Nazi Germany was financing Hollywood productions, where Nazis were imposing similar rules.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by geek ( 5680 )

      Not just Hollywood but most of corporate America too. I'm all for making money but there should be some regard to ethics. Hollywood will come to regret this, much like IBM and others did when they got in bed with Nazi's.

      One thing here that stands out however, much of what the Nazi's did wasn't common knowledge until after the war. What China has done and is doing is known to all but willfully ignored all for the money.

      Maybe it's a California thing. They've been exploiting the Chinese for centuries, this is

    • There was a period before US entered WW2 when Nazi Germany was financing Hollywood productions, where Nazis were imposing similar rules.

      The worst atrocities of the Nazis weren't public knowledge till after the war. The Holocaust didn't start will after the Wannsee Conference [wikipedia.org] in 1942.

      Meanwhile, in America, black actors were excluded from the Academy Awards. Hattie McDaniels only received her Oscar when Clark Gable threatened to boycott the ceremony if she was excluded. But she still wasn't allowed to sit with the white people.

      Black lynchings were also regular events in the American South.

  • Easy answer (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:23PM (#59006040)

    Don't spend your hard-earned dollars to see this or other movies subsidized by the Chinese.

    We all like to bitch on Slashdot about how terrible is it that American companies are giving in to Chinese money... Now is your chance to prove that this is not all just words! Vote by not seeing these movies, and sooner than later the problem will resolve itself.

    Or... Be a sheeple and go see it with your sheeple friends just to be part of the crowd, but then stop being a hypocrite and complaining about how others are supporting this regime.

    You can't have it both ways!

  • It is almost like those Liberal Hollywood people are doing whatever it takes to bring in the most money.

    It is almost like people and organizations don't fit neatly into little pidgin holes but apply compromise to their ideology where it doesn't make the most sense.

    • Liberal, conservative... seeking profit knows no political ties beyond those of convenience.

  • by OzPeter ( 195038 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:26PM (#59006074)

    Four big Chinese films have been pulled in a month with barely an explanation [cnn.com]

    The latest controversy began on June 24 with a message posted to the official "Better Days" social media account.
    "After considering the level of completion of 'Better Days' and our market pre-assessments, and following consultations between the production and distribution parties, the film will not be released on June 27. A new release date will be announced at a later time," the statement said.
    Fans were shocked. The film had been due to release that week.

    So far, no new release date has been given and the account has since been silent. The day after "Better Days" was pulled, promoters behind "The Eight Hundred" announced on social media that the film wouldn't be releasing on July 5 as planned, adding a new release date would be made public "when decided."

    It said that after "consulting and discussing (with) every side," screenings of the film were being canceled. Fans were shocked. The film had been due to release that week.

    "After consultation between the production team and other entities, 'The Eight Hundred' will cancel its original July 5 premiere and temporarily vacate the summer release date window. The new release date will be announced at a later time," said a statement posted to the film's social media.

    It happened again with the "The Hidden Sword," which was pulled just four days ahead of its planned release on July 15. A statement was issued on the film's social media account: "Due to market reasons, the film 'The Hidden Sword' has canceled its original July 19 release. Thank you for your anticipation, your attention and support!"

    It seems that the Chinese filmmakers aren't appeasing the Chines censors

  • by Guspaz ( 556486 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:27PM (#59006088)

    The Chinese space program has the second-highest budget in the world after NASA, outspending Russia, Japan, or Europe. China currently has the capability of manned spaceflight, which the US does not (more due to poor planning on the part of the US than anything else). Is it really such a stretch for a film set in the near future to portray China as having a viable space program? China's space budget is like 3x that of Russia.

    • by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @02:21PM (#59007050)

      China currently has the capability of manned spaceflight, which the US does not (more due to poor planning on the part of the US than anything else).

      It's not due to poor planning. It's due to blatant corruption. Rather than let NASA request bids and prototypes from contractors, so they can put them through tests and select the best company to produce each part, members of Congress keep adding text in funding bills requiring NASA to use a specific contractor located in their state or district. The honest folks at NASA don't want to endanger lives or waste obscene amounts of money complying with these requirements if they don't feel the design or parts were up to par or the best choice for the job. So they do the only thing in their power to do - stall in the hopes the private sector can come up with something better.

      When the Shuttle was introduced in the 1980s, the parts were certified for 25 years of use. The manufacturer ran accelerated aging and stress tests on the parts, and that's how long the engineers felt they could guarantee the parts would stay within spec. After 25 years, they had to run inspections and tests to re-certify the parts for extra use - typically 5 or 10 more years. That's why the shuttle was in operation from 1981 to 2011 - 30 years. Even Endeavour (built to replace Challenger, lost in 1986) was under the same age constraint because a lot of its parts were actually spares built during the initial production.

      Everyone knew the Shuttles were going to be retired in 2011. Plans for a replacement started in the 2000s. But Congress kept interfering, adding conditions to NASA's purchase requirements. Enough so that the replacement SLS (Space Launch System) picked up the nickname "Senate Launch System".

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by 91degrees ( 207121 )
      Also the Martian was based on a book, which was written largely for the author's own amusement. Unlikely that this was based off any kowtowing to China.
  • by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:34PM (#59006164) Homepage

    Take Top Gun: Maverick, a long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic action film that made Tom Cruise a superstar

    Top Gun isn't an classic anything, and there never has been a "long-awaited" anything for it. As for making Tom Cruise a superstar, it made him something. Jury is still out on what that is.

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Take Top Gun: Maverick, a long-awaited sequel to the 1986 classic action film that made Tom Cruise a superstar

      Top Gun isn't an classic anything, and there never has been a "long-awaited" anything for it.

      LOL.. I know, I've not been waiting for a sequel of Top Gun. Let's call this what it really is.. A project that was put off a LONG time, because everybody involved knew it would have to be a totally different movie, or it would be a disappointment to anybody who remembered the first installment. In short, it would have been a huge mistake that cost a lot of money to make.

      This movie isn't "long awaited by the movie going public" it is really "a long avoided mistake by Hollywood".

      Besides, how on earth do

    • Top Gun became a classic a good decade or so after it came out, because of the amazingly cheesy story, the fantastic 80's soundtrack and the tensely homoerotic locker room scenes.
      • by Nidi62 ( 1525137 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @02:11PM (#59006974)

        Top Gun became a classic a good decade or so after it came out, because of the amazingly cheesy story, the fantastic 80's soundtrack and the tensely homoerotic locker room scenes.

        The soundtrack is awesome, and Top Gun did become an epic something: a Navy recruitment video. Supposedly after the release of the movie the Navy saw a 500% increase in people wanting to be Naval Aviators. Clips from the film were also used in recruitment campaigns.

        And remember, Yvan eht nioj!

    • by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @01:58PM (#59006884) Journal

      Dislike him, his life, his faux-religion, even his smug smile all you like, but I don't think objectively you can say he's not a "superstar" or at least wasn't one at one time.

      Not saying that I don't do it too, but it would be nice if people at least TRIED to set set aside their biases in the pursuit of an objective truth we can consensually agree on.

    • I'm not a huge Tom Cruise fan, but thanks to Risky Business he was already pretty popular before Top Gun came out.

    • Top Gun is literally one of the most well-known films of all time. Even if you think it's crap, which it is in many ways, you have to acknowledge that it really shows off a stereo system.

    • by Cederic ( 9623 )

      Top Gun is a classic. You may not like it but many people do, and while it's annoying in its use of the same footage multiple times for purportedly different aerial incidents, it's a very professionally put together film.

      The opening title scenes are world class cinema but the whole film puts together visuals, music and action superbly, the script has drama and humour and the editing matches that with its pacing.

      While it's easy to write off as a cheesy male wish fulfilment fantasy that would not just be lazy

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @12:43PM (#59006230)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • There are some indy studios that won't do this, but they're the exception that defines the other category.

      Disney is not going to turn down hundreds of millions of dollars to not-censor a movie. That's why they make movies, not for art.

      So, be a good little consumer and go put on your costume and go give Disney more money this weekend, so you can help crowd out the art pieces.

      Spoiler: in Spiderman 11, we find out Spidey Sense is caused by midichlorians. Stay riveted.

    • by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

      It is about money, not movies. They agree with not using tje wird fuck so more people are allowed to see it to make money.

      Always been the case for 100 years.

      We will get away from that eventually. You can already hear "shit" on TV fairly regularly, and I've seen Deadpool broadcast several times on cable with "fuck" not edited out.

  • I'm actually with the Lyin' Ted on this one. The O.G. Top Gun was made using U.S. Navy resources. These thing are permitted generally on the basis of reasonable concessions made to not misrepresent the Navy or its mission.

    It's reasonable to expect the beneficiaries of the Navy's good will to properly represent the U.S. and its allies.

    • You're sounding like a Pentagon spokesman. They are sooo concerned with accuracy, it's always the same line.

      I think the reality is the military and other government institutions have a big say in Hollywood movie making, from the scenario to the finished product, to make it serve their interests. To make them look good, to sell their message. To call that 'accuracy' is deceptive. Top Gun was a propaganda movie for the airforce.
      Sometimes there are articles about it https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]
      https://med [medium.com]

  • The US Government has been telling Hollywood what to do since the silent film days.

    It's only in recent times that Hollywood has stepped away from the US Government to a degree, at least publicly. I imagine behind closed doors, they're still being told what's cool and what's not by the government.

    Is anyone really surprised by this? Government influences the media it's population consumes? Duh?

  • The emblems on the back are about the events of the first movie which had nothing to do with either Japan or China. I always find this level of detail in movies pretty interesting. The fact that the emblems in the first movie actually had meaning and weren't just some random design that looked cool.

  • Should be good for the gander. Various branches of the US government have long been involved in pressuring hollywood into script changes - https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]
  • The culprits were soon pretty obvious. The Hollywood Reporter found that the Chinese company Tencent is co-financing the sequel. Co-producing the film along with Paramount Pictures is Skydance, which is partially owned by Tencent.

    The film is being partially financed and produced by a Chinese company. Why is it surprising that Chinese sensibilities are being taken into account?

    • Is "Chinese sensibilities" the new euphemism for mass incarceration of people base on their ethnic/religious background, the omnipresent censor/surveillance state, or the organ harvesting of political opponents, or asking family of executed prisoner to pay for the bullets used in the execution. While all of this is happening the elite Chinese communist members are sending their family to live abroad.

      "Chinese sensibilities" . . . I see.

  • Fake Controversy (Score:5, Informative)

    by TheSync ( 5291 ) on Monday July 29, 2019 @01:35PM (#59006706) Journal

    Maverick's large back patch in the original "Top Gun" is from his father's Vietnam tour. It says "Far East Cruise 63-64 USS Galveston". The new patch says "Indian Ocean Cruise 85-86 United States Navy", a reference to where some of the action took place in the 1986 original.

    Now I'm not saying that the producers wouldn't remove a Taiwan flag from a patch for PRC audiences, but it might have been a reasonable artistic choice as well.

    • Might? Neither Japan or Taiwan are in the Indian Ocean. This site rails against fake news and then goes and promotes this. story. What a complete joke this place is. For the record, even the NYPOST set the record straight as to the back story behind each patch. That said, the UN flag on each is really the totally bogus part.

  • Put the censored content back into the film and make sure people from China can access it freely.
  • Prove me wrong. Anyone who tries is either a fool or on the Chinese payroll.
  • They did the same thing...took out either the Chinese or North Korean logos. I won't bother with this "new" top gun movie. For one thing, they screwed up killing off "Goose" in the first one. When you pull the handle on a MB ejection seat, your arms, legs & chest are pulled back against the seat and, you'll go RIGHT THROUGH the canopy if it is still in the way. Nope, this one will be full of political correctness...BANK on it!
  • ummm (Score:5, Insightful)

    by geekoid ( 135745 ) <dadinportland&yahoo,com> on Monday July 29, 2019 @02:51PM (#59007262) Homepage Journal

    Hollywood: "Nothing we could do . . ."
    People: "You could say no."
    Hollywood: "Yep, real shame."
    People: "You could just not take their money"
    Hollywood: "Yep, a real problem with the Chinese government . . "

  • Apparently the dog that was on the Dam Busters was called "N!gger". Peter Jackson was told by the US film censors that if you go true to life then you will automatically be censored with some silly rule. I see no difference here except I can swap out China with the US. It's a matter of perspective and from my perspective China == US (there, I insulted EVERYBODY :) )

    [Wow, can't type N!gger, /. is in the same camp]

  • It's a goddam work of fiction.

  • Ofcourse the one who's paying has some say over it. But don't be the big hypocrite, it's not like they don't adhere to US needs. A lot of times there have been adjustments made to movies to appease the US needs..

As long as we're going to reinvent the wheel again, we might as well try making it round this time. - Mike Dennison

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