China Blocks ‘Rush Hour’ Release
If a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and is about robots that can transform themselves, it is shown in every theater in Shanghai cinemas. But if a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and features a black dude mocking a Chinese guy, it is not shown at all. The third installment of the “Rush Hour” films has been denied by the Chinese agency responsible for importing foreign films for the Chinese movie theaters. According to an E! report Wednesday, the Chinese Film Bureau claimed, “We think the market for the movie is relatively weak.” Yeah right. The market for this film is the same millions of people who went to see “Transformers” last month. So what’s the real reason that a Jackie Chan flick can’t get a release in the mainland? Is it Chris Tucker’s African-American vernacular? Is it the Triad gang members that Tucker and Chan target in the film? Variety Asia said Thursday, “The issue of organized crime is extremely politically sensitive in China these days, as greater economic openness has been accompanied by the emergence of Triad-style gangsters in the big cities.” The official reason, however, why “Rush Hour 3″ didn’t get a theatrical release in China is that Chinese theaters already reached their American film quota. As E! explained:
China’s theaters can’t accommodate yet another big Hollywood film right now, having already imported “At World’s End,” “Spider-Man 3″ and “Transformers” this summer. Not to mention, the Film Bureau also only accepts about 20 foreign-made films a year and schedules designated blackout periods during which only Chinese-made movies are allowed at the box office.
It’s surprising that the Chinese powers that have put the squash on Rush Hour 3 considering the success of American films in China this summer, the fact that the previous two “Rush Hour” films were released in China and how Chinese-made films just don’t have the same draw for Chinese movie-goers than, say, a slapstick action-comedy starring one of “China’s national treasures.” “Rush Hour 3″ will premiere August 16th in Hong Kong and has an official mainland pirated DVD release date of “ASAP.”
•Variety: China Film says no release for ‘Rush Hour 3′