Protest in Guangzhou: Why would you burn garbage?
Barbie Spa: For the cosmopolitan plastic beauty in you
Obama in China: Long gone, and still headlinin'
Week Around the Ists
Interview: Coco Zhao, from jazz to M. Butterfly
In case you needed reminding, M:I:3 may not be screened in China, where 20 percent of its scenes were shot, because:
The film could well have offended the Shanghai authorities. In the film, when Cruise stepped into the metropolis, he saw rags and underwear drying outdoors in side streets, rather than views of Shanghai's shining skyscrapers. Shanghai's image was further tarnished by the film's awkward and slow-moving "Shanghai police," according to the Xinmin Evening News.
Shanghaiist just bought the film yesterday, and when we watched it (a Russian version), we did see some rags and underwear, but the lightning pace of an action film means that no shot, even those featuring the scientology apostle's nipples, are held long enough to make much of an impact. And where were the scenes with the Shanghai police? In one scene we heard the sirens of police cars, but for the most part, our version featured precious little of Shanghai's finest.
There are several explanations for this: 1) we didn't get the "offensive" cut (though it was Russian, and we're pretty sure they don't care a whit for Shanghai's image), 2) we weren't paying enough attention, and 3) we did get the right cut, and the authorities are just hypersensitive. We would have thought that the plenty of jaw-dropping bird's eye shots of the Bund and Pudong skyline at night would have assuaged the authorities fears.
Furthermore, part of the "Shanghai" in the film is actually Zhou Zhuang Xitang (the part where Tom sprints like a Caucasian robot on steroids while shouting "小心!", "be careful! watch out!," to all the unsuspecting peasants in his way), and another part of it is completely fake -- a set built in Los Angeles. We'd like to hear from others who have watched this film, because we sure as hell can't figure out what's so offensive. In fact, as red-blooded Americans, we find it offensive that this film includes rogue agents of some fictional US intelligence agency instigating a war in the Middle East so that Americans can profit from defense contracts and infrastructure projects. Americans are above that, no matter what all those lefty elements in Hollywood like actor and 2008 US presidential hopeful George Clooney would have you think.
Also on Shanghaiist:
Truly a Mission Impossible: No Shanghai debut for film
Photo of Tom Cruise cruising through Xitang from pub.tv2.no.
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I may be stating the obvious here, but the connection seems pretty clear between China's refusal to screen MI3, and the studio's earlier refusal to allow the Chinese authorities an advance copy, on the grounds that the Chinese "couldn't garanty the advance copy's security" (ie.it would get on to DVD ahead of its in-theater release). For all the good that did...
Why don't the authorities fess up to the real reason for banning the film ... it's utter crap!
i think that nick or someone else alluded to that point--the tit for tat between Shanghai and the studios. We know that the officials reasons are bogus, but it's interesting to see what sense, if any, they make. I was curious to see if there actually was al otof laundry or dumb cops, regardless of whether or not that held up as an excuse to ban the film or not.
My first thought when I watched the movie, was that it was Zhou Zhuang (I was 99% sure, as I ve been there), but then I read that it was a fishing village called Xitang. I don't know this village, maybe you guys can tell me what the actual place is.
Parts of the film were shot in Xitang and not Zhouzhuang, I know this because I had a friend who worked on the set. Xitang is located about 90km West of Shanghai.
thanks for the clarification. i will make a correction in the post.
Ok, but I still think some bits were from Zhou Zuang, unless Xitang is sooo similar.
To be fair, the film does not pretend that it's taking place in Shanghai at that point, Etham Hunt has been kidnapped and taken to the place where his wife is held, could very well be 90 km out of Shanghai.
If you want to blame the movie for geographical inconsistencies though, you can: he parachute-jumps from the building in Pu Dong and lands near People's Square, having fallen pretty much vertically... I guess Pu Dong is not as interesting for on-the-ground action scenes, he he!