As regular readers of Variety magazine, Shanghaiist was not surprised to read that Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which opens today in Chinese theatres, has been slightly cut-down by government censors. more ›

Shanghaiist noticed that the Chinese press was running something about Steven Spielberg making a movie adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (西游记). Now you don't get much more classic than this: This novel and its characters (Xuanzang a.ka.Tangseng the monk, Sunwukong a.k.a. the Monkey King, Friar Sand a.ka. Sandy, and Pigsy a.k.a Pig) are known to just about every Chinese person alive since the late Ming dynasty, when the novel was published (okay, well it might have taken awhile to catch on). The story received a new lease on life when, in 1986, CCTV put on the live action show, and while some of the effects are complete cheese to us now, back then they were considered something of a milestone in TV. It also proved that people in China could be and were quite willing to be enthralled by this medium. Even today, theme songs and music live in such places as Shanghaiist's girlfriend's mobile phone ring, where quite appropriately, Pigsy's song plays (but don't tell her we said that). more ›

We're not sure how we didn't realize this until now, but the movie King Kong hit Shanghai theaters last weekend, and apparently it is doing quite well, earning US$371,747 in its first three days here. While near perfect King Kong DVDs are available on Shanghai's streets (thank God for Oscar screeners) Shanghaiist suggests this is a movie that should be watched on the big screen. And the theater will likely have the volume turned up so loud you can't hear all the mobile phones anyway. more ›