Trying to go Russia’s blocking of Charlie Wilson’s War one better, the Chinese government is blocking Shanghai before it even gets made. The thriller, starring John Cusack, Gong Li, and Ken Watanabe, has been turned down for a filming permit after performing pre-production in the country and assuming it was a lock.
Variety is throwing many reasons for the denial against the wall in the hopes that one of them will stick. There is the fact that the movie will portray a 1941 Shanghai, full of sex, drugs, and war. China hates to look bad, even though they often look worse when they repress those who are making them look bad in the first place. Also, the Chinese government is kinda pissed at The Weinstein Company for pulling out of a release of a Chinese movie they were behind, The Promise.
The decision is even being blamed on bad weather and a week long New Year holiday. Whatever the case, the production is hoping to have the decision reversed but is already looking at filming in Hong Kong and Macau. This will delay the start of filming, but not enough to jeopardize the project or the stars. Something tells me you won’t hear about this during the Olympic Games’ puff pieces on television.
