Posted on 03/07/2008 9:43:36 PM PST by TigerLikesRooster
'Lust' star Tang banned for performance
By Karen Chu
March 8, 2008
Tang Wei (Getty Images)
More news at THR-Asia
HONG KONG -- "Lust, Caution" star Tang Wei has been banned in the Chinese media because of the sexual nature of her performance in the Ang Lee film, local press reports said Friday.
An internal memo from China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television was allegedly sent to all television stations and print media in China on Thursday night, stating that a new television commercial starring Tang for skin care brand Pond's was to cease broadcast immediately. All print ads and feature content using the actress also were to be pulled. The memo gave no reason for the ban.
Tang's deal with Pond's is worth a reported 6 million yuan ($843,000).
Neither Tang's manager nor SARFT could be reached for comment, but her "Lust, Caution" director weighed in on the decision Friday.
"I am very disappointed that Tang Wei is being hurt by this decision," Lee said in a statement. "She gave one of the greatest performances ever in a movie that was properly produced and distributed. We will do everything we can to support her in this difficult time."
In a statement titled "Reassertion of Censorship Guidelines" and dated March 7, SARFT said that, on Monday, it informed all major film and broadcast entities and governing bodies that it was renewing prohibitions on "lewd and pornographic content" and content that "show promiscuous acts, rape, prostitution, sexual intercourse, sexual perversity, masturbation and male/female sexual organs and other private parts." However, the public notice, posted on SARFT's Web site, did not specifically mention "Lust" or Tang.
In addition, all awards shows in China were advised to exclude Tang and the producers of "Lust, Caution" from their list of guests, while discussions about the film and Tang on online forums were deleted, Hong Kong newspaper Oriental Daily reported.
A spokesperson for the Asian Film Awards, where Tang was announced Friday as a presenter, said in an interview that the event had no knowledge of any ban and had not been contacted by Tang's management. The awards are set for March 17 in Hong Kong. It was not clear whether the ban would extend to awards shows in Hong Kong.
The announcement comes during the annual meeting of China's highest legislative body, the National People's Congress, in Beijing. The yearly event is an occasion for a shuffling of government positions and the introduction or renewal of regulations and policies. The NPC concludes March 18.
"Lust," Lee's artsy thriller, reportedly upset China's central government, where top officials were said to have criticized the film's content as "glorification of traitors and insulting to patriots." SARFT reportedly was singled out in the censure for permitting the film to be released in China last year, even after seven minutes of graphic sex scenes were cut from the film's theatrical release.
"Lust" is 28-year-old Tang's first major film, and both audiences and critics lauded her for holding her own, particularly given the intense nature of the sexual scenes with co-star Tony Leung Chiu-wai.
The ban of a film, along with its cast and crew, months after release is not uncommon in China. In early January, SARFT banned the producers of the film "Lost in Beijing" for two years and ordered the film's theatrical and home video release to be recalled. The "Lost" cinematic release had been delayed because of sexual content, which was ultimately cut from both the theatrical and home video editions.
"Lust" was controversial in China for both its political and sexually provocative content. Some Chinese tourists traveled to Hong Kong during the Oct. 1 national holiday to watch the full version of the film, which boosted its Hong Kong boxoffice. The film earned HK$48.8 million ($6.2 million), making it the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong in 2007.
Other reports also say that Chinese regime is upset that the movie portrays Guomindang folks favorably, while showing Chinese communists in a bad light. According to S. Korean media, the movie was not allowed even after the sexually explicit scenes were cut.
Ping!
Ping!
Pong!
Oh, and by the way....NOT GUILTY.
Not Guilty!!
The Chinese CZJ.
She’s too pretty to be guilty.
The movie delves heavy into history. “Lust, Caution” is basically a resistance war flick set in Shanghai rather than Paree. The details are dense. The baddies are the Chinese minions of the Japanese occupiers and the good guys are the Guomintang-led resistance fighters. The commies do not figure at all. I no speekee so all the subtleties went over my head but I guess that’s the main beef the rulers have.
Oh yeah, the sex is definitely XYZ-rated but if that were the problem then the “redacted” version would have been sufficient. The big problem is that it calls attention to the fact that Mao largely sat out the Sino-Japanese War.
And the vintage outfits were to die for.
confucious say _________________________
I do not consider graphic sexual scenes or pornography to be “speech”. I consider them to simply be sex. Therefore, I do not consider editing those scenes to be censorship.
They still would not permit the movie once the 7 minutes of sexual scenes were edited out. It sounds as though they did not like the opposition to communism the movie portrayed. That IS censorship which is wrong. People have a right to express their thoughts, whether others agree or not. Communism wants control over the people with no opposition, so they deny people the right to free speech. It is wrong, and I pity the people who are forced to live in a land where they have no say so in their government and are unable to object to its policies.
NOT GUILTY!
DAMN!
Ms. Tang is very, very good. It’s icing on the cake when, three-quarters of the way through, she does a cute little song-and-dance number.
The eternal question is: Now that even the Party no longer makes any show of believing in communist dogma, what the hell justification is there for it’s continued existence?
This ain’t going away.
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