China censors delay U.S. film

For a decade, producer Mike Medavoy has been eager to make a movie that is set here in the city of his birth, telling the story of an American in China who investigates the mysterious killing of a friend in the months leading up to Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor.

But with China’s film censors demanding changes to the script of his movie, “Shanghai,” the Hollywood filmmaker may have to alter his plans.

Officials at China’s Film Bureau, an arm of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said Thursday that “Shanghai” was not being blocked from being shot. Rather, they said, the bureau was seeking changes to the script and wanted the application resubmitted.

Luan Guozhi, director of international cooperation at the bureau, declined to say what concerns regulators had about “Shanghai.” However, the film is known to contain scenes of opium use among Chinese.

If censors do not approve the “Shanghai” script, Medavoy and Weinstein Co. could be forced to shift production elsewhere by March 10, when the film is to begin principal photography. Director Mikael Hafstrom has been in China since September preparing for the movie, which stars John Cusack and Gong Li.

Chinese authorities require scripts of films shot in China to be reviewed. Although China has not announced any policy change, Karl Hu, general manager of Hengdian Group’s Mandarin Film & Television Post-Production Co., a major studio in Zhejiang province south of Shanghai, and others in the industry said that Film Bureau censors had become much stricter, particularly on joint productions, in the wake of Ang Lee’s recent erotic thriller “Lust, Caution.” The film, set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, contained steamy sex scenes.

As a joint Chinese-American production, “Lust, Caution” enjoyed the same treatment as domestically produced films, as opposed to imported films that face a more difficult path to Chinese theaters. But “Lust, Caution” had two versions. One was distributed outside mainland China and in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. The second, for the mainland China market, had seven minutes of sex scenes deleted, as demanded by Chinese authorities.

The dual versions were a political headache for Chinese officials. Many citizens complained about the censorship, with at least one person attempting to sue China’s movie regulators. Many others sought out pirated copies or crossed into Hong Kong to see the uncut version.

“To the bureau, it was like a Chinese-made film being shown globally without government approval,” Hu said. Chinese regulators were “very upset because this seemed to be deceitful or a trick to them, and cast them as being very passive.”

In the government’s National Film Work Meeting last month, officials emphasized stricter administration of movies with erotic, violent and sensitive content.

On Thursday, Medavoy said he was hopeful that “Shanghai” wouldn’t be forced to shift production.

“I hope everybody rethinks it,” he said of the Chinese concerns, noting that he wanted “to do something good for the Chinese and good for Shanghai.” He stressed that “Shanghai” was a period movie and had nothing to do with contemporary China.

The tougher climate for shooting movies in China is the latest hurdle for the U.S. film industry, which has long struggled with piracy and censorship issues in China’s large and potentially lucrative market.

In December, U.S. movie industry executives complained that China appeared to be blocking American movies from Chinese cinemas by not giving approvals for new releases. U.S. officials voiced concern during trade discussions in Beijing in December, and since then the apparent ban has been lifted, said Dan Glickman, chief executive of the Motion Picture Assn. of America.

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don.lee@latimes.com

robert.welkos@latimes.com

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Lee reported from Shanghai and Welkos from Los Angeles.