Group Takes ‘Rising Sun’ Protest Public : Movies: A coalition of Asian-Americans disavows the film adaptation of the politically charged thriller because 20th Century Fox refuses to include a disclaimer.

A coalition of Asian-Americans is disavowing the movie adaptation of Michael Crichton’s politically charged thriller “Rising Sun” because the producing studio refuses to include a disclaimer asking audiences not to assume “all Japanese people are trying to take over America.”

Media Action Network for Asian-Americans said it has decided to go public with its protest after several months of unsuccessful behind-the-scenes discussions seeking certain conditions, including the disclaimer, from production executives at 20th Century Fox.

The coalition wanted Fox to run a paragraph at the movie’s beginning to make clear to moviegoers it was a work of fiction and “not meant to encourage resentment against Asians or Asian-Americans.” It also wanted to preview the film prior to its release to see if it is inflammatory. The group fears the movie--a murder mystery set in a Japanese-owned L.A. high-rise--could incite a wave of hate crimes against Asians when it comes out in late July.

“The media has made a big deal about the trade deficit between the two countries and when you see a movie like this, it just reinforces people’s fears about the Japanese,” said Guy Aoki, president of MANAA, which has a membership of 100 business people both within and outside of the Hollywood community.

Aoki said it matters little that director Philip Kaufman changed the ethnicity of Crichton’s villain from Japanese to American.

“He made some positive changes, but it’s still too one-sided for us,” Aoki said.

Strauss Zelnick, president of Fox, countered in a March 23 letter to Aoki obtained by The Times that by showing a filmmaker’s unfinished film to a particular interest group “no matter how legitimate their interests, just does not square with the freedom of expression guaranteed by our Constitution.”

Further, he wrote, that a disclaimer would be inappropriate: “We believe that moviegoers recognize that theatrical motion pictures are works of fiction by their very nature, and therefore that such a statement is not only unnecessary but that it may damage the film’s commercial potential.”

Zelnick met with Aoki as did other representatives from the “Rising Sun” production team, notably the film’s producer--and son of the director--Peter Kaufman and movie consultant Steve Clemons of the Japan America Society. The meetings were agreed to on condition that they be kept confidential.

In the letter, Zelnick expressed his dismay that Aoki and MANAA “breached” the agreement by threatening to take the matter public.

“We brought key members of the creative team to meetings with you, we listened carefully, and in many cases we applied what we heard to the film. Going beyond that is tantamount to censorship, and that would not be a good thing for any of us.”

Zelnick said in a follow-up interview that Fox “has been exceedingly sensitive to the point of view of all minority groups in our motion picture, including Japanese-Americans in ‘Rising Sun.’ ”