China Cancels 'Da Vinci' Movie
By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, June 9 —Chinese authorities pulled "The Da Vinci Code" off movie screens nationwide on Friday, apparently as a concession to Chinese Catholic groups that warned that the film threatened social stability.
The movie has already generated millions in revenue for the state-owned company that distributed it, and its popularity seems undeniable. The film, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, which has been criticized as insulting to Catholics, had earned more money than any other in China this year and was viewed as a contender to overtake "Titanic" as the highest grossing film ever in China.
But protests by China's official Patriotic Catholic Association and a demonstration involving a few dozen Catholics in Hebei Province were cited as evidence that the film was becoming a political risk, according to people involved in the decision to withdraw it.
Removing the film after its strong 22-day run suggested that the authorities had struck a balance between Chinese Catholic leaders and the China Film Corporation, the state-owned company that brought the film here.
China Film was permitted to collect hefty revenues and recoup its investment in importing, advertising and distributing the film. But the state-backed Catholic leadership was also able to claim a victory at a time when it has struggled with the Vatican for the loyalty of Chinese Catholics.
"Our view is that it should never have been released in the first place," Liu Bainian, vice president of the Patriotic Catholic Association, said in an interview. "Removing it is the right decision for the sake of social stability."
More :
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/world/asia/10china.html?ei=5094&en=d53fc213bf83a69e&hp=&ex=1149912000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=printEDIT: COPYRIGHT. PLEASE POST ONLY 4 OR 5 PARAGRAPHS
FROM THE COPYRIGHTED NEWS SOURCE PER DU RULES.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
