Bond Gets Licence to Thrill China
Casino Royale was released in Chinese cinemas yesterday uncut and uncensored, a first for a Bond film. Previous tales featuring the adventures of Ling ling qi (007 in Mandarin) have received a trim from the censor.
This is even more of a breakthrough for 007 given that Chinese authorities only allow a small number of foreign films to be released each year. And when they do, they are usually expunged of "dubious" moral and political content. Bond stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green were both in Beijing for the premiere in the world's most populous nation.
The move means Chinese film fans can watch 007 in a cinema for the first time. However pirated DVDs have long been widely available and are often preferred to a cinema ticket. Copies of Casino Royale have been available on the streets of China for weeks and vendors even pitched a bootleg copy to Daniel Craig in Beijing this week. "Someone tried to sell me a copy last night. I was wearing a hat and glasses so they did not recognise me," Craig told reporters at a press conference.
The "official" Casino Royale is likely to become the highest grossing foreign movie ever in China, with box-office intakes expected to exceed 100m yuan (£6.5m).
This is even more of a breakthrough for 007 given that Chinese authorities only allow a small number of foreign films to be released each year. And when they do, they are usually expunged of "dubious" moral and political content. Bond stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green were both in Beijing for the premiere in the world's most populous nation.
The move means Chinese film fans can watch 007 in a cinema for the first time. However pirated DVDs have long been widely available and are often preferred to a cinema ticket. Copies of Casino Royale have been available on the streets of China for weeks and vendors even pitched a bootleg copy to Daniel Craig in Beijing this week. "Someone tried to sell me a copy last night. I was wearing a hat and glasses so they did not recognise me," Craig told reporters at a press conference.
The "official" Casino Royale is likely to become the highest grossing foreign movie ever in China, with box-office intakes expected to exceed 100m yuan (£6.5m).
Use the feedback form below to submit your comments.
Use the form below to email this article to your friends.
- Björk's Tibet Protest Offends Chinese Fans
- China Angered By Nanjing Massacre Film
- Stones Forced to Axe Sexually Explicit Songs for China Concert
- Snow White and the Seven Kung Fu Monks: Disney Sets Sights on China
- China Rubbishes Its Oscar Favourite
- China Chops Nike Ad
- China Opens Tv Market to Foreigners
- The great fall of China
- China Facts: Interesting Facts About China
- Wade Giles - The Hongwu Emperor
- China, History, and the Moral High Road
- Chinese Couple Welcome Baby "@," to Government’s Annoyance
- Bird Flu Steadily Spreading Through Asian Countries
- Missile Defense: China Strongly Opposes Missile Shield
- How will China’s energy consumption effect the West?
- Made in China: Swiss Army Knife Suffers an Identity Crisis
- China Makes the High Road to Everest