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| 20th Century Fox |
Some people don’t want others to have nice things in life. That seems to be the rule here with news forwarded by THR that 20th Century Fox’s upcoming Marvel superhero thriller, Deadpool, has been denied a release in China.
The news comes from sources close to China Film Group that State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) banned the film from showing in the country due to its graphic violence, nudity and offensive language. China normally works with Hollywood studios to provide edits to approve viewing in the region, and reportedly there was no way for Fox and China censors to approve a decent, cleaner cut of the film without ruining the overall plot of the film.
Thanks to an unyielding push by lead actor Ryan Reynolds and fans far and wide along with a leaked test video from Blur Studios, the film has been confirmed an R rating by the MPAA as of last April. Reynolds and Fox have since begun a heavy-handed campaign to promote the film, now with a slate of TV spots following a glorious red-band trailer in December.
What sucks here is that China is the second biggest market for superhero movies with results boding well for its previous showings of last year’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man. It’s also one of the biggest areas in the world where piracy runs rampant and has proven quite problematic for Hollywood studios. That said, there’s no telling if or when the ban will get an about-face in some form or another, but unless this happens, pirates are going to do what they do.
I don’t condone piracy, but this the reality we’re faced with until China does away with its up/down state censors. Like the old Chinese saying goes… “if you want to attract a bird, first build a nest,”. Well, it’s high time they did that…or maybe Reynolds can find a way to broker the deal himself in costume, which would be terrific publicity in my opinion should it work. Probably not but…one can dream.
Directed by Tim Miller, Deadpool releases to bird lovers everywhere else except China on February 12.