China At The Movies: Lust, Caution, And Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan has to be a little pissed off these days. Ang Lee’s sexy film “Lust, Caution” has pulled in over US$11,000,000 playing in China in just two weeks, which is a lot of cash in this new market. Chan is a prolific talent, having made between “Rush Hour 1” and “Rush Hour 3” no fewer than 16 full features. His American co-star from the series, Chris Tucker, in the same period made only one other film - “Rush Hour 2″. And yet Chris Tucker signed onto “Rush Hour 3″ for a much better deal, getting 20% towards a max payout of $20mn, while Chan got only 15% towards $15mn. To balance things out, Chan was supposed to have distribution rights in China and Hong Kong, but the Chinese government nixed those plans when it refused to show “Rush Hour 3″ in theaters. The claim was that the film was rejected for commercial reasons, though everyone knows that Chan’s name on anything sells tickets. The real reason behind rejecting Chan was censorship.
Bear in mind that the steamy “Lust, Caution” had over 13 minutes removed by censors, and it still may not have been enough to clean up the movie as audiences reportedly rushed home to try exotic sexual positions introduced by the film. Even if Chan’s film had missed the mark, you have to wonder about the value of certain portrayals in this new film by Lee.
Rather than criticize the Chinese government for its nonsensical censorship policy, Chan’s response was curious. When his film was rejected, he railed against the Rush Hour series, saying that he had signed on only for the money, and that in the end he didn’t even get the humor. I don’t understand: Why attack the franchise when it was the Chinese government that ruined his day?
When we see American Hollywood stars getting behind a social cause, we roll our eyes, but here was a missed opportunity. A film star known for his on-screen heroism left us high and dry in real life. What he might have done was raise awareness on censorship and heavy-handed government policy in China. The lesson for those of us doing business in China are obvious: If your plans depend upon approval by whimsical government officials, be sure to make a proper assessment of the risks involved, and do not count chicks before they hatch.
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