China Reverses Release of Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' | THR News - video Dailymotion

The critically acclaimed movie had been approved for release in China on Oct. 25, but regulators have abruptly reversed course.

Transcript

00:00In this town, I can all change like that.

00:06In a decision that will undoubtedly shake up Quentin Tarantino's box office hopes,

00:10China has decided to cancel their release of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood indefinitely.

00:15The critically acclaimed movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have been

00:19approved for release in China on October 25, but they seem to have abruptly reversed that decision.

00:24The change-up comes as a blow to both Sony Pictures and the film's Chinese financier,

00:29Beijing-based Bona Film Group. The film would have been Tarantino's first proper release in China,

00:34and the country's enormous market was expected to help push the title's worldwide box office total

00:39past the $400 million mark. No official explanation for the cancellation has been offered

00:44by Beijing regulators, but rumors are swirling that Tarantino's somewhat controversial portrayal

00:49of martial arts hero Bruce Lee, the only character of Chinese descent in the movie,

00:53may have played a part in the decision to cancel the film.

00:56Friends and family of the late Lee have blasted the director for the depiction,

00:59saying the real-life action star didn't behave as he's portrayed in the film.

01:03In fact, sources close to Bona and China's film bureau say Bruce Lee's daughter,

01:07Shannon Lee, made a direct appeal to China's National Film Administration,

01:11asking that it demand changes to her father's portrayal.

01:14The only other Tarantino title that's come close to a theatrical rollout in China was 2012's

01:19Django Unchained. That film also initially received permission to screen,

01:23but was oddly ordered to be pulled from cinemas across the country minutes into its opening night.

01:28Again, no official explanation for the sudden change was ever provided, but sources said at the time

01:33that a senior Communist Party official had seen the film on opening night and took issue

01:37with its graphic violence. For more updates to this story, head to THR.com.

01:41For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.