Jackie Chan, China's most famous actor/singer/producer/cartoon character/matchmaker (whew!) finds himself one sino-franchise poorer this week, as government officials have blocked mainland distribution of his newest flick, Rush Hour 3. E! News reports:
The official word on why the Brett Ratner-directed sequel won't be making it to the big screen is that the country has already imported too many American films this year for it to be a profitable acquisition, but some officials are attributing the ban to government censors, who supposedly understood what was coming out of Chris Tucker's mouth and didn't like it one bit.
Meaning, the film's racial humor, as well as its depiction of a Chinese organized crime family called the Triad, were judged to be anti-Chinese...
Government policy allows no more than 20 foreign films to hit the big screen each year, so the possibility of a rejection based on import economics holds water, especially in the wake of blockbuster importsTranformers and Spiderman 3. But given previous approvals for Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 -- as well as the franchise's popularity here, which we don't claim to understand or condone -- the decision came as a surprise.
The movie opens on August 16 in Hong Kong, which remains outside mainland Film Bureau jurisdiction. As for us, we just hope Chan's next project, a vocal role in the animated Dreamworks movie Kung Fu Panda, makes it past the censors. Slapstick Chris Tucker we can do without. But CGI marsupials with nun chucks, voiced by the likes of Chan, Jack Black, Lucy Liu, and Angelina Jolie? Must-see.
Related links
E! News: No Rush for Chan in China
Variety Asia: China Film says no release for "Rush Hour 3"
Counting Down: Kung Fu Panda
Poster via IMDB
