[Epoch Times, May 28, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Li Yan comprehensive report) In the entertainment industry full of uncertainty, few movies can be as good as the sequel to the 1986 classic “Top Gun” “The Lone Ranger” (Top Gun: Maverick) is favored by people like that.
That’s why Tencent signed a deal to co-finance the film in 2019.
“Top Gun”, released in 1986, is an inspirational action movie set against an aircraft carrier and the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (nicknamed “Top Gun”). After its release, the film made $176 million at the domestic box office and $353 million at the global box office.
Tom Cruz (Tom Cruz), the actor of the male lead “The Lone Ranger”, has taken the world by storm for his outstanding performance in this film. In the sequel, “The Lone Ranger,” he still plays the lone ranger who has served in the Navy for 36 years.
On May 27, “The Lone Ranger” was released in the United States through Paramount Pictures. However, it did not receive any financing from Tencent, nor did it mention “Tencent”. And Tencent did not make any publicity for the film it claimed to be involved in.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Tencent executives withdrew from the $170 million Paramount, fearing that the company’s ties to a film glorifying the U.S. military would annoy the Chinese Communist Party, according to people familiar with the matter. Movie.
As U.S.-China relations deteriorate, the “links to pro-American stories” have become increasingly sensitive, the people added. The shift makes “The Lone Ranger” yet another example of broader tensions between the U.S. and China. And “Top Gun” was once a symbol of the deepening relationship between China and Hollywood.
Tencent was one of the most aggressive Chinese companies to enter Hollywood, investing in blockbusters such as “Terminator.” Tencent initially paid millions for a 12.5 percent stake in “The Lone Ranger,” before quietly exiting, according to people familiar with the financing.
At the end of 2019, when Tencent withdrew from participating in the film, the CCP was tightening its control over companies and putting pressure on companies to show loyalty to the “Party.” Ultimately, Tencent withdrew from funding the film entirely. The move once again reflects how the Chinese Communist Party “censors” Hollywood films.
In November 2021, Disney+, the Disney video streaming platform, landed in Hong Kong, but one episode of “The Simpsons” disappeared.
The missing season 16 episode 12, “Goo Goo Gai Pan,” about the Simpsons’ visit to Tiananmen Square, has a shot showing the “Here, 1989, nothing happened” sign, apparently It insinuated that the CCP tried its best to cover up its bloody suppression of the “June 4th” student movement.
Disney was criticized immediately. Rep. Jeff Duncan, Republican of South Carolina, wrote in a letter to CEO Bob Chapek: “Our decision to make history at Disney clearly erases history on behalf of Beijing’s communist tyranny. Deeply concerned, even in a satirical setting like The Simpsons.”
“This egregious action raises serious questions about another American company undermining American principles at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Paramount Global executives initially thought “The Lone Ranger” had a chance to win Chinese censorship approval and show in theaters in China, where it is expected to gross about $80 million; projected U.S. box office for hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now that Paramount executives are looking beyond China, they hope higher-than-expected U.S. ticket sales will bridge the gap.
They estimate that “The Lone Ranger” is expected to open at more than $100 million in the U.S. and Canada over the Memorial Day long weekend, the most of any recent release.
The film was originally slated to premiere in 2019, but was delayed due to longer-than-expected production. Then, the COVID-19 (CCP virus, coronavirus) pandemic shut down theaters around the world. The film was delayed three times in 2020 and 2021, before finally opening this month.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#