China's cinema board has decided not to give approval to "The Departed" to be released in the mainland theaters.
- January 18, 2007
AceShowbiz -
The accolade "The Departed" has received apparently does not play any effects to China to pass the flick into its local theaters.
Yes, the country's censor board has ruled that the gripping mob saga is not approved for domestic cinematic release, mainly because its mention of a Chinese plan to purchase military equipment, government sources said yesterday, January 17.
"There is no chance 'The Departed' will be shown in mainland cinemas because the U.S. side declined to change a plot line describing how Beijing wanted to buy advanced military computer hardware," one source remarked.
"The regulators just cannot understand why the movie wanted to involve China," added the source. "They can talk about Iran or Iraq or whatever, but there's no reason to get China in."
Concerning the ban, a Hong Kong executive at Media Asia, the company that owns the distribution rights to "The Departed" in the mainland, confirmed that the picture did not pass the Chinese censor yet refused to give any further comment on the matter.
