From the Associated Press: Director George Lucas is asking China to take the rare step of joining in a simultaneous global opening of his nest "Star Wars" movie in May, a Chinese film executive said Tuesday.
Lucas's company wants to have "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" open in 50 Chinese cinemas, said Jiang Defu, deputy general manager of Digital Film, a state-run distributor.
"We welcome their proposals, but the decision has not been made," Jiang said.
Such simultaneous openings are rare in China, which allows in only about two dozen foreign films a year. Due to a lengthy censorship process, they often open months after they are shown abroad.
Film studios complain that such restrictions fuel the demand for pirated copies of foreign movies, a thriving industry in China.
Oh well, didn't know this info. had been out yet. I think it would be pretty cool if it could be released in China the same time it is released everwhere else. Trying to open doors using Star Wars. Wouldn't that be something to go down in history. That through George Lucas, a nation opened it's gates to the world.
Anyway, it'd be good for everybody if this happens. I live in Belgium and remember having to wait till November (I think) for Phantom Menace to open. (Luckily I saw it in August in England). Of course the demand for pirated copies will jetpack through the roof, a problem Lucas is all too aware of.
__________________ They stole me lucky charms... you know what to do laddie...
Burn them down!! The lot of them!!
When I was in the Navy and traveled to the Persian Gulf, I was amazed at how fast copies of movies were put onto the market. I left America about a week after the first Jurassic Park came out, and when I got to the middle east a week later there were copies already in stories there. There were pretty bad copies made from movie theaters but hey to be able to watch new movies that were coming out in America and I would normally have to wait to see, it was worth it.
I think it would be cool if they were to time everything the same. That way no one got to see it before anyone else. They open it up at 12am. EST, whatever time that is in Russia, they open it up there to.
Jan 19th, 2005 05:30 PM
They stole me lucky charms... you know what to do laddie...
