China Pulls ‘Django Unchained’ Screenings

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures wants to know why Quentin Tarantino‘s Django Unchained was pulled from movie theaters on the first day of its Thursday release in China. The studio which is releasing the blockbuster film internationally was caught by surprise, prompting studio spokesman Steve Elzer to tell me tonight: “We regret that Django Unchained has been removed from theaters and are working with the Chinese authorities to determine whether the film can be rescheduled.”

In some cinemas, screenings were stopped after one minute of footage was shown “because of technical reasons … for the time being,” according to a notice distributed to cinema companies. It quoted unnamed industry insiders as saying that nudity prompted the sudden cancellations despite its official pre-release review. For instance, the film’s graphic violence survived that review except for some minor tweaks — like the blood colored darker and its spatter slightly lessened, according to Sony Columbia executive Zhang Miao who told local press. It’s well known that China is very arbitrary over the release of films with sexual and political content and also limits Hollywood film distribution to protect its own theatrical industry. Django Unchained was going to be Tarantino’s first film with a commercial release in China.

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