The biggest British movie ever, Casino Royale (2006), has broken box office records in the world's biggest nation....
The Times
January 29, 2007
Lingling Qi . . . licensed to kill
Jane Macartney in Beijing
* First Bond film to be shown in China
* 007 finds favour with the censors
James Bond will star in Beijing and on over 1,000 other screens (Bernardo de Niz)
A poster advertising Casino Royale in Beijing. It is the first Bond film to pass the censor and be officially screened in China
Lingling Qi is about to take China by storm.
For the first time Chinese audiences will, from today, have an opportunity to hear in the original the immortal words:
“The name’s Bond. James Bond” — or Lingling Qi (007) as he is universally known in China.
Casino Royale, with the stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green and producer Barbara Broccoli on hand for the occasion, will be the first Bond film to be shown in China, with its premiere in Beijing tonight and opening to the public tomorrow. Given Chinese familiarity with Lingling Qi and the widespread discussion last year of the merits of his newest incarnation, the film is likely to be a huge box office hit.
Sony Pictures is distributing 470 prints, a record for a foreign film in China. It will outstrip even American movie The Da Vinci Code, for which 390 prints went out across the country last year. Chinese audiences have already seen James Bond — but only ever on the small screen at home and in often blurry pirated DVDs.
China’s censors at last seem to feel that the new-image James Bond is acceptable to Chinese audiences. This is not a Bond locked in battle with Cold War enemies or a British spy taking on a third country.
In 2002, for example, the authorities rejected Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan, because of its depiction of North Korea — a close friend of Beijing — as a haven for gangsters.
This time Sony Pictures started early the process of seeking approval and was able to convince Chinese officials that this was a new kind of Bond, one locked in fighting a common enemy: terrorists. Li Chow, the general manager of Sony Pictures in China, said: “This Bond is a new beginning. He is not fighting a country and Chinese officials did not request any cuts.” She said Chinese censors had not requested a single change — even to scenes involving 007’s legendary love-making skills or in which he is tortured.
Ms Li said that expectations would be high and she hoped that Chinese audiences familiar with 007 from pirated films would not be disappointed by the real thing. Sony even brought in experts to ensure that the Chinese dubbing pitched the tone just right — particularly for the poker-playing jargon with which many may be unfamiliar since gambling is illegal in most of China. It hired two Chinese directors instead of the usual one to dub it into Mandarin, one for voices and the second for technical details.
Ms Li said: “For gambling terms, and all that, it’s very difficult to translate. So sometimes we used a word that explained what was happening rather than use a gambling term.”
For the first time, Chinese audiences will see an officially sub-titled film that allows Bond’s famed introduction of himself to be properly translated. The film is to be shown on more than 1,000 screens nationwide and could be a real moneyspinner. Most of the profits, however, will accrue not to Sony but to China’s state-owned distributor, which keeps most of the box office revenues.
Some people have already made profits from Casino Royale in China. Pirate versions — many dubbed into Russian — hit the streets in December. But most are of poor quality, and Ms Li is counting on Chinese audiences being willing to pay £5 for a ticket to see 007 on the big screen rather than settling for a 75p DVD.
Publicity for the film is nationwide. The studio has been advertising in newspapers and on television as well as outside cinemas. So popular is Lingling Qi that in the western city of Lanzhou, some cinemas were displaying hand-painted billboards of Daniel Craig.
Picture show
20 foreign film a year allowed in Chinese cinemas
1896 year motion pictures reached China
$737m Chinese film industry profits last year
$2bn box office profits alone by 2015
Source: News agencies, IT Facts, Associated Content
timesonline.co.uk
The Times
January 29, 2007
Lingling Qi . . . licensed to kill
Jane Macartney in Beijing
* First Bond film to be shown in China
* 007 finds favour with the censors
James Bond will star in Beijing and on over 1,000 other screens (Bernardo de Niz)
A poster advertising Casino Royale in Beijing. It is the first Bond film to pass the censor and be officially screened in China
Lingling Qi is about to take China by storm.
For the first time Chinese audiences will, from today, have an opportunity to hear in the original the immortal words:
“The name’s Bond. James Bond” — or Lingling Qi (007) as he is universally known in China.
Casino Royale, with the stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green and producer Barbara Broccoli on hand for the occasion, will be the first Bond film to be shown in China, with its premiere in Beijing tonight and opening to the public tomorrow. Given Chinese familiarity with Lingling Qi and the widespread discussion last year of the merits of his newest incarnation, the film is likely to be a huge box office hit.
Sony Pictures is distributing 470 prints, a record for a foreign film in China. It will outstrip even American movie The Da Vinci Code, for which 390 prints went out across the country last year. Chinese audiences have already seen James Bond — but only ever on the small screen at home and in often blurry pirated DVDs.
China’s censors at last seem to feel that the new-image James Bond is acceptable to Chinese audiences. This is not a Bond locked in battle with Cold War enemies or a British spy taking on a third country.
In 2002, for example, the authorities rejected Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan, because of its depiction of North Korea — a close friend of Beijing — as a haven for gangsters.
This time Sony Pictures started early the process of seeking approval and was able to convince Chinese officials that this was a new kind of Bond, one locked in fighting a common enemy: terrorists. Li Chow, the general manager of Sony Pictures in China, said: “This Bond is a new beginning. He is not fighting a country and Chinese officials did not request any cuts.” She said Chinese censors had not requested a single change — even to scenes involving 007’s legendary love-making skills or in which he is tortured.
Ms Li said that expectations would be high and she hoped that Chinese audiences familiar with 007 from pirated films would not be disappointed by the real thing. Sony even brought in experts to ensure that the Chinese dubbing pitched the tone just right — particularly for the poker-playing jargon with which many may be unfamiliar since gambling is illegal in most of China. It hired two Chinese directors instead of the usual one to dub it into Mandarin, one for voices and the second for technical details.
Ms Li said: “For gambling terms, and all that, it’s very difficult to translate. So sometimes we used a word that explained what was happening rather than use a gambling term.”
For the first time, Chinese audiences will see an officially sub-titled film that allows Bond’s famed introduction of himself to be properly translated. The film is to be shown on more than 1,000 screens nationwide and could be a real moneyspinner. Most of the profits, however, will accrue not to Sony but to China’s state-owned distributor, which keeps most of the box office revenues.
Some people have already made profits from Casino Royale in China. Pirate versions — many dubbed into Russian — hit the streets in December. But most are of poor quality, and Ms Li is counting on Chinese audiences being willing to pay £5 for a ticket to see 007 on the big screen rather than settling for a 75p DVD.
Publicity for the film is nationwide. The studio has been advertising in newspapers and on television as well as outside cinemas. So popular is Lingling Qi that in the western city of Lanzhou, some cinemas were displaying hand-painted billboards of Daniel Craig.
Picture show
20 foreign film a year allowed in Chinese cinemas
1896 year motion pictures reached China
$737m Chinese film industry profits last year
$2bn box office profits alone by 2015
Source: News agencies, IT Facts, Associated Content
timesonline.co.uk
Last edited: