China censors gay sex scenes from release of Cloud Atlas
In China, the cinematic release of the film Cloud Atlas took place on Monday, however before it was shown, almost forty minutes of “gay and straight sex” was cut from the film without the producers’ knowledge.
The film’s Chinese distributor, Dreams of Dragon Pictures, reportedly said that it had cut the scenes because of sex and violence, as well as to tailor the film towards international markets.
The film’s producers, Grant Hill and Philip Lee released a statement saying they were unaware of the cuts which were made to the film before release.
“We were unaware that our Chinese partners, Dreams of Dragon Pictures, had cut almost 30 minutes from the film,” they said.
“We did know that, as with other countries, there were likely to be censorship trims and we trusted them to protect the integrity of the filmmaker’s creativity and vision.”
“We have been excited by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the film by the local media and public during the promotional visit and premiere here to Beijing this week,” their statement continued. “And we wish Dreams of Dragons every success as it builds on the successful international rollout to date”.
Speaking at the film’s premier, Lana Wachowski, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with her brother Andy, said: “It sucks really, but I believe you can watch the full version online,” The Wrap reports.
Lana Wachowski, came out as transgender last year, and said that one character in the film, a waitress who plans a revolution, reflected her own struggle with being transgender.
She said: “Like Sonmi, there are people who will spit on me, want to lynch me, want to crucify me,” she said.
Dreams of Dragons Pictures paid almost 10% of the film’s budget, investing $10 million (£6.5 million).
The film, Cloud Atlas, which has been described by critics as “gender-bending”, was co-directed by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer, and is based on a book by David Mitchell.
It stars Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon, who all play multiple characters, crossing racial and gender lines, and features multiple time periods.
