“It’s funny because it thinks it’s people,” Bay would likely say. (THR)

Last month, Cameron spread his love of 3D to China by partnering up with state-owned film groups to distribute cameras and 3D technology. While there, he saw gold in them there Chinese hills. Although Avatar 2 and 3 and already funded, Cameron wants to try to get China to flip some of the bill. And to sweeten the pot, he’s willing to throw some Chinese actors into the sequels.

“Within five years, China could easily be as big a gross-revenue market for film as North America, and there are very specific economic incentives for having both Chinese content and Chinese co-production. We are already funded on Avatar 2 and 3, but if we qualify as a co-production, there might be some incentives in the percentage of revenue we can take out of China,”

“We are running the numbers to see if that makes sense.” At very least, the director could recruit Chinese actors to work in the movies, which will be distributed worldwide by Fox (though Cameron has not set release dates yet). “For Avatar, we can certainly use Chinese actors as performance capture actors because any accent issues will hide within the Na’vi accent,” says Cameron.

Or just get Rob Schneider.

“So we can have Chinese Na’vi; [and in the live-action sequences] we can also have Chinese actors who speak English in the film.
We are projecting a future in Avatar, and if you project that future out, it is logical that there would be a number of Chinese amongst the contingent on Pandora.”

Why stop there? Can probably get some pretty sweet endorsements and merchandise sales by creating X-Games Na’vi. Food for thought. (THR)

Over 40 million people have turned in to watch the reality/ shock/ documentary series with the characteristically Chinese title Interviews Before Execution. Guess what it‘s about? GUESS!

The show follows and interviews both death row inmates and their families as the “dead men walking” live out their final minutes. I’m all for bloodlust and getting nauseated, but this sounds seriously troubling.

The producer of the channel, Lu Peijin, says that the purpose of the show is to act as a deterrent, claiming, “We want the audience to be warned. If they are warned, tragedies might be averted. That is good for society.”

Those Chinese! They love that whole “good for society” argument!

In case the rationale isn’t cold enough for you, the host, Ding Yu (a female) will often berate the subjects in their final minutes, cause, ya know, China. To one inmate she sat down with, she stated bluntly, “ “Fortunately, you’re in jail. You’re dangerous to society. You’re shit.’’

If this sounds like your idea of good television, you can’t catch the program itself, but there are documentaries on BBC2 and PBS International that I’m not going to link to because I don’t think anyone should watch this. (IHT)

They weren’t joking.

It was reported today in Variety that the PRC has reduced primetime TV offerings from 126 programs to a scant 38, citing the aforementioned reasons for giving many shows the hook. Sure, they may be offering their citizens tons of enlightening entertainment, but they’re denying their constituents a look into the lives of child beauty pageants and people who live in or near swamps.

At what price freedom Communism?

This news comes a day after the Chinese President Hu Jintao said that western entertainment was out to attack and divide China.

It hasn’t been confirmed, but I suspect Jintao was watching that crappy Allen Gregory cartoon when he came to that conclusion. That show pisses everyone off.

“If anyone should be embarrassed it’s the relevant actor, not the Chinese side,” a spokesman said. “What I understand is that the actor was invited by the director Zhang Yimou to attend the movie premiere. He was not invited to any village in Shandong to create news or make a film. If he wants to create news, I don’t think that would be welcomed by China.”

The spokesman add this word of warning. “Yo, Zhang. You gotta talk to your boy.”

Thanks a lot, Christian Bale. Now China’s totally pissed at us right before the holiday. If they cut off our supply to knock-off electronic products, I won’t have anything to give my dad this year. (Reuters)

Not cool, China. None of us were big fans of Equilibrium, but you really took that dislike too far. (CNN)

Why? China.

The bad guys in the 1984 original were predictably the Soviets, which wouldn’t really make a lot of sense today. So the writers simply made the Chinese the ones who bring the fight to America‘s doorstep.

With China’s clout and purchasing power growing to juggernaut status, no studio wanted to risk offending the eastern superpower, so they punched up some of the images and dialogue in post and…voila! The Chinese become North Koreans! Cause that’s not offensive at all!

The North Koreans are forbidden by both their government and ours from buying any US goods, including films, so no one gives two shits if they get their feathers ruffled. YOU HEAR THAT NORTH KOREA? YOU GUYS CAN ALL GO TO HELL!!!! WOLVERIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINES!

Ahem.

FilmDistrict will be releasing the remake sometime in 2012. If they can change Chinese people to North Koreans, it’s gotta be possible for them to punch in some footage of Harry Dean Stanton getting gunned down while singing “America the Beautiful,” right?

All of the Chinese flags and insignia in the already-filmed movie are going to be replaced through the magic of CGI with their North Korean equivalents, in a movie that is said to be costing MGM around $1 million. But it’s well worth it from an economic standpoint, since many potential buyers for the film have balked at its lack of marketability in China. Oh, how I long for the days when all you needed to sell a movie was an Ewok. (via The Playlist)

Looks like China‘s a little bit touchy about that whole being a communist superpower thing. A state-run paper is miffed that producers of Red Dawn have chosen to villify them in the upcoming remake, instead of the Soviet Union as they did in the original. Problem is, there is no Soviet Union anymore. We crushed them after watching the original Red Dawn. Oh hey, I think I see their point.

"Despite the world’s focus on U.S.-China relations in the strategic and economic dialogue and their increasing economic connections, China can still feel U.S. distrust and fear, especially among its people. Americans’ suspicions about China are the best ground for the hawks to disseminate fear and doubt, which is the biggest concern with the movie Red Dawn."

Oh, poor wittle China. Gonna cry? Gonna cry?? China gonna cry? Wh-what are you doing?? No, put that tank back. I was just blogging in a snarky manner. The internet demands it!!! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! (via Cinematical)