承前*1
少し前の記事ではあるが、取り敢えずメモ代わり。
NYTの記事なり；
というわけで、帰ってきたら、『ダ・ヴィンチ・コード』はもう上映していなかった。まあ、海賊版のDVDは売っているけれど。
June 10, 2006
China Cancels 'Da Vinci' Movie
By JOSEPH KAHNBEIJING, June 9 —Chinese authorities pulled "The Da Vinci Code" off movie screens nationwide on Friday, apparently as a concession to Chinese Catholic groups that warned that the film threatened social stability.
The movie has already generated millions in revenue for the state-owned company that distributed it, and its popularity seems undeniable. The film, based on the best-selling novel by Dan Brown, which has been criticized as insulting to Catholics, had earned more money than any other in China this year and was viewed as a contender to overtake "Titanic" as the highest grossing film ever in China.
But protests by China's official Patriotic Catholic Association and a demonstration involving a few dozen Catholics in Hebei Province were cited as evidence that the film was becoming a political risk, according to people involved in the decision to withdraw it.
Removing the film after its strong 22-day run suggested that the authorities had struck a balance between Chinese Catholic leaders and the China Film Corporation, the state-owned company that brought the film here.
China Film was permitted to collect hefty revenues and recoup its investment in importing, advertising and distributing the film. But the state-backed Catholic leadership was also able to claim a victory at a time when it has struggled with the Vatican for the loyalty of Chinese Catholics.
"Our view is that it should never have been released in the first place," Liu Bainian, vice president of the Patriotic Catholic Association, said in an interview. "Removing it is the right decision for the sake of social stability."
Mr. Liu issued a call to boycott the film in mid-May, when it was first released in Chinese theaters, that initially went unheeded. He declined to comment on why the authorities had reversed themselves after three weeks of brisk ticket sales, but called the decision a victory.
"Of course, we are very happy," he said.
Weng Li, a spokesman for China Film, said the withdrawal had nothing to do with politics and was entirely a commercial decision based on declining tickets sales.
"The decision we made is no different from the way such decisions are made in America or anywhere else," he said. "It was based solely on ticket sales and not on any other factor."
He added that China Film had numerous other films awaiting release, including movies celebrating the Communist Party's 85th anniversary on July 1, and that "The Da Vinci Code" was crowding them out.
But a more senior official at China Film said China's Propaganda Department ordered the film removed from screens. The official, who said he could not be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said the film had earned more than 100 million yuan, or about $13 million, and continued to sell far more tickets than any other movie.
"The decision was political and had nothing to do with declining ticket sales," the official said.
Foreign and domestic films are subject to intensive political scrutiny before being shown. Authorities tend to watch most closely for content that they think could undermine the Communist Party's power.
It is unclear whether religious authorities were allowed to see "The Da Vinci Code" before it was first shown in China on May 19 as part of a simultaneous global release.
But shortly after the Vatican urged Catholics worldwide to boycott the film, China's official Catholic church also called for a boycott. Some local Catholics said they viewed the quick reaction of the state-controlled Catholic church as an attempt to show that it is as attentive to Catholic sensitivities as the Vatican is.
China's official church has been sparring with the Vatican in recent weeks over the appointment of bishops, a struggle that undermined progress toward forging diplomatic ties between Beijing and the Vatican.
The religious case against the film gathered steam later in May, when a group of Catholics in Handan, in Hebei Province, threatened to burn down a theater that planned to show the film, according to Chinese Catholics and Hong Kong news reports. There were scattered reports of small-scale street demonstrations in Handan as well.
The threat of social unrest was cited by religious authorities in Beijing as a reason to withdraw the film, according to people told about the decision. But China Film did not issue the order until ticket sales passed 100 million yuan, making it one of the highest grossing movies in China's history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/10/world/asia/10china.html?ei=5088&en=a44a016988de64a9&ex=1307592000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print
