The Shanghai Film Festival has abruptly yanked its opening movie, the $80 million patriotic war drama “The Eight Hundred,” on the eve of the fest’s kickoff, Variety has confirmed.
The cancellation of the Saturday premiere was made for unspecified “technical reasons,” which is often a euphemism for censorship problems. Though a source close to the project told Variety that that is not the issue in this case and that the film had successfully passed the content censorship stage.
“Technical reasons” were also cited in the withdrawal of Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” from the Berlin Film Festival in February.
While Chinese authorities have withdrawn films from other film festivals – two were pulled from the Berlinale, including “One Second” – it’s unusual for a Chinese-made film to be yanked from a Chinese festival.
“The Eight Hundred,” from venerable studio Huayi Bros., is directed by Guan Hu (“Mr. Six”) and centers on the sacrifice of a ragtag group of Chinese soldiers in 1937 Shanghai as imperial Japanese troops advanced. The theme would appear to be in keeping with the patriotic message that the Beijing regime wants to promulgate this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.
Related
But the source close to the film said that “The Eight Hundred” might have fallen victim to political concerns not directly related to censorship – namely, the Chinese government’s wish not to antagonize Japan at the moment. The two countries are currently on good terms even as China and the U.S., Japan’s main ally, escalate their trade war.
The festival has not yet officially made an announcement on its own website or on Chinese social media. Nor has it announced whether any replacement film would play in its slot after the pageantry of Saturday night’s opening ceremony.
We’re still waiting to be sure,” one of the festival organizers told Variety. “The production side also has their own strategies that they are doing their best to try out, so maybe in the end it will be able to continue as scheduled. But we’re not very clear at the moment.”
“The Eight Hundred” has been picked up for North America by CMC Pictures in a deal announced at Cannes. It has also sold to several other Asian countries, and to the U.K. and Germany. After its Shanghai festival appear, it was due to be released in Chinese theaters July 5.
The film was expected to have been a showcase for China’s growing film-making prowess. Among several firsts, “The Eight Hundred” is the first to have substantially shot with Imax digital cameras. The technical crew on the film features a mixed Chinese and international team, including Chinese cinematographer Cao Yu (“Kekexili,” “Legend of the Demon Cat”) American action director Glenn Boswell (“The Matrix,” “I, Robot”) original music by the U.K.’s Rupert Gregson-Williams (“The Crown,” “Aquaman,” “Wonder Woman”) and Australia’s Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Tim Crosbie (“X-Men: Days of Future Past”).