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Paramount to Cast Chinese 'Transformers 4' Actors on Reality Show
by Ethan Anderton
April 18, 2013
Source: THR
If you thought pandering to the Chinese audience with a special cut of Iron Man 3 was a little much, then this news should throw you for a loop. Paramount Pictures is already planning on shooting some of Transformers 4 in China, making it a co-production by including some content specific to the country (and the film might have exclusive footage just like Iron Man 3). But now THR reports Paramount is planning on launching a reality TV show overseas, which will start airing in June this year, to cast four Chinese actors in the summer blockbuster which is slated for release on June 27th, 2014. More below!
The reality show will be looking for two actors with professional experience and two amateurs, and the winners will appear in Transformers 4. It's not clear whether or not they'll appear in the cut of the film that will play for the rest of the world, or a Chinese exclusive cut. Honestly, the show doesn't sound half bad since it will have a panel of judges consisting of Sid Ganis, the former head of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the current chairman of Jiaflix; the film’s producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura and casting director Denise Chamian; and Paramount’s marketing and distribution chief Megan Colligan. But it still feels like massive pandering for a bigger international box office.
8 Comments
1
I bet this has nothing to do with import quotas.
DavideCoppola on Apr 18, 2013
2
This must break Michael Bay's heart.
Nielsen700 on Apr 18, 2013
3
Say whatever you want about China but with a population of 1billion+ ,there is some serious money to be made
Money on Apr 18, 2013
4
It's kind of a shame...I mean yeah, China is a big market, a massive market. The definition of 'highest grossing film worldwide' could be redefined on the back of the growing Chinese market. But this whole trying to specifically appeal to their interests just feels a little shallow. 'Oh, we want it to be a hit in China, lets give them their own cut of Iron Man 3, lets cast their biggest stars, lets do a reality show to get them in Transformers 4, lets put a joke in Looper about China being the place to be in the future'...I mean, come on. I'm positive Iron Man 3 will be fantastic, and Looper was quite good. BUT getting a sudden surge of films that pander to the Chinese just screams 'greed-fueled-decision-making'. I mean, yeah, MOST Hollywood decisions are made that way..but this feels so forced. I have to think that eventually even the Chinese will get wise to the whole 'They are just trying to pander to use to get our money' thing.
Chris Groves on Apr 18, 2013
5
Transformers made in China
truong18 on Apr 18, 2013
6
I don't know Chris, I think this is really just part of the changing global society. The fact of the matter is, we may very well see a world in our lifetimes where China is not just the dominant economic power, but the dominant cultural power as well. It's not written in any book that a global popular culture will be forever united by the English language. And certainly not by Caucasian faces. It's not without precedent. I don't know TOO many examples, but plenty of Japanese tokusatsu films in the 50s and 60s had scenes filmed and added for an American audience. Made sense, since America had a population twice as large as Japan at that time, and could churn out some serious dough for both Japanese and American film companies. Today, China has more than FOUR times our population, and while certainly not as affluent on average, their consumer class is rapidly expanding. It's really just history repeating itself. I'm not particularly bothered by a potentially dominant Chinese culture in our future. My only hope is that China, the country, develops a government and economic system that is worthy of that dominance. At the moment that is far from the case, but one day they may very well be more worthy than we ever were.
Boiler Bro Joe on Apr 18, 2013
7
China's economy is not that great and I for one would not be thrill to see China, a country with a very poor human rights record, be the dominant global power in the near or far future. That said, it just feels like pandering on the studios side.
Baron the Curse on Apr 18, 2013
8
The fact is it's called capitalism. This is the true test for those that say they believe in the market system. The fact is people don't like this because it breaks away from how the US has lead the way for a long time now simply because the US has had the largest economy. That will probably be changing soon and that's the reason why this is happening. If you have a problem with it then you never believed in capitalist market economics. What next... democracy? If some other country elected a leader that you don't like, are you all of the sudden going to show how you never believed in democracy in the first place? China's human rights? How about starting a war with Iraq based on fabricated evidence? How many innocent lives had their human rights violated?
Norad on Apr 18, 2013
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