Quentin Tarantino will not edit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to placate Chinese censors, the Hollywood Reporter said.
Tarantino has maintained a firm “take it or leave it stance” after Chinese regulators put the brakes on a scheduled 25 October release, the publication reported, adding that Sony Pictures Entertainment was not given an explanation as to the delay. The studio declined to comment, the Reporter said.
Some believe the Chinese decision stems from Tarantino’s depiction of the late martial arts star Bruce Lee, a hero to many in China. Family and friends have alleged Tarantino wrongly portrayed Lee as a caricature.
Sources told the Reporter Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, had asked China’s national film administration to demand Tarantino change his characterization.
In July, Lee told the Wrap her father “comes across as an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air, and not someone who had to fight triple as hard as any of those people did to accomplish what was naturally given to so many others”.
She added: “It was really uncomfortable to sit in the theatre and listen to people laugh at my father.”
Tarantino – who is notoriously opposed to fiddling with his films and maintains final-cut rights in his contracts – does not plan to co-operate with Chinese authorities, the Reporter said.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt and centers on events preceding the grisly Manson family murders in Los Angeles in 1969.
China’s apparent attempt to control an American entertainment product comes amid its violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The Chinese government has been particularly rankled by prominent Americans who have spoken out against censorship or its response to the protests.
The South Park creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, have lampooned China’s leaders, and Americans willing to look past human rights violations, in several recent episodes. China has reportedly scrubbed South Park from streaming and social media platforms.
The NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, claimed on Thursday that Chinese officials wanted the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey fired, after he tweeted support for the Hong Kong protesters. China’s foreign ministry denied making this request, the Associated Press said.
Controversy over Morey’s comments has damaged the lucrative relationship between the NBA and China and drawn in the league’s most famous player. Asked to comment, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said: “I don’t want to get into a … feud with Daryl but I believe he wasn’t educated about the situation at hand and he spoke.
“Just be careful what we tweet … even though, yes, we do have freedom of speech. But there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too.”
