Hollywood Self-Censors to Stay on China’s Good Side

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Not wanting to upset Beijing, MGM recently self-censored, says the LA Times, changing the villains in its remake of “Red Dawn’“from Chinese to North Korean. When the studio decided to remake the movie back in 2009, they initially substituted China for the USSR as home of the bad guys. But no distributors were willing to risk their Chinese relationships, so the studio changed the location again. Editors scrubbed the film of “Chinese flags and military symbols” and replaced them with North Korean equivalents. The Times says it was a preemptive strike and that neither Beijing, nor any Chinese investors had ever suggested the changes, a clear sign of the influence China has on the entertainment industry.

This is some great footage filmed in Pontiac, Michigan back in 2009 where the original remake was filmed. The town was covered in Chinese propaganda: