Jet Li Scores a Record $13M Payday

Official explanation is a fake, but decision still isn't going over well

(NEWSER) - Here's the naked truth: The Chinese will not get the full Titanic effect. Kate Winslet's bare breasts in the 3D version of the movie are being censored in China. "Considering the vivid 3D effects, we fear that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch, and thus interrupt other people's viewing," explained a widely cited statement from China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. Delicious as that explanation might be, Gawker notes that the quote is a fake, and probably originated here . Nevertheless, the decision to dull the Winslet flash isn't popular, notes MSNBC . "I've been waiting almost 15 years, and not for the 3D icebergs," grumbled a Chinese fan on an Internet forum. More»

Bad guys in 'Red Dawn' are now from North Korea

(NEWSER) - Here's a sign of how much Hollywood is salivating over the potential money to be made in China: MGM is digitally editing the Chinese bad guys in an upcoming movie to make them look like they're from North Korea instead, reports the Los Angeles Times . The move came not because China raised objections but because distributors got worried Beijing might take offense and shut the film out of its lucrative market. More»

Action flick less than the sum of its all-star parts

(NEWSER) - Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.

• James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald : "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG. Things go BOOM. Fire EVERYWHERE. Cars crash and make even MORE FIRE. HA-HA-HA. Hulk no like Rourke, though. Rourke NUTS."

The Expendables also stars Rourke, Li

(NEWSER) - Musclemen Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are uniting for one last action flick, the Guardian reports. The Expendables, slated for release next year, tells the story of a band of mercenaries in Latin America, and will show the three grizzled stars together for the first time since the launch of their unsuccessful Planet Hollywood restaurants. More»

Biopic sure to reopen old wounds between China, Japan

(NEWSER) - A new film about a hero Nazi party member is threatening to stir old tensions between China and Japan, BBC reports. John Rabe relates the true story of a German businessman who saved thousands of Chinese from a Japanese massacre during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. China is still simmering over the atrocities, which some Japanese deny even occurred. More»