A Hong Kong film touted as the worlds first 3D soft porn movie outsold the James Camerons blockbuster hit Avatar on its opening day according to several Hong Kong and international media outlets. But the real question is are films pushing the boundaries such as this one, getting under the Chinese Governments skin?
The movie, Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy brought in 30,000 viewers bringing in 2.78 million Hong Kong dollars (357,000 US dollars) just on the first day.
A couple from mainland China were arrested trying to record the new movie using their mobile phones and were fined 2,000 Hong Kong dollars each at a court hearing Friday, the Post reported.
Seven premiere screenings of the film took place in central Hong Kong during the Easter holiday week. Director Christopher Sun said that the strategic opening day was meant to attract-Mainland Chinese tourists.
The Chinese government has engaged in a long-term crackdown on porn and movies with sexual content are generally banned.
We have already drawn a lot of tourists and also I say they are actually ordinary Chinese people. Of course they are adults, Sun said.
Theres no way to show this film there in China so they just come by and try to watch it.
Taiwanese newspapers reported that at least five tour groups from mainland China had already made reservations to see the film during the May holiday.
The makers of 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy are presenting Singapore with a heavily self-censored release with more than 18 minutes of the completed film cut due to the countrys strict censorships laws. But in China, the film is completely banned.
This isnt the first time Mainland tourists have had to venture to Hong Kong to escape censorship regulations. A large influx of mainland tourists had traveled to Hong Kong to watch Ang Lees uncut version of Lust, Caution in 2007. This seems to be an ongoing trend for Chinese from the mainland to exercise more media freedom by simply crossing the border. Chinese officials are obviously aware that this phenomenon is happening and it is apparent there is a huge market to tap into from an economic standpoint so whats China going to do?
How will they combat it? Will they turn a blind eye and most importantly does it undermine their authority enough to try to place more pressure on Hong Kongs media freedoms?
The movie, Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy brought in 30,000 viewers bringing in 2.78 million Hong Kong dollars (357,000 US dollars) just on the first day.
A couple from mainland China were arrested trying to record the new movie using their mobile phones and were fined 2,000 Hong Kong dollars each at a court hearing Friday, the Post reported.
Seven premiere screenings of the film took place in central Hong Kong during the Easter holiday week. Director Christopher Sun said that the strategic opening day was meant to attract-Mainland Chinese tourists.
The Chinese government has engaged in a long-term crackdown on porn and movies with sexual content are generally banned.
We have already drawn a lot of tourists and also I say they are actually ordinary Chinese people. Of course they are adults, Sun said.
Theres no way to show this film there in China so they just come by and try to watch it.
Taiwanese newspapers reported that at least five tour groups from mainland China had already made reservations to see the film during the May holiday.
The makers of 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy are presenting Singapore with a heavily self-censored release with more than 18 minutes of the completed film cut due to the countrys strict censorships laws. But in China, the film is completely banned.
This isnt the first time Mainland tourists have had to venture to Hong Kong to escape censorship regulations. A large influx of mainland tourists had traveled to Hong Kong to watch Ang Lees uncut version of Lust, Caution in 2007. This seems to be an ongoing trend for Chinese from the mainland to exercise more media freedom by simply crossing the border. Chinese officials are obviously aware that this phenomenon is happening and it is apparent there is a huge market to tap into from an economic standpoint so whats China going to do?
How will they combat it? Will they turn a blind eye and most importantly does it undermine their authority enough to try to place more pressure on Hong Kongs media freedoms?
