It appears The Mummy 3 has offended the sensibilities of China’s censors, we get wind of this affront from our friends at cinematical:
When it comes to Hollywood movies, Chinese censors have always been a little strict. Case in point: The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television tells Variety that the upcoming release of The Mummy 3 Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is still pending until Universal makes unspecified changes to the flick. The censors didn’t give any details about what would have to be cut from the film, but speculation has it that the source of the problem is “usually themes involving ghosts are taboo in China”.
Universal already made some concessions to the Chinese government in exchange for permission to shoot on location. According to Variety Universal was urged to make the film, “less political and more focused on fantasy than real history.” A flack for Universal has already released a statement saying, “Universal does not anticipate any obstacles to clearing the film for China and looks forward to releasing “The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor” in the country where it was set and shot.”
From the above news blurb it’s impossible to really know what problems the Chinese censors have with the film. I am going to guess that only those behind the oaken doors at Universal and the censors themselves in China know the real answers. For all we know however, the ghost issue may be true.
As someone who opposes censorship, I feel for the Chinese. The government should have no place in determining what’s appropriate for its citizens to watch. It’s important to pick you battles however, and I don’t foresee many riots happening over a few deleted scenes from The Mummy 3.
