From hollywoodreporter.com:
“Lust, Caution” star Tang Wei has been banned in the Chinese media because of the sexual nature of her performance in the Ang Lee film, local press reports said Friday.
An internal memo from China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television was allegedly sent to all television stations and print media in China on Thursday night, stating that a new television commercial starring Tang for skin care brand Pond’s was to cease broadcast immediately. All print ads and feature content using the actress also were to be pulled. The memo gave no reason for the ban.
Tang’s deal with Pond’s is worth a reported 6 million yuan ($843,000).
The ad can still be viewed, at least for now, at Youku
Posting on the news, Danwei’s Joel Martinsen translates commentary from “dlm7882” on the popular Tianya Forum:
I don’t like Tang Wei at all, but I’ll grant that her performance in that movie deserves affirmation. Overseas actors wouldn’t give a second thought to that sort of thing, but because all kinds of problems in China, including the lack of a ratings system, Tang Wei has become a magnet for criticism. This is not fair at all. Look at how SARFT leader explain why they won’t set up a ratings system—what ludicrous idiocy! The art of cinema is castrated once it arrives in China.
Under this kind of ban, will the people took part in the filming of Lust, Caution be banned as well? If they aren’t, then was an actress banned simply because she dared to shed her clothes on screen? If it comes out that this is the reason, what a disgrace it will be for both SARFT and Chinese cinema! When the shooting and screening of a film becomes solely a matter of politics, when it is nothing more than a tool in the hands of people trading money for power, is there any way for such a county’s film industry to move forward?
