Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing are hardly visible in the international version of the Marvel film, with expanded roles appearing in Chinese theaters.<\/p>\n
Of all the new characters slated to appear in Iron Man 3,the one played by Wang Xueqi is probably the most intriguing: Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview in Beijing earlier this month, the veteran Chinese actor said he agreed to come on board as Dr. Wu because he\u2019s a \u201ccomplex character\u201d who would save Tony Stark\u2019s (Robert Downey Jr.) life.<\/p>\n
For viewers living outside China who want to get a glimpse of Wang on screen, be warned: Take your seats in time or you\u2019ll miss him \u2014 because his appearance in the international cut of Iron Man 3 is limited to a ten-second sequence at the very beginning of the film.<\/p>\n
The film\u2019s two producers, Marvel Pictures and DMG Entertainment, had earlier announced the release of a specific version dedicated to the Chinese market, with a pledge to include more China-set scenes. The statement also explained how sequences featuring actress Fan Bingbing will be exclusively seen by Chinese audiences \u2014 another way of saying how the A-lister is basically cut out of the international version altogether.
\nAs it turns out, Wang\u2019s character would also be more properly fleshed out in the Chinese cut only. One would have expected more of the actor in the film, as he has featured prominently in the Chinese promotional campaigns for the project \u2014 he actually embraced Downey on stage and then took part in a panel discussion of the film with the lead actor during a high-profile publicity event in Beijing earlier this month.
\nBut what is left of Wang\u2019s role in the international cut is just four shots at the beginning of the film, when Dr. Wu is introduced to Stark in a party in the Swiss capital of Bern in 1999. He is shown saying hello in Chinese to Stark, before the future superhero is dragged away to meet someone else. A fleeting glimpse of a masked Wang would appear in a present-day sequence towards the very end of the film, as he operates on Stark.
\nWang\u2019s much-reduced presence has become a source of dismay for some Chinese bloggers who have managed to see the film outside China before its release there on May 3. According to shiahsu516, Wang\u2019s role seems \u201cunnecessary\u201d and said the Chinese trailer \u2014 which feature Wang and Fan \u2014 iss \u201cmisleading\u201d; Mr Stones P, who reports of being based in England and praised the film, said Wang\u2019s turn is \u201cthe walk-on of all walk-ons,\u201d adding his wonderment about whether \u201cthere will be distinct differences in the Chinese version.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just as importantly, bloggers and media reports have also taken note of the absence of the sequences shot in Beijing in December \u2014 such as the one in which Iron Man is seen taking off into the sky in front of Dr. Wu and a group of cheering schoolchildren at the city\u2019s landmark Yongdingmen Gate. A scene featuring Dr. Wu trying to contact Stark on the phone, which was shown during a sneak footage media preview in Beijing three weeks ago, also didn\u2019t make the international cut.
\nThe \u201cChinese\u201d elements, which made the outside-China version, are not exactly set in the country itself \u2014 but around the Chinese television manufacturer TCL, which has struck a tie-in deal with the film\u2019s producers. Apart from the sequences set at the TCL Chinese Theater \u2014 additional shooting was done there in January \u2014 there were also a glimpse of the company\u2019s flat-panel television sets and mobile phones on screen.
\nDespite being a joint production involving the Beijing-based DMG, Iron Man 3 was released in China as an import rather than a \u201cco-production,\u201d a status that provides the film\u2019s foreign studio backers a larger cut of the box office. The decision to release a specific Chinese version followed the example of the also DMG-backed Looper, and Paramount has also announced a separate Chinese cut for the next installment of the Transformers franchise.
\nChina\u2019s film regulators have intervened more in this arena in the past year, a line heightened last August when the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television\u2019s deputy chief Zhang Pimin publicly censured \u201cfake\u201d co-productions which did not contain sufficient enough Chinese content.<\/p>\n
source: https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/news\/iron-man-3-criticized-scaling-446541<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing are hardly visible in the international version of the Marvel film, with expanded roles appearing in Chinese theaters. Of all the new characters slated to appear in Iron Man 3,the one played by Wang Xueqi is probably the most intriguing: Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview in Beijing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n