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New Documentary Warns
of Beijing’s Influence in Hollywood
A new documentary by NTD highlights the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Hollywood and urges Americans to be wary of this.
The documentary titled “Hollywood Takeover” premiered at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles. According to YourNews, the film outlines “the CCP’s efforts to shape global perceptions of its regime through American movies.” Such involvement, the outlet added, raises “concerns over [Beijing’s] impact on American culture and free speech.”
“The documentary features insights from producers, actors and national security experts on the CCP’s historical and ongoing manipulation of film content to serve its propaganda goals.”
Film executive Chris Fenton, who was involved in blockbusters like “Iron Man 3,” shared his experiences with CCP-driven changes in film narratives in the documentary. Such changes began with minor alterations but escalated to major content modifications to favor the ideology the CCP espouses. One blatant example is the 2020 live-action film “Mulan,” which was filmed in the western Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. (Related: Disney filmed Mulan in Xinjiang, which is full of concentration camps where political prisoners are having their organs harvested.)
The documentary also mentioned that the CCP’s influence isn’t limited to film content, but also to celebrities themselves. Professional wrestler and action star John Cena faced backlash from the CCP for recognizing Taiwan as an independent country, prompting him to make a public apology in Mandarin. Filmmaker and activist Jason Jones described Cena’s forced apology as “the most Orwellian thing [he’s] ever seen.”
Tiffany Meier, the producer and presenter of “Hollywood Takeover,” warned that the CCP views the arts as a weapon of “unrestricted warfare” to control culture and by extension politics. The documentary ultimately concluded with a call to action, suggesting ways to counteract the CCP’s influence on the big screen. Film critic Christian Toto summed this up by urging Hollywood to “fall in love with America again” and celebrate the nation’s ideals through cinema.
Film giants kowtowing to China for money
Breitbart News‘ David Ng mentioned in a separate piece how Hollywood film giants are kowtowing to Beijing in exchange for money. He cited the book by his colleague and Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer titled “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans” for examples of this.
“As the book notes, China casts a longer shadow on Hollywood production than you might think,” wrote Ng. “Of the 100 highest-grossing movies released between 2014 and 2018, 41 had Chinese investors.”
Just like the NTD documentary, Ng mentioned that Schweizer’s book outlines the extent of the CCP’s influence on Hollywood. “For years, Beijing has exerted an insidious creative pressure on American filmmakers to make China look strong and the U.S. appear weak by comparison,” he stated. “Communist values like collectivism are championed, while American-style individualism is ridiculed.”
The book mentioned one example involving the 2014 film “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” which is based on the 1980s toy line by Hasbro. It reportedly portrays senior Chinese government officials as results-oriented and capable, while their American counterparts are portrayed as bumbling and generally incompetent.
The movie features an American antagonist played by Stanley Tucci, who is ultimately defeated by the character Su Yeming – played by actress Li Bingbing of “The Forbidden Kingdom” fame. Li’s character works with Mark Wahlberg, who plays the film’s protagonist Cade Yeager.
Another example of a film with communist Chinese influence is “Kung Fu Panda 3” from 2016. The animated film from DreamWorks and co-financed by Beijing clearly shows the ideology the CCP is pushing.
In this film, the panda protagonist Po (voiced by Jack Black) no longer focuses on himself as an individual just like in the first two movies. He instead focuses on the collective, encouraging the villagers to take up arms in an animated “people’s war” against the antagonist Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons).
“Hollywood welcomed China with open arms in a Faustian bargain to gain access to Chinese audiences,” Ng concluded. “Hollywood wanted to use China to boost its own bottom line. In the end, it was China that played Hollywood.”
Watch “Hollywood Takeover” producer Tiffany Meier discuss how China is controlling Hollywood with Alex Newman on “The Sentinel Report” below.
This article was first published on Communism News on March 13, 2024
Read more articles by Ramon Tomey here
The documentary titled “Hollywood Takeover” premiered at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles. According to YourNews, the film outlines “the CCP’s efforts to shape global perceptions of its regime through American movies.” Such involvement, the outlet added, raises “concerns over [Beijing’s] impact on American culture and free speech.”
Hollywood, increasingly under Chinese control
Film executive Chris Fenton, who was involved in blockbusters like “Iron Man 3,” shared his experiences with CCP-driven changes in film narratives in the documentary. Such changes began with minor alterations but escalated to major content modifications to favor the ideology the CCP espouses. One blatant example is the 2020 live-action film “Mulan,” which was filmed in the western Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. (Related: Disney filmed Mulan in Xinjiang, which is full of concentration camps where political prisoners are having their organs harvested.)
The documentary also mentioned that the CCP’s influence isn’t limited to film content, but also to celebrities themselves. Professional wrestler and action star John Cena faced backlash from the CCP for recognizing Taiwan as an independent country, prompting him to make a public apology in Mandarin. Filmmaker and activist Jason Jones described Cena’s forced apology as “the most Orwellian thing [he’s] ever seen.”
Tiffany Meier, the producer and presenter of “Hollywood Takeover,” warned that the CCP views the arts as a weapon of “unrestricted warfare” to control culture and by extension politics. The documentary ultimately concluded with a call to action, suggesting ways to counteract the CCP’s influence on the big screen. Film critic Christian Toto summed this up by urging Hollywood to “fall in love with America again” and celebrate the nation’s ideals through cinema.
Film giants kowtowing to China for money
Breitbart News‘ David Ng mentioned in a separate piece how Hollywood film giants are kowtowing to Beijing in exchange for money. He cited the book by his colleague and Breitbart News Senior Contributor Peter Schweizer titled “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans” for examples of this.
“As the book notes, China casts a longer shadow on Hollywood production than you might think,” wrote Ng. “Of the 100 highest-grossing movies released between 2014 and 2018, 41 had Chinese investors.”
Just like the NTD documentary, Ng mentioned that Schweizer’s book outlines the extent of the CCP’s influence on Hollywood. “For years, Beijing has exerted an insidious creative pressure on American filmmakers to make China look strong and the U.S. appear weak by comparison,” he stated. “Communist values like collectivism are championed, while American-style individualism is ridiculed.”
The book mentioned one example involving the 2014 film “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” which is based on the 1980s toy line by Hasbro. It reportedly portrays senior Chinese government officials as results-oriented and capable, while their American counterparts are portrayed as bumbling and generally incompetent.
Hollywood foolishly scrambling for Chinese money
Illustration by Kevin Hong
Another example of a film with communist Chinese influence is “Kung Fu Panda 3” from 2016. The animated film from DreamWorks and co-financed by Beijing clearly shows the ideology the CCP is pushing.
In this film, the panda protagonist Po (voiced by Jack Black) no longer focuses on himself as an individual just like in the first two movies. He instead focuses on the collective, encouraging the villagers to take up arms in an animated “people’s war” against the antagonist Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons).
“Hollywood welcomed China with open arms in a Faustian bargain to gain access to Chinese audiences,” Ng concluded. “Hollywood wanted to use China to boost its own bottom line. In the end, it was China that played Hollywood.”
Watch “Hollywood Takeover” producer Tiffany Meier discuss how China is controlling Hollywood with Alex Newman on “The Sentinel Report” below.
Read more articles by Ramon Tomey here
Posted March 18, 2024
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