Will Smith Legendary Ban?

[Angel Amor]

Will Smith's Legendary Ban?

by Gina Serpe

Will Smith's charm may have gotten him out of a fair share of scrapes in West Philly and Bel-Air, but it hasn't quite passed muster in China—yet.

The Oscar nominee's latest film, the sci-fi remake I Am Legend, has so far failed to secure a release date in the country, despite personal pleas from the actor himself. And while Smith said he is nonetheless eager to continue making his case for the film's Chinese release, his efforts may be in vain: News of the film's Far East rebuffing comes amid reports that China has issued a three-month ban on American films from opening on its screens.

"We struggled very, very hard to try to get it to work out, but there are only a certain amount of foreign films that are allowed in," Smith said from a press conference in Hong Kong Friday.

As part of his effort to secure a Chinese release for the flick, in which Smith stars as the lone survivor of an apocalyptic global epidemic, the actor said he even went so far as to personally meet with Han Sanping, the chairman of the censor-happy China Film Group, the state-run board responsible for allowing foreign films into the country.

Not even Smith's secret weapon—revealing to Sanping, and subsequently to the world's press, that he was pondering a remake of the Karate Kid, to be set in either Hong Kong or Beijing—served to sway the industry honcho.

While no specific reason has been given as to why the film was not granted a release date in the country, Variety reported Monday that the China Film Group has placed a temporary ban, expected to last at least three months, on American or otherwise foreign-made films into the nation. The move is a bid to boost the economy of China's domestic film industry and may be extended through May, the trade reports.

But the China Film Group has denied that any such ban has been enacted and claims that the panel is still in the process of reviewing U.S. films for potential release. So far, not so good.

Smith's other recent cinematic effort, The Pursuit of Happyness, made it past the country's notorious censors but was still shut out of a release. Likewise, recent Stateside blockbusters Enchanted, Beowulf and the seemingly utterly uncontroversial Bee Movie.

In recent years, China has barred a litany of America-made films from its theaters, particularly when the nation or its people are shown in anything less than a glowing light.

The Departed was whacked from screens earlier this year for featuring a reference to the Chinese military. In 2006, The Da Vinci Code made it past the country's infamous censors only to be abruptly pulled from theaters shortly after its release. This past summer, the country denied the release of Rush Hour 3, starring would-be Chinese national treasure Jackie Chan, amid reports that the racial humor and depiction of a Chinese mafia family was not met kindly by the country's censors. And Pirates of Caribbean: At World's End was radically edited because of perceived stereotyping of Chow Yun-Fat's pirate king.

Typically, only 20 foreign films per year are allowed on China's movie screens.

Not all Asian countries are as stingy with their silver screens. I Am Legend has already been cleared for release in Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

The Warner Bros. film will be released in the U.S. on Dec. 14.

Copyright 2007 E! Entertainment Television, Inc. All rights reserved.

[VIsqo]

I hope they finnally let him in, hes worked soo hard over there to get banned