Beijing tardiness hits projects With China's focus turned towards next month's Olympics, the central government has been slow to approve joint film productions, driving down the number of movies Hong Kong is expected to make this year to fewer than 40, an industry leader says. The chairman of the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association, Crucindo Hung Cho-sing, said such a low figure had not been seen since the 1970s, and was in sharp contrast to the 300 films the city put out in its heyday in the 1990s. 'Because priority has been given to the Olympics, mainland authorities have been slow in dealing with film project applications,' he said. 'Even if they pick up the approval work soon after the Olympics, many films would only begin filming later this year and they will not be released until next year,' he said. 'Therefore, the production figure could drop to below 40, probably the lowest figure since the 1970s.' Fifty films were produced last year, 22 of which were in collaboration with mainland companies. And at least half of Hong Kong's total for this year will be joint productions, Mr Hung said. Other industry sources said, however, that the Games were only part of the explanation for why Beijing had yet to approve many productions. Authorities were cautious following the backlash on the mainland from Ang Lee's sex-laden Lust, Caution and Li Yu's Lost in Beijing. Lust, Caution was released on the mainland only after explicit sex scenes were edited out, but lead actress Tang Wei was still blacklisted by the media. The authorities initially approved Lost in Beijing, but it was banned after the censored scenes were circulated online. Its producer, Fang Li, was slapped with a two-year ban on making films on the mainland. Sundream Motion Pictures said this year had been difficult. 'We have learned about the censorship problem, and it was believed that it has to do with the Olympics and changes in the central government's film policies,' said a Sundream spokesman. Not only new projects are suffering, but completed projects as well. Media Asia chief executive John Chong Ching said Sniper, starring scandal-hit Edison Chen Koon-hei, had not yet been approved by the mainland. He said he hoped approval would come in the next few months. Another completed project, The Fantastic Waterbabes, starring Gillian Chung Yan-tung, the former Twins singer shown having sex with Chen in pictures widely circulated on the internet, had been intended for a summer release but was still waiting for official approval. But Wellington Fung Wing, secretary general of the Hong Kong Film Development Council, said one proposal to the Film Development Fund had recently been approved. Champion, directed by industry veteran Siuming Tsui, president of Sundream Motion Pictures, is about martial artists fighting to represent China in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in the 1930s. The company's spokesman said that it was the only project the company submitted for approval.
