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Shanghai Barred From Shanghai
Director Mikael Hafstrom, who had been in the country since September 2007 for pre-production, claimed the reason the Chinese authorities refused permission for him to shoot in Shanghai was a mystery. ‘We wouldn't have spent millions of kronor (hundreds of thousands of dollars) in this country over the past six months if we hadn't been completely sure we would receive a permit," he said. ‘This obviously comes as a shock to all of us. We don't know exactly why we have been turned down.’
The action raised speculation that the Chinese may have been concerned about the plot, set in 1941, which involves sex, drugs, and war with the Japanese, in the wake of Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, which contained explicit sex scenes and raised calls for the return of a ratings system. Other sources within the China industry were reported to believe the refusal was a form of reprisal against the Weinstein co. which pulled out of Chen Kaige’s The Promise only days before it was scheduled to begin shooting in 2005.
Hafstom reported that filming would take place at the new Shaw studios in Hong Kong, with additional location shooting in Macau. Production was expected to be delayed by about a month. [ADD]
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