Iron Man 3 execs 'changed film for Chinese audience' by adding four minutes to the film with Chinese actors

Chinese version of Iron Man 3 has an extra four minutes of footage

Chinese actors and locations do not appear in the International version

Disney partnered with a Chinese production company to get around strict censorship laws



China co-production also ensures a bigger slice of the profits - 40 percent instead of 25 percent

Film has made almost $100m dollars in China so far in two weeks

China has second biggest film-going public in the world and Hollywood wants access to billions of dollars for films that become hits

The execs behind the mega-successful Iron Man 3 went to great lengths to make the movie more appealing to the growing Chinese audience - including toning down the ethnicity of the lead villain.

Iron Man’s legendary nemesis, The Mandarin, was changed from a Chinese-born villain to a man who is certainly not Chinese at all and not really evil at all. He is played by British actor Ben Kingsley.

President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige says their goal was to alter the background of The Mandarin from the strictly Chinese heritage from the comic books.



'It’s less about his specific ethnicity than the symbolism of various cultures and iconography that he perverts for his own end,' Feige told Entertainment Weekly . 'From his samurai hair, to his royal robe, to his bin Laden-esque beard, and the AK-47 he keeps at his side, Kingsley’s interpretation is a hodgepodge of various warrior motifs.'



Two versions: China's version of Iron Man 3 has an additional four minutes containing Chinese locations and actors to appeal to local audiences

While Kingsley's villain was the same for all audiences, an additional four minutes of Chinese scenes were included for viewers in that country giving a minor plot twist and a few shots of female heartthrob Fan Bingbing and another local Chinese star, Wang Xueqi, against a Chinese background.

In addition, director Shane Black shot scenes in Beijing and used famous Chinese actors who do not appear in the International version. He even signed product placement deals with Chinese companies.

Fan Bingbing has an ever-so-brief role in an extra Iron Man 3 scene as a nurse. She has even been tipped to star in the next Marvel movie X-Men: Days of Future Past.



The extra scenes, produced exclusively for the version of Iron Man 3 shown in Chinese theaters, mostly revolve around the character of Dr. Wu (Wang Xueqi), who is seen briefly in the opening sequence of the U.S. version.

In the Chinese release, Dr. Wu also has a scene where he engages in a telephone conversation of Tony Stark's A.I. sidekick, Jarvis, and a scene in which he performs acupuncture-aided surgery on the wounded Stark, with the help of his assistant played by Bingbing.



Money maker: There's money to be made in the world's second biggest movie market and Hollywood will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the cash

Benefits: The producers, Disney/Marvel, partnered with a Chinese production company. It means a greater percentage of box office receipts and an easier ride with Chinese film censors

The overseas total for Iron Man 3 is $664.1 million across 55 territories with an incredible $95.2 million from China.

It is its success in China that has Hollywood filmmakers so interested in the films performance.

The film has been a huge success, it is days away from reaching $1 billion after grossing $89.3 million overseas this weekend for a $949 million global total.

The film set the country’s record for biggest opening weekend by a foreign production, raking in over $65 million.

Why all the sudden interest in how many Chinese are going to the movies?

Although Iron Man 3 is a 'foreign' film, it was also carefully engineered so as to appeal to as many of the 1.3 billion people as possible.

Disney, who produced the film had China’s DMG Entertainment Group on board which gave the film makers unique access to the country when it came to shooting.

DMG is a Chinese company, with 900 employees in China with headquarters in Beijing. It means that the film could almost be considered domestically Chinese which provides extra benefits.

For China's eyes only: This scene involving Iron Man and Dr. Wu (Want Xueqi) does not appear in the International version of the film

Behind the movie curtain: Fan Bingbing plays a doctor who helps treat Tony Stark, but US and UK audiences will never see the scene

Flying the flag: It's not always America's interests at heart... Hollywood executives will do virtually anything to appease Chinese censors to have the film show in the country

Instead of standing up to Chinese censorship, desperate to secure the release of 'Iron Man 3' in China, Disney played ball with the authorities allowing the country's censors to vet scripts, visit sets in the U.S. and even give suggestions on other creative decisions.



China has become world’s second-largest film market, after the United States but so different are Chinese laws, customs and tastes that American studios will do whatever it takes to have their film distributed there.

Hollywood executives are only just starting to figure out what works and what does not, with the 40-strong censorship board, consisting of Chinese Communist Party officials.

Local sights: Chinese actor Wang Xueqi waves during a promotional event for the Hollywood movie ''Iron Man 3'' at the Forbidden City in Beijing. The use of Chinese locations seems to go down well with the country's censorship board

Forbidden: Scenes shot at the Forbidden City in Beijing are only in the Chinese version of the film however Marvel is considering releasing the extra footage when the movie comes out on BlueRay/DVD

Local talent: Chinese actress Fan Bingbing (L) and Chinese actor Wang Xueqi are both appearing in 'Iron Man 3' in scenes that were shot in their home country

There is also a bizarre product placement scene where the question is asked 'What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?'

After a three-second blackout, three big Chinese characters appeared onscreen: 'Gu Li Duo.'

Record-breaking: Iron Man 3 has made almost $100 million at the Chinese box-office smashing previous records

Gu Li Duo is a milk drink which is on sale for less than $1 a carton in convenience stores across mainland China. It has had some Chinese bloggers like Kotaku scratching their heads as to whether such blatant scenes are even necessary.

'It literally offends me as an American in China and as an ethnically Chinese person that Hollywood would attempt to sell this to the Chinese audience,' said Kotaku’s Beijing-based writer, Eric Jou, after seeing the film there. 'It undermines Chinese people’s intelligence and movie savvy.'

Marvel kept the scenes only for screenings in China and cut them for everywhere else.

One blogger wrote: ' The Chinese Iron Man 3 scenes were so clearly bolted on and irrelevant to the story line that many people here felt insulted rather than entertained.'

A scene featuring Iron Man launching into the sky in front of Dr. Wu (Want Xueqi) and a group of cheering children was not only in the Chinese cut of the film, but appeared only in a sequence shown on a television set playing in the background of Dr. Wu's office.

The footage adds virtually nothing to the overall story and so could be easily removed for the International version.

Although Brits and American's won't see these scenes, it is likely they will be included as a 'short film' on the DVD/BluRay version that comes out in the rest of the world.

Called the 'prologue' it will be made up of scenes already shot that didn't make it into the main movie to further promote China and the Chinese actors to the world.

Disney’s effort is just the latest episode in US film companies’ continuing efforts to grab a larger slice of the Chinese box office pie.

Already the second-largest and fastest growing movie market in the world, China is expected to outstrip the United States by 2020, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

The producers hope that forging the relationship with China will not only give the film valuable publicity, but earn kudos with the Chinese authorities.

China owned: Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood features prominently in the film, but did you know that it is owned these days by a Chinese company, TCL, a Chinese electronics company?

The producers of Iron Man 3 earned themselves the right to market their film a year in advance and to release it on one of the biggest movie-going days in the Chinese calendar – the May 1 national holiday.

The thinking seems to be, that if American films are to succeed in China and the studios want to stay in business, making adjustments for Chinese viewers is going to become part of the production process.

'It’s becoming such a huge part of an equation in the global business and this is really just the beginning,' says Robert Cain, a producer and entertainment industry consultant who has been doing business in China since 1987.

'More and more the money is going to be coming from there, not just the market and revenue but the capital for financing films. And I’m not sure that the studios yet fully recognize the import of all this,' he told Buzzfeed .

Global love: Kids in China love Iron Man just as much as they do in other countries around the world

Superhuman: But the films producers had Chinese censors visit the set of the movie and even allow creative suggestions to be made during the filming of 'Iron Man 3'

It has been a long process getting to this point and only last year did foreign films make up the majority of ticket sales in China - $1.41 billion out of $2.74 billion; American movies made up seven of the top ten films.

Chinese film censors have increased the numbers of films from 20 to 34 a year, that can be imported and distributed in China.

On Iron Man 3 the producers went above and beyond to ensure the Chinese censors from the country's communist party would give the flick the thumbs up.

A scene of things to come? China is an extremely lucrative market for U.S. filmmakers. We can expect more co-productions to be shot and shown in the world's most populated country

In China, the government controls the comings-and-goings of the film industry.

The state-run State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) is responsible for not only overseeing production in that country, but also the import of foreign films, setting strict standards on what its billion-plus population can and cannot see.

Image: Hollywood producers will do whatever it takes to get a slice of the lucrative Chinese film market. Here Robert Downey Jr. is seen at a a promotional event in China

With DMG helping Disney through the production of Iron Man 3 they were able to assist as partners and quell any fears the Chinese government might have had.

There are also financial benefits too. Shooting the film as a 'co-production' guaranteed a release in China and meant that a distributor could receive up to 40 per cent of box-office revenue, compared to a 25 per cent maximum for films designated as imports.

Others films are often less successful. Last year, scenes that were shot in Shanghai for the James Bond film 'Skyfall' had to be cut. A couple of minutes that portrayed the Chinese government as incompetent were removed.

With the Quentin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, some of the violent scenes were cut for Chinese audiences but the film was pulled from screens just days after the premier.

It took a full month and substantial re-editing of the more violent scenes before the film was allowed to return to theaters at the weekend.

There are still enormous tensions between Hollywood and the Chinese government.

The China Daily however ran a blunt editorial last week entitled 'Don’t be tricked by Hollywood.'

The piece advised Chinese viewers not to lose sight of the fact that Chinese elements had been shoved into 'Iron Man 3' in a bid for tickets sales, but that the 'less-than-essential roles have been edited from the American version.'

Working the market: top Chinese actress Fan Bingbing and some footage shot inside China were included in the country's version of the film aimed at tapping into the country's lucrative and booming cinema market

'Some people mistake Hollywood’s strategy as a sign of growing recognition of Chinese culture, but it is actually a commercial tactic of Hollywood filmmakers,' the article said. 'To ensure that Chinese culture becomes more influential, there is no option for the government but to take measures to promote professionalism and improve the quality of Chinese films.'

China is the second largest film market world and in a few years it will be the biggest in terms of revenue. China is able to call the shots.

Spectacular: Screens show a group of Iron Man during a promotional event of the movie Iron Man 3at the Imperial Ancestral Temple of Beijing's Forbidden City. Nothing of China actually features in the main version of the film however

As the Chinese market grows, studios are likely to adapt their films towards China's wishes. It will affect what the audience sees not just in China but around the world too with more stories set in the country and more Chinese or Chinese/American-looking actors taking on lead roles.

In some ways, producers and studios greedy for the huge pool of Chinese cash that's available may make a conscious move to switch the way in which they make their productions in order to comply with China's strict policies.

Gimmicks such as extra scenes or local casting are not going to work forever, Robert Cain warns. 'Foreign producers who want to succeed in China will have to pay more attention to what Chinese audiences want and what Chinese investors will pay for if they are to compete with ever more sophisticated and popular Chinese films,' he says.

'It will take more investment and attention and understanding than any Hollywood studio has shown so far.'