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It was seen in China as a refreshing change for audiences after decades of unflattering portrayals of the communist nation in Hollywood movies. Emmerich said he didn't make "2012" specifically to appeal to Chinese. "It was not to please China," he said. "Perhaps the very first idea I had about
'2012' was this image that water comes over the Himalayas. For me that was something so strong that I thought the whole movie has to be based on that, and so China had to play a part in this." His latest action-packed film, "White House Down," which opens in China on Monday, stars Jamie Foxx as president of the United States and Channing Tatum as a Capitol police officer who becomes his impromptu bodyguard. The 57-year-old filmmaker said censors didn't have a problem with the movie, which depicts "mainly an American crisis." China's authoritarian government strictly controls print media, television, radio and the Internet. Movie censors have political sensitivities, but also need to judge whether movies are suitable for the whole family, as China has no age classification system. China has become the second-biggest movie market behind the U.S., with sales of $2.7 billion last year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. The government allows in only 34 foreign films per year for national distribution. At least 14 of them have to be made in 3-D or for the big-screen Imax format.
[Associated
Press;
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