China censors ending of ‘Minions,’ changing Gru from evil to good

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wang Xiaoshuai, director of “So Long, My Son” and “Red Amnesia,” will be the most senior mainland Chinese director to present a new film at a major Western festival this year. That may be a reflection of the growing political and economic separation between China and the West over the past couple of years — with COVID an additional irritant. But tough times can also breed innovation. Wang’s latest, “The Hotel,” a chamber piece about a small group of Chinese tourists trapped in a hotel in Thailand during the early days of the pandemic, was inspired by events that Wang personally endured in 2020. It was made in almost improvised fashion, with a hastily written screenplay and shot with available crew.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Art-house title “Return to Dust” was a surprise weekend winner, topping the mainland China box office in its ninth weekend of release. The astonishing feat occurred on an otherwise depressed weekend in which China’s cinema box office dipped to a three-month low. This reflected the summer season winding to an end and anti-COVID measures once again forcing major Chinese cities into retreat. Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Return” grossing $5.3 million (RMB36.2 million) between Friday and Sunday. Those three days accounted for nearly half of the $12.7 million (RMB87.4 million) cumulative total it has earned since release on July 8, 2022.

This was yet another soft weekend at the international box office with no major fresh titles and as summer fully closes out in Europe and beyond.

Professional dancer Karen Hauer looked sensational as she showed off her new hair in a photoshoot with one of Strictly Come Dancing's newest professional dancers.

Strictly Come Dancing's four new professionals are set to be introduced to viewers in a cinematic routine filmed alongside the returning cast. European cup winner Vito Coppola, Chinese national champion Carlos Gu, former Under-21 British national champion Lauren Oakley and Latin dance champion Michelle Tsiakkas complete the show's largest-ever line-up of 20 pros this year.They join the returning Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Cameron Lombard, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.The introductory routine will form part of the Strictly Come Dancing launch show airing on BBC One and iPlayer on 17 September.

“Shortcomings,” adapted from the graphic novel by Adrian Tomine.The film, which has been described as a comedic drama, will also feature Tavi Gevinson (HBO’s “Gossip Girl”), Debby Ryan (“The Resort”) and Jacob Batalon (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”). Sonoya Mizuno (“House of the Dragon”) and Timothy Simons (“Veep”) round out the supporting cast.The film, which is currently in post-production, is described as “a hilariously irreverent examination of racial politics, sexual mores, and pop culture.” Min stars as Ben, the cynical manager of a Bay Area movie theater, while Cola plays his best friend Alice.

EXCLUSIVE: Participant’s Chloé Zhao-exec produced limited scripted series about Vincent Chin had found its writers and director.

Angelina Jolie is very reserved when it comes to details about her personal life, she gave fans a rare glimpse into an aspect of her home that she truly treasures.MORE: Angelina Jolie steps out for special night with rarely-seen daughter VivienneThe star doesn't often share insights of either her family life or peeks into her home, so fans were quick to express gratitude for her candid post.Angelina took to Instagram to share with fans a very special photo she has framed in her residence that she holds near her heart, honoring one of her favorite artists.WATCH: Angelina and Brad Pitt's daughter Shiloh shows off impressive movesMORE: Top 8 celebrity back to school photos 2022: Angelina Jolie, Gabrielle Union & moreThe post captures a photo of a polaroid portrait of the Maleficent lead posing alongside popular contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, who is a beloved fixture in the art community.The photo, which was taken in Italy, sees the actress donning her signature oversized black sunglasses, smiling as she poses next to the Chinese documentarian.She shared the photo alongside a heartfelt tribute to Ai, writing in her caption: "I have this up in my home.

cannon never gets tired of blasting off.On the red carpet at the 2022 VMAs Sunday, “Wild ‘N Out” siren Justina Valentine spoke candidly about the show’s fertile frontman Nick Cannon, who announced the impending birth of his tenth child last week.“One thing about Nick, he doesn’t vacation and neither does his junk,” Valentine, 35, told The Post after jokingly being asked if Cannon, 41, planned to launch a “Wild ‘N Out” day-care center for his brood.On Thursday, Cannon and former beauty pageant queen Brittany Bell, 34, revealed on Instagram that they are expecting their third child, which will be his tenth, together.The pair already have a 5-year-old son, Golden, and a 1-year-old daughter, Powerful Queen.“He’s a hard-working man, across the board,” Valentine added with a chuckle. And she isn’t the only lady in Cannon’s life to poke fun at his rampant fruitfulness.  Abby De La Rosa — who gave birth to his most recent set of twins, Zion and Zillion Cannon, in June 2021 and is currently pregnant with their third child — joked that the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” star is siring an entire generation. “Move over Kardashians, ‘Gen C’ is taking over baby,” penned De La Rosa, 32, as the in-text caption of an Instagram Story following Cannon and Bell’s virtual pregnancy announcement. She re-posted a clip from comedian Brian Moller, who wisecracked that Cannon’s 10 (and counting) kids might eventually “take on the Kardashians for world supremacy.”“And they said millennials aren’t having kids,” quipped Moller. “They’re not, Nick’s having them all!”Cannon’s incessant seed-spilling notwithstanding, he seems to be making an effort to spend quality time with his growing gaggle of little ones.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese animation film “New Gods: Yang Jian” was the top film at the mainland China box office for the second successive weekend. Unchallenged by major new releases, the film earned $13.0 (RMB88.3 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That was a drop of 34% compared with its $19.8 million opening session. Some $1.5 million of the weekend total was scored from the film’s outing on Imax screens. After ten days on release “Yang Jian” has a cumulative total of $43.7 million (RMB297 million). Of that, its Imax total is now $4 million.

reports Variety.“After this summer’s record-breaking return to cinemas, we wanted to do something to celebrate moviegoing,” said Cinema Foundation President Jackie Brenneman. “We’re doing it by offering a ‘thank you’ to the moviegoers that made this summer happen and by offering an extra enticement for those who haven’t made it back yet.”The foundation said the event is scheduled for September 3rd and will include nearly 3,000 theaters across the country.

Cineworld, the world’s second largest cinema chain, faces fresh uncertainty after its second largest shareholder cut its stake, causing shares to fall in value for a second day.

(Warning: This post features spoilers for “Minions: The Rise of Gru”).The happy ending for young Gru and his mentor Wild Knuckles in “Minions: The Rise of Gru” apparently didn’t sit well with censors in China, as moviegoers in the country have noted that the Chinese version of the film has a significantly changed ending. In the original film’s ending, Gru teams up with Wild Knuckles to defeat the villainous team known as the Vicious 6, but Wild Knuckles dies after being injured in the climactic fight and taken into police custody.

Minions: The Rise Of Gru, drastically changing the fate of the titular antihero.The animated prequel follows Gru in his teenage days, before setting up his evolution into the supervillain fans of the franchise have come to know.However, the Chinese version of the film features a very different ending for Gru and his mentor Wild Knuckles.Instead of riding off into the sunset together, Wild Knuckles ends up in jail while Gru “becomes one of the good guys”.According to posts and screenshots shared on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, subtitled stills had been added to the credits to alter the film’s original ending.In these subtitles, it’s revealed that Wild Knuckles was arrested by the police and locked up for 20 years after a failed heist. He also develops a “love of acting” and sets up a touring theatrical group.Gru, meanwhile, “returned to his family” after fathering his three daughters became “his biggest accomplishment”.DuSir, a film blogger with more than 14 million followers on Weibo, called the changes  “outrageous” and questioned why only Chinese people required “special guidance and care”.In an article, he wrote: “How weak and lacking judgment do they think our audiences are?”These alterations are the latest example of Chinese authorities editing a Hollywood film’s ending.Earlier this year, Warner Bros.

With no new wide Hollywood tentpole releases until October, we’re in a period of holdovers, and local titles excelling in their home markets (and beyond), while Top Gun: Maverick continues to soar and there’s a will it or won’t it question mark over Jurassic World Dominion‘s shot at getting to $1B global.