Stirling businesses come out in force to back Observer festive toy appeal

Are films ever safe from the dicey scissors of Chinese or international censors? It appears not. A new version of David Fincher’s 1999 cult classic “Fight Club” has been released online in China and, in something of a surprise, has gotten a much happier ending.

Brad Pitt/Edward Norton) successfully detonating his anarchy cell’s “Project Mayhem” and bombing the Los Angeles skyline is swapped for a graphic indicating that authorities saved the day in the nick of time.“The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding,” reads the new ending on Chinese-based Tencent Video.FIGHT CLUB’s ending for the Chinese release (on Tencent Video) was changed to this and now I’m waiting for someone to fanfic a sequel based on this censored ending. pic.twitter.com/zYB0bY3Dlp“After trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefDavid Fincher’s classic “Fight Club” has been given a different ending in China, where it’s now available on Tencent Video. The story of exactly how the new version came about is unsurprisingly murky, but it does provide something of a win-win situation for all parties.In the 1999 original, Edward Norton’s narrator character kills off his alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) before watching buildings burst into flames in apparent confirmation that his plan to destroy modern civilization is being executed.The version now playing on China’s largest video streamer, which is home to the country’s biggest selection of imported films, stops before the buildings explode.

Fight Club in which the ending has been changed from the original.Viewers using Tencent Video in China will see a different ending to David Fincher’s 1999 film, where the scene of exploding buildings is replaced with a black slate and a caption: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.”China has restrictive censorship rules, which could explain why the film’s original ending has been altered. NME has contacted Tencent Video for a response.Fight Club follows the story of a depressed insomniac man (Ed Norton) who meets a soap salesman called Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese video streaming firm iQiyi has teamed with Canada’s Wildbrain to jointly produce kids’ animation series “Jonny Jetboy.” The series was hatched by Keith Chapman, creator of “PAW Patrol” and “Bob The Builder” and will run to an initial forty 11-minute episodes.The story follows Jonny Jones, the youngest member of a family of heroes as he learns to become a superhero like his JetForce family. They are committed to protecting the high-tech city Calamity Canyon, from its many villains.

With the Winter Olympics set to begin next week in Beijing, a U.S. State Department human rights report paints a chilling picture of censorship, violence against reporters, and the suppression of dissent during the last Olympic Games held there. Even the Olympic torch relay was censored at the Beijing summer games of 2008 when dissidents protesting China’s occupation of Tibet were forcibly removed from the route by police, allegedly for their own protection.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Matrix: Resurrections” fell out of the top five chart positions at the mainland Chinese box office over the latest weekend. The top spots were reclaimed by local, holdover titles.China Film Co.’s patriotic pandemic drama “Embrace Again” was the top film over the latest Friday to Sunday weekend, with a weekend score of $5.3 million, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Since Dec.

Watch yourself! Shawn Mendes took a hilarious tumble while hiking out on Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles, California on Friday, posting a video of his stumble down the hill. In the first shot of the series of two posts, the “Stiches” singer posed on the West Coast hiking trail, showing off his handsome, fit figure shirtless with only black shorts and sneakers for the outing.

Ange Postecoglou joked he wishes he could've "hidden" his new Japanese trio's impressive debuts from worldwide attention as he awaits a decision on international call-ups.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese regulators teamed up on Wednesday to issue a volley of orders that will crimp the expansion of the country’s entertainment and tech giants, including Alibaba, Tencent and TikTok-owner Bytedance.The directives came in the same week that the U.S. increased its pushback against some of the same Chinese firms, pointing to security concerns, and a Canadian researcher found the app for athletes at Beijing’s Winter Olympics to be full of security flaws.Nine different departments, including China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Cyberspace Administration of China, issued joint statements about how to regulate and tame development of what it labels “the online platform sector.” Prominent among the new policy directives is the strict regulation of the tech companies’ activities and investments in the finance sector.“Platform operators must not use data, technology, market, or capital advantages to restrict the independent operation of other platforms and applications,” said one of the opinions in the NDRC document.That appears to be most problematic for Alibaba and Tencent, which have both hatched vast online transfer, deposit-taking and insurance services.

Covid-19 concerns have led NBC Sports to keep most of its announcing teams at home for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, according to a report.

In a video presentation released this afternoon, NBCUniversal executives touted their rare February combo of the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics while only briefly touching on the “complicated” situation in Beijing.

A Stirling city centre cafe which uses ingredients and products from cannabis plants is to be allowed to open in the evenings.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorThe German-based sales outfit M-Appeal has acquired world sales rights to “Return to Dust,” from Chinese director Li Ruijun. The film was selected Wednesday to receive its world premiere in Competition at next month’s Berlinale (Feb. 10-16).The film follows the humble, unassuming Ma and timid Cao who have been cast off by their families and forced into an arranged marriage.

Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has admitted it will be "difficult" to call up Kyogo Furuhashi for upcoming World Cup qualifiers in February.