China alters ending of cult classic 'Fight Club' so that the authorities come out on top



Movie fans were outraged over the weekend after observing China's latest censorship plot, which in this case was the drastic altering of David Fincher's 1999 film, "Fight Club," to make it so that, in the end, the criminals are arrested and the authorities win.

What happened?

In the original version of the cult classic — starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter — the Narrator, played by Norton, kills off his alter ego Tyler Durden, played by Pitt, setting off a chain of explosions that destroy all bank and credit records, effectively ending consumerism and resetting the economy.

But that's not what viewers experience when watching the film on Tencent Video, a popular Chinese streaming service. In China's altered version, the film's ending is cut short ahead of the explosion scene, and viewers are informed in a short, to-the-point caption that Project Mayhem was foiled by the state and all criminals were arrested.

"Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012," the caption read, according to Vice.

FIGHT CLUB\u2019s ending for the Chinese release (on Tencent Video) was changed to this and now I\u2019m waiting for someone to fanfic a sequel based on this censored ending.pic.twitter.com/zYB0bY3Dlp
— Courtney Howard @ #Sundance (@Courtney Howard @ #Sundance) 1643062101

Vice noted it remains unclear whether the ending was altered under self-censorship or by government order, adding that Tencent Video declined to comment on the news.

But a source familiar with the matter reportedly told the news outlet that the film was edited by the copyright owner and approved by the government before it was sold to streaming sites for distribution. Furthermore, the Chinese publisher of the film, Pacific Audio & Video Co., is an affiliate of Guangdong TV, a state-owned television station.

What else?

Hong Kong Free Press noted in its coverage of the news that China has some of the world's strictest censorship rules. The communist country only approves a handful of foreign films for release every year, and often requires that major edits are made.

Film fans reportedly erupted in mockery after viewing the new ending, the Hong Kong news outlet reported.

"This is too outrageous," one viewer commented, while another said the edit is proof that Chinese authorities "don’t just delete scenes, but add to the plot too."

"There is no point watching this film without that scene," another person commented on the Twitter-like site Weibo, according to VICE.

Still another commenter quipped, "Probably 'Ocean’s 11' would have all been arrested. 'The Godfather’s' entire family would end up in jail."

Anything else?

China's censorship practices were also the subject of controversy late last year when Disney drew headlines for removing an anti-China episode from its "Simpsons" catalog in Hong Kong.

In the episode, which was first broadcast in 2005, the fictional cartoon family ridicules the country during a trip to mainland China, where they visit the mummified body of notorious former Chairman Mao Zedong and Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Fight Club (1999) Trailer #1 | Movieclips Classic Trailers www.youtube.com

China yanks Boston Celtics games from TV after Enes Kanter slams Xi Jinping as 'brutal dictator'



Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter delivered pro-Tibet remarks on Wednesday and also blasted Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "brutal dictator." On Thursday, China wiped future games from the schedule as well as yanked past replays.

Kanter – the veteran NBA player and outspoken progressive activist – shared a two-minute video on social media of him voicing his support for Tibetan independence.

"My message to the Chinese government is 'Free Tibet.' Tibet belongs to Tibetans. I am here to add my voice and speak out about what is happening in Tibet," the Turkish basketball star said in the video. "Under the Chinese government's brutal rule, Tibetan people's basic rights and freedoms are nonexistent."

"They are not allowed to study and learn their language and culture freely," Kanter continued. "They are not allowed to travel freely, they are not allowed to access information freely, Tibetan people are not even allowed to worship freely."

"For more than 70 years, Tibetan monks, nuns, intellectuals, writers, poets, community leaders, actors, and many more have been detained, sent to political re-education classes, subject to torture ... and even been executed simply for exercising their freedoms that you and I take for granted," the Celtics center exclaimed.

He added that Chinese citizens can be arrested for having a photo of the Dalai Lama or for flying the Tibetan flag.

"I say, shame on the Chinese government," Kanter declared. "The Chinese dictatorship is erasing Tibetan identity and culture."

"After learning all of this, I cannot stay silent. I stand with my Tibetan brothers and sisters, and I support their cause for freedom," the NBA player proclaimed.

"The communist ideology of China has been around for only around 100 years, but Buddhist civilization, ideology, and philosophy have been around for thousands of years," Kanter stated. "Only the Tibetan people should decide the future of Tibet; ... Tibet belongs to Tibetan people."

"Brutal dictator of China, Xi Jinping, I have a message for you and your henchmen. I will say it again, again, and again, loud and clear; I hope you hear me. Free Tibet, free Tibet, free Tibet," Kanter concluded.

Kanter has also been an outspoken critic of Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan and this week received his 10th arrest warrant for speaking out against the Turkish government's human rights record. Turkey also revoked Kanter's passport. Turkish prosecutors have been seeking the arrest and extradition of Kanter since 2019 for an alleged connection to a terrorist group.

Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese GovernmentTibet belongs to the Tibetan people!#FreeTibet https://t.co/To4qWMXK56

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) 1634749143.0

Kanter doubles down

Kanter continued his "Free Tibet" campaign during the Celtics' game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Kanter wore custom sneakers with the words "FREE TIBET," an illustration of a self-immolating Tibetan, and a snow lion from the Tibetan flag. The shoes were designed by Chinese dissident artist Badiucao.

More than 150 Tibetan people have burned themselves alive!! — hoping that such an act would raise more awareness ab… https://t.co/Kls7uhUwqp

— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) 1634771673.0

What a shame @EnesKanter was not given any time in the game tonight.But his message is clear and loud ！… https://t.co/jbOK1fKkLf

— 巴丢草 Badiucao💉💉 (@badiucao) 1634785363.0

China reacts by pulling Celtics games

According to the New York Times, "By Thursday, recent Celtics games were marked as unavailable for replay through Tencent, the Chinese internet giant that has partnered with the N.B.A. to stream its games in the country. The website for Tencent Sports also indicated that upcoming Celtics games would not be live-streamed."

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Kanter was "trying to get attention" and that his remarks "were not worth refuting."

"We will never accept those attacks to discredit Tibet's development and progress," the spokesperson said on Thursday.

A Celtics fan page with over 600,000 followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo said it would immediately stop covering the team.

The Celtics fan page wrote, "Resolutely resist any behavior that damages national harmony and the dignity of the motherland!"

China has been censoring another NBA team

Tencent Sports has not been livestreaming Philadelphia 76ers games after the NBA franchise hired Daryl Morey to be its president of basketball operations.

Morey is famously known for writing a tweet in support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong in October 2019, when he was the general manager of the Houston Rockets. Morey was forced to apologize for the "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" message. Despite the apology, China stopped broadcasting NBA games for the pro-democracy tweet.

China refused to air any NBA games from state-run CCTV for more than a year after Morey's tweet, which cost the NBA $200 million, CNBC reported.

What has the NBA said about China's censorship?

Representatives for the National Basketball Association and the Boston Celtics did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Times. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has yet to respond to China's latest censorship of the NBA.

Previously, Silver was asked on Monday about NBA games not being broadcast in China.

"It's unclear whether we'll be back on CCTV this year," Silver said. "Our projections are not dependent on it."

In April, Silver was asked about the NBA's relationship with China.

"Our most significant television partner is Tencent, which is a streaming service in China," the NBA commission told Time. "And we have hundreds of millions of fans in China who we continue to serve."

Silver claimed, "That a so-called boycott of China, taking into account legitimate criticisms of the Chinese system, won't further the agenda of those who seek to bring about global change."

In 2018, Tencent Holdings Ltd. paid $1.5 billion for five years of exclusive streaming rights to NBA games in China.

Republican resolution calls for US boycott of Winter Olympics unless its moved from 'brutal dictatorship' of China



Republicans in the House of Representatives called for the United States to boycott the Winter Olympics because it is being hosted in Beijing by China.

The resolution by Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida listed numerous outrageous acts by the communist government of China.

"The Chinese Communist Party has carried out a number of heinous acts in the last year alone that should disqualify them from hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics," said Rep. Waltz. "The world cannot legitimize the CCP's acts of genocide in Xinjiang, destruction of the democratic rights of Hong Kong, and dangerous suppression of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan that cost lives by sending delegations to Beijing."

Today, Rep. Waltz introduced a resolution to call on the U.S. Olympic Committee to withdraw from the 2022 Winter Ol… https://t.co/8XbeSzUoPA
— Congressman Waltz Press (@Congressman Waltz Press)1613414132.0

Here's a list of some of the offenses Waltz listed:

  • The genocide and mass internment of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang providence of China.
  • The undermining of democratic rights and dismantling of "one country, two systems" framework in Hong Kong.
  • The CCP targeting and control of religious practices in China.
  • The failure to report the outbreak of the coronavirus to the World Health Organization and suppression of reports from medical doctors in Wuhan, China.

The resolution calls for the United States Olympic Committee to request the location of the Olympics, scheduled Feb. 4-20, 2022, to be moved to another site away from Beijing.

"[H]osting the 2022 Winter Olympics Games in the [People's Republic of China], where organized atrocities in the [Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region] are ongoing; where the freedoms of Hong Kong's citizens are being trampled; where the fundamental right to worship is brutally persecuted; and in the wake of the ongoing global devastation from COVID-19; would be immoral, unethical and wrong," the resolution read.

Some lawmakers in Britain have already called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics over similar concerns.

On Sunday, China responded by warning that any country participating in a boycott would face economic sanctions.

"China will seriously sanction any country that follows such a call," said Hu Xijin, the editor of the state-controlled Global Times. "Boycotting 2022 Beijing Winter Games, an unpopular idea, won't receive wide support."

'This isn't an empty gesture': Steven Crowder offers CANCELED actress a job



Steven Crowder offered actress Gina Carano a job after she was cancelled by LucasFilm for posting a tweet deemed "unacceptable" by cancel culture.

"This isn't an empty gesture," Crowder clarified, adding that if Carano needed a job, he would hire her.

Crowder believes that though there are very few things that can be accurately compared to the Holocaust, that Carano's comparison was "accurate."

TheBlaze reported that Carano, who played Cara Dune on Disney+'s popular Star Wars series was fired for posting an "abhorrent and unacceptable" tweet about Jewish oppression at the hands of the Nazis and comparing it to censorship of conservative points of view and cancel culture." Her post triggered a social media campaign by the left on Tuesday to have her fired by Lucasfilm.

So, what did Carano say that was so terrible? Watch the clip.

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