More Chinese elements can be seen in the character of Iron Man's arch nemesis, The Mandarin. A huge poster at the press conference showed The Mandarin, played by Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, bearing dragon tattoos and dressed in an embroidered camouflage robe with symbolic dragon statuary in the background.
The character's non-Chinese heritage is in contrast to both his name and comic book history. But the choice to make him more like Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now (best picture Oscar, 1979) is viewed as a smart move as it avoids the comic book's offensive Chinese stereotypes.
When asked about the romantic side of Tony Stark, Downey Jr humorously said that while most Hollywood super heroes have to be single, Tony Stark is very lucky to have a long-time relationship with Pepper Potts. It makes the character "a little more grounded," and he believes this characteristic of the film is one of the reasons that the Iron Man series is so successful with the female audience.
Along with DMG, recent years have seen more and more Chinese movie companies looking for international cooperation. Xiao Wenge, Chairman of DMG acknowledges that close interaction with the advanced ideas and mature business models of Hollywood is helpful for the overall improvement of the Chinese movie industry.
"A year ago, DMG officially announced its cooperation with Marvel on Iron Man 3. Those on the outside have paid close attention to whether we could do what we said. Today, we did it. Iron Man 3 is the first Hollywood blockbuster to be made with Chinese capital throughout the entire industrial chain," Xiao said with enthusiasm.
In fluent Chinese, the American CEO of DMG, Dan Mintz, spoke of his 20-year partnership with Wu and Xiao: "I personally think the three of us embody [the international cooperation] of Iron Man 3."
Iron Man 3 will go into general release in the Chinese mainland in late April or early May, but an exact date has not yet been set.
Life aboard a fishing boat under bridge in city of Chongqing
Feedback
RSS
