The ban on the Academy Awards broadcast in Hong Kong this year could mean tightening censorship from mainland China, says DW's film expert Scott Roxborough.
Mainland China and Hong Kong have banned the Oscars broadcast this yearImage: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/dpa/picture alliance
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News that this year's Academy Awards won't be broadcast in Hong Kong—the first time the ceremony hasn't been shown on local TV there in 50 years —is raising censorship concerns.
Critics fear the move, announced this week, could be part of a broader crackdown on real or perceived critics of the Chinese government. English-language Hong Kong newspaper The Standard suggested that the Oscars ban was also in response to Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao's critical comments about China and her multiple nominations for the awards this year. Zhao's US drama "Nomadland" is the frontrunner to win the top prize for Best Picture at the Academy Award ceremony next month.
Media regulators in Beijing, according to Bloomberg News, have ordered state-controlled media on the Chinese mainland to not carry the Oscars live and to "play down" any reporting on the awards.
Actor Frances McDormand in a still from Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland'Image: picture-alliance/Everett Collection/Searchlight Pictures
TVB, Hong Kong's top free-to-air broadcaster, which is partly-owned by mainland business interests and is seen as very pro-Beijing, this week said it was dropping its planned coverage of the Oscars, an event it has carried live on its English-language channel every year since 1969.
Beijing: Wary of critics
TVB said the move was made for "purely commercial" reasons, suggesting no one in Hong Kong would be interested in watching. This seems odd, particularly this year, when two Hong Kong films are Oscar contenders.
"Better Days," an anti-bullying drama from director Derek Tsang, is up for best international film (the first Hong Kong movie nominated to that category since "Farewell My Concubine" won the Oscar in 1994) alongside short documentary nominee "Do Not Split" a look at Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests — and the brutal police crackdown of same— on the island in 2019.
Arts and Culture - Friday, October 01, 2021
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While the documentary may have offended some in the Hong Kong government, the real source of the Hong Kong Oscar blackout is more likely the Internet sleuths on the mainland who, after Chloe Zhao on February 28 became the first Asian woman to win best director and best film at the Golden Globes, dug through her old interviews. In a couple, Zhao appears to be critical of China, though that is a matter of interpretation.
No 'Nomadland' in China?
The most "offensive" quote stems from an interview Zhao gave to New York's Filmmaker Magazine nearly a decade ago. Describing what drew her to the story of her first feature, "Songs My Brother Taught Me," about a struggling Native American living on a reservation in North Dakota, Zhao said the story took her back "to when I was a teenager in China, being in a place where there are lies everywhere."
Whether the director meant to critique an authoritarian government, or just express the universal nature of teenage angst, is open to interpretation.
But it was enough to trigger an anti-Zhao backlash. Mainland media, which had initially held up Zhao as a national hero, changed tack. Beijing's internet censors swiftly descended, blocking most references to Zhao and "Nomadland" online. Now there are concerns the film, which had passed the Chinese censor board and was scheduled for release in China April 23, could be retroactively banned.
'Nomadland' wins big at 2021 Golden Globes
After nearly a year without movie theaters, productions for streaming services dominated the Golden Globes. However, the awards for best drama and best director went to a classic production.
Image: NBC/AP/picture alliance
A digital event
So near and yet so far: Comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the 78th Golden Globes from across the US. Fey was in front of the camera in New York, while Poehler co-hosted from Los Angeles. All award winners were digitally connected from their living rooms or hotels.
Image: NBC/AP/picture alliance
Best drama film
"Nomadland," starring Oscar-winner Frances McDormand, won the award for best drama. The film is a modern road trip story, exploring the lives of modern nomads living out of RVs and vans in the US. It's one of the few movies that was made for the theaters. Its director, Chloe Zhao, became the first woman of Asian descent to win best director.
The top comedy film winner was the Amazon production "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm." In it, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen slipped into the role of Kazakh journalist Borat for the second time, holding a mirror to US society. In addition to the award for best comedy, Cohen also won best actor in a comedy.
Image: Everett Collection/picture alliance
Best film director
Director Chloe Zhao received the Golden Globes award for the best film director category for her work on "Nomadland." In doing so, she became only the second woman to win a Golden Globe in this category, 37 years after the award went to Barbra Streisand for "Yentl." Zhao's film had won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 2020.
Is there still room in the trophy case of Emmy and Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Aaron Sorkin? Sorkin (left) won the Golden Globe for best screenplay for the film "The Trial of the Chicago 7," about a lawsuit against pacifists who demonstrated against the Vietnam War in 1968. In it, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (right) plays a serious role, and was also rewarded with a nomination.
Image: Niko Tavernise/Everett Collection/picture alliance
Best actress in a drama film
In a sense, soul singer Andra Day (center) had already won big: She was discovered by Stevie Wonder and has received Grammy nominations for her music. In 2017, she covered a song by jazz legend Billie Holiday, making her the perfect choice to embody the legendary singer in the biopic "The United States vs. Billie Holiday." She won the Golden Globe for best actress in a drama.
The award for Best Actor in a drama film provided one of the evening's most touching moments: Taylor Simone Ledward (right) accepted the award on behalf of her late-husband Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer last year at age 43. Boseman played the role of Levee Green, a trumpeter in blues singer in "Ma" Rainey's band, in the Netflix jazz drama "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
In the dark comedy "I Care a Lot," Rosamund Pike (left) plays Marla Grayson, a court-appointed guardian who preys on wealthy seniors and has built up a network of doctors and nursing homes that help her — until she meets her match. Pike won her first Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy.
As in the directing and screenplay categories, the awards for best supporting roles are not divided into drama and comedy. For her portrayal of lawyer Nancy Hollander in "The Mauritanian," Jodie Foster was honored with a Golden Globe. The film is based on the Guantanamo diary of long-time prisoner Mohamedou Ould Slahi. The young German star Helena Zengel went away empty-handed.
With the surprise success of the 2018 "Get Out," Daniel Kaluuya became a familiar name in Hollywood. For his role as civil rights activist and Black Panther member Fred Hampton in "Judas and the Black Messiah," Kaluuya received the award for best supporting actor. Hampton was shot by police officers in his sleep in 1969.
The film "Minari," directed by Lee Isaac Chung, tells the story of a Korean family trying to start a new life farming in rural Arkansas in the 1980s. The film is based on Chung's own childhood, and won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, although it is a US production.
Image: Christopher Polk/NBC/Zumapress/picture alliance
Best animated film
The Disney production "Soul" won the award for best animated film. It tells the story of a musician whose soul becomes detached from his body. It is the first film by animation company Pixar to feature an African-American protagonist; Jamie Foxx voices the lead role of jazz pianist Joe Gardner. The film also won a Golden Globe for best film score.
Image: Imago Images/Prod.DB
Best limited series
Netflix productions garnered a whopping 42 nominations this year. One of the winners was the series "The Queen's Gambit," which won best limited series. It tells the story of ambitious chess genius Beth Harmon, who aims to become chess world champion in the male-dominated sport in the 1950s. Lead actress Anya-Taylor Joy also received the award for best actress in a limited series.
Image: Phil Bray/Netflix/Everett Collection/picture alliance
Best TV drama
One of the big winners of the evening was Netflix series "The Crown," a historical fiction based on the lives of the British royal family. In addition to taking home the award for best TV drama, Emma Corrin won best actress in a TV drama series for her role as Lady Di — beating out castmate Olivia Colman, who plays Queen Elizabeth II. Josh O'Connor, who plays Prince Charles, also won best actor.
Image: Des Willie/Netflix/picture alliance
Best TV comedy
At the 2020 Emmy Awards, the comedy series "Schitt's Creek" won prizes in all major categories. Now series creator Eugene Levy (right) can also add a Golden Globe to his shelf. The series tells the story of a wealthy family who lose their fortune and move to the small town of Schitt's Creek.
Image: Cinema Publishers Collection/imago images
An award for her life's work
The Cecil B. DeMille Award is an honorary Golden Globe presented by the association for lifetime achievement. This year it went to actress and Oscar winner Jane Fonda, whose speech underscored the lack of diversity and inclusion in Hollywood. This came in light of the revelation that the Golden Globes awarding body had no Black members.
In a widely-shared Weibo post from earlier this year, Hu Xijin, the editor of the influential state-backed tabloid Global Times, noted that "The ongoing backlash against Zhao is the price she has to pay for what she said," but argued that "Nomadland" shouldn't be pulled from cinemas and that China "should to be able to accommodate some conflicts and inconsistencies."
Critics beware
"Nomadland" isn't alone. Many see the response against Zhao and the Oscars as part of a broader trend within the mainland government to pressure Hollywood into telling more pro-Chinese stories and to blackball any directors deemed critical of Beijing. The Hollywood Reporter quoted insiders familiar with the Chinese industry that Beijing was tightening up its control of US imported films and responding to supposed anti-China criticism from directors.
A segment of the ensemble drama "Berlin, I Love You," directed by and starring Chinese dissent artist Ai Weiwei, was cut from the final version of the movie because some of the producers and financiers of the film feared a mainland backlash.
The big-budget videogame adaptation "Monster Hunter" got pulled from Chinese cinemas just one day into its release last December because of outrage sparked by an ambiguous (but definitely unfunny) joke deemed overtly racist by online patriots.
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A big market for Hollywood
Berlin Film Festival censored?
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China has major leverage over Hollywood because of the sheer size of its market. If Beijing blocks a film from mainland release, that can mean millions, even hundreds of millions of dollars in lost box office revenue. That leverage is even greater right now, with China's cinemas open for business as theaters in many countries remain shut because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The irony, with regards to Zhao and "Nomadland," is that China could have used the Oscars to score major points. Zhao has the opportunity to become the first Chinese director to win the Academy Award for best picture.
Unlike Ai Weiwei, she's not a public dissident. Zhao's father used to run a state-owned steel company in China. Her stepmother, Song Dandan, is a beloved TV sitcom actress. Zhao's Oscar glory would have made for the perfect piece of state propaganda. If only Beijing wasn't so determined to control the narrative.
Scott Roxborough is a film and television expert at DW Culture and Lifestyle and heads the European bureau for the entertainment industry magazine The Hollywood Reporter.
