'Gone with the Bullets' slammed by censorship

iang Wen (center) speaks to audiences at a small seminar before screening one of his early films, "Black Snow" (1990), at the China Film Archive in Beijing on Dec. 7, 2014. Jiang did not give any clues or show any worry about the "Gone with the Bullets" premiere disaster. [China.org.cn]

The Monday grand premiere in Beijing of one of the most anticipated movies of the year, "Gone with the Bullets," was cancelled due to censorship issues, organizers apologetically announced on Sunday evening.

"Gone with the Bullets," directed by top Chinese actor-director Jiang Wen, was set for a lavish premiere on Dec 8, hitting Chinese cinemas nationwide on Dec 18. The film has huge ambitions to set new standards and box office records in Chinese movie history.

The billboards, posters, red carpets and temporary IMAX screen for Monday's premiere had all been installed at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium when nearly 3,000 reporters and VIP guests from all over the country flew in on Sunday evening. But the drama happened at the last minute.

"We have to postpone tomorrow's premiere ceremony, and I hope everybody understands and shows some support during this period," Ma Ke, the executive producer of the movie, told arriving reporters at the premiere venue. "We can guarantee that the national debut date has not been changed," Ma continued.

Several private screenings of the movie for the media were also canceled, though a few industry insiders have already viewed the film in advance and have given it rave reviews on social networking platforms.

"'Gone with the Bullets' has a variety of craziness, a variety of ironies, a variety of flirtations, a variety of homages and an unscrupulous evolution," top film critic Raymond Zhou wrote. "It is a wholeheartedly fascinating movie that will give you your fix without appealing to lowbrow taste. It should be the most entertaining movie Jiang Wen has ever made."

Beijing Bu Yi Le Hu Film Company released a statement around midnight on Sunday that confirmed the premiere trouble is due to censorship.

"We are so sorry to inform you all that new circumstances arose during the final phase of the censoring of the movie, and we have to take time to make some final adjustments, so the premiere has to be delayed," the statement said.

"We didn't intend to disappoint you all. We tried very hard, but the situation hasn't allowed us to proceed. We are 'just a step away' from reaching you," the statement continued (the original Chinese title of "Gone with the Bullets" literally means "Just A Step Away").