Chinese actress Li Bingbing plays Su Yueming in the film from Paramount Pictures. [Photo/provided to China Daily]
The incorporation of Chinese elements in the Hollywood blockbuster Transformers: Age of Extinction has backfired as a scenic spot in Chongqing threatened to sue the film's associated producer for failing to show its logo in the film.
Chongqing Wulong Karst Tourism Group, which operates the Wulong Scenic Area, said the film's associated Chinese production company, m1905.com, didn't honor a contract that required the logo of the scenic spot on the big screen as a product placement.
"We are disappointed because we are not even close to our targets of promotions," said Li Chu, a marketing manager at the company. Li said the failure to incorporate the scenic area's logo has confused some audiences.
"We did a survey of foreign audiences, which showed that very few of them knew that the film was shot in our scenic area. Some even mistook the scene for Hong Kong," he said.
Li said the company is in negotiations with m1905.com and Paramount Pictures to reach a solution. "If we fail to compromise on a proposal that could remedy our loss, we will resort to legal procedures," he said.
This is the second dispute between Chinese commercial partners and Paramount.
Last month, Pangu Estate, the operator of a five-building complex known as Pangu Plaza in Beijing, also threatened to terminate a promotional contract with two commercial partners of Paramount after the film was said to have fallen short of the company's expectations. The company later reached a compromise with Paramount and its two Chinese partners.
Chen Zhe, a staff member at Paramount's Chinese office, said on Sunday the company would not comment on the issue.
A company executive with m1905.com, who requested anonymity, said Paramount has admitted that failing to show the Wulong logo was a mistake in the film production process.
He said that the tourism company had postponed paying the money for more than five months and this had shortened the production period.
Meanwhile, the fact the production team of the film did not know Chinese has also caused the problem, he said.
"We want to solve the dispute through negotiations," he said.
However, Li, the manager of the scenic spot, said the company made the payment as outlined in the contract.
Li said the company closed the Three Natural Bridges for a week in October to shoot the film after a request from the production company. It also paid another 6 million yuan ($967,000) to have its name displayed in the film.
"We just wonder why all the other cities have their names tagged in the film except us," he said in response to claims that the production team does not know Chinese.
In the latest meeting between the parties, Paramount has offered to remedy the mistake in all the DVDs that were issued globally, and produce a 30-second promotional video for the scenic area, according to the company executive from m1905.com.
"The video would include how Michael Bay, the director, hails the scenery in Wulong and how the scenic spot appears in the film," he said.
Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth installment in the robot franchise, has been an enormous success in China, grossing more than 1 billion yuan since it debuted on June 27, China News Service reported.
The film has scenes shot in Beijing, Tianjin and Hong Kong, and lined up a cast of Chinese stars, including Li Bingbing. The film has also given exposure to at least six Chinese brands that are eager to use the film to showcase its products.
Scenic area threatens to sue "Transformers" producers
Representatives of a scenic area in southwest China are threatening to sue producers of the film "Transformers: Age of Extinction" for failing to show its logo in the Hollywood blockbuster, a spokesman for the area said on Friday.
Producers of the film inked a deal with representatives of Chongqing Wulong Scenic Area in Chongqing Municipality. The producers promised to show the logo of the scenic spot on the big screen as a product placement, but the logo was nowhere to be found after "Transformers" debuted, according to Li Chu, manager of the marketing department at the Tourism Marketing Center of the tourist attraction.
The film also combined the site of Wulong with some scenes shot in Hong Kong, causing some confusion among the audience, Li said.
"We do not rule out the possibility of suing the producers to defend our legitimate rights," Li said.
The Wulong Scenic Area signed the contract with Beijing-based 1905 Internet Technology Co., Ltd, one of the film's producers, instead of Paramount Pictures.
Liang Longfei, a representative with the technology company said that the film's producers did break the contract, but the scenic area should also shoulder some responsibility as it failed to deliver the contract money in time.
"We will try our best to negotiate with Paramount Pictures to get more rights for Wulong," Liang said.
Li Chu said that should such negotiations fail, they would consider filing a lawsuit.
"Transformers: Age of Extinction," the fourth installment in the robot franchise, earned 630 million yuan (about 101.6 million U.S. dollars) in its opening weekend on the Chinese mainland.
Brand China in leading role on Transformers set
Product placement plays its part in Hollywood action blockbuster
More Chinese brands will feature in the new Transformers movie than in the three previous film s in the franchise, a top executive at production company Paramount Pictures said.
Rob Moore, the vice-chairman, told China Daily the latest movie features a variety of Chinese brands placed in the storyline.
"This certainly goes hand in hand with the amount of time that we were in Chinese locations," Moore said.
"Having those products certainly reinforces the fact that this is Chinese culture and that there is a lot of story-telling happening there."
He would not say how many Chinese brands are in the film, but sources have confirmed that the products include drinking water, a car and a duck-meat snack.
Moore is aware that an improper placement could trigger controversy. Some Chinese audiences were offended by the placement of a brand of milk in the thirdTransformersmovie, as that company was involved in a food safety scandal.
But Moore is confident that with cooperation from Chinese partners, including the Movie Channel affiliated to the State Film Bureau, the placements in the latest movie will not cause offense.
"Working with our Chinese partners really helps us to ensure we are giving an accurate picture of China," he said.
"The Chinese locations, actors and environment all look very natural and consistent with Chinese culture. As people start to learn more about China, and now that there is a lot more sharing of information, we will do much better."
In addition to product placement, there are many other Chinese elements in the action blockbuster, which will be released in the United States in June.
Director Michael Bay has used many Chinese locations for the movie, including the Great Wall, a luxury hotel in Beijing , the city of Tianjin , and Wulong in the southwest of the country, known for its mountains. He has also filmed on the bustling streets of Hong Kong.
Bay said the Hong Kong scenes will comprise one-third of the film’s length, while those in Wulong will last for two-and-a-half minutes.
The shooting in China was completed on Monday.
Another location outside the United States was used for the movie, but Moore is giving nothing away, saying only that it is a "very cold place".
The film also features a host of Chinese actors, with Bay saying that actress Li Bingbing, who starred in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, will appear in the movie for 30 minutes.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a 2011 historical drama movie based on the novel of the same name by Lisa See.
Some of the Chinese actors in the newTransformersfilm appear in supporting roles, including four newcomers to the industry selected from a reality TV show organized by the Movie Channel. Three female farmers played impromptu roles in the scenes shot in Wulong.
Despite the heavy involvement of Chinese elements in the film, it is not an official co-production, meaning it is not exempt from the country’s annual quota of 34 imported films, and its revenue share should be no more than 25 percent of the gross earnings.
The film is widely expected to be a box office hit. The previousTransformersmovie, which was screened in China in 2011, earned 1.09 billion yuan ($179 million), making the country the highest-grossing overseas market for the film.
Moore thinks it is possible the new film may even equal the success of Pacific Rim, the 2013 US science fiction monster movie, which has grossed more in China than in North America .
"In terms of the popularity of this franchise and its expansion in the Chinese market, it is certainly possible," he said.
Asked if there will be a special version of the movie for Chinese audiences, as in the case of Iron Man 3, Bay said there will be only one version worldwide.
