Well, it has finally happened: an entire country has rejected Nicolas Cage. OK, that’s probably not what’s going on, but strange things are afoot concerning Cage’s latest film Outcast, which was set for a release in China today. Without any apparent reason, Chinese distributors have called off the release of Outcast, a co-production starring Cage and Hayden Christensen.
According to Arclight Films, who produced the film, the Chinese distributor Yunnan Film Group (YFG) have pulled the film from Asian distribution at the last minute, giving no reason for the sudden about-face. Producer Mike Gabrawy was in Beijing for the opening and said he was informed about the change “in the middle of the night.” So far neither YFG nor the Chinese authorities have explained their reasons behind pulling the film. As Gabrawy says, “We don’t know if it’s a censorship issue. This is the single most important territory for this, and we are trying to get to the bottom of this.”
Outcast stars Cage and Christensen as two crusaders who head off to the Far East, where they get involved in romance and intrigue involving local royalty. The film is said to be heavy on the violence, which could be the source of YFG’s decision. Still, it seems an odd move to make so late in the game, given that presumably China had to give full script approval prior to the release anyways. One wonders if something crept into the film that angered the distributors (or worried the censors) at the last minute. As this qualifies as a Chinese co-production, I can’t imagine what the reasoning behind all this could be.
Outcast does not have an American release date as yet, nor has it been made clear when (if ever) it will now be released to the Chinese market. Right now the fate of the film remains up in the air. Poor Nicolas Cage, he just can’t seem to catch a break.