Warner Brothers has made an 11th-hour announcement it will not release Batgirl, a film which had reached the post-production stage.
Key points:
The New York Post reported the film tanked during audience tests
Michael Keaton had donned the Batman suit again for the movie
Between $US70 and $US100 million had been spent on the film
The film stars In the Heights actor Leslie Grace as the title character, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as Batman.
The Mummy’s Brendan Fraser also appeared in the film, which was due to be released through streaming service HBO Max.
Hollywood sources report Warner Brothers predicted the film would not earn enough money to cover its budget.
The Hollywood Reporter said Batgirl’s budget of $US90 million ($130 million) was lower than the average DC film, so “the film is said not to have the spectacle that audiences have come to expect from DC fare.”
The New York Post, which broke the news, cited a source who said the film’s budget had exceeded $US100 million and the film had tanked during audience tests.
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The studio also scrapped another entry in the Scooby-Doo animated film series.
“The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max,” a Warner Brothers statement said.
“Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance.
“We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.”
Grace is yet to speak publicly about the decision.
The Oscar winner, 58, has explained why he decided to rock a skirt at the German premiere of his new comedy-action film Bullet Train last month, reports the new york post.
the Fight Club star showed off his tattoos on the Berlin red carpet on July 19 where he sported a light pink shirt, combat boots, a brown kilt and a matching jacket.
At Monday’s Los Angeles premiere of Bullet TrainPitt revealed why he opted for the style choice.
“I don’t know! We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up,” he told Variety.
For Monday’s event, the Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actor wore a green suit and yellow sneakers.
Pitt previously described why he decided to wear a skirt at the Berlin show last month, jokingly telling the Associated Press: “The breeze. The breeze.”
The David Leitch film stars Pitt as a hitman who has encountered several killers aboard a fast-moving train. Sandra Bullock, Logan Lerman, Bad Bunny, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry also appear in the movie.
The father of six also revealed to the outlet how the movie’s violence is an ongoing theme throughout the plot and how he was happy to let his stuntman do some of the more hardcore moves dusting shooting.
“I try to get out of it. I love a stuntman,” Pitt said. “This one was action-comedy, something I’ve never done before.”
He continued: “David and I had always been big fans of Jackie Chan. We’d been talking about him for decades. He’s kind of our Buster Keaton. He’s so talented and underrated even. Just to do something in that direction was what was really appealing to me.”
Pitt also shed some light on retirement rumors at the LA red carpet yesterday.
I have told dead line on Monday: “I was just saying, ‘I’m past middle age and I want to be specific about how I spend those last things however they may be.’ I’ve never been a five-year plan kind of guy. I’m just, whatever feels right for the day. I still operate that way.”
Pitt previously revealed his inability to remember faces is a condition he suffers from, called prosopagnosia, or face blindness.
“Nobody believes me,” he told GQ. “But it’s a mystery to me, man. I can’t grasp a face and yet I come from such a design/aesthetic point of view.”
“Bullet Train” will be released in Australian theaters on August 4.
This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.
Hollywood star Margot Robbie has told how she will be “eternally grateful” to soap Neighbors after it launched her acting career.
Margot, 32, who began her TV career as Ramsay Street’s Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, appeared in the show’s finale, which aired last Thursday.
While the A-lister filmed her scenes for the final show in Los Angeles, she made a sweet gesture to her fellow castmates, sending 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set, as revealed by Neighbors actress Christie Whelan on social media last week, The Sun reports.
Robbie said that the final episode marks “the end of an era”.
Now Hollywood’s highest-paid actress, she said: “I owe so much to neighbors.
“There are so many of us that owe [the show] for giving us a big break.
“It wasn’t just about giving me a break either – it gave me a real chance to work on my craft. It was the perfect training for Hollywood and I will always be eternally grateful.”
thursday’s neighbors finale saw Robbie return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.
Anne Charleston, who played Ramsay Street legend Madge Bishop, also returned – with her late character appearing as a ghost.
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Remembering her time on the soap, Robbie said it was only when she moved to London that she realized how widespread neighbors‘popularity was.
“It really is an end of an era for fans. When I lived in London, I understood at its peak how big it was. People would come up to me and tell me how they watched it every day after school.”
From fruit farm to Hollywood Hills
The actress, who grew up on a fruit farm on the Gold Coast, moved to LA after leaving neighbors in 2011 and landed a role in US TV show Pan Am.
But it was her part opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street that caught the eye of movie bosses in 2013.
Soon after, she moved to South London where she shared a four-bedroom pad in Clapham with six other friends that they dubbed “The Manor”.
Her housemates were friends she had met filming wartime flick French Suite – including the assistant director and her now-husband Tom Ackerley.
Robbie went on to star in 2015’s focus opposite Will Smith and played The Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn in 2016 hitSuicide Squad.
In 2016, she and Ackerley also married, and the following year they swapped their Clapham flat for a $3.6 million villa in Hollywood.
But she said leaving London had not been an easy move for the couple.
She said: “It was such a hard decision to leave, but I just couldn’t keep living out of a suitcase.”
Back in LA, the actress went on to star as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya – which she also produced – and alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron in Bombshell.
Both roles won her Oscar nominations.
She also starred as rising movie star Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodappearing with former co-star DiCaprio as well as Brad Pitt.
Next year will see her hit the big screen in neon pink and sky-high heels after she was cast as Barbie in a romantic comedy about the iconic doll.
Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film also stars Ryan Gosling as Barbie‘s love interest Ken.
Robbie said: “When I read the script, I genuinely thought, ‘This is one of the best scripts I have ever read.’ I needed to be part of this story.
“I remember speaking with Ryan before we started shooting and we were just so excited to be part of this incredible script.
“Whatever people expect the Barbie movie to be like, they need to totally rethink it because Greta has done something special here.
“And Barbie is such a role model. She was a surgeon back in the early ’70s when a tiny percentage of females were applying for medical school.”
It is expected that in the hands of director Greta – whose last films were Lady Bird and Little Women – Barbie will get a thoroughly modern makeover.
‘Things have changed a lot’
It comes after Hollywood’s own makeover in recent years following the #MeToo scandals.
That movement was the focus of 2019 movie Bombshell, which was based on the sexual harassment of women working at Fox News.
Robbie, who starred as Kayla Pospisil, told at the time that it was only while working on the film that she realized what sexual harassment was.
She told Net-A-Porter: “I’m in my late twenties, I’m educated, I’m worldly, I’ve travelled, I have my own business – and I didn’t know. That’s insane.
“I didn’t know that you could say, ‘I have been sexually harassed,’ without someone physically touching you.
“That you could say, ‘That’s not OK.’ I had no idea.”
The actress also said that she has experienced harassment, but “not in Hollywood”, adding: “I struggle to find many women who haven’t experienced sexual harassment on some level.
“So yes, lots of times. And to varying degrees of severity throughout my life.”
Speaking last week, Robbie said: “I think things have changed in Hollywood over the past few years.
“There have been some difficult conversations and very brave people.
“We live in hope that all this courage that has been shown means nothing like this ever happens again.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission
Sylvester Stallone has hit out at his long-time friend and co-star Dolph Lundgren over an upcoming spin-off to Rocky.
The 76-year-old US actor created the smash-hit Rocky franchise back in the ’70s, in which he stars as Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa across six films spanning three decades. He also reprized the iconic role in two believe films, with the third to be released in 2023.
And now, the cult favorite story is set to be repurposed yet again, with TheWrap announcing a new MGM project focusing on Lundgren’s Rocky IV character, Russian boxer Ivan Drago.
But the news hasn’t gone down well with Stallone, who launched an explosive post claiming Lundgren kept the production a secret from him, despite Stallone having created the character.
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Taking to Instagram with a lengthy statement, Stallone also hit out at original Rocky producer Irwin Winkler, 91, who won the Oscar for Best Picture for the breakout 1976 film.
“ONCE AGAIN, IRWIN WINKLER, this PATHETIC 94-year-old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles and David, are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me,” Stallone wrote alongside a screenshot of the news.
“I APOLOGIZE [sic] to the FANS, I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites …
“By the way, I once had nothing but respect for Dolph but he NEVER told me about what was going on behind my back with the character I created for him!!! REAL FRIENDS are more precious than gold.”
Stallone followed up the post with another furious rant, which featured a photoshopped image of Winkler wearing vampire teeth having sucked blood from Rocky’s neck.
“After IRWIN WINKLER and FAMILY SUCK ROCKY DRY!” Stallone captioned the post. “Presumed to be the most hated, untalented, decrepit [sic]producer in Hollywood and his cowardly children have found their next meal… Drago, RETURN MY RIGHTS BLOODSUCKERS!”
Rocky IV, which was released in 1985, is considered one of the most popular films in the franchise. It follows Rocky’s emotional journey to the ring to fight against Drago, who had fatally punched Rocky’s best friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) during an exhibition bout.
Stallone has previously opened up about his frustration over failing to secure rights to Rockytelling Variety in 2019 he had “zero ownership” of the franchise.
“Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error was all my fault. It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’” Stallone said.
“I was very angry. I was furious. Rocky is on TV around the world more than any other Oscar-winning film other than Godfather. You have six of them, and now you have believe and Believe II.”
Hollywood star Margot Robbie has told how she will be “eternally grateful” to soap Neighbors after it launched her acting career.
Margot, 32, who began her TV career as Ramsay Street’s Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, appeared in the show’s finale, which aired last Thursday.
While the A-lister filmed her scenes for the final show in Los Angeles, she made a sweet gesture to her fellow castmates, sending 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set, as revealed by Neighbors actress Christie Whelan on social media last week, The Sun reports.
Robbie said that the final episode marks “the end of an era”.
Now Hollywood’s highest-paid actress, she said: “I owe so much to neighbors.
“There are so many of us that owe [the show] for giving us a big break.
“It wasn’t just about giving me a break either – it gave me a real chance to work on my craft. It was the perfect training for Hollywood and I will always be eternally grateful.”
thursday’s neighbors finale saw Robbie return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Jason Donovan, Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.
Anne Charleston, who played Ramsay Street legend Madge Bishop, also returned – with her late character appearing as a ghost.
Remembering her time on the soap, Robbie said it was only when she moved to London that she realized how widespread neighbors‘popularity was.
“It really is an end of an era for fans. When I lived in London, I understood at its peak how big it was. People would come up to me and tell me how they watched it every day after school.”
From fruit farm to Hollywood Hills
The actress, who grew up on a fruit farm on the Gold Coast, moved to LA after leaving neighbors in 2011 and landed a role in US TV show Pan Am.
But it was her part opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf Of Wall Street that caught the eye of movie bosses in 2013.
Soon after, she moved to South London where she shared a four-bedroom pad in Clapham with six other friends that they dubbed “The Manor”.
Her housemates were friends she had met filming wartime flick French Suite – including the assistant director and her now-husband Tom Ackerley.
Robbie went on to star in 2015’s focus opposite Will Smith and played The Joker’s girlfriend Harley Quinn in 2016 hitSuicide Squad.
In 2016, she and Ackerley also married, and the following year they swapped their Clapham flat for a $3.6 million villa in Hollywood.
But she said leaving London had not been an easy move for the couple.
She said: “It was such a hard decision to leave, but I just couldn’t keep living out of a suitcase.”
Back in LA, the actress went on to star as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya – which she also produced – and alongside Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron in Bombshell.
Both roles won her Oscar nominations.
She also starred as rising movie star Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywoodappearing with former co-star DiCaprio as well as Brad Pitt.
Next year will see her hit the big screen in neon pink and sky-high heels after she was cast as Barbie in a romantic comedy about the iconic doll.
Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film also stars Ryan Gosling as Barbie‘s love interest Ken.
Robbie said: “When I read the script, I genuinely thought, ‘This is one of the best scripts I have ever read.’ I needed to be part of this story.
“I remember speaking with Ryan before we started shooting and we were just so excited to be part of this incredible script.
“Whatever people expect the Barbie movie to be like, they need to totally rethink it because Greta has done something special here.
“And Barbie is such a role model. She was a surgeon back in the early ’70s when a tiny percentage of females were applying for medical school.”
It is expected that in the hands of director Greta – whose last films were Lady Bird and Little Women – Barbie will get a thoroughly modern makeover.
‘Things have changed a lot’
It comes after Hollywood’s own makeover in recent years following the #MeToo scandals.
That movement was the focus of 2019 movie Bombshell, which was based on the sexual harassment of women working at Fox News.
Robbie, who starred as Kayla Pospisil, told at the time that it was only while working on the film that she realized what sexual harassment was.
She told Net-A-Porter: “I’m in my late twenties, I’m educated, I’m worldly, I’ve travelled, I have my own business – and I didn’t know. That’s insane.
“I didn’t know that you could say, ‘I have been sexually harassed,’ without someone physically touching you.
“That you could say, ‘That’s not OK.’ I had no idea.”
The actress also said that she has experienced harassment, but “not in Hollywood”, adding: “I struggle to find many women who haven’t experienced sexual harassment on some level.
“So yes, lots of times. And to varying degrees of severity throughout my life.”
Speaking last week, Robbie said: “I think things have changed in Hollywood over the past few years.
“There have been some difficult conversations and very brave people.
“We live in hope that all this courage that has been shown means nothing like this ever happens again.”
This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission
Los Angeles police were involved in a standoff with a suspect after officers responded to unconfirmed reports of a shooting at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market.
HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Los Angeles police on Sunday morning were involved in a standoff with a suspect after officers responded to unconfirmed reports of a shooting at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market, authorities said.
Multiple callers told police dispatch that a gunman opened fire from the window of a building shortly before 8 am in the 1600 block of Cosmo Street, between Hollywood Boulevard and Selma Avenue, an LAPD spokesperson told ABC7.
When officers arrived at the scene, they saw a person throwing rocks from a balcony, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A standoff dream.
No injuries were immediately reported.
Officials quickly announced the closure of the popular Hollywood Farmers’ Market for the day “due to an emergency situation.”
“We’re glad our staff and vendors are OK,” a statement posted on the marketplace’s Facebook page said. “If you need access to fresh food and produce and can travel, please visit our sibling market Atwater Village Farmers’ Market.”
In just a few weeks, Olivia Wilde and boyfriend Harry Styles will step on the red carpet at the prestigious Venice Film Festival for the world premiere of their new movie, Don’t Worry Darlingwhich she directed.
They will be joined by Styles’ co-star Florence Pugh, one of Hollywood’s brightest young things. But Hollywood is buzzing that the 26-year-old actress has fallen out with Wilde, 38, over the director hooking up with Styles.
“I can tell you for a fact that Flo seeing Olivia and Harry all over each other on set did not go down well as Olivia was still with Jason when she first hooked up with Harry,” one insider told The New York Post’s Page Sixreferring to Wilde’s ex, ted lasso star Jason Sudeikis.
The former couple — who got engaged in 2012 and share kids Otis, 8, and Daisy, 5 — announced the end of their seven-year romance in November 2020.
At the time, sources cited Wilde’s relationship with Harry as the main reason for the split, with one insider telling Page Six the affair with Styles, now 28, had been ongoing for a month, leaving Sudeikis distraught.
“Jason and the kids visited Olivia on set at the beginning a few times, so I think this all made people feel a little uncomfortable,” the insider said this week.
Internet sleuths certainly think something is up — finding it strange that, in an industry where stars live and die by Instagram, Pugh failed to “like” a post in which Wilde included the full official trailer for Don’t Worry Darling last week.
Wilde followed that up by posting a photo of Pugh with the comment: “Watching this woman work was such af***ing thrill! Can’t wait to show you more. @florencepugh@dontworrydarling.”
Pugh, again, was conspicuous by her silence — and the fact that, on the same day, she posted a teaser trailer for another new project, Oppenheimerabout J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called father of the atomic bomb.
It’s a subject of hot debate on social media, with one fan tweeting: “The way Florence Pugh has yet to post about Don’t Worry Darling even though there are two trailers out for it and yet she’ll post about every single other project that she’s doing right now – like what did Olivia Wilde do????”
“I think it’s so funny how Florence Pugh had said NOTHING about Don’t Worry Darling and Olivia Wilde keeps trying to hype her up,” tweeted another.
And noted a third Twitter user: “I need to know what Olivia Wilde did to my baby Florence Pugh on the set of DWD because my girl has been SILENT on movie updates.”
But, a source told Page Six, “I heard she was already scheduled to post (about Oppenheimer) that day for some specific reason, it had nothing to do with a response to Olivia.”
Don’t Worry Darling is described as a tale of an unhappy 1950s housewife, played by Pugh, who discovers a disturbing truth about her idyllic life, while her loving husband, played by Styles, hides a dark secret.
On the blue carpet in support of a Tiffany and Co. opening in London this week, Pugh was asked about working with Styles. She said he was “a total professional and it was a great experience working together”.
She then spoke about the cinematography and styling — “It was a joy to walk into the hair and makeup trailer every day,” Pugh said, noting, “the way that everything looks delicious and golden” — but had nothing to say about her director , Wilde.
It’s Wilde’s second film, following the success of 2019’s book smart, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award. She hired former One Direction heart-throb Styles on Don’t Worry Darling to replace actor Shia LaBeouf, who was caught up in a lawsuit by his former girlfriend FKA Twigs over allegations of sexual assault and “relentless” abuse. (LaBeouf has denied the claims, and the case will go in front of a judge next April.) Wilde famously said she had a “No Assholes” policy on set.
Wilde has further been in the headlines after being served custody papers by Sudeikis while promoting Don’t Worry Darling in Las Vegas at CinemaCon in April, for which he later apologized.
Pugh is currently filming Dunes 2 playing Princess Irulan, and another Hollywood insider told Page Six: “Florence is shooting dunes right now and out of pocket. I’m sure she will be front and center for the (Don’t Worry Darling) promo. Once the promo starts in late August, early September, I’m sure she’ll be visible.”
Reps for Styles, Wilde and Pugh were unavailable for comment.
This article was originally published by Page Six and reproduced with permission
If you watch the Chinese film One Second on a streaming platform, you won’t see a credit for the author whose book inspired the movie.
That’s because Chinese authorities have successfully erased any mention of globally renowned Chinese-American writer Yan Geling, both in China and overseas.
The movie — directed by celebrated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou — is available in Australia from platforms including Prime Video, Google Play and Apple TV.
“I can understand if you don’t want to put my name on it because censorship doesn’t allow it in China,” Yan told the ABC from her home in Berlin.
“However, practices like this are not acceptable overseas. The initial spirit and life of a work are given by the original author.”
Director Zhang Yimou directed the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and 2022.(Reuters: Christina Charisius)
Born in Shanghai into a family of artists, Yan – a prolific book author and screenwriter who has won more than 30 literary and film awards and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science – started her writing career in the 1980s.
She has published more than 40 books in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US, the UK and elsewhere.
But she is now considering giving up writing in Chinese and writing in English instead.
“If this is a price I need to pay, then I will pay it. There is no other way,” she said.
Yan Geling says she will write her next book in English instead of Chinese.(Reuters: Bobby Yip)
The 63-year-old wondered if she had already been subconsciously self-censoring her writing because of China’s strict censorship practices.
“I think being censored for a long time, one will develop a subconscious of self-censorship,” she said.
“And it will dominate you when you are making words and sentences.”
Prime Video, Google Play or Apple TV were all contacted for comment but have yet to respond.
Self-censorship widespread in China’s film industry
Yan Geling says the film One Second is inspired by her novel, The Criminal Lu Yanshi.(Weibo: @Dianying Yimiaozhong)
Censorship in China is back in the spotlight after the country’s National Radio and Television Administration this month decreed artists should produce more “high-quality works” that “adhere to the correct political direction” of China.
It came after President Xi Jinping ordered the arts industry to “tell China’s stories and spread Chinese voices to strengthen the country’s international communication capacity.”
Yan Geling’s name was banned on Chinese social media after she criticized the authorities for censoring information during the early phases of COVID-19 pandemic.
She later also criticized Mr Xi over women’s rights, after a video of a woman chained in a shed sparked debate about human trafficking in China.
After those public comments, Yan said her name was removed from the credits on One Second, the second movie to be inspired by her novel, The Criminal Lu Yanshi.
Chinese authorities censor any media content that could be considered “disturbing” to China’s stability or to “endanger” the nation’s unity and sovereignty.
Artists have said Beijing purposefully keeps those definitions vague to instill fear in writers.
In films, this can translate to censoring scenes with sexual content, violence or references to politically sensitive issues such as the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Apart from not crediting her in the One Second film, audiences have said the Chinese filmmakers also removed political references to the Cultural Revolution, essentially self-censoring the script.
It’s not the first-time an adaptation of Yan’s books has been changed.
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She said a 2009 television series based on her novel Little Aunt Crane was censored during production as well.
The ABC contacted China’s General Administration of Press and Publication and One Second’s production company, Huanxi Media Group, for comment but did not receive a response.
Timmy Chen — who specializes in Chinese-language cinema at Hong Kong Baptist University — said self-censorship in China’s film industry was widespread.
Dr Chen said that, if writers did not self-censor, their films might not make it to the screen.
“They self-censor for the sake of investment, audiences and their production team,” he said.
“It would kill a film if they don’t do that.
“It indeed has a big impact on artists.”
Censorship in China is a two-way street: Several Hollywood movies and television series have been changed in the past so the American content can access China’s screens.
China’s box office is the second-largest box office in the world.
Chinese censors tweaked the ending of Fight Club, and also changed clothing logos in Top Gun: Maverick, erasing Taiwanese and Japanese flags from a bomber jacket.
Chinese films need famous ‘dragon code’
In China, 10 censors must watch a film as part of the process to decide if it can be shown to the public.(AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
As Dr Chen explains, filmmakers in China go through a rigorous three-step screening process before a movie makes it to air.
“The first part is your script must pass a review before you can start shooting,” he said.
Once the script is approved by China’s National Radio and Television Administration, a state agency that issues broadcasting licences, then investors, cast members and production teams can get on board and make the film.
Before being released in China, all movies need to obtain this dragon code, or Film Public Screening Permit.(Source: YouTube)
After the film is shot, there are two post-production reviews by the China Film Administration, which approves a film’s distribution and screening in cinemas.
Dr Chen said that this second step enabled films to get a “dragon code”, an official stamp of approval (literally an animated dragon) that is played on screen before the actual film starts.
However, getting the famous dragon code doesn’t mean a film can be successfully screened in theaters.
The third step, called a “technical examination”, requires 10 censors to sit in an in-house theater, and decide if that film can be shown to the public.
Their approval is a collective decision and passing the examination means a film gains at least six votes to get the green light.
Dr Chen said filmmakers were aware that sensitive content could lead to film being scrapped or changed.
“If your film doesn’t reflect the positive energy of the nation, you will have to cut and amend it for another review,” he said.
Yan Geling said she had reached a point where the impacts of censorship on film, and the arts industry more broadly, were too far-reaching.
“If compromise is the price, I’d rather not [write] anything,” she said.
After her name was banned on social media, a fan club with 16,000 members disbanded.
“The hardest thing for me is having to leave my [Chinese] readers, who love me,” she said.
“I guess they don’t want me to compromise either.”
However, she plans to keep writing and is currently working on a book in English for her daughter, whom she adopted from China.
The book will be about China’s One-Child Policy and Yan’s family history.
“I still have some more books down the road that I think are all in my destiny,” she said.
