So, there we are, watching the latest Mission Impossible film, when all of a sudden we notice that Mr Cruise’’s crazy antics are all taking place in Jiaxing.

That’’s right, Jiaxing!!! Though the film makers would have us believe that the action is taking place exclusively in Shanghai, Jiaxing was the actual venue for the climax of the film. The final scenes were shot in a place known as Xitang, a small water town that’’s part of Jiaxing. Pretty cool eh?

Actually, the guys in Beijing don”t think it’’s all that cool at all and have, according to western news agencies, taken steps to ban it’’s release in China. I”ll leave you with a snippet of a report from Yahoo News. :wassat:

HONG KONG (AP) - The international distributor for the Tom Cruise action thriller Mission: Impossible III has disputed media speculation that the movie may be banned in China because it casts Shanghai in a negative light.

Chinese censors watched the film Friday and are due to issue a formal opinion on the movie this week, a manager overseeing United International Pictures” China operations said Monday. The manager would only identify himself by his surname, Chen.

“These reports about how the movie is being blocked and so on, it’’s all fake news,” Chen said.

“We won”t have a verdict until the Film Bureau announces its position. At this stage no one can say whether the movie will be shown or not.”

Calls to the press office at China’’s Film Bureau seeking comment went unanswered.

Chen’’s comments came after mainland Chinese media reported that the film may be banned because of a portrayal of Shanghai that includes tattered clothes being hung on bamboo rods and a slow police response to a trespassing attempt by Cruise’’s character, secret agent Ethan Hunt.

Scenes also take place in the ancient fishing village of Xitang near Shanghai.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060515/ca_pr_on_en/film_china_mi3

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