“Alien: Covenant” would debut in China on June 16, Ridley Scott, director of the sci-fi horror film, announced on Sina Weibo. The premiere in China would be ahead in North America which was originally set on Aug. 4 but moved to a later date by 20th Century Fox.
Expect Cuts
Since late January, the movie has been promoted on Weibo. Scott’s announcement would dash rumors that China’s censor banned the movie from entering China because of the film’s violence, although cuts are expected, CFI reported. In North America, “Alien: Covenant” is rated R because of violence, gory scenes, vulgar language and some sex scenes or naked images.
Chinese netizens waiting for the movie are asking if the production company would self-censor and cut scenes expected not to get approval from the State Administration of Press and Publications, Radio, Film, and Television or let the censor do the cutting. Although “Alien: Covenant” is the sixth movie in the sci-fi franchise, it is the second only to be shown in China. The first was “Prometheus” which earned 220 million yuan, or $31.8 million, when shown in 2012.
“Jaws” Scared Scott
Scott said he created scary moments for the movie. He recalled that when he was younger, Scott had trauma after he watched “Jaws” that he stayed away from swimming although he loves the sport. “I’d occasionally dive, but once I saw ‘Jaws’ there was no way I was ever going to learn to surf – no way!” Scott said.
He explained that he imagined his legs and little pinkies hanging underneath the surfboard and he felt he would be the next shark victim. The movie got mixed reviews from critics. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a scientist, joked that “Alien: Covenant” had one obvious plot hole. He pointed out that no sensible space mission would deploy humans to a planet before sending robots, Express reported.