Angelina Jolie's nerve striking comments saying award winning director Ang Lee's nationality is Taiwanese caused an uproar to Chinese netizens who said audience in China should boycott her movie Maleficent.
The Hollywood superstar made nerve striking comments to her Chinese audience after telling reporters that she would like to work with Ang Lee in future projects. Jolie said that she was not quite sure if Ang Lee was considered Chinese as he was in fact Taiwanese. Furthermore, she said that she was very fond of his works and that the actors who played roles in Ang Lee movies were most familiar to her.
The comments made by Brad Pitt's wife prompted Chinese netizens to label her brainless. Web users in China also predicted that Maleficent would slump box office ratings.
Meanwhile, netizens in Taiwan praised Angelina for having the guts to say her fearless comments. Producers in Taiwan also said that her comments would not affect the performance of Maleficent in China. They also added that the success of a movie in the box office is based on marketing and its production value.
Maleficent has already hit more than US$127 million in the US and more than US$208 million abroad after its May 30 release. The movie has become a worldwide success and was shot on a US$180 million budget.
Angelina visited Shanghai along with husband Brad Pitt who also had issues with Beijing after his role in Seven Years in Tibet was condemned as pro-Tibetan independence. This was Pitt's first visit to China since his last trip in 2007.
The nationality of Oscar award winning director Ang Lee has always been an issue with Beijing after he repeatedly identified himself as Taiwanese. Ang Lee's parents were from mainland China but the director was born in Taiwan. His award winning movie Life of Pi was widely shot in Taichung city in Taiwan. In his acceptance speech for the movie's Oscar award, Ang Lee thanked the local crew for their work and support.