Whitewashing for China: The Hollywood producer who fed the kite

Wwhy not China? When Chris Fenton got hold of the script for the film “Looper”, he had an idea. Back then, around 2012, the American was a high-ranking manager of the production company DMG Entertainment, which was co-producing the science fiction film. The film is full of stars – the leading roles are cast with Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. He should play in the America of the present and in the France of the future. But Fenton and his colleagues have a better idea: They want the film to be shown in China. With its 1.4 billion inhabitants and its growing middle class, thirsting for entertainment, the country was already the most important foreign market for Hollywood productions back then. By relocating the plot to China, Fenton wants to get the film into the cinemas there – and get more money into the box office. He knows that to do this he has to play by the rules of political leadership. But he accepts that. He won’t regret it until a few years later.