Beijing
(Reuters):
China's
movie
censor
will
not
approve
Golden
Globe-honoured
film
''The
Departed''
for
domestic
cinematic
release
due
to
its
mention
of
a
Chinese
plan
to
buy
military
equipment,
government
sources
said
today.
Martin
Scorsese
was
named
best
film
director
at
the
Golden
Globes
on
Monday
for
''The
Departed,''
a
crime
thriller
many
think
might
earn
him
first
Oscar
either
for
best
directing
or
for
best
film.
''There
is
no
chance
'The
Departed'
will
be
shown
in
mainland
cinemas
because
the
US
side
declined
to
change
a
plot
line
describing
how
Beijing
wanted
to
buy
advanced
military
computer
hardware,''
said
onesource.
''That
part
of
the
plot
is
definitely
unnecessary,''
added
the
source,
who
asked
not
to
be
identified
as
he
does
not
have
permission
to
speak
to
the
foreign
media.
''The
regulators
just
cannot
understand
why
the
movie
wanted
to
involve
China.
They
can
talk
about
Iran
or
Iraq
or
whatever,
but
there's
no
reason
to
get
China
in,''
added
the
source,
who
is
close
to
the
country's
movie
regulator.
Another
government
source,
who
also
asked
for
anonymity,
confirmed
the
decision.
An
executive
in
Hong
Kong
at
Media
Asia,
which
has
the
distribution
rights
for
''The
Departed''
in
the
mainland,
said
that
the
film
did
not
pass
the
Chinese
censor,
but
declined
further
comment.
The
ruling
is
likely
to
have
little
impact
on
stopping
Chinese
people
seeing
the
movie,
as
pirated
versions
can
already
be
bought
on
DVD
off
the
street
in
China.
''The
Departed,''
a
cops
versus
criminals
saga
starring
Jack
Nicholson,
Leonardo
DiCaprio
and
Matt
Damon,
is
a
Hollywood
remake
of
hit
Hong
Kong
movie
''Infernal
Affairs''.