Senator Ted Cruz puts an end to altering movies for Chinese audience

Senator Ted Cruz is preparing to introduce a bill targeting the efforts of film studios to accommodate the restrictive censors of the country.

The legislation will be called The Stopping Censorship, Restoring Integrity, Protecting Talkies Act” (SCRIPT Act). The SCRIPT Act will stop cooperation between the US Defense Department and the film studios, if they edit or alter movies for the Chinese audiences.

He is hoping to introduce the bill in the next session of the Senate, says his office.

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His bill will put the Pentagon in a spot where it won't be able to help any film studio that recently altered their movies for the Chinese audience. It will also make the studios assure that they will not censor their films before getting any DOD help.

China has strict rules about movie censorship. While there are few other Middle Eastern countries with strict censorship, China has a huge market for film studios and therefore a lot of studios many times edit few scenes accordingly. For instance, in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, the scene about Freddie Mercury’s sexuality disappeared from the version that was played for the Chinese audiences.

“For too long, Hollywood has been complicit in China’s censorship and propaganda in the name of bigger profits,” the Texas Republican said in a statement.

“The SCRIPT Act will serve as a wake-up call by forcing Hollywood studios to choose between the assistance they need from the American government and the dollars they want from China," Senator continued.

According to a report in The Independent, DOD has helped Hollywood make more than 800 movies since 1917, including blockbusters like Iron Man and The Terminator.