Nicolas Cage’s 'Outcast' Twice Halted for Showing in Chinese Cinemas, Now Set to Debut in US Theaters
Arclight's Outcast, an American-Chinese-Canadian action movie directed by Nick Powell and written by James Dormer, is set to be seen in US theaters beginning February 27 according to Movie Insider. The film was originally slated for release on September 26, 2014 in China but was postponed to January 16, 2015, then again halted, this time indefinitely.
Set in 10th Century China, Outcast stars Nicholas Cage as Gallain and Hayden Christensen as Jacob, both of whom are ex-Crusaders. The film also co-stars Liu Yifei as Lian, Ji Ke Jun Yi as Mei, and Andy On as Shing. According to the studio's plot summary, when the heir of the imperial throne becomes the target of assassination by his despised older brother, the young prince's only hope is the protection of his sister, and the reluctant aid of Jacob, who must overcome his own personal demons and rally the assistance of Gallain to return the prince to his rightful place on the throne.
Outcast is a joint venture production involving US-Australian Arclight Films, Jeremy Bolt of U.K.'s Notorious Films, France's 22h22, and Canada's Media Max Prods. China's Yunnan Film Group is the financier and also a co-producer in the project. The movies was originally set to be shown in more than 5,000 theaters in China but was stopped mere hours from the scheduled screening.
"I'm confounded. A delay within 24 hours of the release is extremely unusual. We went through all the proper approvals. I just don't know what to say," Bolt told reporters back in September following the development. "The reasons for this are not clear. We simply don't know if it is censorship problem, or something else. Marketing and promotion have been done and money has been spent," Arclight's chief creative officer Mike Gabrawy added.
Outcast is not the first foreign movie that has been stopped from screening at the last minute in China. Last year, Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained was pulled out from theaters right after it started. Chinese censors also refused to have Paramount Pictures' biblical epic Noah to be shown at all.