The 355 trailer is out. Even though Fan Bingbing is billed as one of the five leads, she barely appears in the trailer. It also explains how she magically filmed the film when she reportedly wasn’t allowed out of the country during filming (because she owed too much in taxes). Looks like she just filmed her scenes in China and they edited it together. I’m impressed they didn’t replace her.
The film is set to be out on January 15, 2021.
I was under the impression that Fan Bing Bing paid off her back taxes then joined the filming. Maybe because her Chinese box office appeal has dropped her has fewer scenes. Hope her role wasn’t intended as more of a token from the beginning. If she put up significant financial investment in the film, producers probably wouldn’t replace her. Or, perhaps they were sympathetic that she was singled out and made example of while plenty of Chinese male actors/celebs did the same stuff.
The trailer doesn’t show this film to be all that different and interesting.
Fan Bingbing was the most well-known and highest paid celebrity in the industry at the time. The authorities had to do something about the situation otherwise they would be seen as “toothless”. Her punishment was actually not that severe – just pay back the the amount she owed, stay out of the spotlight for a while. And now she’s back albeit more low-key than before.
Considering how Asians are generally portrayed in Hollywood movies, I don’t think her character was supposed to be a main part of the story anyways. At best, probably a sidekick to help the main protagonists along the journey. Just look at her position on the movie poster (order of importance is the middle and from left to right)..
Photos released before the tax evasion scandal had her in various positions among the ladies. This one looks badly made and does marginalize her. She wasn’t even “looking” at the camera.
I was under the impression that she was the first to be caught and investigated as a result of someone ratting out on her and publishing her “yin and yang” contracts on-line. That’s solid evidence and could not be ignored as rumors. She wasn’t singled out in any way. After her case, a good number of celebrities in the industry were also investigated and were required to pay back the evaded taxes before year’s end. Subsequent measures from the authorities included imposing the caps on actor’s salary.
All those other tax evaders could remain anonymous. I doubt she started the practice but she paid in more ways than them.
Well, that wasn’t the government’s fault. It was posted in social media first by her own colleague which create a social media storm and which prompted the authorities to take action. Of course, in the entertainment industry, by then nothing is secret anymore. The tax authorities did not create the news. The fact that the tax authorities subsequently went after the other celebrities inevitably drew the conclusion that she ratted on the others too. She was the richest and most famous, it is only fair that she paid the most too. It was well deserved punishment for all of them. It doesn’t matter who started the practice. Once you participate, you are also accountable. If I, a regular wage earner can’t get away with not paying my taxes, why should they, especially when they are already so filthy rich?
All these tax evaders should be publicized and have their careers stalled like hers. Besides, without knowing how long they did this and how much they owned, it’s hard to say whether she actually owned the most. I’m thinking production companies that were partners in such contracts were more likely the rats.
I was under the impression that most of the filming was done while she was still paying back her taxes (and therefore wasn’t allowed out of the country). The video of the other leads being together in Europe was released around the same time when news first broke, and at the time there were rumors of having to replace her since she can’t be out of the country.
I remember reading various speculations on her whereabouts, including ones that said she was not in China. Eventually it did sound like she joined the filming late. If those entertainment gossip outlets weren’t shut down by the Chinese regulators, we’d know more.