Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is pushing legislation to restrict federal government help for studios that alter their movies in order to skirt China's censors and gain access to the country's lucrative market.
He said he will introduce a bill to prohibit the U.S. government from providing technical or other types of support across agencies on movie projects if a studio anticipates a request — or gets one — from the Chinese government to make edits on a movie, Deadline reported.
Cruz's legislation is part of a broader series of bills he is putting forward as he has put a spotlight on Chinese propaganda, the news outlet reported.
On the Senate floor Thursday, Cruz said the Chinese government had forced changes to titles like "Doctor Strange," "Skyfall," and the "Red Dawn" remake, removing references to topics like Tibet, Taiwan, and human rights. In "Bohemian Rhapsody," the censors "edited out references to the fact that Freddie Mercury was gay," he said, Deadline reported.
Cruz originally announced his legislation last month, but it applied only to support from the Department of Defense.
According to Deadline, studios for years have edited movies to gain entry into international markets, not just China but other countries, and those edits occasionally have created substantial attention.
Cruz called his legislation a "wake up call" to Hollywood.
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