Trade Round-Up: Pirates Rejoice As China Pushes M:i:III Release
· China won't allow Mission: Impossible III to open on the same day as the rest of Asia, pushing its release date to mid-July, giving pirates an opportunity to flood the market with bootleg copies before the premiere. Chinese authorities say they're ensuring that the country is portrayed in an acceptable light, but secretly wanted extra time to take precautions protecting its population-controlled citizens from Tom Cruise's recently unleashed virility. [Variety]
· Fox's new, low-budget teen division, Fox Atomic, hires Kyle Newman to direct a profoundly unnecessary remake of Revenge of the Nerds. How about they just release a special edition of the DVD and we forget all about this folly? [THR]
· New York audiences were "polarized" by United 93 this weekend as they decided whether or not it was too soon to pay $14 to a Hollywood studio to relive the trauma of 9/11. [Variety]
· E! continues its mission to reach ever deeper into the darkest reaches of semicelebrity for programming, giving a reality show to Nick and Aaron Carter. [THR]
· A Catholic Archbishop calls for a boycott of the The Da Vinci Code film, denouncing its source material "full of calumnies, offenses and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and the church," but admits that despite his stance, he "can't wait to see how Ron Howard dumbs it down." [Variety]