Chinese tourism firm to sue Transformers film studio

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/08/chinese-tourism-transformers-film

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A Chinese tourism firm in a scenic area that features in the latest Transformers movie says it will sue the film's producers for breach of contract.

It is the second Chinese company to make public a dispute with Paramount Pictures over Transformers: Age of Extinction, which heavily courts the Chinese audience with Chinese locations, actors and products, and is on track to become China's biggest-grossing movie.

The Chongqing Wulong Karst Tourism Company said the producers had failed to show its logo prominently in the movie as promised. As a result, it is not clear to viewers that shots of a scenic spot are of Wulong, because they are interspersed with scenes from Hong Kong and other tourist locations.

It said it would file a suit at a court in Chongqing demanding unspecified damages from Paramount Pictures and the Beijing-based 1905 Internet Technology Company, one of the movie's Chinese partners.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment but said in a statement on its website that Wulong had not paid it on time.

Last month, a Beijing property developer said it had filed a lawsuit alleging that Paramount and two of its Chinese associates had failed to deliver on pledges to hold the movie premiere at its hotel.

According to the box office tracking website Box Office Mojo, the movie has earned $213m (£125m) in China and $175m in the US. It was released on the same day in both markets.

It is expected to become China's highest-grossing movie early this week, overtaking Avatar which made $218m in China.