China Edits Out 23% of Cloud Atlas

Thought Cloud Atlas was too long? Head to China: Its version of the film is 40 minutes shorter. Censors trimmed the film from 169 minutes to 130. So what was cut? The Hollywood Reporter guesses that scenes of a gay relationship were on the chopping block—and perhaps a sex scene involving Chinese actress Zhou Xun.

"Chinese audiences might want to see more of a popcorn movie, and considerations for the Chinese market were made in the making of the Chinese version of the film," says a producer, who notes that the edits were made in accordance with national censorship standards. Also sliced: the latest Bond film, Skyfall, which opened yesterday in China. It lost a scene in which a Chinese doorman is killed; new subtitles, meanwhile, wipe out original ones that discussed Chinese intelligence involved in torture and Macau prostitution.