The Pomp Podcast
361: Chris Fenton on Chinese Propoganda & Censorship in Hollywood
- Chris Fenton's journey from Olive Garden waiter to Hollywood power player, eventually becoming president of DMG Entertainment's Motion Picture Group and orchestrating major film deals with China.
- How Hollywood studios systematically modify movie content to gain approval from China's Ministry of Propaganda and access the 1.4 billion-person Chinese market.
- Specific case studies: Looper (relocating narrative from France to Shanghai to showcase aspirational China), Iron Man 3 (adding Chinese characters and technology elements), and Point Break (Robin Hood scene rejected by CCP as culturally inauthentic).
- The financial incentive: Iron Man 3 grossed $125 million in China alone versus $20 million for Iron Man 2; latest Marvel films make $670 million from China's box office.
- Hollywood's "fog of war" around globalism blinded executives to CCP influence until the Daryl Morey Hong Kong tweet moment in October 2019 catalyzed broader awareness.
- Why unified U.S. coordination (red and blue, corporate and government) is essential to push back against Chinese censorship rather than sacrificing individual companies one at a time.