Paramount Pictures drew ire from Hong Kong nationals after releasing a poster of its upcoming sci-fi movie “Arrival.”
The movie poster, which featured Hong Kong’s breathtaking skyline and a colossal UFO, also included one tower that “alienates” the city: Shanghai’s Oriental Pearl Tower.
The obvious blunder exasperated Hong Kong social media users, who barked back with tweets containing the hashtags #HongKongisnotChina and #HongKongIndependence. Several users called for a massive boycott of the film, which stars Forest Whittaker, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner, and which will be released on Nov. 11.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the production team apologized for the lapse.
The first movie poster was taken down and then replaced with Shanghai’s skyline instead. Again, this action angered Hong Kong social media even more. The comments thread of the post was flooded with the popular hashtags.
“And now, you delete the Hong Kong poster make it so obviously a mistake. What a stupid move,” a Facebook commenter complained.
Hong Kong was previously conquered by the British and was handed over to China in 1997. It operates as an autonomous region that enjoys freedom of speech, vigorous business opportunities and unrestricted internet. Recently, the central government in Beijing showed signs of influence on Hong Kong’s administrative government, flickering protests known as the “Umbrella Revolution.” Gianna Francesca Catolico