“Transformers 4” Chinese promotional partner Pangu has dropped threats to block distribution of the movie on the eve of its global opening, but still filed a lawsuit to get its money back.
Last week, the financial giant announced that it had severed its partnership with Paramount and Jiaflix, which called for its flagship building in Beijing to be clearly visible in the film. The company was displeased with the results of the promotional partnership and filed court documents asking for the release of the film to be blocked in China.
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Paramount scrambled to rectify the situation, leading to an early Tuesday statement from studio chairman Rob Moore and director Michael Bay.
“‘Transformers 4’ will be released as scheduled on June 27th, nothing will be affected,” the men announced. “There are communication problems when executing terms in the contract, now we have a team negotiating with Pangu and hoping to solve the problem soon. We think how the movie shows Pangu is perfect.”
Still, Pangu is still seeking the return of the $1.8 million it paid for the product placement, which drew a blistering response from coproducer Jiaflix. Perhaps this was the miscommunication to which Bay and Moore were referring, as co-producer Jiaflix alleged that the contract Pangu presented to the court was a fake.
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“Pangu also claimed that Paramount and Jiaflix breached a contract with Pangu,” the company said. “However this is also false and inaccurate. The contract presented by Pangu does not have either Paramount or Jiaflix as a party. Further the purported contract is unsigned, not dated and has many blanks in it. In fact there was a single contract that has been signed by all the parties, was announced at a press conference last June attended by all the parties and has been fulfilled by the parties. That contract was signed on behalf of Pangu by a person who presented a stamped Power of Attorney to sign on behalf of Pangu, represent Pangu in all matters related to it and included a number of specific material terms that were included in the contract.”
Jiaflix continued to rip on Pangu, intimating that the company was looking for free publicity.
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“We do not understand why Pangu, which is presented in an extraordinary manner to the world in Michael Bay’s Transformers 4, would make such inaccurate assertions,” the company wrote. “Perhaps the answer is found in a court filing yesterday in which Pangu demanded $1.8 million and, if successful, would result in Pangu receiving all of the benefits and placement in the film for free. Jiaflix and its partners, China Movie Channel and M1905, have worked in a harmonious, professional and cooperative manner with SARFT, China Film Group and all the relevant governmental authorities. The result is an exceptional movie that presents China extremely well to the world that will be enjoyed by millions of fans throughout China and the world.”