TAX CASE DERAILS FILM WITH BINGBING, BRUCE
Top Chinese entertainer Fan Bingbing mysteriously disappeared — then reappeared — and then she was slapped with huge penalties by the state authorities
The director of Air Strike, featuring Chinese star Fan Bingbing, says that the film’s release has been cancelled in the wake of her mysterious disappearance — followed by a reappearance — and then her conviction on tax evasion charges.
The World War II thriller, also starring Hollywood stars Bruce Willis and Adrien Brody, was to have been released on October 26. But director Xiao Feng posted on his Weibo miniblog on Wednesday that it was “time to let go” after eight years of work on the film.
Chinese tax authorities this month ordered Fan and the companies she represents to pay taxes and penalties totalling $130 million (more than ₹956 crore), ending speculation over the fate of one of the country’s highest-profile entertainers, three months after she disappeared from public view. Afterwards, she resurfaced and there was news that she had apologised for the alleged tax evasion. As per South China Morning Post, the extremely popular star was released from what was described as “residential surveillance at a designated location”.
State media said that Fan evaded taxes by using two separate contracts for her work on Air Strike.
The actor has starred in dozens of movies and TV series in China and is best known internationally for her role as Blink in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), a cameo in the Chinese version of Iron Man 3, and for star turns on the red carpet at Cannes as recently as May.
Before her disappearance, she had been booked to star with Penelope Cruz in the Hollywood film 355.
Fan posted an apology on her official Weibo account, saying that she accepted the tax authorities’ decision and would “try my best to... raise funds to pay back taxes and fines”. She also wrote: “I am unworthy of the trust of the society and let down the fans who love me.”