The animated movie "Abominable" will skip Malaysian theaters after producers decided against cutting out a scene showing a map supporting Chinese claims to the disputed South China Sea.
Vietnam already pulled the U.S.-Chinese production from theaters over a fleeting image of the so-called nine-dash line, a vague and broken outline depicting much of the resource-rich sea as Chinese territory. China's claims to the sea overlap with claims by Vietnam, Malaysia and other Asian governments.
Malaysian film distributor United International Pictures said in a brief statement Monday that "Universal has decided not to make the censor cut required by the Malaysian censor board and as such will not be able to release the film in Malaysia," where it was due in theaters on Nov. 7. It declined to give further details.
Universal is the parent company of DreamWorks Animation, which co-produced the movie with China-based Pearl Studio. "Abominable," which has nothing to do with the territorial dispute, is about a Chinese girl who helps a yeti get back to its home on Mount Everest.
The scene shows a wall map of East Asia with a series of dashes on the South China Sea. An international tribunal in 2016 invalidated China's vast claims in a case brought by the Philippines, but the ruling was rebuffed by Beijing. China has continued to assert its claims to the sea by building and staffing outposts on man-made islands and deploying ships in the area.
Vietnam's ban of the movie comes during an increasingly tense and months-long standoff between its ships and a Chinese survey vessel and escort ships in disputed Vanguard Bank off Vietnam.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reiterated his call Monday for a peaceful resolution to the dispute as he warned that an increase in China and U.S. military presence could threaten the vital shipping route.
"In the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea, the passage of ships is still free without obstruction but once people start sending warship, then we have a problem. There might be accidents and as we know accidents may lead to war," he told local media on the sidelines of a conference.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More