The Great Wall, the $150 million US/China historical epic starring Matt Damon, is released in less than three weeks.
The movie, set over a millennium ago in ancient China depicts how the Great Wall of China was built, and has already faced spurious claims it is ‘whitewashing’ history by having Hollywood star Matt Damon as its hero.
Now it is facing a new obstacle: the saturation coverage of President Trump’s plan to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
The film’s distributor Universal is acutely aware that much of the pre-release talk about the movie has consisted of comparisons between the movie and the Mexican wall and is duly seeking to distance itself from controversy to avoid its costly epic being another casualty of Trump.
“The film is not tracking all that well, said a producer who spoke on conditions of anonymity as he is developing several movies with Universal. “Trump’s Mexico wall won’t be why it flops but it’s not certainly helping.”
When Damon’s casting was first announced in Deadline Hollywood, the article declared: “The Great Wall reveals the mystery behind why the Great Wall was built, and the secrets hidden beneath its stones.” But worried about a backlash from both Trump supporters and liberal moviegoers who require a respite from the wall coverage, Universal is playing down the movie’s depiction of the Great Wall of China even though it can never be rid of it since it is er…the movie’s title and subject.
“The marketing initiatives have lately centered around war and warriors, not the wall,” the producer said. “You can barely see the wall itself on the film’s most recent poster and the promotional materials don’t refer to it much. When they do, it’s often called “The Great Wall of China ” to distinguish itself from what’s happening in Mexico.”
Film>Movie Poster > Poster and TV Spot of The Great Wall starring => https://t.co/pNiz0Ml7d4 #films pic.twitter.com/nEUWShJM50
— MovieMag Usa (@MovieMagUsa) January 14, 2017
The Great Wall of China was made to protect its people but will they protect it instead, in the time of need?? pic.twitter.com/7iExC9eRO4
— Universal Pictures (@UniversalIND) January 30, 2017
Fight for honor, not glory. #TheGreatWall pic.twitter.com/dfyBzJItQ0
— The Great Wall (@thegreatwall) December 22, 2016
“I’ve fought for greed and gods. This is the first war I’ve seen worth fighting for.” #TheGreatWall pic.twitter.com/roE9urNLuA
— The Great Wall (@thegreatwall) December 9, 2016
Universal is minimizing talk of the wall for fear of unfavorable comparisons that have already been all the rage on social media:
Matt Damon’s “Great Wall” may be a worse idea than Trump’s wall.
— boomhauertjs (@boomhauertjs) January 22, 2017
Matt Damon releasing Wall propaganda my drug #TrumpWall
— AP (@KingIwobi) January 29, 2017
Say goodbye to your box office returns, Matt Damon’s “The Wall”. #TheWall #MattDamon #Trump #trumpwall
— Evan Fonseca (@TheEvanFonseca) January 26, 2017
I see the new Matt Damon film is The Great Wall. But do they make the dragons pay for it?
— David Southwell (@SubinthePub) January 30, 2017
The Great Wall needs to gross $500 million to be profitable and got off to a mediocre start when it was released in Asia over the holiday period. The movie is directed by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou and is financed by Legendary East which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group.
Damon, a high-profile liberal, consistently slammed Trump during the election but recently struck a more bipartisan tone. “Damon turned down the chance to star in Manchester-by-the-Sea [which he produced] to star in The Great Wall,” added the source. “He could be forgiven for regretting it. Bryan Cranston was going to star in it at one stage before backing out- he dodged a bullet!”
Universal is dreading the inevitable comparisons between politics and the movie when The Great Wall is released.