Talking Entertainment: Your Weekend Guide to the Arts

Director Zhang Yimou may be in some trouble. Reports are claiming he has seven kids. Who cares? China’s family planning officials do. Stars are not exempt from the country’s one-child policy, and the investigation into Zhang's family could lead to him paying fines upwards of RMB 160 million. The Wall Street Journal has the story.

Entertainment news reports are also putting Tom Cruise in Beijing this week. He’s visiting for today’s opening of Oblivion, which will be playing in theaters across China. The star is here alongside director Joseph Kosinsk and it is assumed their presence here is to give the film’s launch a marketing boost, as it now has to compete with Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino’s epic action adventure was pulled from cinemas last month for violence and nudity, and a new cut is being released today alongside Oblivion.

Tom Cruise is quite the star in China. In 2012, his film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was one of the top-grossing import films in China. We’re excited to see him compete with Tarantino in this now, very suddenly, booming Hollywood market.

On the local cinema scene, The Bookworm has given word that they will be starting their open air screenings in June. Classic titles like Jaws and A Nightmare on Elm Street will be shown for free on the book club’s rooftop with drink and meal specials. Check back to our film events for more dates and titles over the summer.

Here are some arts and culture events this week:

• One man goes wild on his guitar
  
• New opening: Cheng Ran’s The Last Generation
  
• Pessimism or Resistance? Politics explored through photos
  
• Norev-Over will change your perceptions
  
  

Photo: The Hollywood Reporter