If you’re not following Chris Buckley (@ChuBailiang) on Twitter, you probably should. The New York Times reporter who gave us panda TV (addendum: postmodern panda watching pandas on TV), double-decker bus-driving fail, and his timely “Pulitzer Prize” series of tweets (e.g., “…for urban planning goes to Zhengzhou for planting trees under an expressway”) is who we should thank for the above, via People.cn, which really needs no additional commentary.

The betting odds on this match would be staggering. Then again, if Brock Lesnar can end The Streak, anything can happen.

I have just one question. What are these shoes?

Chinese product placements, superfluous scenes with Fan Bingbing, inflated ticket prices… what did all of that get Iron Man 3′s much anticipated debut in China this week?

Only every record in the books. “Disney is confirming that Iron Man 3 broke every opening day record in China’s box office,” according to BoxOffice.com. “The official figure is currently $18,657,142 but it is expected rise to $21.5 million after all cinemas conclude their reporting.”

But is it actually good? Reaction has been… mixed.

“I just want to see Robert,” Stephen Qin, 25, told Los Angeles Times, referring to Robert Downey Jr. Ma Xinping, 22, adds, “It was just so-so.”

And more from LAT:

However, the sprinkling of Chinese near the opening and a little bonus footage with Fan at the end did nothing for moviegoers such as Gloria Zhang.

“It’s not necessary,” said the 26-year-old, who paid nearly $20 to watch the 3-D film at a multiplex theater in Beijing’s Sanlitun area. Zhang said she goes to the movies twice a month.

“This whole production is an insult to the intelligence of the Chinese audience perpetrated by the ridiculous co-production regulations set out by SARFT,” Kotaku’s Eric Jou told James Griffiths over IM.

And as Kotaku’s Brian Ashcraft writes: “M’kay.”

Of course, it’s unfair for the LA Times or any of us to cherry-pick quotes. Maybe you should judge by yourself. Here’s how the film opened, according to Hollywood Reporter:

As the houselights dimmed in cinemas across mainland China at around midnight on Tuesday, audiences attending the first wave of public screenings of Iron Man 3 fell silent with apprehension as a question appeared on screen: “What does Iron Man rely on to revitalize his energy?”

After a three-second blackout, three big Chinese characters appeared onscreen: “Gu Li Duo.”

M’kay.

Of course, the movie itslf might be okay. But the special treatment Hollywood is giving China, as if Chinese filmgoers are too naive to judge quality? It’s insanely stupid, and reeks of orientalism.

We’re happy to see Chinese bloggers pushing back. Hopefully they’ll exercise their distaste in another important way: choosing to watch pirated DVDs and online streams instead of buying cinema tickets.

(Image i09)

Hot on the Iron Man 3 promotional trail, Robert Downey Jr. was in Beijing on Saturday, and basically showed everyone what publicity done right looks like. Reports People’s Daily (Downey’s quotes, all):

I have been longing to come to China an it’s a dream that has come true.

In the West we think we understand China but we don’t. What we see on TV, what we get from news, we assume that’s our experience, [but] it’s incorrect.

So I made it my business to pay attention to what’s going on culturally and also some of the other traditional aspects of Chinese culture. I am very interested in martial arts, and I am very interested in traditional medicine.

Adds Hollywood Reporter:

“I’m interested in all things Chinese and I live a very Chinese life in America,” said the actor during an on-stage panel discussion with his co-star Wang Xueqi and Wu Bing, president of the film’s Chinese co-producer DMG Entertainment, at the press launch of the film at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Saturday morning.

…When asked before heading into the gala event about what kind of film he would make in China if he is to produce beyond an action film in the country, Downey said: “I think Chinese culture just responds to good cinema, the same we give Academy Awards to Chinese films in the past. It really depends on the subject matter and the timing and what the audiences want I guess.”

He said he deemed his trip to China – his first – an essential way of understanding the country. “Just like when I was watching on a show today, that people get an idea of each other from the news, which is not necessarily the best way. It is better to go and immerse yourself in that culture and make up your own mind,” he said.

Downey turned 48 on Thursday, and received a birthday card signd by more than 5,300 people. He can make whatever movie he wants in China.

(Image DMG Entertainment)

There’s been a lot of hoopla over one of Iron Man 3′s film location, namely China — we heard the buzz as early as April 2012 — but only two notable Chinese actors appear in the film, Wang Xueqi and Fan Bingbing, and the latter doesn’t even appear in the new trailer. How disappointing, considering Fan is, by some accounts, the most popular actress in China?

But don’t worry, Fan fans: Marvel just announced yesterday that it’s actually releasing two versions of Iron Man 3, with the Chinese version featuring exclusive Fan Bingbing scenes.

Both versions of the film include Iron Man 3 footage filmed in Beijing in December. The Chinese version of the film will also feature a special appearance of China’s top actress, Fan Bingbing, and will offer specially prepared bonus footage made exclusively for the Chinese audience.

The implication, we think, is that Fan doesn’t appear at all in the US version. (Hopefully we’re not misreading between the lines.) The above image, from Sina, is reportedly a shot of Fan in the movie itself. You can only see her eyes!

The movie will be released in the US and China on May 3.

(H/T The Good Doctor)

You might miss them if you blink, but Wang Xueqi — who plays Dr. Wu — and Fan Bingbing — who plays his assistant — actually appear in the latest trailer for Iron Man 3.

We saw Wang posing with an Iron Man in Beijing in December. Fan’s role is small enough, unfortunately, she doesn’t even make it on IMBD’s list of cast and crew. Oh well. We’ll still watch, because Iron Man is cool.

(H/T John Hanrahan)

Hollywood Reporter calls the image a “photo leak” — though it’s as likely to have been planted by a publicist — and explains:

It is not clear whether Robert Downey Jr is in that armor – the Chinese blogosphere have been abuzz with speculation about his presence on set ever since filming in Beijing began on Dec. 10. An accompanying caption attached to the photograph explains how Wang’s character was “explaining about Beijing life” to “Iron Man who have just descended to Yongdingmen”.

The Chinese actor is Wang Xueqi, who plays Dr. Wu, a part that was originally Andy Lau’s. We’ll remind you here that Iron Man 3 is being co-produced in China because Walt Disney and Marvel signed a cooperation agreement with Beijing-based DMG Entertainment, and it’s a fine move if for no other reason than because China loves Iron Man — perhaps no one more than this guy.

The movie is scheduled for release on May 3, 2013. Here’s the trailer, if you haven’t already seen it… featuring the Mandarin!

CORRECTION, 3:26 pm: We apologize for misspelling Wang Queqi’s name.

Yesterday was World Environment Day. Go green; don’t print out these links. 

Luka Rocca Magnotta arrested in Berlin. “Around 1:30 p.m., with Mr. Magnotta still surfing online, seven police officers stormed into the café and quickly overpowered the slender Mr. Magnotta. He tried to give police a false name, but the officers weren’t buying it, Captain Guido Busch of the Berlin police said. (You can watch surveillance footage of the arrest here)” [The Globe and Mail]

It only took Jesus, huh? “Because of Jesus, I forgive them. I forgive Deng Xiaoping and Li Peng. I forgive the soldiers who stormed Tiananmen Square in 1989. I forgive the current leadership of China, who continue to suppress freedom and enforce the brutal One Child Policy. // I pray that a culture of grace will arise in China, giving all people dignity and humanity. I pray that the China’s current leaders will follow Jesus and act with mercy and compassion. I pray that those who have suffered under oppression will not seek vengeance — like King David’s soldiers did when they killed Absalom — but have the courage to forgive. Forgiveness does not justify wrong, but rather yields the power of judgment to God. // I understand such forgiveness is countercultural. Yet it is only a small reflection of the forgiveness that Jesus gave, and I was filled with peace when I followed him in forgiving. When forgiveness arises, a lasting peace can finally reign.” [Chai Ling, Huffington Post]

An interview with Hexie Farm. “Crazy Crab: I’m an anonymous cartoonist who doesn’t know how to tell a joke.” [Seeing Red in China]

Did this post really require Amy Chua’s face? “The authors are two PhD holders, one from Northwestern University and the other from Cambridge University. Zhang Zaoli (章早立) and Li Xuan (李萱) both were once students at the ‘brand-name’ Lhasa Road Elementary School in Nanjing. Both maintain that their time studying at that elementary school were the darkest years of their lives.” [Tea Leaf Nation]

On the Cultural Revolution. “Netizens are seizing the opportunity to discuss for one of the first times the long-proscribed topic of the Cultural Revolution within the (seemingly) unmediated and open forum of the microblogging site Sina Weibo. The result has been an outpouring of confessional-style comments, a reflection of the extreme degree of sensitivity that has been accorded to this deeply complex — and long hushed-up — period of history.” [Asia Society]

Li Na ousted from French Open. “Behind the microphone, Li fought back tears. She also fought with reporters, the edge her game lacked Monday suddenly evident in her answers, the back-and-forth emotional and contentious.” [NY Times]

This Global Times headline kinda wins: “Woman wins 600 yuan after falling feces hit her”: “However, the guilty party could not be identified, and as such, four households, on the third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors, were ordered to jointly shoulder the blame and each pay 150 yuan to contribute to the total compensation.” [Global Times]

Your Richard III at the World Shakespeare Festival in London interlude:

Finally…

Time Out investigates why it’s been hard to get taxis in Beijing. [Time Out]

Before and after photos of Hong Kong. [Hong Wrong]

James Fallows and Orville Schell. [Asia Society]

Puppies in Shanghai. [Adorable Fluffiness]

Finally, finally…

Victoria Park in Hong Kong, via MSNBC

Wang Kang, a self-described do-it-yourself expert, is somewhat of an Iron Man enthusiast, and by “somewhat” I mean he’s a much bigger enthusiast than you, and just about bigger than anyone else. How am I almost certain of this? Because in the above video, he parades around a Beijing office building in a fully powered Iron Man exoskeleton, complete with a functioning light that represents Tony Stark’s nuclear heart. Wang made the suit with friends. I really wish he’d have smashed a minivan’s windshield to take his work to the next level, but the nonviolent parading will have to do. (There’s another great video after the jump in which Iron Man boogies to Chinese music in an apartment.)

The vid first appeared on Youku (embedded after the jump for those in China) 10 months ago and garnered 645,000 views (including 738 dislikes; Youku viewers are a tough crowd). It just made it onto YouTube on March 30, and we’re posting it now because of the news released today that Iron Man 3 will be co-produced in China:

The Walt Disney Company China, Marvel Studios and DMG Entertainment today announced the intention to co-produce IRON MAN 3 in China. Under the arrangement, DMG Entertainment [Chinese company founded in 1993] will make an investment in the production of IRON MAN 3, manage the Chinese co-production process, and jointly produce the film in China.

In the journo business, that’s called a news hook. But really, no reason should be necessary for wanting to share this (note the cat):

Original Youku video: