Marvel At China’s Movie Poster Rip-Offs

24 responses to “Marvel At China’s Movie Poster Rip-Offs”

1. 

   AarghZombies

   March 28, 2012 at 7:50 am

   Uhhh. I’m pretty sure some of these “chinese” films were released before their American counterparts.
   The American film industry has, for decades, taken successful films from overseas and totally ripped them off for American audiences.

   Reply
   1. 

      kace

      March 28, 2012 at 9:10 am

      FAIL MORE BASHCRAFT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(2002_film) <– the chinese one shown above

      NOT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_(2007_film) <– the one bashcraft thinks is shown above

      Reply
      1. 

         Gankatron

         March 28, 2012 at 11:19 am

         HAHA nice. Journalism at its finest. I wouldn’t be surprised if these some of these were even chinese remakes (hence they have every right to leverage the same art).

         Reply
   2. 

      Steven Bogos

      March 28, 2012 at 12:53 pm

      Wait, you mean ‘The Ring’ wasn’t an american movie? You sir, are unpatriotic

      Reply
2. 

   Dr_Stef

   March 28, 2012 at 8:22 am

   Having worked in that industry before, I think it happens almost in tandem.
   Chine rips poster and dvd slick and menu ideas from US, and the US does the same from China.
   It’s a never ending cycle.

   Reply
   1. 

      clee

      March 28, 2012 at 2:57 pm

      It’s people like you that really debase the quality of debate. What do you mean everyone does it? You’re implying it’s done in equal measure, which is flat out wrong. TBH I am not too bothered with the movie poster rip-offs, since it’s just ingrained in the culture in China. They have fake iPhones running Android that look and work just like the iPhone, except it’s hella slow. People just take that as normal over there. That’s fine. As long as it’s acknowledged. I am glad it’s Chinese citizens who have pointed out the blatant ripoffs. But to dismiss such matters with “meh, they all do it”, is first of all inaccurate, and secondly encourages a form of apathy or laziness, which can be quite contagious and harmful to society. The whole “all politicians are crooks” meme has spread very deep and widely now, thanks to people like you every time a single politician is caught red handed.

      Reply
   2. 

      Steve

      March 29, 2012 at 10:26 pm

      Tu quoque at its finest. Yes, there’s an argument that Hollywood is creatively bankrupt but that is not the topic at hand. These people have shamelessly ripped off American poster designs with impunity because of the differing copyright standards.

      Reply
3. 

   Thom

   March 28, 2012 at 8:38 am

   The only clear examples of copying here were the other way round. The rest are fairly generic ideas, like the Daddy Day Camp one. Great work Bashcraft.

   Reply
   1. 

      Gleno

      March 28, 2012 at 9:03 am

      Have another look at that Daddy Day Camp – Boss comparison. The Chinese guys head is pasted over Ice Cubes. The body and grass is exactly the same. Generic idea right?

      Reply
      1. 

         Vaporeon

         March 28, 2012 at 11:01 am

         Ice Cube? No, that’s Cuba Gooding Jr.

         But you’re point is still valid.

         Reply
4. 

   Awnshegh

   March 28, 2012 at 8:46 am

   Wasn’t there an article on here a few months back highlighting how all movie posters are alike… You it was over on the Giz – http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/11/have-you-ever-noticed-that-all-movie-posters-look-the-same/

   Reply
5. 

   Ben

   March 28, 2012 at 8:52 am

   Ok… This is pretty bad, for Kotaku I mean.
   Firstly, Hero (2002) was release before DOA (2006) and The Eye is a REMAKE of *drumroll* a Japanese film!
   If you guys are going to repost things from other websites, like :
   http://www.swiftfilm.com/these-chinese-movie-poster-rip-offs-are-worse-than-you-think/
   Then you should at least check the facts first…

   Reply
   1. 

      Mak

      March 29, 2012 at 3:06 am

      Actually, The Eye was a Hong Kong movie which also spawned a number bad of sequels

      Reply
6. 

   Korwin

   March 28, 2012 at 8:55 am

   Wait… are they implying that Hero is the rip off?

   Reply
   1. 

      Badger

      March 28, 2012 at 9:33 am

      It looks like it… it also looks like they’re implying that Hero came out in 2007 instead of 2002.

      The poster shown here isn’t even the original Chinese one, it’s the terrible one that was put together for the US release. If it wasn’t the same designer doing the poster (which is possible) then it’s still a case of the US ripping off the US.

      Reply
7. 

   BoogiePop

   March 28, 2012 at 9:32 am

   Hero was released in 2002 so pretty hard to rip off a movie released 4 years later

   Reply
8. 

   Max

   March 28, 2012 at 11:22 am

   Brian Ashcraft… The worst journalist on Kotaku.com.au

   Reply
9. 

   Max

   March 28, 2012 at 11:22 am

   Brian Ashcraft… The worst journalist on Kotaku

   Reply
   1. 

      Navi

      March 28, 2012 at 12:40 pm

      I always thought Luke was.

      Reply
10. 

    Steven Bogos

    March 28, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    Before opening this article, I told myself ‘There is literally no way for me to be able to think less of Brian Ashcraft as a journalist’.

    After reading this article, however, I have suddenly realised the truth. I want to come out and apologize to all the times I have insulted Bashcraft, and I would especially like to congratulate the Kotaku team.

    It takes courage and commitment to hire someone with a mental illness, and keep him on board as his continues to destroy the reputation of the website. Keep fighting little champ! Don’t let the doctors tell you you can’t be a journalist!

    Reply
11. 

    Ad

    March 28, 2012 at 1:10 pm

    So, who’s up for setting up a Kickstarter? The aim? Give enough money to Kotaku US so they fire Bashcraft.

    Reply
12. 

    cayman

    March 28, 2012 at 1:44 pm

    Brian, your “journalistic” talents are wasted here at Kotaku, you should be over at Fox News!

    Reply
    1. 

       me

       March 28, 2012 at 2:53 pm

       can’t do that, as bad as he is, he’s way too good for fox news

       Reply
13. 

    Max

    March 28, 2012 at 6:05 pm

    I think they should make a section just for him.

    “Brian” in this tab, they will have his interesting, opinionated bursts of information that he calls ‘articles’

    Reply