BEIJING (AP) ― A Beijing property developer and Paramount Pictures said Monday that they have smoothed out a dispute over the new “Transformers” movie and it will be released in China as scheduled.
The Beijing Pangu Investment Co. Ltd. said the two sides “have gained mutual trust and reached an understanding” after friendly negotiations, days after it demanded edits to remove any reference to its property over an alleged contractual default.
“Because a third party created some misunderstanding, we were having some disagreement with Paramount,” said Norman Song, general manager of the Pangu 7 Star Hotel. “After several days of intense discussion, we came to an agreement.”
Rob Moore, vice president of Paramount, told a news conference that the film would be released in mainland China as scheduled on Friday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
He said a team has been set up to negotiate with Pangu and that the depiction of Pangu in the film is “perfect,” according to Xinhua.
Director Michael Bay said he wanted to “put all this misunderstanding aside.” Neither side provided details.
The Beijing company, which owns the commercial complex Pangu Plaza, announced last week that it had filed a lawsuit alleging that Paramount and two of its Chinese associates failed to fulfill their obligations in a sponsorship deal.
Pangu said an English version of the contract provided by Paramount was markedly different from a Chinese version that Pangu signed with the two associates in terms of costs and the length of time Pangu is seen in the film.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction,” the fourth film in Bay’s blockbuster franchise, premiered last week in Hong Kong and opens in North America on Friday.
