Paramount Pictures' 'Arrival' poster courts controversy in Hong Kong
Posters for Paramount Pictures' 'Arrival' are causing controversy in China after accidentally wading into the issue of Hong Kong independence.
One of the 12 promotional posters for the forthcoming sci-fi flick sees an orb-like ship hovering over Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour with Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower Photoshopped into the picture as if it were part of the Hong Kong skyline.
Sparking outrage online the film's Facebook page has been inundated with comments bearing the hashtag #HongKongIsNotChina with one user writing "it's very offensive to a lot of people from Hong Kong". Another user posted: "Hong Kongers are now feeling insulted and offended."
Upon realising its error Paramount deleted the poster and released a statement on Facebook and Twitter, reading: "An error was made in an 'Arrival' poster by a third party vendor. It's been corrected and we are disappointed we didn't catch the error".
However, many have criticised the statement for its lack of apology with some speculating it stopped short of apologising for fear of offending the larger market of Mainland China. The replacement poster - swapping Hong Kong for Shanghai - has only added further fuel to the fire.
"Thank you for making it clear that the renmini (Mainland China's currency) is more important," wrote one Facebook user, who urged Paramount to "stay away from HK with your movie".
Arrival is set for release in the US on November 11 and stars Oscar nominee Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner.