CHINESE OFFICIALS DENY AVATAR MOUNTAIN HONOUR
Chinese officials have laughed off reports they have renamed a mountain a= fter JAMES CAMERON’s sci-fi hit AVATAR, insisting posters suggesting a na= me-change were simply part of a promotional stunt.
Reports surfaced on Tuesday (26Jan10) alleging South Sky Pillar in Zhan= gjianjie, southern China would now be known as Avatar Hallelujah Mountain= on maps and guides because of its likeness to the peaks featured in the = blockbuster film.
But the head of the city’s tourism department, Ding Yunyong, has played= down the claims.
He says, "We just put a poster of two pictures comparing South Sky Pill= ar with Hallelujah Mountain to show people evidence that the Avatar mount= ain originated here. It is a source of pride to Zhangjiajie." However, state reports allege authorities backtracked over plans to off= icially rename the mountain after the idea provoked outrage from locals.
The Xinhua news agency claims Chinese citizens attacked the plans and "= accused officials of being money-oriented and blindly worshipping Western= culture".
Avatar made history this week (begs25Jan10) when the movie toppled Came= ron’s other blockbuster, Titanic, as the highest-grossing movie of all ti= me.
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
