05/06/2002 - Norway´s largest journalist strike in 50 years will seriously affect the most awaited film's performance

For the first time in fifty years, Norway´s 3,300-plus journalists employed by over 130 media outlets have taken strike action that is hitting current and forthcoming theatrical releases very hard. Local distributor, SF Norge and producer, Notlys, set great store by blanket newspaper coverage for their ambitious political satire, Most People Live in China, whose cast and filmmakers include most of Norway´s foremost talents. It was widely forecast that the film would do incredibly well at the Norwegian box office and enjoy a profitable life-cycle in home video and television.
Norwegian distributors, supported by TV3, commercial radio Radio 1 and the country´s foremost daily, Dagbladet, came up with «Summer Cinemas», an initiative to enliven the traditionally sleepy summer season with fifteen major films including SpiderMan and Blade 2. «Summer Cinemas» was to have been spearheaded by Most People Live in China, unfortunately they were all stymied when Norway´s journalists voted to «down tools» ten days before Most People´s... scheduled June 7 premiere.

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