Uzbek film blocked over absence of Morgan Freeman

Uzbek action film Rogue (Daydi) will not be opening this week as planned, all because of the conspicuous absence of Morgan Freeman.

That’s not to say that every Uzbek movie has to feature the Hollywood megastar, but Uzbekistan’s licensing body O’zbek Kino decided that advertising for Rogue was somewhat misleading regarding Freeman’s seemingly starring role.

Despite featuring on posters and briefly in the trailer, Freeman is nowhere to be found in the film itself — O’zbek Kino claims that production studio Timur Film has violated consumers’ rights in trying to increase ticket sales with the promise of a big star.

According to state-affiliated news agency Podrobno, the image prominently featured on posters for the film was taken from the 2015 American drama movie Last Knights (dir. Kazuaki Kiriya). Timur Film has yet to comment on the issue.

The decision on if and when Rogue get released rests with two government bodies, the BBC reports. Tense times for those excited to see a film that, although lacking in Morgan Freeman, centres on an Uzbek police officer rescuing the country from “an assortment of evil assailants”.

Source: BBC News