Actors Sylvester Stallone (L) and Arnold Schwarzenegger attend the “Escape Plan” screening and red carpet during Comic-Con International 2013 at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp on July 18, 2013 in San Diego, California. AFP
DUBAI — Moviegoers in the United Arab Emirates saw the screen turn black as frazzled officials broke up the screening of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest action flick after a character was heard cursing in Arabic in the movie.
The National, a state-backed newspaper, reported on Monday that the Dubai Media Council asked cinemas in the Emirates to halt the screening of “Escape Plan.”
Authorities quickly censored the profane words out of the movie, and the revised version was back in theaters within hours.
The movie features Stallone and Schwarzenegger trying to escape from a futuristic, fortified prison.
Before movies debut in local theaters, Arab governments around the region censor films for content, often cutting out sexual scenes and kissing, as well as comments deemed blasphemous.