Hollywood is cutting depictions of Putin out of movies for fear of Russian 'retaliation'

Hollywood is shying away from portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin in upcoming movies, apparently for fear of retribution. The Hollywood Reporter revealed Wednesday that Putin portrayals were cut from Fox's Red Sparrow and EuropaCorp's Kursk, even though Putin appeared in both of the books on which the respective movies are based.

Fox cited "creative choices" for cutting Putin — who played a "key role" in the book — out of Red Sparrow, which is set in the present day and centers around a Russian spy played by Jennifer Lawrence. The Hollywood Reporter noted that "by avoiding Putin, Fox is also steering clear of any Russian hackers who might protest."

"For a studio to release a movie about Putin that makes him look like a fool would be suicide," said Ajay Arora, CEO of Vera, a security firm that works with studios. "That's a certain way to be targeted [for retaliation]."

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Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.