Good grief, this is going to be controvesial — at least in Asia:

Ted Leonsis was cruising the Caribbean on his yacht a couple of years ago, poring over old newspapers, when he noticed an obituary for Iris Chang, author of “The Rape of Nanking,” the best-seller about the killing in 1937 of 300,000 Chinese by the Japanese army.

The story stuck with him, and after he read Chang’s book his preoccupation with the tale grew. Then he pulled out his checkbook.

Two million dollars later, having pulled together a film crew and navigated the bureaucracy in China, Leonsis’s documentary about the incident is nearing completion.

Apparently, the PRC wanted a stake in the film:

The Chinese initially discussed owning an interest in the film, but Leonsis said its credibility would be enhanced if a third party told the story.

“They felt comfortable with our crew and they liked our motives,” Leonsis said. “They want this story to be told by a Westerner.”

The Rape of Nanking was a horrible event and a monstrous war crime, but its damage has been much exaggerated by the PRC government, particularly as a tool to affect post-war Japan’s foreign policy aspirations in East Asia, which, not so coincidentally, challenges the Chinese notion of itself as the preeminent Asian power.

As for the marketing? It’s a “nichebuster” strategy of appealing to various ethnic groups:

Leonsis calls such films “nichebusters” because they generate intense interest among disparate segments of society, adding up to a big audience. He and his team believe their film has crossover appeal among several “niches,” including Chinese, Germans, Christians and even Japanese.

Case in point: There are 500 million television households in China, and the Chinese national television network, CCTV, paid what Leonsis said was a “significant” advance for broadcast rights for the film. In addition, an estimated 65 million Chinese live outside the country, and they may pay to see the movie in a theater or buy a DVD or watch on the Internet.

Because one of the chief heroes in the story is a German businessman named John Rabe, who headed the Nazi Party in Nanking, there could be interest in Germany. Chang refers to Rabe in her book as the “Oskar Schindler of China.” [Snip]

Because several of the heroes are American missionaries, Leonsis’s team think Christians around the world will also embrace the film.

“This is ripped-from-the-headline stuff,” Leonsis said.

Hey, if they could just include some Indians (from the subcontinent, not North America) and maybe a Muslim or two, the multi-niche market appeal would be complete.

I shudder to think what kind of nationalistic controversy this is going to set off, particularly between China and Japan (as one senior Liberal Democratic Party of Japan leader pointed out recently at a Heritage Foundation event, the Sino-Japanese relationship is the worst it has ever been in the post-war period). This can only make the matter worse.