Cover News Reporter Yang Fan
Recently, Liu Yifei and "Mulan" director Nikki Carroll appeared on the cover of the latest issue of "The Hollywood Reporter" magazine. For the first time in a magazine article about "Mulan", it was revealed that New Zealand director Nikki Caro was not Disney's first choice. Prior to this, Disney had always been looking for Asian directors. They had contacted Ang Lee, but at that time Ang Lee was busy promoting "Billy Lynn’s Midfield Battle." In addition, Disney also sought out Jiang Wen, and finally He also missed the movie.
It is understood that the cost of "Mulan" is as high as 200 million US dollars, which is one of the most expensive Disney live-action remakes. Disney bears a high risk for this. Disney places its hopes on China and also attaches great importance to the local North American market. The current outbreak of the new crown pneumonia has made it full of suspense whether China can simultaneously release it on March 27.
Nikki Carlo's ability to tell a different culture from her own in her early work "Whale Rider" impressed Disney, and finally got the guide tube and became her first blockbuster film.
In 2016, Nikki Caro began to look for candidates for the protagonist Mulan. At that time, the film crew auditioned many Asian actors from various countries. Then, Jiang Zhiqiang, who had produced "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", joined as a producer. The first thing was to remind them: they must not be just "Asian", they must be Chinese or Chinese, and they cannot find a Japanese girl to perform.
Liu Yifei passed various physical tests set by Nikki Carlo in the audition, and finally won the role. Before shooting started, she spent 3 months in motion training, six or seven hours a day. In the latest "Mulan" action behind-the-scenes special, Liu Yifei also appeared to share his experience. The first trailer of
appeared in Fujian Tulou. Historical scholars generally believe that Tulou was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty and mainly distributed along the southeast coast. Regardless of age and location, they are far from what we know.
In this regard, producer Jiang Zhiqiang said, “There is no need to care too much about the accuracy of history. Although Mulan is famous, it is fictional and not a historical figure.”
In addition, Disney takes into account the Chinese market in all aspects of the film. The film was tested internally in China. In the early version, Mulan and Chen Honghui had a kissing scene on the bridge. Nikki Caro said that although the scene was very beautiful, the opinion from China was "No Such a shot is not suitable for Chinese audiences.” So it was deleted.
