Coronavirus and a political boycott trip up 'Mulan' at the box office

Chinese moviegoers are not flocking to the live-action 'Mulan.'

There are those who say the first sign that Disney's live-action remake of Mulan was in trouble was when they decided to eliminate the beloved animated dragon Mushu voiced by comedian Eddie Murphy.

Even before the twin releases to theaters and on Disney Plus, the online streamer, there were concerns that Mulan was not going to live up to the hype despite an all-star, all-Asian and Asian American cast bolstered by the Disney studio's full-throttled support.

The new retelling of Mulan, an old Chinese myth, slogged through a few miscues along the way to its long-delayed, but highly anticipated, release last month.

A Disney executive on recently briefly addressed the controversy plaguing his studio's big budget, live-action reboot of Mulan, which has generated backlash for being filmed partly in China’s Xinjiang region. That’s where Uighur Muslims have been imprisoned en masse in so-called “re-education centers.”

“I’m not a box office predicator [or] prognosticator, but [the backlash] has generated a lot of publicity; let’s leave it at that,” said Christine McCarthy, The Walt Disney Co.’s chief financial officer, at a Bank of America Virtual 2020 Media, Communications and Entertainment Conference.

As an indicator, the blockbuster did not top the Chinese box office, pulling in a disappointing $23 million in its first weekend in China. Mulan earned only $1.47 million on its second Friday to bring its eight-day total to $31.17 million. 

Months before the movie opened (Sept. 4 on Disney+ and in theaters in the Chinese market) there were calls for a boycott from Hong Kong protestors (prime movie-going age group) beause of Mulan star Liu Yifei's  statement of support for Hong Kong police, and by extension, the Beijing communist government. 

When Mulan was released on Disney+, Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong tweeted, "This film is released today. But because Disney kowtows to Beijing, and because Liu Yifei openly and proudly endorses police brutality in Hong Kong, I urge everyone who believes in human rights to #BoycottMulan." That hashtag went viral.

That movement and boycott has gained momentum as the movie's general release date kept being postponed because of the coronavirus.

Speaking of COVID-19, Disney decided to go ahead and release their film despite not all of China's theaters not being able to open because of the pandemic.

READ: My short, short review of Mulan.

The backlash against Mulan gained even more traction after it was released in theaters and online at Disney-Plus when eagle-eye moviegoers watched the credits at the end of the movie. Disney thanked the government and officials of Xinjiang, China, the region where Uighur Muslims are being detained in mass internment camps, according to The New York Times.

Xinjiang, in western China, is home to about 11 million Uyghur people, "a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority that speak a language closely related to Turkish and have their own distinct culture," according to CNN. About one million Uyghurs are estimated to be detained in camps in the area, where they reportedly endure torture, abuse, political indoctrination, and forced labor. The Chinese government denies claims of abuse and says the camps are "vocational training centers" and necessary for preventing terrorism. 

Activists have used social media to spread the message that supporting Mulan is tantamount to being complicit in these human rights violations. 

Disney's head of finance, Christine McCarthy, responded to the controversy, saying that the criticism is overblown and that only small portions of the film were shot in Xinjiang.

"The real facts are that Mulan was primarily shot -- almost in entirety -- in New Zealand, said Disney's head of finance, Christine McCarthy, reports Deadline. "In an effort to accurately depict some of the unique landscape and geography of the country of China for this period drama, we filmed scenery in 20 different locations in China. It's common knowledge that, in order to film in China, you have to be granted permission. That permission comes from the central government."

"So, in our credits, it recognized both China and locations in New Zealand. I would just leave it at that, but it has generated a lot of issues for us."

Additionally, China's complex relations with neighboring countries has generated calls for boycotts in India, Singapore and South Korea.

As the backlash over Disney’s collaboration with Xinjiang began to pick up steam, days before the film's Sept. 11 opening in China, Chinese state media initiated a media blackout of coverage of the film robbing the Disney folks of any momentum in publicizing their $200-million movie, according to Reuters.

Chinese stars were cast in 'Mulan.'

The highly anticipated film was  tailored for the Chinese market, the second largest int he world after the U.S., by dropping the fantasy and music of the original 1996 cartoon version in order to become more culturally appropriate, spending months to study the costumes and architecture of the era and casting big-name Chinese stars such as Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Gong Li and Liu Yifei.

In the U.S., its draw among Asian Americans was that it was the first big-budget movie produced by a Hollywood studio with an all-Asian cast with an Asian theme. The first was Crazy Rich Asians which dispelled studio-held beliefs that movies with Asian lead actors couldn't draw multi-racial audiences.

Two other studio-driven movies, Flower Drum Song and the Joy Luck Club, preceded  Crazy Rich Asians but both were isolated blips in Asian American movie history. Neither of the films didn't  break box-office expectations to gain any follow-up momentum for other Asian American related films, a groundbreaking feat accomplished by Crazy Rich Asians. That breakthrough opened the doors for several other Hollywood productions with Asian themes with AAPI lead characters. 

To be sure, Mulan is a beautiful film and the action scenes are spectacular and is worth the a pleasant 2-hour escape from today's troubles. However, I'm not sure if that is enough to overcome the fortune-cookie dialogue the actors are saddled with. It's as if the writers had just watched "Little Grasshopper" get lectured to in the TV show Kung Fu and think all Chinese normally speak English in this stilted way.

Mulan's so-so performance thus far raises fears among AAPI Hollywood artists that feed the old, racist belief among the movie-making industry's decision-makers that Asian-led films aren't profitable.

We'll have to wait and see how Mulan does globally when more American theaters open their doors to see if the Disney can recoup its $200-million investment.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this article is news laced with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions. 

UPDATED Sept. 21, 9:45 s.m. for clarity.

TGIF Feature: My short, short, short review of the live-action 'Mulan'

Iconic Chinese actress Gong Li as Xian Lang, the witch.

After waiting years and having the rug pulled out at least four times in anticipation of its opening. I couldn't wait any longer for the local theater to watch Mulan. So I oped to watch it in my coronvirus-inspired setting.

Directing: Niki Caro created a visually stunning film, but more attention should have been made towards character development. And, mo god, how did you ever accept the writing? (See below).

Action: Spectacular, but I inherently fantastic Chinese martial art movies and easily accept the jumping on rooftops and running horizontally.

Costumes: Beautiful. Bina Daigeler should get an Oscar nod and if she does walk up to the stage to receive a statue, I hope she brings along Gong Pan Pan, her Chinese fashion consultant. I can forgive them because they're creating for what looks best cinematically, not an anthropological thesis. But then again, I'm not a student of fashion history.

Acting: Adequate. Best in the non-action scenes. Problem was in the dialogue (See below). Gong Li came off the best as the Witch (I'd love to see her in more accessible films.) Jet Li and Donnie Yen had little to work with. Liu Yufei was OK as the Tom-boyish Mulan but she excelled in the action scenes.

Dialogue: Clunky. Did every line from authority figures -- the father, the captain, the witch -- have to have that "Kung Fu, grasshopper" kind of pronouncement? How many times do we have to get hit over the head about the importance of family? The dialogue felt like it was written by those folks who do the translations for the foreign language captions. The clumsy writing sounds like it was by writers and a director just learning about Chinese values (Turns out, that's all-too true.) or former writers of fortune cookie fortunes. It is hard to imagine that with the millions poured into this film Disney couldn't find an Asian writer.

In short: See it in theaters if you can. It's a beautiful film to immerse yourself in. Don't compare it to the 1996 animated version of Mulan, otherwise, you'll be disappointed. They are two separate movies and should be viewed as such. Best to watch it without expectations.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A word of caution, this is news sprinkled with opinion. Readers are encouraged to seek multiple news sources to formulate their own positions. 

New trailer suggests more action-oriented 'Mulan'

Anticipation is growing for the release of Disney's live-action remake of Mulan that will have its general release this Sept. 4.

The latest trailer of the film gives a better idea of the spectacle of the 2020 Mulan will be like with more emphasis on action than the animated version.

After delaying the film’s release date four times already due to COVID-19, Disney announced last week that the remake of its 1998 animated classic would release in most major territories on its streaming service Disney Plus for $29.99 starting Sept. 4. It also said it would release the film theatrically in territories where cinemas are open but Disney Plus is not currently available.

A date hasn't been picked for the movie's China release -- which Disney hopes will go a long way in recouping the reported $200 million production cost of the film. Theaters, which opened in some areas on July 20,  have begun promoting the Disney product.

The new trailer has raised speculation about possible return of the beloved Mushu character voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original. Mushu, the dragon, besides providing comic relief, had a huge role as a spiritual guide for the woman warrior. 

Near the end of the trailer, instead of a dragon, a reflection of a flying Phoenix is seen in Mulan's sword, apparently to inspire the warrior to other-worldly feats.

The legendary Phoenix makes an appearance during Mulan's most trying challenge.

A Phoenix might be more culturally palatable to Chinese audiences, who crave the Hollywood craftsmanship in movie making, but are naturally wary about American interpretations of things Chinese.

Although the Disney remake is supposed to be more "realistic" than the 1998 version, it is still based on a legend and the fighting scenes appears to include some fantastical scenes more reminiscent of the fighting scenes seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon -- flying over rooftops.

The new Mulan has introduced Xian Lang, a sorceress played by Gong Li, who wasn't in the original. The sorceress, it appears, also has some powers that takes the viewers to the realm of fantasy. The sorceress' magical powers overcomes the ordinary mortal Mulan, but what better way to fight against dark magic than with magic of your own?

Disney drops first trailer for live-action 'Mulan'

The first trailer for the live action Mulan was released Sunday and it looks absolutely gorgeous. 

Any doubts that star Liu Yifiei (Forbidden Kingdom) can convincingly handle a sword should be put to rest.

What the trailer doesn't show is any of the characters singing. The production team led by director Niki Caro vacillated between making the movie a straight action drama or to include the popular music that made the 1998 animated version so enjoyable.

When Liu was cast, it was assumed that her singing would be featured in the movie but later comments by Caro seemed to indicate that the production abandoned the idea of using the music associated with the animated Mulan.

The film was originally expected to start production earlier this year with a projected release in December, so it is not known if production was delayed due to working the music in. It is now due for release in March 2020.

Now, according to our friends at The DisInsider, Walt Disney Studios is gearing up to add some of the familiar music from the 1998 hit animated film, as well as Mulan’s faithful sidekick and comic-relief “Mushu,” the fire-breathing dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original. Disney's CGI department did an outstanding job in The Lion King, so Mushu should be a piece of cake.

Unlike some of the other Disney live-action films, however; Mulan may not be adhering as close to the animated source material.

Gong Li, a superstar in China, is playing a brand new villain, and she isn’t the only new character included. Donnie Yen (Rogue One) plays a role of a mentor, and they’re also changing the love-interest. The star-studded, all-Asian and Asian American cast also includes Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Rosalind Chao, Cheng Pei-Pei and martial arts superstar Jet Li.

Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.

The decision to reprise Mulan's musical roots, and even to add new songs, to the live-action version, may have been influenced by the acceptance and success of another live-action remake of an animated hit, Aladdin, which weaved the popular songs (including "A Whole New World") into the remake.

Any doubts Hollywood may have had about Asian actors and Asian-themed storylines able to attract audiences should be put to rest by the success of Crazy Rich Asians. Disney has been at the forefront of diversifying its casting options. The latest big blockbuster that Disney has benefited from the Aladdin, which went to great lengths to cast culturally appropriate actors for a story that takes place along the Silk Road, linking China, the Mideast and Euruope.

Last week Variety reports that Aladdin, starring Mena Massoud in the title role and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine with Will Smith as the Genie and  has grossed over $900 million worldwide with no signs of slowing down for the rest of the summer.

Aladdin has been the surprise of the summer becoming one of the studio’s biggest live-action titles ever. It joins Beauty And The Beast, The Jungle Book, Alice In Wonderland and three of the Pirates Of The Caribbean films in reaching the milestone.

Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, is currently the 3rd biggest film of the year domestically and worldwide, and the No. 1 film of 2019 so far outside of the Marvel superhero franchise.

___________________________________________________________________

TGIF Feature: 'Mulan' production starts - the next movie with an all-Asian cast

Chinese actress Liu Yifei will portray Mulan.

ASAM NEWS

PRODUCTION is underway for Disney’s live action version of Mulan.

Coming on the heels of Warner Bros.' Crazy Rich Asians, which was released in North American theaters on Wednesday (Aug. 15), Mulan could be the next wide-distribution movie from a Hollywood production company featuring an all-Asian cast.

Mulan stars Chinese star Liu Yifei as the title character.

The movie isn’t due out until March 2020, but Disney is whetting our appetites by releasing the first photo of Liu as Mulan.

“It’s a big, girly martial arts epic. It will be extremely muscular and thrilling and entertaining and moving,” the film’s director, Niki Caro, (The Zookeeper’s Wife), told MovieFone about her vision for the Disney remake. According to IGN, shooting will take place in both New Zealand and China.

Joining Liu will be Jet Li (Expendables 3), Donnie Yen (Rogue One), Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern) and Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story). Recent additions to the cast include Rosalind Chao (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Cheng Pei-Pei (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Nelson Lee.

Based on a traditional Chinese legend, Mulan was a teenaged rebel who dressed as a man to serve in the emperor's army in place of her father. She becomes a war hero in the battle against the Hun.

Breaking away from the Disney mold of princesses who are usually rescued by male heroes, Mulan raises issues of female empowerment, women in the military and cross-dressing, particularly relevant in this era of #MeToo and #AboutTime.

Disney had previously said the live action version would not be a musical, unlike the original animated version which featured the singing voice of Broadway star Lea Salonga. However, as of late, Disney has said that could change. The selection of Liu Yifei to portray the legendary character, opens the door to that possibility. She  is also a popular recording artist in China. Director Niki Caro, has said the film would incorporate music in some way.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.
______________________________________________________________________________

Mulan: A star-studded cast for reboot; one controversial role remains unfilled

Gong Li and Jet Li are joining the 'Mulan' cast.

MULAN, the live-action remake, is off to a fitful start. On one hand, the casting of Chinese superstars generates tons of excitement, not only in the U.S. but in China as well. On the other hand, the fate of a popular character has fans up in arms.

Three huge Chinese stars are being secured for Disney's Mulan, joining Liu Yi Fei, an enormously popular star in her own right, who plays the lead role. Production is scheduled to start  in New Zealand in August followed by work in China.

Martial arts-legend Jet Li (The Expendables) and internationally acclaimed actress Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha) are set to play the Chinese Emperor and the movie's main villain respectively, in director Niki Caro's (Whale Rider) live-action version of Disney's 1998 animated adventure.

Last week, Donnie Yen (Rogue One, Ip-man franchise) was confirmed as a cast member to play the role of Commander Tung, a mentor and teacher to Mulan. His role was not in the original animated version of the movie.  

New Zealand-based Chinese/Vietnamese actress Xana Tang was also cast as Mulan's sister.

For Western audiences: The addition of Gong Li and Jet Li (not related) with Yen and Liu Yifei is comparable to Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep joining Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jennifer Lawrence. You've got your older stars and you got your up-and-coming and wildly popular young actress -- you can get a sense of what Disney is doing. Each of the Chinese superstars could headline a movie on their own but to have them in the same film is a major, major coup for Disney and almost assures blockbuster status when the film opens in China, whose movie-going audiences rival - if it hasn't already surpassed - the U.S. as the No. 1 movie market.

Liu Yi Fei will play Mulan and Donnie Yen will play her mentor, Commander Tung.

Yen, who made quite an impression in his Hollywood debut in Rogue One as a blind martial artist who had command of The Force, is enormously popular in Hong Kong/China and the rest of Asia for his fighting and acting skills.

Jet Li is already well-known with Western movie fans, especially those who folow the martial arts genre. He's made a few Hollywood movies but the litany of mediocre roles has limited his box-office impact, but he's still big in Asia.

An esteemed actress in China, Gong Li has been credited with popularizing Chinese cinema in the English-speaking world, especially after winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal as a hapless prostitute in Farewell My Concubine (1993), and the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the American film Memoirs of a Geisha (2005). 

Gong’s Mulan role is a character which did not exist in the original animated film, and is said to replace the original’s ruthless Shan Yu, the king of the Huns.

There is one major role that has yet to be cast and it looks like it will never be filled: Li Shang. While the character serves as Mulan's commander-turned-love-interest in the animated original, it seems like he might not be making an appearance in the reboot. 

A tender moment between Mulan, posing as a boy, and Li Shang from Disney's first version of "Mulan."

After Yen was cast as a new character named Commander Tung as Mulan's mentor last week, a casting call for the film was uncovered revealing that Mulan's love interest will now be a solider named Chen Honghui.

According to the listing, Chen will serve as Mulan's "chief rival" who has a "mean, bullying streak to him." However, after he realizes that Mulan is actually a woman, those "intense feelings of rivalry" eventually turn into love. Meanwhile, the website Backstage.com shares that Honghui's part will be a lead role in which casting directors are looking for someone in their 20s who is "strapping, cocky and handsome" and can speak "fluent English and Mandarin Chinese."

It looks very much like Li Shang is being replaced with a more traditional love interest. Whether or not Disney's animators deliberately intended Li Shang to be confused about his sexual identity doesn't matter -- that's the way people have been interpreting the character and that's the perception held by the legion of upset fans who made Li Shang their bisexual icon.

It didn't take long for fans to voice their strong opinions about the recast, as fans have long considered Li Shang to be a "bisexual icon" for falling in love with Mulan when he thought she was a man. Alas, it seems like this isn't the only change the live-action film will make.

Still unknown - at least to us outsiders - is whether the new movie will be a musical like its cartoon 1998 predecessor. Would the popularity of the Disney original still rub off on the new version if they exclude such classics, including “I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” “Reflection,” and “A Girl Worth Fighting For?”

After initially saying that the upcoming Mulan wouldn’t be a musical, director Niki Caro later told the Los AngelesTimes that the film could include the tracks of the 1998 film’s legendary soundtrack. The casting of Chinese actress/pop singer Liu Yi Fei for the lead, it was thought that Caro was definitely leading towards a musical. However, with production to start in August, that announcement has yet to be made.

Because of the lengthy time it took to cast the lead role, literally auditioning a thousand actresses, the release date was put off from this year to March, 2020.

That's still a long way off and anything can still happen. Barring any major changes - and they would have to be catastrophic - Mulan will be the second all-Asian cast movie made and released by a Hollywood studio in recent years. Crazy Rich Asians, based on the novel of the same name and helmed by director Jon M. Chu which is now in post-production, will premiere in August of this year.

GIPHY.GIF

RIP Li Shang

________________________________________________________________________________