• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

White male lead in the spec script Disney bought for the live action remake of Mulan

Who should play the lead character and true hero in Mulan's live action movie?


Results are only viewable after voting.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Why would they buy the original script though, if they weren't going to use it?

They could literally have bought the script just for one line. Hell, in theory (though it isn't really the case here), you could actually buy a script just to prevent someone else from using it (like if someone else wanting to make a movie based off the Mulan legend).
 

Sunster

Member
Even if they aren't using the script I'm glad #MakeMulanRight is trending. It could be seen as a warning to them.
 

MogCakes

Member
Considered for what, though? I don't know how many times this has to be said, but we have no idea of how much of that script is actually going to be in the movie (or is in the working draft of the movie that exists right now). And they've already said their primary sources are the original legend and their animated version, and that they've already hired someone else to rewrite whatever was in that spec script.
Considered to use as a jumping off point for a movie script. Is what you're saying supposed to silence dissent on the spec script itself? As I said in my first post, of which it seems people are intent to miss the point of:

Disney could have any number of reasons for having bought this so I'm not going to question their purchasing motive, however I will scrutinize their decision to use this of all possible scripts as the base for their live action movie, as it now brings the possibility their changes won't entirely erase the problematic premise.

None of us know how much is or isn't being used, so I don't see the harm in voicing that it is a terrible spec script and isn't a very pleasant thing to see associated with the planning of this movie. If there is a reason that nobody should say anything negative about this, I would love to hear it.

Once again, you don't really know that.
The link that I saw earlier in this thread says otherwise.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disneys-live-action-mulan-gets-934976
The Disney team saw the spec, by Lauren Hynek and Elizabeth Martin, as a jumping-off point for a more nuanced and elaborate adaptation, combining the legendary Chinese ballad and the 1998 animated film.
 

sparkzero

Member
Casting calls for Mulan and Chen. Seems like they dropped the white male love interest, but the role description doesn't mention ethnicity:

Mulan: 18 – 20 years old to play 18; must be able to speak fluent English and Mandarin Chinese; lithe, athletic, quick, tougher than she looks, Mulan lives in rural China in 630 AD, and her country is besieged, under attack by the Gokturk invaders. When her aging father volunteers to join the Army, Mulan sneaks out by night and takes his place, strapping down her breasts so she can pass for a man. There is a mysterious power inside Mulan, a power of speed and coordination and sheer force that places her at the peak of her unit- where no one suspects her secret.

Chen Honghui – In his 20s, must be able to speak fluent English and Mandarin Chinese; strapping, cocky and handsome, Honghui is another recruit who joins Commander Tung’s unit, and he’s determined to be the best soldier in human history. Full of himself, with a mean, bullying stream to him, he quickly realizes that Mulan is his chief rival, but he does not realize that she is a woman. Grittily determined to be simply the best at everything, Honghui is increasingly peeved by Mulan’s ability to match or out-maneuver him. But after learning that his rival is a woman, his intense feelings of rivalry turn into something very different, something like love.
Source: http://www.projectcasting.com/casting-calls-acting-auditions/mulan-casting-call#

Filming starts April 2017
 

Chuckie

Member
Casting calls for Mulan and Chen. Seems like they dropped the white male love interest, but the role description doesn't mention ethnicity:

Considering the name is Chen Honghui and you have to speak fluent Mandarin for the role I think it is safe to assume it will be Chinese

Not that it matters for the films, but wasn't Mulan a lesbian in Once Upon A Time?

Yes. And played by the gorgeous Jamie Chung!
 

Goldrush

Member
Wondering if the Mandarin requirement is just so they could promote the movie in mainland China or will it actually be used in the movie. That requirement makes an already small pool of Chinese-American actors even smaller.
 

Wereroku

Member
Wondering if the Mandarin requirement is just so they could promote the movie in mainland China or will it actually be used in the movie. That requirement makes an already small pool of Chinese-American actors even smaller.

They will probably film in both english and mandarin. Would be a smart way to release the film quickly in the US and China.
 

Henkka

Banned
They will probably film in both english and mandarin. Would be a smart way to release the film quickly in the US and China.

Hmm... That seems costly. If they literally film two different versions, every actor would have to speak both fluently.

They could also film in English, and then use the principal actors to dub their characters in Chinese?
 

Espada

Member
That doesn't sound like Chen at all. All these live action adaptions so far have been faithful to the source material but this? A cocky bully with a mean streak who sees Mulan as a rival?

Yeah, that has me a little concerned. That whole dynamic they mentioned there is obnoxious in most movies, so this has really dampened my interest in this.
 
You mean the rumour that had zero backing?

It wasn't a rumour, nothing said in the OP is false. Disney did in fact buy a spec script of Mulan that involved a White male interest, and then said this spec script will be the jumping off point for their movie after they hired new writers. Now obviously we have no idea what's going to remain from the spec script if anything at all, but some Asian Americans within the industry read the spec script, and wanted to bring it to people's attention just in case Disney even thought of keeping the White male lead was a good idea. I think they just wanted to be safe than sorry by speaking up now and letting their voice be heard, rather than waiting and potentially having their worst nightmare come to fruition regardless of how remote a chance it was of happening.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom