Jan de Bont Directing Zhang Ziyi's Live-Action 'Mulan'

I'm not certain this is a marked improvement, but it could be. Chuck Russell was the guy brought in to direct a live-action Mulan starring Zhang Ziyi. Embarrassingly, even though this is financed by a consortium of production companies from around the world, this adaptation of the national legend will be made...in English. Stupid. Anyway, Russell is out, and that was not the smartest move, either, when we reported it a few weeks back. Now the film will fall to Jan de Bont, who made Speed, Twister, and nothing else I can recommend. His last movie, officially, was the Tomb Raider sequel, although there was some French action thing with John Cusack de Bont was working on for a couple years but the money dried up. The Hollywood Reporter quotes producer Jeffrey Chan as saying, "“We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to work with Jan and Ziyi to turn the Chinese legend of Mulan into a top-notch live-action movie for a worldwide audience,” and while that may be what it becomes, why in the hell do they have to make it in English? Two of the three biggest foreign language films ever are in Mandarin, and both of them star Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero). Internationally, a third Mandarin period piece with Zhang, House of Flying Daggers, made about $82 million, even though it wasn't a big hit in the US. So here you have literally the only star in the world who could make a native language adaptation of this story with a chance at having it be a hit, and your first move is to make it in English, thereby possibly alienating a billion people. Well done. Incidentally, Zhang Ziyi is also a producer, and she's not great in English, so why would she set this up to be so questionable off the bat? It's difficult to even get excited about this, with or without Jan de Bont (although, if I had my preference...), if they're making this kind of mistake right off the bat. Hire one of China's great, unheralded filmmakers, keep it in a Chinese dialect, and do the story some justice.

Comments

[Mspanda]

To who it may concern,
　　
　　Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is suspected of delaying the release of donation funds she had garnered for victims of the 2008 Szechuan earthquake during her fundraising activities at the Cannes Film Festival that same year.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　Zhang’s fiance, multi-millionaire Vivi Nevo, had reportedly set up the Zhang Ziyi Foundation on her behalf in the United States to conduct fundraising activities for the earthquake victims.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　Citing information from Nevo’s close friend in Hong Kong, Chinese media reports alleged that the Foundation’s donation funds, earmarked for the Chinese Red Cross Foundation of at least$2 million, were channelled into Zhang’s personal overseas account and remained there for almost 18 months after her fundraising efforts at the film festival.
　　　　　　
　　　　　　Now Chinese civilians are trying every possible way to find out where the money had gone ,especially on the internet ,many websids were built up to discuss this event that why the Foundation refuse to public where the money had been used.But less progress they have made because none of them were the doners on Zhang Ziyi's fundraising activitie for the 2008 Szechuan earthquake in Cannes on May 21th ,2008. They aim to find out these doners in France or America so that Zhang Ziyi have to tell where the money had been because Zhang Ziyi's Foundation have to answer to it's doners.

[Jimmy]

The reason the film will be made in english is because Ms. Zhang's domestic reputation has been tainted by her embezzlement of foreign donation money she raised two years for chinese earthquake. Her only bet would be to win the american movie market so she can come back as an "internationally recognized" superstar, a title chinese officials who are in charge of movie industry often fall head over heels for.

[Despicable]

It is because her lastest-reinvention of the image in domestic market falls flat. She still has not clearly replied to the charity fraud. As a public figure, she should have come out with the truth, instead of cheating and manipulating the public and media time and time again.