ROTTEN TOMATOES: Weinsteins to Mount a Live-Action "Mulan"

Weinsteins to Mount a Live-Action "Mulan"

by Scott Weinberg | June 06, 2006

Like most of us, The Brothers Weinstein are deeply in love with Asian actress Zhang Ziyi. But unlike the rest of us, they have the money to hire the gal for a three-picture deal ... two of which will be: A remake of "The Seven Samurai" and a live-action adaptation of "Mulan."

According to Variety, ""Mulan" is set up as one of the debut pictures out of the new Meridian Pictures stable being established by Chinese multi-millionaire David Dong.

Pic is scripted by Wang Hui-ling ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and forthcoming John Woo project "The Battle of Red Cliff"). It draws on a Chinese folk tale of a female resistance fighter who disguises herself as her father to take his place in battle. Disney made "Mulan'' into an animated pic in 1998, but the tale was first put on the big screen in a 1956 Chinese production. New Chinese-language pic's budget is pegged at $20 million, with production skedded for February."

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(1-17 of 17 posts) | Reply

Kidsmoker writes:
on Jun 06 2006 09:19 AM

[b]Remake of Seven Samurai?![/b]
Why remake Kurosawa's masterpiece? We already did it with The Magnificent Seven, why dont the Winsteins try and come up with original ideas for once?

(Reply to this)

polnikes writes:
on Jun 06 2006 09:55 AM

In reply to this comment (#837521)
of all things to remake. i think i dropped to the ground shivering when i read they were doing this.

(Reply to this)

Ciaranmv writes:
on Jun 06 2006 10:16 AM

NNNOOOOO!!! Seven Samurai is a classic, one of my favorite films of all-time. It's probably going to be as bad as when they remade Psycho. Next thing you know they'll be remaking Star Wars... wait... too late!

(Reply to this)

Darth_Durden1024 writes:
on Jun 06 2006 10:18 AM

[b]A Remake, Yes, But at Least an Original R[/b]
OK, yes they're aiming to remake Mulan. Yes it means that Hollywood is still afflicted with a lack of new ideas. But at least this is a clever idea to remake. It's better than ANOTHER version of "The Poseidon Adventure" or worse, a Jim Carrey movie (Bruce Almighty) disguised as an Adam Sandler vehicle (Click). So while I'd like to see some original ideas make it to the big screen, at least a Mulan remake, and a live-action one at that, might appear fresh to some.

==TJ==

(Reply to this)

lavatory love machine writes:
on Jun 06 2006 10:59 AM

as long as she is there I'll see anything

near the end of geisha, michelle yeoh asks her if she knows how to entertain americans, ziyi responds with the most beautiful smile that I have ever seen

(Reply to this)

PrecentorEpsilonXVI writes:
on Jun 06 2006 11:27 AM

Well, Mulan is based on a folk tale (the Disney flick wasn't even original) so I'm not surprised if they are doing a "remake". Seven Samurai, however... *shudder*

(Reply to this)

lovelykeira writes:
on Jun 06 2006 12:04 PM

I think a live-action Mulan could be pretty damn tight if done right.

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VML writes:
on Jun 06 2006 01:00 PM

The Weinsteins are the worst producers. All they care about is money and they'll do anything to get money, such as producing unoriginal movies or forcing directors to make shitty changes to their films.

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Bane Of Anubis writes:
on Jun 06 2006 02:55 PM

[b]You know what sucks...[/b]
is the mired infatuation many have with Zhang Ziyi (well, not for those who are infatuated; for those of us who are just annoyed). I think a live-action Mulan could be tight, too (yes, I enjoyed the Disney version), but if Ziyi's in the titular role, it'll be too annoying. She's like a squirrel hopped up on caffeine -- unfortunately, I've never found her particularly attractive either, so pressing the mute button offers little reward.

(Reply to this)

Young Turk writes:
on Jun 06 2006 03:18 PM

[b]I'm curious[/b]
who asked for a remake of the 7 samurai with chinese actors?

Kurosawa must be rolling in his grave

(Reply to this)

Senh Duong writes:
on Jun 06 2006 05:17 PM

Michelle Yeoh has been developing this project since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger was released here. Unfortunately, she's a little old for the role now; otherwise, she would have been perfect.

(Reply to this)

Psyfoob writes:
on Jun 06 2006 06:27 PM

[b]OMG[/b]
Mulan could be interesting...how she'll handle being a man, I don't know... As for Seven Samurai... *barfs* I'm sick...of Hollywood....rehashing...*barfs*

(Reply to this)

Roadhg67 writes:
on Jun 07 2006 12:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#837524)
[b]Its Not Mulan that has us freaked...[/b]
I just wanted to assure you that none of us really care about Mulan... what we don't want is a remake of the Seven Samurai... easily one of the top 15 movies of all time.

(Reply to this)

armslover writes:
on Jun 07 2006 09:57 AM

[b]When Harvey "MiramAXE" Weinstein...[/b]
who has a long-standing reputation for forcing out other distributors from acquiring an Asian film, who has an equally long-standing reputation for forcing directors of Asian films to make cuts only to satisfy his own bottom line, produces remakes of the above-mentioned movies, it's a definite vote of no-confidence.

(Reply to this)

Teewana writes:
on Jun 07 2006 02:48 PM

All of the samurai will be played by ewoks. This is truely a sad day.

I'm wondering what people would think if someone like Zhang Yimou directed Mulan and put a gigantic artistic twist on the thing.

(Reply to this)

Ash1138 writes:
on Jun 08 2006 08:16 AM

[b]A Remake or a Retelling?[/b]
I consider Seven Samurai to be the second best film of all time. I hold it in extremely high regard. The likelyhood of a remake even coming close to Kurosawa's masterpiece is laughable. Some films are just perfect as they are.

However, I didn't mind retellings of the story. The Magnificent Seven was okay, and I rather enjoyed A Bug's Life. There's also a futuristic anime series called Samurai Seven that I've watched part of and found it to be interesting and entertaining too. Let's face it, the story is classic, and I don't begrudge anyone wanting to put their own spin on that story with a new variation.

If this new Weinstein version is an original spin (ie Seven Chinese Warriors) rather than a true remake I'll actually be very interested in seeing it because I LOVE the story. BUT, if it's going to be what Kurosawa already did better, what's the point?

What will REALLY piss me off is if it is a samurai film (ie Japanese) and they do the same blasphemy they did with Memiors of a Geisha (ie cast all Chinese actors to play Japanese). Everytime I see previews of that film and see chinese girls passed off as something uniquely Japanese, it drives me nuts. I don't care that there are millions of dumbasses that think all asians are the same, to me it's just as bad as the old days when they cast white guys to play native american indians in old western flicks. But I digress.

A Hollywood version of Kurosawa's classic = Bad

A creative, original retelling of the story (a la Bug's Life) = Good

(Reply to this)

new12play writes:
on Jun 13 2006 10:07 AM

In reply to this comment (#837537)
I'm confused, how did A Bug's Life get into your argument? You were explaining your love of the Seven Samurai then you talk about original retellings like A Bug's Life. Two extremes there. I think you are a genius, however. I would almost want a movie that was as original as say Real Genius or something. I know it doesn't compare to the cinematic greatness of A Bug's Life, but that Val Kilmer is a funny dude. I'm still in awe....A Bug's Life.

(Reply to this)