director of the millennium

“Filming definitely cannot be done abroad.”

"That damn New Zealand is even more unnecessary. Isn't the Hulunbuir grassland in China more beautiful?"

"As for ancient scenes, which dynasty is it hard to find a film and television studio in China?"

"In the original script, they were planning to go to Hakka Tulou for filming. Have you watched too much Big Fish and Begonia?"

"Hua Mulan is from the north, and she first appeared in the Ballad of Mulan during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. How could she have gone to the south?"

"Change it. Everything has to be changed. Change it to the 98 version of the animated film Mulan!"

Wu Yuan sat on the sofa in the living room, facing the computer and conducting an online video conference.

Working from home has now become a normal part of global work.

It is actually quite convenient, especially for Americans who often work from home and are accustomed to this kind of online video conferencing.

However, what was discussed at the meeting was not so harmonious.

The extensive preparations made by the original crew of "Mulan" were criticized by Wu Yuan as useless.

I can only say that the female director really has weird ideas.

The mere fact that they went to New Zealand to shoot the film was enough to make Wu Yuan speechless.

Why would a movie set in China be shot on location in the grasslands of New Zealand? Do they really have so much money that they have nowhere to spend it?
"In short, the script needs to be rewritten, but I will finalize the main actors first and then have them go to the stable for closed training."

"The cast list will follow the main and supporting cast of the 98 version of Mulan, but we will add a villain, tentatively a shaman from the grassland ethnic group, a female wizard."

"She's not the kind of witch in Western culture, but a wizard who practices primitive religious worship."

"Oh, this setting is very mysterious. European and American audiences will also buy into it."

"The filming location must be in China. The epidemic in Europe and the United States is raging so seriously now. It is too risky to go out and film. It is safer in our country."

"I will take the team to scout the location. There is no rush."

"Ask the Peking University professor you contacted to provide consulting support with historical background."

Wu Yuan arranged the preliminary preparations for "Mulan" in an orderly manner.

Disney still keeps its word. If he is allowed to make overall decisions, he will make overall decisions.

In addition, Wu Yuan was different from the previous female director. He was a top-notch Hollywood director. No one in the crew dared to go against him and they only dared to do things according to his requirements.

Wu Yuan had already established this attitude after filming "Juno" that year.

A video conference lasted nearly three hours. After the joint crew composed of Disney and Wu Yuan's Light and Shadow Era fully understood Wu Yuan's ideas, they began to carry out preliminary preparations according to his instructions.

After disbanding the meeting group and closing the computer, Wu Yuan leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh. "I haven't worked for a long time, and suddenly I'm back to work. I'm not used to it."

At this time, Liu Yifei, who had been watching him work, handed him a cup of hot tea at the right time, and smiled and sat next to him: "I never thought that after all these twists and turns, I would have the opportunity to act in this movie, and the director turned out to be you."

"Who blames Niki Caro for not living up to her expectations?" Wu Yuan shrugged. He didn't expect that Mulan in this time and space would have such twists and turns. "Niki Caro spent nearly $1 million and messed up the project. Disney had no choice but to swallow it."

"This time, Disney only approved a budget of $1.5 million, so the total is $2.5 million, which is not a small amount of money."

In the original time and space, "Mulan" is the most expensive live-action adaptation of Disney animation, with a production cost of $2 million.

This huge investment reflects Disney's emphasis on and expectations for the project.

It can be said that in the original time and space, "Mulan" was indeed a top priority project for Disney, and Liu Yifei did get a piece of top-notch pie. Unfortunately, she encountered an irresistible black swan event, which prevented the film from even having a chance to be released in theaters.

However, in this time and space, because Niki Caro messed up the project, she first wasted $1 million, and then added another $1.5 million. From Disney's perspective, they paid $2.5 million for this project, which was more expensive and a heavy bet.

But from the perspective of director Wu Yuan, the money he can spend is not as much as Niki Caro in the original time and space.

So he had no interest in any weird ideas like going to New Zealand to shoot.

1.5 million US dollars, converted into RMB, is nearly 11 billion. Even if two-thirds of the crew members are from Hollywood and are paid according to Hollywood standards, the cost is still controllable if the film is shot entirely in China.

Even if there is no way to save money on special effects, Wu Yuan's $1.5 million can basically produce the effect of Niki Caro's $2 million.

"I don't plan to ask Jet Li, Donnie Yen or other action movie stars to star in this film. Their salaries are too high."

"This time, in addition to you as the leading actress, I only plan to invite two international superstars, and they will all be at friendly prices."

"Who?" Liu Yifei looked at her husband curiously.

"Brother Cheng Long and Sister Gong Li." Wu Yuan raised his eyebrows proudly and said, "They are both good friends who have worked together before."

"And Gong Li's salary wasn't high. She was willing to act in the film out of friendship. After all, she is now semi-retired and lives abroad."

"Brother Cheng Long doesn't need to be mentioned. We are good brothers who have supported each other all the way in Hollywood. I just made a phone call and mentioned this project. He was willing to act in it even without any salary. However, I still asked for a friendship price."

"One of them can play the villainous witch boss, and the other can play the general."

"Brother Cheng Long plays a general. Haha. It makes me feel like I'm back in The Myth."

Wu Yuan did not intend to completely localize "Mulan". As I said, Hollywood princess films have their own style, and this style is very popular with audiences all over the world. It's just that it doesn't suit the Chinese environment.

If the film is really based on the traditional Chinese story of Mulan, can it still be called a Disney princess movie?
From the beginning to the end, "Mulan" was positioned for the global market, not the Chinese market. Disney doesn't even pay much attention to the Chinese market. After all, Disney's princess movies have never sold well in China.

Therefore, Wu Yuan actually did not want to change "Mulan" into a very traditional Chinese story. The main storyline should still follow the story of the princess fighting the witch given by Disney.

He just needs to modify some of the incongruous makeup and scenes, as well as those inexplicable plots, such as "qi" and "loyalty", so that they will not seem so incongruous to the Chinese audience.

Wu Yuan has always been very clear that "Mulan", produced by Disney, is ultimately a princess film aimed at the European and American markets.

"Get ready to go back to work." He looked at Liu Yifei with a smile: "In the next few months, I have to find a stable for you to train in equestrianism."

"The first Asian princess in Disney history, the first atypical princess, and the first martial arts princess are about to be born!" (End of this chapter)