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More than a decade after Disney made a blockbuster animated film out of a folk tale about a young woman in ancient China who takes her father’s place on the battlefield, a Hong Kong director is taking on the story of Hua Mulan with real actors.
Jingle Ma said his live-action version of “Mulan” avoids glorifying one of China’s best-known female folk heroes, instead focusing on her vulnerabilities and relationships. Ma said he delved into Mulan’s trepidation when killing for the first time and confronting the death of her comrades.
“The animated movie tells you she is cheerful. She’s a little godlike in that she can solve all her problems. She can use her wits to solve many of her problems. But it doesn’t discuss her deepest emotions,” he said in a recent interview.
In Ma’s 115-minute movie, which opens in China, Singapore and Malaysia on Friday, gone are the goofy antics of a sidekick dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy and the smooth Broadway-style numbers performed by “Miss Saigon” star Lea Salonga, replaced with the bloody, gritty reality of war. One of the movie’s shots shows Mulan, played by Chinese actress Zhao Wei, sprayed with blood on her face after killing a general from a foreign tribe invading mainland China.
Zhao, whose credits include Stephen Chow’s “Shaolin Soccer” and John Woo’s historical epics “Red Cliff” and “Red Cliff II,” is known for her pretty looks but also boyish demeanor that Ma says made her a good fit for the lead role. The Hong Kong director said he was looking for an actress who was athletic and well-built enough to be a credible male soldier.
Walt Disney Co on Tuesday named Carolina Lightcap president of Disney Channels Worldwide, replacing Rich Ross, who left to head up the company’s movie studio in October.
Ross is credited with turning the Disney Channel into a powerhouse of “tween” programing aimed at 7 to 12-year-old kids. He took over Disney’s film studio after the abrupt departures of Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook in September and of Miramax Films President Daniel Battsek last month.
Lightcap joined Disney in 2000 and most recently served in the dual roles of senior vice president of programing and creative affairs for Disney Channels Latin America, and chief marketing officer for Walt Disney Co’s Latin American unit.
Disney also named Gary Marsh to the new post of chief creative officer in addition to his current title of president of entertainment for Disney Channels Worldwide. He reports to Lightcap.
Earlier this month, Disney also said that two top executives, Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs and Chariman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Jay Rasulo, will swap jobs.
Sure, carving a turkey can be intimidating — most of us only do it once or twice a year. But for chefs at Disney Parks, it’s routine. They’ll carve thousands of turkeys this holiday season and they’ll make it look easy.
To make sure you can pull it off, Walt Disney World executive chef Lenny DeGeorge is offering a quick how-to. He says start with the drumstick:
To safely carve your holiday turkey, it’s important to give yourself some room to operate and make sure you’re using a sharp knife, according to Chef Lenny. And he says if you get intimidated by carving the turkey in front of the family, there’s nothing to be ashamed about preparing it in the kitchen before bringing it to the table. Good luck.
Nine months after a photo leaked online of pop princess Miley Cyrus and friends pulling back their eyelids, an official ruling has been reached over the subsequent lawsuit.
In February, online sites such as GossipTeen and PopCrunch posted a photo that showed the then 16-year-old Disney star and her boyfriend pulling back their eyelids, supposedly to make them appear Asian. Just days after the photo leaked, a Los Angeles woman, Lucie J. Kim, filed a class-action lawsuit against Cyrus, naming the city’s entire Asian Pacific Islander population as co-plaintiffs.
However, on Friday, a Los Angeles judge threw out the case, saying that the photo did not break any laws, though it may have been offensive.
In the lawsuit, Kim claimed that the one-million Asian Pacific Islanders in the city are entitled to civil rights damages of $4,000 per person, or a total of $4 billion. Her complaint accused Cyrus of violating a statute that prohibits businesses from discriminating against minorities.
According to the AFP, Kim claimed that Cyrus “should have known that her image would be publicly disseminated via the media, which focuses on her private life.”
Kim’s lawyer argued that as a public figure, Cyrus should have known that the private photo could have consequences for the Asian American community. According to E! Online, attorney Henry M. Lee said the photo deprived them of “courtesy and respect.â€
“Every time she sells herself she engages in a business transaction…this image that she is this positive role model for children,” he said in court.
After the photo scandal, Cyrus issued a half-hearted apology on her fan site, MileyWorld.
“I’ve also been told there are some people upset about some pictures taken of me with friends making goofy faces! Well, I’m sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context!†MTV reported.
However, Asian American organizations like the OCA didn’t accept the apology, saying that it was “not enough†and demanded a “fuller apology.â€
MTV reported that she later issued a more complete apology, saying, “I have learned a valuable lesson from this and know that sometimes my actions can be unintentionally hurtful.â€
Cyrus, who is known as the squeaky-clean Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel, has sparked some controversy recently, including posing for a semi-nude Vanity Fair cover in June, and dancing with a stripper pole at the Teen Choice Awards in August. Last month, AOL’s pop culture blog ranked her as the worst celebrity influence of 2009.
After the court’s ruling, gossip site TMZ is reporting that Kim is considering filing an appeal.
