Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 638 Go audition for Mulan
Guo Fan and Chen Zhixi both possessed a mysterious and profound aura of fortune.

To outsiders, it seemed impossible, but the two of them managed to accomplish it together.

Guo Fan and Chen Zhixi had previously invited the main creators of "Mulan" to a two-week trip to China. Afterwards, the two actually managed to keep the husband-and-wife screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver in China, and for two months, they revised the script of "Mulan" according to Guo Fan's ideas.

Not only did Guo Fan remove all the elements like witches, phoenixes, and air, but he also managed to persuade Disney's management to approve the script!
No one knows how Guo Fan and Chen Zhixi did it.

However, according to Chen Zhixi's revelation to Li Qiutang, Guo Fan's new script had its budget cut, from Disney's original $1.5 million to $1 million.

Disney only approved Guo Fan's script and his filming plan after saving one-third of the budget, considering the economic aspects.

Last June, Robert Iger announced at the Shanghai International Film Festival that "Mulan" would begin a global casting call, but the actual casting process did not begin until August.

Although the casting process was said to be global, director Guo Fan never even considered casting non-Chinese actors.

Therefore, he set up the casting office in Beijing. China is his home turf, and only in Beijing can he be the mastermind behind "Mulan." Guo Fan knows this better than anyone else.

A Chinese-American in Hollywood wants to audition for "Mulan"? Sure, fly over here yourself!

Of course, Guo Fan also made some compromises. After all, "Mulan" is a global project of Disney, which means it is destined to be an English film, and this cannot be changed.

Let alone Guo Fan, even if the King of Heaven himself came, Mulan would still be an English-language film.

However, Guo Fan secured a distribution policy in advance: Mulan would not be released in English in China, only in Mandarin.

Guo Fan persuaded the producer by saying, "If a movie about Deborah Sampson were released in the United States, and the characters actually spoke French, could you accept that?"

Deborah Sampson can be seen as America's Mulan; she disguised herself as a man to participate in the Revolutionary War and is a household name in American history.

That makes it clear: Disney ultimately adopted Guo Fan's suggestion, and only the Mandarin-dubbed version of "Mulan" will be released in China.

Returning to the casting, the Mulan production team has been casting for almost a year. It can be said that Guo Fan has met a great many actresses of suitable age from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities. Some of them he already knew, but many more were new to him.

Even some celebrities who aren't actors choose to try their luck in the "Mulan" production team, such as Dou Jingtong.

But so far, he has not chosen the Mulan he wants.

The team's requirements for Mulan were not high:

Asian women aged 18-28, that goes without saying;

It's only natural that they can use English fluently, after all, it's a Disney movie;

Having a certain level of martial arts skills is really not an unreasonable requirement for action movies.
Having star quality is the most unpredictable requirement in casting. What exactly is star quality? Aren't all the people auditioning stars?
But that's what Disney requires.

During this period, actors from countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand also applied, and the casting team gave opportunities to those who met the requirements.

Mulan is Disney's only Asian princess with yellow skin and black hair, so it's no surprise that several Asian countries are paying the most attention to this live-action version.

Mulan has yellow skin and black hair, but it doesn't mean she has to be Chinese. The casting requirements say Asian, so actors from other countries can naturally compete.

The Koreans were the most enthusiastic!

South Korean netizens even said that since "Mulan" used a Chinese director, it shouldn't have used Chinese actors as well.

Is there any connection between these?

South Korean netizens even started a discussion online, recommending their idols to play Mulan, such as Im Yoon-ah and Jang Yoon-joo... Liu Yifei has been idle for more than ten days. During these ten days, her greatest pleasure has been accompanying her mother to tinker with the yard and learning to plant flowers, grass and vegetables with her mother.

She found it quite interesting to tinker with these flowers and plants.

After tidying up the yard, I can go out shopping if I feel like it, or stay at home and relax if I don't.

She completely forgot about her husband. Her explanation was, "He's busy right now, I'll go see him later."

Liu Yifei isn't the kind of woman who feels life is meaningless without her husband; she can be very happy on her own.

That afternoon, she went shopping with her agent, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. Being Liu Yifei's agent was relatively easy; she only had to manage one person.

Liu Yifei bought a bag for both her agent and assistant.

"What trouble have you gotten into that you need us to handle for you?" Why would we offer to be so helpful for no reason, or buy you a bag for no reason at all?

Liu Yifei paused for half a second, then laughed and said, "It's nothing. I've been staying home these past few days growing flowers and vegetables. What trouble could I possibly cause?"

“Look at what you’ve learned,” the agent said, “you have such a strong Northeastern accent.”

"Have it?"

Don't you think so yourself?

"Hehe, I'm paying attention."

I don't think she has an accent.

Liu Yifei continued, "I just wanted to buy you a bag because it's been so long since we last met, so you wouldn't forget about me." Liu Yifei and her agent only see each other once a month.

Actually, her agent knew why Liu Yifei bought her this bag. Given Liu Yifei's personality, she already had a very "full" schedule this year, having finished filming "The Butterfly Lovers" and "Be With You," and with "Global Times 2" coming up. She didn't want to take on any more roles this year.

I bought this bag to shut my agent up so she wouldn't pressure me to work later.

However, a good agent is one who doesn't push their work; otherwise, wouldn't the agent just seem like a mascot?
So, when Liu Yifei took the two to a coffee shop for afternoon tea, the agent still had to say:
"Yifei, why don't you give 'Mulan' a try?"

"What 'Mulan'?" Not filming and still eating cream chocolate cake, even in front of her manager—Liu Yifei is arrogant, unrestrained, and utterly shameless.

"Oh, you mean Guo Fan's guy?" Liu Yifei suddenly remembered. She hadn't really paid much attention to this film over the past year; she wasn't short of films. "Hasn't he chosen one yet?"

"No, that's why I want you to give it a try. The Disney Princess series is the biggest opportunity for actresses worldwide, who wouldn't want to play a role?" the agent said.

"It's alright," Liu Yifei smiled, she didn't think much of "Mulan" anymore.

"Guo Fan and Zhi Xi are both acquaintances and you can talk to them. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Guo Fan has been looking at hundreds, if not thousands, of actors over the past year. It's not certain that my application will work."

The agent flattered, "Looking at those casting requirements, they all seem to be talking about you. You speak English, know martial arts, and have star quality. They've been casting for a year and still haven't found someone; they might be waiting for you."

“I’ve sent you your resume. Just let me know if you want to go. Guo Fan’s side is scratching their heads in frustration over casting.”

…………

(End of this chapter)