It’s been a while since we heard anything about the upcoming live-action remake of the Disney classic “Mulan.”
Back in February of last year, it was announced that director Niki Caro would be the filmmaker to bring the story to life. Other than that, the only real news is the film is being pushed until March 2020, with no real reason given for the delay. However, what we do know is that the musical will star Liu Yifei in the titular role. And recently, the Chinese actress made headlines in her native country, but not for the best reason.
READ MORE: ‘Mulan’s’ Niki Caro On The “Shameful” Lack Of Female Directors In Hollywood [Podcast]
According to a recent report, Liu Yifei had the unflattering distinction of winning the Golden Broom Award, aka the Chinese Razzie, for Most Disappointing Actress. Ouch. This award was given to the actress after her recent film, “Once Upon A Time.” The fantasy film is said to have been a major disappointment for Chinese audiences when it was released last year.
The film grossed approximately $82 million in China, which seems like a decent amount. Unfortunately, “Once Upon A Time” was only able to reach #31 on the Chinese box office charts for 2017, right behind “Legend of the Demon Cat” (which sounds awesome). In the States, the film only grossed less than $500,000 in limited release. So it does seem as if audiences didn’t respond as well as they should have to the film.
Unlike the Razzies, which is seen as a joke in the United States and not given much credence, the Golden Broom Awards are supposed to be taken more seriously and encourage actors and filmmakers to improve their craft. In the report, it states that actress Liu Yifei “is often ridiculed for her unexpressive poker face.” It doesn’t seem like this is an award given to a star for one bad performance, yet an actual indictment of her acting ability. Obviously, since she’s a relative unknown domestically, we aren’t sure if this means we should be worried about “Mulan,” or perhaps, Liu Yifei is working hard to combat that sort of criticism.
Unfortunately, we won’t get a chance to judge Liu Yifei’s acting ability in the Disney film for quite a while. So until then, we’ll just have to hope for the best.