Director Niki Caro—RUBEN V. NEPALES
LOS ANGELES—When I recently interviewed Niki Caro, who will direct the live-action remake of “Mulan,” I pounced on the chance to ask her reaction to the wish list for the movie by Lea Salonga, who was the singing voice of Mulan.
A little backgrounder: Niki recently made news when
she was asked about her approach to her version of “Mulan,” to be released next year and one of Disney’s series of live-action remakes of its animated classics (including “Beauty and the Beast,” now a confirmed megahit).
When she was asked this question by Moviefone, “But from what I understand, no songs?” Niki replied, “Yes, from what I understand, no songs right now, much to the horror of my children. ”
Lea, who sang the movie’s theme song, “Reflection,” and two other tunes in the 1998
animated hit’s soundtrack (which also featured Stevie Wonder and Donny Osmond), wrote a series of tweets in reaction to Niki’s quote:
“So what do I think about the live-action Mulan not having the songs? I think it’s pretty cool! Let the film be a different thing altogether! ”
“I ask for two things from the live-action Mulan: one, an Asian actress who’d be believable as a boy or a man, and a hunky Shang. ”
“The original legend of Mulan existed for over 1,000 years without the music. The new film will stand proud and tall without the songs. ”
“Oh, wow. That’s awesome!” exclaimed Niki, who broke through with “Whale Rider” and “North Country,” when I brought up Lea’s name.
“Look, this live-action version of ‘Mulan’ is inspired by, well, the inspirational Chinese ballad, as well as the beloved animated classic,” Niki reacted when I told her about Lea’s tweets. “It’s an epic and an adventure movie. We’re still exploring the ways that we’re going to use music in the film. But there will absolutely be music, and there will absolutely be Asian hunks, Chinese most specifically, yeah. ”
On perhaps casting Ming-Na, who was the speaking voice of Mulan, as The Matchmaker this time in the live-action remake, Niki replied, “I haven’t even begun on this movie,
but of course, everything is up for consideration. ”
Stressing again that she hasn’t started work on “Mulan,” Niki added, “They made the announcement that my deal was done. But I have to finish promoting this movie (‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’) before I start next week on that one. I will
say that Disney has a remarkable track record of these live-action remakes.
“I’m honored to be part of that team and to contribute to this one because they’re all really different. ”
On casting “Mulan,” Niki said, “There has been an ongoing worldwide search. I can’t wait (to see the casting tapes). ”
“No,” she answered quickly when asked if she had any trepidation directing “Mulan” because it deals with a beloved Chinese story.
“If you look at my work, I have worked many times within a culture that’s not my own. I would very authentically do
so with ‘Mulan,’ of course.
The challenge is to satisfy both cultures—the Chinese culture, absolutely, and the culture of Disney. ”
In the meantime, Niki has finished “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” her film adaptation of Diana Ackerman’s book about how Warsaw Zoo keepers, Antonina (played by Jessica Chastain) and Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) helped save hundreds of Jews during the German occupation of Poland. I told Niki that more than 1,000 European Jews found refuge from the Holocaust in the Philippines.
I asked the director if people have come forward to share with her similar stories about saving Jews from the Nazis. “Yeah, we screened in New York to a Jewish organization,” she began. “A survivor spoke before the film and talked about the woman who sheltered him, who took him in as a child. She was very much like Antonina and what that meant to him.
“He wasn’t able to say goodbye to her, so the movie was very moving for him. Whenever I hear one of these stories, I’m struck again by the radical humanity involved in the act, and how we are more good than evil.”
Asked if she’s tired talking about being one of the few women directors in Hollywood, the New Zealand native clarified, “No, thank you. For years, I resisted talking about it, because I didn’t think it was an important distinction that I was female and a director.
“As a director, the job is the same, but 10 years ago, when I made ‘North Country,’ the statistic was still the same. They were 4 percent. How could it be that 10 years later, the statistic is still the same? So now’s the time to speak up. ”
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at https://twitter.com/nepalesruben.