Vicki Zhao cast in Jingle Ma’s ‘Hua Mulan’

PAINTED SKIN’s Vicki Zhao Wei has been selected to star in an upcoming fillm about Chinese folk heroine Hua Mulan, the same figure who inspired Disney’s 1998 animated feature MULAN. The news broke at a press conference in Beijing on February 10th where the film’s director Jingle Ma announced commencement of production.

Hua Mulan is a war-faring female made famous in a Chinese collection of 12th century lyrics and poetry. When the country is threatened by invaders she sneaks away from home, dresses as a man and joins an all-male army where she eventually has a critical role in defending the nation in a time of war.

A feature film about Mulan has been in development for years with a number of actresses considered for the lead role including Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Liu Yifei before Zhao was finally picked.

Prior to this official announcement, unconfirmed news had previously been leaked that Zhao had been engaged in horseback and combat training in preparation for the role.

Zhao remains best known in the U.S. for her supporting role opposite Stephen Chow in the action comedy SHOALIN SOCCER. As an active Mandarin pop singer and actress, Zhao is one of mainland China’s leading female entertainers. In 2008 she has prominent roles in Gordon Chan’s PAINTED SKIN and John Woo’s RED CLIFF. She is not an action star by trade but has had some screen fighting experience in past film and television roles under the action direction of veterans like Corey Yuen and Ching Siu-tung.

Chen Kun (PAINTED SKIN) will portray Mulan’s lover. Child actor Xu Jiao will play the young Mulan and Russian pop singer Vitas will make a cameo.

Jingle Ma is a prominent Hong Kong cinematographer-turned director with past action credits that include HOT WAR, TOKYO RAIDERS, SILVER HAWK, SEOUL RAIDERS, PLAYBOY COPS, and most recently BUTTERFLY LOVERS. His films typically possess high-value production and visual standards.

Source: CRIENGLISH.com