In continued celebration of the long-awaited Disney live-action film MULAN, members of the cast shared some of their behind-the-scenes stories.
Chinese in Entertainment (CIE), California — on September 12th at 2 PM PDT, CIE Speaker Series hosted a live panel, entitled “Q&A Discussion with the Cast of Mulan.” In order to celebrate the release of the Disney live-action film and continue to support the Chinese heritage community in entertainment, CIE invited four of the film’s cast members (Tzi Ma, Jimmy Wong, Ron Yuan, Chen Tang) to the webinar, which was moderated by Coca Xie.
Everyone from the panel believed that Mulan is a milestone for Asian filmmakers because never before in Hollywood, there has been a movie featuring such a large group of Asian casts. Chen Tang said, “it’s like having a drink of water after having been thirsty for many years.” and that worked on Mulan means a lot for him. Ron Yuan, coming from another perspective, said that seeing Mulan as a great story about family and about embracing one’s fear and passion.
The rapport among actors, the cast shared, are more like a family. Jimmy Wong shared his feeling working in the same squad with Yifei Liu, “She was hard-working, concentrated and never complained. She always came before us and left after us. She set a very positive example for everyone.”
Mulan was led by female filmmakers. When discussing the cooperation with Director Nikki Caro and Director of Photography Mandy Walker, Tang said that he enjoyed working with the female filmmakers; it was a very unique experience. According to Tang, they had different perspectives to see the world, supported everyone on the site, and made the working atmosphere a warm one. One of the greatest things about working with Nikki and the creative team, Ma mentioned, is the mutual trust between the actors and the crew. It fueled production efficiency on the site.
In addition to sharing behind-the-scenes stories, the cast had also expressed their “best wishes” for Asian filmmakers. Ma said, “tell your stories. Don’t worry about the audience. You will find your audience.” Tang added, “tell your specific unique stories because the most personal is the most creative. Nobody can tell the story that you know, and you want to tell.” Wong believed that “your truth is very powerful and is the most genuine to you. If you're going to start anywhere, it’s a good place to start.” Yuan wrapped up with, “be true to yourself and be true to your story. Be very prepared and try to cast the best actors.”
At the end of the discussion, the actors and the moderator Xie read a few lines from The Ballad of Mulan, following is the video.
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About CIE speaker series
CIE Speaker Series offers volunteers and our community an opportunity to experience and learn from remarkable individuals working in the entertainment industry. Speaker Series invites industry professionals to share their stories and insights. We intend to create dynamic conversations between remarkable industry leaders who are making an impact to shape the entertainment world, and the audience who are eager to learn more about the industry.
About CIE
Chinese in Entertainment (CIE) is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, California with a branch in Beijing, China. Our mission is to connect and empower talent from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora, and promote Chinese culture in the global entertainment industry.