“Speed” Director Jumps Aboard Chinese Flick

Jan de Bont has signed up to direct Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi in an independently-produced, English-language co-production of the classic tale of Hua Mulan, the legendary young heroine soldier who joins an all-male army. “Mulan,” set to start shooting this fall outside Shanghai, is screenwriter John Blickstead’s recreation of the Chinese Joan of Arc story that was first described in a 6th century poem. The story was popularized around the world in the 1998 Walt Disney animated film of the same name. Zhang is one of China’s biggest actresses, and the new “Mulan” film comes at a time when the country’s movie business is growing by leaps and bounds at home but has scored relatively few hits overseas.
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