Disney drop key character from "Mulan" following #MeToo movementMarch 3, 2020 - 18:37 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Disney producer says the character Li Shang is missing from the live-action remake of "Mulan", as his storyline is not "appropriate" in the #MeToo era, the BBC reports. The film tells of a woman who disguises herself as a man to fight in place of her father in China's imperial army. In the 1998 animated original, based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, General Li Shang developed a bond with Mulan's male warrior alter-ego Ping. After her true identity was revealed, she and Li Shang have dinner together. Given recent revelations in Hollywood, however, producer Jason Reed confirmed they were uncomfortable with the power dynamics in their relationship. "I think particularly in the time of the #MeToo movement, having a commanding officer that is also the sexual love interest was very uncomfortable and we didn't think it was appropriate," Reed told Collider. "We split Li Shang into two characters [for the remake]. One became Commander Tung, who serves as her surrogate father and mentor in the course of the movie. The other is Honghui who is [Mulan's] equal in the squad." Last week, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of two counts in his sexual assault trial, more than two years after the first allegations against him emerged, sparking the #MeToo movement. Chinese-American actress Liu Yifei plays the legendary warrior in Niki Caro's live-action film, which recently faced calls for a boycott after she voiced support for Hong Kong's police force after violent pro-democracy protests. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | India wants Armenia’s proposals on use of Chabahar port India is expecting proposals from Armenia regarding the use of Chabahar port in Iran, Indian ambassador says. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. Mkhitaryan raises arrest of former Karabakh leaders in Azerbaijan Inter Milan star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has shared a news story about the extension of the arrest of former Karabakh leaders. |