China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 699: Masters Can Also Make Mistakes
One week after the release of the movie "Barbie", the box office revenue of 1.51 million euros in the first weekend continued to dazzle everyone.

Media people at home and abroad did not expect that Li Yu, a director from China, could make a film that would suit the tastes of Western audiences.

If we say that the last time Aquaman was just luck, then how do we explain this time Barbie? We can't just say it was just luck again, right?
How embarrassed would those Hollywood directors be if they could make two global box office hits just by luck?
A week after the film was released, media and film critics from all over the world began to comment on this globally popular film.

Rob Kling of England's Daily Telegraph gave a positive review of Barbie.

They gave the film four stars and praised the film for its weirdness, clever conception, and frequent laughs throughout its 100-plus minutes.

They also said that the film's satirical angle, which warmly and playfully exploits the audience's enthusiasm, is more likely to resonate with older audiences.

American film critic Cathy Stephen commented in Variety that the director and production team showed the connotation of Barbie in great detail and the cast was also excellent.

Another film critic, Jamie Giraka, said in ComicBook that "Barbie" was her favorite movie of the year, no doubt about it.

She also urged critics and Oscar voters to give the film an Oscar nomination.

The Oscars certainly won't listen to a critic like her.

In essence, the Academy Awards are no different from the Hong Kong Film Awards.

They all have a strong sense of regionalism, and they are a bit self-satisfied in their own circle. They discriminate against people outside their circle extremely seriously.

However, since Hollywood movies are much more powerful than Hong Kong movies, the Oscars are still coveted by countless people, while Hong Kong's Film Awards have gradually become a joke.

This is related to strength. If Hong Kong films today are still as glorious as they were in the 1970s and 1980s, it will still be the Little Hollywood of the East.

So Hong Kong Island’s Academy Awards will still have a grand display today. Even though people know it is unfair, they still want to be recognized by the Academy Awards.

This is very realistic. Sometimes it is just like this. A certain circle is obviously very xenophobic and discriminates against people from outside.

But due to their strong strength, many people are trying their best to squeeze into this circle even though they know the probability is very low and they may be humiliated.

Because the benefits of squeezing into this circle are too great.

For example, if a Chinese actor wins the Best Actor or Best Actress award at the Oscars, he can return to China and rely on this award to make a living, and live a very comfortable life.

Similarly, Hong Kong films are now in decline, and the Academy Awards don’t have much status anymore. Winning a Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards doesn’t mean much.

If we go back 20 or 30 years, if there was a mainland actor who won the Best Actor award at the Academy Awards in the 1980s or 1990s, then he would definitely stand out from the crowd when he returned to the mainland and would have done well for a long time.

A movie will definitely have good reviews as well as bad reviews. "Barbie" is a movie with very polarized reputation.

Because taking this route itself is likely to cause controversy. People who like it will like it, and people who don’t like it will really dislike it.

A critic for the Daily Mail criticized the film, saying that it was an extension of all feminism and that it was extremely anti-male.

The men in the film are either bigots or losers, and the plot doesn't make any real sense.

As a director, Li Yu doesn't care about these things.

The main battlefield of this movie is not in China, and there will not be many audiences in China. He doesn't care whether there is controversy abroad.

What he cares about is the music of the sword.

As long as the film can make him money and enhance his status in Hollywood, it is enough.

These foreigners have made so many movies that annoy the Chinese and made a lot of money in China. Why can't Li Yu learn from the foreigners and use their tricks to deal with them?
Li Yu was pushed so far that he made a movie called "Black Snow White", finding a black girl to play Snow White and a white beauty to play the stepmother.

Anyway, this kind of movie has no market in the country, and it only disgusts foreign audiences.

After being disgusted, they still cannot say that the movie is bad in public, because if they do, it will be considered as xx discrimination.

The movie "Barbie" has brought great personal benefits to Li Yu.

His impressive resume proves that he is a director who can handle both internal and external tasks.

The films he makes can not only conquer domestic audiences, but also overseas audiences.

Moreover, Li Yu can switch back and forth between the domestic and foreign styles, unlike some directors who want to have it all, wanting both the domestic and foreign markets, and in the end pleasing neither side.

If a national master were asked to make a movie, he would definitely make it like this so that both markets would want it.

Li Yu is very rational. Superhero movies are very popular in China, and Li Yu took domestic audiences into consideration when filming "Aquaman".

"Barbie" does not have much of a market in China, and Li Yu would never force it. He simply gave up the domestic market and focused on overseas markets.

It is rare to find a director who can take commercialization to the extreme and knows what kind of movies the audience likes to watch. Any film company would like such a director.

Deshini, which recently announced plans to shoot a live-action version of "Mulan", has set its sights on Li Yu because of the movie "Barbie".

One of the important purposes of Disini launching the live-action version of Mulan is to expand their influence in the Chinese market.

However, they need to take into account the vast overseas market while achieving this goal.

Li Yu happens to be a director who can take into account both domestic and overseas markets.

Whether in China or in Hollywood, Li Yu has a very brilliant record.

Therefore, Deshini believes that Li Yu may be the best director for "Mulan".

In the previous life, the director of "Mulan" was Niki Carroll, a successful director from New Zealand.

Her output is very low. After decades of debut, she only has about twenty works to her name.

In 1998, her debut film, Memories and Desire, was selected as the Critics' Week film at the Cannes Film Festival.

Her short film "Certainty Rises" was shortlisted for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1994.

Her first Hollywood film, "Northern Sexual Harassment," was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

Her resume is definitely very impressive in the director industry, otherwise she would not have been chosen as the chief director of "Mulan".

However, even the most powerful masters can make mistakes sometimes, especially in areas they are not good at.

Letting her direct "Mulan" is just like letting Wu Baige direct "Red Cliff". Her life experience and understanding of Chinese history and culture are destined to make her unable to make such a movie well.

This is indeed the case. "Mulan" has become the worst-received film in her career and is an absolute failure.

(End of this chapter)