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Thread: Marco Polo - Netflix Original Series

  1. #31
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    The show has made me a big fan of Olivia Cheng.

  2. #32
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    Saw up to the 3rd last night, nice mantis work
    Will probably see the whole series by weeks end.
    The nudity is well done and I do like how they are NOT using women they would most certainly NOT look like that for that time period.
    The casting is superb.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

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    I'm very pleased we went with this for the cover.

    It's always a gamble when we go for a film based cover. Case and point, our last movie cover - The Man with the Iron Fists.

    Our JAN+FEB 2015 was a huge gamble. It's Netflix and I didn't really know how Kung Fooey it would be. But I trust John when it comes to Kung Fu matters. He has good wude and he convinced me to go with it. The Kung Fu elements of this are great, especially Hundred Eyes lesson in episode 3.

    12 December 2014 Last updated at 12:45 ET
    Marco Polo brings Mongol empire to Netflix
    By Genevieve Hassan Entertainment reporter, BBC News


    Marco Polo Italian actor Lorenzo Richelmy stars as Marco Polo in the 10-part series

    Following on from the success of its original dramas House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix is banking on its next series, Marco Polo, being a similar hit.

    The adventures of famed explorer Marco Polo in 13th Century China are being told in a new series for Netflix.

    Set in Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's court and with a rumoured $90m (£57m) budget, its epic nature, battle scenes and sexual content has inevitably drawn comparisons to Game of Thrones - although creator John Fusco points out Polo's books came first.

    Starring British actor Benedict Wong as Kublai and unknown Italian star Lorenzo Richelmy - who had to learn English while on the job - as the explorer, the drama was filmed on location in Kazakhstan and a purpose-built set in Malaysia.

    Best known for penning the Young Guns films, Fusco spoke to BBC News about bringing Kublai Khan's court back to life and his next project - writing the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.


    Marco Polo British actor Benedict Wong plays Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan

    I hear you have a passion for Chinese culture and Marco Polo - this must have been the ideal project for you to work on.

    Absolutely! For me it's a confluence of so many interests and passions I've had over the years, bringing together Chinese history and its philosophy, Mongolian culture, warrior horse culture, martial arts and particularly Marco - who I've always been fascinated with.

    Where did the obsession come from?

    When I was growing up I spent a lot of time reading about ancient China and was really fascinated. You can't dive into that material without encountering Marco and I liked to live vicariously through his accounts and travels.

    Then in 2007 I did a horseback trip across part of central Mongolia with my 13-year-old son - we encountered Marco Polo at all these historical places where Mongolian nomads would reference his accounts and his relationship with Kublai Khan.

    That's when everything crystallised for me and I thought it was time to explore Marco as a long arc TV series.


    Marco Polo John Fusco (left) has written the script for the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon sequel

    This is the first drama series featuring mainly Chinese/Asian actors to be aimed at a Western audience - why do you think it has it taken so long?

    It has taken too long really, but I think it's becoming more of a global family. What's interesting is Marco Polo was the earliest bridge between East and West, so I think it's wonderful this show is also bridging East and West in terms of casting.

    One of the great things about doing this show with Netflix is they're bold - they allowed us the freedom to cast an unknown Italian in the role of Marco and a largely Asian cast with relatively unknown names. They supported that vision of not casting with names and casting with an authenticity to culture.
    How has it been working with Netflix? Would you have had as much creative freedom if it had been made on network or cable TV?

    I don't think so. We tried it with another network and the vision for the show wasn't coming to fruition, and so many of the other networks really do want names. There's this risk averse approach to everything out there, so it's a very different game with Netflix.


    Marco Polo The cast mainly features actors of south-east and central Asian descent

    And you probably wouldn't have been able to include some of the graphic sex scenes...

    On a lot of the premium US cable TV you can, but the sex in Marco Polo was never grafted onto the show just to follow any kind of trend. We didn't say 'let's throw in some sex now'.

    When you read Marco accounts, he has almost an entire chapter about his sexual awakening during his travels and how Kublai Khan gave him a ringside seat to the pleasure dome.

    Marco wrote about the tantric approach to sexuality and sexuality as an art form - which took him by surprise - and that's part of the information he brought back to the west.

    With your martial arts background (Fusco is a black belt in Shaolin kung fu) was it important to have authentic choreographed fighting in the series?

    It was always a part of the vision for the show. Myself and Harvey Weinstein (who executive produces the series) have a shared interest in Chinese cinema and the Wuxia literature that inspired Chinese martial arts films.

    I thought we can explore that in a really organic way because Kublai Khan was so interested in bringing the treasures of China into his empire and absorbing it into his culture.

    In his accounts Marco talked about being trained by Kublai's court in archery, horsemanship and warfare so it was never going to be a big stretch to incorporate authentic Chinese martial arts.


    Marco Polo The fight scenes in the series incorporate many elements of wushu kung fu


    Marco Polo Hundreds of actors were used in the show's battle scenes, filmed in part in Kazakhstan

    Was it always the plan to have real people on the battlefields rather than CGI fighters?

    It was and what a difference it was to have 300 Kazakh horseman - it's quite an image. You hear the hoof thunder of those horses and it just informs the performance for everybody who's acting in those scenes.

    Tell me a bit about the sets you built to create Kublai's court.

    [Production designer] Lily Killvert created it from scratch at a studio lot carved out of 55 acres of jungle in Malaysia. We had crew from 27 countries build 51 lavish sets for the court, which was synonymous with luxury and excess.

    Lilly did a brilliant job - every morning when I would walk through those sets I would feel like I was in Kublai Khan's world.


    Marco Polo A purpose-built studio recreating Kublai Khan's court was made in Malaysia

    You've written the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - do you feel any pressure as people will inevitably compare it to the first film?

    When Harvey Weinstein approached me about it I said creating a sequel out of whole cloth would never work and is something I would never want to pursue.

    But being a student of Wuxia literature I was aware Crouching Tiger was book four in the Crane Iron Pentalogy. I said if we could take a hard look at book five and not try to be some sort of sensational Hollywood sequel, then I'm definitely interested. So that's what we did.

    Book five - which is called Iron Knight, Silver Vase - introduces a new generation of sword heroes and star crossed lovers. I knew a little bit about it, but I had Chinese friends translate for me and then I created a treatment based on those elements.

    But grounding it in the source material and with Michelle Yeoh coming back and have master [stunt choreographer] Woo-ping - who was one of the pioneers of the genre - direct it, I felt we were bringing back original elements.

    Marco Polo is released on Netflix on 12 December.
    I'm really enjoying the show. I love the scope of it. It's so massive and panoramic. It totally fills my big screen HDTV.

    I just finished episode 5.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by ghostexorcist View Post
    The show has made me a big fan of Olivia Cheng.
    100% Babe (BadAss): http://www.hypable.com/2014/12/08/ma...etflix-series/
    Last edited by PalmStriker; 12-18-2014 at 09:46 PM.

  5. #35
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    Lorenzo is trending

    Marco Polo’s Lorenzo Richelmy on Sudden Stardom: “Just Pretend It’s Easy”
    by Katey Rich
    December 12, 2014 3:47 pm


    Photograph by Chiara Marinai.

    Netflix has bet big on their new series Marco Polo, to the tune of a reported $90 million budget for first season. But they’ve bet just as big on their leading man, Lorenzo Richelmy, a 24-year-old unknown outside of his native Italy before being cast as the titular explorer. In addition to the historical crash course, the role came with certain expectations. Netflix’s P.R. notes made available to journalists detailed Richelmy’s Marco Polo workout—“Bench Press - 5 x sets of 20 sec with a 20 sec rest in between each set.”

    Visiting the Vanity Fair offices in New York last week, Richelmy brushed off the whole thing. “You Americans have such an obsession with this kind of thing,” he says, though somehow with the Italian accent it sounds less dismissive than utterly convincing. “It’s like ‘Whoah, he’s a great actor he can gain a lot of weight.’ For me, it’s part of the job, I did it, but it’s fine.”

    The 10 episodes of Marco Polo span just five of the 20 years the Italian explorer spent in the Mongolian Empire (yes, there’s plenty of room for a Season 2). As a servant to the emperor Kublai Khan (played by Benedict Wong), Marco Polo travels throughout Mongolia, getting into the kind of adventures that even the most talented actors might not quite be prepared for. To take on the role, Richelmy had to do everything from learning kung fu and swordfighting to finally learning how to look good riding a horse—he’d done it once before in a movie, but, he noted, “I was supposed to be **** on the horse, so it was perfect.” For Marco Polo, which features many massive vistas and battle scenes, the same trainer who taught Russell Crowe in Gladiator instructed Richelmy—“I was like, ‘I give my body to you, do whatever you like.’ ”

    Many of those stunning horseback scenes are courtesy of the landscape in Kazakhstan, once part of the Mongolian empire. These days much of it is as remote as what Marco Polo explored, which left Richelmy and his cast mates to their own devices when it came to post-work entertainment. “It was called the Premier Spa Hotel,” Richelmy explains of their living quarters. “The only thing was a big warm pool, like a thermal pool. Basically every Friday night and Saturday night, we had to get together and drink until we died, and then everybody in the pool. That was actually a pretty good moment to bond.”

    On the exact opposite end of the spectrum were the scenes filmed in Venice, where Richelmy says the production blocked off “three squares, two bridges, and three canals”—the kind of interruption that’s normally “almost impossible” in the Italian city. It was that moment, Richelmy says, that “I realized what I was doing”—that is, starring in a massively expensive project intended as the new international face of Netflix. “The only way to face that,” Richelmy says, “is just to play. Pretend it’s easy.”

    With the first season of Marco Polo wrapped and a second not yet in the works, Richelmy has returned to his home in Rome, and swears, “I would never come here to live.” And though he knows Hollywood may come calling soon, for now, Richelmy can remain as loyal to Marco Polo as he is to Rome. “This is the best thing for me, now,” he says. “I’m a storyteller, I [do] kung fu, I can do drama, I can do sex, whatever you want. I don’t want anything more, now.”
    Also, I just had to add Olivia Cheng to our Sword-hotties
    Gene Ching
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  6. #36
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    And here's another...

    This one is from last week but it's got Kung Fu in the title.
    Marco Polo / 11 Dec 2014
    Marco Polo: Lorenzo Richelmy's Crash Course in Kung Fu, Archery, and English
    IGN spoke to the star of Netflix's new series, Marco Polo, about being trained in Kung Fu by the team from The Matrix and his favorite video games.
    By Matt Fowler

    Netflix is going grand with its new original series, Marco Polo - a soaring $90 million dollar production about the legendary explorer's early years in the court of conqueror Kublai Khan.

    Launching with a 10-episode first season on Friday, December 12th, Marco Polo stars relative newcomer Lorenzo Richelmy as a young version of Polo who finds himself both a prisoner and an honored guest in the complex kingdom of the ruling Khan. Discovering danger, deception, love and war, Polo navigates his way through a foreign land with an open heart and a fresh face, ready for adventure.

    I spoke with the enthusiastic Richelmy about being chosen to play the lead role on such a huge project, for which he not only had to learn Kung Fu, archery, and horseback riding, but also English. And - wouldn't you know it? - our chat eventually turned to video games.

    IGN: What was your reaction to getting the lead role in such a large-scale project?

    Lorenzo Richelmy: [shouts] WOOOO HOOOO! [laughs] That was basically it. It's the biggest production I've ever seen in my life. I mean as an actor, I'm 24, I never expected this type of thing, you know. I was doing well in Italy. I had my position there. And it was so wonderful because I had only heard about the project and I decided by myself to try out for it. And it's not that it's a big, massive production. It's something new. It's something that's changing the way TV shows are made and changing the system. It's something you've never seen before. I mean, I watched it for the first time just a few days ago and it's just huge. People from 27 countries, from all over he world, traveling through valleys and deserts in Malaysia. And working with the best stunt people ever, who worked on The Matrix. We learned regular Crouching Tiger. I had to learn everything, including English. It was just a beautiful ride.

    IGN: Let's talk about the Kung Fu. You have some incredible training sequences with Tom Wu, who plays Bayan the Hundred Eyes.

    Richelmy: It was incredible. We worked for two months before we started shooting. And we had this tent in the middle of production in Malaysia where everybody was training. And I had these Chinese guys teaching me Kung Fu, some Japanese guys teaching me sword fighting, and the Bulgarians teaching me wrestling, and again others teaching me horseback riding and archery. The first week was fun because according to choreographer Brett Chan, he called my first week of training the "body shocking." So it was 10 hours of training every day and then at the end, deep in a bathtub with salts otherwise the next day I wouldn't be able to move a finger.


    Lorenzo Richelmy as Marco Polo.

    So it was intense. But at the same time I found a wonderful team of people who were very nice. But for me, everything was difficult. It was all from scratch. I felt like the a black sheep among all of this. But it was the atmosphere of something new that kept me going. Even when you were working with Acadamy Award-winners or Emmy Award-winners, everyone was still trying and coming together to make something unique and different. So it was good for me. It was like an indie movie with a massive production.

    IGN: What is the Khan's relationship like with Marco? How would you describe it?

    Richelmy: At the beginning, Marco is just a puppet for him. Then, eventually, he becomes a clown. And I'm talking about the truthful relationship between the clown and the king. The king is surrounded by a bunch of "Yes Men" and people who tell him what he wants to hear so he needs fresh eyes and someone to tell him the truth. And someone to have a strong and different point of view about things. And Marco's young. He's a curious and honest guy. He never judges anyone either. And because of that he's been recognized as the first modern man and the guy who built the bridge between the East and West. He was over there for twenty years. He's very open-minded and that helped him fit in with this new world.

    IGN: At first, Marco resents being left behind there by his father. So what eventually draws him to the Mongolian world?

    Richelmy: First of all, we start with Marco as a boy. As a kid. And then by the last episode of the season, he's a young man. So he's at a point in his life when he starts to fix things within himself and discover who he is as a man. And thought he wanted to be like his father. But then he meets his father and discovers that he's not what he thought he'd be. And so he comes to want to stay with the Khan because at that time, that was the center of the world. He starts to grow into it and become a part of the court. He's not interested in trade. He's not interested in money like his father. Or being a merchant. He wants to be in the center of the world.

    IGN: There are also some beautiful woman who catch his eye - Kokachin and Khutulun.

    Richelmy: Yes. [laughs] Kokachin and Khutulun. [Actresses] Zhu Zhu and Claudia Kim. We're telling the story of a great explorer, but he's also young now. And so we're on the way to showing how this legendary man became a legend. And so yes, he's a kid. And now he's in Mongolian culture and he loves women. So he starts off his exploring there. Because you can explore in many different ways.


    Benedict Wong (as Kublai Khan) and Lorenzo Richelmy.

    IGN: Marco doesn't seem to have an easy time with the Khan's son, Prince Jingim.

    Richelmy: Marco becomes a confident of the Khan. And Jingim's problem with Marco isn't about Marco really. It's all about him. Because Marco isn't trying to bother anyone. And the show's great because the scope of it is massive but it's still a family drama. And Jingim will understand that his anger toward Marco is part of his own weakness. So their relationship changes a lot. And there will be some fights, of course. Jingim is afraid of Marco because he's afraid of himself as a son. So when he becomes more confident in that he won't see Marco as a threat anymore and will eventually see him as a friend.

    IGN: This is an interesting time period to explore. Not many films or shows are made about Mongolian/Chinese history.

    Richelmy: That's the first thing that I loved about this part. Because we have the chance to entertain a lot of people while also teaching them about this time in history. It's a period that not many people know about. And it's a little strange that we don't know all that much about one of the biggest empires ever. So we want to see how people react to this, because we put all the best into something new. There is an end to the first season, and we'll be telling the story of five years in Marco's life. And so there's more stories to tell should we come back for a Season 2. And I would of course be happy and amazed to return.

    IGN: What's your favorite memory from shooting Season 1?

    Richelmy: The biggest one comes from one of the last days of shooting. It was a battle scene. And I was on a horse on the top of a hill and I had to ride through three hundred extras fighting each other. With smoke, fire, craziness all around. Arrows, catapults. Two square kilometers of fighting. And my action was basically "ride as fast as you can inside it." And so, you know, I play video games so it felt like a dream to do.

    IGN: What are your favorite games?

    Richelmy: My favorite game of all time would be Civilization. And then I also love others. I have the new Xbox so I have Assassin's Creed, Call of Duty. Almost everything. I have a holiday after the next few weeks for about a month and I'm going to spend the whole time playing video games.

    IGN: They could make an Assassin's Creed game using your show, I think.

    Richelmy: That is actually amazing. That would be the biggest dream of my life. I'm not kidding. I don't need the Oscar. I don't care about the Oscar. I want to be on my couch, in Rome, playing as myself in Assassin's Creed. I can die after that.

    All 10 episodes of Netflix's Marco Polo will be available to stream on Friday, December 12th.

    Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/Showrenity.
    I've been hearing lots of criticisms about the nudity in this show. That's actually a lot like the book. In Travels, Polo goes into great detail about Kubalai's harem and concubine selection process. In fact, there are several descriptions of unusual sexual practices of different regions and rulers. I imagine that it was pretty risque back in the day, and I suspect that a lot of the popularity and longevity of Travels over the centuries might have stemmed from this.

    Anyone else here ever read Marco Polo's Travels?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  8. #38
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    Finished Marco Polo took me a while but it was worth it... and it was awesome Benedict Wong deserves a Emmy or a golden globe for his performance as kublai Khan it was brilliant, John Fusco Created a fantastic revisionist ancient china, and created some awesome characters, has lots of good action and Kung Fu in the mix, there are some great little nods, too kung fu movies, and even caught a little Sex and Fury nod. all and all..def worth the watch.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    This one is from last week but it's got Kung Fu in the title.


    I've been hearing lots of criticisms about the nudity in this show. That's actually a lot like the book. In Travels, Polo goes into great detail about Kubalai's harem and concubine selection process. In fact, there are several descriptions of unusual sexual practices of different regions and rulers. I imagine that it was pretty risque back in the day, and I suspect that a lot of the popularity and longevity of Travels over the centuries might have stemmed from this.

    Anyone else here ever read Marco Polo's Travels?
    Yep, years ago.
    Funny how people are more quick to criticize nudity than they are violence.
    Quite the statement when you think of it.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

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    woah...wait...what? that's how it ends?! wth?

    Clearly a tease for Season 2. Well, that's cool. I'd totally watch Season 2. I enjoyed Season 1 immensely.

    Quote Originally Posted by sanjuro_ronin View Post
    Yep, years ago.
    Funny how people are more quick to criticize nudity than they are violence.
    I read it for the first time a few months ago, when I heard this was coming. As I said in my JAN+FEB 2015 Pub Note, it's "a must for any serious sinophile". I'm glad I finally read it as it was very illuminating. I've been reading a lot of comments on the series. You get those haters of course, who just gotta complain that it's not historically accurate. That criticism could be leveled at any Kung Fu flick or similar show like The Tudors. Clearly, this is historical fiction. But at the same time, I like how Fusco took Travels and history and twisted it to tell his story. Hundred Eyes is a great example. Hundred Eyes is in Travels, but he's not a blind Wudang monk. He was one of the Kubilai's generals, a Tartar, instrumental in taking Facfur in Manzi (medieval name of southern China). Bayan is literally taken to mean '100 eyes' (baiyan 百眼) but the editor's note in my edition questions the validity of the translation.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #41
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    Diveristy in Hollywood?

    Wednesday, December 24th, 2014 | Posted by The UB Post
    B.Amarsaikhan: I specifically wore deel to promote Mongolian traditional clothing

    Trans. by B.DULGUUN



    The following is an interview with B.Amarsaikhan, who is the first Mongolian actor to set foot into Hollywood by starring in the 90 million USD drama series “Marco Polo”.

    He signed a contract with Netflix Inc. for the role of Arig Bukh in the currently ongoing drama series created by John Fusco, “Marco Polo”. Netflix is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media available to viewers in North and South America, the Caribbean and parts of Europe.

    Congratulations on becoming the first Mongolian actor to enter Hollywood. How was the premier of “Marco Polo”?

    The premier of “Marco Polo” original series took place in New York on December 2. Actors from many different countries gathered at the red carpet and attended a huge party in the evening after the premier.

    The red carpet is focused on photographing stars. Photographers ask you to look here and there and make different poses. I felt as if I had become a model. You often see actors and entertainers talking about their outfit at the red carpet. It can be said that this event has become a large custom or tradition.

    How is the red carpet of Mongolia different from Hollywood’s?

    In Mongolia, people can walk on the red carpet and enter a building straight away. In Hollywood, you get specific directions on where to pose and get photographed. Sometimes, I had to pose alone and sometimes, with my wife. At the premier, only the author and director stood on the stage while actors sat down. In Mongolia, everyone has to stand on the stage.

    There were many aspects that should be focused on in the future. The Executive Director of Netflix Inc. took photos individually with the actors.

    After the premier, I went to Los Angeles to meet and report on my work to my agency.

    Can you tell us about your agency? How did you get connected to the agency?

    My agency is called UNEW, abbreviated for United Nations East West. The agency helps actors from Asia step into Europe and Hollywood, and vice-versa. Many entertainers from South Korea and China were introduced to Hollywood by UNEW, such as Lee Byung Hun (G.I. Joe series). I devoted an immense amount of time and effort to connect with this agency. Actors from all around the world try to enter this large organization. I did everything I could do to get their attention. After drawing up an acting contract, the agency recommended “Marco Polo” series.

    UNEW worked hard to get me Arig Bukh’s role and I had to travel back and forth to Malaysia for four months to pass several auditions. It may seem like a simple audition from the outside, but it’s actually a fierce competition full of rivalry.

    After hearing that I got the role, the agency celebrated in Los Angeles while I celebrated in Mongolia. A few weeks ago, the agency congratulated me on successfully performing in the role and I made an official report of my work.

    At the red carpet, you wore a traditional Mongolian deel. Who did you consult about your outfit and why did you choose that specific outfit?

    Besides including actors from over 30 countries, the series is about the history of Mongolia. It was only right that I wore a traditional deel and my Mongolian representative agency, Amin Shiidel PR, recommended I do so. Considerable consideration, effort, and participation from many people lies behind my appearance on the red carpet. I wanted to promote Mongolian deel and the best Mongolian brand by wearing a deel made of cashmere from Gobi Cashmere, hat from Burkh Company, shoes from Best Shoes Company, and accessories from Mongol Costumes Company. The outfit I wore at the evening reception was prepared by a B.Bayarmaa from Monsonics Company. She is a talented designer, globally recognized by her Bayarmaa Brand. Designer of Gobi Cashmere E.Battsetseg, who designed our deels, became the best designer at a Goyol fashion show in Mongolia. Mongolian model working in the USA as a stylist S.Ijiltsetseg worked as our stylist.

    Many Mongolians living in the USA welcomed us at the airport, including President of Mongolian Democratic Socialist Youth Association L.Oyun-Erdene and designer Nomin. I was warmly received by Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the U.N. O.Och and his spouse J.Tsolmon, as well as S.Aruinaa, working at one of the largest museums of the world, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They all attended the premier. Everyone gave a lot of attention to my participation at the red carpet and supported me considerably so that I could prove that Mongolia is as great as any other country.

    From the many actors from different countries, did anyone else wear traditional clothing? Deel wasn’t very interesting to fellow actors since they’re wearing them in the series, right?

    My wife and I were the only ones wearing traditional clothing. Fellow actors must’ve been fascinated to see modern designs of Mongolian deel they’ve been wearing during filming. I would’ve probably worn a suit if I played in an action or adventure film. As it is a series about the history of Mongolia, I felt wearing deel was the best choice.

    Is it true that your introduction at the premier was more special than other actors’? How are premiers for drama series different from film premiers?

    Actors were introduced by their roles. When they introduced me, they said they were very happy to introduce me and that I was Amaraa, an actor from Mongolia. Mongolians who were present mentioned that my introduction was special, but it’s probably because it was a series about Mongolia.

    As for the premier, just like a film premier, the first two episodes of the series was shown in the cinema.

    Most foreign historic films about Mongolia received criticism. Do you think “Marco Polo” will also receive negative comments?

    Everything depends on how the artist wants to portray their work. I don’t know how this film will continue. I know for a fact that John Fusco wrote his script after researching in detail. Sometimes, I complained that some events and costumes weren’t accurate but he said that he’s portraying how Marco Polo saw Mongolia and the rulers. So, the series will be filmed in that manner.

    The series is an artistic and commercial script so there will be some exaggerations and imaginative aspects. I can notice that John Fusco did a lot of research for some of the scenes. For instance, he noticed that Mongolians communicates and expresses their agreement or disagreement through words like “thh”, “hnn”, and “mmm”. He tried to display this in the series. I think “Marco Polo” will be different from other films since it was created by a person who did heavy research.

    Watching the first few episodes, the Mongolian music, costumes, headwear, and other accessories seem very accurate. Is there a Mongolian advisor for the series?

    A president of a travel company, Byambaa, is working as a cultural advisor. John Fusco met him many years ago during his trip to Mongolia. Fusco focuses on portraying Mongolia’s traditions and customs properly. He even dedicates a day of the week as “Mongolian Day” for introducing necessary information about Mongolia to actors. No wonder the series is different from other films.

    Do actors researching about their roles ask you about Mongolia?

    Of course. During my stay there, I tried to teach even the littlest details to as many people as possible, starting from how to properly sit in gers, how to play Mongolian traditional games with angle-bones. I helped with the pronunciation of words that aren’t translated to foreign languages such as airag and borts. Foreigners pronounce Chinggis Khaan as Jinghis or Genghis, but in the film it will be pronounced properly as “Chinggis”. This is all because a Mongolian actor starred in the series. It was awkward at first but later, the crew got closer and they started inquiring about small things.

    You are only in the first two episodes. Don’t you think your role ended too soon?

    The first antagonist in the series is the enemy of Khubilai, Arig Bukh. Script writers also said that Arig Bukh’s role ended too soon and wanted to find ways to bring him out again. They even talked about making him appear in Khubilai’s nightmare. I don’t know how the script will continue. Currently, the script for the third season has been completed.
    The series is struggling financially and critically now. $90 million is a lot to recoup.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  12. #42
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    90 million?
    Well, they say that is what any decent production will cost nowadays.
    Movies are over 100 million easy.
    I don't see how netflix can get the coin with subscribers only...
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  13. #43
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    90 mil for a tv series isnt bad not the highest thou(most tv shows on major networks average about 200mil a season).. and movies dont cost 100million..100million is still considered a huge budget. most movies are budgeted around 45-50mil. some even lower. the show will recoup its budget, netflix makes its money not just from subscribers but selling the rights to the show in markets where netflix is not available.. and vod-dvd sales. not to mention its stock. so no real telling if the show was a financial success or not.

  14. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by doug maverick View Post
    90 mil for a tv series isnt bad not the highest thou(most tv shows on major networks average about 200mil a season).. and movies dont cost 100million..100million is still considered a huge budget. most movies are budgeted around 45-50mil. some even lower. the show will recoup its budget, netflix makes its money not just from subscribers but selling the rights to the show in markets where netflix is not available.. and vod-dvd sales. not to mention its stock. so no real telling if the show was a financial success or not.
    Hmmm, I'll take your word for it Doug.
    Just seems to me that every time I hear a budget for a movie it is over 100 million.
    Psalms 144:1
    Praise be my Lord my Rock,
    He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !

  15. #45
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    Whatever the case, it's certainly discussion worthy

    The thing that most American critics aren't factoring in about Marco Polo is that, being typically American-centric, this isn't about the U.S. market at all. It's about the European market, where Marco Polo is leading the charge for Netflix. Netflix is aspiring to stream to the whole planet. While their U.S. subscribers aren't growing, and their European subscribers have yet to pay out, there's a lot of potential there.

    When it comes to the U.S. market, they've still got all those exclusive Marvel shows tucked up their sleeve.

    Marco Polo: Netflix's Critical Flop That Dared to Be Diverse
    Viewers don’t have to like the streaming giant's new medieval epic series to acknowledge its significant, if flawed, representation of Asian characters in television.
    Lenika Cruz Dec 20 2014, 8:00 AM ET


    Netflix/The Atlantic

    Since the first season of Marco Polo dropped on Netflix a week ago, the 13th-century medieval epic has suffered a critical pile-on that feels almost gleeful in its disdain. It’s “the most gorgeous thing you’ll ever fall asleep to,” “meh,” “ludicrous,” and “binge-proof,” which may be the worst insult of all to level at a show created by the streaming service that popularized the habit of binge-watching.

    Chief among the series' redeeming qualities is its impeccable and accordingly expensive production and ambitious subject matter. Netflix is trying to appeal to a more global audience, so its choice of story was strategic from a business perspective. But a big budget, high hopes, and good intentions it seems wasn't enough to buoy a boring protagonist and flaccid story for many critics and viewers, myself included (despite a suspiciously high Netflix rating boosted by PR-y sounding reviews).

    Another unavoidable criticism: When deconstructed, Marco Polo is like a blander, trying-too-hard, real-life version of a certain HBO hit show adapted from an as-yet incomplete series of fantasy novels.*

    But among the first key problems sensed upon the initial release of the show's trailer was its apparent embodiment of that tired storytelling trope, the "white-guy-in-Asia adventure." As Phil Yu of Angry Asian Man wrote back in October:

    Ooh. Lots of swords and gongs and mysticism and opium and sexy Asian ladies on silk sheets and ****. And dude, did I just see a naked person doing some kung fu?

    After the series debuted, Salon's TV critic Sonia Soraiya also offered a sharp but fair take-down of the show's many flaws, pointing out that:

    It feels like a terrible disservice to the strong source material to fall into such well-charted pitfalls about storytelling about other cultures, and a disservice to that $90 million, which apparently could have been better spent.

    Mic's Zak Cheney-Rice similarly called on Netflix to "do better" in its portrayal of Asian characters, criticizing Marco Polo for leaning on ludicrous Orientalist stereotypes and privileging the white, Western point-of-view. He also noted that Netflix must have "missed the memo," referring to a list released by the Media Action Network for Asian Americans in 2008 on ways good-intentioned media-makers can bust stereotypes.

    But the truth is, despite its many, many flaws, Marco Polo actually does follow many of MANAA's suggestions, including the following:

    Asian names or racial features as no more "unusual" than those of whites.
    More Asian and Asian American lead roles.
    Until the proverbial playing field is truly level, Asian roles—especially lead roles—should be reserved for Asian actors.

    Yes, it privileges the point of view of the good-looking, wide-eyed Westerner in a world of "others," but remember another based-on-a-true-story Netflix show that did that but received critical acclaim?

    To be fair, Orange Is the New Black did a phenomenal job of following through on creator Jenji Kohan's plan to use Piper as a Trojan horse into the stories of non-white characters who were far more complex and compelling than the ones Marco Polo conjured up. But it's a little disingenuous to write off the show for attempting something similar through the character of Marco Polo, who was meant as a bridge into a story set on another continent hundreds of years ago.

    In the grander scheme, the not-so-well-reviewed Marco Polo does more for the overall goal of increasing the representation of Asian characters and breaking down some stereotypes (even as it perpetuates others) than other highly acclaimed Western shows that ignore such characters altogether. Recall that Marco Polo's cast is more than 90 percent Asian; how many other big-budget Western shows can say that?

    It would behoove critics and TV viewers alike to acknowledge these kinds of efforts to hire more Asian actors and place them in lead roles. Yes, Olivia Cheng may do many of her scenes naked, and there are ridiculous scenes that feel like fetishization-of-Asian-women-for-the-fetishization-of-Asian-women's-sake, but the female characters also eventually achieve more than a degree of depth.
    Marco Polo's cast is more than 90 percent Asian; how many other big-budget Western shows can say that?

    As Imran Siddiquee wrote for The Atlantic, having more characters of color on television (or on Western screens in general) isn't just a matter of metrics, just as "representation" isn't just some noble abstraction. Movies and shows can engender empathy for the people they portray. And in a time when the foibles of a brutal North Korean dictator make for good comedy (seemingly to the exclusion of anger at the appalling treatment of an entire country), some extra empathy for Asian faces is a good thing.

    So I'll suffer the existence of a show with ridiculous orgies and stuffy dialogue if that show that tries to fix an entrenched problem in Western television, even if it falls short (and hey, I have the February debut of ABC's Fresh off the Boat to look forward to!). Certainly, the end goal is a program that is both lauded and progressive in its portrayal of characters of Asian descent, such as Parks and Recreation, The Mindy Project, Elementary, and The Walking Dead. And on the whole, television is getting much better at the whole diversity thing, even if it's not even quite there yet.

    But the Mongolian empire, as it were, wasn't built in a day.

    *As someone who owns a Night's Watch shirt, I couldn't get through the first episode, "The Wayfarer" without experiencing a kind of uncanny valley effect from all the disorienting, almost-but-not-quite Game of Thrones similarities. Sample train of thought: Kublai Khan is King Robert Baratheon; Oh hey, it's like Littlefinger's brothel; Marco Polo is Jon Snow; Hundred Eyes is like Syrio Forel; the Chancellor Jia Sidao is kind of like Viserys Targaryen in his ambition and creepy sister-pimping; the opening scene of the pilot episode is totally like the pilot episode of Game of Thrones.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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