Mickey Rourke, John Milius, Genghis Khan and Mr Yunioshi (again!)

25 April 2010

Gerard Wood

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel last week Mickey Rourke spoke about several forthcoming projects, one of which is John Milius’ biopic about Genghis Khan. Rourke has been cast as the warrior and founder of the great Mongolian empire.

Just think about that for a moment.

Known more for writing than directing, Milius is responsible for scripting some truly iconic movies, including Apocalypse Now and Dirty Harry and, of course, Arnie’s big break, Conan the Barbarian, which Milius not only co-wrote with Oliver Stone but also directed.

Rourke, now in his fifties, explains that Milius wrote the biopic about Khan from the viewpoint of Khan’s son and grandson, “how they saw this mythic figure from their family. You see him in flashbacks, back when he was in his mid-40s. And back then, being in your mid-40s was being really old.” He talks briefly about the physical demands of the shoot, which will include riding and archery from horseback, probable filming locations in India and China, and what appeals to him about Khan: “One of the things I like about Genghis Khan was his love of dogs. The Mongols used dogs in battle, and dogs rarely made it out of the battle. But in one instance, in this script, he orders his men – ‘Hold the dogs back.’ He was looking out for the dogs. I like that.”

Rourke’s own love of dogs came to the world’s attention last year when he thanked his pets during an emotional speech at the Golden Globes award, soon after which his beloved Chihuahua, Loki, shuffled off to doggy heaven. A well-known method actor who takes his preparation for roles seriously, I can’t help but wonder what Rourke will do to get inside the head of the brutal warrior who took his dogs into battle. Perhaps it's fortunate for Loki the Chihuahua that he has snuffed it (although the only way a Chihuahua would have accompanied Genghis Khan into battle would have been as a pre-battle snack, I fear...).

I suspect that this project is one of those life-time obsessions we hear writers and directors talk about from time to time (Mel Gibson and his forthcoming Viking epic, for instance). I certainly get the impression that Milius has had more than enough time to lose his perspective entirely because on so many levels this project is just plain wrong.

Where to start?

Well, for a start, Milius has missed the boat by several nautical leagues with this one. Although Sergey Bodrov’s Mongol (2007) does have its detractors, this semi-historical imagining of Genghis Khan’s rise to power is deservedly recognised as a modern classic. While it's true that Hollywood can’t often be accused of great originality, it's worth mentioning anyway that there’s no artistic or creative justification for another biopic about Khan anytime soon. Of course, Bodrov did respect the subject and his audience sufficiently to cast Asians and to have the characters speak Mongolian, which means that Mongol will never have mass appeal given that subtitles are a turn-off for many. Sadly, then, there is probably a commercial justification for an inferior English speaking version with lots of gore and great special effects.

But most disturbing is the decision to cast Rourke as the Asian founder of the largest empire in history. Don’t get me wrong, I respect Rourke for his acting talent, which was apparent from the very earliest days of his career, but I shudder at the thought of him made up to look Mongolian. There’s something offensive in casting an actor of European ethnicity in a biopic about one of Asia’s most important historical figures – offensive to the subject and to the Asian cultures which claim ownership of the subject – and offensive also to the target audience as it suggests Americans can’t cope with an Asian lead in a Hollywood blockbuster.

Once again I find myself reminded of the terrible spectre of Mickey Rooney's godawful depiction of Mr Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's! That movie at least has the feeble excuse of being fifty years old. There's no excuse today.

So, while I always look forward to seeing Mickey Rourke on the big screen, I sincerely hope it’s not in this role.

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