Skip Beat Holds Press Conference and Releases Twenty Minute Preview

[M2F recap coming much later, so don’t ask where it is]

The cast of the upcoming live-action adaptation of the manga Skip Beat attended a press conference today in Taipei to drum up interest for the premiere of the drama this coming Sunday. Choi Siwon and Lee Donghae jetted into town for less six hours just for this important event. They confessed that their Mandarin Chinese just wasn’t good enough for the dialogue to flow and asked their fans to accept and appreciate the great dubbing provided for Siwon by Kun Da (Ivy Chen’s rumored boyfriend) and for Donghae by Darren of the band The Drifters. A twenty minute preview was released at the event (linked below) and I still really enjoy how the vibe remains really true to the manga and all the leads are rocking their parts. Be forewarned that because the source material is a pretty far-out manga in terms of how cartoony it can be at times, the drama will necessarily be more over-the-top than usual.

I know how I mentioned I’m totally Sho (Bu Puo Shan) shipping since Donghae is adorable as the ambitious new idol, but after watching the trailer, I’m loving Ren (Dun He Lian) and his interactions with Gong Xi. I suppose I’ll just happily watch both men win me over for different reasons.

Donghae wins the award for best dressed with his traditional tux that contrasts perfectly with his trendy young aura. I’m also loving Bianca Bai’s hot pink dress that really pops onstage. Actually, I’m just thrilled the entire extended cast all dressed up fittingly for this event.

I’m pretty pleased that SB worked out this way. If it was filmed three years ago as planned with Ariel Lin playing Kyoko, Jerry Yan as Ren and Joe Cheng as Sho, it would be harder to disassociate their real life personas (and in the case of Joe and Ariel, former characters they played) from these characters. But with this cast, I’m feeling the characters come through immediately.

Twenty minute preview for Skip Beat Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_KjJ2Iyi30

Twenty minute preview for Skip Beat Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFXAs16c_AQ

Comments

Skip Beat Holds Press Conference and Releases Twenty Minute Preview — 31 Comments

bunker_boo on December 14, 2011 at 5:09 PM said:

taiwanese dramas mostly follow the original story line of the manga. let’s hope this one will turn out fab. =)
(i love how you state at the beginning about M2F recap. i was about to go sleep, but decided to take a peek on your playground, just in case the ep11’s recap is up. okay. will. be. patiently. waiting. with. YSY. in. my. dream.)

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Soler on December 14, 2011 at 5:21 PM said:

Wow Bianca looked gorgeous at the press conference! Not familiar with the source material, but does Bianca’s character have any love line with the 2 male leads?

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- v on December 14, 2011 at 6:46 PM said:
  
  No Bianca doesnt have a love line with them in the orignal material. She’s just a really awesome friend for Ivy in the manga.
  I’ve never really fell in love with Bianca before but she’s looking like she will change my mind here.
  
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jra on December 14, 2011 at 5:45 PM said:

Looks like fun to watch! Siwon’s so handsome as ever and Donghae is a revelation, he could act alright. This is his first drama I think.

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- v on December 14, 2011 at 6:56 PM said:
  
  This is not donghae’s first drama.
  He had a somewhat lead role in the fun movie Attack against gominam (pin-up boys I think?).
  he also acted in the drama It’s okay daddy as a supporting role.
  But I guess for all intent and purposes, he’s still somewhat a newbie.
  
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  - jra on December 15, 2011 at 7:49 AM said:
    
    Thank you for enlightening me.
lilsu on December 14, 2011 at 5:58 PM said:

thank you for all the information about Skip Beat! I love this manga! I started to read it since the beginning nearly ten years ago and I am still reading it!
After waiting so long at last I’ll be able to see Kyoko live!
Love the little Kyokos and the Chicken outfit, love the Love me outfit too.

May I ask who’ll be acting as Rory/Lory? The president? I love his character…
What am I saying? I just love everything about Skip Beat XDD

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- ockoala on December 14, 2011 at 6:24 PM said:
  
  The president is played by Mark Chao’s real life daddy Allen Chao. Mark and Allen were in Black & White together, with Allen playing the Chief of the South Precinct.
  
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  - lilsu on December 19, 2011 at 8:43 AM said:
    
    thanks^^
cb on December 14, 2011 at 6:04 PM said:

looking forward to watching this, this weekend. i like the music. i hope the music are on the soundtrack.

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Natalie on December 14, 2011 at 6:09 PM said:

Love it! Choi Siwon is so cute. Love him <3 I have never read this manga, but I will give the drama a try for sure. Looks like it will be a feel good watch.

And I am very eagerly awaiting your M2F recap. I am currently studying so it will brighten my day no doubt!

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Jen on December 14, 2011 at 6:15 PM said:

WAH~~~ > < I'm SOOO excited!!! didn't think I could look forward to this even more, but after watching this… <3 EEK *screaming and flailing like a fangirl *

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rubics on December 14, 2011 at 6:18 PM said:

I was quite pleased at 20 minute trailer. Presented in a cartoonish and animated format, yet it delivers a certain level of quality that does not feel childish although I felt there are certain over the top moments such as bits of over-acting as the actors try to emphasis certain moments by conveying very expressive facial expressions. Apart from comedic moments, looks like there is quite a certain amount of emotional tension/dramatic scenes as well. The dubbs of korean leads, what we see on the drama, were on the whole decent. Donghae, I thought was pretty good although Siwon’s dubbed voice felt a bit flat. And Ivy, looked quite good in dramatic/emotional scenes although sometimes awkward/unnatural when she has to deliver comedic moments.

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- pigtookie on December 14, 2011 at 8:24 PM said:
  
  Siwon’s dubbed voice felt a bit flat. And Ivy, looked quite good in dramatic/emotional scenes although sometimes awkward/unnatural when she has to deliver comedic moments.
  
  I agree, though I haven’t seen Ivy do this degree of exaggerated material before. When she has to be loud and extremely animated, she can sometimes veer into awkwardness. I think after some episodes, she should be more comfortable. There’s some good overacting, some bad overacting going on from most of the cast that’s making me a bit nervous, but overall I think Ivy has captured Kyoko’s character quite well, as the core of this drama.
  
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nhi on December 14, 2011 at 6:36 PM said:

Bianca Bai is perfect as Kotonami! And Ivy Chen is so cute and lively, the perfect Kyoko 🙂 I love the scenes where she cries, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks – she’s gonna make Kyoko so sympathetic and relateable! Not sure about Donghae, and Siwon seems to play Ren as the typical haughty star with a past and internal struggle, but Ren is SO MUCH MORE than that! I always imagine Ren as being cool with a hint of mischievous evil. Oh well, as long as I get to see Skip Beat on screen, I guess I shouldn’t complain ^^ my favorite manga, one that can actually make you laugh out loud. Can’t wait!

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v on December 14, 2011 at 6:39 PM said:

Yay!!!!
My timeline was full of skip beat update for the past 2 days. I’m getting super excited.
I’m having much hope for this drama. Love donghae’s voice. It suits him. As for siwon’s… I’m less thrilled about it but I guess it’s decent enough.

Anway, here’s the 20min trailer in one clip:
http://www.youtube. com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xWG3QUB-lxQ

And the report on 100% ent with eng subs about the premiere where you can see some of the clips in better quality
http://www.youtube. com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=o5JOS8Ia3FM

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carrot on December 14, 2011 at 6:40 PM said:

I can’t wait for this drama! Thanks for all the updates. I think ivy chen looks the part but she seems to be overacting during the preview. She cries so prettily though and I’m still looking forward to this show.

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anvesha on December 14, 2011 at 7:31 PM said:

I am gonna LOVE this series so much… i am prepared to stick through it no matter what, I can’t wait to see all my fav scenes in action…

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noozie on December 14, 2011 at 7:33 PM said:

Yes, yes, yes! I love Skip Beat so much, even though I gave up on the manga a couple years ago because it moved as slow as molasses and basically went nowhere in great, ponderous circles. I do go back and occasionally re-read that bit where Ren kissed Kyouko on the cheek. Trust me, it was much sexier than I made it sound.

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anvesha on December 14, 2011 at 7:41 PM said:

I think Ren’s manager looks too young in the drama..

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- Debbie on December 14, 2011 at 8:15 PM said:
  
  aww….. i always thought yashiro was quite young-looking. In my opinion he looks a little old in the drama… hahaha. but i like all the supporting cast. i think they were casted well! looking forward to the big boss’ role and bianca bai’s portrayal of kyouko’s best friend:):)
  
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Epz on December 14, 2011 at 8:57 PM said:

CAN’T wait for this sunday><..
love skip beat..but the screams in the vid was quite annoying ==

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red on December 14, 2011 at 10:34 PM said:

I love this anime and manga!!!….i love how the anime and manga go into depth on how kyoko creates each of her characters, hope they go there in the drama…its baisically the main reason i love this…plus the petty war btw ren and sho

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polly on December 14, 2011 at 11:09 PM said:

i dont care if its bad or good! Skip Beat has been one of my fav mangas, so am gonna go for it no matter what! And am loving the songs already! ^^

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Diana on December 15, 2011 at 12:16 AM said:

Inspite of some exaggerations and overacting on the part of almost all of the cast, it’s definitely worth SO much waiting!!!!! I think Skip Beat may become one of the best taiwanese dramas in the recent time!
The most fabulous thing is that I didn’t feel that actors are from different countries and speak different languages! They acted really good together!
Ivy is ideal Kyoko for me! She can be mad and furious at times, but she also can express the deepest feelings of lonliness, sadness and pain!
Siwon is SO great as Ren for me!!! Their scenes with Ivy are awesome! The chemistry is evident! The same thing concerns Donghae! He’s good as Sho, I see ^_^
I also always liked Bianca, and I can see she tried to become great Kataname!
All supporting cast is also very good! I like the president and Yashiro ^_^
My favorite scene from this trailer is when Kyoko found out the truth and cried! Very emotional!!! And when she talked to Savara!
I’M WAITING FOR THE DRAMA TOO MUCH!!!!!
THANK YOU O’KOALA VERY MUCH 🙂

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Selene_Alai on December 15, 2011 at 12:44 AM said:

Ok, I’m in….I was going to wait after a few episodes were in to watch it, but I think I’m going to through the towel and watch it in real time come sunday…

LOL, whe I saw that cast picture I almost fell of my chair laughing my head off. Bianca Bai I think I’m going to like you alot on this drama…I agree with captain Koala about miss Bai lovely hot pink dress. However, when I saw it I got a flash back of Kotonami and Kyoko going for the soft drink commercial casting wearing the Love me section hot pink jumper because they want to make an impression. As far a Skip Beat is concern you can never go wrong if you wear hot pink.

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bubujinxinaddict on December 15, 2011 at 1:53 AM said:

love love love
can’t wait!

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v on December 15, 2011 at 3:27 AM said:

Eng subs can be found here:
smtownengsub.wordpress. com/2011/06/09/eng-sub-110609-skip-beat-trailer-with-donghae-and-siwon/

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KC on December 15, 2011 at 4:35 PM said:

I stopped reading the manga because it moved too slow but I always have fond feelings for it so I’m SOOOOO excited for this drama. I’m a major Ren fan so hopefully drama Ren will be awesome too 😀 Super loving Siwon and Donghae and I think they fit their roles perfectly. Hoping Ivy will dial down the over-actingness a bit but I’m sure she will cause Kyoko is that crazy at first but gets better and better so Ivy I’m sure will too 🙂

One thing I’m really looking forward to and hope they include…EMPEROR OF THE NIGHT REN LOLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

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loveskipbeat on December 15, 2011 at 6:12 PM said:

The wait is killing me! It looks pretty good, but I’m a bit scared to get my hopes up. I loved the part in the preview with ren and kyoko filming in kimonos, because when kyoko (ivy) looked at ren (siwon), there was something in her eyes… idk, haha. And I rewatched the part where siwon hugs her > 10 times ^ ^ I thought I was gonna extreme sho-ship, but now that i see some ren and kyoko interaction, i’m unsure… so excited!!! 😀

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corlee1289 on December 17, 2011 at 2:36 AM said:

EHH?!

I remember reading back that Ariel and Jerry were going to be the potential actors…

*is a bit disappointed*

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