When it rains it pours – for Yuan Hong 2013 is starting to look like his breakout year. He’s already slated to headline the upcoming CCTV period drama Li’s Mansion about a real life epic turn-of-the-century family patriarch, but on top of that he may be attached to an even more hot project. Word on the street has mega-producer Zhang Ji Zhong, the guy who remade all the C-versions of Louis Cha‘s wuxia novels in the last decade and was behind this year’s major adaptation of one of the Four Classics Journey to the West, will be remaking Legend of the White Snake in 2013 just in time for the year of the snake. Zhang Ji Zhong has apparently selected Tong Li Ya for the role of Bai Su Zhen (the White Snake demon in the human form of a beautiful woman), Yuan Hong as male lead Xu Xian (the scholar), and newcomer Wang Xue Er as the Green Snake (the serving maiden and best friend to the White Snake). I love how the C-news never tries to mince words and are reporting that this is Zhang Ji Zhong’s pet project to the launch the career of his god-daughter Wang Xue Er, who he wanted to cast as the White Snake but was finally talked out of it since no one knows who the hell this girl is so staking an entire drama on her is probably not a good idea. I’m not a fan of Zhang Ji Zhong’s directorial style, but there is no arguing the man is a maestro. Earlier this year Tong Li Ya and Yuan Hong were rumored to star in the drama adaptation of writer Fei Wo Si Cun‘s famous work Lonely Court Spring Night (寂寞空庭春欲晚) but that fell through so this if White Snake happens I will be a happy Koala indeed.
Zhang Ji Zhong has allegedly also invited the original flavor White Snake Angie Chao to join this production, playing the role of The Goddess Guan Shi Yin. Everyone knows I adore Yuan Hong so his possible casting gets a major thumbs up from me. As for the two female leads, Tong Li Ya is gorgeous and has the lithe aloofness that I can see in the role of Bai Shu Zhen. Newcomer Wang Xue Er is the great unknown but looks-wise she’s pretty enough and as long as she has chemistry with Tong Li Ya it should work just fine. The legend of the white snake has been around for thousands of years and revolves around a snake demon who has gathered enough power to assume human form. Together with her green snake best friend and handmaiden, they live among the humans with the hopes of doing enough good deeds to become humans forever. The White Snake falls in love with a scholar who also loves her back, but one meddling monk can see her true demon form and vows to break apart the lovers and cast the snake demons into eternal hell. Cue lots of angst.
Yay! I love both of them!
Nice photos. I guess I will wait to see what’s what and who’s who for this one, meaning of course, if you think it is worth the angest to watch the beautiful.
But I am confused:
Demon = bad
Good deeds = good
Why is WS doing good?
If WS is good, why is Monk wishing to cast her into hell?
And even more important who is playing Monk? Could it be some cutie that I know from BBJX?
Not all demons are bad. There are some good ones too. Like koala said, by accumulating good deeds, even a demon can become human. As to why the Monk wants to cast her into hell… either he just feels that all demons are evil & should die or he’s just an evil monk.
OK Thanks for the explanation.
It’s a pretty interesting folklore.
The story is set in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Bai Suzhen (白素貞), a female white snake, dreams of becoming a goddess by doing good deeds. She transforms herself into a woman and travels to the human realm. There, she meets a green snake, Qing (青), who causes disaster in the area she lives. Bai holds Qing captive at the bottom of a lake but promises her that she will return 300 years later to free her. Bai keeps her word and develops a sisterly bond with Qing. They encounter Fahai, a sorcerer who believes that every demon is inherently evil and must be destroyed. However, Bai is too powerful and Fahai is unable to eliminate her immediately, so he vows to destroy them if he sees them again.
Fearing that they will meet more human sorcerers, Bai and Qing retreat to the Banbuduo, a realm that exists between the human and demon worlds. They try to perform good deeds by bringing rain to places experiencing drought. However, Qing was careless and almost flooded the whole town once. Due to this mistake, Bai loses her chance to become an immortal. However, Guan Yin informs her that she may have yet another opportunity.
In the meantime, Bai and Qing accidentally bring a scholar named Xu Xian, and his friend, into the demon world. Bai protects them from the other demons and falls in love with Xu in the process. After the battle with the lord of the Underworld, Xu confesses his feelings for Bai, claiming that it was love at first sight. However, for a human to return to his world, he must first become unconscious and have any memory about his experience in the demon realm erased, but Xu knows and avoids being knocked out. However, Fahai finds a way into the demon world and he tricks Xu into being knocked out.
When Xu Xian returns to the human realm he forgets everything. Since he and his friend entered the portal separately, they end up in different locations. Xu meets many new people there. Not long later, Bai takes a final step to becoming a goddess, which is to collect human tears. Bai sees Xu with another woman and assumes that they are a couple. Qing realizes that when Xu and Bai meet, Xu will fall in love with Bai again, so she helps to arrange a meeting for them. Xu and Bai are married, open a medicine shop and live happily together.
However, as humans and demons are forbidden to bond, the town is struck by a plague and ends up on the verge of total destruction. Bai, Qing and Fahai finally agree to a truce and obtain a magical herb needed to help the population. Bai becomes pregnant later with Xu’s child, but Fahai continues to attempt to eliminate her and Qing.
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, when the Duanwu Festival is held, demons in human form will revert to their original shape. Bai thus decides to take Qing and Xu Xian back to Banbuduo, but Xu falls for Fahai’s trick again. Bai’s true form is revealed and Xu is literally scared to death. Bai retrieves a drug that restores Xu to life. After giving birth to Xu’s son, Bai is unable to control herself anymore and is forced to tell her husband the truth about her origin. Xu kindly accepts her, but Fahai attacks the weakened Bai and imprisons her for eternity in Leifeng Pagoda.
Okay, what is with that Fahai guy. So that’s literally the end? That’s terrible for her, she seems so nice! Maybe she could be rescued?
I am so so excited. I love Tong Li Ya and Yuan Hong is ridiculously underrated. Plis, I am very fond of ZJZ dramas (Well, except Heaven Sword. That one made NO sense). YESSSS! Koala, you made my day!
Btw, this is utterly unrelated, but you are my c/twdrama guru – is there any further word on when (if ever) the Vic Zhou WW2 drama is going to be released, or have censors doomed it to eternal oblivion?
Hi dangermousie
Was lurking in here to read this C-drama news and saw your question about Vic’s war drama (called The Other Shore 1945 in China and Return Home in Taiwan). Funny you should ask cuz the China version started broadcasting TONIGHT at Zhejiang satellite TV. You can watch it here online (but no subs) :
http://www.letv.com/ptv/pplay/79047/1.html
They are showing 3 episodes per day. Taiwan version will start Nov 20th on PTS HD channel. 😀
sytwo
Really? EEEEE! I think I may love you.
I will try to check out the site you linked because for Vic, I don’t mind watching raws. (Though hopefully there will be subs somewhere at some point. I am patient :P)
You are welcome !!
Also just found a youtube version !! Me too, hope there will be subs soon.
Episode 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ulF2VsAxrw&feature=share
You can find other episodes following the above link.
I’m not watching until the drama airs in Taiwan. China is dubbing it all into Chinese, despite the drama dialogue being originally in Japanese and Taiwanese as well as Mandarin Chinese.
So far, Maggie Cheung remais the best green snake. I wish good luck to the cast especially Yuan Hong
It looks like a lot of fans are agitating for Yuan Hong-Tong Li Ya pairing, hence there’s talk about Madam White Snake series. However, I think ZJZ has already dispelled talk that he’s producing the series.
yup, it’s just a nobody ‘actress’wannabe pitching her delusional dramaship with herself playing the green snake(?) Even Angie Chao has denied any involvement in this silliness.
Yes, u r right @iheartcdrama I hate the main dude in the folklore, I ship the snakes like LilianLi’s intriguing reinvention of the legend and I can’t stand ZJZ, so relieved this is a fluke even though I can’t wait to see this pairing in a period. It is just some no name actress/self proclaimed goddaughter of ZJZ trying to make some hoopla.
http://ent.163.com/12/1102/23/8FBH9P1E00031H2L.html
I actually heard that this is only a rumor. Yuan Hong also turn down for the role for Li’s Courtyard to focus on his current drama filming with Ying’Er. And some people are speculating that he’ll be keeping his schedule free after his current drama finishes for Bu Bu Jing Xin 2, which is when Shi Shi’s movie with Zai Zai will be done filming too. I kinda wish he could do this one too in addition to BBJX2, but I don’t mind he do BBJX2 because it would not be the same without the original cast! And Shi Shi needs her right hand man let me tell yah! LOL
No on all the BBJX2 fronts, he’s never been even approached or invited to join BBJX2 by the production. There is not yet a script of any kind for him to even consider. His words.
Mark my words, there will never ever be a BBJX2. sorry to burst ur bubble, but whenever TR needs some publicity, we’ll see it surfaced. *shrug*