Following along with the casting and filming of the upcoming period C-drama King of Lan Ling since the very beginning has made the wait feel interminable. So either I have prodigious patience I wasn’t aware of or time just flew by this past year because the drama is finally premiering on Wednesday August 14th on four major networks in China (Dongfang, Shenzhen, Zhejiang, and Yunnan). This will be the first time leading lady Ariel Lin is dubbing her own voice for a C-drama. In both The Little Fairy and Legend of the Condor Heroes 2006, she was dubbed over and I really didn’t like the dubber they chose for her in either of those dramas. Rumor is that all the main leads will not be dubbed in this drama, which will be hilarious because we have Feng Shao Feng with his Shanghai tone, Daniel Chan with his Cantonese twang, Ariel with her Taiwanese Mandarin, Zhai Tian Ling with his Shandong accent, and George Hu who grew up in the US and freaking learned Mandarin after he returned to Taiwan as an actor.
When I say no dubbing that’s actually not completely accurate, all the actors had to go back to the studio to record their own lines again and it will be dubbed over, but it will just be their own voices rather than a professional dubber. I think it’s amusing that even Feng Shao Feng’s fangirls wanted him dubbed with the dude who was his voice in Jade Palace Lock Heart. Below are some of the latest OTP stills of Ariel’s Yang Xue Wu and Feng Shao Feng’s Gao Chang Gong, plus the three leads attending the press conference this week for the junket. The media hounded Feng Shao Feng for netizens skewering him for not being handsome enough to play the first historical flower boy in recorded Chinese history, and I love his answer was that he can’t change his looks but he tried to bring out the fierce aura of the King of Lan Ling. His real life C-actress girlfriend Ni Ni was along for the junket and the media loves a good high profile love story so that help give them other stuff to write about. I’ve been waiting for this drama for so long it better be good or else heads will roll.
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Oh gosh darn I'm so excited!! Ariel!!
Really? They are all dubbing over their own voices?! Yay!! Well, it's strange in a period piece for sure but I guess I'll like it better than the professional dubbers. Daniel's mandarin leaves a lot to be desired. LOL Voices rarely distract me. It distracts me more in modern dramas. I think it only distracts when it's just poorly done... whether the voices just don't match up quite right to the acting.
I have to agree if this is not good, heads will roll. I have been waiting forever too. Time flies.
Thanks for making it easy for me to keep up with the news.
LOL, I'm lovin' all the different accents. ^__^
This better be good!
OMG it's finally out!!! Have been waiting for this for so long too. Esp that it's been a long time since I last watched Ariel Lin in a periodic drama. She was awesome as Qi Gong Zhu with Hu Ge ^_^
Hi! Kind of new here and not familiar enough with Cdramas. Could someone please explain what does "dubbing their own voices" means?. I'm not familiar with the term. I don't know it is because English is my Second language. Anyway, I love Ariel Lin. I don't think I have ever watched a Wuxia? drama.
Dubbing is when the lines that the actors say are re-recorded in a soundroom as opposed to using the sound footage that was gathered during the actual filming process. It's widely used in China and most dramas are dubbed. It really is only viable for the china drama industry as all dramas need to be completely pre-filmed whereas it's an extra step that doesn't work out in a live shoot situation.
Most commonly actors do not dub their own voices. There are specific voice actors who instead do the dubbing for the actors on screen. This is why it's going to be really cool in this drama to hear the voices of the actors themselves instead of the voice that where chosen for them which sometimes don't really match with the way an actor looks. It's also kinda weird though with all the different accents going on as Koala mentioned.
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain.
Finally! Feels like we've been waiting forever. Really hope it'll be as good or better than it looks :D I doubt anything can top Ariel's turn as Rong'er in LOCH '08 for me, but I'm trying to keep an open mind.
Can't wait! This is so exciting!
YESSS!!!
I always wonder why C-actors don't change their accents for the dramas like the English-language actors. It's both amusing and disconcerting to hear differing accents in a drama. I actually think George Hu's accent isn't that bad, I feel that Vanness & Wilbur have worse accents. :/
Not everyone can do it. Imitating accents is tricking to get right. I winced hearing Brad Pitt's Southern accent.
Yeah, it's strange, because I definitely KNOW it's possible. My father is a perfect example, because he can speak Hunanese when talking to his mother or brothers, but when he talks to my mom, he speaks in Taiwanese-style Mandarin.
Of course, he DOES do it without really thinking about it which is kind of funny to listen to since he'll sometimes switch who he's talking to mid-talking and then his accent also switches.
So, it definitely IS possible. I just wonder with all the dubbing that happens whether it's considered worthwhile for a Chinese actor to learn enough to sound good in another accent....
So excited - I will probably watch this raw and then wait for subtitles. It looks amazing, hope it doesn't disappoint.