My Journey to You Director Guo Jingming Uses Stage Name in Drama and Song Writing Credits and C-netizens Split on Whether He Should Comeback after 2020 Plagiarism Scandal
So I was never ever a Guo Jingming (Edward Guo) fan when he was huge in the mid-2010’s when he wrote those books and did Tiny Times movie series and L.O.R.D. the movie. What little I saw was all flash no substance. So I’m as surprised as any that I love C-drama My Journey to You which has both flash and substance IMO and legit is super gorgeous and riveting, and to learn it’s Guo Jingming directed. But he’s using a stage name Gu Xiaosheng in the directorial credits and also he wrote the lyrics for two songs in the drama also using the same stage name. Perhaps this is due to him being soft banned after the 2020 plagiarism scandal that also swept up C-drama land producer troll Yu Zheng. Anyhoo, I doubt if he was truly banned this drama would have been made and airing permit approved so perhaps he’s trying to come back with a fresh start who knows, all I know is this drama is sooooo good and at a short 24-episodes feels tightly plotted.
Never been a fan of Guo Jingming before because his works either lacked substance (L.O.R.D, Tiny Times) or felt disjointed writing-wise (Cry Me a Sad River), but it all changed when I watched his 2020 works: (1) Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, (2) Wuliang, and (3) Painted Skin: the Guo Jingming version.
I just watched the first episode of My Journey to You and the overall vibe is similar to the short films. I truly think that he is a better director than a screenwriter.
My first taste of GJM’s work was Painted Skin (Not the ChenKun-ZhaoWei-ZhouXun version) and it was amazing. His YinYang Master is another superb work of him. So for me aside from his plagiarism scandal, he is indeed not a talentless person. He has eyes to capture pretty things. He has great attention to details. All of his drama has intrigues and details props, costumes and styling. All are pretty and pleasing to the eyes. The plot is unusual too.
So I was really waiting forward for MJTY the moment the news of filming came out.
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Korea needs to watch its back if China ever manages to get modern dramas right. The costume dramas are already tops.
It’s China against themselves, Blame their own government for limiting what they can show on TV.
A weird drama. Some BGM sounds so modern, not fitting the antient setting. Slow motions everywhere and dark theme. It’s not my cup of tea aesthetically. Esther Yu looks very different from her prior roles that shows she could be versatile with a flexible acting range. Good for her. I’m currently at ep 4 and already thinking of dropping the series.
I love that this drama is “only” 24 episodes too. It feels so sharp and focused tight compared to the dragged out dramas with 40, 50, 60+ episodes full of filler. One of the reasons I stopped watching C-dramas a few years ago was because many were so unnecessarily long.