So this drama was filmed a few years ago and hasn’t been intentionally shelved but has taken longer than usual to air. Xianxia C-drama A Moment But Forever is on deck for iQiyi which has submitted the final cut for airing approval recently. It was originally a 31-episode drama and frankly like a B-grade project due to female lead Tang Yan‘s then decreased popularity and male lead Liu Xue Yi still up-and-coming. But in recent months Tang Yan had a career resurgence thanks to Blossoms Shanghai and Liu Xue Yi had a breakout with In Blossom, so iQiyi has added back scenes and the drama will be 38-episodes. The original story was female lead-centric and Tang Yan was top billed, but with Liu Xue Yi’s popularity the production added a lot more male lead scenes. But then there was blowback once the news got out so now it’s pared that back and will remain female lead centric but with the additional episodes. Whew, feels like navigating a moving maze lol.
A Moment But Forever:
WTH!!! So you’re telling me leading man’s scenes are being shelved. Also how do you go from 38ep down to 31ep? Only in Cdrama land can they mass produce 40+ ep in 5mths and then afford to cut it down. How do they even make $.
Kdrama take their sweet time to tell their story. Queen of Tears had 16 ep and took a whole year.
Kdrama are more than one and half in long , two times longer than a Chinese drama, Chinese dramas get so much money from advertisement compared to Kdrama that’s why steaming platform like Netflix are taking over Korean dramas
Another circus in the making, it’s going to be a huge fanwar again.
Liu Xueyi is another one playing dirty games just because he got a little bit of popularity. Lately he has been trying to hype himself up by releasing drafts on sns how he would be a better pick for certain roles than the actors who were chosen in some big dramas currently being filmed.
It’s a shame he hasn’t learned nothing good comes from this.
Really? Which big dramas and which actors had he been talking about?
If it’s true, I dislike this type of person.
Biggest marketer is Zhao Liying. Funny to see people crying to death massively when they spread lies about so and so playing dirty marketing. As soon as anyone reveal Zhao Liying is the master marketer, the cry hush down and say it’s ok to be a nasty marketer so let’s stop talking about marketing. Or denying that there’s no way to know who’s a marketer unless they sleep under his or her bed.
Did she kill your dog or something so you absolutely have to bring her up even when the discussion in question is totally unrelated? Please stop.
Sigh. Did she steal your boyfriend? Why do you keep pushing her name under every topic like you can’t let go of a rotten chewtoy?
Provide the evidence of those drafts.
I can provide evidence of Zhao Liying publishing at least 10 drafts like that per week, comparing herself with others saying she is the best.
I cannot find any for Liu Xueyi so you are lying.
You are also lying when you say nothing good comes from that.
ZLY is currently the hottest A-lister because of her ruthless marketing.
If she can do it, why can’t others?
I don’t see any drafts Liu Xueyi publish to hurt others, but I am seeing lots of drafts saying bad things about him. Tang Yan got drag along.
The way I see it. Liu Xueyi was underestimated. He was paired up with the ill-reputed Ju Jingyi and everyone was expecting the worst. Unexpectedly, he had chemistry with both Ju Jingyi and Zheng Hehuizi, and made the show popular. Words of mouth, their show was even better than Zhao Liying’s Legend of Shen Li. So now the competitors fear that he might restore Tang Yan’s glory back. I only see lots of dirty marketing saying bad things about A Moment but Forever. Those are suspicious drafts from Zhao Liying’s team.
You seem unwell. If there was a tornado near your house tomorrow you would blame it on ZLY.
Go out. Touch grass. Breathe.
Isn’t this guy who cheated on his girlfriend actress with another actress? He put both actresses in the difficult position, why he is still getting the roles?
Cheaters are worse than drug-users and people who did tax evasion.
Hmm, no. Tax evasion is stealing, basically. Drug abuse is not a crime but can be one if the addict plays it cool and lures more people into this shit. A person cheating on their partner is an arse, but doesn’t break any laws. I wouldn’t like someone like that in mu life, but I cannot brand them as criminals either.
I think your refering to Xu Kai Cheng. He isnt canceled but his career has tanked since the scandal broke in 2022.
I just find it crazy that this sort of thing happens. Like I thought once they finish filming and editing that would be it. Sounds like they play games too much just because of popularity or unpopularity. Like I get it sort of but what if by doing so takes away from the initial story. It’s not enough they cut back and cut out for censorship. Must be tough filming and making stuff in China.
@Rero…I’ve lots of sympathy for film makers in China because of how they’ve to plan around the censorship board. I’ve read about dramas being chopped to 1/3 of its size due to censorship so how can anyone make any kind of good story telling under that environment. So when I read criticisms on here about China’s bad scrip writing, I always wonder how much that’s actually due to the skills vs how that’s due to censorship. All this is to say that I can see how this drama in particular shot additional footages and is able to edit the storyline still. But I do agree that for them to change the story due to perceived popularity of the leads is not at all a justified/good reason.
@R I completely agree with you. Censorship can definitely affect the way stories are told, and it can be unfortunate for the viewers who are looking for a complete and coherent story. For example, a lot of people said that Unchained Love is bad drama in almost aspects, especially the story wise. But if Unchained Love had the chance to air w/o censorship and with proper episodes the story would’ve been given a chance to fully develop (and makes more sense!!) and the chemistry between the main leads would’ve been shown more effectively.
There was a cdrama I watched that jumped from A to C and later only showed B in a few seconds flashback. It was already confusing but the fact that B was already filmed and had to be cut out which affected the storytelling is outrageous.
@R, I think censorship contributes most to boring scripts of C dramas. It’s not like Chinese can’t do creative writing. To the opposite, China has a huge pool of talent writing web novels that appear less censored or perhaps just hard for CCP authority to police. Some web novels have fascinating stories. But when those original stories were adapted into dramas, they lost most interesting allure.
Gee, I even replied to you in a nice way here. You actually don’t deserve it. LMAO.
I know! It’s weird to think that they would just re-edit the stuff based on popularity of the actor.
Also, if this was a female-centric story, why were 7 additional episodes’ worth of ML material even filmed in the first place? Are writers/producers just padding the story with lots of scenes just in case the ML hits it big one day? Just in case there is a revolt against female-centric stories? Just fascinating.
@Somebody I don’t think so. Nirvana In Fire is probably the best TV series China has ever produced and although there was censorship from the original source, it did not affect the quality. Censorship may come across as narrow-mindedness, but it is not enough to justify a lack of dedication when producing a series or movie. Violent or sexual content is not necessary to demonstrate maturity and a dark plot.
The evolution of Chinese entertainment has been ironic to me because in older series I have found well-written female characters with depth and dimensions. Instead in modern series, they have bad construction that rarely go out of the route of being incompetent damsels in distress lol. And there are always opinions that point out that it’s due to censorship, but why are male characters generally better written? Lol.
Trailer looks boring. For a story to be able to insert in 10 episodes in and out when ever they like, it’s got to be a very simple story with almost no plot, and has lots of water injections. Legend of Shen Li is a good example, it has lots of water injection, but people won’t dare to say this truth, because of ZLY’s popularity.
So, popularity does matter, very much! The things ZLY are allow to do, doesn’t mean others can. Tang Yan’s popularity is not so good, she will get criticized about bad acting if her drama has no plot and full of water injections. It’s only alright if ZLY does it. Cdramas rely on traffic, it’s not the story, script, acting and what so ever. It’s only the traffic that matters, that’s where they get money. Stations treat people differently base on their popularity. ZLY is willing to lose money for traffic but gets a good reputation online. The other actresses are not so willing to lose money. They are working to earn money, not to lose money. They are too stingy.
Get a life! You make so many accounts just to hate on one actress. Wow! Let her live in the mansion free in your head. Think about her all day! This article has nothing to do with zly, yet you have to mention her. Seriously go see help you are letting your hate consume you. You’re like a crying baby trying to be heard, screaming and yelling in every article. You have no clue what you are talking about. Have you watched the Legend of Shen Li? This is one of the best novel to drama adaptation, I’ve seen, they respect the book and the audience. Every character has sufficient screen time according to the story. What water injection are you talking about? You seem to know so much about ZLY, even more than her fans. I wouldn’t be surprised if you knew what color her poop is either.
How is Zhao Lying irrelevant when everyone knows she will do this:
“Compare Tang Yan’s Xianxia, Yang Mi’s Xianxia, Liu Shishi’s Xianxia, they all lost to Legend of Chicken, so the Magnolia award should go to Chicken Zhao Lying.”
LMAO! We can bet on that, it will happen for sure.
Ma Li taught her a good lesson recently but she didn’t show any sign of repentance. Instead, she brashly doubled her thick face. So that means she will continue to play with everyone’s intelligence.
Get help asap, you spend to much time on someone you hate. Maybe instead of stalking zly go and watch the other dramas with whatever celebs you want to sniff butts with. People here are only watching dramas they like, no one really cares for gossip and dramas outside the drama like you do! Get some help, so pathetic!
Are those three people above the same person? They sound exactly the same, with that toxic obsession, LOL.
Probably and hopefully because it would be depressing to think three people have this level of obsession.
Why can’t fans just let others talk? You disagree with them cos they criticize your fave? Make your case with valid points then. Why always name calling others haters with a barrage of derogatory mockery as if you were a moral judge? This is so comical! What’s the problem for ppl to refer to other actors who weren’t mentioned in the article? Why is that not allowed? Make your case without hollering through keyboard like an emo on a roller coaster! LOL. Otherwise, you’re nothing different from communists who’re obsessed with conformity and worships cyberbullying to muzzle difference. Everyone on this site is entitled to free speech including criticism of any actor or whatnot in a random drama anywhere, anytime. Is there any law other than CCP censorship prohibiting ppl from doing so? LOL.
Well Said. 👏🏻
Did you read a bunch of lunatics reacting to me criticism of QoT? That’s quite a binge! LOL.
I have no idea of these keyboard nobodies popped up out of nowhere. I wonder if those many are actually the same person trolling. LOL.
@HL…don’t you think that commenters should at least try to stay on the topic at hand though in an article if theirs is a stand alone comment? I mean I know that koala has no commenting rules so every post can be treated as a “free for all” in a technical sense. But isn’t it just basic etiquette to try to find related points when commenting? Also I want to point out that no one’s right to free speech is actually being threatened here because being scolded for being off topic is not at all the same thing as being actually criminalized by the govt which is what the rights to free speech actually meant (at least in the US).
@R, you misinterpreted the spirit behind the value of freedom of speech that prop the 1st Amendment. Since you live in the US, I suggest you pull out the US Constitution provision and read it carefully again.
Freedom of speech should be applied anywhere, anytime, and to any person without any specific beliefs or values dictating or moderating opinions. The majority with popular opinions can’t muzzle the voice of the minority. That’s the principle. If you don’t like someone’s opinions and many others also share the same inclination as you, you still shouldn’t intimidate ppl from voicing unpopular opinions. That’s a legit behavior of bullying.
This Freedom of Speech principle is very well adopted on SM in the US across the board. But Asian drama forums have the worst tolerance of differences perhaps thanks to the Asian upbringing of many fans that Authoritarian Personality has had a marked impact on their culture.
BTW, ALL my comments are related to the dramas or actors mentioned in the blogs Koala posted. So, wtf are only compliments considered relevant but criticism is off topic? LOL. The prejudice is obvious. Try to muzzle ppl who differ from QoT fans by launching pile-on bullying with name calling such as haters, jackshit, and asses etc? That’s how I turned my words into swords cos these rabid fans invite eye for an eye for the shit they threw out first.
@R you should have told those bullies to have basic etiquette from the get-go instead. You lectured the wrong person.
This is how suppressing free speech happens. SMH
@Somebody But you lose if you stoop to the same level as bullies in the comments, you are better than that. Your intelligence is greater than these crazies here who even impersonate other users.
In discussions there is little prioritization of education and that’s why they end up spewing venom lol. There are people who have criticized my favorite actors with critical thinking and that makes a big difference but there are people who criticize them with insults and even death wishes lol, I can’t take that kind freedom of speech. If freedom of thought is not considered (which is supposed to allow us to open our minds and come up with better ideas) all forums will be full of hate and ignorance.
You have hypocrisy on another level. How can you write about politeness and respect when you yourself act like a psychopath in some comments? Or is it not you? Do you have multiple personalities? You even get angry when Xiao Zhan or The Untamed is criticized lol. Even if the criticism is respectful, you act as if you have been hurt.
Other than Nini, I think all these “85 flower” actresses are really just mediocre actresses. They got lucky they debuted at a time when competition didn’t seem as stiff, xianxia was just taking off as a genre, and managed to get a few hits.
Competition didn’t come as stiff back then????????
You wish you get to work with someone like Zhang Jizhong in the 2000s. Liu Yifei and Yang Mi made it, and won his praises even today. The Tangren stars back then used little to no CGI, and they don’t rely on ugly skin smoothing filters. Zhao Liying began in 2006, but couldn’t break into the industry up until 2011 because she had no skill in anything.
People like Liu Yifei and Liu Shi Shi relied on skills such as ballet and traditional Chinese dance to get Wuxia characters. Yang Mi was pretty so she was able to get beauty roles like Wang Zhaojun.
I say today is the most non-competitive era ever, you can be ugly and skill-less. Just put a heavy smoothing filter and whether that helps you look ugly or pretty, you can even hire fans to say they like you so it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to fight or even act, just use doubles to do everything, for fighting scenes, use CGI to twirl a stick or sword around and it go kill people while you do nothing, then you’re all set. I don’t know what type of skill is even require in this era, other than marketing.
LYF and LSS are still great at wuxia and period characters. They were undeniably graceful. That doesn’t mean their acting is great. They’re watchable. I never said they were bad, I said they were “average”. Even with younger actresses that have similar caliber as them nowadays will likely never reach the same level of fame as they were able to achieve back then. So yea I stand by what I said that it’s more competitive now with more in the pool to pick from that spans across from actual talented actresses to a bunch of plastic vases that can’t act at all.
Very little skills needed and some of these new actors and actresses are not aware enough or care to do training. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I saw Bailu who is popular and often praised by fans flopping around during bts wire-work shots, the director must have done wonders because it was a joke.
I would suggest that u watch article 20. zly spent a month with a mute family to learn sign language. Shen li, she spent 2 months to learn how to play with spear b4 filming. if she is not talented, she will not be nominated thrice for Magnolia. I rest my case.
It’s amusing to see ZLY armies defaming LXY a while ago, people were spitting and hating on him. Then ZLY was brought up, everyone rushes to deny all her marketing as if no one can see the drafts she bought on the 85 flowers like Tang Yan.
Acting is cheap. Jet Li and Jackie Chan relied on martial art skills, and the acting part does not even require training because it’s just so cheap.
More over, there used to be so many martial artists during their times, had they not pick up another language, English, they would be nowhere the are today.
They picked up tons of skills, martial arts, acting, new languages, new culture, new fashion, etc. Today, to hell with those relying on “acting” alone and act big as if they’re queen of the universe!
The UNskillful people, acting acting as if skillful people cannot act at all but only they can act, they need to have some shame. Yes I’m connotating ZLY, who recently compares herself with LSS, sheesh!
Liu Shi Shi and Liu Yifei have better acting skills than most people. Just because lots of water armies posting that they cannot act, that cannot change them into actresses with no acting skills.
ZLY’s acting is way below mediocre, this is her real face prior to plastic surgery.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/fd/cd/8cfdcd93fccc02475dc85a501557603a.jpg
It’s why she couldn’t get famous. If she has acting skills for real, she should’ve gotten famous with that ugly face.
Yes, Bai Lu is not any big beauty, but at least she got famous with her ugly natural face. That proves her acting skills, she can make people like an ugly face. She uses her real voice to act variety of characters. Unlike ZLY who always get dub all the time and still annoying to cry about not getting awards. Bai Lu may be stiff, but she didn’t use excessive doubles. Plus, she gets along with others and doesn’t play tricks like Zhao Liying. In Legend of Shen Li, ZLY used someone to SIT DOWN for her. It’s just too outrageous. She AI her face into the double. I don’t know how that’s call good acting.
https://pub.creaders.net/upload_files/image/202403/20240325_17114150967515.png?s=bcbay.com
The most outrageous thing is how ZLY did dirty market on Bai Lu.
https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20240421V01ZIC00
It’s funny how you brought up Bai Lu, a few days ago, ZLY markets that Bai Lu is so stiff that even ZLY’s BTS are more watchable than Bai Lu’s entire drama. Pls convince everyone you people attacking here not ZLY’s workers.
What ZLY showed us BTS and what ZLY delivered to the production screen are two entirely different things. BTS, she was playing with some fake spear used in operas that are super light and flexible but when it gets to production she wasn’t even doing a goddamn thing but just using a CGI spear that moves by itself. And she paid the instructor to praise her. I have never been so disgusted by any actress my whole life, she deserves all the rant. All the protectors here are obviously the same person hired to protect her, and act as if no one has eyes to see the marketing she did on everyone.
@Leeza She’s been in the industry for like two decades, so I would hope her acting has improved. Great that she’s putting in effort. Many don’t even bother. But I was more talking about back these when these ladies exploded, I didn’t see anything special about their acting. ZLY in Journey of Flower was believable as a cute student. Once she turned “evil” she was in over her head. The most recent think I’ve seen of hers was MingLan, which I thought she was fine. I was more impressed by Zhu Yilong is that drama, first time I’ve seen him in anything.
Tang Yan probably used up all her acting skills in Chinese Paladin 3, because she was really mediocre in Diamond Lover and Perfect Couple. I don’t plan on watching this drama since xianxia is so incredibly repetitive.
Again, I’m not calling any of these ladies BAD actors. I said “average”. They’re 10x better than actual bad actresses like ABB, YCY, and JJY. My point was that the pool is much bigger now. You have much more (maybe too much) to choose from in the current entertainment industry. To reach the same level of stardom they did and becoming a household name that people still recognize decades later, I don’t think that’s achievable.
Lastly, I find the comment saying acting is cheap is a huge insult. Acting is a performance art. Many consider it a prestige to get into acting academies like CAD and BFA. Are there cheap productions that don’t care about actual acting and just trying to make a few dollars, sure. The chinese entertainment industry has really cheapened the profession with some of the trash they produce (along with good). That doesn’t mean acting itself is cheap.
@Jia….am new to Cent so while I’ve watched older Cdramas before with my grandma, I haven’t really followed any Cent news/ gossips till the last couple of years so am pretty noob to Cent. But I find your comment about a bigger talent pool now vs before really interesting cause I swear I just see the same like 5 names of the younger actresses over and over again being casted 😅
@R fair enough! Some of the younger actresses are called traffic stars for a reason. They have enough fans to basically just create topics about them all the time. I also feel like Koala likes to talk about the same few. The 95-00 liners aren’t just BL, Esther, ZLS. There’s Liu Haocun, Guan Xiaotong, Zhang Xue Ying, Zhou Ye, Meng Ziyi, Wang Churan, Zhang Ruonan, Zhang Jingyi, Tian Xiwei, Ren Min, Li Landi, Song Zuer, Shen Yue, Xu Ruohan, Zhang Miaoyi, Hu Yixuan, Lin Yun, and more. There’s a long list of available actresses. This doesn’t include some other idol turned actresses like Yang Chaoyue, Wu Xuanyi, Cheng Xiao, etc.
Lord on high. No Zly is not paying me to like her or her dramas. I chose to watch them. I truly believe none of these C-actors or actresses do not work hard to get way they are some take short cuts and some bust there buts. Just because someone likes someone you don’t and hate does not in any way mean they are apart of the cray cray fandoms of most Asian markets. I’m not the one trolling your comments but your random comments on her alone are indeed getting old hat and annoying. The same way you hate being told what to like or not like is exactly what you have been doing in every post koala posts. Not everything is about Zly. But if you feel that way whatever. 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Very convincing! Looks like that gives ZLY the rights to use AI and excessive doubles, and the rights to market attack everyone else. She should totally not be suspected again.
Never said that but I still watch her. I even watch Esther Yu and her voice can be grating but I still watch her. No one is perfect. The thing that I mainly pay attention to is the story. Not so much the actors but it does help if their acting is watchable or bearable. To each their own. I’m not going to obsess over things like you do that is my choice.
To the Anon above posting ZLY’s face pre PS (if it’s a real pic), I think she looked pretty then too. I don’t what your beef is with the actress, but that long, long diatribe just shows you need help with this obsession in every single reply and post.
It’s because her idol sucks. Lol so she try to make any excuse to bring down another actress. Yes because ZLY owns the entertainment buisness. If your drama flop, if you can’t act, if you get caught in scandal, it’s all ZLY 😂😂😂.
I think ZLY is pitiful in many ways. Not because she was from a poor family, her parents actually love her, so she’s actually very lucky. It’s pitiful that she doesn’t seem to understand that, she resents her poor background too much and uses it as an excuse for everything when it shouldn’t have to be that way.
She grew up not knowing how to cook, that explains how much they spoil her. She does not do well in school either, they still love her. Way back then, some people showed photos of her parents catching her at the airport hoping she won’t leave, but she didn’t look too happy about them stopping her, she proceeded to go board the airplane. I was a fan back then, I used to watch her news.
At a very young age, 16, she already followed men around to pursue such a big dream, actually one of the most impossible dreams. I think she’s too pampered by elderly men her whole life that she doesn’t have any interest in growth or development, and no idea how to be a decent adult. That’s the true, pitiful thing about her. She is too dependent on being manipulative to survive.
She only spent 5 years before exploding in New My Fair Princess, compare to others, even Feng Shaofeng who’s rumored to be from the rich, he never exploded until Palace 2011 which is about 13 years for him to reach. It’s that long! Before New My Fair Princess, ZLY actually played female leads several times before, but just never get noticed. Before Palace, FSF too, played male leads several times but just didn’t make any sound. It’s not an easy industry, it’s very unpredictable. To say 5 years is short, it is also not short for the part that her living style could’ve been very unimaginable. For such a young girl like that to travel around with men, waiting for filming opportunities, safety is the biggest concern. To put it frankly, the person has to be quite homeless. She once took a selfie during the Yahoo competition, but the background accidentally revealed something unimaginable. Today, if Feng Xiaogang is going to take your daughter away to film, it’s not easy to let go unless you don’t worry for her.
Compare to people with supportive parents like Yang Mi or Yang Zi as examples, they are not from rich or poor families so I guess you can say middle class, but their parents might have more education about building saftier measures for their kids to succeed. For ZLY, it’s not really a choice, even if her parents are supportive, they don’t have the funding or knowledge to help in any way. Even the middle class cannot follow their kids travelling around either, all they have might only be resources to know which group is safer to be with and what not. ZLY was at bigger risk when she followed Feng Xiaogang just like that, taking any miscellaneous work. For that, many actresses are being very lenient towards ZLY despite her immature marketing. Now she is already a mother, hopefully she can grow up and stop relying on marketing schemes. She is very insecure because of data fraud, but at the same time, she is too greedy when her works are very low quality. As a decent adult, one should have integrity, play it fair, if the quality is good then it will naturally sell, stop shovelling it in real human’s faces they hate it very much. The bots are not real humans, they only like what they are programmed to like. The real humans can get very annoyed.
The only one you should be pitying is yourself. Sit here and make up multiple accounts, writing essays and obsession over a Chinese celebs. Did you mother or father not love you? Are you not educated? Do you follow dogs or cats around. No one every loved you? Are you projecting yourself?
I will skip that show…I don’t like age gap pairing. Tang Yan looks older than Liu Xueyi. Also, Liu Xueyi very thin compared to that actress.
Not fan of Noona romance 🙂
You also dislike older man and younger woman?
I will skip that show…I don’t like age gap pairing. Tang Yan looks older than Liu Xueyi. Also, Liu Xueyi very thin compared to that actress.
Not fan of Noona romance 🙂