Bai Lu in Talks to Join Li Yun Rui for In Development Wuxia Period C-drama Jian Ge Wen Ling
The leveling up of the female lead actress pick is pretty clear the drama is aiming for a top lead. The wuxia period C-drama Jian Ge Wu Ling 剑阁闻铃 has already signed male lead Li Yun Rui who is top billed, and in the last two weeks there has been a slew of actress names in talks for the female lead. First came Zhao Qing, then Li Lan Di, and finally it was almost certain it would be Chen Du Ling. But then the production kept on going and this week it’s being reported that the drama is in serious talks with Bai Lu for the lead, and if she accepts it will bump this drama budget up to S+ level. This isn’t just a random casting rumor as the production team behind Story of Kunning Palace is adapting the novel into this drama, and Bai Lu wants to work with a strong team after her last few dramas aired were less than stellar receptions for her.
Didn’t she say she was fed up of costume dramas ?
She said she wouldn’t be able to do dramas with alot of intense action scenes due to her health.
But his character is the main focus right? It is always strange how things go down when they are casting and shuffling over top billing. Her last aired drama made me feel she tries too hard to look ferocious, serious and warrior like and it is part of why the drama came off at times awkward. She seemed so tense. Not saying she is a bad actress but I sense desperation on her part to appear like a warrior/general material but it just feels off. Hope she finds her footing in pursuit of this.
Yeah i watched the tang one with her and wxy. She really doesnt have the presence or gravitas these sort of power women roles. Her acting was soo bad. She was trying to look tough, sitting like a man and all, and trying to be fierce and stoic, talking without moving her mouth much but it made her already mediocre acting abilities look so much worse. Wxy was surprisingly no better, looked like he was there to phone in his performances and go home.
Wang Xing Yue was fine acting a calm, poised and stoic character who knows how to emote with his eyes and by all account his lines delivery was again really good but I heard a few complaints from Chinese people about BaiLu voice acting stating that she doesn’t fit ancient costume dramas on that matter.
For wxy I think it’s more like ive seen better from him. Im not sure if it’s the writing or plot but he didn’t stand out. Yup her acting was pretty modern in a way, just really not good.
Gosh..is China talent dry?? There are many more good acting artistes around. Dont keep recycling the same pool. No wonder viewers attention are shifting to other entertainment options.
All about popularity these days for views.
So unhealthy for this industry long term…
So boring i swear. They can’t even try to bring out new blood. Maybe they’re afraid about flopping so hard like Zhou Yiran and Bao Shangan for example keep doing with the best IP + best marketing + best budget
Has Generation to Generation had poorly results? I just saw the trailer and the production in the scenes looked decent. But it’s hard not to flop if in the end people don’t pay attention to artistic qualities. It’s like in KPOP. Sleeper hits are rare as well.
She was part of the reasons why her last few dramas were lame. Her agency should let her do other stuff in showbiz and take a break from acting. She looked tired and disengaged most of the time to me in her leading roles. Her tepid performance lately has effectively overridden my positive views about her when she just debuted.
“Her tepid performance lately has effectively overridden my positive views about her when she just debuted”.
This perspective is interesting. I feel the same way about other actors (such as Chen Feiyu, Wang Churan, Chen Zheyuan, Suzy), but in the opposite sense: I’ve seen them act appallingly for more than seven years, and now that they’ve improved, I find it hard to warm up to them because I think that at any moment they will go back to being weak actors. LOL, it’s a flaw of mine. However, people who haven’t checked their past filmography will indeed see them in a good light and even support their potential. The contrast is there.
Agree on all except wcr though what is different for me is that those 3 i still view as average to below average actors. And they are only good if the weiting and or directing is good, they still aren’t good actors. For wcr tho, I liked her the most in are you the one, tho the series had good elements in general, strong ml/plot/writing and directing. She seems promising but it really depends on the scripts she chooses. I dodnt think how dare you was a good pick but am looking forward to overdo. Yet to watch hidden shadow but she seems good in the fight scenes
@Anne: Are You The One is basically the only drama where Wang Churan performed well (her comedic timing is noteworthy). But she was so-so in her previous works, for me, the weight is on the negative side. It’s 1 vs many. Lol. If Wang Churan depends on the script, direction, or her co-stars, it essentially negates that the importance of acting comes from the actor themselves, not from a few helping hands here and there. If she can’t be solid on her own, she can easily make a regression, and so I’d prove my point which is based on not having faith in them. LOL.
@Shayeli, Yeah, I also accept your confession of your flaw. lol. I tend to give actors opportunities for redemption if they have at least one impressive project under their belts but other dramas flopped. lol. Nonetheless, for those who are on a downhill trajectory, I may be more scathing about their current status. IMO, one has to work hard to advance professional skills in any field, showbiz included. BL appears to just go through the motions drama after drama after years of experience, considered a veteran in the industry already.
I don’t think my assessment of her unfair.
@Somebody: I gave up on Bai Lu after finishing Story of Kunning Palace. And since her looks aren’t up to my alley, I’ve just focused on other names that even if they have questionable acting (like Cha Eun Woo), at least serve me as eye candy in O.K dramas.😂
@Shayeli, how unexpectedly you mentioned the Netflix fav, CEW !!! LOL. I just watched much-(or over- lol)hyped Kpop Demon Hunter thanks to Oscar’s nomination. At least, CEW was said to be the muse for the demon heartthrob in the animation. lol. But it’s true he can’t act. I couldn’t agree more.
@Somebody: CEW is the first name that came to mind because of Wonderful World. During the premiere, a high percentage of users on South Korea’s main entertainment forums admitted to only seeing it because he looked attractive. At that time there were almost no souls trying to defend his non-existent performance. LOL. I also watched Kpop Demon Hunters and I thought it was fine to pass the time, but I don’t consider it a reference of the south korean culture (as it is promoted here and there😂) because like animations from China (Ne Zha for example), they are just based on superficial elements. KDH is one more indicator of how strong South Korea’s soft power is though.
@Shayeli, ok, I’m gonna digress to KDH cuz I found its viral sensation on social media is phenomenal and interesting. I watched it TWICE (no pun intended lol) just trying to understand the trending zeal for this animation across ALL age groups. lol. I even read a funny post with 10s of 1000 thumbs up and 1000s of comments on one of many KDH forums; The OP is a dad of 7 years old, who cried out whining about his kid’s obsession with KDH. lol.
As an old-gen Kpop fan, I don’t get its Kpop vibes. Rather, KDH is more typical of Disney-style animation. Nonetheless, for ordinary non-kpoppers, the songs in KDH might sound refreshing and catchy cuz the music meshes Disney elements with Kpop beats pretty well. To me, the only Korean content in KDH appealing to me is Ahn Hyo Seop’s voice dubbing of the demonic heatthrob. Hahahaha.
This is the same view i have of her. I quite liked her in the arsenal military one and some of her much earlier shows. Now she seems to have lost a certain spark. Personally I feel shes like meng ziyi for me, better in variety and should stay away from acting.
@Anne, there are a lot of them that should be kept away from screens. Lol. But we know that audiences are not necessarily looking for actors to follow, support and invest in based on their talent, agencies even less. It is a sale and consumption of products, which is why they spend their time immersed in their personal lives and fanwars.
Any drama of hers is skippable now. I feel like she is trying too hard to make herself popular in real life that she pays more attention to CP promotions with her co-stars than her actual acting skills. Also, consecutive costume dramas make her performance really repetitive as she is always using the same expressions and emote style.
@Anne: Are You The One is basically the only drama where Wang Churan performed well (her comedic timing is noteworthy). But she was so-so in her previous works, so for me, the weight is on the negative side. It’s 1 vs many. Lol. If Wang Churan depends on the script, direction or her co-stars, it essentially negates that the importance of a good acting, comes from the actors themselves, not from a few helping hands here and there.
another average dude being overhyped.