This is an interesting article that taps into a popular Chinese cultural myth and might have some nuggets of anecdotal truth to it. A Taiwanese newspaper recently wrote about four of the most popular actresses in the Chinese-speaking entertainment world in a different context beyond their own popularity and acting successes. There is a commonly held belief that a man … Continue reading →
The idol C-drama world appears to be in love with the Early Republic era right now. I almost need two hands to count how many C-dramas are filmed, filming, or on deck set during the time period right after the fall of the Qing dynasty plus a decade or so. It’s personally one of my fave period settings so I’m … Continue reading →
The cast of the upcoming period C-drama Cruel Romance worked through the Lunar New Year holiday break rather than take the customary time off just so the filming can squeeze in the final bits and call it a wrap. The drama is currently scheduled for a September airing which is great for fans to look forward to rather than languish … Continue reading →
New C-drama alert and this one looks interesting enough to catch my eye. Filming has just started for the period 1930’s Shanghai drama called Cruel Romance (Chinese title 锦绣缘华丽冒险 The Destiny of Jin Xiu’s Extravagant Adventure) starring C-actor Huang Xiaoming and TW-actress Chen Qiao En. Huang Xiaoming has been exclusively doing movies for the last five years though this past year in … Continue reading →
Forget love triangles, that is so passé (Roy Qiu–Tang Yan–Tia Li what?, George Hu–Annie Chen–Gui Gui who?) – the hottest love gossip in Chinese entertainment is a freaking love pentagon! This shit is awesomely good in the “I can’t believe this is even remotely true” way, yet it is all over the newspapers and magazines when I was in Asia … Continue reading →
I am officially pre-shipping the heroine Linghu Chong with the villain Dong Fang Bu Bai in the upcoming wuxia C-drama The Swordsman. This is my conclusion after watching the 9-minute long trailer just released (linked below) and finally wrapping my mind around the changes producer Yu Zheng did to the original novel The Smiling Proud Wanderer by Louis Cha. It’s ridiculous, … Continue reading →
I’m sure slick and soulless mega-producer Yu Zheng was just savoring all the slings and arrows shot his way during the filming of The Swordsman last year, when he cast actress Chen Qiao En to play the male Big Bad character of Dong Fang Bu Bai and gave the character a love line with hero Ling Hu Chong, who was … Continue reading →
It’s coming. I feel this ominous gush of air headed towards me as Yu Zheng‘s upcoming The Swordsman gets an air date of February 5th on Hunan TV. While this drama filmed at the same time as Da Mo Yao, we haven’t seen any official stills or trailers from DMY because that drama still hasn’t passed SARFT review and gotten … Continue reading →
It’s saying something that I put the poster for Chen Qiao En’s character from the upcoming Yu Zheng drama adaptation of the novel Xiao Ao Jiang Hu (Smiling Proud Wanderer) to top this post. After wrapping filming during the Summer, the official posters and first trailer is out for The Swordsman starring Wallace Huo as Linghu Chong, Yuan Shan Shan … Continue reading →
Upcoming modern C-drama SOP Queen held a press conference this week to prepare for the drama’s premiere on July 15th. Leads Chen Qiao En, Hans Zhang, and Godfrey Gao were all on hand looking happy and tanned, a sure sign they enjoyed making this drama. Chen Qiao En even got simultaneous cheek pecks from both her leading men, which is … Continue reading →
When I wrote about the upcoming C-drama SOP Queen with Chen Qiao En and Hans Zhang last week, I was surprised it garnered so much interest, with folks wanting to know when it’ll air. I thought towards the end of the year, but lo and behold, this drama just got kicked up the roster and will air next week following the … Continue reading →
Okay, so if I told any reader of The Smiling Proud Wanderer novel that the picture above is a scene from Yu Zheng‘s upcoming adaptation The Swordsman, I bet 99% of the people will say “Oh, that’s a scene with Linghu Chong and Ren Ying Ying! They look so perfect together and quite suitable for the character.” Maybe 1% might think the … Continue reading →
The already wrapped modern C-drama SOP Queen finally released trailers this week, but there hasn’t been confirmation of when it’s airing. Starring Hans Zhang, Chen Qiao En, and Godfrey Tsao, the drama definitely went all out on location shoots in London for a month before wrapping up in Shanghai and Taipei. The title is about being a “leftover girl” which … Continue reading →