I think the sole existence of screenwriter-producer Yu Zheng in the world of C-dramas and movies is really to act like a troll on history and fandom. He exploits anything and everything with equal aplomb, and with this new drama casting bombshell I’ve officially decided that he is also blind and has no ability to pick leading ladies. He ought … Continue reading →
The modern day sequel Bu Bu Jing Qing to the popular time-travel period drama Bu Bu Jing Xin finished filming a few months ago and is comfortably ensconced in post-production. It’s not scheduled to air until 2014, but that hasn’t stopped the production company Tangren from doing a slew of early promotions. There was a concept teaser, the most dreary … Continue reading →
Even if his fans and detractors universally acknowledge that he’s more or less a douchy hack of a producer and scriptwriter, Yu Zheng is probably having the last laugh right and counting his dough all the way to the bank. His just finished airing C-drama Legend of Lu Zhen was a smash hit thanks to the youthful vitality, natural good … Continue reading →
Yun Zhong Ge the drama looks so beautiful I have no words. Gah, what is this magic happening? If the drama adaptation of writer Tong Hua‘s Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert) felt like a balloon gradually deflating as my excitement and interest went from one hundred to zero in the court of the casting shenanigans, filming chintzy feel, and … Continue reading →
When one’s beloved novel is getting a live-action adaptation, there is always the fervent hope that it doesn’t get butchered tempered by the dream of seeing it finally come to life outside of the words on the page and the images in one’s own imagination. I’ve been through the process so many times whether its English novels, Japanese manga, or … Continue reading →
The existence of these two is why I continue to dip a toe into C-dramas even when the vast vast majority of its output is pure unadulterated crap. It’s not even addicting bad crap, it’s boring nonsensical crap. But seeing the newest and hottest onscreen C-couple flit around talk shows and leap off the screen at me as I watch … Continue reading →
I think the producers of Chinese top-rated variety show Happy Camp must’ve been on some happy pills and decided to make lots of fan fiction come true last week. Top Hallyu star Lee Jun Ki made his first appearance on the show despite being one of the biggest Korean stars in China even before he enlisted in the army 3 … Continue reading →
It is a thing of beauty to watch a truly breakout performance. It’s an even greater thing of beauty to watch the breakout performance come in the form of an astonishingly gorgeous young man that just about took my breath away. C-dramas have had its shares of breakouts, a few notable recent ones were Feng Shao Feng in 2011 with … Continue reading →
In light of the fact that the drama adaptation of Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert) might never see the light of day, plus I’m still not ready to accept Eddie Peng as General Huo Qu Bing despite all my love for Liu Shi Shi and Hu Ge, the drama adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge (Song in the Clouds) … Continue reading →
After the collective freak out and hernia two weeks ago at the Yun Zhong Ge Baidu bar over the casting shuffles and the possibility of Yuan Shan Shan taking on the leading role in Yu Zheng‘s drama adaptation of Yun Zhong Ge called Love Story of the Great Han Period, the drama quietly started filming yesterday with a confirmed cast that … Continue reading →
The Yun Zhong Ge bar is probably the most battle-worn place on Baidu right now. Every time I check in there is a new shit storm over something Yu Zheng, who holds the rights to adapt this novel to a drama, has pulled on the anxious fans of the original novel written by Tong Hua. Two weeks ago Yu Zheng … Continue reading →
Yu Zheng‘s The Swordsman, a complete massacre of the classic wuxia novel Smiling Proud Wanderer, is so so SO bad I cannot even write about it. Talking about that atrocity is like pouring boiling water over a fresh burn. Much as I would like him to retire from producing dramas immediately, the man isn’t going anywhere and he has in … 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 →