Song Qian (The Moon Knows Not My Heart), Zhang Jianing (From Survivor to Healer), Li Chun (Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace) and Celina Jade (Triple Threat) have been cast as the leads in romance drama Love in Shanghai 他其实没有那么爱你 (lit. He’s Just Not That Into You).
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We get our first glimpse of the three brothers in the first trailer for upcoming Republican drama New World. There’s the local gangland boss (Sun Honglei), the Kuomintang government official (Zhang Luyi) and the policeman (Yin Fang), and the three brothers go through various internal struggles before finally deciding to band together and welcome the Communists into Beiping. Weibo video here if the Youtube video doesn’t work.
Set in the weeks before the liberation of Beiping by the Communists, the new Republican drama is aptly titled New World 新世界, and revolves around the lives of three friends, played by Sun Honglei (To Be A Better Man), Zhang Luyi (The Patriot) and Yin Fang (Operation Red Sea) and the conflicts that arise due to their different beliefs.
False history: The concubines scheming to overthrow the emperor together.
Photographer Yin Chao used wet plate processing and large format cameras to recreate vintage Qing-dynasty looks for currently streaming series Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace. (FYI The camera was invented after Qianlong’s death, but there are definitely photos of later Qing dynasty harems) . Watch the series starring Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo on Youtube here. Continue reading
Not much material has been released for Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace because the air date was announced on such short notice, but having this post up gives me some sense of closure (I’m pretty sure I’ve posted about this drama more than 20 times over the past two years).
A record of the failed marriage between the Step-Empress and the Qianlong Emperor.
Zhou Xun and Wallace Huo’s Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace has confirmed a premiere date of August 20th!
Despite all the controversies surrounding this drama, I’m still pretty excited to see the final product. The ~88 episode drama will air 2 episodes on Tencent every Monday-Thursday and VIP members will get a 6 episode head start. No plans have been made for its broadcast on television.
Three generations of Chinese actresses.
It’s rare to get this many stars to do anything together, not to mention a photoshoot where everyone’s agent is probably fighting for a better spot, but Vogue Film has done it in conjunction with its gala this year. The photoshoots includes some of the biggest actors, including Li Bingbing, Yang Mi, Angelababy, Liu Shishi, Tong Liya, Xin Zhilei, Tan Zhuo, Huang Xuan, Ethan Ruan, Zhou Yiwei, Zhai Tianlin, Han Dongjun, Xu Weizhou, Peng Yuchang, Bai Baihe, Jing Boran, William Chan, Ma Sichun, Janine Chang, Sun Yi, Li Meng, Qi Xi, Lan Yingying, Chen Ran, Victoria Song, Ouyang Nana, Wu Lei, Chen Feiyu, Song Zuer, Yang Le, Geng Le, Li Chun, Zhang Xueying, Zhang Zifeng, and Chen Wenqi. Musicians Zhang Bichen, Li Yundi, Zhou Bichang and models Ju Xiaowen, Xi Mengyao, Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying (Bad Genius is amazing and I highly recommend it) , and Karlie Kloss also joined in the fun.
I was able to recognized 34 of the 42 without looking at the list of names, how many can you identify?
Yes! Chen Daoming is back in drama land, and as a main character no less. In Thankful for the Remaining Years / Qing Yu Nian Season 1, he’ll be playing the tyrannical Emperor of the fictional country of Qing (he may be known as Liu Yu in the drama), a martial arts grand master and biological father of our protagonist Fan Xian (Zhang Ruoyun). Extended synopsis can be found here. Continue reading
Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace costars Dong Jie, Xin Zhilei, Li Chun and Hu Ke feature in Bazaar’s February issue, though the drama itself is no closer to confirming an air date after getting stuck in SARPPFT’s censorship process. The show’s reputation has also taken a hit after novelist Feiwo Sicun (The Girl in Blue, Too Late To Say I Love You) accused author and screenwriter Liu Lianzi (Legend of Zhen Huan, Ruyi) of plagiarism.
Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace is a 90 episode epic that will chronicle the failed marriage of Ruyi (Zhou Xun) and the Qianlong Emperor (Wallace Huo), and has just released grand posters of its cast in formal court robes (chaofu / 朝服), which is worn strictly during state ceremonies and important festivals. The historical romance drama is tentatively scheduled for a New Year premiere.