Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, The Message tells the story of five suspects who are locked in a mansion as the Japanese try to find out who among them is the spy.
Starring Xu Lu, Janice Man, Zhou Yiwei (face photoshopped onto Zhao Lixin after the actor was blacklisted), Zhang Zhijian and Tony Yang, the drama announced its premiere 2 hours before premiering on Beijing TV last night. The drama should be available on an official Youtube channel soon.
Gu Xiaomeng X Li Ningyu is a ship for all ages
Espionage thriller The Message 风声 drama has released a second and much better trailer, with stylized shots and interwoven scenes to build up suspense. Based on the acclaimed film of the same name, the drama tells the story of five suspected locked in a mansion trying to find out who among them is the murder of a Japanese official. The series stars Xu Lu (Be With You), Janice Man (Love Weaves Through A Millennium 2), Zhao Lixin (The Rise of Phoenixes), Zhang Zhijian (In the Name of the People) and Tony Yang (Divas Hit the Road 2) as the leads.
Trailer below:
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The Message 风声 is an upcoming web drama adaption set during the Japanese occupation period, and is based on Mai Jia’s novel of the same. Xu Lu (Be With You), Janice Man (Love Weaves Through A Millennium 2), Zhao Lixin (Chinese Style Relationship), Zhang Zhijian (In the Name of the People) and Tony Yang (Divas Hit the Road 2) as the leads.
Zhou Xun’s having an incredible year, and at the top of her game right now with both Golden Horse and Rooster nominations for two different movies, The Equation of Love and Death, and The Message. I really, really wanted a photoshoot with her and costar Li Bingbing together, but Li Bingbing, along with Alec Su and Huang Xiaoming are off promoting at the Pusan Film Festival (click for pics) where The Message is the closing film. Apparently, the film’s 6000 available tickets sold out in eight minutes at Pusan/Busan. There’s been talk of a prequel and sequel to the movie, but I usually don’t pay attention to that sort of rumor until it actually goes into production.
Huang Xiaoming goes behind the lens to shoot Zhou Xun on Feng Sheng's set
The Message (Feng Sheng) topped the coveted national holiday week, with 150 million RMB (22 USD) which is really, really high to the point of raising eyebrows. Either way, the film has done what Hua Yi has out to do – be a blockbuster, and showcase some of its finest actors, which has been accomplished with both main actresses nabbing Golden Horse nods. Actor Huang Xiaoming also got to show off his improvement singing, by performing the theme song live rather impressively (though not enough for me to want another album from him). Li Bingbing and Alec Su look like they’re enjoying the performance too.
Huang Xiaoming's scene where he inspects Li Bingbing's body has nearly a full-movie's amount of shot footage.
What a bribe. Film company Hua Yi has said that they will release a 3 hour version of The Message on DVD if the box office exceeds 300 million yuan (this was what Hua Yi’s previous blockbuster If You Are the One got easily). I hope this means some of the more graphic scenes like the one that took place between Huang Xiaoming and Li Bingbing (above) would be unedited. Usually I’m not one for torture and blood and that sort of movie, but I really want to see this particular one it in its gory glory.The running length in theaters was 122 min, which audiences have said was too short.
Huang Xiaoming, Li Bingbing, and Zhang Hanyu
Three of the actors of the film, including Huang Xiaoming graced this month’s cover for Cosmo; the rest of that shoot behind the cut. I really hope there are outtakes, because the HXM + LBB ones in the vid below looked cute. Although what I really want for a photoshoot is one with LBB and Zhou Xun.
Behind the Scenes of the Cosmo Shoot:
The theme song sung by Huang Xiaoming is below the cut, because after watching the Cosmo shoot vid, I decided it was cuter.
Long time no see Chen Chusheng. When we last left him, he had disappeared, unhappy with eeMedia. Now he’s turned up again in the MV for the Message‘s Theme Song, looking gaunt and singing a song that doesn’t seem to quite fit his voice. Although I suppose it’s a bit more suited to him than the Shampoo commercials (yes, seriously) he had to do with eeMedia.
His pathos certainly reflects the state of the characters in the movie, whom all seem to be tortured, psychologically or physically. This will be a tragedy and Chen Chusheng the Greek chorus.
We just hope that this doesn’t carrying over into real life, where Hua Yi has announced they will sign him, and with a six year contract at the minimum. While I’m happy for Chen Chusheng, and would love to hear more of his compositions, this announcement doesn’t bode well for Hua Yi-eeMedia relations.
Zhou Xun in "The Message"
Ok, so two trailers for two very anticipated and high budget movies came out. While Bodyguards and Assassins gives a frantic feel, the Message has an understated ambiance. Which are you going to watch?
The Message Trailer
Thanks to qiaozi426 @youtube.
Go below the cut for a behind the scenes look at The Message, and the Bodyguards and Assasins trailer.
Although the teaser for the big budget Feng Sheng/ The Sound of Wind, or the Message , showed only about two seconds of each big-name actor, what it did show was startling for its graphic content (for a mainland movie), and Zhang Hanyu (the actor who was receiving punishment in the teaser) said that this was the tip of the iceberg only. But it should be all worth it come release time, because it expects a huge box office.