Tencent has released promos for some of its upcoming dramas, and I’ve included those that have a confirmed cast. Which dramas are you looking forward to watching?
A recent casting call has appeared for what seems to be Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Three Body Problem.
Producer: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (Game of Thrones)
Filming location: UK
Filming time: November 2021 – August 2022
Casting Agency: Mr. Casting
They’re looking for men and women of Chinese descent. All of them require fluency in Chinese only except for a Chinese female age 20-30 who needs to also be fluent in English .
Continue readingPreviously rumored to be made by Amazon, Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy The Three Body Problem has struck a deal instead with Netflix. The series will be written and executively produced by Game of Thrones duo David Benioff and D.B. Weiss along with Alexander Woo of True Blood.
I’m really glad translator Ken Liu will be consulting for the series since I feel like he’s a rare author who is able to understand both Chinese and Asian-American sensitivities. I’m guessing like Mulan, the series’ Chinese characters won’t really offer many opportunities for actors based in China.
The project boasts an all-star lineup behind the camera. In addition to Benioff, Weiss, and Woo, Rian Johnson serves as executive producer along with Brad Pitt and Rosamund Pike. Author Liu and accomplished sci-fi writer Ken Liu, who translated the English versions of the first and third books, serve as consulting producers.
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Also, in case you’re wondering about how the film is going. It’s not.
Produced by Bilibili and YHKT (Incarnation) , the anime adaptation of Liu Cixin’s sci-fi series The Three-Body Problem released its first preview today. So… when is that film coming out of production hell?
The Financial Times has reported that Amazon is in talks to produce a three-season net series based on The Three Body Problem trilogy. It’s unknown whether the production will be tailored for the Chinese audience.
The trilogy, the first modern Chinese scifi novel to be published in English, was previously adapted into a film starring Zhang Han and Zhang Jingchu that never finished post-production.
Astronaut Kjell Lindgren announced the award from the International Space Station.
At the Hugo announcements today, The Three Body Problem‘s author Liu Cixin and translator Ken Liu (himself a former Hugo winner for short story) became the first Asians to win the prestigious Hugo award for Best Novel. It is also the first translated book to win. This may be their first, but it may not be their last as the second in the trilogy, The Dark Forest (translated by Joel Martinsen ), was released earlier this month.
Complementary stills from the film starring Feng Shaofeng, Zhang Jingchu, Tang Yan, Zhang Han below the cut.
Would you turn your planet to an alien race to save it?
Sci-fi epic The Three Body Problem has recently announced its cast, including Feng Shaofeng, Zhang Jingchu, Tang Yan, Zhang Han, and Du Chun. Feng Shaofeng plays a nano-materials scientist uncovering the truth behind the mysterious organization aimed to change the world order; Zhang Jingchu the younger astrophysicist who first made contact with the alien species Trisolarans and who heads the Earth Trisolaran Organization(ETO) ; Tang Yan and Zhang Han both also play scientists, but of opposite camps.
I know, I’ve said this a gazillion times, but read it! It’s only been about a century since a Chinese sci-fi novel’s been published in English. Plus, Liu Cixin is involved in like five other sci-fi films right now and you don’t want to miss out on the sci-fi craze.
Words from our great ETO leader, let the universe shine for you:
Eliminate human tyranny! The world belongs to Trisolaris!
After the mess of the Hugo that lead to big names like George RR Martin calling foul, The Three Body Problem became the first Chinese novel to be successfully nominated for best novel for both of Sci-fi’s biggest awards, the Hugo and the Nebula. The novel by Liu Cixin, translated into English by the equally brilliant Ken Liu, is currently in the process of being made into a film. Other than leads Zhang Jingchun and Feng Shaofeng, Tang Yan and Du Chun are also rumored to join the cast.
Congrats to Liu Cixin! Also, duo Nebula and Hugo winner Ken Liu just published his first full-length novel, The Grace of Kings (it’s in English!), an epic of its own set in a Han-dynasty alternate universe. I highly recommend you to check it out.
Considered the masterpiece that revived Chinese science fiction, Liu Cixin’s The Three-Body Problem trilogy will become the first modern Chinese sci-fi novel to be published in English (unless you count Cat Country) on November 12th. The dystopia epic takes the reader through the cultural revolution, an alternative version of the ancient World, and finally a modern society whose disappointed in the modern world led them to invite the invasion of an alien invasion. You can read English excerpts here, here, and here translated by award-winning author Ken Liu, and pre-order the book here and the sequel Dark Forest here.
On October 18th, actor Chen Kun made a Weibo hinting at his role in a film version of the novel, but then immediately deleted it. Later that day, an official Weibo announced the pre-production of a movie adaptation. Sina confirmed the news with production company Yoozo, who said more news will be released at the company’s press conference mid-November. If successful, this could be the first dystopia Chinese sci-fi film and fill perhaps the biggest hole in Chinese film.
