[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] The Story of Ming Lan 庶女明兰传 / 知否？知否？应是绿肥红瘦

[minoku2209]

Lovely OST

 

[kimsugerman]

"The Story of Ming Lan" behind the scene

 

[mrsyooknit]

Will probably air in late November or early December. Hunan is about to air The Rise of the Phoenixes, which is their other historical drama with 70 episodes. Per SARFT TV stations can only air ~110 episodes of historical dramas per year so that leaves around ~40 episodes for MingLan. 

 

Everything says that it will air in the fourth quarter of the year. 

 

[litopanda]

On 3/13/2018 at 6:23 PM, Alila Nguyen said:

Yes, I do know she hurts herself, and I’m fine for her to have body double for kneeling scenes. However, it was actually sitting scene. And idc if she has 30 body doubles or 3, my point was the producer and herself should have come up with a smarter way to mask the fact that she needed body double. The scene I’m complained about was at least 5mins long, it does show her face, however, it also glaringly obvious that she used body double as well (I have explained how I spotted it). For that scene, all she needed was 3 shoots side way, show her face and her body with the support actor. That’s it. That’s what 3s?

 

did I say she can’t act? No, I’m saying my brain can’t stand being deceived poorly. I actually noticed it while watching, the article was much later on. And I know how much she’s loved and hated, and how she tend to be the victim of sabotage, however, with her star power, she needs to write better contract, negotiate better and be more assertive on certain scenes if her health not allow her so, and possibly, take a rest for her body to heal.

 

my reason for avoiding her series if this glaring body double issue keep popping up, is that she is now the actress for mass market (well always has been but got worse), her series cut corner and not high quality like that of Yang Mi or Hu Ge, and she keeps letting ppl has the reason to destroy her credibility. I’m welcome her to change my mind, and I thought it did with PA until the body double issue and how the story just drag out for the sake of dragging out, and how her fame is being used to push other support actors to stardom -.-

 

anyway, I voiced my opinion, and I’m on the land of the fan  so I understand the disagreement and the hates, that’s just my opinion, you can take it or ignore it  I’m done here. Will check out the series when it’s out  if it’s good, I’m sure I’ll stick with it, even though I’m not a fan of the styling (the period setting time, not whether the design for style is pretty or not)

 

I know this reply is long overdue....and nobody is talking about it anymore on this thread at least but I can't help but put my two cents in this. I'll just leave my opinion and move on. 

 

I understand why you would be avoiding her dramas for all the (dragging out and how her production is cutting corners and ruining dramas)....however it's unfair to just point fingers at her dramas only. A lot of mainstream (popular, high marketing and such) dramas suffer from the same problems...the problem of the production company's greed along side incompetence. 

How is it her fault that those people "use" her fame to boost their drama or supporting actors and such? Should she just not accept any dramas? You can tell her to be careful but the film/tv production is an ongoing and changing process. Princess Agent...the original story is really good so ZLY and LGX and even Shawn Duo signs up for it because of what...a good premise. Most actors aren't given the whole script until they sign the contract and in tv production land...some time even the writer or director don't even know the whole script because there are times, scripts are only pre-written to certain episodes and continue writing based on the reactions of the audience or the change in direction of the show. So again how is it Zhao Li Ying's fault that the writer and production decide to "extend" and "drag" out the drama due to the increasing popularity of the supporting actors like Shawn or the princess and their greed for maybe a sequel? Zhao Li Ying probably doesn't know that they will do that. If anything she and the main actors are victims in this.

So I think it's just unfair to blame her or any of actor for something the production company screw up. If anything, I would be wary of any new drama that PRODUCTION COMPANY or WRITER(S) put out, not new dramas that actors like ZLY put out. Each drama is produce by different company. 

 

Also not all of Yang Mi or Hu Ge's drama is "high quality"....I have seen some bad ones so again don't use actor's name in affiliation with the quality of the drama because they got nothing to do with it's quality and production value. 

 

This drama, Story of Minglan is made and produce by Daylight, the same company that made the epic drama Nirvana in Fire and so far by what I know and see, Daylight have a very high production value and actually "care" about the quality of their story and drama. They made Nirvana in Fire so beautifully with every bit of detail and stay true to the original source with it's poetic feel. I wouldn't think they would do any different in Minglan. I don't think they would act like those other production company and take shortcuts or drag it out. 

 

As for the topic about the body double, 

Again why are you blaming ZLY for the CREW and EDITOR's fault for not being able to conceal the use of body doubles? 

I work in this industry (not the chinese one, but in the US) and even though the process is not exactly the same but it's very similar. It takes a lot of roles to film something, just the look of one scene requires the contribution of many departments like art, cinematography, lighting, special effects and etc. Each department have their own sub units and roles to create and maintain the look of the scene/drama. So why is it ZLY fault when the art department fail to create and maintain a double that could stand in for ZLY? Why is it ZLY fault that the Director of Photography and camera crew fail to shoot it without revealing the double's face. Why is it ZLY's fault when the script supervisor fail to catch it and keeps up with the continuity. Why is it ZLY's fault when the editor either didn't see it or turns a blind eye to the obvious mistake and didn't do anything to fix it. Why is ZLY's fault when the director and produce fail to review it and throw it out there to the public anyway. 

 

On the number of body doubles...I think 30 is very exaggerating...the crew already had a handful MANAGING all the original casts alone to have to manage 30 more? That number is quite high and costly. This is the company that like to take shortcuts...I don't think they would give that much effort. Also how did you know that it's Zhao Li Ying's decision to use body double? There are many reason to use a stunt double and a lot of time it's not up to the actor. They can request it and received but you make it sound like ZLY is "spoiled" and demand such.

 

1. Sometimes it's the producer or director decision to use body double to either film an action scene faster rather than having to "train" or spend time getting the actor to do such action, especially complicated ones. So it's much faster to have someone else that know the stunt better do it if the face is not shown. So why is it her fault if it's what the director decide to do? 

 

2. There are also schedule conflicts and what if it's the crew incompetence to schedule the shoot correctly and fail to have ZLY on set for a scene that can only be film that day and they don't have the time to film the whole scene when ZLY is on set again. So the DIRECTOR and CREW solves that problem with using doubles to film all the scene that ZLY face isn't needed and finish up the rest when ZLY is on set. So why is it ZLY's fault when the CREW decides to use doubles to fix their failures or to speed things up? 

 

3. Zhao Li Ying is one of the highest paid actress in Chinese Market right now so it must be pretty COSTLY for her time. Have you ever thought that the already proven money driven production company cheap out and only sign for Zhao Li Ying with a limited number of days or time she is needed to be on set? And because the cheap out...they have to find solutions to solve the problem like resorting to using doubles (who are probably cheaper to hire) to film most of the scenes ZLY's face is not needed.

 

If you have problems with her acting or how she acts or her actions and such. That's more of a valid reason.

But to blame her or any actors/actress on how the drama turns out and with the reason that it's clearly not even in her control to begin with is just unfair and plain stupid.

 

I feel bad for her because so many haters just find any reason to talk bad about her whether those rumors are true or not. 

I'm just gonna leave this right here, if anyone reply on the topic I will reply to it. If not we can move on. 

We will have to wait and see how the drama turns out when it get released but I hope they are taking a long time because Daylight is making an effort to "perfect" it before releasing it. If so, I don't mind waiting. I rather wait and watch a good drama than watching something made very sloppily. 

 

 

 

[ForgottenSoulx]

You barely see her in the trailer. 

[Cedric Ong]

I thought we see quite a lot of Zhao Li Ying in the longer trailer dated Apri 2018. I think her voice isn't dubbed. And her words (like a prayer) starting from 2:40 about hopes for her upcoming marriage...sounds calm and stable in tone, but contain some feelings.

 

 

Now besides her, i can look forward to Zhu Yi Long (2nd male lead), impressed by him in the recent Guardian drama. At 2min onwards...can see his char is probably a complicated and tormented one.

 

Btw suggest change the chinese title to "知否知否应是绿肥红瘦" which is the official name. 

 

The phrase comes from an old poem Ru Meng Ling 如梦令 (Dream-like phrases) by Li Qingzhao 李清照 , a famous female poet in Song Dynasty....rare for a female. Loosely translated, " I wonder, I wonder, Should be Green, Fat, Red, Slim"....it's part of the poem where the poet wonder if near end of spring season, the leaves would still be plentiful and green....and if the red flowers has become lesser. A deeper meaning would be a slight sadness that the spring would be over...and some things (in life) would be over too.

[Alila Nguyen]

On 8/10/2018 at 5:59 PM, litopanda said:

 

I know this reply is long overdue....and nobody is talking about it anymore on this thread at least but I can't help but put my two cents in this. I'll just leave my opinion and move on. 

 

I understand why you would be avoiding her dramas for all the (dragging out and how her production is cutting corners and ruining dramas)....however it's unfair to just point fingers at her dramas only. A lot of mainstream (popular, high marketing and such) dramas suffer from the same problems...the problem of the production company's greed along side incompetence. 

How is it her fault that those people "use" her fame to boost their drama or supporting actors and such? Should she just not accept any dramas? You can tell her to be careful but the film/tv production is an ongoing and changing process. Princess Agent...the original story is really good so ZLY and LGX and even Shawn Duo signs up for it because of what...a good premise. Most actors aren't given the whole script until they sign the contract and in tv production land...some time even the writer or director don't even know the whole script because there are times, scripts are only pre-written to certain episodes and continue writing based on the reactions of the audience or the change in direction of the show. So again how is it Zhao Li Ying's fault that the writer and production decide to "extend" and "drag" out the drama due to the increasing popularity of the supporting actors like Shawn or the princess and their greed for maybe a sequel? Zhao Li Ying probably doesn't know that they will do that. If anything she and the main actors are victims in this.

So I think it's just unfair to blame her or any of actor for something the production company screw up. If anything, I would be wary of any new drama that PRODUCTION COMPANY or WRITER(S) put out, not new dramas that actors like ZLY put out. Each drama is produce by different company. 

 

Also not all of Yang Mi or Hu Ge's drama is "high quality"....I have seen some bad ones so again don't use actor's name in affiliation with the quality of the drama because they got nothing to do with it's quality and production value. 

 

This drama, Story of Minglan is made and produce by Daylight, the same company that made the epic drama Nirvana in Fire and so far by what I know and see, Daylight have a very high production value and actually "care" about the quality of their story and drama. They made Nirvana in Fire so beautifully with every bit of detail and stay true to the original source with it's poetic feel. I wouldn't think they would do any different in Minglan. I don't think they would act like those other production company and take shortcuts or drag it out. 

 

As for the topic about the body double, 

Again why are you blaming ZLY for the CREW and EDITOR's fault for not being able to conceal the use of body doubles? 

I work in this industry (not the chinese one, but in the US) and even though the process is not exactly the same but it's very similar. It takes a lot of roles to film something, just the look of one scene requires the contribution of many departments like art, cinematography, lighting, special effects and etc. Each department have their own sub units and roles to create and maintain the look of the scene/drama. So why is it ZLY fault when the art department fail to create and maintain a double that could stand in for ZLY? Why is it ZLY fault that the Director of Photography and camera crew fail to shoot it without revealing the double's face. Why is it ZLY's fault when the script supervisor fail to catch it and keeps up with the continuity. Why is it ZLY's fault when the editor either didn't see it or turns a blind eye to the obvious mistake and didn't do anything to fix it. Why is ZLY's fault when the director and produce fail to review it and throw it out there to the public anyway. 

 

On the number of body doubles...I think 30 is very exaggerating...the crew already had a handful MANAGING all the original casts alone to have to manage 30 more? That number is quite high and costly. This is the company that like to take shortcuts...I don't think they would give that much effort. Also how did you know that it's Zhao Li Ying's decision to use body double? There are many reason to use a stunt double and a lot of time it's not up to the actor. They can request it and received but you make it sound like ZLY is "spoiled" and demand such.

 

1. Sometimes it's the producer or director decision to use body double to either film an action scene faster rather than having to "train" or spend time getting the actor to do such action, especially complicated ones. So it's much faster to have someone else that know the stunt better do it if the face is not shown. So why is it her fault if it's what the director decide to do? 

 

2. There are also schedule conflicts and what if it's the crew incompetence to schedule the shoot correctly and fail to have ZLY on set for a scene that can only be film that day and they don't have the time to film the whole scene when ZLY is on set again. So the DIRECTOR and CREW solves that problem with using doubles to film all the scene that ZLY face isn't needed and finish up the rest when ZLY is on set. So why is it ZLY's fault when the CREW decides to use doubles to fix their failures or to speed things up? 

 

3. Zhao Li Ying is one of the highest paid actress in Chinese Market right now so it must be pretty COSTLY for her time. Have you ever thought that the already proven money driven production company cheap out and only sign for Zhao Li Ying with a limited number of days or time she is needed to be on set? And because the cheap out...they have to find solutions to solve the problem like resorting to using doubles (who are probably cheaper to hire) to film most of the scenes ZLY's face is not needed.

 

If you have problems with her acting or how she acts or her actions and such. That's more of a valid reason.

But to blame her or any actors/actress on how the drama turns out and with the reason that it's clearly not even in her control to begin with is just unfair and plain stupid.

 

I feel bad for her because so many haters just find any reason to talk bad about her whether those rumors are true or not. 

I'm just gonna leave this right here, if anyone reply on the topic I will reply to it. If not we can move on. 

We will have to wait and see how the drama turns out when it get released but I hope they are taking a long time because Daylight is making an effort to "perfect" it before releasing it. If so, I don't mind waiting. I rather wait and watch a good drama than watching something made very sloppily. 

 

 

 

 

I hear what you are saying, but my post is about how she left a bad taste in my mouth as a figure of speech. Yang Mi also has body double scandal, and what did she do? She actually took control of the press and said it was used for testing the lighting, the composition of the screen. Is yang mi better at sugarcoating the audience? Yes, definitely. My point is that atm, ZLY is not handle the press well. The fans are making up scenarios for her, valid scenarios, but you guys are not her. She needs to speak for herself. And so it leaves a bad taste in my mouth so to speak. Can’t I voice my disappointment? I knew it’s not exactly her fault (but atm she’s like the embodiment of the body double abuse issue). I also recently learnt she did fought hard for princess agent’s script. And my thought of her improved. At any time, people allows to make judgements, and certain ways of handles from the artist will improve people’s judgements on them. 

 

About the body double issue, again, as much as I know it’s gossip, but she hasn’t really made me trust her so to speak, but again, newspaper has been running she used body double for even an advertisement! (Reinforcing the embodiment of body double abuse issue here) She might go: I’m innocent, no need to speak up, but sometimes handle the press is what gain credibility. Look at FBB, I don’t like her, but that woman handles the press very well. So as much as I dodged her drama, I have no problem with her fame. 

 

And i I have no problem with ZLY if she is indeed pregnant with FSF, good for them. (Though I do find that split photo is just terrible, how is that prove she’s not pregnant???) And again, just voicing my disappointment, and to emphasise this again: I’m willing to give her a chance to prove me wrong, have I say I won’t check this drama out? No. Even though, I’m not a fan of her hair do, the fringe one (I think it makes her look so much older, but it seems everyone happy with it, so it’s probably just me), or FSF’s look lol, and it seems too long for my liking, but I will give it a few episodes.

 

also another reason why I might dodge her drama in the future is because she (might) become the embodiment of actress whose drama is long and draggy, and low quality (I don’t watch all Yang Mi’s series either, because she has some drama where the premises is just not interested to my taste? And again, she has the same problem as ZLY - draggy drama) AND this is not an absolute, you guys treat it as an absolute lol, I base my viewing on trailers, if the trailer looks solid and interesting, I will still watch it even if I don’t like the main actors/actress, or is that not a thing?

[mrsyooknit]

@Alila Nguyen

I dont like responding to posts like yours because it is pointless. People will think whatever they want. 

However, I am afraid this thread is going to turn into just rants about non issues that have nothing to do with the drama. To each their own. If you like the actors good if you dont good. It is up to you if you watch a drama or not after all you will be the one using your time to see it. Whatever your reasons they are up to you.

 

@litopanda people are going to think what they want, no need to change their mind 

[mrsyooknit]

On 8/11/2018 at 2:24 AM, Cedric Ong said:

I thought we see quite a lot of Zhao Li Ying in the longer trailer dated Apri 2018. I think her voice isn't dubbed. And her words (like a prayer) starting from 2:40 about hopes for her upcoming marriage...sounds calm and stable in tone, but contain some feelings.

 

 

Now besides her, i can look forward to Zhu Yi Long (2nd male lead), impressed by him in the recent Guardian drama. At 2min onwards...can see his char is probably a complicated and tormented one.

 

Btw suggest change the chinese title to "知否知否应是绿肥红瘦" which is the official name. 

 

The phrase comes from an old poem Ru Meng Ling 如梦令 (Dream-like phrases) by Li Qingzhao 李清照 , a famous female poet in Song Dynasty....rare for a female. Loosely translated, " I wonder, I wonder, Should be Green, Fat, Red, Slim"....it's part of the poem where the poet wonder if near end of spring season, the leaves would still be plentiful and green....and if the red flowers has become lesser. A deeper meaning would be a slight sadness that the spring would be over...and some things (in life) would be over too.

 

Yes, I was just thinking about Zhu Yi Long and how he is much more popular now and Minglan will probably help cement his popularity. He is a good actor so I am glad he is getting some recognition. A lot of people like the 2nd lead better in the book so I expect that he will be a popular character.

 

[GiaGia]

We still don't have an air date?? I'm excited to see how the plot will play out. Hopefully it is a decent paced and full os suspension. Pretty long episodes! I'm excited to see Yung Hong, I like him as 13 prince in BBJX.

[litopanda]

13 hours ago, Alila Nguyen said:

 

I hear what you are saying, but my post is about how she left a bad taste in my mouth as a figure of speech. Yang Mi also has body double scandal, and what did she do? She actually took control of the press and said it was used for testing the lighting, the composition of the screen. Is yang mi better at sugarcoating the audience? Yes, definitely. My point is that atm, ZLY is not handle the press well. The fans are making up scenarios for her, valid scenarios, but you guys are not her. She needs to speak for herself. And so it leaves a bad taste in my mouth so to speak. Can’t I voice my disappointment? I knew it’s not exactly her fault (but atm she’s like the embodiment of the body double abuse issue). I also recently learnt she did fought hard for princess agent’s script. And my thought of her improved. At any time, people allows to make judgements, and certain ways of handles from the artist will improve people’s judgements on them. 

 

About the body double issue, again, as much as I know it’s gossip, but she hasn’t really made me trust her so to speak, but again, newspaper has been running she used body double for even an advertisement! (Reinforcing the embodiment of body double abuse issue here) She might go: I’m innocent, no need to speak up, but sometimes handle the press is what gain credibility. Look at FBB, I don’t like her, but that woman handles the press very well. So as much as I dodged her drama, I have no problem with her fame. 

 

And i I have no problem with ZLY if she is indeed pregnant with FSF, good for them. (Though I do find that split photo is just terrible, how is that prove she’s not pregnant???) And again, just voicing my disappointment, and to emphasise this again: I’m willing to give her a chance to prove me wrong, have I say I won’t check this drama out? No. Even though, I’m not a fan of her hair do, the fringe one (I think it makes her look so much older, but it seems everyone happy with it, so it’s probably just me), or FSF’s look lol, and it seems too long for my liking, but I will give it a few episodes.

 

also another reason why I might dodge her drama in the future is because she (might) become the embodiment of actress whose drama is long and draggy, and low quality (I don’t watch all Yang Mi’s series either, because she has some drama where the premises is just not interested to my taste? And again, she has the same problem as ZLY - draggy drama) AND this is not an absolute, you guys treat it as an absolute lol, I base my viewing on trailers, if the trailer looks solid and interesting, I will still watch it even if I don’t like the main actors/actress, or is that not a thing?

 

@Alila Nguyen

I'm sorry if you feel "attacked" or offended by my reply or any of ZLY's fan's reply to you. I never meant for it to. 

I never said you aren't allow to express your opinion. We see certain scenarios differently depending on which "side" we are on or what each of us know about the situation. We are all entitled to our opinions and are free to express it but it's also good to know that not everyone will agree with your opinion just like you might not agree with theirs. My reply to the other post was not intended to aim at you, I was just replying on the issues/rumors in general and expressing my side and my reasons. 

 

Like you, I just want to express my opinion on the topic and illustrate the possibility of what really might be "true'.

I agree with you that we are not her so we will probably never know the actual "truth" unless her or someone that was there/in the process speaks up about it. And I also agree that she still have a lot to learn and improve on dealing with media and publicity. However not every celebrity is "good' at dealing with the media...celebrity or not, every person have a different personality...some is more shy than others, some is more charismatic and can talk their way out situations better than others, some is more manipulative and smarter than others, and etc. 

Zhao Li Ying doesn't seem like a "sweet talker". She never speaks up on any topics about herself whether it's about her rumor pregnancy, extensive body double issues, or even when people mock her fashion at events and all.  She is not as good with "words" like other people and instead of trying to defend herself and screw up even more if people take her words a different way. The news and media will always find a reason to write an article about you if you are famous and they can and will twist every word you said to fit their objective. Anti's who don't like her will take what the media said and twist it again to their own objective to "prove" this and that about her. Though, like you I do wish that she would speak up more often to defend herself but i don't blame her for not doing so.

Maybe to her, speaking up is like trying to fan a small fire. The fire was small enough that it would have put itself out eventually after a bit, but her trying to blow it out yet fan it incorrectly and the fire spreads wildly. If you don't know how to put out the fire correctly then might as well not make it worse. 

Personally, even though she is not good with dealing with the media...I honestly like and have more respect for Zhao Li Ying this way. Some actors/actress who are "good' at controlling their publicity and dealing with rumors...even though they speak up...it might not be entirely true either and I some times feels that they are manipulative and kinda fake if they can come up with "excuses" for so many things or if they always shift the blame to someone else. You brought up Yang Mi so i'm gonna give a recent example of her as well. 

Recently Yang Mi was under fire for claiming that she donated to a blindness school or something two years ago but the school never received it. The school finally speaks up about it and Yang Mi and her studio shift the blame to a middle man that supposedly took the money but never give it to the school yet the middle man said Yang Mi never give him a dime. The "case" is still going on and I think they are bringing it to court and whatever the "truth" is, we will have to wait and see. I'm glad Yang Mi speaks up for herself, however part of me also feels like instead of owning up to it, she and/or her studio shift the blame to another person to maintain her reputation. It may or may not be true that it's really that middle man's fault but to wholly blame it on him is ridiculous. Her and her studio is also at fault. It raised a lot of questions that other, anti or not can use to attack her more. Like If she were to do a good deed as donating to charity...if she was sincere enough, she would have follow through and check to see if the school actually got the money. So she must not care enough and the donation was for publicity only. That alone makes her look very bad. I'm not saying that she shouldn't say anything or speak up for herself. But speaking up too much, making up too many excuses and then throw someone else under the bus because you got in trouble just make you look bad as a human in general. And that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

Again I'm not saying that it's wholly Yang Mi's fault in that situation and I am glad that she speaks up about it. I was just using it as an example of a celebrity that made me feel like even though they are good at dealing with situations and the media but at times it also leave me feeling like they are kinda manipulative and made me question their true personality as a person. And also an example that the more you say and the more reasons you come up with, the worse the situation gets. 

 

The body double issue, 

We will probably never know what is the truth behind it really because ZLY doesn't speak on it and I'm pretty positive the production company will not speak up on their "failures" since all the "blame" is laid on ZLY already. But i just feel like this rumor is getting out of hand because like I said above...the media report something...twist it to their benefits and then others and anti use the same thing whether it's true or not and spread it like it's real proof and talk bad about ZLY even though this so call "proof" is nothing but someone's speculation. They are not ZLY and they are not part of the crew, most of them don't even know how film or tv productions works but they talk like they were there and that's what really irritate me. 99.9% of big name actors and actresses uses stunt/body doubles and there are a few cases that they personally requested body doubles for health issues or disability or certain fear/issues that they have for certain scenes. But let me tell you a fact that I know and seen many times in film and tv productions, the majority uses of stunts or body doubles are the decision of the director and/or producer. Like I stated in my other post, there are many reasons to use a double and the majority of that reason is the decision of the director to either speed up the filming process, fixing their own problems or make things easier for themselves (like cheaper cost and etc). i'm not saying that ZLY or Big named stars never request any double and I'm sure some of them did but I doubt that most of them are that "entitled' or "spoiled" to demand them as much. The majority of the time, if you are a big named star....the production will give you a double just because. You don't even have to ask for it. Again I'm not aiming at you when i'm saying all this. I'm just replying to the issues because I find it ridiculous that many people are using this body double issues and blow it out of proportions just to either find something to talk about ZLY or drag her reputation down and make it seem like she is too spoiled and demand 30 body doubles or something. When most of them don't even know how body doubles works and how much it take to find someone with the same body structure as an actor, let alone 30 of them. Nobody got time for that. Trust me, they really don't. Film/tv production sets are very fast pace and tedious. It's a 12 to 16 hours work day, some time continuously for a couple days...sometime overnight. There is so much going on for just one scene let alone a 70 episodes drama....nobody is gonna have the time to babysit 30 body doubles on top of all the main, supporting actors and ALL the extras. Just feeding them is already too costly for their budget. If Zhao Li Ying really "demands" as much, I don't think any production company would be willing to cast her no matter how good she is or how popular she is.

The reason so many production company offer her roles, is not just her popularity or skill...i'm sure they must like working with her as well or is ok with working with her. Everything is about attitude and trust me, a bad attitude, spoiled actor can be casted out of the industry very fast unless they have connections and deep pockets. So i don't think Zhao Li Ying with not much connections would be able to be "that spoiled" and remains in this industry. 

 

On the pregnancy issue, 

I don't think the split images really count as her speaking up to the issue. Many fans interpret it that way but for all we know, she probably just post a picture of the split and her dog. I post pictures of my dog...a lot  And I only have one dog...so i can only post a single dog. lol 

Also the recent paparazzi picture, we aren't even sure that it's really her. Many just assume so because she did get caught before and people assume that they are dating. But the recent picture...you can't even tell who it is so I feel like it's unfair to drag her name and reputation through the mud like this at the moment. I also saw the suppose event picture where they said her stomach seem pregnant....I didn't see it. I had to stare at it for a while to finally maybe slightly see it.  Whatever the truth is, we will have to wait and see but for now I find it's unfair to her that even though there is a chance that it might not be true...her name and reputation as a woman is already drag through the mud. 

 

On the drag of dramas, 

I understand what you mean and I know you are not saying that you are not completely avoiding her dramas because of it. 
i just want to say that I feel like this is not a Zhao Li Ying or Yang Mi or any popular actors problem that the drama are draggy. I think it's pretty much the majority of the chinese tv industry that have the issue or especially the ones that are making big mainstream shows. I think that as long as the issue and greed is still there, any popular actress will be trap in those. The next new popular actress after ZLY will have the same problem if the industry doesn't change it's way to doing things. So again I just feel like it's unfair to ZLY, Yang Mi or any of actors that are pretty much a victim to all of this. I know most people associate dramas with actors...like a lee minho drama and such and I understand what you mean by ZLY will slowly become the embodiment of those kind of dramas. It's very sad because seriously most people don't understand the fact that how the drama turns out to be is not the actor's fault unless the reason is their acting. An actor's job is just to act their role. They have no control over what the show looks like, how the story plays out, how it's edited, and such. A lot of recent mainstream dramas failed because of plot/story and/or production issue...it have nothing to do with the actor. It's just really sad that most people even the industry professional themselves don't see the problem and in turn blame the actor because they are the face of the drama. 

There is nothing we can do and like you said, I hope Zhao Li Ying be more careful in projects she choose in the future, from plot to production company. I bet she probably never gonna work with the Princess Agent team again (Just watch a sequel gonna come out after I said this lol).

 

i watch two recent dramas lately that weren't very "mainstream", Legend of Yunxi and Guardian and i really liked it. It wasn't draggy and it have a "complete" story. Good or bad ending is subjective to one's opinion but to me as long as the story is delivered well and completed in the end, it's good drama. And you know what those two dramas have in common? Not super popular actors and not very mainstream...so they have the liberty to deliver the drama without having to drag it out to boost anything, anyone or hope for any sequel. They both have really good original stories to begin with...i mean most of them do like Princess Agent but Princess Agent was ruined and completely "s**t" on by the production's bad decision to meet with popular demands, greed and a possible sequel. LoYX and Guardian didn't have to worry much about that so they was able to make a drama how it's suppose to be. Guardian did have trouble with money and all but they pull through and didn't drag it out and i'm glad they didn't.  If only more people in the industry understand this, we would have better dramas. 

 

I can't tell you what you should do or should not. And I won't. I'm not trying to influence or persuade you to believe anything. I'm just stating my point as a reply to some of the issues. Just like you kinda, I will still give dramas a try if i like the premise, the actors, and are ok with the production value. I would not avoid a drama just because I don't like a certain actor/actress. To be honest, I don't like the character wardrobe design and hair in this drama either but even though it might be an eyesore, I'll give it a try because i know it's not ZLY or any actors fault that's how they look. They actually really don't have a choice in how they look in dramas.

I'm also never really a fan of Feng Shao Feng either, I watched a couple of his older dramas (Lan Ling Wang, Ice Fantasy, and etc)....but i can never get into his acting and i always feel like he is unfit for the roles that he played like he is miscasted, especially Lan Ling Wang....he is nowhere near a Lan Ling Wang level of beauty. But even that is subjective to my opinion of him. So i was hesitating on this drama...however I'm not gonna avoid just because i'm not a fan of his. I'll give it a chance just like you and see how it goes. I think if it's not for Daylight, the production company that is behind Ming Lan and knowing their past quality works and production value, I wouldn't have as much faith in this drama either even though I love Zhao Li Ying.

 

Sorry for the long winded reply. I have too much to say.  @mrsyooknit

[litopanda]

On 8/10/2018 at 1:24 PM, Cedric Ong said:

Now besides her, i can look forward to Zhu Yi Long (2nd male lead), impressed by him in the recent Guardian drama. At 2min onwards...can see his char is probably a complicated and tormented one.

 

@Cedric Ong @mrsyooknit

 

I love Zhu Yi Long in Guardian as well. Shen Wei is bae 

I have seen him in a couple of other dramas but never really pay any attention to him until Guardian.

I'm actually more excited to see Zhu Yi Long in this drama than Feng Shao Feng. 

I got that second lead syndrome already and haven't even seen any of the drama haha. 

[xienrue]

Get roped to see this drama because of Zhu Yi Long .... and because my colleague told me how good the novel is. Hopefully I will not be disappointed. I don't know if it just me, but I think FSF and ZYL look older in this drama??

 

About Zhao Li Ying, I knew her from Hua Qian Gu. I only watched little of Princess Agent (skipping through a lot) and even though I know lots of people praise that drama and the main leads, that drama failed to impress me. I don't know if it was the acting or it was the character that I didn't like. So, I didn't pay more attention to the visual.  I usually care less about actor/actress gossip or their real life, as long as they deliver on screen. Anyway, lets see her performance in MingLan. As far as I know, this is the production that produce NiF, so I have high expectation on quality which means the problem with body double should be not/less noticeable.

 

@litopanda I don't even know Zhu Yi Long until I see him in Guardian. I love Chinese historical/period drama, but dunno why his drama just fell outside my radar. He is one of actors that looks good in period costume and long hair. We need to admit that long hair just not for every male

 

By the way, I hear that Ming Lan airing get delayed until next year. Is this true?

[jewelsc]

37 minutes ago, xienrue said:

About Zhao Li Ying, I knew her from Hua Qian Gu. I only watched little of Princess Agent (skipping through a lot) and even though I know lots of people praise that drama and the main leads, that drama failed to impress me. I don't know if it was the acting or it was the character that I didn't like. So, I didn't pay more attention to the visual.

 

On the contrary, all the main leads and even the supporting actors were praised for their stellar acting in PA, lets just say i have a love/hate relationship for this drama..started off well and then it succumbed into bits and pieces.

 

I think Minglan will do very well if it falls under the prime time slot (8pm) and it will do very very well as usual on web for the international fans, i personally will not wait until it is subbed to watch, i have been waiting patiently for too long for this to show already along with her other drama . Hopefully this will air b4 the end of the yr.

[mrsyooknit]

6 hours ago, xienrue said:

Get roped to see this drama because of Zhu Yi Long .... and because my colleague told me how good the novel is. Hopefully I will not be disappointed. I don't know if it just me, but I think FSF and ZYL look older in this drama??

 

About Zhao Li Ying, I knew her from Hua Qian Gu. I only watched little of Princess Agent (skipping through a lot) and even though I know lots of people praise that drama and the main leads, that drama failed to impress me. I don't know if it was the acting or it was the character that I didn't like. So, I didn't pay more attention to the visual.  I usually care less about actor/actress gossip or their real life, as long as they deliver on screen. Anyway, lets see her performance in MingLan. As far as I know, this is the production that produce NiF, so I have high expectation on quality which means the problem with body double should be not/less noticeable.

 

@litopanda I don't even know Zhu Yi Long until I see him in Guardian. I love Chinese historical/period drama, but dunno why his drama just fell outside my radar. He is one of actors that looks good in period costume and long hair. We need to admit that long hair just not for every male

 

By the way, I hear that Ming Lan airing get delayed until next year. Is this true?

 

I am hoping it does air this year, there is a big chance it starts airing this year in the fourth quarter and goes into 2019. I don't think Hunan would waste their limited number of episodes for historical dramas and they paid big for this drama. 

 

Daylight is one of the best production companies in c-ent then the scriptwriters for this drama worked on Battle of Changsha, which had amazing writing. I read part of this novel but only the main OTP parts so I can't comment on ZYL's character but fans from the book seemed to really like his character. I am expecting this to be a family drama like Battle of Changsha were plot and human interactions drove the drama. Really realistic characters with complex emotions and actions. The whole thing with body doubles is such a non-issue is ridiculous everyone uses some doubles just for certain scenes, Daylight does too. 

 

If you are a fan of some of Daylight entertainment dramas I highly recommend Battle of Changsha and I am a person that doesn't enjoy war dramas or movies but I liked this drama. I think the most important thing in a drama is a good script so my hopes are really high with these scriptwriters. The director is a bit more iffy for me. He has worked on Love Me if You Dar, When a Snail Falls in Love, and Ode to Joy 2. While I found those had really good cinematography, I found his pacing a bit on the slower side but I was not a fan of those dramas. 

 

5 hours ago, jewelsc said:

 

On the contrary, all the main leads and even the supporting actors were praised for their stellar acting in PA, lets just say i have a love/hate relationship for this drama..started off well and then it succumbed into bits and pieces.

 

I think Minglan will do very well if it falls under the prime time slot (8pm) and it will do very very well as usual on web for the international fans, i personally will not wait until it is subbed to watch, i have been waiting patiently for too long for this to show already along with her other drama . Hopefully this will air b4 the end of the yr.

 

Let's hope it does air this year and that someone licenses it.

[litopanda]

On 8/12/2018 at 10:08 AM, xienrue said:

Get roped to see this drama because of Zhu Yi Long .... and because my colleague told me how good the novel is. Hopefully I will not be disappointed. I don't know if it just me, but I think FSF and ZYL look older in this drama??

 

About Zhao Li Ying, I knew her from Hua Qian Gu. I only watched little of Princess Agent (skipping through a lot) and even though I know lots of people praise that drama and the main leads, that drama failed to impress me. I don't know if it was the acting or it was the character that I didn't like. So, I didn't pay more attention to the visual.  I usually care less about actor/actress gossip or their real life, as long as they deliver on screen. Anyway, lets see her performance in MingLan. As far as I know, this is the production that produce NiF, so I have high expectation on quality which means the problem with body double should be not/less noticeable.

 

@litopanda I don't even know Zhu Yi Long until I see him in Guardian. I love Chinese historical/period drama, but dunno why his drama just fell outside my radar. He is one of actors that looks good in period costume and long hair. We need to admit that long hair just not for every male

 

By the way, I hear that Ming Lan airing get delayed until next year. Is this true?

 

@xienrue @jewelsc

I also don't know why Princess Agent was so popular throughout beside the star power of casts. I mean the original story is really good and the trailer and marketing/advertisement for the drama is done exceptionally well. However the delivery of it was....horrible. It started out good for a couple of episodes then start getting draggy, in the middle YX turning point was the best part of it all then it got draggy again till the end. Beside the superb acting and cast, nothing about that actual drama was "good'. I watched it through, hoping it would get better but it never did. The time of my life that I will never get back. I guess it's also a love and hate relationship with that drama for me too. 

 

i actually start to notice Zhao Li Ying in Legend of Chusen. The ironic part is that I did because I was so frustrated waiting for her character to "die"....Chusen is another one that started out so good but then it got draggy. It was disappointment. But then I watch a movie that she was in I think it's called Rise of a Tomboy and i think that movie made me became a fan lol. 

 

Feng Shao Feng, I first saw him in Lan Ling Wang. It was a good drama but I never like his character or acting in there. Just my opinion but I thought he doesn't really fit his character as someone who is suppose to be the most beautiful behind the mask and fierce with his mask on the battlefield. Fierce...yes but he is nowhere near "beautiful" of Lan Ling Wang suppose reputation. And everything they try to show is "beauty", it was very cringy. 

 

Zhu Yi Long, I think he fell out of both our radar because he was mostly the second lead in other dramas. Also most of his dramas aren't as popular or really good either. I watch that border town prodigal one and it was ehh. So I never really bother to notice or look him up until Guardian. 

 

On 8/12/2018 at 4:41 PM, mrsyooknit said:

Daylight is one of the best production companies in c-ent then the scriptwriters for this drama worked on Battle of Changsha, which had amazing writing. I read part of this novel but only the main OTP parts so I can't comment on ZYL's character but fans from the book seemed to really like his character. I am expecting this to be a family drama like Battle of Changsha were plot and human interactions drove the drama. Really realistic characters with complex emotions and actions. The whole thing with body doubles is such a non-issue is ridiculous everyone uses some doubles just for certain scenes, Daylight does too. 

 

@mrsyooknit

Daylight is a good production company with notable dramas with very high production value and quality. I wouldn't expect any less of them for Story of MingLan. I'm actually glad they are the one making this drama because from "story" alone, I actually wasn't very interested in the premise...it sounds like a whole lot of drama/talking and no action. But knowing Daylight, I think they will make it good. just like Nirvana in Fire. i never thought I would love a "political" drama so much. The majority of that drama is just scheming and even though there are actions, it wasn't much. I actually hesitated on it for a long time before finally starting it and then I fell in love with how perfect it is...from the delivery of the story, the acting, the beautifully planned cinematography and art direction. That drama was beautiful. Hopefully Minglan will be the same. 

[siobhanne]

I read a bit of the novel, what was translated to english, some 26 chapters I think. The main character seems very appealing and sensible. But I don't know how they will translate it to tv, since it's all inner thoughts and they can't do the transmigration (why does every chinese webnovel have transmigration?) and it seems they're going to skip the childhood phase. From the summary of the novel, it seems to be a bit heavy on romance and jealous females and such boring stuff? I hope the show won't be just some dramatic romance nonsense, although from these producers' previous work I think it should be fine. I really liked When a snail falls in love. Didn't finish watching Love me if you dare, didn't really care about the characters, the goodies or the baddies. I think for me it's all about the characters, if I don't like the characters I won't care about anything else. And if I like them, I can forgive a lot of other things. Actually now that I think about it, the webnovel of when a snail falls in love had the second lead girl be really jealous and immature and basically the old stereotype of a richard simmons female, but in the tv show she was really nice and likable. So maybe they'll manage to humanize such characters in this production. I'm so tired of these love triangles where the second lead males are reasonable and the second lead females are psychopaths, more love for women I say.

I hope Zhu Yi Long gets to work with this company again in the future. Political intrigue is my jam. 

[Umari Bangster]

On 12/8/2018 at 09.58, litopanda said:

 

@Cedric Ong  @mrsyooknit

 

Saya suka Zhu Yi Long di Guardian juga. Shen Wei adalah bae 

Saya telah melihatnya di beberapa drama lain tetapi tidak pernah benar-benar memperhatikannya sampai Guardian.

Saya sebenarnya lebih bersemangat untuk melihat Zhu Yi Long di drama ini daripada Feng Shao Feng. 

Saya sudah mendapatkan sindrom timbal kedua dan bahkan belum pernah melihat drama apa pun. 

@litopanda, you are same with me, i'm looking for another zhu yi long's film beside guardian, i love him...i want to follow all his film

 

[mrsyooknit]

19 hours ago, siobhanne said:

I read a bit of the novel, what was translated to english, some 26 chapters I think. The main character seems very appealing and sensible. But I don't know how they will translate it to tv, since it's all inner thoughts and they can't do the transmigration (why does every chinese webnovel have transmigration?) and it seems they're going to skip the childhood phase. From the summary of the novel, it seems to be a bit heavy on romance and jealous females and such boring stuff? I hope the show won't be just some dramatic romance nonsense, although from these producers' previous work I think it should be fine. I really liked When a snail falls in love. Didn't finish watching Love me if you dare, didn't really care about the characters, the goodies or the baddies. I think for me it's all about the characters, if I don't like the characters I won't care about anything else. And if I like them, I can forgive a lot of other things. Actually now that I think about it, the webnovel of when a snail falls in love had the second lead girl be really jealous and immature and basically the old stereotype of a richard simmons female, but in the tv show she was really nice and likable. So maybe they'll manage to humanize such characters in this production. I'm so tired of these love triangles where the second lead males are reasonable and the second lead females are psychopaths, more love for women I say.

I hope Zhu Yi Long gets to work with this company again in the future. Political intrigue is my jam. 

 

I think they will have maybe 1-2 episodes with the kids. 

Transmigration is so popular on cnovels, I guess cause we all fantasize about having a magical adventure or something 

 

I don't think it will be heavy on romance, the novel didn't feel heavy on romance for me. In fact I wish it had more romance. I only read the otp parts and she is so rational that at times it was hard to tell if she cares for him or if that was just a rational choice for her survival. It wasn't until the end that I felt like she cared.

 

I do think it will have family dynamics you know like conflicts among family members and a common conflict when you have multiple wives is jealousy. I think most of the women in this drama will be motivated by survival or social standing. 

But that will mainly happen when she is living with her father and there are some conflicts between his favorite concubine and his wife. 

 

I am pretty sure they will really humanize each character even those that are antagonistic. In the scriptwriters' previous work the characters were very grey. They would do bad things and good things and you couldn't really place them into a category which made them feel very human. Everyone had their bad sides and good sides, no one was really good or really bad. I expect something like that in this drama. Just very realistic characters and interactions. 

[mrsyooknit]