Darren Chen headlines first historical drama in The Story of Ming Dynasty

It looks like the folks from Meteor Garden are truly branching out. Shortly after the news of Dylan Wang joining Ever Night 2, Darren Chen is also putting on the ancient garb for The Story of Ming Dynasty 成化十四年, an iQIYI web drama based on a novel by Meng Xishi 梦溪石. 

Darren Chen has played the handsome second lead in the only two dramas that he's been in and this historical drama about a Sherlock Holmes type character solving crime makes his first starring role. He partners up with Fu Meng-po (Love's Lies), a rising star who's already racked up acting awards for his previous roles. Fu Meng-po plays a member of the imperial secret police that joins hands with the main protagonist. 

The cast which also includes Wang Maolei (Story of Yanxi Palace), Liu Juncheng and Liu Yaoyuan attended the booting ceremony in Hengdian World studios. Jackie Chan was invited onboard in the early stages of production to participate in developing the drama on an international scale. It is Jackie Chan's second time to be part of a drama's production team after he worked on the 2009 drama adaptation of Myth starring Hu Ge. 

Source: 1

New romantic comedy film X Love holds filming ceremony

X Love 月半爱丽丝 is a new movie led by Guan Xiaotong (Sweet Combat) and Johnny Huang (Moonshine and Valentine). Darren Chen (Meteor Garden 2018) who stars in his very first movie is listed as making a special appearance. I'm not sure if that means that he won't be in as many scenes, either way, it seems our resident Huaze Lei will have to settle for second lead again. 

The heroine is a fangirl chasing after a big star. She loses weight after using a mystery potion and begins her magical transformation into Ai Li Si in order to be near her crush, that is until she realizes that she has developed feelings for her childhood friend. While I can't say that I'd watch this for sure, it sounds like a cute popcorn movie with a very attractive cast. Filming began today in Xiamen and is expected to last 55 days. 

Source: 1, 2, 3