Lai Kuanlin unveils future plans and takes the lead in A Little Thing Called First Love

Popular South Korean boyband Wanna One will have their final concert towards the end of January after which the members will go their separate ways. Anticipation is high for each of the members and rapper Lai Kuanlin who's also the maknae at 17 year old seems to be gearing up for a debut in China. 

He held his solo first press conference today in Beijing to unveil his future plans from music to film and various endorsement deals. Lai Kuanlin shares that he has always wanted to release his own single and also thinks about preparing for an album. Tiger Hu will be coming onboard as the music director for Lai Kuanlin's first Chinese single. 

Aside from music, Lai Kuanlin has officially signed a three-picture deal with Wang Ke, president of Mango Entertainment. The first of which is a Chinese drama adaptation of A Little Thing Called First Love 初恋那件小事 based on a Thai film of the same name. On being casted as the romantic lead, the producer shared that Lai Kuanlin has a face that fits the image of first love. He is very high-spirited and the class senior that you look up to in school. 

Considering that he's gotten over 1 million followers just a few days after opening his weibo account this week, it looks like the young idol has quite a fanbase awaiting his acting debut. 

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Filming wraps for Royal Nirvana led by Luo Jin and Li Yitong

You don't know how many times I instinctively typed Nirvana in Fire while writing this post. Why must they choose similar titles? 

Royal Nirvana 鹤唳华亭 has officially wrapped after 216 days of filming that took the cast and crew to the studios of Xiang Shan and the vast regions of Dunhuang and Xinjiang. Most of the cast including both leads completed their scenes days earlier. Leading lady Li Yitong wrapped more than a week ago. I don't know how this drama flew under the radar for me, but it's actually shaping up to be quite promising given the cast. Seven months of filming also puts this in the category of bigger budget productions nowadays that seem to be spending more time and effort to make what is hopefully, a decent drama. 

Luo Jin plays the tragic hero who has no one to rely on in the face of a distant father, a treacherous brother and a distrustful king. 

After Li Yitong's breakthrough performance in Bloody Romance, I'm sure she can handle whatever challenge thrown her way. She plays a woman who assumes another identity to get revenge. 

Did I say that Jin Han is no longer playing villains? I lied. It turns out he's one of the baddies as a cowardly character who has his eyes set on the throne. Frankly, that sounds like the worst kind of villain. His outfit reminds me of Princess Agents. 

Xin Peng plays another baddie with enough cunning to match his grandiose ambition to take the throne.

Veteran actor Wang Jinsong never disappoints, and I'd expect nothing less. 

Zheng Yecheng's in the cast too!

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Minor scrape after Zhu Yilong's car was tailed by fans on the way to film The Lost Tomb Reboot

The Lost Tomb Reboot 盗墓笔记重启 is currently filming with Zhu Yilong being the latest actor to take on the role of Wu Xie. Having reached a new height in his popularity after starring in Guardian, there've been past instances where Zhu Yilong was mobbed by overly zealous fans, and it looks like they've struck again. 

Yesterday, The Lost Tomb Reboot crew was being tailgated by sasaeng fans on the way to the filming location. Their rental car scraped the car carrying Zhu Yilong and the crew. Fortunately, no one was injured. After the incident, the staff immediately informed the police.

They've since issued a reminder against such actions because not only does it interfere with filming, it puts everyone including sasaeng fans themselves in grave danger. They reprimand the actions and promise to take legal action to ensure the safety of the cast and crew. 

Hu Jun and Zhu Yilong, they play uncle and nephew in The Lost Tomb Reboot. 

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Filming begins for Broker with Victoria Song, Luo Yunxi and Xu Kaicheng

A month after its announcement, new workplace drama Broker 掮客 has officially started filming with Victoria Song, Leo Luo Yunxi and Xu Kaicheng. I was plenty interested just knowing that Luo Yunxi has risen into leading man territory after Ashes of Love. He really doesn't need much to transform into the mysterious character, though I'm comforted to know that he'll end up as the good guy. 

Interestingly, Moonshine and Valentine fans can get a kick out of a reunion between Victoria Song and Xu Kaicheng. Maybe it's payback from his days as the two-timing boyfriend in Moonshine because he will need to step up his game to romance her for the second time. Although I recognize him mainly from the former, the actor recently headlined the web drama I'm A Pet At Dali Temple as the charismatic lead and he may make a bigger rival for the heroine's love. 

Victoria Song as Qiu Jianing, the no-nonsense scientist who has no need for love. 

Luo Yunxi as Zhou Xiaoshan, but there's a hint of danger beneath that charming smile. 

Xu Kaicheng as the skilled and handsome doctor, Qin Bin. 

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The makers of Story of Yanxi Palace return with Winter Begonia

There's quite the interest in Yu Zheng's next drama after Story of Yanxi Palace, and understandably so. Now that filming has begun for Winter Begonia 鬓边不是海棠红, it seems like the drama is going for something completely different with a male-centric story about the Peking opera. 

The leading man is not anyone under Yu Zheng Studio but A-list star Huang Xiaoming (The Years You Were Late). Andrew Yin Zheng (Original Sin) is the other male lead in a story that was originally based on a BL novel. Also in the cast are Merxat Mi Re (Legend of Yun Xi), Liu Min (Magic City), Fang Anna (Story of Yanxi Palace) and Tang Jingmei (Lost Love in Times). 

Huang Xiaoming plays a rich and patriotic businessman while Yin Zheng plays a Peking opera artist. I'm no opera fan, but Yin Zheng who's quite a versatile yet underrated actor really sounds perfect for his part. 

Yu Zheng shared that his vision was to promulgate Peking opera and to show people every aspect of it. He chose to adapt the novel by Yin Dahu because he liked the author's take on traditional Peking opera. He also shared that they spent an entire year to transform the story into what they wanted. 

Winter Begonia is produced Huanyu Films and directed by Hui Kaidong. Yu Zheng is the executive producer and creative director. 

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Zheng Yecheng and Zhao Lusi star in fantasy romance The Killing of Three Thousand Crows

Zheng Yecheng has made quite a journey since playing the sidekick in Just One Smile is Very Alluring. This year, he headlined lET's Shake It Season 2 and An Oriental Odyssey which has just finished airing. I really haven't been watching that many web dramas though one thing they all seem to have in common is fun light-heartedness. 

Zheng Yecheng is being paired with another spunky web drama heroine as Zhao Lusi from the time travel comedy Oh My Emperor signs on as his leading lady. Filming has begun in Xiang Shan for their new drama The Killing of Three Thousand Crows 三千鸦殺. It is based on a novel by Shi Si Lang 十四郎 and follows a beautiful princess who loses her home, assumes a new identity and encounters people from her past. 

I read that it's a romance that spans ten lifetimes so I'm guessing that it may come with Three Life Three Worlds' level of heartache. I'd be interested to see both leads veering away from comedy. Also in the cast are Jiang Yiyi and Liu Yitong. 

Darren Wang, Peng Yuchang and Wei Daxun trending photo from The Last Ride set

Hashtag Darren Wang corrupts Peng Yuchang was trending online after Wei Daxun shared photos of the three from the set of their new movie The Last Ride 伟大的愿望. In the trending photo, Darren Wang leads the head-eating antics followed by the younger Peng Yuchang. Being the oldest of the three, Wei Daxun turned the shot into meme-worthy gold after giving the most resigned what-am-i-even-doing-here expression. 

In response to the attention, Darren Wang explained that it was Peng Yuchang who strongly requested it. He then edited the photo to include their boss, Chinese businessman Wang Sicong's famous hotdog eating meme. As far as marketing gimmicks go, this completely worked on me as I'm now reading up on the movie that I hadn't known existed. 

The Last Ride is a Chinese remake of a Korean comedy of the same name. It's about a man who finds out that he doesn't have long to live and his two friends who accompany him to make his wish come true. It already sounds like a touching and laughter-filled movie that I'd watch in a heartbeat especially if they pack on some of that playful chemistry between the three leads. Darren Wang and Wei Daxun have wrapped after two months. Peng Yuchang is still filming. 

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