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. 

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Vicky Zhao and Alec Su Spotted at the Red Carpet

The Hainan International Film Festival was held yesterday and a lot of big names came to support the festival. Celebrities like Aaron Kwok, Xu Zheng, Leehom Wang and even international action legend Jackie Chan were present, just to name a few.  

A number of Hollywood stars also graced the event. Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen and Juliette Binoche were all smiles when they came down the red carpet.  

What caught our eye though were Vicky Zhao and Alec Su.  These two have been friends for 22 years.  If you guys can recall, Alec and Vicky  played the leads in My Fair Princess.  (I was sort of hoping back then that they'd end up together) Alec and Vicky recently appeared in the reality show Chinese Restaurant on Hunan TV where they were mistaken as husband and wife by some foreigners.  Their onscreen romance lives on only in works of fiction but their friendship has lasted the test of time. Seeing these two together remind me of their banter and never fails to put a smile on my face.  

Both had a photo-op with Johnny Depp. 

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Etta Ng reveals that she sought out Jackie Chan to find answers

Nineteen-year-old Etta Ng was shoved into the spotlight this year due to many events in her life. She had run away from home, come out of the closet, moved to Canada and announced to the world just last month that she has tied the knot with then-girlfriend-now-wife Andi Autumn. 

On being Jackie Chan's estranged daughter, Etta revealed in an interview that she knows as much about him as the general public. The only difference is that almost everyone knows that she is Jackie Chan's illegitimate daughter. She further explains that she is not interested in Jackie Chan's money. The actor once said that he intended to leave half of his assets to his wife and son Jaycee Chan while donating the rest to charity. Etta says that it's really none of her business where the money goes. However, she opens up about running away from home in search of her father back in April. She said that she wanted to find him not for the reasons that many people think. She was dazed, had too many questions and her search for the truth was a way of self-help. It did not yield results because she still has not met her father, but she says that if they ever meet, she will ask, "Why did my mother become like this? Have you ever discussed it? I know I am still young, but I need an answer."

Etta also shared that she has always known that she liked women, but has dated men in the past to please her mom. She explains that her mother Elaine Ng whom she described to be a traditional woman has not yet accepted Andi and refers to her as Etta's friend, but they will take it slow.

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