Zhang Zhehan Leaves Huanyu Film, Ends Working Relationship With Yu Zheng

Zhang Zhehan has been with Yu Zheng's agency Huanyu Film for a while now and it has been a somewhat average arrangement.  In the past years, he has played minor roles for series such as The Romance of the Condor Heroes and as young Lin Shu in Nirvana In Fire.  He also landed lead roles in Legend Of Ban Shu and Demon Girl which would've boosted his career but both received lukewarm responses.  

After seeing Huanyu Film's 2019 artist roster, I found that Zhang Zhehan was nowhere on it.  As it turns out, he has decided to part ways with his agency.  Zhang has posted on social media thanking Yu Zheng for the opportunity.  

He mentions he was lucky enough to be brought into the fold by Yu Zheng six years ago wherein he had the opportunity to work with amazing people.  He worked with passion on the series he was part of and was trained from a newbie to an actor with a sense of faith.  

Zhang Zhehan recalls what Yu Zheng taught him.  "Acting is the same as other professions.  You need  enthusiasm and impeccable sense, as well as focus and a strong sense of belief"  he said.  "More importantly though, you should have an actor's work ethic. Respect the profession. Respect the time and hard work of every staff member.  Only by doing this will your efforts be rewarded."  

Zhang Zhehan further says how Yu Zheng always supported him and that working with him has been the most important six years of his life.  Zhang also thanked his agent Hui Quanjie and everyone else who has given him encouragement and support.

Zhang ended the post by saying he will always be grateful and remember what Yu Zheng has taught him as he starts his new journey to be a good actor.  

Apparently, all Zhang Zhehan needed was a little luck.  He played the leading man in Legend Of Yunxi which has positively impacted Zhang's popularity.  Wishing Zhang Zhehan more success in the future.

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Yu Zheng rants about the industry: Bad acting is the director's fault

Producer and screenwriter Yu Zheng recently opened up about his thoughts on the entertainment industry. He talks about how it's a director's job to make sure that acting is on point.  He says,  "While we are complaining about an actor's bad acting, have we considered the lack of guidance by the director?"  Yu Zheng further says, " I am afraid that the director who does not understand the drama has ruined the drama."  

Yu Zheng shared the process around choosing the director for Story of Yanxi Palace in 2016. He revealed that there had been meetings with so-called big shot directors and these directors demanded exorbitant fees even without understanding the script. These are people that have filmed big productions or have ties to popular idols or work as a certain director's assistant. 

When a netizen commented that there was something wrong with the way Wu Jinyan delivered her lines. Yu Zheng defended the actress saying that there was no problem with Wu Jinyan's lines. He said that of course, she cannot compare to industry veterans. However, if three-time Gold Awarded film actresses are only up to this level, how good do you expect a young actress born in the nineties to be? 

With such a response, Yu Zheng immediately got flak for throwing shade at industry veterans (assumed to be Zhou Xun of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace). Zhou Xun has won the big 3 acting accolades from the Golden Horse Award, Hong Kong Film Award and Golden Rooster Award over the course of her career. 

Yu Zheng's wrote a follow up post on Weibo, "The intention is to call attention to every aspect of the industry.  Why are there so many stupid people who always take someone's words out of context?  It's ridiculous."  He ended his post by saying "What I mean is that even multi-awarded film actresses can't be completely without fault, the occasional question of one or two lines should not be brought up, give her (Wu Jinyan) time, slowly see her progress." 

Here's the thing. I believe Yu Zheng has a point here. He could've said it better without throwing shade at anyone else but this is Yu Zheng we're talking about. It should be the director's job to steer the production in the right direction. If you have a great director who's worth his salt and has a passion for what he does, chances are, you're getting a quality production.  Settle for a mediocre one... well, you get what you pay for.  

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Why Historical Dramas are Being Postponed or Rescheduled

Several Chinese historical dramas which were supposed to be released this year got rescheduled or cancelled.  

Goodbye My Princess was slated to air this week. However, on the morning of its Dec 12 premiere, it was announced that the schedule has been adjusted and that the release date will be announced separately. Similar postponements happened to Legend of Hao Lan, Peace in Palace, Peace in Chang An and The Legends of Monkey King.  

The question on everyone's mind is why are these shows being rescheduled? There seems to be a couple of reasons.

1. REVIEW AND REVISION.

When Legend of Hao Lan was cancelled, there were rumors that it had to undergo some changes for it to be aired and also rumors that it was to make way for a TV broadcast.  Yu Zheng had denied it and said he wanted to redo the music score. This didn't sound very convincing and we can speculate that the show is under review.

The comment of Director Lian Yiming of Peace in Palace, Peace in Chang An was very telling when he lamented over his show being postponed and that he won't recognize it anymore if they change it again. We can assume that there were problems with the drama and thus had to be revised.

2. STRICTER ONLINE DRAMA REVIEW POLICIES

The reason for the cancellation of shows is almost always censorship. The review policies of online dramas have tightened in recent years.  

Originally, online dramas, movies and network animations have a review policy of "self edit & self broadcast."  Recently, the Beijing Broadcasting and Television Bureau issued a notice to the industry: key network audio-visual programs were to be submitted to the provincial radio and television bureau for review after being filed by the production company.  The review process includes the filming plan before the actual shoot and the finished film.

Some insiders have confirmed the new rules to be true.  The new rules will be implemented in February next year.  

As early as December 2016, the director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (currently known as NRTA), Nie Chenxi, pointed out that "the online and offline circles should be constructed in accordance with the requirements of one standard, one ruler." The standard of online drama review will be consistent with TV stations."  

It was emphasized that TV dramas and movies that have not passed the examination shall not be aired as internet dramas or online movies.  

It is clear that these two causes (censorship and revision) will have far reaching implications in the drama industry that for a time gave more freedom to dramas airing online.  Those that hope to be broadcast whether on TV or online will have to abide by the rules and censorship to be able to air. Those that don't revise their content or fail to pass the review will get cancelled regardless of how good or star-studded the dramas are. We can only hope that this will not lead to further restrictions on creativity down the line.

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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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Story of Yanxi Palace is Google's Most Searched TV Show in 2018

It's been a few months since Story of Yanxi Palace 延禧攻略 ended, and it continues to reap the rewards of success especially now that it's the year end and award shows are rounding up their top picks. Today, the show has become the top trending topic on Weibo once again coincidentally because of how well it trended elsewhere. 

Google has revealed its Year in Search 2018 which listed the trending items for the year. According to the rankings, Story of Yanxi Palace was the #1 trending TV show in the world especially in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia.

As a fan of dramas, I feel that k-drama is ultimately the more popular choice among international viewers. Mainland Chinese viewers don't even use Google, so this win is an unexpected surprise. Yu Zheng and the cast and crew really deserve all the praise for turning what was initially an underdog into a global phenomenon. A big congrats!

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Yu Zheng Signs A New Artist

Producer Yu Zheng has signed He Ruixian to his studio. Now if the name of the 24 yr old actress doesn't sound familiar, you might want to check out Demon Girl also produced by Yu Zheng because because he already casted her as the second lead in 2016.  

Yu Zheng admits that he has been wanting to sign He Ruixian since Demon Girl but couldn't since she was busy with her studies. He goes on to share a story about He Ruixian's first day. She was very tense and nervous during the first day of shooting. He brought a bottle of baijiu to the set. He Ruixian who never drinks downed half a bottle and exhibited exceptional acting skills but she was knocked out before completing her final scene. 

Yu Zheng ended his post by saying He Ruixian has extraordinary acting skills and that new opportunities and challenges await her. Yu Zheng helped turn Wu Jinyan into a star through Story of Yanxi Palace this year. Can he do it again? We'll just have to wait and see.  

 

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From Kris Wu to Luhan, iQiYi Scream Night 2019 is full of epic reunions

iQiYi Scream Night 2019 was held last night on Dec 1, 2018. An awards show hosted by a streaming media service may be far from being the most esteemed, but the event came together with all the glitz and glamour of c-ent. Many attendees went onstage to accept their awards and off-stage interactions also became trending topics. 

To start, Kris Wu and Luhan who were formerly members of the boy band EXO were seated on the same table. Ever since they left the band one after the other and returned to China to pursue solo activities, interactions between then were sparse and far between (though they do exist, if you know where to look). 

Whoever's in charge of the seating plan is a genius, allowing the two a chance to reconnect in the public eye. The moment though lasting less than a minute still put a smile on my face (see video). 

Yu Zheng is like the proud father of Story of Yanxi Palace as he attended with the cast that includes Nie Yuan, Charmaine Sheh, Qin Lan, Wu Jinyan, Xu Kai, Su Qing and Wang Yuanke. Bai Lu also joined in for the pictures. 

Story of Yanxi Palace took home many awards. While posing for the group photo, Yu Zheng joked that he is not the eunuch but the crown prince. 

Actor Hu Xianxu and singer Chen Linong are friends from the iQiYi reality show Hi Housemate.

The two same-age buddies born in 2000 chatted the night away at iQiYi Scream Night despite being seated at different tables. They even shared a handshake before Hu Xianxu took the stage to accept his award. 

NINE PERCENT members performed onstage and brought home Group of the Year, Variety Show of the Year and Scream Boy Band. The nine members were complete - Cai Xukun, Chen Linong, Fan Chengcheng, Justin Huang Minghao, Lin Yanjun, Zhu Zhengyan, Wang Ziyi, Xiao Gui - Wang Linkai and You Zhangjing. 

Watch iQiYi Scream Night 2019 here. 

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