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.  

Source:  1

Actresses/Actors That Are Too Old for Their Characters

As I was reflecting on the dramas I've watched over the past year (and there have been a quite a lot of them), I realized that most of them are quite long (50-70+ episodes).  For the most part, I do enjoy them since I think they really allow opportunity for the characters to develop, but often times they do drag a bit in the middle.  (Side note: A quick test for me to determine whether a drama is keeping me engaged is whether I start to lose interest in the middle).  

In any event, the downside to long dramas is that often times they start out with the main characters at a relatively young age (think early-mid teens, 14-16 years) and the drama takes us through the process of their growth.  The problem with this is that, depending on the actor/actress, they are simply no long convincing as a teenagers!  These are men and women in their mid to late 30s or early 40s and it is extremely difficult, even with good hair, makeup and acting, to convince the audience.  See below for some examples!

Rule the World - Raymond Lam

At the risk of offending Raymond Lam fans everywhere, his character in Rule the World is probably one of the most egregious examples of this problem.  The book starts off with his character being only around 8-10 years old, which made sense since the main female character witnessed his birth and is his aunt.  I think Raymond Lam was around 37 when this series was filmed, making it virtually impossible to pull off this feat.  Honestly, he looked even older than the actors playing his two older brothers!  It also made his interactions with the various characters very weird, such as the main female character caring for him like a child in the beginning.  The show ends with his character being around 40 years of age, which is much closer to real age, so this does get better as the drama progresses.  I understand sometimes these choices are made for budget and marketing reasons, but I think this is one where it made sense to have a different/younger actor play the character at the beginning.  

Princess Agents - Lin Gengxin

Next is Lin Gengxin in Princess Agents.  Again the novel starts off with a lot of the characters as children.  The main female character is only supposed to be eight years old and I am guessing Lin Gengxin's character is probably in his early teens (13-14 years of age).  This is evident from the patriarch choosing a female attendant for him - someone who is supposed to keep him satisfied in the sleep department, if we are trying to be delicate.  If his character is someone in his late teens/early 20s, I just feel bad for him.  To be fair, I actually think he can still pass as someone in his early 20s, but 13-14 is really pushing it.  Due to the way the novel is written, I think this applies to virtually all the actors/actresses on the show - Zhao Liying, Shawn Dou and Li Qin.  

Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace - Zhou Xun

Finally, we have Zhou Xun from Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace.  I am sure I am not the first person to mention this, but the first few episodes starts with Ruyi being probably around 16 years old.  There's a lot that can be done with makeup, hair, lighting and costumes, but none of these can shave almost 30 years off a woman's age.  The drama jumps quickly to eight years ahead and I still find it believable for Zhou Xun to play a woman in her mid-20s.  Unlike Rule the World, I do not think it would make sense to have another actress play this character in the first few episodes.  It may also deter audiences from watching if the main leads do not appear in the first episode.  Sometimes this is just a choice that has to be made.  On the one hand, it may help to market the drama more easily if the leads are in more episodes and may be more cost effective to have less actors/actresses.  On the other hand, this sometimes causes the audience to raise their eyebrows and make the characters' actions and interactions a bit weird.

Do you agree or disagree?  Do others come to mind?  I can definitely think of a few others but did not want to make this super long.  Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Deng Chao's legendary selfie and more from recent events in C-ent

Sorry for being MIA, between people getting sick and getting busy (one of us has finals!).. let's just say it's been hectic. 

December is a busy time for c-ent too as it squeezes in the last remaining events and awards shows for the year. That usually means non-stop parties and plenty of eye candy to go around. Interestingly, my favorite picture is not from the red carpet but one taken by Deng Chao backstage at the 17th Huabiao Awards last Saturday. 

This moment is the money shot right there for the sheer star power packed into one picture. It reminds me of Ellen DeGeneres' Oscar selfie and who better to make it happen than Deng Chao. From left to right: Jiang Shuying, Yang Yang, Guo Jingming, Luhan, Tang Yan, Yang Mi, Zhou Dongyu, Chen He and Deng Chao. 

After Luhan and Kris Wu's epic reunion during iQiYi Scream Night, the two were spotted together again backstage. 

Deng Chao shared a few more pictures from the event. He reunited with Huang Xiaoming and Tong Dawei. The three starred in the 2013 Chinese film American Dreams in China. 

A photo with the big wigs of Chinese film industry: Jiang Wen, Zhou Xun, Deng Chao, Chen Kun and Xu Zheng (bottom right). 

With all the fully-suited men and ladies in beautiful growns strutting down the red carpet, a topic that started trending on weibo the other day was whether women really don't get cold. Yang Mi wore a playful patterned gown to the 15th MAHB Awards. Fans worried that she'd be freezing. 

Source: 1, 2