Amastris Dratwka

Touche as why I said "2" not "1".

I never said the audition was the sofa scene. I said that it was a synopsis in which Sam & Yu could adlib. There are aspects of both scenes in this audition clip. In my view, none of it was toned down, it just was incorporated into it all, and based on how they handle themselves, and how impressed the PD was with their versions of the characters, when it came time to film, they felt comfortable enough to allow them to actually do improv, as in the sofa scene.

Results Entertainment also posted a small clip showing Sam & the Acting Coach going over how he'll do the sofa scene, and the bts of filming the portion where Sam's sitting out front of the house. The PD seem very pleased & proud with the process since they're giving us all this extra footage on their IG.

Whether or not this drama is good makes no difference to me. I simply refuse, as much as possible, anything released on MGTV.

Mango is the absolute worst for international fans:
1) the cater mainly to Chinese fans,
2) whatever subs are provided tend to be poor quality,
3) anyone telling you they suffer from 'copyright' issues on their YT channel is being misleading. If you use the app, you don't get issues, but you'll also not get translations. They leave translations for international fans to their YT channel.

Their YT channel is their own. Mango owns the rights to their dramas, period. That means, whatever they post to the YT channel is under their own copyright. The point about this is **why do they mute sound to portions of their drama episodes for those posted on the YT channel. It's obvious. They're blocking the background OST from the show. My assumption is that they don't want anyone ripping the OST music for pirating or some such nonsense, but the entire thing is ridiculous and makes the YT channel episodes practically unwatchable.

And that's why I'll avoid a MGTV broadcast, regardless of how great the drama is and how much I'd actually like to watch it, UNLESS, someone pirates the episode from the app, translates it, and posts it.. but then again, that's all illegal, so it just puts you in a bind now, doesn't it?

Sam does not have Yu in a choke hold, Yu has his forearm against Sam's neck in order to keep him from coming closer, and Yu's physical position during this interaction during the audition is no different than his exact positioning in episode 2. It was familiar to him, and in the audition you see who ended up sprawled on the floor. Stop making issues where there were none. They muted it for a reason. At the end of the footage you can hear some of the dialogue they gave, and yes, it's in the description by the PD for Result Entertainment. They were given merely a synopsis of what the scene should be about, for the audition, and they were told to improvise it so they could see their what their chemistry was like. Result PD stated that their chemistry was off-the-charts from the start, and felt the 2 had already developed into their characters at this point.

Amazing!! Results Entertainment posted Yu & Sam's audition footage. My understanding was that Sam didn't want the fans to see it, but they released it anyway. Note that when they did this scene they were only given a synopsis of what the scene was about regarding meeting again after 5 years and asked to do their own interpretation of it.

After seeing this footage [https://www.instagram.com/p/CMejrdogjHD/] I believe I understand now why they allowed Sam & Yu to do the 2 infamous scenes that have caused many comment wars in the manner they did it. Based on any of the criticism & negative comments Sam has gotten over things, I realize the motive for Result Entertainment to post this despite his protests. My final statement about the last "controversy" is, Shu Yi, at no moment in time, is a pushover & unable to protect himself.

Lastly, this season, including Pei Shou Yi & Yu Zhen Xuan, is about broken men with broken relationships, trying to work out their emotions, hoping to eventually heal themselves. The characters are meant to be flawed and emotional. It was meant this way from the start, as you can see in the audition tapes. If you want your characters, especially your protagonists, to act perfectly in every situation, including while drunk & impaired, and to be demi-gods, or saints, maybe this isn't the drama for you. You're only getting flawed characters here, and any expectations otherwise will surely be a disappointment to you.

I get that you're on a crusade.
I get that you think your views are the only correct views.
I get that you think that any actor that used alcohol on set for a scene where they're acting drunk was because they had issues with alcohol and devastated them in the future.

How about I add the actresses Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing, & Diane Weist??? I don't think you can claim them to be bad actresses, right? You can't claim that they ALL didn't have illustrious acting careers, right? I don't think you can refer to them as having problems with drugs or alcohol that has affect their lives or their careers, right? Well, these four ladies got drunk on tequila when they all decided to make real margaritas for their party scene in the movie 'Practical Magic'. Why did they decide to do this??? Stockard Channing stated, "I think one of the hardest things to do is a fun, raucous party scene. By take 28, it is very hard to keep that up. I think it [spiffing it up with a drink] worked."

I get that you think that what these ladies did was unprofessional and that it should have destroyed their lives and careers and made the movie a disaster and everyone to consider them unprofessional and horrible actresses.

I get that you think that Francis Coppola was an awful Director with an horrible idea to film Martin while he was actually drunk. That won't stop people from believing that 'Apocalypse Now' is one of the greatest films ever made. For Coppola to have been nominated for an Oscar for Directing it as well as it getting a nomination for Best Picture and the English nominating Sheen for Best Actor for his role in it at the BAFA. Nor did it stop over 100 film productions, afterward, from him being considered professional enough for them to hire him in them.

I think Sam will be just fine...

But by all means, continue your crusade.

How insulting.

This was a one-off thing that was agreed upon. How you come up with he's getting drunk while acting all-time thus won't get work for that, I don't get it.

I'm not arguing good/bad either way. How people view it or the scene is a subjective personal choice, not some objective fact. You can view it how you want to, like I said. But calling it unprofessional is a stretch.

Yeah, there are few Acting Coaches, at least in the USA, that would suggest this method of acting. But to act as if this method is never done under PROFESSIONAL circumstances is dumb.

EXAMPLES:

1) Anna Kendrick - 'Drinking Buddies [2013 movie]: Anna Kendrick was drunk during a scene in which she plays a drinking game because her co-star, Jake Johnson, who played her fiancé, kept making her lose so that she would drink more.

2) Shia LaBeouf - Lawless (2012 movie): During filming, Shia LaBeouf, was frequently drunk on moonshine in order to "get in character."

3) Margot Robbie - The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013 movie): Margot felt highly uncomfortable before filming her first sex scene with DiCaprio, and took three shots of tequila to settle her nerves.

4) Brad Pitt & Ed Norton - Fight Club (1999 movie): One of the most memorable moments is a scene Director David Fincher decided to include in the movie after seeing Pitt and Norton hitting golf balls into the catering truck after having a few drinks during downtime.

5) Natalie Portman & Mila Kunis - Black Swan (2010 movie): Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky claimed that Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis had to share a bottle of tequila to loosen their nerves before their intense, much-talked about sex scene in Black Swan.

6) Neve Campbell, Denise Richards & Matt Dillon - Wild Things (1998 movie): Neve Campbell was not shy about admitting that the three actors partook in tequila before filming their threesome sex scene in Wild Things.

7) Martin Sheen - Apocalypse Now (1979 movie): The famous opening scene featuring Sheen's Captain Willard in a hotel room was unscripted. Instead, Sheen got drunk during the shoot and Coppola told the crew to film.

During the scene, a nearly-naked Sheen actually punched a mirror, cut himself when it shattered, started crying, and - whilst covered in his own blood - nearly attacked Coppola off-camera. Almost all of this ended up in the finished film.

8) Fred Astaire - Holiday Inn (1942 movie): According to Fred Astaire's daughter, Ava, her legendary screen-dancing father prepared for his "drunken" dancing scene in Holiday Inn by taking two shots of bourbon before his first take of the scene. While that doesn't sound like much, Astaire also took an additional shot of bourbon before each subsequent take.

Astaire ended up filming seven takes of the scene, and the finished film used the final take with Astaire eight shots in.

So, although you don't like that this was the mechanism that they used, let's not act like there's no precedence for this kind of method acting, and that those who have used it have been some that are considered the best actors, in some iconic scenes. Some use it, some don't. That's up to the production staff and actors to decide.

I'd just suggest everyone get off their high horse about it though. The whole condemnation Cancel Culture behavior is a turn off to me.

Unprofessional is like an American actor who sneakily does drugs, or gets drunk on or off set, lies about it, and is high while doing their job without letting their boss, or co-workers know or understand. Actually, unfortunately, it happens all the time in the USA.

Being "professional" is willingly taking the "suggestion" of your "Acting Coach", who put forward the idea first, discuss it, not only with your boss, i.e. The Director & your Acting Coach, but your "co-worker", and making the "agreement" to handle the scene this way together as a whole, and having not only their authorization & consent to do it, but their encouragement and support.

If you want to claim that it bothers you and that you think it's dangerous and unnecessary, that's one thing, but that doesn't equate to Sam being unprofessional when he's following the lead of his Boss, I would say.

Also, Yu did an IG LIVE right after episode 2 aired, and actually quite praised Sam for the way he did that scene. Yu stated that he & Sam did not rehearse the Sofa Scene 1 time. The intent was to make it as real & raw as possible. In that sense, the Director threw out any script and the entire scene is 100% ad lib/improv on both their parts. Sam felt that the scene was really important to do that way, and they were all on board for that... as stated by Yu himself.

So, the production company that hired Sam doesn't consider him as unprofessional nor does his partner. They think he's a great actor. The only ones complaining are some fans who, for whatever reason, have a problem with the process they used. I for one think that it's cool they've been so open about this. But based on the reactions from a good amount of the fanbase, I'd suggest to them if they do a Season 3, they keep these kinds of things PRIVATE in the future. None of us needed to know the specific, and they don't need to be open to the criticism of the process. All they should care about is if fans enjoyed the story/drama, and thought they acted their scenes well. The rest should just be under wraps. =/

Per the WBL: Fighting Mr. 2nd Teaser Ver. ShouZhen, the doctor tells Gao Shi De that he suffers from:
*Asperger's syndrome, which is a mild/high functioning form of autism
*Bigotry
*Filial imprinting i.e. ability to rapidly learn via mimicking your parents behavior but without an emotional attachment to the consequences
*slight depression
*self-harm tendencies

I seriously I don't get why in the hell you think what I posted was about you.

Let me be clear: None of what I posted had 1 thing to do with you or what you posted. This post is in reference to the many social media comments directed towards Sam's emotional status right now, and how hopelessly sad and miserable people believe he looks, nothing more, nothing less. =/

Besides the fact of you misconstruing what I said, you can take yourself and making this personal out of the equation.

And to be even further clear.... The following comment was in reference to Sam suggesting on in Valentine's Day IG Live that Yu was drinking "whiskey", and that his bottle of water, that he choked on, was "vodka"...

"...This whole controversy started with the Valentine's Day IG Live. I'm going to say that the "getting DRUNK" part that's being talked about didn't have to do with THIS IG Live, even though Sam did, in fact, drink alcohol and get a bit tipsy...."

So, NO, you read this as a reply to you, and I had nothing to say to you or any of your individual posts. So, you can stop attacking me as if I'm making anything personal, and stop doing that yourself... Okay????

It's not about YOU, it's about Sam. lol.

First off, I wasn't commenting to you at all. I didn't reply to a thing you wrote except to *your* replies to me. This is my sole post. It was a general statement. I don't understand why you think this is a personal attack on you. It's not, so please don't make your comments personal to me, and question how much time I invest in it. I've never questioned you nor called you or anyone else out for that matter. Again, this is just a general statement I'm making regarding things being said in social media.

As for the amount of alcohol, you can make w/e assessment about it you want. What I said is just repeating what the Director and Sam said themselves, and that's the amount of alcohol and the particular kind of alcohol they both said he drank. Since Sam was the one drinking it, I'd say he wasn't lying and I'll take his word for it over your views. ;)

#3 [Final Comment]:

The Valentine's Day IG Live happened on 2/14. The Viewing Party happened on 2/26 almost 2 weeks apart. In that 2 week period, based on the new line of instigating questioning by the press, and the fans misconstruing Sam's remarks & pressuring the CP "shipping", you can easily see the difference. You can see how it's now started to take a toll on Sam personally.

Then on March 4 they have a Press Conference Interview and the PRESS goes even more CRAZY with their interference and questioning of Sam.

First off: THIS IS A WBL S2 PRESS CONFERENCE. Contractually Yu & Sam need to provide "FANSERVICE" regarding their CP for promotional purposes same as they had to do during S1!

But where does the Taiwanese PRESS go with this???

They point out that Sam has "lost weight". He acknowledges that this is the case. They then take that opportunity to attribute this, OUT OF NO WHERE, to him breaking up with his g/f and ask him directly if this is the case. Of course, Yu intervenes and says, "NO, NO, NO..." and comforts Sam. Then they both go into fanservice because THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR at the end of the day. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTuR1m6V3DM]

But, YES, Sam admits he's struggling... but you saw that from Valentine's Day until now... and the PRESS going PRIVATE and inferring some such nonsense that Yu & Sam have fallen in love and this has broken up their relationship is beyond nuts.

THEN...

The OTHER controversy takes off.

Are people really this bored to attack Sam over these things???
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJbKT2hOgd4]

The Director and Sam make it clear, THEIR ACTING COACH WAS THE ONE WHO TOLD SAM TO GET DRUNK, and the Director agreed.

Btw... to all the "shippers", if Sam was SO "in love" with Yu, would he need a CRUTCH to get himself turned on??? The whole point was that, like those bts videos we see of them doing situps etc, to force behavior that will help make the scene as REAL as it could be. So, YES, Sam drank 3 FULL glasses of Whiskey before the drunk/bed scene, and NO, it wasn't shot glass size, so Sam was sincerely drunk, and he questioned whether it was going to be okay, but was told it was fine by the Acting Coach who continued to PUSH Sam to do this. Let's reflect on how much info and openness this group are giving the fans, and instead of attacking them, just watch the show and determine for yourselves if it was a good choice for the acting or not.

But, seriously, the criticism of Sam in all of this is just not right, and I feel bad for him because, along with Yu, these 2 have been almost the perfect BL CP in the way they've treated the fans and the way they approached their roles and dedicated themselves to make it look as real for us as they can. Don't shit all over these facts, okay?

/End Rant.

#2:
This is the full IG WBL S2 Viewing Party footage that's being bantered about. After the Valentine's Day IG Live, many fans, fueled by media, started to question Sam's personal feelings. Imagine the pressure of this on a LDR as well.

The part in question that happened was @11:35.
[https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLwpfI_AJar/].

Things exploded when Sam was unable to contain his emotions and put on the constant cheerful face we ALWAYS see him portray. Then it was even further fueled by the fact that the person who comforted and stood by his side was none other than YU. Not only these two but the Director showed so much emotions about this series, and without a confirmed S3, these guys are reflective & caring about their journey to SUCCESS.

But like I pointed out BEFORE this even happened, as part of a CP partnership that's causing the fame and EXPOSURE, they have been each others support mechanism during this process from the start. Why the Media has to put out MORE pressure and INSTIGATE the fans further is beyond me. But this is the end result.

This is an Eng Sub video of that moment Sam starts crying: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-9rzXFpzio].

During the Viewing Party, Sam was directly *questioned* about the choices his character, Gao Shi De, makes. It almost feels like attacking him, and Yu & Sam are both not handling this sudden change in interviewing. It's hard to force *fanservice* when it feels like you're constantly be criticized for something you have little control of at all. It was bad enough that the Director felt the need to intervene and make it clear that most of the choices that were made had to do with the script and the DIRECTOR'S decisions. The Director went on to praise the growth and professionalism of both Sam & Yu, and this interaction is what causes Sam to get emotional and cry.

This is an example of that line of question and you can see the upset of it between Yu & Sam. Yu is definitely aware that this is destroying Sam, and you can see the anger building in him, and the moment the Director explains: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlaTS6FHImI]

That the interviewer acknowledges that this line of questioning makes it look like they are legit NOT differentiating between Sam, THE ACTOR, versus Sam, as Gao Shi De, speaks volumes. These 2 have been nothing but professional in the way they offer FANSERVICE to the public, but this is the kind of needless thanks they get for it. It is, as someone else pointed out: TOXIC.

Okay, I'm going to openly address the "controversy" about Sam, but I really hate that it comes to this.

#1:
This whole controversy is 100% Taiwanese MEDIA "CP" entertainment driven. If you've ever watched Taiwan dramas, followed Taiwan actors, you know how toxic their Papz can be. It's very sad the pressure & PRIVATE questioning these Papz feel it's okay to do. This doesn't just occur with heteros either. Go back to when Aaron Yan was outed & see the questioning they did to him when he was promoting OTHER things, that have nothing to do with his PRIVATE life. If you garner any amount of fame, they go after you.

This whole controversy started with the Valentine's Day IG Live. I'm going to say that the "getting DRUNK" part that's being talked about didn't have to do with THIS IG Live, even though Sam did, in fact, drink alcohol and get a bit tipsy. I'm going to say, for me, it was apparent what was going on, and how the exploded FAME of WBL has caused him some emotional turmoil. What was sad was that the WBL fan base who only know Sam from this series, and are BL CP shipper drivers, started misconstruing what transpired, and start to seriously question Sam, who has a girlfriend, period.

Personally, I wanted to COMMEND Sam on his professionalism and COUNTER what was being said, so I posted this comment on THIS [https://youtu.be/IKF_vvUTLlk]Eng Sub YT post of the Valentine's Day IG Live:

"Wow. Sam just went internal. I like how Yu started by saying, "...you call the wrong person??..." acknowledging the situation. Sam's existential crisis regarding his life's personal situation was so on display here. What a window into the mind of an actor. The fact that Sam has had to deal with an over 3 year forced separation with his girlfriend, Malaysian Joyce Chu, seems to be the kind of reflection he's hinting at in internalizing his "unrequited" love of 10 years. He's had to first endure the separation when she went into the dorms for CHUANG 2020, aka Produce Camp 2020. Then even though Joyce left the show, she went back to Malaysia and they've not been able to see each other due to all the Covid-19 protocols along with their work commitments. It's been difficult and he did indicate that he struggles with his long distance relationship with her.

Likely, the comments regarding Yu is that Sam and him talk privately and based on how Yu greeted Sam, he's compassionate towards him in this regard. These 2 really are great support to each other. Yu, who is naturally shy, is forced to open up and talk more with Sam's encouragement. Helping Yu to grow as an actor and a person. What Sam & Yu said about each other is definitely true. They're unique connection and support is what makes the series and fanservice look so real and natural. Here's Sam talking about his struggles with Joyce and how much respect Sam gets for being the kind of man who openly admits and talks about his love life despite how it might effect his reputation as an actor: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=610_6jMhOGc]

Already seen her with a young guy, Park Bo Gum, and that was 3 years ago. It was all sorts of awkward, to me, with that age gap. I don't see Jang Ki Young being any different. Maybe he can pull it off because he's more macho looking and acting and can seem OLDER if he tries really hard, but Song Hye Ko needs to have a more mature CP partner.

Well, in episode 1, behind closed company doors, that's exactly what Shi De apologized to Shu Yi for, so there's that. lol.

LOL. I'm an American citizen who loves to watch Asian dramas, and has been on MDL for a few years. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not employed by anyone. I even do edits for MDL without getting a thing in return. I just have that kind of time to devote to this stuff, I guess. ;)

I'm sorry if you took how I said that as being rude. I had no intention of demeaning your thoughts or comments whatsoever. I apologize if you took it this way. =/

Everyone was confused, myself including, so I would never infer anything by it. Again, I apologize.

All I'm saying is that, I posted a comment on the calculations of it all, and basically came to the same conclusion each time, that it has been 5 years since these two have been face-to-face with each other.

I'm only being fair. Shi De stopped Shu Yi from walking away from him by grabbing him by the arm and getting in his face. He already told him to "get out" and to not "touch the refrigerator". Once he grabbed Shu Yi and blocked him physically after all the other times he didn't heed Shu Yi's "NO"s, I don't mind that Shu Yi hit him. Again, Shi De was asking for it, knowing how angry Shu Yi is at that moment and ignoring his demands. =/

I think the special episode's opening monologue of Gao Shi De, along with the written calculations had people confused. Regardless, I did the calculation, and the special episode says exactly 5 years no matter how you slice it.

What we do know for sure is that Shu Yi stuck out a LDR for a minimum of 1 year after Shi De left for the USA, all while being ghosted & neglected by Shi De. Maybe the time when Shu Yi takes that flight and finally actually calls it quits is after 2 years.

Bottom Line is, you can't run around and around on FACTS specifically given in Episode 1 in THIS series, no matter how confused you are about the timeline from the special episode.

A female employee specifically states: "The CEO just parachuted from the US last week to handle the M&A on behalf of the chairman." Later on that same day, Yu Zhen Xuan then states: "You 2 have a grudge." Shi De states: "It's personal." To which Zhen Xuan replies: "But it's affecting our company. Your mother sent you back here, but it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. *sigh* Mama's boy." Add to this Shi Zhe Yu's discussion with Shu Yi about being surprised seeing Shi De as CEO, not knowing he was in Taiwan, and the mutual discussion with Bing Wei that this is the first time Shu Yi has talked to Shi De, in person, since he left to the USA, I don't know how much clearer it can be.

With multiple validations, 1 from a female employee, another from Yu Zhen Xuan himself, then Shu Yi's entourage, that Shi De just came from the US just recently, that's perfect confirmation, as far as I'm concerned.

After he hit him he said, "...there's only hatred. Get out or I'll call the police and sue you for trespassing..."so, tbh imo, the 2nd time was more warranted than the 1st.

I got the 1st was on impulse from unexpectedly being confronted with Shi De for the 1st time in 5 years.

But, the 2nd, I fully understood why Shu Yi did it. Shi De is being pushy. The guy just pushed his way into Shu Yi's home and NEVER got permission... not ONE time... Not to come in.. Not to come on to him & sexually harass him by saying, "I'll go after you again. I'm not giving up, no matter how angry you are at me..." while grabbing his arm... Not to cook the meal he cooked. Go back and watch it. Tell me 1x when Shu Yi gave Shi Di permission to enter his private home and do ANY of the things he did while he was there. Then I'd politely say, you should reassess Shu Yi's reaction, that came along with a threat to call the cops. If we're being perfectly legal, you can defend yourself from anyone trespassing on your home. Shi De was asking for it even after he was already hit.

And, no, I don't condone violence or his actions... I'm just saying that, within the context of the story, Shu Yi hitting Shi De twice was within the parameters of Shu Yi's personality and the context of the situation.