BearFightingFanBackAgain

Lmao. Hopefully you can climb out the “pit”. There aren’t too many Cdramas that have the distinct flavour of this show but Rise of the Phoenixes and Royal Nirvana are close.

Does that mean it delivered ?😂

I think 1/3 of the story got cut. It basically just left the middle of the story and a lot of scenes have been chopped and changed out of their original order and script.
I recently went back to rewatch it and it’s definitely a different version than what originally aired. They’ve made the story more coherent. It’s a lot better in terms of acting too because they also changed the filters. It’s not much but I’m glad for even these improvements. The leads deserve at least this much. They acted really well together. Watching some other shows, I’ve realised it’s not an easy dynamic to portray well and it really relies on acting ability.

It’s low-key like “Is GJM trying to compete with Wang Kar-wai’s Flowers and take 3 years too?” I’ve mostly been ambivalent to GJM other than recognising the opportunities he’s given PXR earlier on in her career but this stretched schedule and extreme dieting makes me really worried for younger stars working with him and I’m glad she only did a cameo. I basically only see Reuters/stills as a passer-by now but it’s becoming more and more obvious the environment is taking a toll on the stars and the constant media releases are going into overhyping territory.

The craziest thing about that aesthetic is that it’s a Western import. In all these East Asian countries if you look at their movies and advertisements before a certain period, women are thin but healthy. Then there seems to be this switch and it goes to this ultra thin aesthetic. Luckily in Weibo there seems to be a movement to go back to healthier weights. I hope it gains more traction. It will still be thin but at least the actresses won’t be trying to maintain impossible standards.

That’s normal for women unfortunately. I don’t think it looks good but some of the crazier actress fans will praise that physique. Which is also a bit wild because being too thin also ages actresses too and fans are obsessed with youth as well. When first saw my favourite actress, I remember liking her a lot because her physique seemed healthy, like a horse girl physique which made sense for the character. But they got scolded a lot for their weight over the years.

I saw Wang Youshou. I have a good impression of him from JJL but I’ve not watched his newer stuff. I’m not much of actor fan so I don’t usually follow them to other works unless I like the actress too.

I hope it calms down. If the hours are as long as people are saying, their diet needs more than veggies to actually look healthy. And extreme dieting can have side effects too. Remembering another show that made all the actresses really thin, they didn’t look as good as when they had their regular weight/healthier diet. And the same can apply to guys too.

I know MJTY was not a cast he’d typically use in the past so some people felt the dieting/ thinness was a way of getting them to conform with his aesthetics/ “best
appearance” tagline. But this cast seems to suit his aesthetics so it doesn’t seem necessary.

So it’s the clothing? I know about the “10 pounds added by the camera” rule but he’s definitely shot stuff with stars without such severe dieting before and the shots looked good so I wondered what caused the change.
I feel like I heard something about water restriction for a few hrs/days for his last movie so the muscles stood out more but that’s normal for filmmaking in general.

Yeah, I saw. She lost a lot of weight. I wonder what made him change to this tactic…

I know he’s told his cast to go on a diet before but is he just suggesting it like in the past or is he really giving ultimatums/ restricting cast meals? MJTY rumors made it seem like cast catering was being controlled.

I don’t understand the diet thing. Everyone looked pretty thin when it started and most of the cast can control their weight looking at past roles…is it part of the plot or something? And, when did GJM’s putting the cast on a diet thing start? I don’t remember him doing it when he did movies and I don’t remember him doing it when he did Actors, Please Take Your Place. Did it start during MJTY?

I can understand the pickiness. I only watch dramas for certain stars now but for those stars, I give 100% support if I can. I wasn’t originally interested in this drama but because someone I like is a cameo, I will definitely contribute a membership and some likes and views.

Yes, this is the only way. That’s why even though I don’t care for fan culture, I participate in it so the stars I like can get their shine. I hope when this show airs, it will get the support it needs such as legitimate viewing or giving social media likes or retweets etc.

Well, A League of Noblemen is not GJM so he has branched out. It’s also possible that due to GJM’s own circumstances that WD’s ability to get work has also been affected. GJM only really came back last year or so.

But this assumes the ability to branch out into a new role. My point is that even this point should be evaluated more gently because some don’t get the opportunity at all. It’s really not as simple as a star wants a role and they can get it. A lot of actors want to branch out but the current environment in C-ent does not make it easy. Sometimes to get a different type of role, a star has to take on a job that is “beneath” them which can affect their ability to get roles in the future. This is also why it’s important not to look down on cameos and guest appearances. This is sometimes the only way for stars to branch out but if too much negative opinion builds on it, then this route might close too.

Tbh, the concept of typecasting in the early stages of C-ent star’s career should be evaluated more gently. In C-ent, stars are “typecast” from their first successful role. They will get a lot of similar scripts. And for some stars, these may be the only scripts they get. Some fans/teams also advise stars to build popularity through similar roles first and then branch out once their base is secure.

I think he’s even in GJM’s last movie. His debut was also a GJM drama (I think) called Bloody Romance. He plays the 2ML.

CDL actually has innocent heroine looks and the initial charm of YBC was that she looked pure and harmless but did evil (I didn’t watch the show but lord knows I watched her promo vid so many times😅). This show should be an interesting challenge for her. She hasn’t been the heroine in a while but she’s been honing her skills and GJM can coach newbies to a certain extent.