Flypsyde

Actually, I think you might have been drunk when you wrote this comment, as it is kind of rambling and difficult to decipher. So I'm not going to respond further.

LMAO lady-boy, portraying sexual violence is a good thing when the story continues and shows the perpetrator experiencing very negative consequences as a result of what they did. But I'm not hung up about sex like you are, so I don't freak out when questionable sexual behavior is simply portrayed as part of life that happens now and then. It's a great dramatic element for the simple reason that it gets the audience all stirred up.

Please name one BL where a rapist was portrayed as a "saint." I'll wait...

You used the word "normalized" again as if you didn't even read my comment to which you pretend to be responding. I've said twice I am NOT in favor of that.

Finally, we get the lame and predictable accusation that I am "sick." lol No, I'm human and I love intense drama. Sex in the gray areas has been a regular part of drama for centuries. Actually, so has outright rape. Get over it.

I'll reveal my ignorance and ask what is a "white lotus" character? :D

And yeah, my visceral loathing of GSD is kind of freaking me out too. I've thought about it though and I've always disliked arrogant, insulting, presumptuous people like him who think they can overcome any negative consequence of their actions by virtue of their native charm. As I said, when he told Shu Yi all he needed was a good meal to fix what was wrong with him, I about went through my laptop screen. lol

The writers just did a personality transplant on him for this season, I guess.

Not even sure what you're saying about a vodka reference.

Rather than watch Sam's interviews, I'd rather just watch the series and critique his work in WBL. There is no way to know any entertainer as an individual without meeting them and being a part of their lives on a regular basis, which is what friends and family generally do. The idea that we as audience members can "know" any of these people is very dangerous and leads to online bullying, vicious comments, stalking, the whole bag. Interviews, media appearances, everything is tightly controlled for the most part and the purpose of all of it is to project a very carefully cultivated IMAGE, not a reality.

Besides, right now I hate his character with such a passion that I have no desire to know more about the actor who portrays him. I'm beginning to think I knew someone just like Shi De in a previous life and was treated in the same appalling manner. That would explain things. lol :D

I am not replying to YOU as a person, but to the content of your posts, which yes, I am very much attacking. And apparently you are the author of the content I am attacking, so well, deal with it. The content of your posts directly relate to the content of mine, but if you want to pretend they have no connection, be my guest.

And if you want to minimize the harm to these actors done by stupid and vicious and unreliable youtube videos, then perhaps you should stop posting links to them.

Too "personal" for you? lol

You are really so gullible as to believe that one person could drink THREE MUG-SIZE GLASSES OF WHISKEY and be able to act a scene, let alone walk? In truth, that much whiskey at one time could kill a person! But you, you believe it because one of the cast members said so at a press availability? lol How naive are you?

Who said you were commenting to me? I was comparing the content of your posts, in which you pretend to call out Taiwanese media and the toxic social media environment surrounding the entertainment industry, then turn around and post links to the very videos that stir things up; to my own in which I had originally kept the focus on getting drunk to do a scene as unprofessional and dangerous. I didn't look at any of those videos until you posted the links. Which may have been your motive: get as many people as possible to click on those vids on YT. Job well done.

Funny how you rant about the awful media treatment of these guys and then post links to the awful media treatment of these guys. Either you have no self-awareness or you're stirring the pot deliberately.

Please work on your reading comprehension. My entire second paragraph is about how portraying an action is NOT THE SAME AS CONDONING, or in your words, "normalizing" it. Please read the second sentence of the second paragraph of my comment. Rapists and other bad actors almost always come to negative consequences within the BL world and most everywhere. I think it's a good idea to show an act of sexually inappropriate behavior and then also show how that act leads to really bad shit for the person who did it. That's how drama tells a story and conveys a message. You'd like to shut down the whole topic as inappropriate for everyone else to see. That is called censorship and prudery.

Can't help but notice that both of your primary issues revolve around SEX. You don't even mention gratuitous violence as being something that shouldn't be "normalized." I think you have hang-ups about S-E-X. Does seeing it portrayed on screen make you uneasy?

Finally, if you are freaked out about rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, horniness, inappropriate sexual comments, etc. you should probably stay away from BLs altogether. lol Much of the source material for BLs includes plenty of the former content.

The director is a jerk with boundary issues. He enjoys putting his actors on the spot in interviews in a way that is sort of demeaning.

How do you know all this background info about the acting coach also promoting the drinking? The more videos you post that I watch, the more gross I feel about all of this. The BL industry on the promotional side is not a healthy environment for these young men to be in. They're still somewhere between being a teenager and being an adult and to have all this craziness dumped on them is dangerous.

The video where Sam cries and then kneels behind the others to regather his composure makes me very nervous for him. It reminds me all too much of the times Jonghyun and Key of the K-Pop group SHINee broke down and cried during concert breaks. There is a LOT of emotional turmoil going on here and I sincerely hope that Sam is getting some good counseling and has a good support system to deal with it. From what I've seen of that director he is definitely part of the problem. He says inappropriate things that cross boundaries for me and he likes to make comments that put his actors on the spot.

It also bugged me how when Sam cried most of them were concerned but then it quickly turned into subtle mockery. Sick, sick, industry.

Wow. Why are you so personally invested in this? I have talked about nothing but the inappropriateness of getting drunk as an acting crutch. You are the one who keeps posting links that stir up further controversy. Keep the focus on the SHOW and how it was made. I don't care if the director and the coach said "drink a gallon of rum," Sam is an adult and supposedly a professional actor who could have said NO. I will do the scene like a true actor would do his job. I do NOT believe he drank three beer-size glasses of whiskey. I used to drink A LOT and I know that much booze would knock you out and definitely make you puke. No way.

I hate all this sick "fan service" and "shipping" this and "shipping" that. Jesus,, let these guys do their acting, then do their promoting but in a sensible, professional manner. Stop watching the videos. All this speculation fueled by production companies and social media is madness. It's no wonder Korea, and Asia in general have such a high suicide rate.

Hi. Yes, I mentioned those things in my comment. I never said it's a MORAL problem for me, rather it is a PROFESSIONAL problem for me. Yes,, the director encouraged the drinking, even more so than Sam. I made sure to watch the interview so I'd know what I was talking about. :P I can't believe the production company hasn't gotten that video taken down as it makes them both look bad. If I were the producer I would definitely give both of them a warning and tell them it had better not happen again.

Did not know there was an "acting coach" there. He or she should be disciplined too.. This story gets crazier and crazier. So weird to me how they sit there and talk about it as if it's normal behavior.

This is a long reply that doesn't really address what I wrote. I watched the video interview with my own eyes and ears in which Sam and the director of WBL eagerly shared with the interviewers how he had drunk a significant amount of straight WHISKEY before the scene. They are asked more than once and confirm that's what happened. The director said they were LARGE glasses of whiskey, and Sam added that he did indeed consume another drink at the director's urging. The interview is on Youtube, with English subs, just search for it. I went there and watched it because I didn't want to be discussing this issue without knowing for sure that it had actually happened.

So...what does ANYTHING you wrote above, after your brief mention of the on-set drinking, have to do with this issue? I said nothing about any girlfriend or his private struggles or anything else like that. My posts have all dealt only with the problem of getting drunk as an unprofessional and lazy way to do a drunk scene. YOU are the one discussing private matters like alleged girlfriends, his struggle with fame, his friendship with you, not me. Are you trying to deflect from the main subject here?

You complain about media getting into entertainers' private lives as a negative thing and then you proceed to do just that. wtf? ALL OF THAT is a distraction from the content and quality of the series. Production company public relations departments love putting out all this fan-service horse shit and speculation about private romances and what they're wearing or what they ate at a restaurant or how the two actors flirted with each other in a video interview on YouTube. Which is something by the way, Sam went out of his way to do several times during the video interview I am referring to. He put his arm around Yu and kissed him on the cheek and then the video repeated that action three times before the ending. Ugh. I hate that stupid kind of fan-service idiocy. The industry wants to have it two or three ways: Sam has a "girlfriend" but she's far away, and he's starring in a gay-themed show, and he and Yu seem awfully close, and oooh...Sam kissed him on the cheek, but of course we "know" he's straight, so tee hee, giggle, giggle...so very, very juvenile.

Thai and Korean entertainment industries in particular are very schizophrenic regarding homosexuality. It is looked down upon in both countries even as they become the BL capitals of the world. Male actors are expected to flirt in public to entertain the Fujoshi set, but at the same time we are assured they all have "girlfriends" and are straight. lol Give me a break. If I had a way to prove it, I'd be willing to bet that 75% of BL and K-Pop actors are gay. Maybe more. But to admit it is career suicide. The whole thing is bizarre and very destructive to the mental health of these young artists who should feel free to be who they are when they are not at work.

Man, I would NOT want to do a fighting scene of any kind with someone who knocked back a few drinks to help them tackle a scene. Someone could be seriously injured. I've done stage-fighting for Shakespeare productions with fake swords. Yes, they are not sharp but they could still seriously hurt someone. That is terrible. Again, no one should be drinking on set for any reason. If they can't do their scene without alcohol or something else, well then, they're not a very good actor. There are many ways actors are trained to get into character and overcome their inhibitions through stretching, breathing, getting very used to and trusting their fellow actors, etc.
On the other hand, I know Jack Nicholson tells about preparing for a drunk scene in some movie by spinning around and around in one spot with his head down to make himself very dizzy and unsteady on his feet. I thought that was creative, though what happens when the dizziness wears off mid-scene? lol

Hi Sapphire. Thanks for pointing that out to me. Actually, somewhere in my pea brain I knew it was Taiwanese, but I brain-farted and out came "Thai," probably because so many BLs are made in Thailand. :D

What I mean by "baggage" would be stories about Sam's drinking on set as an acting choice becoming common knowledge in the Taiwanese series/cinema industry. As stated above, if I were a producer or director I wouldn't be eager to hire an actor who had done this before. If he were my first choice for a role, I'd certainly ask him about it and get his side of the story. But it's the type of thing that can come back later to bite you in the ass. For Sam, it could be something that travels around with him like baggage.

*This is a long rant about the actor Sam drinking to get drunk before playing a drunk scene on the set of WBL's second season. If you don't like long posts or care for the subject matter, don't read it. I abhor commenters who read all the way through a long comment and then bitch about how long it was. lol Was there a gun to your head? :D

Wow. I just watched the Second Season Release Party video interview with the director and cast. Sam and the director clearly state that Sam drank three glasses of whiskey before the drunk scene which is coming up in the second ep I guess. The director actually encouraged this, which to me is maybe the most shocking thing about it. The director even claimed these glasses of whiskey were the size of beer mugs, but that isn't possible, as anyone who drank that much would be worshiping the toilet instead of being on set. Everyone in the interview was dead serious, it was not a joke.

I am really blown away by this. So unprofessional and risky to his fellow actors. If I were the producer I would call both the director and Sam in for a chat and let them know that if anything like that happened again they were out of a job. I feel so strongly and keep coming back to this because I am an actor myself. Not full-time by any means and almost all my work has been on stage, but that doesn't really matter. Showing up drunk to act a scene is no different than showing up drunk to your job as a bus driver or a bank teller or a teacher. You just don't do it, and if you do you will likely be fired.

Actors are generally very sensitive people. It disturbs me that Sam used booze to medicate himself OUT of the scene rather than using his skills as an actor to work his way INTO the scene, meaning to get inside the head of his character as he would behave in a drunken state. Alcohol distances you from your surroundings and the people in them. It lowers your inhibitions and self-control. An actor should always be IN control of what he is doing, including what he would do after putting his sober self into the mind of his drunken character and then letting go from there to play the scene.

There are few things more cringy than an actor playing a drunk scene badly. Usually they over-act and use cliche mannerisms and behaviors to portray the character in that state and it can be really bad. lol So it was Sam's job to do the hard work of preparing for that scene by deciding how Shi De as an individual would act when he was drunk, and how he would behave in that particular situation toward that particular other character. THEN he needed to rehearse the necessary combination of vocal and physical actions required until the drunkenness was convincing and believable. His director should have been with him, and probably the other actor, through that entire process until they got it right. Instead, right before the scene we have Sam downing some shots and, if I understood the director correctly, then being encouraged by the director to have at least one more before shooting began. INSANE. Cannot believe they talked about it so openly as if it was something to be proud of or just another valid means of performing that a professional actor uses. NOT.

The British actor Peter O'Toole, who is quite famous and accomplished, once encountered a fellow actor who had prepared to play a drunk scene opposite O'Toole the same way Sam did, by getting wasted. O'Toole says that he remarked to the guy, "Dear fellow, have you ever considered doing this thing called "acting?" In other words, just do your damn job and prepare without destructive short-cuts that can lead to accidents and injuries on the set or personal problems down the road. In other words, "act" as though your character is drunk, that is your job.

I know nothing about the attitude toward this topic within the world of Thai television and cinema, but I can't help but wonder if this incident will have repercussions down the road as far as his reputation and landing other work goes. As a director/producer I would definitely think twice about hiring an actor who I had heard this about, even if he was my first choice for a role. There are lots of good actors out there and there is no reason to hire one who comes with baggage.

Hey, I love reading long, "I'm jobless..." posts about this type of thing! Please don't stop!

I am not fixated on anything, dear. I have been discussing it with other commenters by replying when they reply to me. Is that OK with you? Should I run my comments by you first before posting?
We were discussing what another commenter read or heard online. And if reading about it gets your panties in a twist then skip our comments.

Drinking alcohol on set to get in character for a drunk scene is about as dangerous and stupid and unprofessional as it gets. If it happened, it's a bad thing. The director should not have allowed it. Also, it is something an alcoholic person would do, so it may have everything to do with Sam the actor's current problems. You don't know and neither do I. If he has a problem with alcohol you may not give a shit but I do.

I am under no obligation to support any actor in anything. My only function as an audience member is to watch, listen and react. If I choose to "support" an actor by following and reacting to their work and developments around it, that is my choice. I do not support actors who use chemical substances as a substitute for honing their craft.

They need to rescue Season 2 first. :D

Hi Dream. Thanks for another thoughtful comment. God knows ANYTHING could, and probably will, be thrown at us to explain all this insanity. FIVE YEARS. This is what I keep going back to. Shi De has had that long to contact and explain himself to Shu Yi and there is no way he could not have accomplished that in today's world of easy digital communication and social media, if he really wanted to. If he was being blackmailed he could have contacted Shu Yi surreptitiously very easily.

In general, I'm of the opinion that if one has to go as far into speculation and invention as you have done to explain characters' motivations, then the show being discussed has not done its job. I don't want or need everything to be explained immediately. That too would be boring.

But Shi De having five years to do something he chose NOT to do, and then immediately jumping on Shu Yi because they met by accident and expecting to be heeded, is insane. One thing the writers HAVE succeeded at for me is making me absolutely LOATHE Shi De. He is a jerk, an asshole. Google Arrogant Douche Bag and you will find his picture there.

No, no, no, please do not apologize. I was not "offended" by your comment. I'm pretty thick-skinned and tend to state my opinions strongly. lol But it struck a chord with me as a sign of trouble for the young actor. Actually, I think method acting can be a useful approach, but part of using it is knowing where to draw the line at "getting inside" the character. Method acting does NOT teach the use of alcohol or drugs as a part of the acting process. To do so is a lazy, dangerous thing. Speaking as an actor myself, I would refuse to work a scene with a fellow actor who was drunk or high. No way.