Taiwanese star Jay Chou is making his small screen directorial debut with “Pandamen”, a TV drama series about two Chinese superheroes.
Jay held a press conference in Beijing on Monday to announce the filming (to begin on Feb 25). He said that he wants to create Chinese superheroes which could rival Spiderman and Batman in the west.
Pandamen is a story about two Chinese superheroes protecting their city (what else?). It’s not mentioned what kind of superpower the duo are having… but seems like it’s going to be a comedic drama instead of serious attempt to emulate the western superheroes.
The series will star Devon Song and Zhan Yuhao from Taiwanese pop group Nan Quan Mama; Jay Chou is not taking serious acting role, but is expected to make some cameo appearances.
A Chinese TV station is set to produce “Meteor Shower”, a drama series suspiciously plagiarising on Japanese manga “Hana yori Dango” (花より男子).
The producers claimed that the drama is not based on the original manga; it’s true that they are changing the drama title, the names of the main leads, the name of the school, the time frame and probably some of the plots… but the whole setting (with the trademark four boys and a girl cast etc.) looks seriously dubious.
Besides, the TV station has been promoting the drama as the new “Meteor Garden” (title of the Taiwanese adaptation) for months… it’s a self confession that the drama is based on the manga in some sense. If the new drama is not related to the manga at all, the TV station is still at fault for exploiting the manga for promotion purpose.
There are a few (genuine) versions of drama adaptation of Yoko Kamio’s popular manga. Taiwanese first made Meteor Garden in 2001, followed by Japan’s “Hana yori Dango” in 2005, and Korea’s “Boys Before Flower” which is currently on air.
Both the Taiwanese (Mandarin) and Japanese dramas were critical success, while the Korean drama is red hot at the moment. The Chinese would have welcome their own edition of Hana yori Dango, but sadly they are getting some bizarre mixture which borders on plagiarism instead.
It’s not the first time Chinese TV stations are using similar tactics to ‘remake’ foreign drama series, but there are some positive signs from the public as some Chinese netizens are beginning to ditch these kind of practices.
“Moonlight Resonance” is Hong Kong’s most popular drama series in 2008 according to a compilation by Mingpao news. The TVB production has an average rating of 34.8, with its finale reaching the peak of 50 points.
With TVB’s dominance in Hong Kong, its highest rating series are literally the most popular drama series in HK. Below are the top 10 most popular series for 2008…
1. Moonlight Resonance (34.6)
2. D.I.E (33.7)
3. Wars of In-Laws II (32.6)
4. Forensic Heroes II (32.1)
5. Catch Me Now (31.60)
6. The Silver Chamber of Sorrows (30.5)
7. Love Exchange (30.3)
8. A Journey Called Life (29.7)
9. Survivor’s Law II (29.7)
10. When a Dog Loves a Cat (29.5)
The Korean Television Drama Production Company Association made a bizarre decision last Friday (Dec 6) to ban actor Park Shin-yang from appearing in any K-dramas in the future, stating that his ‘outrageous’ wage demand as the reason behind the sanction.
Park requested 170.5million won (~USD110k) per extension episode for his previous drama “War of Money”, which the production complied to but failed to pay up in full [more on Hanfever]
Park has filed a lawsuit to claim his unpaid fees (~ 341mil won), which probably prompted the Friday meeting which led to the ban.
The association is also requesting TV stations to ban the involved production company for giving in to Park’s demand at the first place and ‘disrupting the orders’ of drama production.
At the moment an A-list Korean star could demand 30-40mil won per episode, a few super A-listers could get 70-80mil, while the one and only Bae Yong-joon was paid 200mil won when filming “The Legend” per episode. Bae’s case was a bit unique though for the fact that foreign investors were heavily involved.
Korean drama production companies have been complaining a lot lately about the high wages demanded by the actors and actresses. They were planning to set a cap on the actors’ wages last month, which I believe is already being implemented unofficially… as some of the big names are ‘voluntarily’ reducing their wages recently.
Park Shin-yang is obviously a guinea pig for the association to show their determination in the wage battle. He has not done anything wrong legally, but there’s always hidden rules in every industry that needs to be followed, unfortunately… and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The 41st Hong Kong TVB Anniversary Awards were presented on November 16, with drama “Moonlight Resonance” dominating the winner list as expected…
Veterans Ha Yu and Michelle Yim with best actor/actress awards (Image from
Baidu)
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Hong Kong star Gillian Chung might be starring alongside Taiwanese actor Ethan Ruan and actress Cheryl Yang in a Taiwanese idol drama.
Gillian is struggling to make her comeback after the infamous Edison Chen scandal… her Hollywood venture didn’t work well as she only managed a three-second cameo; while her appearance in the highly anticipated Chinese movie “Mei Lanfang” is wiped out altogether.
It’s reported that EEG (Gillian’s agency) is making compromises to have Gillian in the idol drama, which she will take on the supporting female role instead of the main lead.
The arrangement has not been finalised though; despite willing to take a pay cut… EEG’s desired pay is ironically the highest among the cast. The drama producers are still in negotiation with EEG and are positive that they could reach an agreement.
Update – the parties involved couldn’t reach a final agreement; Gillian won’t be appearing in the drama. Young actress Yang Ya Zhu is taking the role instead.
“Attention Please” is a 2006 Japanese drama, adapted from the same title manga about the training of flight attendants for Japan Airlines.
The drama starred Aya Ueto, Ryo Nishikido, Saki Aibu, Miki Maya, Misa Uehara, Chihiro Otsuka, Kotaro Koizumi and Fumiyo Kohinata etc.
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Im Yoona from Korean pop group SNSD is taking the leading role in new KBS drama You Are My Destiny… her first prominent role in her acting career.
Yoona plays a young and cheerful lady who has just undergone a cornea transplant; the story revolves around her relationship with the donor’s family and her new found romance.
The co-stars include Park Jae-jung and Gong Hyun-joo etc.
Girls’ Generation series
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