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Thread: Chinese and HK Television Series

  1. #1
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    Chinese and HK Television Series

    We sort of got something started about this on our Grace Under Fire thread. Hopefully, this will make a good index thread for future posts about this TV genre.

    Here's a new one: The Lost Tomb 盜墓筆記
    Gene Ching
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    Tentatively titled "Yip Man and Bruce Lee."

    You say Beom. I say Bum.

    Posted : 2015-10-08 15:46
    Updated : 2015-10-08 15:46
    Korean actor scores role of Bruce Lee in Chinese show


    Kim Beom from tvN's "Hide your Identity" and the late Bruce Lee (inbox)

    Actor Kim Beom will play the late Bruce Lee (1940-1973), the legendary martial artist, in a new Chinese TV show, media reports said Thursday.

    Kim, 26, will feature as the Hong Kong-American martial artist and action film star in the Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation show tentatively titled "Yip Man and Bruce Lee."

    Kim, who leaves for China this month for the show, is the only Korean in the cast, the reports said.


    Kim featured in Chinese movies "Lovers and Movies," above, and "The Beloved" this year. / Courtesy of Naver

    This will be Kim's debut in a Chinese TV series, but he has featured in two Chinese movies, "Lovers and Movies" and "The Beloved," a hit this year.

    Kim began his career in 2006, in a Korean TV series. His latest work in Korea was TV series "Hide your Identity" on tvN in June, in which he played a violent detective.
    Copied from our K-star-Kim-Bum-as-Bruce-Lee thread.
    Gene Ching
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    Slightly OT

    ATV, World's Oldest Chinese TV Channel, Closes Down
    by Reuters APRIL 2, 2016, 2:17 PM EDT



    Its frequencies were snapped up by government-owned Radio Television Hong Kong.

    Asia Television, the Hong Kong TV channel that was the world’s first Chinese-language TV broadcaster, closed down a few seconds before midnight on Friday April 1.

    ATV, which was born as Rediffusion and operated for 59 years, put out its last live newscast in Chinese at 10.30pm. It filled the remaining time with the partial rerun of a Miss Asia beauty pageant, programming which had latterly become the channel’s staple.

    The company was stripped of its broadcast license by the Hong Kong government, due to a series of mismanagement incidents, and, broke, has been in the hands of court-appointed administrators for the since February.

    ATV’s ownership over the past decade has been continually in turmoil and did not stabilize long enough for management to turn around ATV’s declining audiences and plunging advertising income.

    Within minutes of ATV’s last transmission, its frequencies were taken up by government-owned Radio Television Hong Kong (RTKH). At roughly the same time PCCW-backed HKTVE also started to transmit its digital free television program channel, ViuTV Channel 99, through radio waves.

    “These new free TV services will provide additional program choices for TV viewers,” said Greg So, government Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development.

    “ATV has been broadcasting in Hong Kong for 59 years, producing a wealth of classic television programs. With the launching of new free TV services, I hope that the television industry of Hong Kong will be brought to a new height.”

    The company’s current shareholders have pointed to a new life for ATV on the Internet after free-to-air broadcasting has ended, but that may put it at odds with the liquidators who issued redundancy notices in February. Some 400 former ATV staff have applied for compensation from a government fund after ATV failed to pay their salaries for January and February.

    Uncertainties remain as to whether ATV can still make use of its right to broadcast in the Cantonese-speaking Guangdong region of China, known as ‘landing rights,’ and the fate of its vast news and program libraries.
    What a sorry ending for such a longstanding network.
    Gene Ching
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    God of War: Zhao Zi Long

    Yoona's new Chinese historical romance beats strong competition to win #1 in China
    by Nancy Z on Sun, Apr 17, 2016



    Girls' Generation's Yoona is starring in a new Chinese historical drama, God of War: Zhao Zi Long, which has achieved a formidable showing by beating out even the extremely popular Descendants of the Sun. Check out photos from the drama, and find out more about the epic romance between Yoona and her leading man Lin Geng Xin.

    If you've missed Yoona (Im Yoon Ah) after her last TV drama The Prime Minster and I, it's because she has been busy filming God of War: Zhao Zi Long, also known as God of War: Zhao Yun and Chinese Hero Zhao Zi Long.

    The story about a real-life military hero was inspired by the famous Chinese literature classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, about the turbulent times of the Three Kingdoms period following the fall of the Han dynasty. Many movies and dramas have been made to recount the dramatic stories and historical figures depicted in the beloved novel.

    Thanks to Yoona's popularity in China, the new drama has been getting huge buzz. The beautiful singer-actress from Girls' Generation has long been popular in China. Take a look at the lovely Yoona dressed in beautiful costumes to portray her character Xiahou Qing Yi, who would capture the heart of a heroic warrior.




    Yoona is surrounded by at least three handsome leading men in the historical romance.

    Top Chinese actor Lin Geng Xin plays the legendary general Zhao Zi Long. Lin rose to fame as the 14th prince in the iconic time-traveling romance, Scarlet Heart (aka Bu Bu Jing Xin).





    Kim Jeong Hoon, the prince in Kdrama Goong, plays the romantic rival:




    Godfrey Gao, hot model-turned-actor, plays another famous general Lu Bu.

    Here's Godfrey strutting his awesome physique in costume at the press conference:



    With an attractive cast and a story that is well known by the Chinese public, no wonder the new epic romance has garnered strong interest and even won the ratings war when it started broadcasting on April 3.



    The above list was released on April 6 by VLinkage, a Chinese entertainment data agency. The chart shows God of War: Zhao Zi Long in the #1 spot, followed by The Classic of Mountains and Seas in #2, and Descendants of the Sun in #3.

    Congratulations to Yoona and her new drama!

    ~ NancyZdramaland
    PRC does luv K-pop starlets...
    Gene Ching
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    Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So & Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Yin

    HBO Asia, China Movie Channel to Co-Produce Martial Arts Flicks for TV
    1:05 AM PDT 7/11/2016 by Patrick Brzeski


    HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink
    Courtesy of Getty Images

    The project will be HBO's first Chinese-language production starring Chinese talent, said HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink.
    HBO Asia is partnering with China Movie Channel to develop and co-produce an anthology of Chinese-language martial arts action movies for television.

    The project marks HBO and its affiliates' first co-production in the massive Chinese TV sector, which counts an estimated 1.2 billion viewers. China Movie Channel (CMC), also known as CCTV6, is the flagship entertainment channel of state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).

    Set to premiere at the end of 2016, the first two films under the partnership will be executive produced by veteran Hong Kong action director Corey Yuen (co-director of the first Transporter film and action director of the first X-Men movie, among many other martial arts credits).

    Set in ancient China at the end of the Qing dynasty, the movies — titled, Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Ying — will feature "gritty combat sequences executed by a cast of Chinese actors professionally trained in mixed martial arts, kung fu and muay thai," says HBO Asia.

    They will be air simultaneously on CMC’s channels in Mainland China and across 23 Asian territories on HBO and RED by HBO.

    THR first reported the plans of a development and production partnership between HBO and CMC at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

    “Apart from being HBO Asia’s very first Chinese language production and approach to the genre, this also marks the network’s first collaboration with talents from China and Hong Kong,” said Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.

    Production on the first two flicks is now underway at China’s Hengdian studios. Action choreographer and director Guo Jian Yong (So Close) is directing, while Singaporean screenwriter, Koh Teng Liang, is part of the writing team behind the screenplay for Shadowless Kick.

    China Movie Channel is the official Chinese broadcaster of the Oscars. The state-backed company also has invested in several Hollywood films, such as Paramount's Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Skydance Production's Mission Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015).

    "This is the first time CMC is doing a co-production of original TV movies," said Cao Yin, president and managing director of CMC, adding: "Through this partnership, we hope to exchange knowledge and know-how in the production of original content, and together with HBO Asia, introduce the essence of our culture through martial arts.”

    HBO Asia previously collaborated with filmmakers in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia on various English-language productions, including the fantasy series Halfworlds, recently renewed for a second season, which is concurrently being shot in Thailand.
    Hope there's an easy way to stream these in the U.S.
    Gene Ching
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    Ice Fantasy

    This randomly popped up on my newsfeed. I know nothing about it. It reminds me of Frozen.

    Did you know Ice Fantasy was written by a 19-year-old?
    by Nancy Z on Mon, Jul 25, 2016



    A Chinese idiom says "water and fire cannot co-exist," and the eternal conflict of the two forces of nature is never reflected more powerfully than as depicted in the battles of the Ice and Fire tribes in new drama Ice Fantasy, starring Feng Shao Feng and Victoria Song. The original story arrived 14 years ago from a writer who creatively fused elements from Chinese Taoist mythology and Wu Xia legends, where immortals fought among themselves and interacted with mortals on Earth, combined with Eastern influences of reincarnation and retribution. Would you believe that charismatic young writer Guo Jingming was only 19 years old when he first published Ice Fantasy?



    Born in the Sichuan province of China, Guo Jingming started writing when he was young. Even in childhood, his parents (an engineer and a bank clerk) supported his seemingly insatiable thirst for reading by buying him more and more books to read, in particular, many Wu Xia classics written by such masters as Jing Yong and Gu Long.

    When he entered elementary school, he expanding his interest into writing. At 14, he published his first poem titled "Loneliness" in a national magazine. Although he was only paid 10 yuan (or 1.5 USD), it was a meaningful reward and motivation for the burgeoning writer, who continued to hone his writing skills by participating in writing contests.



    In 2002, Guo Jingming first published Ice Fantasy (Chinese title 幻城 is literally "City of Fantasy") as a short story and received popular reception. He was only 19. He then expanded the story into a novel, which became a runaway bestseller, selling over 500,000 copies within just a few months. Anime versions of Ice Fantasy were also published to great popularity. Guo's writing style is praised as lyrical, surreal, and sophisticated in a story that is considered something never-before-seen in modern Chinese novels.

    In 2006, the 23-year-old writer became the youngest member in China's Writer Association. By this time, Guo Jingming had dropped out of Shanghai University, opened his own writers' studio, and continued to write popular novels. He was also listed #92 in the 2005 Forbes list of Chinese celebrities.

    His biggest achievements were still to come.



    Today, Guo is not only praised as one of the most representative of China's writers of young adult fiction that spans from romance to science fiction, he has also branched out to be a screenwriter, film director, and successful entrepreneur. He wrote and directed the movies Tiny Times, Tiny Times 2, and Tiny Times 3, all based on his novels. Needless to say, he has also become very wealthy. He is ranked in the top among a list of richest writers in China based on royalties. He is also the CEO of his publishing company, which is invested in by China's famous media company Huace Film & TV.

    In Ice Fantasy, Guo Jingming is seeing his imagination transformed into a vivid and thrilling epic. He is also the art director for the visually stunning drama.

    As a writer, it certainly gives me the pleasure to write about another writer, albeit one that I cannot fathom to compare with and can only admire from afar. At the ripe old age of 33 now, Guo Jingming has accomplished a fantastic career, and it appears that his future is still shining super bright with more ambitious projects to come. His dual excellence in creativity and business acumen will certainly continue to take him far, and hopefully, the readers and viewers will also continue to enjoy the fruits of his work.

    Ice Fantasy stars Feng Shao Feng (Prince of Lan Ling) and f(x)'s Victoria Song as lovers caught in the battles between the Ice and Fire tribes. The new drama is on-air on DramaFever with 6 episodes in the first week, followed by 4 episodes each week.
    Gene Ching
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    A Fist Within Four Walls (城寨英雄)



    This debuts August 1, 2016, and stars an old friend here - Philip Ng. Phil is also the lead in Birth of the Dragon
    Gene Ching
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    I'm going to split this into an indie thread with the next post

    More on Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So & Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-Yin

    With two kung fu films, HBO cautiously tests the waters in China

    Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia attends the "2nd Global Film Industry Value Chain Development Forum" during the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 15, 2015. (Photo by VCG via Getty Images)
    Julie Makinen

    For American film and TV show creators and distributors, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing in China recently.

    Online video portals have been ordered to limit foreign films and TV shows to 30% of their offerings, driving down licensing fees. Authorities are discouraging broadcasters from using imported TV formats to make programs such as “The Voice of China.” This spring, the government closed down Walt Disney Co.’s movie streaming service, and Apple’s as well.

    That hasn’t discouraged HBO from testing the waters. On a steamy August morning, HBO Asia Chief Executive Jonathan Spink was tromping around Hengdian World Studios, China’s largest film and TV production base, passing popsicles around an outdoor set where filming was wrapping up on the premium channel’s first two original productions in China.

    In the grove of bamboo, a dummy corpse dripping with fake blood perched on a fence as cicadas buzzed in the trees. Another mannequin, hog-tied and strung up by a rope, dangled from a tree over a bed of large spikes. But this was no Chinese version of “Game of Thrones.” HBO Asia is moving cautiously out of the gate, with two made-for-TV kung fu movies, “Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So” and “Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-ying.”

    The Mandarin-language films are being co-produced with China Movie Channel, a division of state broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV. China Movie Channel, also known as CCTV6, will handle distribution on the mainland, while HBO will air the films across Asia.

    “We are experimenting. We are learning,” Spink said. Rather than have HBO be seen as just another American company angling for a way to pile into China, Spink said, “this is about taking great content out of China.”

    Time Warner Inc.’s HBO Asia has a presence in 23 territories across Asia, including Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. In many countries, HBO offers its own movie channels, as well as online streaming services and on-demand programming.

    Time Warner, and other media companies, view foreign markets as increasingly important sources of revenue. HBO, in the last decade, has put a greater emphasis on its international profile and consolidated ownership interests in its branded channels. HBO has channels in Latin America, Europe and Asia, including India, enabling it to parlay its strong hand in original programming. The company also is determined to keep pace with its archrival streaming service, Netflix, which has been aggressively expanding oversees with local language productions.

    Until recently, HBO programming in China had been restricted to high-end hotels. To reach a broader Chinese audience, HBO in 2014 signed a content licensing deal with Internet giant Tencent; the online portal now offers viewers programs including “Game of Thrones,” “Sex and the City” and “True Detective.” Last year, HBO Asia partnered with China's national cable network and an Internet protocol TV operator to provide HBO originals and Hollywood movies as part of their subscription offerings to general households.

    HBO Asia began co-producing original English-language productions four years ago, starting with an action-adventure film, “Dead Mine,” and a Singapore-set 1960s noir detective series, “Serangoon Road.” Those were followed by the horror mini-series “Grace” and “Halfworlds,” a supernatural thriller series filmed in Indonesia.

    This year, HBO Asia has moved into Chinese-language content, launching not just “Master of the Drunken Fist” and “Master of the Shadowless Kick” on the mainland but also starting production in Taiwan this summer on “The Psychic,” a TV series.

    “Master of the Drunken Fist” and “Master of the Shadowless Kick” are directed by Guo Jian-yong, a veteran action choreographer on films including John Woo’s “Red Cliff” and “The Transporter” series that starred Jason Statham. The “masters” in both movies are real historical figures familiar to Chinese audiences and kung fu enthusiasts.

    If the first two films are well-received, HBO and CMC could add further installments to essentially make a series, said Beibei Fan, senior vice president of new business at HBO Asia. “These are almost like pilots,” said Fan, though each film stands on its own.

    CMC and HBO Asia refused to discuss how much they were spending on the two films, but Fan said the budgets were “slightly higher” than HBO Asia’s earlier original productions. Although there are no plans now to run the movies on HBO’s U.S. platforms, Fan said there’s already enough of a Chinese audience in Asia to make the project worthwhile.

    China Movie Channel broadcasts the Oscars in China and has licensing deals with all the major Hollywood studios. The channel has been stepping up its collaborations with Hollywood. It invested in Paramount’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction” in 2014 and “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” last year.

    CMC in the past has licensed and aired HBO original TV movies, including “The Gathering Storm,” but this is the first time it’s co-producing with HBO Asia.

    Noting that CMC reaches more than 1 billion viewers in China while HBO Asia has a wide presence across Asia, CMC Vice President Zhang Ling called the partnership a “powerful combination.”

    Partnering with a state-run entity such as CMC on relatively tame fare, and becoming an overseas distribution partner for Chinese-made content, could help put HBO in the good graces of Chinese authorities. “President Xi Jinping wants to take Chinese culture to the world,” said Guo, the director. “I’m honored to be able to direct these two movies and be a part of it.”

    Guo said he’s striving to make as much of the action as real as possible, with the actors performing almost all their own stunts. “Audiences across all cultures can appreciate that,” he said.

    Although the films are being co-produced by HBO, Guo said the content would not be an awkward East-West mashup. Four of the five writers across the two films are Chinese; one is Singaporean.

    “We have the endorsement of the HBO brand, but it has to be authentic Chinese if it’s going to work,” Guo said. “It can’t be half-Western and half-Chinese or audiences will be confused.”

    “Master of the Shadowless Kick” tells the story of Wong Kei-ying, a martial arts master and physician who lived in the 1800s during a time when China was being invaded by European powers and ravaged by opium addiction. Trying to save his master, Wong takes on the treacherous governor of Canton province, who has a hand in the drug business.

    “The role is quite sophisticated,” said Sun Hao-ran, who plays Wong. “He’s kind of a national hero who battles opium and he’s also a father.”

    “Master of The Drunken Fist: Beggar So” centers on So Chan, one of the kung fu masters among the legendary “Ten Tigers of Canton.” So has been the subject of numerous martial arts films including the 1992 Steven Chow movie “King of Beggars.”

    HBO’s collaboration with CMC may also help it lift its profile in mainland China, where broadcasting is heavily regulated and controlled by the state. Even Cao Jun, the star of “Master of the Drunken Fist,” admitted he had only a vague familiarity with HBO.

    “HBO is an American brand, right?” he said on the sidelines of the set in Hengdian. “We can’t receive this channel in mainland China. So I don’t know much about it; I have heard the name, I know it’s a good channel. It’s a pity we cannot watch it; I don’t know if we can watch it online. These two films will be screened on HBO, right?”

    Nicole Liu and Yingzhi Yang in The Times’ Beijing bureau contributed to this report. Staff writer Meg James in Los Angeles also contributed.

    julie.makinen@latimes.com
    Gene Ching
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    China censors

    Banned on Chinese TV: 'Western lifestyles,' cleavage and time travel
    By James Griffiths, CNN
    Updated 1:43 AM ET, Wed August 31, 2016
    Source: CNN

    Chinese TV show's censorship 03:32
    Hong Kong (CNN)New guidelines issued by China's top media regulator have prohibited TV shows that promote "Western lifestyles," adding to a long list of banned items.

    According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, shows should refrain from content that expresses "overt admiration for Western lifestyles," jokes about Chinese traditions or defiles "classic materials."
    "They should also avoid putting stars, billionaires or internet celebrities on pedestals; or sensationalizing private affairs, relationships or family disputes," Xinhua said.
    Here's what else is on China's blacklist.

    Cleavage


    Actresses' cleavage was ordered cropped out of a Tang dynasty period drama by China's censors.

    After "The Saga of Wu Zetian," a TV drama about China's only female emperor, attracted great viewership figures, it was abruptly pulled from broadcast in January 2015 for "technical reasons."
    Nicknamed "The Saga of Wu's Breasts" due to the generous amounts of cleavage shown by the actresses' Tang dynasty period costumes, the show returned a few days later, with a lot less skin.
    Censors ordered the show's editors to crop the footage to hide any cleavage, resulting in much tighter shots on stars' faces, and widespread outrage online.
    China cracks down on cleavage at cosplay convention

    Celebrity kids


    "Baba Qunar?" or "Dad, Where Are We Going?" was a hugely popular Chinese TV show starring the children of celebrities.

    In a move that might be welcomed by some US television audiences tired of certain reality dramas, China's censors in April banned the use of celebrities' children on screen, killing one of the country's most popular shows in the process.
    Regulators said minors should be kept out of the spotlight to allow them to enjoy a normal childhood.
    The ban came after the breakout success of "Dad, Where Are We Going?", a weekly series in which celebrity fathers took their kids on trips around China, and raked in millions of viewers in the process.

    Drinking and smoking


    One million Chinese people died of smoking-related diseases in 2010, according to The Lancet.

    A directive released in March slapped stringent new guidelines onto online shows, which have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years.
    The "General Rules for Television Series Content Production" were drafted in order to "thoroughly implement (Chinese President) Xi Jinping's speech at the national forum on literature," in which he stressed that art must serve a social purpose.
    Some of the first things to be hit by the new rules were shows that promote "smoking and drinking, fighting, and other unhealthy behavior."
    China has severe problems with both smoking and alcohol. Around 68% of Chinese men are smokers, with one million Chinese people dying from smoking related diseases in 2010, according to The Lancet.

    ****sexuality


    Participants pose for a photo at a Shanghai pride event.

    Though China has come a long way since ****sexuality was declassified as a mental illness 15 years ago -- with several cities across the country hosting gay pride parades and prominent LGBT celebrities making waves -- the censors haven't got the memo.
    Guidelines released this year categorize ****sexuality as an "abnormal sexual behavior" unfit for China's TV screens, alongside incest, sexual abuse and other "perversion."
    "Addiction," a popular web drama about romantic relationships between teenage boys, was pulled in February, despite attracting almost 10 million views in its first 24 hours of release.

    Time travel


    China banned time travel dramas in 2011.

    Too many science fiction dramas "casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation," China's regulators complained in a March 2011 diktat.
    Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter at the time, film critic Raymond Zhou suggested another reason the censors were so keen to kill sci-fi shows: "Most time travel content that I've seen ... is actually not heavy on science, but an excuse to comment on current affairs."
    Indeed, the regulation said that in many instances "producers and writers are treating serious history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore."

    South Koreans


    South Korean drama "My Love from the Star," starring Kim Soo-Hyun (pictured), was hugely popular in China.

    Following the deployment of the US-South Korean THAAD missile defense system last month, some of Korea's most successful exports may have found their fortunes waning in China.
    A fan event in Beijing with South Korean TV stars Kim Woo-bin and Suzy Bae was postponed due to "forces beyond our control," the organizers said on Weibo. Two concerts by the popular boy band EXO in Shanghai were also canceled.
    According to multiple media reports, Chinese TV stations were also warned to put South Korean projects on hold.
    The alleged ban on South Koreans came after an edict issued by the media regulator in June imposed "strict limits on foreign-inspired TV programs in a bid to boost innovation of homemade programs," according to Xinhua.
    The Time Travel ban amuses me greatly.
    Gene Ching
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  10. #10
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    Sneaky

    How subversive. I like subversive.

    A Chinese period drama named its bad guys after today’s ruling elite—and the censors missed it


    Strangely familiar names. (Initium Media/Facebook)

    WRITTEN BY Zheping Huang
    OBSESSION

    China's Transition
    March 02, 2017
    The epic battle of Changping is one of the best-known military campaigns in ancient China. The encirclement, concluded in 260 BC with a landslide victory by the State of Qin over the weaker State of Zhao, marks a turning point of the chaotic Warrior States period. In less than four decades, the ruler of Qin conquered all other independent states and became the first emperor of a unified China.
    In the latest episode of The Qin Empire 3, a hit series now available on China’s state broadcaster and several online streaming sites, the Qin army tried to identify Zhao spies among their own people, and got a list of their names carved on bamboo slips. Attentive audiences have spotted many names they are familiar with: Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, and Li Changchun.
    It turns out the period drama has named its bad guys after today’s ruling elite of the Chinese Communist Party, the current president and premier included. The use of the names has become a sensation on China’s internet in recent days, with the episode having first aired on Feb. 28.


    (Initium Media/Facebook)

    Chinese censors were quick to respond: The episode in question has been removed from one streaming site, while the shot showing the name usage has been cut out of the episode on several other sites, as Quartz observed on March 2.
    A search for “The Qin Empire” on China’s Quora-esque site Zhihu brings no results (link in Chinese).
    First released in 2009, The Qin Empire has won the Flying Goddess Award—China’s version of an Emmy—for the Best TV drama twice. The third season currently holds a 8.7/10 rate on Douban, a film portal similar to IMDb.
    “The producer is seeking a big death,” one blogger commented (link in Chinese) on the show’s page on Douban, noting that the dubious scene happened at around the 19:23 mark of the 30th episode.
    Why did the censors miss the name plot in the first place? Perhaps because the names were written in seal script, an archaic form of Chinese calligraphy that looks quite different from today’s characters.
    Meanwhile the show’s crew members were possibly too lazy to come up with random names for the fictional Zhao spies. Of course, they might also have chosen the names deliberately as an act of defiance.
    Also of interest: Since long before the episode aired, “Zhao family”—having nothing to do with the ancient State of Zhao—has been an online meme (paywall), and used as a derogatory term for China’s rich and politically well-connected.
    Whatever the case, the crew will likely be in deep trouble now.
    Gene Ching
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    TV adaptation

    The Mermaid goes to Chinese TV.

    China's $500M Blockbuster 'The Mermaid' Getting TV Adaptation
    1:58 AM PDT 6/13/2017 by Patrick Brzeski


    Courtesy of Sony Pictures
    'The Mermaid'

    Beijing-based iQiyi has paid an historic $61.8 million for exclusive streaming rights to the show, which sources in China say will be scripted and produced by Stephen Chow.

    China's biggest movie ever, Stephen Chow's blockbuster The Mermaid, which earned an astonishing $527 million in 2016, is set to be remade for television.

    Chinese production company Shanghai New Culture Media Group revealed in a regulatory filing that it has sold the exclusive online streaming rights to the forthcoming show to Beijing-based SVOD company iQiyi for $61.8 million (420 million RMB) — a record for streaming video rights in the country.

    Local Chinese media sources are reporting that Chow will script and produce the TV drama adaptation himself.

    New Culture Media also said in a second filing that it has sold to iQiyi the exclusive broadcast and online streaming rights to another forthcoming TV drama based on a Chow blockbuster — 2017's Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back, which was released over Chinese New Year in late January and earned $240 million in China. iQiyi paid $42.4 million (288 million RMB) for those rights, the filing said. Both of the new shows will be developed and produced by New Culture Media.

    A representative from iQiyi declined to comment.

    In early 2017, Shanghai New Culture Media Group, whose stock is listed on the Shenzhen exchange with a market capitalization of $1.3 billion, acquired a 51 percent stake in Premium Data Associates Limited, a production and rights management company founded and owned by Chow, for $195.7 million (1.33 billion RMB). Chow retained a 49 percent stake in the entity.

    iQiyi, a subsidiary of Chinese search giant Baidu, has been on a Netflix-like buying spree since raising $1.5 billion in February. While the company continues to beef up on high-value local content like the new Chow shows, it also has been buying prestige U.S. content aggressively.

    In March, iQiyi acquired exclusive Chinese online rights to 2017 Oscar favorites La La Land and Moonlight (it's unclear whether the latter will be able to clear Chinese censorship, however). And in April, iQiyi inked an output agreement with Netflix, which has been barred from setting up its service within China by Beijing's regulators. iQiyi said it hopes to import such Netflix originals as Black Mirror, Stranger Things, Mindhunter, BoJack Horseman and Ultimate Beastmaster — as soon as the necessarily government approvals are granted.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  12. #12
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    Rakshasa Street

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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    Tvb金禧晚宴暨2018節目巡禮 - 《兄弟》預告片



    This is a new show starring Philip Ng (NOV+DEC 2016). I think the English title is Fist Fight but the Chinese is xiongdi (elder brother/junior brother).
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  14. #14
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    Day and Night (白夜追凶)

    Netflix Picks Up Chinese Detective Drama ‘Day & Night’
    by Peter White
    December 1, 2017 5:21am


    Youku

    Netflix is to launch a Chinese detective drama in more than 190 markets after striking a deal with Alibaba-owned Youku. The SVOD service has picked up Day and Night, a 32-part series.

    The series, which launched in August and has secured more than 4B views in China, follows a detective who attempts to clear his twin brother from a murder charge. After recusing himself from the case, he is hired as a secret consultant by the new investigator. It stars Pan Yueming, Wang Long Zheng, Liang Yuan, Lu Xiaolin and Yin Shuyi.

    It is the latest Chinese original that Netflix has picked up: in 2015 it bought Empresses In The Palace for its U.S. service, cutting down the original series’ 76 x 45-minute series into six 90-minute episodes. The show, which first aired in China in 2011, follows the the emperor’s concubines in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty.

    “The cultural industry is undergoing robust growth in China, and I believe the export of high-quality content will help people around the world gain a better understanding of the soft power of China,” said Yang Weidong, president of Youku, Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment Group. “I’m delighted that Youku can become a pioneer in driving this initiative with this overseas distribution of our Day and Night series.”
    Interesting move for Netflix. K-dramas are popular on streaming services, but not as many Chinese TV shows.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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    The Eight

    Chen Kaige to Shoot Series for iQIYI
    By Patrick Frater
    Asia Bureau Chief


    CREDIT: SHUTTERSTOCK

    Leading Chinese auteur, Chen Kaige (“The Legend of the Demon Cat,“ “Farewell my Concubine“) is to shoot a series for mainland Chinese streaming service iQIYI.

    “The Eight“ is Chen’s first foray into long form series. He will also act as executive producer of the show.

    The story is set in China and Paris, France in the early Chinese revolutionary period at the beginning of the 20th Century. It features a young man who has both Chinese and Western roots. He becomes sucked into the underworld while simultaneously attempting to save the Chinese revolution, which could easily be stifled by opposition forces.

    “The rise of premium Internet drama has opened up a huge space for creative innovation,“ said Chen in a prepared statement.

    IQIYI, which has been spun out of China’s leading search engine group Baidu, recently raised some USD2.5 billion from an IPO on Nasdaq.

    The company is now engaged in a wide ranging campaign to develop and acquire original content. In addition to giving it unique properties that are unavailable to its competitors, original IP is used to attract and convert users of its free to use advertising-supported tiers into paying subscribers.

    It’s series “Tientsin Mystic“ and “Burning Ice“ were among 2017 commissions that will play on Netflix, following a content licensing deal.
    I've clicked on the Netflix Tiensin Mystic icon several times, but have yet to actually watch it.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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