Wu Chun and Vic Chou in film Saving General Yang

The Raymond Wong Pak Ming produced SAVING GENERAL YANG (JUNG LIT YEUNG GA JEUNG) today started production in Kaifeng, Henan. Raymond Lam Fung, Wu Chun, Vic Chou, Yu Bo, Fu Xinbo appeared and attracted 300 fans. Later, the team went to pay their respect to the Yang family ancestors at the Yang House. However Adam Cheng Siu Chau who played Yang Linggong, Louis Koo Tin Lok who played the oldest son and Li Chen who played the fourth son. Goo Jai due to leg injury and Li Chen due to work were absent.

The film cost almost 200 million. The Ronny Yu Yun Tai directed, Wong Pak Chi's son Edmond Wong Chi Hung written film starred top film stars of three lands on both sides of the strait. Lam Fung played the fifth son, Wu Chun the sixth son, Chou Yu Man the third son and Yu Bo the second song, Fu Xinbo the seventh son, Dior Cheng Yi Kin as Pan Renmei, and Xu Fan as She Taijun.

The actors shared their feeling after they received the script. Because the story was mainly about siblings and family, Wu Chun after reading it wanted to call his father. Lam Fung already imagined the scenes as he read the script and believed that everyone would like it. As for Jai Jai who would play in costume for the first time, he said that he was very happy to run into a good script. Originally he worried that his costume look would be terrifying, but he was unexpectedly handsome. Later he also added, "The other brothers are also very handsome."

Goo Jai was absent due to his right leg injury. Wong Pak Ming revealed that he has talked with Goo Jai over the phone, although his injury has improved the doctor's report would determine when he would start work. Wong Pak Ming also stressed that he would not recast because Goo Jai was the soul of the story.
Wu Chun, Jai Jai and Lam Fung all worried about Goo Jai's injury and wished him a speedy recovery. Lam Fung ten years ago worked with Goo Jai on STEP INTO THE PAST (CHUM CHUN GEI) so he looked forward to working together again very much. Making his costume debut Jai Jai joked that despite the action director on the hand he still wanted to ask Wu Chun to be his personal trainer. Wu Chun immediately agreed. They also had to learn to ride for the film together. Jai Jai said that he had to foster a relationship with the horse and he already had three lessons. Every time he improved.


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Vic Chou in film The Other Side 1945

Home is not necessarily a place or a house, the most vital part of Home is the family. Wherever the family is, that is Home ... ... This is succeeding the classic "Radio will never disappear", another heavily invested production by Talent International Media Group to create one more epic psychological war drama. "The Other Side, 1945" presents a brilliant interpretation of Home. Starring Vic Zhou and Wang Xue Qi.

"The Other Side, 1945" is about the young Taiwanese doctor Su Tai Ying who, in the midst of the turbulent era, was mistaken as a Japanese soldier in China battling his own compatriots. Because of his longing for his home and his faith in his family, thus began the long and winding journey towards home. According to reports, the drama has completed shooting and is now in intensive post-production.

Star-studded cast Epic joint production

This time, the creative team of "The Other Side, 1945“ under instructions of Talent Media and under the guiding principle of “outstanding content, first-rate production quality, superb mass entertainment” invited popular Taiwan idol Zhou Yu Min of Meteor Garden, Jin Da Ban and other nationally hot dramas who convincingly portrayed Hua Ze Lei, Sheng Yue Ru and other characters to take the lead role. Female lead is Yan Na from Talent Media Company. Also in the drama is well-known veteran Wang Xue Qi acting as army commander and Yan Na’s father.

Remains true to history

Set amidst the backdrop of war, brutal fighting, brutal assassinations, the story begins with a single ordinary person, then deepened into historical and brutal war scenes, giving up survival chances to loved ones at the battlefield, full of political struggle, suspenseful spying, mistrusts, lovers forced apart, family rivalry, sacrifices for love, the sorrow of commander’s pregnant daughter who journeyed to reunite with her lover only to find him married to another, riches to poor overnight. Plotting out the emotionally intense story scene-by-scene which spanned from the end of 2006 to 2009, from Taipei, Keelung and Shanghai, after 2 years of study and historical research, interviews with senior citizens of both banks, recording their recollections, reviewing large collections of written and pictorial records, then using the unique TV medium to interpret the memories of that era.

Embracing historical facts, recording the passion of the past, we look forward under the drama’s powerful interpretation, the testimony of 1945 to 1949, testimony of that extraordinary period.

Translated by Vicfan at http://asianfanatics.net/forum/

Vic Chou as a military doctor in new drama Home

Zai Zai in the new drama "Home", set at the time of anti-Japanese war, was a Taiwanese military doctor drafted by the Japanese Military and sent to the Mainland. The story spans across both banks (Taiwan & Mainland). Originally, the drama’s dialogue had Mandarin, Japanese and Taiwanese dialect. But there were news yesterday that the Mainland version will not have Mǐnnányǔ (dialect). Zai Zai’s initial painstaking efforts to memorize his lines in dialect have come to naught. His manager Mr. Chih said yesterday “We’ll respect the producer’s decision, only worried that substitution of the Taiwanese dialogue with Mandarin will lose some of the original flavor."

"Home" original arrangement was that Zai Zai will speak Mandarin during the period of the Mainland war, speaks Japanese when in military compounds, then post-war he speaks Taiwanese after he returned home. During the filming of this drama, besides having to run under the hail of bullets and gunfire, and have to portray heavy psychological misery, speaking 3 languages is also a big challenge.

Why can’t Mǐnnányǔ be used in the drama? The producers explained yesterday that all Mainland’s works do not allow dialect. Japanese is a foreign language, not a dialect, and does not constitute a major portion of the dialogue. But Zai Zai’s efforts are not totally lost; Taiwan version will still have dialect.

"Home" cost nearly 200 million NTD to shoot. Zai Zai’s performance is a new transformation which stunned several high-level people in Mainland and Taiwan. The drama is expected to be launched in Mainland China in May.

When Mr. Chih found out that the Mainland version will replace Taiwanese dialogue with Mandarin, he asked curiously, “During dubbing, how is Zai Zai going to differentiate his voice between the mainland period and Taiwan period?" The other person laughed and said: "This is not difficult, just say Taiwan guóyǔ ah! “ (mispronouncing国语(national language)) In the past, Zai Zai who did not speak Mandarin clearly, would never have dreamed that there will come a day when he will be requested to be “inarticulate”.

But whether it is standard Mandarin or "Taiwan Mandarin," this will be Zai Zai’s first performance in a Mainland drama which is not dubbed (ie original voice is not replaced). This is different from "Madame Chin" which was dubbed. When broadcasted, fans complained when they could not hear his original voice and felt like a stranger speaking.

Career is successful, but after Zai Zai broke up with DaS his love life is empty. Da S is now married to another person. In a Japan interview Zai Zai said that if he was to be romantically involved again, he prefers to keep it low profile.

Vic Chou no blessings no comments for his ex lover Barbie Hsu

Looks like Barbie Hsu's ex lover, Vic Chou, is not giving her his blessings.

The former member of Taiwanese boyband F4 had refused to comment on Barbie's wedding when he was bombarded by the press at the Taiwan airport earlier this week.

Vic and Barbie had met on the set of Meteor Garden in 2001 and dated for over two years since July 2005.

When asked if he had any message or words of blessing for Barbie, the seemingly annoyed Vic merely said thank you and scurried off without addressing the press.

It was reported that Vic was filming his show Returning Home in the same building in Shanghai as Barbie, who was there to film her movie. But the two had not crossed paths despite the proximity.

Sources have confirmed that Barbie and Xiaofei's wedding will be held in Sanya, Hainan Island in China between March 27 and 29 next year, though their mothers and Barbie's assistant have yet to confirm the news.

Vic Chou in movie Ai Ni Yi Wan Nian

Yesterday, Vic Chou attended the premiere event for his latest movie Love You 10000 Years, along with co-star Kato Yuki and Director Kitamura Toyoharu. More than a thousand fans from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and other places in Asia went to support the star. Vic kept himself busy in promoting his new film; He first did interviews with the media in the afternoon, attended activities organized by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau where he met with fans, and then at night, he attended the premiere of the movie. Some fans from all across Asia spent as much as forty thousand dollars (NT) just to follow Vic for two days and participate in his premiere events at Taipei and Taichung, as well as his two fan meetings.

In a recent interview with host Matilda Tao, Vic expressed his thoughts on men needing to make more money than women, “If a man makes less money than the woman, he will not have any say on anything.” In the end, the media took his explanation as a reason for his breakup with Barbie Hsu. A little flustered, Vic advised everyone to watch the interview in full to understand. But in regards to earning money, Vic emphasized, “Isn’t a man’s career important?... Unless he’s living off of the woman. If I get married and build a family in the future, I hope that I can be responsible for my family.” He added that he feels his career achievement is not up to standards yet. He hopes that he will get there when he’s 40. When asked if he explained this to Barbie, he commented, “There’s no need to care so much about these types of reports.”

Source: Appledaily, UDN
Written by: fufu @ CpopAccess.com

Vic Zhou in film Love You Ten Thousand Years

A deep emotional prince in front of the camera, Zai Zai Vic Zhou becomes an otaku when he reaches home. Fans rarely see this side of him but the film "Love You Ten Thousand Years" will scoop out Zai Zai's decadent and sloppy appearance, to give a surprise to fans.

Due to scheduling issues this year, Zai Zai narrowly missed being in the movies "Black & White" and "Killer Ouyang Penzai." This makes the soon-to-be released August movie "Love You Ten Thousand Years" being paid particular attention. This local Taiwan romance comedy film directed by Japanese director Toyo Kitamura, will let Zaizai do a turnaround, challenging the role of a decadent rock band lead singer, and he even has to use his own unique singing style to belt out the song "Love You Ten Thousand Years" which has previously been sung by Wynners, Five Tigers, Wu Bai and Li Yi Chun!

Prior to shooting the movie, director Toyo Kitamura had a headache thinking of how to change Zai Zai from his handsome appearance to a decadent band member. Then unexpectedly, he saw Zai Zai with disheveled hair and unshaven face walking towards him, and Toyo Kitumura happily shouted out "That's the look!" Manager Zhi Xiang Li was alarmed and worried that fans cannot accept this Zaizai who do not care about his appearance. But Zaizai just said, be calm,"They are only seeing my original (real-life) self."

Toyo Kitamura used his 13 years observation of Taiwan's cultural phenomenon and filmed it into a funny plot. Zai Zai will sing as he plays the guitar and even have to dance while wearing a "vulgar (coarse) looking" suit. Film producer Peggy Chiao could not help but praise him, that he has the form to be "Tony Leung's successor ".

The official website of "Love You Ten Thousand Years" is opening in these two days, and will specially introduce the lead actress Kato Yoo Ji. She is the Shiseido spokesperson in Japan, and in the film she will have an interesting exchange of blows with Zaizai on views about love.

Vic Chou the five most handsome guys in Taiwan

The Taiwanese media recently conducted a voting event to vote for the five most handsome guys in Taiwan. Vic Zhou came in first with a total of 13,989 votes, beating first runner-up Jerry Yan, who obtained a total of 8813 votes. Following behind Jerry Yan are Ethan Ruan, Kaneshiro Takeshi and Mark Zhao respectively.

Through the entire voting event from the 7th to 21st December, the competition between Vic and Jerry was the most intense, but they are actually on very good terms in private.

Jerry’s manager, Fenny, said, “Since Jerry and Vic are ‘brothers’, whoever wins the voting is the same. Jerry would like to express his thanks to his fans and also to those who voted for him.”

Although these voting events are often carried out with fans sending in their votes through various accounts, however, this particular event has brought about a new issue of fans setting up anonymous accounts and made use of systematic methods that allows for automatic voting through different IP addresses. This has thus distorted the entire system, causing the actual number of votes to be of a great difference as compared to the values shown on the website.

Thus, after clearing away the “artificial” votes by the webpage’s management, out of the 29,384 votes casted in total, Vic Zhou emerged the overall winner with a vote count of 13,989. Ethan Ruan, who has the least number of “artificial” votes, emerged as the second runner-up with a total of 3500 votes. Kaneshiro Takeshi came in fourth with a total of 3033 votes, while Mark Zhao despite being fifth in place, had only 49 votes.

With regards to this event, Ethan said, “I’m aware of this event, but I didn’t dare to view the webpage, as I don’t want it to affect my mood.” He also thank his fans from all over for their support.

Having known Mark through their partnership in MONGA, Ethan supports Mark, saying, “He will be with me for the next 20 years. This event is for a particular moment. No one is sure who will win or lose over the next 20 years.”

88news.net

Unintended similarities between Show and Vic’s ads?

Both Vic Zhou and Show Luo’s different advertisements have sparked off controversies when both artistes carried cameras and were spotted in almost identical tops that had the same colour. 28-year-old Vic was doing a series of print ads for a camera while 30-year-old Show was advertising for some properties.

Dressed in near-alike light pink V-neck sweaters, the pair even shared similar pastoral backgrounds – with Vic lying on the grass while Show stands amidst a forest of trees.

Show’s manager expressed, “The advertisement is based on an outdoor recreational theme – that is why he is holding a camera. Clothing for men consists of the same few patterns. Do you expect him to wear a white skirt?”

Taking a closer look at Show’s property advertisement, his image styling aptly portrays the vibes and image of his client. As they emphasized on the apartment surroundings’ fresh air and good view, he was dressed simple in a v-neck sweater. His manager explained on his hairstyle, “He’s been sporting this look lately.”

Although Vic received praise for his camera commercial, he continues to remain under media scrutiny for his widely-known and rumoured fall-out with his Black and White co-star Mark Chao.

88news.net

Vic Zhou hopes Da S will find true love

According to Hong Kong media reports, Vic Zhou (Zai Zai) has recently been appointed as the Hong Kong ambassador for the United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Earlier when he attended an event in Hong Kong, he revealed that he hopes his old love Da S will find true love as soon as possible, at the same time he also denied rumours of Fan Bing Bing ‘electrifying’ him.

Zai Zai will give his full support for the upcoming charity event, organised by UNICEF to help fund-raise for the victims from the Si Chuan earthquake. He expressed that if he has the opportunity in the future, he will personally go and visit the local children.

Zai Zai, who loves children, previously pledged that he would get married and have children at 25. Now he’s realized that that’s unrealistic. He, who is already 28 still remains single, and he sighed saying that this is all up to fate. He said: “My family isn’t rushing me, because my older brother already has a child. At the moment, I wish to concentrate on my work, everything else depends on fate.” Does he have an ideal girlfriend in mind? “My other half cannot rely on her appearance alone, the interactions between us is what’s most important.”

Since he broke up with Da S, both their love lives have often been the media’s focus. He said: “Rumours will affect my work, if because of rumours we have to maintain our distance from each other, then that’s a shame.” Regarding the rumours of Fan Bing Bing ‘electrifying’ him during filming, Zai Zai said: “No, her eyes are so big, she electrifies anything she looks at! Actually, I quite admire her, she’s still so young but has already achieved so much.”

Other than this, he also sparked rumours with his co-star Ivy Chen in ‘Black & White’, but he stressed that they are only friends.

Although his own love life hasn’t landed, Zai Zai is still concerned about his old love Da S’s situation. Ever since the 2 broke up, Da S has sparked rumours with Peter Ho & Louis Koo. Zai Zai revealed that he hopes she will find her other half soon, and will definitely be happy for her: “She’s already an adult, knows how to choose, as long as she feels that that person is good for her, then that’s fine.”

Source: Epoch Times
Translation: Sarah @ http://asianfanatics.net

Jerry Yan suffering from insomnia; consults Zai Zai & Ella for help

Jerry Yan has filming drama and releasing album burning at both ends. With the immense amount of pressure, he started getting insomnia half a year ago. And he even consulted good friends Vic Zhou (Zai Zai) and Ella for remedies: “The scariest thing about insomnia is that your eyes are open till morning, and then you think about all the work you have to do, without getting any sleep.”

Yesterday, Jerry held an international fan meet at Yang Ming Shan. And 2000 seats were completely filled by fans from Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Korea etc. Each person had to pay 1000 yuan entrance fee, and the whole event earned over $2million. In order to avoid being suspected of ‘sucking gold’, JVR publicity manager Zhang Lan Yun expressed: “Minus the rent, hardware and software costs, and the company also has to make up the difference. If there’s any money left over, we will donate it to charity.”

At the event, Jerry told many cold jokes. When the host asked him about the character he plays in his new drama ‘Down With Love’, he replied: “In the drama, I play doraemon.” (translator note: drama and doraemon sounds similar when you pronounce it XD) And everyone exclaimed: “Oh so cold!” Jerry had anticipated this fan meet, but when he gets nervous, he tends to get insomnia. Zai Zai told him to take sleeping pills, and Ella recommended he take melatonin, but he feels that taking sleeping pills isn’t good for his health, so he tries to avoid it if he can.

When Jerry gets insomnia, his mood is also affected. There was once when he didn’t get enough sleep, he kept NG-ing and he was so angry he hammered the table. Director Ke reminded him: “When you don’t smile, everyone feels pressure.” And Jerry took this good advice, saying: “If my laughter can make everyone else happy, then I should change my work methods.”

But Jerry has also being infected by Ella’s bubbly personality. Yesterday, his attitude was very relaxed, and he did not reject taking photos and hugging fans. This made everyone cry out in happiness, initially he wasn’t going to sing his new songs, because it clashed with his just released album, but while Japanese fans dedicated the song ‘Meteor Rain’ to him, he sung along with them, and even encourage everyone to sing along, and the atmosphere was very warm and passionate.

Source: China Times
Translation: Sarah @ http://asianfanatics.net

ZaiZai, Jerry Yan & Blue Lan have bold women backing them up

Behind every successful man lies a woman. But in the idol drama world, most of the girls in the past have been jade girls; fragile, courteous & refined. Today, they have become independent, takes the initiative, full of personality and stands equal to the male lead. Like ZaiZai, Jerry Yan & Blue Lan’s new dramas; behind all 3 male idols, lies a ‘bold woman’.

As the ratings continue to climb, the 4-way love triangle in PTV’s ‘Black & White’ seems to become more and more complicated. In the end, will ZaiZai be with Ivy Chen or Janine Chang? This question has triggered fierce debate among netizens. Ivy Chen tells ZaiZai that she is a strong tree, and will forever be by ZaiZai’s side; this bold confession has received a high degree of support.

Ivy plays the daughter of a gangster. Although she appears to be fragile, she is actually stubborn and takes the initiative when it comes to love. This difference in inside and outside further adds colour to her character, becoming the typical ‘bold woman’. However, bold women can also tire themselves out; yesterday the ‘Black & White’ cast held a signing event at Taichung, and after saying a quick hello onstage, Ivy was helped downstage to rest, disappointing many fans.

After Jerry Yan returned from Japan, he immediately began filming GTV’s new drama ‘Just Want To Depend On You’. In the drama, Ella talks loudly and even carries refrigerators; full of ‘bold woman’ flavour. Jerry mistakes her for a lesbian, and gets her to become his nanny. The 2 yesterday filmed with Xiao Xiao Bin, and because she looked so cute, it even made Jerry go blind and NG.

Blue Lan & Joe Chen’s SETTV drama ‘Easy Fortune, Happy Life’ is about to air. In
the drama, Joe plays a righteous ‘bold sister’, not only does she resist Blue’s evil ways, she even bars the police. Earlier, Joe & SETTV had a big disagreement about Blue touching her chest, in the end, they only filmed above the shoulders; Joe’s bold defense of her chest succeeds!

The 3 bold women steals the spotlight, and has become a hot topic.

Source: UDN
Translation: Sarah @ http://asianfanatics.net

Black and White: A Revival of Taiwanese Drama

Taiwanese idol dramas have always been notoriously known for handsome boys and pretty girls, fictional romance, and luxurious things that are far from reality. Being pressured by Korean and Japanese dramas, Taiwan's low-cost production has been incapable of continually capturing the audiences' hearts. In such an embarassing situation, if there is a director and actor of a drama that are daring enough to break this trend and establish a new standard for Taiwanese dramas, that courage is enough to name that drama as unusual. Even before the broadcasting of "Black and White" directed by Cai Yue Xun and starring Vic Zhou (Zai Zai), the audience has already been anticipating this.

Before broadcasting, Director Cai and Zai Zai said that they hope "Black and White" will set a new standard in Taiwanese TV dramas. At that time, many people laughed at their whimsical wishes. However, ever since the drama started airing, the ratings continued to soar each week.

Abandoning the usual idol drama romance, "Black and White" courageously incorporates a rare drama topic; two young police officers that are trying to bring justice to the city. Zai Zai's role is a playful officer who fears death, loves to flirt with girls, and has a hidden secret. The other police officer, played by newbie Mark Zhao, is the exact opposite of Pi Zi. He has a bad temper and hates evil like an enemy. Speaking of casting, no one other than Director Cai is capable of casting Zai Zai as Pizi. It is surprising that Zai Zai is able to get rid of his "pretty boy" image for a police image.

"Black and White" is definitely a drama filled with sincerity. Filming of one episode cost roughly $4,000,000NTD. $48,000,000NTD has already been spent on the first ten episodes, comparing to other dramas that have spent $7,800,000NTD. You can say that this drama isn't hesitant about costs and is intended to do it's best. The magnificent scenes, life-like explosions, and the high-speed camera angles makes this drama full of Hollywood drama momentum. The drama is filled with an exciting plot, even having the two actors advancing on a high speed train. Netizens have said that, "Each episode is like watching a movie." Faced with increasingly conservative investors that wants to reduce production costs and a lack of imagination for creative scenes, "Black and White" is able to give hope to the Chinese drama practitioners. It will even allow audiences that have given up on Taiwanese dramas to say "Taiwanese idol dramas can be very good!"

Source: Sina
Translated by: xbunnylicious @ http://asianfanatics.net