I'll just say it since it keeps getting brought up, THIS drama in particular was never about exactly adapting the novel or the fmc of that novel nor about misogyny or being a statement on women representation; unless the author, director, scriptwriter and most of the production team being women counts.
HPJC was more about an artist and her muse. It's director Zhou Xiao's passion project that was born from her desire to make a drama centered around Tian Jia Rui. She started writing a script with him in mind and found this low ip, niche novel which was still incomplete. It had the perfect setting and exactly the kind of solo leading character she was looking for. Coming across it was convenient, or else she'd have to write the whole thing by herself and it still wouldn't change the main casting choice.
The director had a specific artistic vision when she saw his birthday photoshoot in 2024 and him in this role fit that vision to a T. But the character was a woman and Tian Jia Rui can't suddenly grow ovaries just to play that character. NRTA doesn't like genderbending either, so it had to be a ml i.e, at the very least she was gonna have to do major reworking on it at the base level.
But it still couldn't be called an original work as it were first heard. And without buying the necessary rights there'd be plagiarism accusations later, which is what the complaints initially started as, not the "erasure of women", which only appeared when she was posting about having the author's approval and full legal clearance. The rights were bought with the agreement that they could take what they needed while having full creative freedom to add, subtract and alter plotlines, characters and other details. They tailored it around TJR instead of the other way around. Even if it meant having to wait over a year for it.
Now, not just the actor, this project is also important for Zhou Xiao. She's a young micro drama director trying to pivot to full length drama series with HPJC and prove she can do serious work. She has limited budget, and fundings from investors are hard. She doesn't have the cash to hire high traffic actresses for such a risky non-mainstream project (and that wasn't the goal either). There's no romance to act as hook, no safe formula, no pre existing big novel fanbase, nor massive fixed audiences from established big named actors or actresses who only want to see their faves on screen and no one else.
The director put all her eggs into one basket here and was careful enough to do everything right, so much that even CCTV promoted the wrap up video and casting choice, which would be impossible if anything here was actually problematic. She has clearly been very passionate and dedicated about showing everyone the culmination of her efforts, to see her creative vision coming to life. With the recent crackdowns on cliché microdramas, a passionate and well behaved director like her needs the support 100% to come mainstream. Specially considering the way some directors out there treat their artists.
Funny how I was reminded of Crossfire too initially XD Must be because of that poster and the lack of proper e-sports dramas. But no, it says adapted from league of legends, although I'm not sure how. I'm highly intrigued either way.
I caught it later but the streaming was lagging (for c netz too, they were complaining in the chat box), so I…
Too many fandoms act rabies infected lately and think they are being very savage. When in reality people just stop responding because there's no treatment.
I have never been so starstruck by an actresses beauty and personality before. She's so effortlessly cool and elegant. Her acting is beautifully subdued and natural, I can't help but stare whenever she's on screen.
I caught it later but the streaming was lagging (for c netz too, they were complaining in the chat box), so I…
Rookie actors are easy targets since no one knows much. So you can always push everything on them and create convenient narratives. Must be embarassing seeing fandoms a decade old doing comparisons with one barely a year in.
Thank you so much for translation of his speech ❤️ I'm glad he let himself to open, I hope all the love from…
Indeed, the higher you soar, the more people will notice and target you. No one wants to share the sky even though it belongs to all. May he be happy doing what he loves in whatever form.
During the in-person fan meeting (Fan Meeting) in partnership with the tea brand Dongfang Molan (东方墨兰),…
I'll take this chance to thank you too for your hard work, can't be easy :) It's so nice that he got sensible fans who don't display unvaccinated behavior and instead stays focused on what matters :))
If tjr and dlw's chars even just interact like twice in this show I'll die a happy death 🙏🏻
You might just live a long life instead :)) Jokes aside, Wei Ying and Wei Shi San are family and Wei Ying is close friends with Yan Jiang so there might be some interactions.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
Yeah the arcs have different settings and follow their rules, she has to act accordingly as per situation. Su Lüxia was also originally a character from one such world.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
There are some arcs I wish gets adapted, since those are interesting. In one arc the ml realizes he's actually in a fictional world because he felt the events were logically too stupid. Su Lüxia feeling danger, forcibly exits that world by dying. He becomes determined to find a way to leave his world and find her.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
It'd be interesting if they did. But the Su Lüxia we have here don't care about love. Even though she seems very much in love with zero. Since the underlying reason she's doing all the world hopping and taking revenge for minor world characters endlessly is to find him and try piecing him back together to save him. That makes it very romantic, and I don't think they are going with that in a 40 episode drama. Because a zero fragment first appears somewhere after chapter 240 and shocks her to tears. So that's many arcs of just revenge taking.
It's probably better structure wise to stick to the initial themes, it keeps the story simple and focused. Including him makes the overarching story complicated. And they might have to think up an original ending or just put hints of him and leave it open ended in that case.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
Yeah the romance genre only makes sense if they involve zero. Otherwise it's just arcs where you take revenge for supporting characters. Whatever happens with them isn't really romance but maybe it's there for the romantic looking scenes.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
Maybe the drama won't have zero in it since his storyline is still incomplete. Other than the zero fragments, she treats the rest of them in the minor worlds like characters from a manhua or novel and thus acts accordingly. Sometimes she gets favorite characters and treats them well, like this.
Yes but this still doesn't amount for romance. When we say romance, we mean mutual love and real feelings. But…
That wasn't part of the mission, she could return right away after the job but didn't. She was fond of him since his feelings were very pure and thus considered taking a nice vacation there from her missions. She remained as his wife till the end of his natural lifespan instead of leaving the body to the original actress. When she returned after his death, she was even disappointed that her character wasn't able to grow old with him and just remained youthful while he aged.
For over 7 years I've been rooting for you! You are such a joy bringer. So earnest, sincere and full of positive energy, so underrated, you deserve all good things coming your way. Hope THEBLACKLABEL will finally do you justice!💪
Kwak Dong Yeon is an actor's actor. He's not only a natural talent but also has something very rare; he brilliantly elevates the performances of anyone in his vicinity, which is a very difficult thing to do. They really weren't utilizing him properly for all these years. Whatever role he takes, he never fails to leave an unforgettable impact. Its been so long and yet his potential is endless.
May I be able to see more of your scene stealing versatility in the future, may your path be rich with success, may more diverse, compelling and challenging roles find you, may your journey ahead be long and rewarding, may you not change if not for the better, and may you find joy doing what you love every single day.🙏
HPJC was more about an artist and her muse. It's director Zhou Xiao's passion project that was born from her desire to make a drama centered around Tian Jia Rui. She started writing a script with him in mind and found this low ip, niche novel which was still incomplete. It had the perfect setting and exactly the kind of solo leading character she was looking for. Coming across it was convenient, or else she'd have to write the whole thing by herself and it still wouldn't change the main casting choice.
The director had a specific artistic vision when she saw his birthday photoshoot in 2024 and him in this role fit that vision to a T. But the character was a woman and Tian Jia Rui can't suddenly grow ovaries just to play that character. NRTA doesn't like genderbending either, so it had to be a ml i.e, at the very least she was gonna have to do major reworking on it at the base level.
But it still couldn't be called an original work as it were first heard. And without buying the necessary rights there'd be plagiarism accusations later, which is what the complaints initially started as, not the "erasure of women", which only appeared when she was posting about having the author's approval and full legal clearance. The rights were bought with the agreement that they could take what they needed while having full creative freedom to add, subtract and alter plotlines, characters and other details. They tailored it around TJR instead of the other way around. Even if it meant having to wait over a year for it.
Now, not just the actor, this project is also important for Zhou Xiao. She's a young micro drama director trying to pivot to full length drama series with HPJC and prove she can do serious work. She has limited budget, and fundings from investors are hard. She doesn't have the cash to hire high traffic actresses for such a risky non-mainstream project (and that wasn't the goal either). There's no romance to act as hook, no safe formula, no pre existing big novel fanbase, nor massive fixed audiences from established big named actors or actresses who only want to see their faves on screen and no one else.
The director put all her eggs into one basket here and was careful enough to do everything right, so much that even CCTV promoted the wrap up video and casting choice, which would be impossible if anything here was actually problematic. She has clearly been very passionate and dedicated about showing everyone the culmination of her efforts, to see her creative vision coming to life. With the recent crackdowns on cliché microdramas, a passionate and well behaved director like her needs the support 100% to come mainstream. Specially considering the way some directors out there treat their artists.
Must be because of that poster and the lack of proper e-sports dramas.
But no, it says adapted from league of legends, although I'm not sure how.
I'm highly intrigued either way.
Must be embarassing seeing fandoms a decade old doing comparisons with one barely a year in.
It's so nice that he got sensible fans who don't display unvaccinated behavior and instead stays focused on what matters :))
Jokes aside, Wei Ying and Wei Shi San are family and Wei Ying is close friends with Yan Jiang so there might be some interactions.
It's probably better structure wise to stick to the initial themes, it keeps the story simple and focused. Including him makes the overarching story complicated. And they might have to think up an original ending or just put hints of him and leave it open ended in that case.
Kwak Dong Yeon is an actor's actor. He's not only a natural talent but also has something very rare; he brilliantly elevates the performances of anyone in his vicinity, which is a very difficult thing to do. They really weren't utilizing him properly for all these years. Whatever role he takes, he never fails to leave an unforgettable impact. Its been so long and yet his potential is endless.
May I be able to see more of your scene stealing versatility in the future, may your path be rich with success, may more diverse, compelling and challenging roles find you, may your journey ahead be long and rewarding, may you not change if not for the better, and may you find joy doing what you love every single day.🙏