SagaTeAles

I found this critic's review of the new Thai drama that wasn't kind to Rui. Surrounded by a cast of powerhouse actors, Rui struggled to perform falling behind the veteran actors like Little Tiger, Red-Haired Orangutan, Red Macaw, and even the guest actor White Cockatoo...i guess I'll have to watch to see for myself..tho RHO stole my attention already from the teasers😆
http://xhslink.com/o/9WRiEmNbbCq

I'm convinced it's Rui's attention to detail that makes his characters look alive. Take Jiling the puppet...his shoulders were slightly bent forward, unlike Long Shen, who kept his shoulders straight and firm, hands and arms mostly still nd firm. But Jiling was constantly moving around like he had ADHD, lol, never still, always doing something with his hands, or moving his head, or even his body while walking moving his arms more erratically...etc. Even in tense scenes, he nervously clutched his hands and fists while smiling to deceive his opponents into thinking he was almost unbothered by danger. This is what I liked about Yuanzhi too..he added many details to his character, so much so that I kept an eye on him even when he was just there while others were talking..to watch his reaction and what he was doing. This is what caught my eye from the start tho i didn't know him.
Yichen didn't have much of that cause of the character design so he had to rely only on his facial micro muscles movements and acting through eyes. Movements were very restrained...he didn't even smile much but slightly in some scenes.
But yes, I'm also interested to see how he will do with other directors. Some don't allow actors almost any freedom. Their vision of how they must be ..must be followed, and this may take away much from actors who with these details, basically make that extra step to make a character feel alive. I remember reading once how Rui told smth like how actors should fight for their character and persuade directors to trust them to insert these changes in movements or expressions...not to just blindly follow the vision of directors. .

Me too, but have to admit that i didn't like much the 2nd trailer, i hope it was just edited like some comedy, so I'm mostly now into it cause of Rui..if he really shows up so little, not even in bg i would probably just watch edits..

I know😭

Ooh... I hadn't heard about this ☹️tho scripts can be tricky to estimate screentime..he might be there without many lines..like in MjTY. His character caught my attention from the start.. even in many group scenes when he wasn't speaking, but he never felt passive.
When actors use details like facial microexpressions nd subtle movements, acting well even without lines, like he was.. they just naturally steal attention and end up feeling way more present than their actual screentime.
I only realized on rewatch and ff some scenes..he wasn’t on screen that much in min/eps.. esp in the last few ep. So...I don’t really trust ppl’s screentime estimates 😆He used every second so well in MjTY.. so I hope he will leave the same impression in RC..were he'll probably also be in the background..but quietly stealing att😁

Hope so..I only started watching the anime but his char was there from the start..ppl who finished it know better how present it was..

A teaser like edit..to quench the thirst ..http://xhslink.com/o/1dKES9o1uER

https://mydramalist.com/761731-the-resurrection-painted-skin/discussions/150434-vos-s-ranking-achievement-on-weibo-etc

Naaah.... just look at the headlines of the other videos...China is suffering from famine.. the economy is collapsing, banks are out of money... GDP is 95% fake, regime change is near, and China is expected to end sometime next week😁The channel is total anti-China bs...

A lot of good work went into this article. It was a delight to read and it gave a deeper perspective on the upcoming drama.Thanks.

That said, I couldn't help noticing that it was categorized as an article. Is that an mdl policy or is there another reason behind it? Shouldn't texts about upcoming dramas fit better under news or maybe even have their own category like "upcoming" or "coming soon" news.
I only happened to stumble across your piece and it could easily be overlooked under the gossip that is considered news acc to MDL. Anyhow, this is just a rant 😁that most likely has nothing to do with you, but it now makes me wonder how many other articles I've missed that provide an in-depth perspective on dramas that are yet to come.

I've even looked to see whether it's linked to the drama page.. so that watchers and people interested in upcoming dramas can find more information when they're looking for more than just a synopsis. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

They don't need any specific instructions from the author, it's basically how IP rights are bought. Usually, for projects like this, the rights come with a time limit. For example, you can adapt something into a movie or drama within the next two years. During that time no one else can do the same.

Then there is a question of restrictions....are there any? Small IPs are usually bought without any restrictions, meaning all changes are allowed, and you don't need extra permission for the changes. No limits are basically incorporated into the rights that are bought and the price. Big IPs usually have some restrictions, what can't be changed or used., but even there what's not forbidden is allowed. For exemple Rings of Powers had many changes ( unbelievably bad ones imo) but from the start they could shape the story using the Tolkien's universe, changing what they wanted, but hobbits and Gandalf were not allowed to be used and put into the story.
So we got that ridiculous made up version of hobbits and a wizard that is not Gandalf but he is😁

You captured the core of how this drama came to be. I would like to suggest putting your comment in the "Novel" discussion section for people who will come.

Having this kind of discussion is getting tiresome if it keeps repeating every few weeks. People should learn more before generalizing how this or any other case is this or that.

It’s self-evident that not everyone critical of the gender swap is automatically a hater or anti. Nobody was saying that, not here anyway. That would be an untrue and quite simplified view.

But at the same time, saying it’s impossible to find antis or people motivated by hate or dislike toward Rui among those comments would also be untrue and also a very simplified view.
It's totally understandable to see comments about how a female character turning into a male one is "erasure of women" as you said. There are certainly cases where this is a real motive behind the changes.

Still, in this particular case, I personally need to see more evidence that misogyny was the main reason behind the change. The director and scriptwriter who made that decision is a woman herself. From everything she said, she specifically wanted Rui for this role from the start and even waited for him for about two years to finish other projects first.

To me, that sounds more like she had a very specific creative vision that was particularly centered around him in this role than her attempt to erase female character. I believe her words when she responded to criticism... she has also shown how passionate she is about this project as it is. So people may or may not believe her. Those who don't, I hope, have some proofs to back their claims about how she was driven by some misogynistic values. I hope that their view isn't simply based on a "don't believe a woman" standing position.

Thanks 😊 Yes, this happy reunion ending is the one I chose..

They're in the real world now. We don't know their names anymore. The real question is which world and which timeline? I wrote once the comm with the possible interpretation so I'm just reworking it.

At first many ppl thought they weren’t in the same world/universe as wuwu and the others cause of the line Jiling said...something like “there are no demons here". That line alone doesn't exclude other alternatives and possible explanations.

In many fantasy stories, the story often begins or ends in some peaceful village or remote area where demons simply never appear, so people believe they don't exist at all. Besides, the kid running was saying something like "demons are coming," so this world clearly knows about the concept of demons. Stories about them exist, perhaps spread by travelers visiting distant places. One such place could be where wuwu and others live. So this could very easily still be the same world, nothing in the storyline actually excludes that possibility.

The timeline could also still be the same one where wsg witnesses the changes rapidly shaping a new reality after Jiu Ying was ultimately defeated. We got to see the version of the world that now exists. Wsg is the only one aware of the changes cause he kept his memories. Wwy clearly had no recollection of the past events and her sister. Right before Lwy was supposed to be " introduced" for the first time to her fox sisters as originally planned by Jiu Ying, Lwy entered the time rift together with Jiling. Doing so, she erased herself completely from that timeline. The result was that none of her fox sisters any longer knew or could have known Lwy ever existed. But on a positive note, right before Wsg visited Wwy, she had a beautiful dream she wished it was true. It’s very possible those were fragmented memories surfacing as dreams. And once wsg tells her the full story, inc everything about lwy, she won’t remain as completely nonexistent anymore. Maybe over time the memories lingering in her subconscious could recover complete.

Now ywh’s ending is really interesting to me cause it leaves 3 possible outcomes.One is that he begins a journey trying to discover his own identity and purpose. His identity would no longer be built around remnants rooted in obsession. GJM could have ended the story there, but he didn’t, cause the call is still there. Which path YWH will choose is left open...we don't know. Personally, I prefer the one where he finds his own identity and purpose. If he’s just obeying a voice imposed on him, he would start obsessively looking for the person it belongs to. It would undermine his growth cause this would put him back on the same path where he once was. if Jiling doesn't even live in that world... for people who had accepted such an interpretation...his ending would be even more sad and tragic, his obsessive search would become meaningless and futile. This would be the ending carrying GJM’s signature, his own style. But because we were given as few details as possible in this final arc about ywh it actually opens a third path..nothing says he must chose between the first two path, he can do both, one where he finds his own identity and purpose first and then freely chooses to answer the call. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. This is the final ending for me. Cause it gives a hopeful note, him ultimately finding Jiling and Lwy, would make a reunion between two sisters the true happy ending.

Ooh, he will.. I really hope he recovers soon 🙏 Whatever project by gjm is planned, it probably won’t happen until late this year or early next year anyway.
I haven’t heard anything about his health that sounds seriously alarming. He has canceled some events..but I don’t know for how long. He said there's no reason to worry. Personally, I hope it’s more about overstimulation.. when social interaction and public exposure start draining an introverted person. And he is truly introverted. So i just hope it’s a case of needing to withdraw and recharge. That's essential and smart thing to do early, that's my experience. Ofc I could be completely off the chart. And some other health issues are troubling him. But a fact he has lost weight, tho unintentionally, he said...by eating way less when anxious, or maybe he used a diff word...maybe they were signals to take a small pause, and he'll be as good as new in no time...

Hahaha, pissing fans off is his fuel😁
I doubt he’ll film with Rui again anytime soon ...maybe not for a year or two. He keeps mentioning retirement and going back to writing books, tho I doubt he’ll fully leave. He enjoys this too much. Plus he still has HD drama and that boy group project to finish.

My prediction is that his next drama might be with Yanan. Following a pattern he had for Rui, and it was support role → 2ML → ML...for the love interest it went NLI → NLI → LI 😁. ... Yanan being the next ML with LI should be the right result.
Plus i feel like GJM has almost emptied his bag of ideas for the type of char Rui could play...just for VoS he pulled out 6 character. So a longer break feels possible.
Tho one thing bothers me..remember Removing Armor? It suddenly reviving from the dead. New scriptwriter, no info about the director. He and Rui are on the mdl. No idea how Rui’s name appeared, did it come from a contract or some announcement. For now, it’s just wait and see...i vaguely remember abt the novel that the ML was some kind of colored flag… red flag? black flag? That’s all i have.

Some Chinese scared me how not catching their tones and learning them from the start is a nightmare to correct later. If you use the correct tone but don't pronounce well.. like with consonant r/l, they'll still understand. Tone changes the meaning...so tones are more important. But I was told that this is smth to practice a lot in the first few weeks...later it comes naturally..

If you and I got to do CGI but for Rui’s scenes...the drama coming next year would be a dream project. Just the arrow scene alone would take weeks. I’d take my job very seriously....staring at him frame by frame to catch every pixel...picking the right colors...filling each one carefully...matching shades. The quality premium precision for zero salary. Ofc the real Rui would have to show up to compare that not a single dot had distorted his real figure and face. That's the cgi standard practice..

The latest news, from a few days ago, it's now rumored for June, but there's no news on FL yet..nor any official announcement. Deng Wei was still only announced by GJM when he uploaded that cryptic picture with his covered face ...where his fans recognized him by some tiny mole..😆 I have no clue why gjm chose that suicidal path to start with the ml when fans of the donghua and the novel are so much more protective of the FL...she plays center, left and right wing. Reading their comments there is no a single actress in the whole China worthy to play her. And GJM nonchalantly was like, here yall ...meet the ml. Announcement over.