Yang Mi (杨幂)

[mango_cake]

Few more cute ones from the same set as above:

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[mango_cake]

A pic posted on weibo by I think the "Love in the Buff" stylist? Promotions for that movie will probably be getting underway soon.

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[mango_cake]

Recall the BVLGARI promo video I posted awhile back with Yang Mi and a few other stars?

On Feb. 16 she attended the actual event. Pics to come, here are a few of her arriving at the event:

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[mango_cake]

Lots of stars attended--YM posted on weibo about being very happy she met Maggie Cheung at the event! ^_^

Pics: (I like the one-shouldered white dress, very simple but clean-cut and classic! Accessorized with a pretty Bvlgari necklace.)

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[mango_cake]

(Not sure who the other girls are....? I think the girl in red is Fan Weiqi...)

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But I have to say, I liked the red dress YM wore in the promo clip better than this white one. That one was a stunning gown!

[sunnysnow]

Anyways, I believe Yang Mi was recently in Thailand shooting for "Piao Rou" who she has an endorsement with. Seems like she actually has time now to do some sight-seeing. Some pics: (More updates of YM at recent events to come!)

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Really like how she looks in these pics. Simple, slender & elegant!

[mango_cake]

^ Yup, I really like YM with long straight hair (we see her with her lovely curls most of the time...still pretty of course but a different feel than straight hair). Someone said her recent straight-hair looks have to do with her endorsement with "Piao Rou"? (Which I'm guessing is shampoo-related or something? Lol.)

More YM pics + updates of the past month to come, but first I'll post some cute screencaps of Yang Mi in "Da Qin Zhi Dao", as Princess Ying Ling, "adopted" daughter of Qin Shihuang--also known as Ling'er. (Name reminds me of LYF's role in CP1, lol. Actually I always thought it was kinda interesting how a lot of their roles parallel/are related to each other--although of course LYF has always had the "better/luckier" side of things. E.g. both had the secondary spoilt female role in Jin Fen Shi Jia/Hong Fen Shi Jia respectively, the lead female roles in CP1 vs. CP3, the role of Xiao Qian in the TV vs. movie adaptation, a character named "Ling'er"; and of course both were in ROCH, and both worked with many of the same actors i.e. Hu Ge/FSF/Chen Kun/HXM/Jackie Chan. Oh, and both produced music albums despite having terrible singing voices, haha. )

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I actually don't really like her hairstyle in this drama that much...it's not as flattering as other styles.

[mango_cake]

Alright, I desperately NEED someone to upload this series ASAP! It's already out there, I can't believe it's taking so long for the pirated version to get on the internet (when things like MRXJ, Gong, and HFCQ were out much the moment they leaked). I guess it's because this one is much lower profile...and hasn't actually started airing anywhere yet?

Anyways, I'm a bit disappointed to note that Princess Yingling is a completely fictional character. Although, it seems like we know almost nothing about Qin Shihuang's daughters (apart from the fact that they were probably all brutally killed, along with his other sons, when Qin Shihuang died and Qin Ershi came to power ), so lots of room for creative license there I guess. I was also surprised to find out that "General Meng Yi" was not a "general" (as wrongly portrayed in "The Myth" movie and drama), but more of a scholarly official in Qin Shihuang's court. It was his brother, Meng Tian, who was actually a general! (In DQZD I think Ling'er loves Meng Yi but ends up marrying Meng Tian? Gee, wonder where we've heard that one before? ) Both brothers were also killed upon Qin Shihuang's death...hopefully DQZD ends before that part because I don't particularly want to see that bit, haha.


Oh well, even if Ling'er is fictional, YM has pretty good luck with playing really great real historical characters. She somehow always strikes gold with those (guess it kinda makes up for her having had bad luck with other pretty bad dramas--then again, most actors can't escape from that issue ). Wang Zhaojun and Ru Ji are two of my favourite female characters in Chinese history because both were quite courageous ladies who saved their country. In contrast, many women are famous for being power-hungry and ruthless schemers (though some were quite accomplished politically) or led to the destruction of kingdoms (though in some cases, like Xi Shi and Diao Chan, this was admirable because the country in question was "bad").

If she does end up playing Mulan as well, YM will complete my trifecta! And all three helped save their countries in very different ways, too. As a bonus, the one other historical character YM played, Dun'er, was the virtuous first Empress of Qianlong (who, while not as impressive as WZJ/Ru Ji/Mulan, sounds like the perfect model Empress with nothing bad written about her--quite a change from the many "evil"/scheming Empresses/Empress Dowagers in history).

[mango_cake]

Also wanted to add that I think she’s a good friend for acting in Beijing Love Story. From what I heard her role seems pretty thankless, but she took it to help out Chen Sicheng, who was making his directing debut. It’s a gutsy decision, and in the long run I think it will help her grow beyond the idol niche and be considered for a wider range of characters.

Yup! I also heard at first Yang Mi wanted to play the role of Lin Xia (the typical bubbly-but-slightly-rebellious, stubbornly-in-love, optimistic-and-friendly girl) but Chen Sicheng convinced her to play Yang Zixi instead (with very little screentime and not really a "likable" character).

Personally I didn't like Lin Xia that much (although she was probably the most well-liked character among the general audience) and found Yang Zixi to be a more complex character (even if there were times I wanted to smack her!). I also thought YM did a good job in making the character somewhat understandable and pitiable despite her actions--and like you said, it should definitely help her in terms of her acting career.

[ByStander]

YM is so flexible, she can bring out the beauty in almost any kind of style

I really want YM play Mulan because she is my favorite heroine and was previously portrait by my other favorite celebrity, Vicky Zhao althought I feel like if that happens, YM will probably get compare to Vicky again. Ever since Gong 1 became famous, people dubbed her as the second Xiao Yan Zi, and then right after Gong's popularity she starred in a min guo drama JCSS - which Vicky also starred in "Romance in the Rain" right after she gained her popularity from "Princess Pearl". And now with Mulan . I seriously don't get why YM is being compared to too many other actresses, ie. Liu Yi Fei, Fang Bing Bing, etc...

just finished Ru Yi (the finale broke 2.0+ rating , not sure if it's more than Gong 2 or not but it's unexpected for sure), moving on to HFQC, then probably DQZD (if it's available online) so many dramas I haven't seen yet

[mango_cake]

^ I guess everyone gets compared to everyone else...like YM says, it's not necessarily a bad thing, you can look at it as being flattering. After all, I think she mostly gets compared to them in good ways...so it's like saying she has a lot of good qualities of all of them. (By the media I mean--comparisons by fans, especially people who dislike her, are a lot less kind...lol! )

Anyways, I think Gong 2's ratings were much higher--definitely nearing 3.0, but I don't know if it ever broke 3.0 like Gong did. However, breaking 2.0 is quite an impressive feat for Ru Yi considering it's not really an idol drama that garners that many viewers (not to mention, I found it really boring... But apparently the later episodes get better? How did you find it, ByStander?). And even by itself 2.0 is a very good rating anyways (not many dramas break 3.0!).

There are definitely too many dramas to watch... XD I'll definitely let you know if I manage to find DQZD. Right now I'm still preoccupied with DQDG...kinda off-topic but DQDG is such a cool continuation of HFCQ (well, it's kinda like watching a prequel, lol!). In the first ep there's even a whole scene where the generals of Wei are talking about the "Hu Fu"and we get several shots of the military seal that Ru Ji ends up stealing a century later, haha. And I was so excited to see that not only does DQDG have Ji Chen (villain from Xiao Qian/Lu Zhonglian from HFCQ) but it also has 13th prince from YongZheng Wang Chao!!! O_o All these actors I used to like popping up again after so many years! (No wonder I kept connecting the guy with Yuan Hong for some weird reason...I was like, this guy is so familiar but he'ss older, not-as-hot, and just so different from Yuan Hong, so why do I keep thinking of YH when I look at him?? Then I looked it up and it hit me...it was because I watched both play my favourite 13th prince! )

[patricia n]

gong 2 definitely broke the 3 mark. that's why yu zheng was joking about making gong 10 even!
anyhow, now that ym's schedule is open and yu zheng's sod ryy's contract is open still...can i dare hope that ym will take that role? i know...very wishful thinking on my part.

[mango_cake]

Guess YZ really struck gold with the Gong series. What's funny though is that, despite how hugely popular Gong 2 was...I don't think any of the actors gained barely any popularity? Unlike YM and FSF who pretty much shot to household name status with Gong...but then again, both already had a good 40+ dramas under their belt and had some fame (especially YM) before Gong aired (compared to YSS who was hardly in anything).

I am with you on the wishful thinking part though I highly doubt it...considering her name has never been mentioned for XAJH and plus, it takes a few months to film a TV series--I don't think YM's schedule is that free. T_T (But this is one series I would totally not mind her running back-and-forth between two film sets simultaneously and filming day-and-night if she has to...I mean, hey, she's done it for the past 2 years! ...I sound so terrible don't I? )

But the good news is, someone in the Baidu forums who knows a lot of insider info about her projects said that her possible TV drama later on this year is definitely NOT a Yu Zheng drama (I think in reference to the TV series I mentioned earlier). Yay! (XAJH is the only YZ drama I actually want her in...and that is only because it's a JY wuxia, lol. The person mentioned this news because Yang Mi's name kept popping up being rumoured in relation to "Yun Zhong Ge", due to film near the end of this year, so she put an end to that rumour.)

[mango_cake]

Ok, just went back and re-watched the DQZD trailer (which I keep doing periodically...but haven't in awhile) and it looks like the series timeline does go to the end of Qin Shihuang's reign because there are shots of all the good characters imprisoned, being executed, or suiciding. T_T Damn, I had a feeling this would end tragically. Although perhaps Princess Ling will be spared since she's just a fictional character? XD

I'm doubly glad now that HFCQ ended on a happy note. Although (and not sure if this is true or not) I just read in the Baidu forums, someone said that FSF apparently was disappointed they cut off the tragic ending--supposedly the ending scene was originally him and Ruji's son grieving for her at her tomb or something. T_T Sounds super depressing, but FSF said it was quite poignant and he injected a lot of emotion in that scene so he was a bit sad it got wasted. Now I'm a bit conflicted over whether or not I want to see that scene...I've had some time to get over HFCQ so I think I wouldn't mind seeing an alternate tragic ending, but on the other hand it might ruin the "happy ending" memory of it I have now. Oh well, it's not like I have a say in the matter anyways, and it's not like Chinese dramas released DVDs of deleted scenes so it probably won't see the light of day. Probably for the best really...

[mango_cake]

I just uploaded the opening and ending themes of DQZD: (unfortunately low quality but all that's out there so far)




Somewhat uncommon among these CCTV serious dramas, this one seems to have no shortage of handsome young guys. (Most of these historical dramas seem to be slightly lacking in male eyecandy since most of the men are older! )

And actually, all of Yang Mi's clips in the drama are completely uploaded on Tudou...I started watching it but it just didn't feel right not watching the whole thing so I stopped. Her voice IS dubbed in this drama--ironically it actually feels a bit weird now! (Since all the YM dramas I watched recently--MingYun, Beijing Love Story, Beijing Fairytale, Ru Yi, HFCQ--have her original voice; and she also had her original voice in the DQZD trailers.) But, ultimately I do think the dubbing will be best (especially since this one was filmed in 2007 so she probably didn't have the best voice acting).

[Cesare]

I'd prefer DQZD without this princess character. I prefer my historical dramas without doe-eyed princesses (or with doe-eyed princesses mostly reduced to passive props).
Few things are as bloody irritating as too much girly stuff interfering with politics, scheming and warfare. But what I've seen of YM was only mildly irritating, so who knows - the character might grow on me later, when I watch the rest of the series (if I ever get the chance, that is...).

Anyway - how someone can even suggest that such an awesome story material as the Shaqiu plot and Zhao Gao's grand scheming should be sacrificed for the sake of some sort of lame pleasant ending, that's so beyond me...:-) (We all know the end of it anyway.)

[mango_cake]

^ I do agree a tragic ending is more fitting of these type of series...I guess I've just seen too many series with depressing endings and my favourite characters dead, so I always want something happy. Since DQZD seems to focus more on the accomplishments of Qin Shihuang (though maybe I'm mistaken) I thought maybe they would end the series before his death (and also the death of a whole slew of other people in the Qin court)--but of course, it would definitely be more interesting and exciting for them to incorporate that part of history as well, so I'm ultimately happy they went that route.

Anyways, I guess I am just a sucker for a bit of "girly" stuff injected into the historical dramas (as long as it isn't too intrusive and makes some sense). The really serious historical dramas centred only around the men can get a bit too dry and boring for me, even though I know those are probably more historically accurate (though I like to think the historians back then just downplayed the role of women ^_^). It can be hard to strike the right balance though.

[ByStander]

Mango_cake I got it off of weibo. The one that Yang Mi replied to.

Question. Is DQZD the one with FSF in it?? As for the characters' voice whether it's dubbed or not, it doesn't really bug me. imo, Yang Mi's voice is unique (like Qi Wei's) and I actually like it more than dubbed since it's more realistic

[Cesare]

FSF is not in DQZD.

[mango_cake]

Mango_cake I got it off of weibo. The one that Yang Mi replied to.


Question. Is DQZD the one with FSF in it?? As for the characters' voice whether it's dubbed or not, it doesn't really bug me. imo, Yang Mi's voice is unique (like Qi Wei's) and I actually like it more than dubbed since it's more realistic

...I meant...how did you find the series in general? The last few eps must've been really good, because I just saw the ratings graph and it hovered around 1.2/1.3 for almost the entire run then shot up like crazy, jumping to 1.5, 1.7, and then finally 2.2. O_o)

And nope, Yang Mi is mainly paired up with Li DongXue in this series (she was previously paired with him in Diao Man Xin Niang; he also gained a lot of popularity recently for his role in Zhen Huan Zhuan, where he was paired with Sun Li).

Anyways, I just read an interview back from 2007 with Yang Mi--she had her pretty distinct personality even back then! Interestingly, she mentioned she actually wanted to play a somewhat villainous character in DQZD, but the director ended up giving her the Princess Ling role. Wonder which role she was after first?? (YM also said that similarly, she wanted to play Guo Fu in ROCH but she got Guo Xiang instead. I guess she must've been happy to play the villainous Ling Long in Di Ren Jie then! )

However, one thing I didn't like was that she mentioned in DQZD, Princess Ling is the one who actually comes up with the idea for "Qin Zhi Dao"... I mean, I haven't seen this drama yet but this doesn't really sound like a good idea--having a fictional character be the driving force behind such a crucial achievement in history and the focus of this series?? T_T Maybe it will make more sense while watching it...