Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber-2008

[Sugar]

Actually, Ady's quite a versatile actress- she's convincing in both silly and sad roles which requires lots of helplessness and tears. She may be overly "cute and silly" in some of her series but I've seen some works which she's capable of playing out the ruthless, commanding and cunning nature in her character(s) as well.

Sure, she could play Xiao Zhao, but I think it would be a waste of her capabilities and I really want to see her in a good and complex role for once because most of her recent roles haven't been that fantastic. Anyhow, as much as she can take on pretty and demure roles, she still lacks that "quiet obedience" (guai qiao in mandarin) quality which i think someone like Yang Mi naturally has. Like what many have mentioned, Ady is more of a spunky character. Come to think of it, He Zhuoyan (who played Shuang'er in the new DOMD) would be an excellent choice for Xiao Zhao. Just that she lacks the exotic beauty XZ supposedly has.

Sunny, in which role was Ady ruthless and commanding> I can only think of outsiders..

and btw, I thought Alyssa' Zm was HIGHLY animated. and silly.. so i mean, if Ady portrayed a spunky ZM...:P I would'nt hold it against her

[Rosyiris]

I hope Ady gets a good role in this movie...her role was unbearable in the new Flying Fox series The director really butchered the character...like he always does with most of his series. I would not mind seeing her as ZM... Hmmm, now that HXM refused the main role, I wonder who's the lucky actor to get the main role?

[sunnysnow]

Sunny, in which role was Ady ruthless and commanding> I can only think of outsiders..

and btw, I thought Alyssa' Zm was HIGHLY animated. and silly.. so i mean, if Ady portrayed a spunky ZM...:P I would'nt hold it against her

I wouldnt want a repeat of Alyssa's ZM so if Ady's going to do that, I would agree with ZJZ not using her but i seriously think Ady has more potential that being cutesy and animated. Lin Yueru (in CP) was quite a ruthless character, on top of being extremely spoiled and unreasonable before she met Xiaoyao. Remember her whipping her servants and lashing out at Xiaoyao for intervening? Ady's character in DHTZ3 also had some sort of the "cunningness" nature and she obviously commanded more presence than the princess character (her good friend) eventhough her character wasn't of royalty. And yea, she also had that seriousness and presence in the later bits of "The Outsiders" albeit with a touch of softness and vulnerability.

[Sugar]

I wouldnt want a repeat of Alyssa's ZM so if Ady's going to do that, I would agree with ZJZ not using her but i seriously think Ady has more potential that being cutesy and animated. Lin Yueru (in CP) was quite a ruthless character, on top of being extremely spoiled and unreasonable before she met Xiaoyao. Remember her whipping her servants and lashing out at Xiaoyao for intervening? Ady's character in DHTZ3 also had some sort of the "cunningness" nature and she obviously commanded more presence than the princess character (her good friend) eventhough her character wasn't of royalty. And yea, she also had that seriousness and presence in the later bits of "The Outsiders" albeit with a touch of softness and vulnerability.

oops, if you didn't remind me, i forgot that Yue Ru was a brat in the beginning

[patricia n]

ady for ZM!!! zjz has very fishy tastes in actresses...he should hire someone else to be the casting director. he finds one person he likes and then he forgets that part of picking a cast is finding suitable actors and actresses to portray the characters.

hu jing (as much as i originally voted for her for clh, now with regret) is not appropriate for the role where as ady is. plus, hu jing would be better off playing zwj's mom. hmm, but ady is not a xz...what a waste of her talent that would be.

[vivi_g]

Ady was pretty fierce in the last half of Legend of Hero, too, when she plays as the daughter.

[Sugar]

Ady was a big brat in Snowy Mountain.....

[sunnysnow]

Ady was pretty fierce in the last half of Legend of Hero, too, when she plays as the daughter.

Oh yea, forgot about Legend of Hero because she was a damsel till the last part. She did quite well with being vengeful and scheming towards her character's father because she was manipulated by the villain. I think Hu Jing could make a good ZM just that I find her too matured for the role. A similar character like YSS would suit her better.

Somehow, I really disliked Ady in Snowy Mt. It's not her fault though, the character was just made up to be so bratty, stupid and annoying!

[ann_fang]

Sorry but ZJZ is blind when it comes to pick suitable actors and actresses for characters. Before the "disaster" I thought he had been a great director but after the disaster I think he is a wast of my admiration. Hopefully he won't screw up another JY novel.

[sunnysnow]

ZJZ's like what pat mentioned- he sticks to one formula and keeps recycling it. He's not the only director like that though, there are many directors who like to keep re-using the same actor they know again and again and again probably because they feel more assured or something. Or they could be plain lazy to source for and build a working relationship with a new actor. Suitability for role/character fit is not their priority. ZJZ also seems to love fantasizing about using big names but end up being rejected by them or managing to only persuade them to guest-star.

[WuxiaGem]

I agree that Hu Jing would play a good YSS (that's ZWJ's mother right?) She is only a couple of years older than Ady but he has a more mature air. Besides, YSS only appears when she's young in the story so it should be fine.

Bobby would be a good ZWJ but I hesitate because I want Ady to be ZM more and for some reason I don't think they would have the two lead characters be Taiwanese because that would be "unbalanced". I don't think it's about politics as much as demographics and trying to attract a wide audience, young and old, to the series. I hope I'm wrong and that they would choose people according to talent and not trying to have a pan-Chinese (Taiwan, HK, Mainland) cast to make marketing easier. But if it comes down to having only one Taiwanese lead, I would choose Ady over Bobby.

[sunnysnow]

Bobby would be a good ZWJ but I hesitate because I want Ady to be ZM more and for some reason I don't think they would have the two lead characters be Taiwanese because that would be "unbalanced". I don't think it's about politics as much as demographics and trying to attract a wide audience, young and old, to the series. I hope I'm wrong and that they would choose people according to talent and not trying to have a pan-Chinese (Taiwan, HK, Mainland) cast to make marketing easier. But if it comes down to having only one Taiwanese lead, I would choose Ady over Bobby.

Well HSDS'03 was a mainland production but both leads were Taiwanese (Alec and Alyssa) but I dont think that will happen with ZJZ's series. I've browsed through several mainland forums discussing about this new adaptation and many are against Ady playing ZM mainly because she is a Taiwanese actress and the most recent mainland adaptation already had ZM played by Alyssa, a Taiwanese. I hope its not because of these reactions that ZJZ gets swayed in his earlier decision to cast Ady in one of the lead roles

[yanfeng]

Ady as Xiao Zhao is a little weird- she does have it in her to play gentle, demure roles, and Xiao Zhao actually is quite a complex character too (she is torn between her mother's debts and her love for Wuji) plus she's supposed to be quite smart at wuxia theory (e.g., she is the person who figures out, then explains the secrets of the Ming Sect's "commandments" to Wuji). Having said that, I just have such a strong impression of Ady's role as Yueru: smart, dynamic, wilful and forceful, I find it a waste that she wouldn't get to play ZM.

Alyssa's ZM I liked, but found her a little too strong on the comic side of things, like others here, my favorite ZM to date is Gigi Lai's, for a devious, almost-mean streak!

And here I can see Hu Jing doing a similar job to Gigi for ZM - her role in Kang Xi Mi Shi, as an intelligent, poetic and besotted lady, but ultimately willing to dedicate her life's work to "the poeple", and in the new Chu Liu Xiang as wise, loving, yet fun and clever Rongrong made me a fan. I think she's excellent at chemistry-building with her co-stars, and I can see her as ZZR or ZM (think of Xiao Zhuang Mi Shi, where she is a powerful, determined and almost-vicious character)! Now if only we could get Wallace Chung or Zhao Hong Fei as ZWJ, then sparks will fly!

Perhaps I'm just easy-going, but I like the idea of Ady and Hu Jing both- either lady would make a cool ZM, though I think Hu Jing would also be a good ZZR. I'm now hoping that they will cast both ZM and ZZR alongside the casting for ZWJ- it'll be nice to have ZM and ZWJ be a pair with great chemistry!

I wonder if ZJZ does screen tests with his actors/actresses before he casts them? It'll be cool to get to see various actors/actresses try their hands at a few scenes for HSDS, and also I imagine it's nice to see how your main cast interacts before you decide on who'll be who!

[gqonmars2]

Is there really a new HSDS coming or are we all just fantasizing?

[Creme de la top]

Sunnysnow, if what you say is true - about how people are against Ady playing ZM because they don't want another Taiwanese actress to play the part - then I think it's really bull. Just because another actress of the same region has played the part, the same role cannot be opened again? That's insane, and for people to think that - well, I don't even know what to say.

If ZJZ proposes that Ady be anything but lead, I say reject his proposal and find another production to be in. She doesn't need to spend months playing a smaller character after returning from her recovery period. There are plenty of jackpots to hit - hopefully for Ady. And let's just hope ZJZ casts some good actresses/actors.

[sunnysnow]

Is there really a new HSDS coming or are we all just fantasizing?

We are just fantasizing about the cast. There is really going to be a new adaptation by ZJZ which is expected to start filming in September this year.

[Mido-Ban]

hu jing looks pretty but i think she would fit some other role better. she actually fits more of the persian girl with her exotic type look and costumes we see her lately in other series. either that she can play role of omei girl, both mother and daughter i guess. i would prefer ady as zhou mei or zhao zhao er ( not sure if i spell it right) she's a versatile actress and i want her to play a main lead that doesn't die tragically this time around.

well besides female lead, we seriously needs to know who plays main leads as well. both father and son r big part to story and i want someone good looking and fits the role. i actually love simon and damiens portrayal of them even tho damien was older but he still fit the part with the dramatic music n such. n who is playing wu ji? i actually hope its someone either then bobby, he doesn't have that cool dumb look, still would prefer hu ge but thats just me i guess.

i just hope zjz doesn't do some stupid editing or focus too much on love story which ruin rotch, i would prefer character development, chemistry, choreography, setting, costumes,(hair style, i actually hate most of the girls hair styles in his series..only one i came to love was zhou zun in lotch, it matched her n her costumes).

all in all i actually hope li guo li would've made this series as well as a next rotch or something since their already finished lotch08. i prefer his style it has that old tvb type atmosphere if u know what i mean.

[resident:alien]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ing/HuJing.jpg

Judging from just this one picture, not ZM but maybe YSS or perhaps, dare I say it, ZZR? If Ady were cast as ZM, then ZZR would probably be a mainland actress.

[Hoju!]

i actually hope its someone either then bobby, he doesn't have that cool dumb look, still would prefer hu ge but thats just me i guess.

I've heard this comment before, and I wonder why people think ZWJ needs to look dumb. Kind-hearted, sweet, and yes, good-looking but the novel ZWJ most certainly is not dumb. At most, I would call him naive, especially at first, due to his childhood and adolescent years of isolation. Bobby could fit that description to me, although I would be just as happy with everyone else's suggestion of Wallace.

[Mido-Ban]

oops i actually ment bobby fit that role. didn't really think before i typed. i think bobby fit that role like i stated but i think wu ji is more smarter then that, only reason people might think he's dumb is his kindness for beautiful women right ^_^. wallace, are we talking about wallace huo in #1 in the World? i think he probably fits the father more then wu ji himself. he looks too cool. he probably fit yang guo or something along those roles he usually plays.