New Heavenly Sword Dragon Sabre'09/10- Deng Chao, Ady An, Liu Jing

[Sugar]

SHe kind of look like an egyptian queen

[redfirefly124]

Wow....I know i'm super late on this but what a horrible choice for Zhou Zhi Ruo. I've never seen this girl act but when I first saw her picture I honestly thought she was acting as Golden Flower Granny or Mie Jue. ^^; Eeee...looks too old....and really, nothing in comparison to Gao Yuan Yuan in the 03 version.
Xiao Zhao looks amazing! WOW! I really love the curls, although I think they would look prettier if they were thicker. Wow...He Zhuo Yan really has the potential to be the best Xiao Zhao yet. (Really liked Florence Tan in the 03 version though)
I love Zhao Min's costumes, especially the red and white one...hair looks nice, but in all honesty, I don't think the white one (with her hair up) really flatters Ady's face. The red and white one makes her look super cute though, and the purple one she was wearing in that scene where she has her head on ZWJ's shoulder makes her look really pretty. I have to admit I think Jia Jing Wen (Alyssa Chia) looks prettier and cuter, but I'll give Ady a chance lol. Her scenes with the moustache look really cute.
Zhang Wu Ji....eee no offense but I really don't find Deng Chao to be that good looking. I think his looks are really more suited for a Guo Jing lol. Haha he and Hu Ge should have switch places xD Anyhow I'll give him a chance though...he and Ady look really compatible together.
Yin Li is my favourite character (along with Yin Su Su), and the actress is pretty/looks cute, but there's something about the hair that sort of looks wrong. I dunno. Oh well, we'll see...
I'm sorta disappointed in the Yin Su Su, imo she doesn't look playful/mischevious enough, but we'll see.
Anyhow, hopefully this adaption will turn out well; I never finished watching the 03 version (the CGI was erm...interesting.) I dunno if I'll end up watching this new one or not, but I guess I'll see once the previews are out and stuff.

~red

PS. Thank you so much sunnysnow (and others) for all the great pictures/news you've posted on this thread! Really appreciate it!

[yanfeng]

Article on ZM from Sunny's post indicates we're not the only ones noticing how tough she looks in the latest picts!

http://ent.people.com.cn/GB/42075/81374/8678301.html

The article talks about how with Ady's costume, alongside Ady's expression in the eyes, her ZM appears "霸气十足且杀伤力惊人" (fully dominating, startlingly fierce)

In that scene (which is when Ady returns to her father's palace- I assume after being set adrift from Snake island) Ady carefully considered the sort of decisive warrior/general air that ZM is supposed to have, and the swift/fierce expressions she displayed took the writers' breath away.

Following this scene, apparently is when ZJZ commented that he didn't choose the wrong person to be ZM.

[yanfeng]

SHe kind of look like an egyptian queen

Hehehe like that analogy!

One more little morsel- apparently Zhou Xun (Chinese actress who was Huang Rong in ZJZ's Legend of the Condor Heroes, and is now quite a famous actress in her own right- most recently appearing in high profile "Painted Skin" as a lead) has family in the area of Long You and it was she who recommended the site to ZJZ as a film site.

She even says that as she will be in the area for Chinese New Year, she might stop by to hang out with the cast/crew.

Sounds like the cast and crew will be working through the Chinese New Year- sounds pretty drastic to me... I think CNY is quite a big deal in China, and I feel bad for the cast/crew after suffering so much also missing out on CNY (but apparently they have to because they only have 1 month- including the New Year- to finish up in Long You before they're slated to move onto the next filming site!)

Though there's a mention that Ady might have 5 days off (they didn't specify when)- which I'm glad of since it sounds like the schedule's been killing... but on the other hand, no new ZM pictures for a few days!


http://news.china.com.cn/chinanet/07....137&port=5269

[sunnysnow]

wow. she looks REALLY tough and manly there! i think maybe she's overdoing it a bit. and her pose in the last one, with her legs apart and one hand on her knee, seems overly aggressive and manly. she doesnt look like a princess at all!

I agree. ZM's outfit adds a certain roughness to the character and Ady's pose in the last pic looks really threatening, stern and rather unpolished (maybe ZJZ/YM's definition of being Mongolian)- something I don't really associate ZM with. I'd always imagine her as someone more cold, arrogant and somewhat heckcarish at first glance- she doesn't even need to appear/look fierce and aggressive to her men because her power and authority is well-known already.

I'm worried that Ady might place too much emphasis on the "imposing and capable" side of ZM and miss out on her sweet and fun side. I don't want an overly cute ZM but i wouldn't wish for Ady to go extreme with the other side of the character as well. Just hope she manages to balance out ZM's different characteristics well enough and assume the correct "air" when dealing with different people in different situations. So far, there's quite a variety of different feelings I get when viewing ZM in different pics. There are pics where she looks challenging, cheeky, tearful or delighted with ZWJ, pics where she looks smart and cunning while confronting her enemies in male disguise, pics alone where she looks deep in thought or absorbed in an issue and pics where she looks aggressive and imposing in her household.

[sunnysnow]

Wow....I know i'm super late on this but what a horrible choice for Zhou Zhi Ruo. I've never seen this girl act but when I first saw her picture I honestly thought she was acting as Golden Flower Granny or Mie Jue. ^^; Eeee...looks too old....and really, nothing in comparison to Gao Yuan Yuan in the 03 version.

Liu Jing looks the least pretty out of all the ZZRs (I think even Charmaine looks more appropriate for the role than her) imo. She's not bad-looking but she's definitely not the graceful and classy drop-dead gorgeous beauty (who made the hearts of young men like ZWJ, SQS and Han Lin'er flutter) I'd always pictured ZZR to be. To make matters worse, she looks older than 30 to me and could probably pass of as someone of Ding Minjun's age. In fact, I'd rather Li Shun (the actress for Ding Minjun) play ZZR instead since I find her prettier and sweeter-looking than Liu Jing (which really should not be the case). Lastly, I find it difficult to have confidence in a ZZR played by someone who has almost no (or very little) acting experience.

[TiffTiff]

Houyeee updated his blog with pix of Ken Chang riding the horse through bamboo forest, very beautiful scenery

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_556562e60100coze.html

I'm glad that ZJZ approve Ady now, let's hope she don't go overboard with the rough, manly look all the time

Thank you for the translation, yanfeng

[yanfeng]

Hehehe... and just a few weeks ago we were worried that Ady was going to be all giggly, cute and too 'girly' a ZM!

But yes, I agree, extremely soft or extremely strong doesn't work for the character of ZM- she should be more complex than that! Still, I've generally found that the various actresses have given ZM too soft rather than too strong a touch (maybe with the exception of Liza Wang!) and Ady herself has had more 'soft' roles than strong ones, so I'm more worried about leaning towards too cute rather than too manly- hence the relative relief and approval I've viewed her 'stronger' outfits (in which bucket I would put her black warrior outfit and her latest ethnic outfit).

And yeah, Sunnysnow, I too think its a good thing that Ady has shown us the many faces of ZM... she's all of those things- strong and soft, manly and feminine, giggly and fierce, powerful and vulnerable. Fingers crossed it'll all balance off nicely without tilting too much one way or the other!

Tifftiff, the scenery is lovely (first shot reminded me of House of Flying Daggers almost!)!

Funnily there was an article that passingly commented that while ZJZ's casting decisions have been viewed as dubious, his filming location decisions have always hit gold!

[loislane]

One more little morsel- apparently Zhou Xun (Chinese actress who was Huang Rong in ZJZ's Legend of the Condor Heroes, and is now quite a famous actress in her own right- most recently appearing in high profile "Painted Skin" as a lead) has family in the area of Long You and it was she who recommended the site to ZJZ as a film site.

She even says that as she will be in the area for Chinese New Year, she might stop by to hang out with the cast/crew.

Something tells me ZX might make a cameo appearance if she really come to the filming set

Btw, I have always feel curious about Zhao Min's mother. She's alive in the book right? But none of the adaptation has ever show her character. Well, in the book, she was also only mentioned once by ZM when she was talking to ZWJ, "Mother said, you're smart," regarding of what ZWJ did to ZM's father's concubine.
I just wish one adaptation has Zhao Min's mother appearance.

[sunnysnow]

Thank u for the update Tiff! Ken looks great as usual.

Something tells me ZX might make a cameo appearance if she really come to the filming set

Btw, I have always feel curious about Zhao Min's mother. She's alive in the book right? But none of the adaptation has ever show her character. Well, in the book, she was also only mentioned once by ZM when she was talking to ZWJ, "Mother said, you're smart," regarding of what ZWJ did to ZM's father's concubine.
I just wish one adaptation has Zhao Min's mother appearance.

It'll be great if Zhou Xun can make a short appearance in the series (though I cant think of who) but i highly doubt so. After all, she's only dropping by for a visit when she's home during the Lunar New Year. Afterall, she's good friends with ZJZ and knows Deng Chao and Ady as well.

With regard to ZM's mother, the 2000 version showed a little of her if im not wrong, in an additional scene where ZM was forced to marry one of the Mongol princes. Can't remember clearly.

[yanfeng]

Interesting idea about ZM's mom- I don't recall ever having seen ZM with her mom in any adaptation (but it's been awhile!)- though that would be an interesting dynamic, I don't think ZM has a significant relationship in any of the adaptations with any other female characters... unless you count ZZR?

Quick off topic: It is an opt made observation that in many fairy tales the true mother figure is dead or otherwise absent (witness the number of wicked step-mothers in stories, or just a child and his/her father).

[sniffles]

Quick off topic: It is an opt made observation that in many fairy tales the true mother figure is dead or otherwise absent (witness the number of wicked step-mothers in stories, or just a child and his/her father).

True. And JY seems to have picked up on that as well. Many of his protagonists have lost one or both parents.

[Sugar]

True. And JY seems to have picked up on that as well. Many of his protagonists have lost one or both parents.

I think it makes them sexier and stand out more.

[TiffTiff]

A quick question to HSDS fans that have read the novel

Does the novel has the part where ZM was force to marry another Mongol prince??? The 86 version didn't have it, but the 2000 & 2003 has. I assume it was thrown in there as extra ????

If Zhou Xan can make a guest appearance, she can played as the one of the wife that got kidnapped and killed, , j/k . It will be one beautiful wife though Or maybe she can play as ZM's mom

[ChineseChik525]

If Zhou Xan can make a guest appearance, she can played as the one of the wife that got kidnapped and killed, , j/k . It will be one beautiful wife though Or maybe she can play as ZM's mom

i think she looks too young to play ZM's mom. besides, does her mom make an appearance in the novel/previous versions? cause i always thought her mom was dead from the impression i got from the 2003 version, lol. they never mentioned her. but i think she would be really good as the wife of ZM's brother.

[loislane]

No, the Mongol prince plot doesn't exist in the novel.

ZM's mother never make an appearance in the novel too. She was only mentioned by ZM when she was talking to ZWJ just like how I describe it in my previous post. Although ZM's mother is definitely alive in that present time(in the novel), considering how ZM mentioned her.

Ha, interesting... ZM's sister in law huh?

[Sugar]

Too old to be Guo xiang i supposed .... maybe Guo Xiang in her older years?

[Mei24]

I just finish watching the 2003 version. She did mention her mother when she asked her older brother about their mother.

Also, can someone clear up who the Yellow Robe Lady is? I never understand who she was?

I seen almost every version of this movie except for the 2000 one. Now I can't wait to see the 2009.

[sunnysnow]

I seriously doubt Zhou Xun will make a guest appearance in this series. She might not even have time to pop down to the set.

Also, can someone clear up who the Yellow Robe Lady is? I never understand who she was?

Yellow Dress Maiden (黃衫女子) – her real name was never mentioned in the novel, but her surname was briefly mentioned to be ‘Yang’ (楊), and she had hint Zhang Wu Ji about her heritage, which fits into the profile of Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nu that suggested that she was probably a descendant of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü. She helped Zhang Wuji in times of danger. Also, she defeated Zhou Zhiruo’s evil ‘Nine Yin White Bone Claw’ (九陰白骨爪) with her own orthodox version of the Jiu Yin Zhen Jing.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hea...ous_characters

New pics


ZZR's disguise looks exactly like Wen Qingqing's male disguise in BXJ. A pity Liu Jing doesn't look as cool or suave as Eva did.

[loislane]

Umm... why Liu Jing doesnt look good in most of the costumes she wear, so far?^^;;; I really hope its the just the photos, and hopefully she'd look prettier in the moving picture xD (maybe she's just not photogenic)