JoleCole's Station

The Patriot Yue Fei is the latest talk in Chinese TV. This grandiose bio-epic traces the life of one of the most venerated but tragic generals in Chinese history. He was the epitome of loyalty and revered by later generations for the next 800+ years. While the names of many imperial emperors are lost in the records of history, Yue Fei is still a celebrated name in China even till this day.  There are literally a plethora of temples erected in China to honor this man's military accomplishments and the Confucian virtues he personified. Unfortunately, Yue Fei also paid heavily for his loyalty and fame. He did not get killed by his enemies in the battlefield nor did he die from his war injuries. He died because he was too good at defeating his military enemies and failed to address his own political enemies at home. As a historical figure, Yue Fei is definitely someone I admire but not personally excited to learn about. Perhaps because of his tragic ending I developed a natural res...

To all YingXiao (Chen Xiao+Zhao Liying) shippers, this post is dedicated to toi ! I think I'm totally obsessed with this pairing. So to my non-YingXiao readers, please have patience or just ignore this post. After the Shanghai Film Festival, the cast of The Palace attended the official press conference the following day. The actual conference was quite procedural and dry. Nothing special besides the fact we get to see more photos of the cast. The host and reporters shifted their attention mostly on Zhou Dongyu since she's considered the most "accomplished" in the movie industry. Chen Xiao looked like he was pissed at the world at the Shanghai Film Festival. Luckily, he brightened up a little for this event.

I have been hearing talks from Yu Zheng about the movie version of The Palace for the last two years. I actually never expected much from the guy except for fluff. Thanks to my growing interest in the Chen Xiao and Zhao Liying pairing, I started to pay attention this movie when I learned that they both have a part in it. This newly released official trailer unexpectedly blew me away with the visual quality and cinematography.  The overall atmosphere of the film is characterized by this dark heaviness. The actual film looks tenfold more impressive than any official stills publicized so far. Chen Xiao's real voice is also very character appropriate and sounds so much better in the movie than in interviews. I can already sense bitchiness of Zhao Liying's character smug. And lastly, I love Zhou Dongyu's innocence and melancholy. Her youth certainly adds to the natural innocence of her character. I do not feel any forcefulness.

Any Chen Xiao and Zhao Liying shippers? I have new photo goodies for you! To promote their upcoming summer movie The Palace , our lovely onscreen couple participated in the highly publicized red carpet event in Shanghai yesterday along with Producer Yu Zheng and their co-stars Zhou Dongyu and Zhu Zixiao. Being newbies in the film industry, Chen Xiao and Zhao Liying both looked a little tense under the intense media scrutiny.