JoleCole's Station

If you have been following my comments about Chen Xiao and Zhao Liying, you are probably firmly aware of my conviction that they have successfully translated their reel chemistry to real chemistry. Even before their spike in popularity during the broadcast of Legend of Lu Zhen, countless "insider" scoops about their supposedly dating relationship surfaced. These "insiders" alleged that Chen Xiao and Zhao Liying began dating shortly after the shooting wrap-up of Legend of the Lu Zhen (around spring 2012) and even news of their co-habitation in Beijing emerged.

We have good news followed by some potential bad news regarding the new Ying Xiao pairing in the new Return of the Condor Heroes. The good news has obviously already been revealed through the release photo above. And thank goodness Chen Xiao finally has one decent "normal" costume styling! I really dislike the new Yang Guo's hooligan and "I-belong-to the-Beggar-Sect" styling. Though his Yang Kang's costume is definitely not up to par with the majestic details of Yuan Hong's version in the 2009 Legend of the Condor Heroes adaptation, it is certainly several degrees better in magnitude than his Yang Guo's mess.

The cameo role of Yang Kang, the troubled father of male protagonist Yang Guo, was originally given to mainland Chinese actor Li Chen ( Beijing Love Story ) in Return of the Condor Heroes . Due to Li Chen's recent and bitter breakup with actress, Viann Zhang, who is playing Li Mochou, he supposedly resigned from the production to avoid further association with his ex-girlfriend. Consequently, the roles of both father and son have fallen on Chen Xiao's shoulders. Chen Xiao is absolutely PERFECT as Yang Kang. I feel he may do a better job playing Yang Kang than Yang Guo. Since we already know that Zhao Liying is slated to play Yang Guo's mother, Mu Nianci, can I scream "HECK YAY!"? Once again, I will get to see this beloved onscreen couples together and this time they get to play one of my favorite wuxia couplings!

For a mainland Chinese actress, I find Wang Luodan to be rather plain and average in the look department. She can look quite attractive and memorable in modern clothes, but the parted hair that completely covers her ears and almost half of her face in Virtuous Empress of the Han Dynasty does absolutely nothing to accentuate her natural beauty. In the official promotional poster, I thought the bad angle and bad photoshopping even made her look distorted and hideous. Consequently, I was rather disappointed in the casting decision. I felt Wang Luodan does not possess the striking beauty to portray Wei Zifu, the dancing girl who managed to captivate the attention of the tyrannical Emperor Han Wudi. I strongly believe great beauty as well as prudence played a great role in helping this poor dancing girl to climb up the social ladder and to attain the status of empress. To my great surprise, the production finally released these pretty stills to prove me wrong! Wang Luodan is absolutely...

I don't have much to say except that I dislike the hairstyling of both Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü in this latest adaptation of Return of the Condor Heroes. I generally like more clean styling for guys in both modern and period productions. The costumes for Yang Guo make Chen Xiao look like he belongs more to the Beggar Sect than the Ancient Tomb Sect.