Michelle Ye and Liu Xuan Film “Eastern Battlefield”
The 100 million RMB television drama project Eastern Battlefield <東方戰場> is currently actively shooting in Changchun, Jilin province. Starring Michelle Ye (葉璇), Liu Xuan (劉璇), and Zhang Lu (張魯), Eastern Battlefield is a wartime epic that takes place during the Japanese invasion in China during the 1930s through the 1940s. The story starts off with the infamous Mukden Incident in 1931 and ends with the surrender of the Japanese Empire in 1945. It is expected to film at historical locations in the Chinese provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Hubei, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Chongqing, and Yunnan. It will also be exploring locations in Australia, Germany, and Japan.
Zhang Lu portrays the young Puyi, the last Emperor of China. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty and his abdication in 1912, Puyi was declared the Emperor in the puppet state of Manchukuo in the early 1930s. Liu Xuan portrays Empress Wanrong, Puyi’s wife. Michelle Ye portrays Yoshiko Kawashima, a Japan-raised Manchu princess who served as a spy for the Japanese Kwantung Army. Japanese actress Ryoko Nakano (中野良子) is also confirmed to star in the series, portraying the mother-in-law of Chi Buzhou.
Director Questioned Liu Xuan’s Acting
Director Lu Qi (路奇) took great considerations when choosing the cast for the series, and while he expects his cast to deliver outstanding performances, he admitted that he lowered his expectations for Liu Xuan, a retired Olympian gymnast. “I chose Liu Xuan for her dignified image and popularity. I did not expect to see great things from her acting. However, in these past months of working together, she has exceeded my expectations and has given me great surprises.” He continued, “I’ve worked with many professional actors before and a lot of them have their own trademark performances. Liu Xuan, however, uses genuine expressions. Using such direct and simple acting performances can really touch the audience.”
Liu Xuan will have several intimate performances with Zhang Lu, and when asked if she had warned her husband about the scenes, she laughed, “He knows about them already. We are all very professional. There won’t be any hindrances.”
To prepare for her role as Empress Wanrong, Liu Xuan watched Joan Chen’s (陳冲) performance in the biopic The Last Emperor. She remarked that Wanrong was a very tragic woman – she married the emperor at only 16 years old and had to flee the empire in fear before she even turned 18 years old.
Michelle Ye Accused For Being a Diva
Michelle Ye was late to the set several days ago, when a large-scale scene involving several of the drama’s main cast was being filmed. Michelle was several hours late, missing out two run-rehearsals with the cast. In an interview, the director complained about the cold and was worried about cast members who had to wait for Michelle in the cold.
When the media was about to accuse Michelle for acting like a diva, she appeared on set looking ill. Coughing, she apologized and clarified that she had fallen sick.
Source: Sina.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
The headgear is getting bigger and bigger.
It could be pretty heavy to wear it.
I guess they just want the headgear to be unique and different for each production.
I think it’s too big. I saw the video footage when Michelle Ye was late, she looked pretty sick and it seems like there is a miscommunication between the crews.
Me too and I think the smaller ones look better. I thanks for the info Puff! I had a feeling that Michelle had a good reason for being late since she does not seem like the diva type at all.
Yeah, agree HTS that Michelle doesn’t come across as the diva type. The director was asked why was Michelle not at the rehearsal, he then quickly said it’s probably not my crews (fault). But Michelle then appeared at the time of filming, looking quite sickly.
She said she woke up at 5am, but was late because of traffic (she had to film at another place earlier). So she arrived at 10am (the notice of filming apparently was around 8am). So I think the director was already angry. She then sat around in the bus waiting to be notified by the assistant director to go out at the appropriate time because she is sick and didn’t want to stand in the cold. She wasn’t told about the rehearsals, and only came out for the actual filming.
I have the impressions that the director and Michelle already don’t get along before that day’s filming.
It sounds like the director favors Liu Xuan a bit more.
@puff,
Thanks so much for the info.I feel bad for Michelle. It is really hard when any actor/actress does not get along with the director(s) because they are like your boss. Just like anyone, they tend to favor some over others. It seems like Liu Xuan is at the good end of the stick while Michelle is at the bad end. At least they only have to endure that for a period of time until the series is completed. Unless they work with that director again.
The headgears give a good excuse for the consort to say to the emperor, “No sex tonite, I have a headache”. The downside is, she could lose her head.
LOL!LOL!LOL!
That’s good one.LOL!
Well, losing her head might not be the down side after all, because now, it’s super lighter ^_< and no more headachev:p
The big head gears are historically correct. Smaller headgears were used in the earlier part of the Qing Dynasty but towards the end of it, bigger headgears were used.
Who is Zhang Lu (張魯)? A male or female artiste? Cannot find the name from Google.
I can’t read chinese so I wonder is that Zhang Lu?
http://news.hbtv.com.cn/2013/1026/577001.shtml
Maybe not. Name is familiar though but then all chinese names are familiar.
@funn
I opened your link, but couldn’t find anything.
Thanks for your help anyway.
I read the article again and found out that Zhang Lu is an actor’s name because he is portraying young Puyi, the last Emperor of China.
Why!?! Mainland dramas have such eye-catching palace costumes but TXB… and just recently saw first episode of BBJX. Amazing costumes!
TVB is really cheap as we all know. They are not willing to spend money on high quality costumes and other things,but just want to make as many series as possible with as little money as possible.
I like their war and beauty costume! <3 Yes step it up TVB!! :D. I wonder how heavy those head gear are? Poor actresses must have neck pain after a shoot :X.
Actually I do not think those headgears are that heavy as compared to the metal ones that the queens and empresses must wear in those other series based on different dynasties.
Actually TVB is willing, look at Gilded Chopsticks. Wong Cholam’s Ko Tin Po seems to wear more luxurious clothes than the princes. So it shows, TVB will pay for some characters and sometimes it doesn’t make sense how come THAT character gets better clothes. Anyway I think I might want to sponsor a comb for Gilded Chopsticks; to comb that seriously bad emperor’s hat with those what do you call? Red fur? Urgghhhh…
HTS, those head gears are heavy. I tried one for fun and I felt like something crushed the top of my head.
I did not say they are not heavy but feel that they may not be as heavy as those jeweled and metal headgears that others wear in non Qing dynasty dramas. I tried one before too but the one that I tried was not that heavy. I guess it varies depending on how big it is and the number accessories it has. Of course the ones worn by maids are not as heavy as those worn by the queens and consorts.
Ahhh I was wearing one for empress (oh so heavy) and concubine (also heavy).Metal ones is heavy as well due to the big hair and then loads of trinklets, hair pins, etc. Basically I feel both as heavy if there is any realism in the creation of those head gears.
No wonder yours is so heavy. I tried a small and plain one that I think is what the maids wear so it was not that heavy. Of course the metal ones are really heavy. I think I would get a headache wearing any of those big ones. But at least the women do not need to shave their head while the men do. The sacrifices they all go through to film these ancient series. No wonder many prefer to do modern series because they are a lot cheaper and easier to make.
You can pin so much stuff on that head gear,if they still sport it, you can put your groceries list on it, school timetable, play darts, hide you women sanitary items, woa so much!
BBJX you must watch in HD. Especially the scenes where the emperor is having some dinner banquet or when the princes arrive for the 10th prince birthday party and their costumes made me go woahhhhhh. I do believe each individual costume deserves a credit in the end credit. They’re so much part of the performance like the actors themeselves.
Agree. The costumes in BBJX were beautiful. I wish TVB would have same in the Ching Dynasty drama series.
I agree and it is great when any series has such great detail which is apparent in the costumes and everything. But you really wonder if TVB will ever be willing to spend so much money on each individual costume like that or not?
Thanks for the advice. Will watch other episodes on HD using YouTube
Michelle Ye should stop wearing pink…the colour is making her look very old..
Yup, pink is not her color.
Really? I think she looks fine in pink. I wear pink a lot
and it is fine but then again it depends on the person
I guess.
it also depends on the shade of pink
I never thought of pink being a color that would make anyone look old. I think colors like brown,olive green and more dark colors would make a person look old,
I also think pink dun suit her
What happened with Lui Xuan’s contract with TVB? She filmed one drama then left..
I was wondering the same thing. I think maybe she did not even have a contract but was just recruited for that one series only. Maybe speaking Cantonese became a burden for her?
wow I can’t wait to see this!
Same here.
I really doubt Michelle acted like a Diva–Michelle is known for her restless, workaholic, and has good work ethics. Perhaps there is just a miscommunication
Precisely!
i will not believe Michelle acted like a Diva.