Huayu started by playing Lao Ai

Chapter 238 Winter Sonata Filming Begins

Zheng Jing briefly explained the direction of the script adaptation to Gao Yuanyuan and Jia Jingwen.

Gao Yuanyuan said, "Wouldn't Zhang Wuji's role in assisting Zhu Yuanzhang weaken his personal appeal?"

Zheng Jing smiled and said, "Do you think Zhang Wuji or Guo Jing, the male protagonists written by Jin Yong, are more charming?"

Gao Yuanyuan said directly, "Of course it's Guo Jing."

I don't like Zhang Wuji's personality. Although he is highly skilled in martial arts and kind-hearted, he is too passive and lacks charm.

Of course, I don't like the character Guo Jing either. He seems honest and simple, but he is actually very stubborn.

After Huang Rong followed him, she transformed from a clever and adorable young girl into a boring middle-aged woman.

However, Guo Jing had his own principles and pursuits, and was wholeheartedly dedicated to protecting his country. In the end, he died in battle in Xiangyang, which is admirable.

His moral character is far superior to Zhang Wuji's.

In Gao Yuanyuan's eyes, neither Guo Jing nor Zhang Wuji had any charm.

She prefers the Eastern Heretic.

Zheng Jing analyzed, "Martial arts are not omnipotent. Even someone as strong as Guo Jing cannot withstand an army."

Of course, he could easily escape.

But it was only when Guo Jing chose to die in Xiangyang that the character truly came to life.

The same applies to Zhang Wuji.

A person with superhuman martial arts skills and extraordinary strength can still control themselves and is willing to fight for the happiness of more people. This is the true spirit of chivalry.

Having unparalleled martial arts skills and then indiscriminately killing innocent people, without examining whether one's abilities are sufficient, and yet wanting to become king and tyrant, that is a demon.

Just like those officials.

Some people stick to their ideals, serve the people wholeheartedly, and are incorruptible. They have power but do not know how to seek personal gain for themselves and their families. They are ridiculed as fools.

Some people abuse their power, embezzle and break the law, and ride roughshod over ordinary people.
There are also people who just coast along, neither making mistakes nor doing anything, seemingly achieving nothing.

Which of these three types of people do you think is the most charming?
Jin Yong's Zhang Wuji is the third type, while our adapted Zhang Wuji is moving towards the first type.

He chose to assist Zhu Yuanzhang in order to drive out the barbarians and restore peace to the people.

This is true chivalry and heroism.

The charm of a character lies precisely in these choices and decisions.

Seeing Gao Yuanyuan's thoughtful expression, Zheng Jing continued, "Your Zhou Zhiruo is the same."

She certainly loved Zhang Wuji, but she also had her own mission and ideals.

In the end, he abandoned his love, deceived Zhang Wuji, gathered the Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, obtained the Wumu Legacy, and completed his mission.

The choice between love and ideals is Zhou Zhiruo's dilemma, and also the source of her charm.

Hearing this, Gao Yuanyuan excitedly said, "That's great! Now that you say that, I can't wait any longer. I hope 'Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre' starts filming soon!"

Jia Jingwen looked at Gao Yuanyuan's happy face and felt a little envious.

Her role as Zhao Min was reduced, and Zheng Jing didn't elaborate on the specifics of her character.

Jia Jingwen was too embarrassed to ask.

In Jia Jingwen's view, given Zheng Jinghe and Gao Yuanyuan's current popularity, the fact that she was cast as Zhao Min in this version of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber was already a favor to her.

She was too embarrassed to ask for more.

After all, there are many female stars in Western Entertainment, and many people want to play Zhao Min.

After thinking for a moment, Jia Jingwen said, "With this script change, Zhang Wuji's character is indeed much more fleshed out. But from the audience's perspective, wouldn't it feel frustrating and unsatisfying that Zhang Wuji, who is clearly more skilled in martial arts, chooses to assist Zhu Yuanzhang?"

Zheng Jing smiled and said, "This requires sufficient groundwork to make the audience understand that being a master of martial arts and conquering the world are two different things, and also to let the audience see the misery and suffering of the common people."

Everyone will naturally understand the necessity of expelling the barbarians, and they will also understand that Zhang Wuji cannot accomplish this historical task.

As for the satisfying aspect, this drama has a harem ending.

Zhang Wuji eventually married Zhou Zhiruo, Zhao Min, Xiao Zhao, and Yin Li, winning the hearts of four beauties. After achieving his goals, he retired from the martial world and lived a carefree life.

They live freely and comfortably.

In contrast, Zhu Yuanzhang was tightly controlled by Empress Ma, and being an emperor meant he was extremely busy and exhausted.

In the world of martial arts, Zhang Wuji's life is much more enjoyable.

It won't leave the audience feeling frustrated.

Upon hearing Zheng Jing's words, Gao Yuanyuan laughed and said, "It's been changed. Zhang Wuji has been changed to Wei Xiaobao?"

"You can't have everything. Zhang Wuji's personality has changed. He has a clear goal. Faced with four beauties, he certainly won't hesitate and will win them all over!"

"No wonder you made plans with Yang Xue and Yang Rui."

Because the script is still being revised, the cast for all the roles in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber has not yet been finalized.

The actresses who will play Xiao Zhao and Yin Li have not yet been confirmed.

But this did not stump Zheng Jing.

He called Yang Xue and Yang Rui over to play Yin Li and Xiao Zhao.

Zhang Wuji single-handedly fought against four beauties: Zhou Zhiruo, Zhao Min, Yin Li, and Xiao Zhao, experiencing firsthand the thrill of having multiple wives.

……

After resting in Yanjing for a week, Zheng Jing returned to Chang'an with Jing Tian and Bai Bing on January 13th.

This trip back to Chang'an was both for filming the TV series "Winter Sonata" and for spending the Chinese New Year in Chang'an.

After arriving in Chang'an, Jing Tian and Bai Bing went home first, while Zheng Jing took a car to the Winter Sonata film crew.

Filming for Winter Sonata began on January 8th. The male lead is not present, and the scenes filmed in the past few days are other shots.

Yin Xihu is a very experienced director, and the producer of this Winter Sonata is Zhang Yuling, a newly cultivated producer from Western Film and Television. Although she is not very experienced, she is very proactive in management, strictly follows the rules and regulations, and keeps everything in good order.

When Zheng Jing joined the crew, filming was already on track, and even newcomer Qin Lan had found her footing in performance. Zheng Jing was very pleased to see this.

The character card for Jiang Junshang is a white card with two skills.

One is skiing (professional level), and the other is proficiency in six languages, including English, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, and Chinese.

Zheng Jing had already learned both of these skills while experiencing the script world.

For Jung Kyung, filming Winter Sonata was like clocking in for work—it lacked ambition and was not challenging at all.

Now that the production team is back on track ahead of schedule, Zheng Jing can play a minor role, which is great news.

"President Zheng, this is Qin Lan, the champion you personally selected from the Chang'an competition area."

Zhang Yuling was very good at talking; when introducing people, she also took the opportunity to flatter Zheng Jing.

Qin Lan won the "This Is an Actor" championship and has been receiving various trainings since joining the company. Zheng Jing has not had any private contact with her yet.

However, the two were not exactly strangers.

For Zheng Jing, he and Qin Lan have collaborated many times in the world of scripts.

For Qin Lan, there are regrets and obsessions, so the world of scripts also has some influence on her.

I've been dreaming about Zheng Jing a lot lately.

That's why she was able to quickly get into character after joining the crew.

"You're even more beautiful than before. It seems you haven't slacked off lately and have been working very hard."

Hearing Zheng Jing's comments and praise, Qin Lan couldn't help but smile. She said, "I have always remembered your teachings, Mr. Zheng, and made good use of my physical advantages."

When Zheng Jing first saw Qin Lan in the Chang'an competition area, she was still very young and had the air of an ordinary person.

After this period of training, Qin Lan's speech and behavior have improved, her posture and temperament have been enhanced, and her makeup and styling are more suitable, so she has become more beautiful overall.

Beautiful women, especially celebrity beauties, cannot do without the packaging and maintenance that money can provide.

"Mr. Zheng, this is Director Yoon Seok-ho, and this is Park Yong-ha."

This beautiful woman is our second female lead, Korean actress Kim Hyun-joo.

Park Yong-ha was the second male lead in Full House before, so Jung Kyung is very familiar with him.

Yin Xihu also knew about it.

However, Jung Kyung was still quite surprised when he saw Kim Hyun-joo.

This beautiful woman has delicate and well-defined features, especially her high brow bone and slender, high nose, giving her a picturesque appearance. She is very pretty.

Her cheekbones are slightly high and her jaw is slightly recessed, which are minor flaws, but they also make her more recognizable.

Although the woman's name was Kim Hyun-joo, Jung Kyung recognized her at a glance; she was none other than Han Ga-in, one of the future four beauties of South Korea.

At this time, she had not yet changed her stage name.

Noticing Zheng Jing's scrutiny, Zhang Yuling gave a detailed introduction.

"Kim Hyun-joo filmed an advertisement for Daesang Group last year and signed with WIE. President Lin was very optimistic about her potential and arranged for her to join the Winter Sonata drama crew."

To better fit the image of the second female lead, Han Ga-in cut her hair short and wore more glamorous makeup, which really gave her a villainous aura.

Jung Kyung didn't know that Han Ga-in would be playing the second female lead in Winter Sonata. He was experiencing the world of the script and identifying with Han Chae-young.

So Han Ga-in wasn't affected much.

Upon seeing Zheng Jinghou, she became rather reserved, only managing to say "hello" in broken Chinese before falling silent.

After getting to know the main cast and crew, Zheng Jing began doing her makeup and styling.

Winter Sonata is a slow-paced idol drama that focuses on atmosphere and mood.

Jiang Junshang's character is that of a gentle and refined warm man.

Zheng Jing's makeup and styling were also done in this direction.

Everyone was surprised when Zheng Jing came out wearing a coat, a fluffy wig, and gold-rimmed glasses.

Zheng Jingping's usual style is assertive and direct, but I never expected him to have such a warm and caring side.

Seeing Zheng Jing's makeup and demeanor, Yin Xihu was overjoyed. He knew that his drama was a sure thing, and this was exactly the feeling he wanted.

After taking a few quick photos, Zhang Yuling came over and asked, "President Zheng, our resort and ski resort in the Dabagou Scenic Area are finished. Would you like to take a look?"

In the drama "Winter Sonata", the male lead returns to Korea and becomes the manager of a ski resort.

During filming, locations needed to be taken at the ski resort.

At that time, Chang'an did not have a ski resort, so Western Film and Television simply went all out.

At the suggestion of the Chang'an government, the company invested 2000 million yuan to build a tourist resort and ski resort in the Dabagou scenic area and developed a tourist route.

We strive to do a better job of integrating film and television culture with urban tourism.

The Dabagou area not only boasts snow-covered mountains and forests, but also natural landscapes such as icefalls and icicles, making it a prime destination for enjoying snow in winter.

Upon hearing Zhang Yuling's words, Zheng Jing said, "We'll go to the ski resort later. Let's film the scenes in the city first."

During filming in Chang'an, the crew prepared two plans in case it didn't snow.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated. Starting from January 10th, Chang'an has had two consecutive days of heavy snowfall, and the snow accumulation on the ancient city walls is quite deep.

We took advantage of the scenery to film some scenes first.

On his first day on set, Zheng Jing filmed two night scenes.

The next morning, the film crew arrived at the Affiliated High School of Chang'an Jiaotong University.

This is the high school Zheng Jingdu attended.

It just so happened that the school was on winter break, and the film crew was shooting scenes here, depicting the romance between the male and female leads during their high school years.

(End of this chapter)