I'm not a drama freak, I can really see through the script

Chapter 211, Muscular Fahai Sells His Body
The popularity of "The World's Number One" continues.

As a work that incorporates elements from Jin Yong's novels, each of the main characters has its own target audience.

But every storyline has a true protagonist, the Iron-Blooded Marquis Zhu Wushi.

This is the real protagonist!

The main character in the side story is a fake protagonist.

Originally, after this wave of viewership ended...

Next up is—The Legend of the White Snake.

This is purely a CCTV project.

Following the Beiping TV series "Young Imperial Envoy", "Iron Teeth and Bronze Teeth 3" took over the time slot.

Wang Jinsong also has his own thoughts on "The Legend of the White Snake" and doesn't have too many expectations, after all, it's a work that Yu Zhu came before.

It has an excellent predecessor in every sense.

There is Zhao Yazhi as Bai Suzhen.

This is a classic image.

Its influence is no less than that of Teacher Liu's Sun Wukong.

It's practically impossible to produce a work that surpasses his predecessors.

Xu Xiaodan, who was standing next to her, also felt the same way. It was quite rare, considering that the Legend of the White Snake had such a superior predecessor.

In a sense, this can be seen as a shackle that restricts the creativity of later generations.

The beginning was the peak.

The only way to differentiate ourselves is in certain areas.

However, judging from the current viewing experience, it has indeed made some differences.

First of all, the image of the White Snake is quite good, and Liu Tao is really beautiful, giving off a feeling of "someone else's wife".

Chen Bing gave this a very high evaluation.

This kind of "someone else's wife" vibe is just perfect.

It's totally my style.

This tastes just right.

Wang Jinsong also offered a sharp commentary at this time.

"Slay the White Snake!"

"You guys are just after her body, how despicable," Xu Xiaodan said, looking at the two men with utter contempt.

His vision is too limited.

It's because of audiences like you that this industry is so rife with materialism.

"First of all, I need to appreciate the inner meaning, but that means it has to satisfy my eyes first. Otherwise, how can I have the mood to appreciate its inner meaning?"

Wang Jinsong chuckled at this point: "Our viewing style represents [the majority]. Since we all watch movies, we should consider the perspective of the majority."

"I know that commercial TV dramas are mostly dominated by ratings. I just want to say that you two are just being perfunctory."

"Hey."

at this time
Wang Jinsong was thinking about it.

What kind of person is Li Xuan's Fahai?

After all, as a well-known legend, "The Legend of the White Snake" doesn't actually have much to offer in terms of strange expectations.

This story has been interpreted so many times in various places that even with minor adjustments, it cannot escape the emotional entanglement between the White Snake and Xu Xian.

The White Snake repays her debt of gratitude, and Xu Xian is reborn as a snake.

The Green Snake caused trouble, and Fahai chased after her.

Add a secular plot of punishing evildoers, and you get "The Legend of the White Snake." Nowadays, it's all about the roles and the actors' performances.

It's basically all about the actors and the director's shots.

This director's previous experience was actually with the terrible "Shaolin Martial King" project, which was quite well-known within the industry.

The reason why the project was so bad was that Wu Jing, the lead actress at the time, left to develop her career in Hong Kong, partly due to this embarrassing project.

Wu Jialuo served as the assistant director of "Shaolin Martial King".

This time, he served as the chief director of "The Legend of the White Snake".

What kind of effect can it have?
In terms of roles.

At least, this Xu Xian.

It was actually played by a real man.

He's not a tomboy.

Wang Jinsong was quite concerned about this point. When he watched Ye Tong's performance, he couldn't say that she acted badly. Putting aside other factors, the older generation of actors were dedicated, had good acting skills, and were suitable for the role.

It's just that he personally cares more about the cross-dressing aspect.

This time, the actor playing Xu Xian is Pan Yueming, a frail scholar.
His air of weakness didn't seem like an act.

He looked really poor and weak.

This guy.

He really is Xu Xian!
At this time, in Beiping (Beijing), a courtyard house.

Director Zhang Zien watched with satisfaction as Pan Yueming appeared in the TV series.

"You're such a natural weakling! This kind of role is perfect for you. You're just like Zeng Sunya from 'Moment in Peking.' Choosing you was absolutely the right decision."

Pan Yueming: "."

damn it.

Every director who has worked with me has expressed their sincere admiration for me.

She's a natural-born weakling, an actor born to play the role of a weakling. She doesn't need any acting skills; just standing there, she can attract the protective instincts of strong women.

For example, Zeng Sunya.

For example, Xu Xian in "The Legend of the White Snake".
Can I really take your compliment as a compliment?

“Really.” At this moment, Zhang Zien said sincerely, “Don’t underestimate this talent. It is definitely a powerful talent. Even if others want to have this weak feeling, they may not be able to.”

Being weak is also a kind of temperament, and a kind of aura that the entertainment industry needs.

That's talent too, how can you look down on it?

You were born with this ability.

You're a born weakling!
Pan Yueming was a little angry, but he didn't know how to vent his anger. Or rather, he had no way to vent his anger, since the other person was indeed praising him.

A genuine compliment.

You can't really criticize someone, can you?

Damn it.

He has a protective instinct like a small animal; isn't that just like Xu Xian?

This is exactly how Xu Xian should be.

In the eyes of the thousand-year-old white snake spirit, he was nothing more than a pitiful little animal, someone she wanted to hold in her arms and torment him, to completely merge into her being.

Director Wu Jialuo of The Legend of the White Snake keenly grasped this point, allowing Pan Yueming to bring out the gentle characteristics, that unique sense of youth and scholarly air.

Scholar, scholar, weak scholar.

There are actually people who fall for this.

"With your Legend of the White Snake as a foundation, once my Moment in Peking airs, people will have an impression of your image. So far, the feedback on this image is quite good, which puts my mind at ease."

Then, when the topic turned to "Moment in Peking," Pan Yueming fell silent. If we were to say that in the Legend of the White Snake, Xu Xian was the weaker party in the relationship between the two, he was a virtuous man for nine lifetimes and also the benefactor of the White Snake. So, he wasn't entirely the weaker party emotionally. At the very least, he was an evenly matched opponent.

This is the positioning of all dramas, and they all roughly follow this standard. Regardless of strength or weakness, men always have some advantages.

Even in Qiong Yao dramas specifically designed for women, the men are still in a dominant position, but the women have more characteristics and personalities. However, "Moment in Peking" is different. The male lead is just a pet, and the entire plot is driven by the female lead.

It was all driven by the character played by Zhao Yanzi.

In this era, it's called...

A female-centric story.

At this moment, seeing the ratings and online reviews, Wu Jialuo found it hard to suppress the urge to jump for joy.

We've won so much, we're numb with excitement.

We've avenged ourselves.

A viewership rating of 0.002 is just history.

I was just the assistant director of "Shaolin Martial King," and I didn't have much say in it. Under such circumstances, don't have the nerve to shift the blame onto me.

I proved myself with my abilities.

Even if there is a pot, it's not very big!
hateful!

Although it may have benefited from leveraging an older IP, the initial reception of "The Legend of the White Snake" was satisfactory.

This is exactly as expected.

After all, they are already a veteran in the cultural IP field, and they naturally attract attention. It's basically a contest of inner strength now.

Compare roles.

Xu Xian is a effeminate, boastful man, so it seems reasonable that the old Legend of the White Snake had a woman play the role. However, since it is ultimately a male character, it is still more normal for a man to play a man.

The current situation is that if Pan Yueming is cast as Xu Xian, and this gentle, scholarly young man is cast in this role, the public opinion and viewership feedback will tell them the answer.

The Legend of the White Snake is doing quite well this time.

In addition, her portrayal of Bai Suzhen is unique, just like the original version starring Zhao Yazhi.

Right now, in the capital.

Liu Lili said calmly.

"There are no classics that only come once in a thousand years, but there are unique characteristics of their own. It seems that Wu Jialuo is not a real novice. He was just led astray by others before."

I lay on the sofa, lazily watching TV.

Even before her "Chinese Paladin" series aired, trailers for the show were already everywhere, but the response wasn't particularly strong. After all, it's not one of those well-known IPs that would immediately generate pre-orders and sales just by having the name mentioned.

As an IP, Chinese Paladin is still too young.

He's not old enough for that yet.

However, she wasn't in a hurry. She would watch "The Legend of the White Snake" for entertainment first, and then watch "Moment in Peking." As a successful woman, she was still somewhat interested in so-called "strong female lead" storylines.

Unlike her daughter who loves watching idol dramas, she was even a little disappointed in her. "When are you going to upgrade your taste? What's so great about 'The World's Number One'?"

A true woman should watch "Moment in Peking"!
"It's really good, but I think Xu Xian is so weak," Liu Yifei whispered. "He doesn't even look like he can beat me..."

Liu Yifei has years of dance training and some martial arts skills. Contrary to her ethereal beauty, she strongly dislikes school bullying. So much so that when she was studying in the United States, people only dared to give her the silent treatment, but dared not actually use violence against her.

"You..."

On this point, Liu Lili really couldn't refute it; Pan Yueming really did seem like he couldn't beat his own daughter.

Maybe.

This type of man, with his adorable, bird-like demeanor, can be quite competitive at times.

He gives people a strong urge to protect him.

It's safe to say that Liu Yifei simply doesn't like this type.

The plot has also been adapted. In the original Legend of the White Snake, Bai Suzhen's feelings for Xu Xian were purely out of gratitude, and there was little element of love in the emotions that followed.

It's more about the older sister's feelings for her younger brother.

However, in this version of the Legend of the White Snake, they have more emotional scenes. In terms of love, this gentle and weak Xu Xian is braver than the original Xu Xian, and is a young man who is truly infatuated with love.

He likes Bai Suzhen.

Bai Suzhen also loved Xu Xian.

Good heavens, I can actually see a genuine love story in The Legend of the White Snake!

In this regard, Liu Lili can give director Wu Jialuo's adaptation a very good score.

He really captured the feeling of love in the film.

"It seems this version of the Legend of the White Snake is going for a romance adaptation; that's interesting."

IP adaptations are essentially putting new wine in old bottles. You can't be confined to a single feeling. Looking at the adaptations already made, given the various structures of Journey to the West, if you want to surpass the previous works and create a feeling that audiences will buy into, you can't just simply remake them.

Instead, we need to add new things to it, adding new features without overturning the basic settings.

"Why hasn't Brother Li come out yet?"

At this point, Liu Yifei became slightly curious about Li Xuan's role in the script.

All I know is that he is Fahai.

I wonder what Brother Li would be like if he were to play the stern monk Fahai.
"Is this the show where you got punished, boss? This Pan Yueming is such a sissy, but he does look pretty convincing."

At this moment, Luo Jin touched his chin. The overwhelming sense of fragility and effeminacy was more like that of a woman than a woman, especially the blush on his cheeks, which looked so delicate that it seemed like it could burst with moisture if you squeezed it.

For a grown man to be able to create that "lotus emerging from water" effect is something I've never seen so effective before, the last time was when his mother was watching a drama about the peninsula.

Men from the peninsula have this style.

"You would definitely be punished for acting in this play."

At that moment, Zhu Yawen, who was lying on the side, got goosebumps all over.

This is the targeted nature of ratings. For example, the ratings for "The Legend of the White Snake" are specifically targeted at women.

It's not that they reject male viewers, but Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen are more accepting of tougher male characters.

After all, that's their own style.

"It's not that we'll be punished, it's just that this show has this style, it's like a combination of Korean Peninsula and Taiwanese idol dramas, a mythological project. Oh right, like the style of Singapore."

Li Xuan felt that this drama was more like the feeling of "Mermaid Legend" from that year.

It also combines the unique styles of Taiwan and the peninsula.

Quite interesting.

The path one must take involves trying and experiencing various different paths.

At this moment, Luo Jin murmured.

"I'm really scared."

"What are you afraid of??"

"I'm afraid you'll suddenly appear with a seductive look on your face, calling me 'Sister,' and I'll tame you~~"

Li Xuan: “.”

Damn you.

Is this how you see me?

“If necessary, I am not against playing such a role.”

At this moment, Li Xuan's lips twitched: "But definitely not now, okay?"

At least, not right now.

"Of course I know, I was just wondering if you could turn the impossible into reality this time." Luo Jin laughed: "You played the Iron-Blooded Marquis in 'The World's Number One' so cool, the only drawback is that the makeup and styling completely covered up your handsomeness."

This can be considered a flaw in "The World's Number One". Li Xuan relied entirely on makeup and acting to portray the temperament and majesty of the royal uncle. The only drawback was the addition of a lot of beard and wrinkles, making Li Xuan look more like an elder of the Deng Dynasty.

This is unavoidable and will have a suppressive effect on appearance.

This makes the already handsome Li Xuan regrettably relegated to the third most handsome man in the series, only better than Guo Jin'an.

Well, it's generally accepted that even if someone tries to look ugly or old with makeup, they'd still be more handsome than Guo Jin'an. In other words, Guo Jin'an's acting skills are really good. But from another perspective, his appearance is really not that great. He relies purely on his 'characteristics' and 'acting skills' to get ahead.

Li Xuan remembers that his most brilliant moment was in the future "The Loyal and the Tragic" series, where he truly showcased his acting skills.

Guo Jin'an is not yet at his complete form.

In fact, Luo Jin and Zhu Yawen were both curious about how Li Xuan would portray the character Fahai in "The Legend of the White Snake," a character who is considered rigid and boring in traditional culture.

He hates monsters for no reason, and feels the need to act on behalf of heaven for no reason. His driving force is like that of a tool.

I just don't know what kind of role this "tool person" plays here.

"The World's Number One" can reverse the tide of events and turn good into evil through personal originality.

The Legend of the White Snake won't do; Fahai was originally a pedantic and wicked man.

How to turn the tide?

There's no way to reverse the situation!
"This time, the Legend of the White Snake will finally give him a break."

At this moment, Zhang Mo was at home with a complicated expression on his face, looking extremely distressed.

Li Xuan, Li Xuan, it's still that damn Li Xuan.

Thankfully, he's finally able to stop making films like "The Legend of the White Snake".

The main point is that even a villainous character who kills the main character in "The World's Number One" can have his reputation reversed. This ability is truly amazing.
However, the Legend of the White Snake would never have such an extremely shameless possibility.

Fahai is a stubborn and ignorant person who doesn't understand love. Everyone who grew up in China understands this. Anyone who has heard this myth knows what a bad person Fahai is.

The inherent negative impressions accumulated from legends and stories.

It's not something that one or two people can break through.

Judging from the current performance of "The Legend of the White Snake", it basically adheres to the principle that fictionalized accounts are not fabricated stories, and the basic settings of the characters have not been changed.

Compared to Zhao Yazhi's version, this one is even more faithful to the original work. At least it doesn't feature a cross-dressing Xu Xian, so it's relatively conservative in terms of the character. At least it shouldn't have a plot twist where a bad guy is turned into a good guy.

If we really change it like that, it will only give people something to talk about, and we'll be bombarded with criticism and condemnation. It would just be asking for trouble.

When it comes to adaptations, people subconsciously limit themselves to a certain scope and won't go off-topic.

In other words, Fahai is indeed the villain in "The Legend of the White Snake," and this fundamental theme will not change.

Finally, Li Xuan can finally shut up—that's what Zhang Mo thought. Ever since he learned about Li Xuan, he's felt really uncomfortable, like this person is suppressing him in every way, to the point that he feels like his own pursuits have to be downgraded.

From pursuing the geniuses of the Class of '96, people have turned to following in this guy's footsteps, and even his own father is using resources to try to "praise him to death."

As a result, this character capitalized on this wave of fame in "The World's Finest".

This is absolutely beyond doubt, and even a very important point.

Li Xuan caught the first round.

What I'm afraid of now is Li Xuan in the second round.

This time, it's "The Legend of the White Snake".

They caught it!
"No way, I'll fuck you!"

Zhang Mo uttered a standard, authentic Chinese curse, very authentic, orthodox, and pure Chinese curse.
When you see the next muscular monk with his robe half-exposed.

He knew it.

This is bad.

Character development largely depends on first impressions. The Iron-Blooded Marquis was portrayed as a righteous man turned evil from the very beginning, so it's not hard to accept that he actually turned evil in the end.

Xu Xian's first appearance was one of utter cowardice, the most cowardly of all.

But Pan Yueming handled this sense of cowardice very well. From the moment he appeared, everyone knew what kind of person he was: a character who could evoke a protective instinct in older women, and who also secretly expressed his dislike for Fahai, a character who had not yet appeared.

At least, that's what Liu Lili thinks. This is also what she considers the director's brilliance: being able to create a sense of what the unseen characters are like through the existing characters—that's a skill in itself.
She began to dislike the traditional character of Fahai.
That's how it should be, that's how it should be.

Now that Fahai has appeared, an aura of masculinity emanates from him even through the screen. His robe is half-exposed, revealing his broad shoulders—this Li Xuan, his physique is actually this good!

Some things are actually hard to control, like one's eyes. Liu Lili's eyes had already begun to flicker and wander over Li Xuan.

"My goodness, this figure..." Liu Lili was somewhat shocked.

Wow, that's amazing! Such a well-proportioned figure, with a slender, Eastern-style physique. There aren't any exaggerated muscles hanging on her body, but it's precisely this slenderness that makes it hard to look away.

This intense, masculine energy is overwhelming.

It was scorching hot, an extremely scorching feeling.

The director used a very straightforward and irresistible strategy. Regardless of whether you like the characters Fahai and Xu Xian, or dislike Fahai because you like their love story, you will definitely not be able to resist this physique at first glance. As a female audience, you will definitely not be able to resist this moderately sized, tender and juicy muscle.

This Fahai perfectly embodies the feeling of masculinity and boundless magical power.

It's purely about selling meat.

But the person who sold the meat was completely convinced.

"mom!!!!"

Liu Yifei immediately interrupted Liu Lili's staring gaze.

"what happened?"

"Your eyes..."

"Um, what's wrong with me appreciating the handsome young man's physique?" Liu Lili was a little puzzled. Since "The Legend of the White Snake" featured Fahai's flesh, what was wrong with her, as a viewer, watching it?

Liu Yifei's face turned red at this moment.
It just won't work!
Although Liu Yifei's eyes never left the television screen, they remained fixed on Fahai.
(End of this chapter)