Liu Pin Yan – On Screen, Real Life

Source: Dat Mui Cuoi Tuan (http://www.baoanhdatmui.vn)

Article Link: http://www.baoanhdatmui.vn/vcms/html/news_detail.php?nid=645

Written by: Nghi Tran

From the role of Ye You Li – a competitive girl from Mr. Fighting, to a mischievous Ah Nu – from Chinese Paladin, to the innocent, respectable Teacher Su Fei from Green Forest, My Home; all these roles that she’d taken were loved by the fans. Liu Pin Yan’s natural acting brings upon the audience a feeling like: she’s acting as her own self.

Liu Pin Yan on screen and in real life
Liu Pin Yan admitted that there was not much difference between her on-screen characters and her real life self: “Lively, outgoing, and comedic – those are my most known personalities; forgivable, uncalculating, and trustworthy – those are my good qualities; soft-hearted, a little laid back, and naïve – are my flaws. If I was a guy, I think that I could attract a lot of girls.”

At 18, she entered quite early into the complex and competitive world, but Liu Pin Yan was able to preserve her optimistic and honest personalities – this is very rare among her colleagues of the same age. Liu Pin Yan is very knowledgeable in culinary, favoring American delicacies. Her love for food has even influenced Zeng Zhi Qiao (a member of the band Sweety). When free, both girls would go watch movies together and discovering the finest culinary. In regard to foods and beverages, Zeng Zhi Qiao really admires Liu Pin Yan’s tea preparation and drinking techniques.

Hard-working today, harvesting tomorrow
2005 was Liu Pin Yan’s most successful year with both acting and singing careers. Two of the TV Series that she starred in – Chinese Paladin and Mr. Fighting – broadcasted in Taiwan, bringing high ratings, helping Liu Pin Yan becoming well-known within the entertainment industry. SETTV paired her off with the Royal Prince Li Wei Lian in Green Forest, My Home. Whenever she goes out and hears the audience calling her “Yan Yan” (her nickname), she could not help but be happy with the love fans bring for her, even shedding tears out of touch sometimes.

The Lucky Girl
Only 18 but already has an established career, driving the newest car, living in a luxurious house…However, her friends do not know, behind all that fame, there were all the hardships Liu Pin Yan had to face and all the hard work put in. When filming Chinese Paladin, she could only sleep about 5 hours; the same goes for Green Forest, My Home since she was only able to catch some winks in between breaks on set during the 8 days of filming. Liu Pin Yan said: “During the high school years, whenever exam time comes around, the task of waking up early to study is my most…detestable; I rather stay up late than wake up early. But when filming, there were a lot of ‘staying late, waking up early’.” When she first entered the entertainment industry, because she was not used to the schedules, Liu Pin Yan often fell ill, causing her mother’s apprehension. Her mother even suggested to her agent to not extend her working hours any longer. However, she was only ‘saved’ for several days with being let off early and then everything would return to its previous state.  It was then that she understood the phrase “sacrificing in the name of art” that other seniors often mentioned.

The age of dreaming
Like any other girls in the age of dreaming, Liu Pin Yan’s world of love consisted of the color red: “My mother is not an old-fashioned person; she does not stop me from falling in love at the age of 18.” Asked, “Of all the male cast from Green Forest, My Home, who would she choose?” After a little time of thinking, she replied: “I like a man who is strong, forgivable, must be older than me, and has to be considerate and caring towards me. Most importantly, my mother must be approvable of him. He must pass my mother’s surveillance in order to become my boyfriend.” Liu Pin Yan said that her mother does not prevent her from having a boyfriend, but her mother wants her to focus her attention on her studies (currently in college) and her career. After Green Forest, My Home her pay has risen seven digits. At the beginning of 2006, she was invited by a beauty products company to be their spokesperson, replacing Yang Cheng Lin, with the fees of over NT$1 million.

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Profile:
*English Name: Esther
*Nickname: Yan Yan
*Birthdate: August 8, 1988
*Height: 166 cm
*Weight: 46 kg
*Hobbies: Singing, swimming
*Talent: Piano
*Family: Father, mother, and older brother
*Languages: Mandarin, English, Japanese

Translations by: DTLCT

Translation Date: Friday, September 4^th, 2009

 

Convincing Couples: Part I

I must admit that I have not been feeling that strongly toward a couple in recent dramas – possibly because of numerous co-stars to choose from and how I would want to open up all possibilities for each artist, not wanting to rob myself of possible discoveries. Or maybe just that the plot was not convincing at all. Or was it the factor that they were trying too hard to make it work by throwing in random scenes? Everyone has to agree that chemistry is what makes a couple work, right? But everyone has a different definition on that factor, leading to disputes among fans. I won’t get into that battle in this post so don’t worry about that.

What I want to talk about today is the collaboration between Blue Lan Zheng Long and Annie Liu Xin You. I must say that they have a very good chemistry in ‘I Do‘ and ‘L-O-V-E‘ (Hua Shan * 24). It’s not just ‘very good’ but indescribably addicting to watch because of their interactions in all their scenes together. I think that ‘I Do’ wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t for them. (Though the ratings showed otherwise, but it was very popular among fans – or those who actually took time to watch and discover many things about it.) Their chemistry was convincing because they did not try too hard. But it just seemed so natural when they were interacting in their scenes. It made me excited again – like I was once was about pairings. It was like it was okay to be stubborn about this pairing and not support other co-stars. (But not to the extent of bashing of course.)

What made ‘I Do‘ different from other typical dramas of the prince and the poor girl was that it had some element of unpredictability to it. Not to mention the seriousness of how it addressed marriage. It let us have it all in one package with meeting, getting to know each other, marriage, and then the whole trying to make marriage work. It did not let on the element of paradise or happily ever after feeling – though that was implied at various times of how many couples wanted to get married.

Another thing that ‘I Do‘ spared the audience of was the silly and senseless humor. There was humor but it was realistic enough so that we could relate to. It was the subtleness of those daily moments and the friendship different characters shared that made it more colorful.

Though its only fault was the whole ‘crazy girl’ thrown into the formula to spice up the drama some more. (However, we could not blame the creators too much since they have to maintain some sense of excitement to keep viewers hanging on the edge of their seats.)

What made the story real was the characters involved. No one was perfect yet they were perfect for their significant other. What was more promising was that almost everyone had their head pinned down to earth so they did not seemed like they lived in the clouds half of their lives.

Summer – though was supposed to be the poor, hard-working girl but we could see that she was NOT that poor to the point that she was glad to be rescued. She was not praying to be rescued. She used to be a princess too once upon a time when her father was still well off with his business. She had suffered through the whole incident of ‘ground giving way under her’ after knowing her father’s business was done for, but learned to be strong after meeting Hao Zhe. However, she did not dwell on being rescued – like said before. She just kept making a living and continued on with life – whether she could find her significant other or not. She was very practical. She knew what was like to live with wealth and without wealth. (Though her father’s business failed years before but he still had some sort of business running so they could not be called poor either – but could be mistaken as so.) She stayed carefree and optimistic, not dreaming of a possible getaway from it all either. She was satisfied with what she had and how she was still able to survive after all that had happened.

Hao Zhe, on the other hand, was well off but was not happy due to family conflicts. It drew out a typical picture for his character – the poor little rich guy. Also, the guy who seemed arrogant on the surface but had a good heart below all that tough exterior. However, it was not all about that. We often see how it was for other dramas. But Hao Zhe was a true ’shao ye’ with all his attitudes intact. He still has a good heart as an overall, but was not so goody-good that you wondered how he was able to pull it off with so much complications with his family among other things. His unrest nature that became the constant conflict between him and Summer made it different from other ‘prince charming’ characters. He had to learn how to restrain himself from temptation but failed several times before knowing to cherish what he has. But that did not mean that he has to change himself 180 degree from who he was before. It was part of him.

Their characters were believable and was easy to relate to. But it would not had worked that well if it was not for Blue and Annie’s collaboration. They were excellent in carrying out their roles and interacting with each other. They made us believe they were really Hao Zhe and Summer. They made us believed that they were a couple. That same magic leaped over to ‘Hua Shan * 24′ as they take on yet another collaboration. Surprisingly and fortunately, their magic did not die down like other collaborations and made it refreshing with their new characters. They were still close as before but gave off a different feeling toward one another because of the events unfolding the plots. It did not lack chemistry though they did not shared many imtimate scenes together like in ‘I Do‘. They still made it possible and addicting to watch with their subtle interactions throughout – and even the traumatiziing parts. It was not overdone at all.

I won’t spoil it much for those who did not watch both mentioned dramas yet and will come back next time with a similar topic yet with another couple.

*Most images were collected around the Net and belong to their respective owners. The rest were captured by DTLCT.

 

Momo Love: Episode 1

Starting out with a 1.95 would not be surprising since most of the dramas directed by Director Winnie are quite slow paced but are supposed be building up with much depth – or was expected. However, that could not be said for this drama since it was quite fast pace considering the introductions of each major character to the story.

So what happened in the first episode?

Chen Yu Yi (Huang Jing Lun) was just fretting about his unfortunate fate of never experiencing when he caught someone confessing to his sister, Chen Tao Hua (Cyndi Wang).

After a quick snapshot of the incidental moment on his camera, he sent it straight to his brother – Chen Qi (Ken Zhu).

It appeared that Chen Qi was getting ready for his turn on TV with reporting the weather. However, he received a photo from his cell phone before going on. He rapidly and craftily rattled off the reports before leaving the set. We could see that he was racing down the street with much urgency. He definitely meant business and someone was in trouble.

The next scene zoomed to Chen Cheng (Lan Jun Tian) – who was overseeing an outdoor fashion show and was giving some directions to others. He was calm and collected as he directed others in the scene. However, his attitude changed completely upon receiving the same photograph that Chen Qi received earlier. Someone was in bigger trouble.

Next was the appearance of Chen Zhuan (Ding Chun Cheng). He was actually in class and was writing rapidly on the board with much focus on his face as the professor continued with the lecture. He was dubbed as the genius so he had to solve it correctly, right? Can’t lose the concentration. Then…just like the others, his attitude changed. Yes, that was it. The same ringtone. The same picture. The same hurried gestures followed as he abandoned the marker and ran out the door, not caring to stay and enjoy the hand claps. That was three. That someone had better run by now. If only that someone would know.

That was not all since the next one to come out was Chen He (Godfrey Gao). He was actually enjoying the attention from the crowd of screaming girls as he was skillfully doing his stunts on the water. Suddenly…his cell phone rang. Yes, same ringtone. Same picture. Once again. He did not care for the attention from his fangirls anymore. He abandoned his task just like the others and ran off. What was different about this brother was his temper. He was actually shouting out threats as he was riding on his motorcycle to his destination.

Okay, so that was all of them so that someone did not have to worry about the number increasing. But that was enough to bring him down, right?

What actually happened was when Yu Yi got out of class, he was heading home when he saw a red car zooming toward him. He tried to dodge but luckily that car stopped in front of him. Who else but his oldest brother? That was not all since the other three brothers were not far behind. They surrounded him and asked for that to be victim’s location. They did not take “Don’t know” for an answer because they soon found the guy in the incidental picture.

So someone did not do his research because he dared to show off in front of the Chen brothers. The result?

That would teach a lesson all right. And that was also the introduction of the crazy, protective brothers.

So after those entertaining scenes of the Chen brother getting rid of possible threats, we finally see our main couple meeting for the first time – where else but in the rain?

He just had some good intentions with handing her the umbrella. Let’s hope he won’t get run over by the Chen clan afterward. (After witnessing the previous scene, we all know he have some worrying to do if he dared to think otherwise but just help her in a time of need.)

Leave it up to Tao Hua for daydreaming at the most eventful moment. But it could not be helped, right? That was the nearest someone got to her without getting into trouble.

Apparently, not only were the Chen brothers crazy regarding driving out their sister’s suitors, but their impartiality for their sister was driven to the point that they treated their youngest brother no better than the guy next door. Understandable that they were protective of Tao Hua, but bullying their little brother? Luckily, Yu Yi still has Tao Hua to back him up on occasions. However, it would be hard to imagine what happened behind the scenes without Tao Hua around to keep the other four brothers in line.

Anyhow, was a bit interesting to see the Chen clan finally under the same roof after the long day.

I must admit that the flashbacks were nicely done with the clever touch of black and white films and its background music to recount of the Chen family in the earlier days when the siblings were all young.

Returning to its comedic side, how in the world did Qi not get fired with all his talks about ‘Tao Hua’ on TV? Honestly!

And poor Yu Yi had to resort to running away from home in order to get some peace from his brothers. But I could not help but felt a tad too funny that Yu Yi and Tao Hua made themselves at home at Shi Lang’s house just like that. Fortunately and coincidentally, Shi Lang and Tao Hua finally reunited after the previous day’s meeting.

How exaggerated could it get since the four brothers called for an emergency meeting just because they could not find Tao Hua? Still too funny. Poor Yu Yi got caught again.

Although that was so exaggerated and protective of the other four brothers of Tao Hua, but after seeing the flashback, it seemed reasonable that the others should favor Tao Hua over Yu Yi. They were saved with Tao Hua’s existence that they felt too strong a need to be protective of her. (Though Yu Yi did not deserve so much of bullying.)

Must also give credit to the four brothers for having such wild imaginations. Leave it up to them to imagine all the possible things that could happen to Tao Hua. (Tao Hua probably got the creative imagination from her brothers too – heavily influenced by them.)

The ending scene of this episode showed another encounter between Shi Lang and Tao Hua – but this time at school. However, was that her imagination at work again or was that Shi Lang for real?

Behind the scenes parts were really funny. Also, it showed everyone hard at work. Jia you, crew!

*All images were captured by DTLCT

 

The Water Element

It seems that 183 Club is fated to be with the water element. Why did I say that? Almost every single MV they ever shot had to do with water. Starting with ‘Zhe Mo’ (Torture), there were various scenes where water was visible throughout the MV – though not that vivid like some others.

Then there was ‘Mi Hun Ji’ (Enticing Trick), which they were sprayed and/or hosed down with water while shooting the MV – to emphasize the storm mentioned in the lyrics.

Zhen Ai (Pure Love) came along and they were once again surrounded by water. At one point of the MV, we could see that the other guys tossed Ming Dao into the pool of water and jumping in themselves afterward. They were also drenched themselves from the water sprays from above as well.

What was next? Bomba Bomba – one of the soundtracks  from ‘The Magicians of Love’. That was probably one of the most hilarious ones that they did since they had a lot of fun with that one. They were required to jump into a pool of water again. First, it was all together and then they had to do individual shots of fancy moves in the water.

That was not it either. They then had to be sprayed with water. But other members of the band were also participating in it while the filming was going on. In fact, while Ming Dao was doing his warm-ups and was getting ready for the shoot, Jacky, Ehlo and Johnny were standing nearby conspiring with one another to get Ming Dao when he was on.

Johnny was having so much fun that he continued to pour water on Ming Dao even after the director already yelled out the word ‘Cut’. But of course that was not all since when it was Johnny’s turn, Ming Dao was already on standby with a water bucket for revenge.

More water made its way into their first album, starting with ‘Yi Ba San’ (One Umbrella) for obvious reasons.

Maybe they should continue with this trends to bring in more luck?

Just for fun…see you guys next time – on another random topic of 183 Club.

*All images were captured by DTLCT

 

ICAC 2009: Episode 2

Ah Chuen (Sonija Kwok), Zoe (Yoyo Mung), and Rainy (Halina Tam) are three best friends since high school – who are  also known to be sworn sisters. Their life has taken a different path as in career and leisure but they still remain close after all these years.

Ah Chuen is happily married to a Taxi driver,  Zeng Wing Hong (Derek Kwok), and is pregnant with their first child. They have quite few good news having worked so hard all these years for it. They have nothing more to ask since they are satisfied with their current status. Bad luck strikes when Wing Hong is involved in an accident and being the party at fault for not reacting fast enough thus causing the consequences. In compensation, they have to pay 1 million for the damage.

Zoe, on the other hand, is still  dating her boyfriend of seven years, Lee Chi Lun (Raymond Cho), who is a hard working man. Although Zoe is proud of Lun and is supportive of his efforts, her family thinks otherwise. Zoe silently wishes to get married too, but does not dare to open her mouth, fearing that Lun will misunderstand it for persistency. Facing the pressures from both Zoe’s family and his boss, Lun wants to prove to them both that he could succeed.

Rainy chooses a different path from her friends, wishing to become a successful businesswoman. Though single, she is proud of her work and hope  that her efforts will pay off one day. Perhaps her urges to bring in several more major customers and/or projects is her downfall because it leads to her succumbing to other alternatives of seeking financial benefits.

A possible solution presents itself to solve everyone’s problem when Lun’s boss presents a new land redevelopment project involving several areas, including a rundown apartment building. Lun, who was lured in by Rainy several times of a possible collaboration, finally consults with Rainy of the new project thus leaking out the secret. It is supposed to be a way out for them all, especially Ah Chuen and Wing Hong’s urgent financial needs. Not to mention Lun finally having a large sum of money to impress Zoe’s family and in getting married.

The gig is actually to move into the apartment building and wait for the compensation fees to arrive thus reaping in at the end. Ah Chuen and Wing Hong will pose as two strangers moving into two of the apartments in that particular building. They will pretend not to know each other so that they will be compensate twice the amount. Rainy will arrange all the details since she’s a realtor agent. With Lun’s information, all plans should work out in the end. All they have to do is be patient and wait for the result.

When Zoe learns of their conspiracy, she protests and objects against the whole matter, knowing that it is illegal since they have traded inside information and used it for their own benefit. However, Lun convinces her of the possibility of saving Ah Chuen and Wing Hong’s financial crisis and at the same time help them earn enough for an elegant wedding.

Ah Chuen and Wing Hong are more than grateful with their friends offering a solution to help them ease off the financial pressure. However, they do not know the consequences of it or the actual laws covering that section. Ah Chuen even asks Rainy about the matter at first and Rainy covers it up by convincing Ah Chuen that they’re just helping themselves and aren’t harming anyone.

Zoe watches silently as all plans proceed. It is just one more month before they could collect their money and star anew. They have no idea that the ICAC are investigating the matter in the background, following their every move.

Lun and Zoe finally move forth with preparing for their wedding. Ah Chuen, Zoe, and Rainy also return to their high school to help in the yearly event, practicing their hit song ‘Yesterday Once More’ with Ah Chuen holding onto the microphone and performing while Zoe and Rainy accompany her by playing the music on their guitars.

Coincidentally, one of the ICAC investigators, Sam Sam (Fiona Sit), is actually the junior of the three girls. It is a bit ironic to see Sam Sam having to arrest her seniors if they could find evidences that proves the three to be guilty. While she’s being torned between admitting the cold facts in regard to what her seniors have done, she also has to reconsider what she has been trained to do all along - with the guidance by Henry (Raymond Wong).

As they are leaving the wedding parlor one time, Zoe spots Rainiy taking money from someone – possibly after having sold her new learned information to that person. Zoe is once again thrown into the obstacle of knowing and not telling. Perhaps it is a relief for everything to finally end as the ICAC team finally push forth to arrest Lun and Rainy because they have more than enough evidence.

Thoughts? It was actually a very touching story and the most in consideration for a lot of matters. It was good to put in how Sam Sam was torned in between her job and her seniors. The group of five are not bad in actuality but it is the circumstances they are facing that they choose to seek another alternative. Ah Chuen and Wing Hong do not know the consequences of it but Zoe knows yet she does not tell. Perhaps it might have been better to stomp on the urge to move forth with such a plan but it is not easy since the obstacle they’re all in. When pressured, people choose other alternatives and possibly any to just find a way out. I think the one most guilty has to be Rainy since she has always wanted personal gain whether it is from Lun or someone totally different. She says that they’re just helping themselves yet she ends up selling the information to others as well, bringing in even more money for herself. I could understand that Lun would go crazy with so much pressure and the need to prove himself. But he’s not any better that he pressures Zoe into it with the whole ”we’re just trying to help Ah Chuen and Hong” thing.

Cast? Was surprised that they put Sonija, Yoyo, Halina, Derek, and Raymond Cho into one but it was really cool to see their collaboration. I especially love both pairings of Derek and Sonija and Raymond and Yoyo – once again. It’s nice to see their pairing though it does seem repetitive yet just for a short span of about 40 minutes.

It was interesting to see Raymond Wong getting to supervise over someone this time around and guide her through the process. However, I rather have Jessica for this one as well and how she would continue to work with Raymond as a team. It would be interesting to know just a bit more about her character.

With all that said though, this is actually my favorite story since the friendship between Ah Chuen, Zoe, and Rainy were admirable though Rainy was more for her self gained than the other two. The song ‘Yesterday Once More’ was a nice companion to their friendship and past.

*Special thanks to *.marshmalloww for helping with some of the character names above.