Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

So I’m done being twelve but that doesn’t mean I’m happy with the bait-and-switch drama behind this project! The confusion and anger on the net was understandable. Zhu Yi Long and Song Yi are now playing the supporting characters in the novel adaptation of The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream (夏梦狂诗曲 ) written by Jun Zi Yi Ze. Zhang Han plays producer and male lead. His female lead is none other Korean actress, Go Joon Hee (She Was Pretty). Such a cruel twist of fate. Instead of promoting their own supporting actors to first lead, the production team promotes Korea’s supporting actress to first lead. (nothing against Joon Hee, I like her). *side eye everyone with power real hard* I was and still am raging my fist in the air at this division of labor!

Synopsis: (I didn’t continue reading the novel so maybe Polaris would know more since she read more? Lol.) The story follows violinist genius (Go Joon Hee) who lost both of her parents at a young age and lives to seek revenge. For the longest time, music was her life and she started out following the footsteps of her dad. But now, every time she closes her eyes, she remembers the pool of blood forming around his head, and only wants to wear black while performing. After a betrayal that maimed her hand, she disappears and reappears five years later under a new identity, armed with a talented violinist under her teaching. She begins her revenge plan by getting close to an old friend (Zhang Han), second son of a large corporation, who has a talent in numbers and stock market. It looks like his family adopted her when she was younger and some jealousy emerged among the kids.

Press Conference Stills:

It’s interesting that he chose to become a producer and not a director (isn’t that more common?). Does that mean Mr. Zhang is loaded? Lol. His character has two brothers I think. Yi Long will play older bro and I think Andy will play the younger one.

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Go Joon Hee, Our genuis violinist. Rumors are high that she signed with Zhang for three projects, kicking off her career in Mainland China.

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OTP.

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My tragic couple. From the fans’ words, Song Yi will be playing the heroine’s rival, the hero’s sister. Don’t quote me yet, I need to watch the press conference or something to find out more.

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Posting more pictures to alleviate my your our pain. 🙁

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Zhu Zi Xiao! Dude! I miss you love! I just have a soft spot for him ever since China’s Meteor Garden in 2009, which Zhang Han was the lead with Zheng Shuang. Ah.. Time. I’m still waiting for his drama with Li Ying to air…. as messed up as the plot sounds.

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Surprised to see Andy Chen Yi in here as well.

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First time acting as a producer, Zhang Han will be reuniting with the writers in charge of Boss & Me. The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream plans to have 50 episodes and filming began this week.

Via: 01

  1. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I’m so upset. STILL. OMG. Zhang Han is the producer, he has a say in all this. But it looks like he’s in love with the idea of collaborating with Korean actresses, after his own drama with Goo Hye Sun.

    I wasn’t planning on watching this but then I feel bad for Song Yi and Yi Long…. I want to support them even if they are gonna play the cookie cutter characters again. Ugh.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      I hope it’s not cookie cutters. They have 50 episodes. O_O!

  2. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    So outrageous that a Korean actress has priority over a Chinese actress in her own home country. I say boycott this drama.
    Song Yi does need a better makeup job though.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      She does look really pale above. X)

  3. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I didn’t finish the novel. But I have plenty of time to finish so ask me again when the time comes, Kap. 😉

    Zhu Yi Long has a record of stealing the show from the male lead #1 so…you can interpret that any way you want. =P

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      LOL. I need to start reading Zi Ling’s new project, that general drama, before anything else. XD

  4. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I was just skimming this page out of curiosity and the only one to catch my eye is Zhu Zhi Xiao. He’s got such a beautifully sculpted face and I was always so bummed out as to why he doesn’t get more lead roles or star in any high profile dramas. I last saw him as a lead actor for a military type drama and I liked him there a lot. He’s in another drama called Son of Hero alongside Gao Yunxiang that’s still in production I think (Ashton Chen is also in it so that’s a big bonus!!!)

    Btw Kappy, you said you’d list out the female bios for Storm of Prophecy soon so I’m still waiting patiently for it :3

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      Yep! I’m trying to have a decent synopsis for Son of Hero before I post anything about it. Excited for all the boys in there!

      And sorry for the delay, got caught up with work and press conferences prettiness. Hope I can get back to it in a few days. 🙂

  5. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I’m quite upset with the casting! Really they rather promote a Korean actress over a Chinese actress?! What’s going on? I remember it was a huge deal just a few years ago when HK and Taiwan actors started entering C-dramas scene and how it was a problem as these actors were taking the locals actor’s opportunity? But look at now, there are quite a few dramas that are casting Korean actress instead of their own actress. China is seriously obsessed about Korean though, you don’t see the Korean casting any Chinese actor in their big production dramas. I don’t have anything against Korean actors as I do love and watch them too but come on China, support your own artist first! I’ll be more understanding if they cast MissA Suzy over Song Yi because she’s very popular but I don’t understand their current female choice.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      I don’t know what’s going on with this one-way business deal but Koreans do know how to wrap and present their entertainment to the public!

  6. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I’m totally bummed about this. It’s not about a Korean starring as a Chinese in a Chinese drama, AGAIN. It’s more about a Korean actress replacing a solid and promising Chinese actress, causing the Chinese actress demoted to the second lead. LOL, as if the Korean actress is a shoe-in for high rating, or better performance. I won’t be watching this drama (never a big fan of Asian modern dramas with a very few exceptions), but I hope Song Yi and Zhu Yi Long will indeed steal the show!

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      I don’t think it’s even for ratings at all. Not sure if you watch Kdramas, but this actress is only a supporting lead at best. She was in the highly popular She Was Pretty, playing a pretty unlikable character. Lol. I don’t even think she practices violins like Song Yi has been doing…. Sigh.

      She is very pretty to look at. Acting, so-so. What a weird decision.

  7. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    Zhang Han was presented with a popularity award in Korea last year. I suspect his selection of a Korean actress is some sort of payback and gratitude for his trophy. But with the high number of Korean performers who won awards in China, there is zero reciprocation.

  8. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    Is Zhu Yi Long the guy in the picture with Song Yi? He has a minion phone cover!! I like him already. XD And I was looking forward to seeing Song Yi playing the lead. How unfortunate. 🙁

  9. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    Losing respect for Zhang han. He is not of the same caliber as his other central drama academy alum. But he does look good in these pics I must admit

  10. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    This is not a rare occurrence though a little unexpected. I mean, accepting a second-rate actress from Korea to be the lead isn’t what production companies should be doing given how far the entertainment industry in China has developed. I may be wrong, but GJH isn’t even a B list actress and is definitely not a Hallyu star. That being said, I do think she suits the role fine. I read the book and GJH’s character wasn’t adopted by ZH’s family but the family of the love interest of her rival (his sister). And this former “brother” of hers loved her too. I’m not too keen on ZH and I dislike cross-border collaborations in general so I guess this is a no-watch for me.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      Thanks for the clarification Kitai. Have you finished the novel? A good ending?

      • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

        I finished the novel and I wouldn’t say that it’s a good ending. OTP-wise yes, but there’s this plot twist which makes the whole ending a little sour. The novel is not that great though.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      She would fit the role if she is a Chinese/understand Chinese, at least. Needs an interpreter at every corner and no one understanding what the heck is going on/coming out of her mouth? Lol. Like Chickens talking with ducks all day on set. Mind-boggling.

      Plus, I think she looks too sweet and wide-eyed for a vengeful and deep person like our heroine.

      • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

        I always think that taller girls tend to have an aura of elegance which should fit her character given that she’s a violinist. And I think her last role was an antagonistic one, though I didn’t watch it. She’s, well, a lot less
        “sweet and wide-eyed” than most Korean actresses I guess.

  11. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    One thing that really bug me about putting Korean in Cdrama is that the mouth’s movement will be sooo out of sync with the sound they’re supposed to produce and it got me thinking how awkward the recording process must be. They’re acting like they’re having normal conversation while they might as well understand zilch of what the other is saying.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      Exactly! They speak in Korean! And then get dubbed. So all the chemistry and understanding, flow of dialogue, are all lost. I really don’t know HOW and WHY this trend is becoming popular.

      • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

        Major Korean and Chinese entertainment companies signed a series of cooperation deals. The latter provides financing and a huge market; the former provides actors and content. That’s why there are so many remakes of
        K-dramas in China, and the inclusion of k-stars in virtually every C-drama, with the exception of NIF .

  12. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I wasn’t initially too thrilled that a Korean actress is being cast instead of Chinese (main concern being out of sync dubbing with different language being spoken) and while I still prefer a Chinese actress, Goo Joon Hee is lovely. She didn’t steal the show in She Was Pretty but I thought she was decent, and she’s charming enough on or off screen. She’s a pretty girl and I find it interesting personally to see how Korean actors/actresses act and carry chemistry onscreen with their Chinese co-stars despite obvious language barrier, or completely not knowing what each other is saying.

  13. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    From the perspective of a chinese period drama fan, i think china’s entertainment industry is struggling to remove itself from the stagnancy it had been in since like forever. By introducing k actors, the industry is trying to improve itself as well as gain more international fans.

    I grew up watching tvb dramas and over the years, the quality just got worse and worse. C dramas just didnt leave a good impression on me. I went through a drama drought nearly my entire school life. I ended up looking back into older dramas looking for the spark of engagement that they used to have. My favorite was ROCH 83 /tears. Ugh. Why was the quality degrading instead of improving? I swear, but some my local school plays had better actors than the leads I see onscreen. Like did they even get any acting training? I mean just browsing online for dramas and you barely see any subbed c dramas because they just didnt have the quality to appeal beyond native fans.

    I think its only in the past 5-10 years that china’s entertainment industry is slowly improving, and theres actually more quality drama that are coming out, like NIF and all those shiny upcoming dramas to air. Dramas are using better sets, the writing is slightly better, and a lot of good actors/actresses are getting more spotlight, though the acting quality still has room to improve. I can see why producers are looking at K actors since the standard there is higher. I mean it does bother me when they cast a non native speaker, bc just why? Its clearly a ploy to look like one of the cool kids. Though I suppose with all the dubbing they do anyways to native actors it doesnt even matter to them. (Why do they insist on voicing over everything? Whats wrong with the actors own voices? The voice acting and editing is so bad it makes even good actors sound stupid. Then they delete all the background sounds that make the scene believable and make up for it by using bg music that are reused to the nth degree.)

    But yea long story short, I dont think the expansion of k actors in c dramas is a bad thing. I think the c industry is noticing the quality in k dramas and are working to improve its own standards and flaws. (ie writing, directing, acting, etc.) Im really liking the recent dramas as of late, and looking forward to upcoming ones like legend of chusen and storm of prophecy.

    • 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

      I don’t think it’s a bad thing either but when they start taking LEAD roles, then I’m not okay. Like what? What have you done to get those roles? I don’t mind if they do supporting roles. Just the same mindset in Korea of idols taking lead roles away from qualified candidates.

      Talking about stagnancy, I will be fair and say that ALL of dramaland (thai, twdrama, cdrama, kdrama) is quite in the same boat. There comes to a point where a story has been done before. They repeat the same tropes over and over, just in different backdrops. Korea is the best at marketing and actually supporting its people.

      Acting wise, it just depends what dramas you watch, there’s no such thing as Korea having better actors because that would be putting the whole nation on a pedestal and I have seen plenty of bad acting from there. Just like how you can’t find a good Cdrama, I can’t find a good Kdrama in recent years. It all comes down taste.

      Dubbing is important in China because they want a uniformed dialect. So even natives get dubbed. But as we all know, speaking, understanding, emoting, connecting is all part of acting. Hence it’s silly when you see Kactors on set with an interpreter translating everything the director or crew is saying, where to stand, what to do. So silly.

  14. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I agree with you, it’s pretty weird for that to be a growing trend. (I mean, korea will never do the reverse) but rather than the actors own ability, its the management pushing the actors. Both china and and korea has this crazy puppeteer hand, the “higher ups” are the ones with all the say. The management/idol companies go and donate a small fee, and make a polite request for so and so to star. Or they even just produce an entire drama like to the beautiful you, starring all their own idols. I think its no different with the contracts being made with china. Money changes hands, actor is promoted, drama getting funds. (Though to be honest, i feel that idols should be given a chance as many of the more popular actors started out as idols.

    As for stagnancy, true, it seems asian dramas tend to fixate on specific tropes over and over. Maybe its a cultural thing, i dont see it to the same degree in western dramas. I mean im a roch fan but look at all those remakes. Each one is practically a cookie cutter with a few sparse changes here and there. As for k dramas, i swear they think doing it 1000x will work every time. Im with you, im not watching k dramas as of late. Im just skipping through period dramas always searching for that diamond in the rough. This is a general view as even kdrama ratings have been consistently low for a few years now.

    I think there are talented actors found in every country, the problem is the level of demand in that country. There are probably alot of talented c actors who dont pursue their passion bc those kind of jobs are too risky: economy doesnt promote it too well, i mean my mom is always scoffing at hk actors and how the job pays poorly. (which im like why?) Whereas in korea, dramaland is big there, and being an actor is recognized as something to be proud of. In the same way good teachers produce good students, k actors probably receive better acting training. (A la how hollywood is recognized in the u.s.) In china where there clearly arent as much opportunities, the management with c dramas dont share the same standards. I suppose the reason for my disappointment is that it hadnt always been that way, as hk dramas were once the kdrama of today.

    As for dubbing, its already ridiculous with that whole uniformity thing, but thats another can of worms. It’s the fact that many dubbers are usually inexperienced actors who “don’t have a chance” of making it big. I feel that dramas w poor dubs are trying to save their budget, which is a dumb move since bg music, themesongs, and voices influence the whole dramas impression. The idea of slotting in actors who dont even know the language seems to fit well with the dubbing process right now, I can see why they thought why not. (But like you, the idea of an actor who cant even read the script is pretty stupid hmph. Its just another ploy for c dramas to suck in viewers, namely c netizens who are fans of the k actor and k netizens who are the fans of the k actor, ie : oh look theres that “famous” xx, now I’m going to watch it now…etc)
    ,

  15. 28 thoughts on “Zhang Han’s The Rhapsody Of A Summer Dream holds press conference and reveals cast

    I saw the feb post and was super happy thinking Zhang Han was swapped. Unfortunately they swapped a more close match for Zhang Han who in no way look the role.

    The summary of the story seems to be slightly different too.

    The book actually, main girl is adopted by another family, who is also in the music industry and she fell inlove with her foster brother who ended up dating and engaged to the second female lead (main guy’s little sister).

    No comment on the girls, just Zhang Han doesnt look the part. Our main guy here is very tall and well built, from the back you should think he is a Western guy from his frame. His father should also be a european, I’m not sure yet, but the book is leading that direction.

    They should swap the guyss again. ><

What do you think?