The television adaptation of Tsui Hark’s classic Dragon Gate Inn film series is currently shooting in China.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is produced at 30 episodes, and is expected to air in mainland China in 2014. A high-budget production, the TV adaptation hopes to emit the feel of a cinematic movie rather than a television drama.
The adaptation stars Nie Yuan as Zhao Huai’an, a former Ming dynasty soldier who is wanted by both the Eastern and Western Bureaus of the royal government. Huai’an and his team of rebels arrive at the Dragon Gate Inn, where he meets the mysterious innkeeper, Jin Xiangyu.
“She’s a very enchanting woman,” said Michelle in a recent interview with the mainland Chinese press. “It’s all acting in her eyes.”
Jin Xiangyu – internationally known as Jade – was first portrayed by Maggie Cheung in Tsui Hark’s 1992 version. In Maggie’s portrayal, Jin is a cunning and manipulative woman who seduces and murders her guests for money, but was willing to sacrifice everything for Huai’an, whom she eventually fell in love with. In the 2011 reboot, Zhou Xun’s portrayal of the innkeeper “Ling Yanqiu” has more redeeming qualities of nobility and resiliency.
The new television adaptation seeks to balance both the qualities of Maggie Cheung’s Jade and Zhou Xun’s Ling.
source: jaynestars.com