Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda

All things considered, I keep on top of Taiwanese entertainment news pretty well. I don't know HOW IN THE WORLD I could have missed this.

Taiwan is remaking Coffee Prince

Excuse me while I die of utter delight! And the best part is Ariel Lin is going to be playing Eun Hye's role. Ariel is one of my three favorite Asian actresses, and I've been impressed with her acting since day 1. She's one of the few Asian actresses that really wholly puts herself in the role, being unafraid of looking bad. Seriously, anyone who watched ISWAK knows that's she's not afraid to get into the roles. Dirty crying, and all. RUMORS are saying that Jerry Yan will play Gong Yoo's role, but honestly I hope not. Nothing against Jerry (especially since I quite like him), but he's not one of the best actors in the world. If I could choose, I would hope for Zai Zai, or Joseph Chang. Both are phenomenal actors, and play carefree playboys well.

In other awesome Twdrama news, they're finally picking Extravagant Challenge up again. Now, I've been waiting for this damn drama for years. It's based on Skip Beat, which I love. And it will also star Ariel (which we already knew). What IS new though, is that Jerry Yan (who was initially cast) is being replaced. Instead, we get two awesome alternatives! Siwon and Donghae from SuJu! Siwon and Donghae are my FAVORITE SuJu members! And they both have fantastic chemistry with Ariel (if you've seen her MV for 螢火蟲, you'd agree). I love that Siwon and Donghae are diving into a Taiwanese drama. I want so much for K-stars to pay more attention to Taiwan, and this is the best way. Especially with Ariel (who speaks Korean - she majored in it at university).

I'm so excited! Seriously, the only thing that could make it better would be Zai Zai (who I've always wanted Ariel to act with).

( Meme, Day 3 - Song That Makes You Happy )

Thanks so much for all the good wishes re work! I'll try to get back to everyone tonight (unless I manage to fall asleep, which is looking more and more probable by the minute). It's been a long day, and I won't go into it more, but it's left me exhausted.

So yesterday I mentioned awesome (to me) drama news, but then put off writing about it, because Big Bang got in the way...

Anyway, I've heard rumors for awhile, but now, not only does it look to be happening very soon, but it's ALREADY IN PRODUCTION!

The drama I'm talking about; Good Health & Fortune (福氣安康, Fu Qi An Kang), starring my most beloved Chen Qiao En! The male lead? Why none other than Lan Cheng Long (Blue Lan)! He was in The Outsiders, but probably is best known for playing Yamen (the dude was was supposedly Ah Si's cousin, but was actually hired by Dao Ming Feng to seduce Shan Cai) in Meteor Garden. He also dated Barbie Xu awhile back.

Anyway, the plot of this drama is pretty interesting; Cheng Long plays a rich guy with a genial facade, but is really kinda evil. He is forced by his grandfather (somehow...) to marry Qiao En's character (an ordinary girl [with a heart of gold, of course!] who studies herbalism). Because he doesn't want to marry her, he decides to hire assassins to kill her. Up until the killing part, it's typical drama fare. But man, they had me at the assassins.

Of course, Qiao En will melt his heart, and everyone will be happy. BUT FIRST THERE WILL BE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATIONS!

I'm actually kinda glad Jerry didn't sign on to do this drama. I love him, but the role just doesn't seem right for him. I've only seen Cheng Long in MG, but his character was kinda evil and manipulative, so hey, it fits in my mind! It's supposed to air post My Queen, which is GREAT! I'll be losing the amazingness that is My Queen, but gaining a new Qiao En drama. Pretty even trade.

I also heard rumors that Extravagant Challenge was back on. Tenative of course, but still super exciting!

Also; How off the presses. A potential new drama starring Sam Wang; Mo Nu 18 Hao (魔女１８號, Witch 18). I know NOTHING about it, other than it possibly also starring June and Dou Zhi Kong. Which makes me think it's somehow connected to Your Home Is My Home. Or maybe not... maybe they just wanted to throw the actors together again. They ARE both on CTS...

Calling Big Star is supposed to start airing this month, but I haven't heard a specific date.

I hate whenever I go to look something up about a upcoming twdrama, my blog is always one of the first listings. Seriously, am I the only one writing about them?! That's kinda sad...

It's good to see that the Edison Chen scandal didn't totally ruin Cecilia Cheung's life!
Deborah Lai confirmed Cecilia's second baby; Patrick Tse wants twins

*Dies!!* My dream of cross agency co-operation is coming true!! Mike, Joe, AND Qiao En in a commercial! So excited to see it when it comes out on youtube! (Article also totally mentions Mike's birthday! I meant to do a picspam celebration (mostly as a present for me...), but didn't get around to it.)
Mike He and Joe Cheng both appear like strangers

I'm now EVEN MORE excited for Starlit. Previously, the print ad was enough to make me want to see it, but these trailers make it so much better!! Jerry Yan + piano + tragic car accident involving broken hands + Terri Kwan without the ridiculous extensions they made her wear in WtSYA + angst = DRAMA GOLD.
4 New Trailers for Jerry Yan's "Starlit"; "Starlit" OST

I like the title of this story (it totally make Qiao En sound like a prostitute!) Plus, I ♥ Qiao En! She has a western boyfriend! How adorable! I'm still MingEn all the way though...(I know I'm being redundant in my news, but I thought this one was interesting because I never knew that Mike and Joe had issues with their friendship.... ohhh now I see why. (Hehehehe! Brokeback relationship! Even if Joe was in love with Mike, which I very much doubt he is, it'd be adorable! Joe is rather androgynous, and Mike is so pretty. So it works out...)
Chen Qiao En wanders between two men, passionately hugs Joe Zheng to earn money, rushes towards foreigner boyfriend

Um, crazy fans much?! Poor Alan! Apparently he can never get any action from his female costars, or else his fans will rebel and freak out... I know it's Asia, and things are different there, but COME ON?! It's ACTING.
Show Luo french Kisses with Alice Ceng, Wife fans accuse him of having an affair.

Stupid Taiwanese press, trying to make Ella look bad! I'm sure S.H.E can easily win awards with or without the presence of Twins.
S.H.E rely on Twins' absence to win awards? Ella gets angry

Qiao En and Ming Dao are doing a new drama!? MEEEEHHH! How did I not know about this?! Maybe it's just a rumor though, since I can't find any evidence... (Also, MingEn loves!!)
Chen Qiao En has Ming Dao; almost forgets about boyfriend

Awww the cuteness! I know Wu Zun is Ella's rumored boyfriend, but I had no idea Jay Chou and Alan Luo were rumored to be Selina and Hebe's boyfriends...
S.H.E holds Christmas party; fans imitate their rumoured boyfriends

Awesome Joe Cheng quote;
"Cosmo: So to you, what you like to do most for the environmental issues?
Joe: People around the world will wear nothing and will only eat vegetables! (Laughed)"
Joe Cheng’s sincere Q&A session

Oh wu Zun! You kill me your your adorableness! Wearing skirts, and joking around with Alan Luo (... about wearing skirts)! Adorable! It's kinda too bad that Taiwan doesn't have the crazy obsession with cross dressing that Japan does....
Wu Zun wears short skirt; invites Show Luo to compare femininity

I adore Ariel and Joe so much (I'm definitely an Arjoe fan), and they're so cute in this article. They also randomly talk about the US. And how Joe wants Christmas wishes from the leader of Mars....
Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng's Merry Christmas

Yay Extravagant Challenge!! And they're just WANTING us to suffer now, with the teasing that the second male lead is ALMOST confirmed! I'm dying to see who will play Shou!
Jerry Yan's new drama 'Extravagant Challenge' ; Director Niu says filming will begin soon

ANNNNNDDD Done!

OMG *DIES*!!!

There is going to be a taiwanese drama based on Skip Beat!!!!!! *dies again*!!

Not only that, but Ariel Lin (who is one of my favorite taiwanese actresses EVER) is going to play Kyoko, and Jerry Yan (JERRY YAN!!!) is going to play Ren!!

I'm sooooo happy about the casting, particularly of Ariel. I think she is absolutely PERFECT for the role. As seen in ISWAK, she can totally play the dramatic mixed with the hilarious. Jerry Yan is a BIG surprise, actually. He doesn't do dramas that often, so I'm all excited he's going to be in this one!

I wonder who is going to play Sho... The drama was only announced on the 17th, so I'm guessing they haven't fully cast it yet. Still! I was reading how someone thought that Megan Lai should play Kanae. I actually think that would work really well! Mike would be awesome (AWESOME) in the Sho role, but he and Ariel don't work together, so it's a pipe dream. OR! Zai Zai!! That would be freaking awesome!! AWESOME. But it won't happen.

So originally I guess Joe Cheng was going to be in the drama... but I guess he quit. I'm actually kinda glad. He and Ariel do a lot of things together (they're cute together, but I like to see to see some variety).

Yeah, I'm flipping out a little bit. It's just very serendipitous, really. I started reading the manga a week or so ago, and started watching the anime a few days ago.

So exciting!!

And randomly, I wonder when Boys Before Flowers (korean Hana Yori Dango) is going to air. It's supposed to start sometime in December... well, guess what... December is tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm probably going to watch it as it airs (or rather, as it's subbed... I can't understand a whit of korean), because it's exciting!

I'm also downloading the live action movie of Love Com. Noone is seeding though, which sucks balls. It's only at like, 12.7%