Liu Tianxian, a dream girl for many young men, was a divine portrayal of Xiaolongnü.
Although many believed the 95 version’s Xiaolongnü was the best, both in acting and demeanor, perfect and beyond reproach.
Jiang Ling, from a professional standpoint, also felt Li Ruotong was the best.
However, in an online poll, Liu Tianxian still ranked first with high votes.
Why?
The reason was simple: Liu Tianxian's inherent temperament was too similar to Xiaolongnü's.
Other actresses needed to use their acting skills to portray Xiaolongnü's ethereal nature; she didn't need to do anything, just standing there was enough to embody Xiaolongnü.
It was pure, innate charisma, unrelated to acting skills or age.
Of course, there was another reason Liu Tianxian won first place: the actor playing Yang Guo alongside her was too disappointing.
In the 95 version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Li Ruotong and Louis Koo's pairing was like icing on the cake.
But in the 06 version, Liu Tianxian was almost single-handedly holding up the production. Facing a Yang Guo as greasy as the Daqing Oilfield, she managed to act without breaking character and displayed an otherworldly elegance, naturally earning more votes.
Le Zhengyu’s costume for the ancient drama bore at least 90% resemblance to Jin Shiyi from the original novel.
When acting skills were insufficient, appearance compensated.
As long as he could act it through properly, without breaking character, and not being utterly terrible, he was sure to become popular with the advantage of his appearance.
Compared to Jiang Ling, Le Zhengyu was more concerned that Jiang Ling’s excruciatingly bad acting would drag him down.
Guan Suyin had waited for Le Zhengyu for many days, and upon his late arrival, she showed no pleasantries, directly saying, "Alright, no more wasting time, let’s start filming!"
Due to a series of scandals involving the actors, the dailies of "The Love of the White Snake" were chopped up haphazardly, and the reshot scenes were reordered, like patching a wall, fixing whatever was broken.
Le Zhengyu busily asked, "Director Guan, which part am I filming?"
Guan Suyin replied, "I just received notice from Hengdian management. The bridal chamber set we built takes up too much space and will be dismantled in two days. Let’s film the scene where Li Shengnan dies tragically on the wedding night first. Any problem?"
"No problem!" Jiang Ling responded first.
Seeing her quick agreement, Le Zhengyu felt disdain.
You want to bite off more than you can chew without the necessary skills!
This wedding night scene was the climax of the entire drama. With your acting ability, could you even perform it well? Just wait for the scolding.
Le Zhengyu, still traumatized by Jiang Ling’s previous awful acting, secretly plotted to make things difficult for her.
He didn't know that the previously terrible Jiang Ling was dead. She was now Jiang Ling, the three-time Golden Globe award winner.
"Any problem?" Guan Suyin asked again, seeing Le Zhengyu’s lack of reaction.
Le Zhengyu snapped back to attention and quickly replied, "No problem!"
"Good, then prepare yourselves. We’ll start filming in half an hour."
The wedding night was the moment Li Shengnan met her demise, and the most tragically beautiful scene in the entire drama.
Jiang Ling had appeared bare-faced during the previous days of filming.
For this scene, portraying Li Shengnan’s death, she needed to have her makeup applied just right to maximize her own beauty.
This way, Li Shengnan’s death would become the most beautiful death in film and television history, a role that all viewers would remember no matter how many years passed.
Jiang Ling’s face was fair and delicate. With just a thin layer of rouge, she was captivatingly beautiful.
She recalled that at this point, Li Shengnan would have used the Heavenly Demon Detachment technique, her vital essence depleted, her oil lamp extinguished. Her complexion wouldn't be this good.