“The Return of the Condor Heroes” Remake Calls for ’00 Actors
Above: The Condor Heroes 95, starring Louis Koo and Carman Lee.
Jin Yong’s (金庸) classic wuxia novel The Return of the Condor Heroes <神鵰俠侶> will be remade again.
This would be the ninth remake of the legendary wuxia novel, which revolves around the age-defining love story between Yang Guo and Little Dragon Girl.
According to the studios who will be remaking the novel, this new adaptation of The Return of the Condor Heroes will start global casting auditions to search for young actors 18 and older to portray the main characters. They hope that this modern Chinese classic will also be part of the new generation growing up, and that casting young actors would be the best way to reach that goal.
Reportedly, the adaptation will faithfully follow the original story, but with a few changes. According to reports, the story will be told through the eyes of Guo Xiang, Guo Jing and Huang Rong’s teenage daughter who idolizes Yang Guo. The studios hope that this new change in storytelling could resonate better with younger viewers.
Some of the more popular adaptations of The Return of the Condor Heroes include the 1983 TVB version starring Andy Lau (劉德華) and Idy Chan (陳玉蓮); the 1995 TVB version starring Louis Koo (古天樂) and Carman Lee (李若彤); and the 2006 mainland version starring Huang Xiaoming (黃曉明) and Crystal Liu Yifei (劉亦菲). The last remake to hit the market was released in 2014, which starred Chen Xiao (陳曉) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希).
Source: HK01.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Hmmmmmm. It is a bit too early for another remake.
@elizabeth really? they should remake every jing yong novel every year! again and again and again…..china is the best in replicate things.
@elizabeth
Yup I am sick of remakes! They are truly running out of ideas. Even if I did watch a remake, I would watch ones that are least popular as they do not have as many remakes as the more popular ones. I just watched the latest adaptation of Xia Ke Xing and really enjoyed it. Tvb’s adaption was not accurate even though I enjoyed it as a series. The new adaption was accurate and very enjoyable while the other remakes of the popular novels get so boring and redundant.
the last few ones were disasters…
@coralie
The ones made by Yu Zheng were but ones by Zhang Ji Zhong and other producers were pretty good.
Mr. Jin Yong’s novels should be placed in historic archive somewhere in Asia. And nobody should be allowed to retreat out to make any movies or TV series. No matter how much new elements are added each time, the final verdict is ‘enough is enough’. If the producers are serious to make good drama, they should sit down and formulate their own stories. Jin Yong;s novels are not the same as the movie of ‘The Sound of Music’. It feel sick to watch them again and again.
@lewismcchan Agree. There they go again. 🙁 Maybe the theory is that only Jin Yong’s novel can create superstars since actors like Andy Lau, Lois Koo, Tony Leung etc. went on to become superstars?
Yes, why can’t Asian entertainment create classics like Sound of Music, Lord of the Rings .. stories which transcend time and the music and stories which are evergreen?
I only enjoyed TVB versions. The 2014 version was a nightmare.
But not tvb. Not interested.
@funnlim I’m sick and tired of TVB reusing old plots just because it worked the first time. God forbid they end up rewriting Yesterday’s Glitter or The Shell Game or The Bund.
@canadian but not by TVB. TVB probably will do better than cdrama who emphasises on lavish sets and anyone famous and forgets the story and acting.
@funnlim
I agree with you. I really miss TVB’s wuxia dramas. TVB have not done one proper one for ages. The cdrama adaption may have better sets and costume, but, they lack that certain wuxia feel that exist in old Shaw Brothers’ movies and HK TV adaptations.
@kidd
I miss the TVB Wuxia series too and TVB has not done a good Wuxia series in ages. They only make modern series now as they are cheap and honestly seem to lack the resources to do so. I actually truly get the Wuxia feeling from the Cdramas but it depends on which one. My oldest brother said the old TVB series are good but some of their depictions were not accurate while the Cdramas give out a more realistic feeling. But that is just his opinion.
@funnlim
Not true as China does emphasize the acting, storyline, etc.. unless you are referring to the bad Yu Zheng remakes then yes. However, other remakes are pretty good. I just watched Zhang Ji Zhong’s latest adaption of Xia Ke Xing and really enjoyed it. They picked New actors and actresses for the main cast and many veteran Hk actors played the supporting roles. All or most of the actors in China have had training in acting unlike most of the TVB actors so I wonder why you are complaining about their acting but yet enjoy TVB actors’ acting.
@hetieshou not really about acting although the dubbing is usually an impediment in so far as they sound alike. Its just the lack of something. Maybe empathy. Its like story for story sake. Its the wuxia adaptation. Jist missing a flavour. And they fo on and on and on. I see 50 plus episodes and it is long winded. Brevity is needed. Issue is with the storytelling. Nirvana in fire is rare.
@funnlim
I hate the dubbing too but have gotten used to it over the years. I wished they could have just used their real voices. These novels are long so of course it should be long but I do agree that some parts are a bit draggy. However, overall still decent. What flavor are you referring to? I personally feel it has the Wuxia feeling to it.
I wonder why everyone liked Nirvana in Fire? My late mom and I could not stand it. She complained about how bad it was. I could not even finish it! I guess I am in the minority that did not enjoy it.
@hetieshou
Very sorry to hear about your mom. My condolences to you.
@kidd
Thanks so much Kidd! I really appreciate it! You are very kind!
Hi @hetieshou. You are welcome. Hope you are feeling better now.
@kidd
Thanks again and I am a bit better but that pain will always stay with me. I always remind everyone to value and treasure everyone around them while they can.
@hetieshou
i’ve planned to watch ‘Xia Ke Xing’ (SPT being my fave JY character) but has no time yet. I’m glad to read that you find it good. I’ll sure try at least episode 1 this weekend.
@kidd
Yes I enjoyed Xia Ke Xing very much. I think you will too since it is accurate to the novel with the new editions changes too. I liked the cast overall but I think the actress for Shi Jian and Ah Xiu were miscasts. I do not remember Shi Jian being chubby and Ah Xiu being described as looking that way. However, I guess it is up to us how we picture how each character looks.
Quite a few HK veterans played the supporting characters too. The new cast did a pretty good job overall too. I enjoyed the production overall so hope you will enjoy it too.
@canadian TVB is good at JY adaptations
@tiffany
Back in the days but not now as I cannot even finish a TVB series now.
If they are going to cast a real 18 year old for YG, they better think of how to handle the 16 years later YG. I don’t think any make up can make the 2 kids in the picture look convincing as a 34 year old. Are they going to us GCI to aged up the kids’ face or cast an older actor for the last 3rd of the series?