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Taiwanese drama tops MyVideo chart for five straight weeks ahead of finale

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • “Fame Is Within Reach,” starring Li Kuo-yi, Yao Chun-yao and Tsai Keng-yen, has topped MyVideo’s drama chart for five consecutive weeks.
  • The cast recalled demanding and memorable scenes, including a revenge sequence involving hot-and-sour soup, fights filmed in real locations and a confrontation in a rice paddy.
  • The series is scheduled to air its finale on Saturday.

“Fame Is Within Reach” has held the top spot on MyVideo’s drama chart for five consecutive weeks, with its finale scheduled for Saturday. The Taiwanese series stars Li Kuo-yi, Yao Chun-yao and Tsai Keng-yen.

This was the most satisfying scene I have ever filmed.

— Tsai Keng-yenShe described the scene in which her character retaliates against her abusive husband.

Tsai Keng-yen recalled a scene in which her character, a wealthy family’s daughter-in-law subjected to domestic violence, finally fights back against her husband. After he slaps her, she returns the blow, grabs him by the back of the neck, pins him to a dining table and pours an entire pot of hot-and-sour soup over his head. “This was the most satisfying scene I have ever filmed,” she said.

The scene also produced an unexpected comic moment. During slow-motion playback, Tsai noticed a piece of dried tofu stuck in her co-star Huang Di-yang’s ear. She apologized while admitting it was hilarious, then helped clean him up after the director called cut. Li Kuo-yi compared the image to a garden eel in an aquarium.

I actually don’t like him very much.

— Li Kuo-yiHe was discussing his character, police officer Chen Zhi-wei.

Li plays police officer Chen Zhi-wei, a man who tries to remain on the right path while reality wears him down. “I actually don’t like him very much,” Li said, explaining that the character resembles ordinary people who struggle to express themselves and gradually surrender their youthful ambitions to reality and institutions. Li said that emotional repression also created room for him to explore the role.

I only realized I was injured after filming. I suppose this is what creating is.

— Li Kuo-yiHe described the physical toll of filming a one-take action scene.

The actors described difficult physical scenes as well. Li was left with scrapes and blood after a one-take chase filmed on concrete and among flower beds. Yao fought Li inside a real auto repair shop surrounded by tools, while another memorable scene showed Yao’s character breaking down in prison. The cast also recalled a rice-paddy argument in which Tsai was accidentally thrown headfirst into muddy water and later found a snail in her clothes.

Could you tell me before you scream next time? My ears really couldn’t take it.

— Sound engineerThe sound engineer reacted after Yao Chun-yao improvised a loud scream during a prison breakdown scene.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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