Nirvana in Fire 2: Magnolia Awards Nominations and Thoughts

The nominations for the 2018 Magnolia Awards have just been announced, and Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin (琅琊榜之风起长林) was nominated for three of the major awards: 

1. Best Television Series
2. Best Director
3. Best Cinematography 

Despite the fact that the Magnolia Awards are usually slanted towards dramas shown on Dragon Television, it is still considered to be one of the three most prestigious industry awards out there for the Chinese dramas - so congratulations to Daylight Entertainment and the entire cast and crew! Liu Hao Ran continues to add to an already impressive resume as he can now say at 19 years old (he won't - but fans will), he was the lead of a drama - his very first TV drama for that matter - that was nominated for Best Television Series at one of the mainstream award shows. 

As someone who loved the drama as a whole, I'm honestly thrilled - NiF2 will most likely not end up winning any of the three awards for a number of reasons, but just the acknowledgement will go a long way in making up for everything that the drama had to put up with. Even before the drama aired, it dealt with a huge amount of backlash over the casting of Huang Xiao Ming, the fact that it was a sequel of a beloved drama, and that Daylight Entertainment casted a (then) eighteen year old as the main lead. After the drama aired, it continued to get so much unwarranted hate - there was so much ridicule over the poor viewership ratings that even a solid 8.5 on Douban wasn't enough to offset that. I'm just so happy for the entire team because they gave us such a fantastic drama with such rich characters - and I thought I would also take this moment to relive the entire journey: pre-production, production, some drama thoughts, and since this is a LHR blog, what this has meant for him. Consider this a super long tribute to this production in celebration of the nominations. 

• The Production Lead-Up: 

When Daylight Entertainment announced in early 2016 that they were going to film a sequel to the critically acclaimed Nirvana in Fire with original author Hai Yan returning as the screenwriter, Kong Sheng and Li Xue returning as the directors, but none of the original (main) cast members coming back, there was a lot of pushback. The phrase "There is no Nirvana in Fire without Hu Ge" flooded the early discussion topics online as fans were understandably attached to the original.

As early as summer 2016, the rumors started that Liu Hao Ran's name was attached to the project, but most people didn't believe it, or at least thought that even if he was in it, it would be a supporting role. He was a young actor who only had three projects under his belt then, and no experience with TV dramas (With You was exclusively a web drama then so it didn't count). After Hu Ge, it was hard to believe that the esteemed Daylight Entertainment and Kong Sheng - arguably the drama production company and director that all actors want a chance to work with - would use a teenager as their male lead. Even if the character was in his late teens or early twenties, the actor could be older, or even a lot older - Chinese dramas have been using actors 30+ to play twenty year olds (or younger) for decades.

But as it turns out, not only did Hou Hong Liang (the CEO of Daylight Entertainment and the executive producer on all of its productions) dare, he made the decision with no hesitation. Liu Hao Ran's name was floating around for months before the other cast members were even rumored as his casting was decided early on in the process. It was also rumored that the team was originally looking at older actors because they didn't think a younger actor could handle the magnitude of Xiao Ping Jing's transformation, but when 18 year old Liu Hao Ran came in for his audition, they thought it was a good fit and Hou Hong Liang made the call soon after. 

And Hou Hong Liang continued to show that he absolutely did not care what netizens had to say when he invited actor Huang Xiao Ming to guest star. Huang Xiao Ming is a megastar in China, but he is rather a controversial figure because he's been in so many bad idol dramas and films that he has picked up a reputation as a bad actor. So even as netizens exploded with anger and swore up and down they weren't watching it, it was a win-win situation for both Huang Xiao Ming and Daylight Entertainment. Huang Xiao Ming needed a chance to improve his acting reputation and he has long stated that he wanted to work with Daylight Entertainment given how critically acclaimed their works are, so even if it was in a guest star capacity, he was willing to take it. And Daylight Entertainment needed a huge star to bring publicity to the drama since they had decided to use Liu Hao Ran as the main lead.

Daylight Entertainment was also to secure well respected veteran actors Sun Chun, Guo Jing Fei, Zhang Bo, and Mei Ting to round out the supporting cast - and brought in Tong Li Ya (who is also Liu Hao Ran's boss' wife haha) and young actress Zhang Hui Wen to round out the main cast. 

• The Filming/Production Process:

Filming took place from December 15, 2016 to May 9, 2017 - which meant Liu Hao Ran basically missed the entire second semester of his sophomore year of college. The Central Academy of Drama is pretty strict about their students going out to work in the first couple of years - you are required to spend your freshman year at school. And in your sophomore year, you are only permitted to be excused from school for work if you are able to obtain permission from your professors and the school's higher ups. It is a testament to how highly regarded Daylight Entertainment and Kong Sheng are in the industry as the school gladly made the exception.

The entire cast have commented on how professional the filming environment was and how much they enjoyed the shooting process. Kong Sheng in particular is known as one of those directors who is really, really good at maximizing the talent in his actors. One of the reasons why everyone wants to work with him is no matter how long you've been in the industry, chances are you'll learn something new. This is also like the fifth time he's been nominated for the Magnolia Best Director Award (I think he's won maybe three times or so). 

Liu Hao Ran benefited so much from the filming process and he is incredibly lucky to have encountered such a well established and professional crew for his very first television drama. You can visibly see the improvement in his acting from the first episode through the last (unlike other dramas, NiF2 did mostly shoot the scenes chronologically). And if you've watched NiF2 BTS clips, you'll know how patient Kong Sheng and the assistant directors were with Liu Hao Ran (and Zhang Hui Wen as well) - they were totally willing to put in the effort to teach him.

• The Drama Itself: 

I plan on writing a separate post on the drama at some point because it has such a special place in my heart, but let's talk about it. The first NiF was eye opening to me - as someone who has long complained about the quality of mainland dramas, I had no idea that the production quality of NiF was even possible. For that reason, I was not interested in the sequel at all when I heard that they were making it, despite my love for Kong Sheng (I'm actually not a fan of non-Kong Sheng directed Daylight Entertainment dramas - to me, he's the different maker).

Also - I was not a LHR fan then. I was casually watching his variety show Give Me Five and liked him a lot on it, but I was indifferent about him as an actor. I also like Huang Xiao Ming's real life persona but the 2006 version of The Return of the Condor Heroes and A Summer's Desire convinced me that he's pretty much your typical idol drama actor.

But the minute I finally convinced myself to start the drama, I discovered I was completely wrong. From the very beginning, the familiar music and the setting of Langya Mountain brought up all of the same feels that I had from the original - and Huang Xiao Ming's memorable opening scene instantly drew me into the story.

At its core, Nirvana In Fire 2 tells the chronicle of the Changlin family - it's not a story of redemption or revenge, like the first was, and for that reason, I get why some feel as if the drama didn't really have a point. But this was a drama that was much more focused on the process than the destination, and it beautifully captured all the best elements of Chinese period dramas: loyalty to your country, love for your family, and balancing your responsibilities with what lies in your heart. We see the major themes manifested in a number of characters - not just the main ones - and it just made the story and characters feel richer and fuller.

The Changlin family is really what made this drama soar - they are the heart and soul of the story. I loved the wise and no-nonsense military general Xiao Ting Sheng, who is one of the two remaining links that we have to Mei Chang Su and veteran actor Sun Chun was phenomenal. I am so, so sad that he didn't land a best supporting actor nomination, but everyone who watched this drama knows how amazing he was (and as a current LHR fan, I'm so grateful to how much he mentored Liu Hao Ran on set). Xiao Ping Zhang was both warm and commanding as his father's right hand man and I will forever love Huang Xiao Ming for his convincing performance. 

But most of all, I am grateful to the production team for giving us Xiao Ping Jing, who is probably my favorite protagonist in recent years. I loved the spirited, youthful, and spoiled young master in the beginning, but also the young, reliable general that he becomes later on. Ping Jing's character is a tribute to the Lin Shu we never got see in the original story, but his journey is very different. I guess you could say it's the setup of the character that made Liu Hao Ran so likable in this, but as someone who was converted to a fan through NiF 2, to me, he brought alive what my ideal wuxia hero would look like, as well as what my idea of a young prodigy general would look like (both are very prominent features of Chinese historical novels/drama) - and I am not the only one who has said that.

(Also - shoutout to the fact that both of the main romance lines - and the two female leads - are incredibly well written. Very modern themes are used here, which I fully appreciate.) 

So thank you to Daylight Entertainment, to Kong Sheng, to the entire team - you gave us a quality drama that made us cry, laugh, and most of all - feel that the Changlin family - and everything that they stood for - is real. I'm so happy that your hard work and efforts have been recognized by the industry! 

• What This Nomination Means for Liu Hao Ran: 

On the surface, the nominations mean a lot more for Daylight Entertainment than it does for Liu Hao Ran. He already won out the minute he landed the role, because everyone knows Daylight Entertainment's reputation and scoring the lead in their production at nineteen will have caught the eye of many in the industry.

But the Best Television Series nomination does tell us one thing - that at the very minimum, the panel of judges - led by China's premier screenwriter Liu He Ping and consisting of award winning directors and actors - did not feel that Liu Hao Ran's acting dragged the drama down. That might not seem like a compliment, but considering his age and the terrible acting reputation that young male actors have in the Chinese industry as a whole, it's already high praise. Also of note - dramas in this category rarely have main (male) leads under thirty - and definitely not ones under twenty. 

How far you go in the industry is reliant on a number of factors, including your own talent and hard work - but your reputation - and how well you can grow your industry network - can have a lot of impact as well. Liu Hao Ran already has a sterling reputation as a serious young actor due to his work in film, and this will only help increase his visibility within the drama industry as well. 

I will finish up this super long essay with a quote from NiF2 director Kong Sheng on Liu Hao Ran (and kind of Zhang Hui Wen as well): 

Liu Hao Ran and Zhang Hui Wen - the two young actors both really surprised me. It was the first television drama for both of them, but not only did they have great attitudes, they also showed continuous improvement throughout the filming process - they are two very good young actors. When we were in the casting process, we took particular note of the actors' attitude towards performance, and whether or not they could hold themselves accountable. This was something that was really important to us, so I feel very pleased by the results.

The second half of the drama was very reliant on Hao Ran's ability to hold up the story. We were also a little worried on whether he could do it, but not only did he complete it well, he completely exceeded our expectations. You will see a completely different Xiao Ping Jing later on. He took on a task that neither his brother nor his father could complete. And you'll think, this child is incredible.

- Kong Sheng, 12.29.17 interview with Sina Entertainment