That thing about how cats think humans are big kittens is a myth, y’know.
It’s basically born of false assumptions; folks were trying to explain how a naturally solitary animal could form such complex social bonds with humans, and the explanation they settled on is “it’s a displaced parent/child bond”.
The trouble is, cats aren’t naturally solitary. We just assumed they were based on observations of European wildcats - but housecats aren’t descended from European wildcats. They’re descended from African wildcats, which are known to hunt in bonded pairs and family groupings, and that social tendency is even stronger in their domesticated relatives. The natural social unit of the housecat is a colony: a loose affiliation of cats centred around a shared territory held by alliance of dominant females, who raise all of the colony’s kittens communally.
It’s often remarked that dogs understand that humans are different, while cats just think humans are big, clumsy cats, and that’s totally true - but they regard us as adult colonymates, not as kittens, and all of their social behaviour toward us makes a lot more sense through that lens.
The like to cuddle because communal grooming is how cats bond with colonymates - it establishes a shared scent-identity for the colony and helps clean spots that they can’t easily reach on their own.
They bring us dead animals because cats transport surplus kills back to the colony’s shared territory for consumption by pregnant, nursing, or sick colonymates who can’t easily hunt on their own. Indeed, that’s why they kill so much more than they individually need - it’s not for fun, but to generate enough surplus kills to sustain the colony’s non-hunting members.
They’re okay with us messing with their kittens because communal parenting is the norm in a colony setting, and us being colonymates in their minds automatically makes us co-parents.
It’s even why many cats are so much more tolerant toward very small children, as long as those children are related to one of their regular humans: they can tell the difference between human adults and human “kittens”, and your kittens are their kittens.
Basically, you’re going to have a much easier time getting a handle on why your cat does why your cat does if you remember that the natural mode of social organisation for cats is not as isolated solitary hunters, but as a big communal catpile - and for that purpose, you count as a cat.
I’m sorry friends, but “just google it” is no longer viable advice. What are we even telling people to do anymore, go try to google useful info and the first three pages are just ads for products that might be the exact opposite of what the person is trying to find but The Algorithm thinks the words are related enough? And if it’s not ads it’s just sponsored websites filled with listicles, just pages and pages of “TOP FIFTEEN [thing you googled] IMAGINED AS DISNEY PRINCESSES” like… what are we even doing anymore, google? I can no longer use you as shorthand for people doing real and actual helpful research on their own.
– https://searchmysite.net/
Search engine for the indie web, personal websites, digital gardens. You can also find them in websites like Neocities, Indieweb, Blogarama, and write.as. There is also a big list of personal websites.
– https://search.marginalia.nu/
Search engine that focuses on non-commercial content, and promotes websites that aren’t usually at the top of the list.
– https://www.worldcat.org/
Search engine for items in libraries (books, but also maps, articles, sound recordings, theses, etc.)
– https://scholar.google.com/
Search engine for scientific papers, reviews, etc. It’s still google, but a lot better than the normal search engine counterpart.
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_search_engines
A list of search engines sorted by subject, area, and more. If you’re searching on a specific area, it might be worth checking if there is one focused on that area.
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_academic_databases_and_search_engines
A list of academic databases and search engines.
– https://tineye.com/
Reverse image search alternative to Google’s.
Also, P.S.: Please stop using Google, and start using more privacy focused search engines, like DuckDuckGo or SearchX (opensource; personally haven’t used it yet, but it looks promising for privacy-focused users)
The end of the world is really coming this time: "Good Omens" has been renewed for a third and final season at Amazon.
WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO🥳🥳🥳❤❤❤
The third and final season of “Good Omens” will begin filming soon in Scotland.
“I’m so happy finally to be able to finish the story Terry and I plotted in 1989 and in 2006,” Gaiman said in a statement accompanying Amazon’s “Good Omens” Season 3 renewal announcement Thursday. “Terry was determined that if we made ‘Good Omens’ for television, we could take the story all the way to the end. Season One was all about averting Armageddon, dangerous prophecies, and the End of the World. Season Two was sweet and gentle, although it may have ended less joyfully than a certain Angel and Demon might have hoped. Now in Season Three, we will deal once more with the end of the world. The plans for Armageddon are going wrong. Only Crowley and Aziraphale working together can hope to put it right. And they aren’t talking.”
Amazon MGM Studios head of television said Vernon Sanders added: “’Good Omens’ has checked every box for a clever, witty, and funny comedy that not only made it a success on Prime Video, but also made ‘goodness’ watchable and fun thanks to Neil and Terry’s immense creativity. The final season is sure to be packed with the same dynamic energy that our global customers have come to enjoy.”
Gaiman, who has a first-look deal with Amazon MGM Studios, where he is currently working on his “Anansi Boys” TV series, continues as executive producer, writer and showrunner for “Good Omens” Season 3. Rob Wilkins of Narrativia, representing Pratchett’s estate, and BBC Studios Productions’ head of comedy Josh Cole also executive produce.
“Good Omens” hails from Amazon MGM Studios, BBC Studios Productions, the Blank Corporation and Narrativia.
There are stories that only you are qualified to tell best: that only you are able to tell. You are uniquely positioned in spacetime to do this job because of your life detail, your upbringing, your reading, your thinking. No one else can tell your stories just the way you do, no matter how good a writer they might be.
And inside you somewhere are characters desperate for your attention; desperate for your intention and your work to breathe life into them. They need your voice raised to tell their stories. No one else can do it. You are their only hope.
Waste no more time worrying about whether your take on their stories will be good enough. You have more important things to be thinking about. So go get on with it. :)
Exclusive Interview｜Xiao Zhan: Sheng Yang made me relax a little
Original Article: https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404948026623131654
Original Author: 文艺湃
Xiao Zhan receives a lot of scripts and roles, and some of the people around him gives him suggestions to act in dramas that everyone seems to like, like those which has more dramatic conflicts, or the characters are a little more exaggerated, or the proportion of his section is very important, instead of unilaterally looking from his own tastes. But Xiao Zhan’s own criteria for viewing scripts and characters are not complicated. The first answer is to “impress him”, or to say it more tangibly, when he read the first draft of the script of “Sunshine By My Side”, and he saw how Sheng Yang was described in the script, he smiled subconsciously. When he saw some plots between Meijuan and Papa Sheng, he would subconsciously feel sad, resonate and nod.
“I am the one who has to interpret this character. If I don’t have the confidence to interpret him, or even the desire to do so, how can I have the confidence to bring him to the audience? At least that’s how I am currently.”
Xiao Zhan as Sheng Yang
In essence, Xiao Zhan believed that he and Sheng Yang had the same base color. “Just like the name of our drama, Sheng Yang is a little sun. He has an energy that can turn all bad things into something very good, I think he will always be bright.” Of course, there is also the coincidence that Xiao Zhan and Sheng Yang are also previously from the same industry. But there was a big difference in personality, in Xiao Zhan’s eyes, “This kid is too lively. It doesn’t matter if he encounters difficulties, he will just cheer himself up and continue to move forward bravely.” But Xiao Zhan himself is very different in life, he prefers to be alone and quieter most of the time.
Screenwriter Li Xiao revealed that he met Xiao Zhan during the creation of this character, so he added a lot of Xiao Zhan’s own characteristics to the character of Sheng Yang. Xiao Zhan recalled that when he met Li Xiao for the second time half a year before filming started, and they had a more in-depth communication, “I remember that time she told me that she felt like I was different from before.” What was the difference? Xiao Zhan himself couldn’t answer, “More than two years have passed, people will always grow.”
In addition to his coincidental fate with Sheng Yang, the important reason why Xiao Zhan likes “Sunshine By My Side” was because of the natural style of this drama. Sheng Yang was a young man who dreamed of becoming a designer after graduating from university, who had an ordinary family that was noisy at times but mostly warm, and he met a senior director whom he remembered from 10 years ago again by chance, their paths cross after coincidences. The story did not have the plot of an idol drama., there was work, life, friends and his lady all in his life. “It’s not like the plots I’ve seen before, it’s more natural.”
This seemingly natural script was what Xiao Zhan liked and found challenging. He wanted to make Sheng Yang a living person, not just a character played by Xiao Zhan.
“This was a story that flows like water, it did not have any particularly dramatic conflicts or plots, everything was very natural, just like a story that would happen around you. Acting in this drama was a big challenge for me because I had never filmed such an urban drama, how could I make everyone believe that Sheng Yang is such a person, that he really existed, and was not something Xiao Zhan worked hard to play.”
The story felt natural and the characters were relaxed. Relaxation and calmness wan acting is what Xiao Zhan gained after portraying Sheng Yang, and due to a coincidence of career, Sheng Yang might be the life Xiao Zhan would have experienced if he was not an actor. Did experiencing a life from a “parallel universe” make actor Xiao Zhan relax?
“Yes, but not much. Because the problems Xiao Zhan and Sheng Yang face are still different.”
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
Conversation
There is not much Midas Touch in life, everything requires our own efforts.
The Paper: I also spoke with the screenwriter two days ago, who said that she met you before the script was fully completed, and this had an impact on the creation of the character Sheng Yang. How was the contact with the screenwriting teacher like at that time?
Xiao Zhan: The first time Ms. Xiao and I met was in 2019. Half a year before filming started, we had an in-depth chat and she said that I felt different from before. I said that more than two years have passed and people will always grow. That was the first time that the screenwriter and I established an understanding of each other. Later on, we held three more script meetings to make adjustments to the character of Sheng Yang.
There were two points I raised initially. One was why Sheng Yang was obsessed with this lady for 10 years? Another point was that although Sheng Yang is a younger man, how he could show responsibility and growth in a relationship to convince the audience.
The Paper: How compatible was the finalized Sheng Yang with you?
Xiao Zhan: We are both positive and optimistic, but we have quite different personalities. For example, Sheng Yang can’t help but go physical against his boss. Maybe for Xiao Zhan, I won’t do such impulsive things. I will think of solutions when signs of workplace bullying appears, instead of delaying the matter to the point of being unbearable.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
The Paper: Then how do you understand Sheng Yang’s tolerance in the beginning, where his superior took credit for his work and had a bad attitude toward him. He never thought of a solution and was just enduring.
Xiao Zhan: I can understand Sheng Yang’s situation at that time. Firstly, he needed this job; secondly, this was life, there would be pressure and difficulties, it might make him feel very tired, but he still had to go to work properly the next day. Because he needed this job, his family conditions did not allow him to do something very outrageous and impulsive, this also caused him to develop a very gentle character.
So I understand Sheng Yang. As for why he suddenly went physical and had an emotional outburst later, it was because (the team leader) had breached the bottom line of his tolerance.
But there is growth in Sheng Yang. In the beginning, he was a diligent and hard-working young man with a relatively tolerant personality. Later, he experienced some things in the workplace and in life, and at the same time, he also met his lady, who encouraged him to be himself, and to face and resist bravely, so Sheng Yang made some adjustments. But even in the ending, we didn’t portray Sheng Yang as someone very successful, someone who had completed a very big project, or someone famous. We still wanted Sheng Yang to be closer to life. After all, there are not so much Midas Touch in life. Everything is hard-earned and requires your own efforts.
The Paper: How do you understand some of the struggles between Sheng Yang and the team leader? If it were you, what kind of mentality would you have when faced with this unfair situation?
Xiao Zhan: I might solve the problem as soon as it occurs. I would look for opportunities to have a tactful chat with my boss. For example, I would feedback to my boss on the current resistance I was encountering from a project perspective. But to be honest, I had never encountered workplace bullying, so I am quite lucky, the seniors and colleagues I had met took good care of me.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
Acting, sometimes you have to “perform subtraction”.
The Paper: What is the difficulty of Sheng Yang for you?
Xiao Zhan: Actually, in a few scenes, I thought Sheng Yang was a little childish. Would he be accepted by the audience? Would everyone like him? And how to determine the measure of this? How to act naturally? These were the questions I had to face.
In fact, I talked a lot with the director on set. I would sit next to the director and watch him film, or talk about how to perform a certain scene, and the director would also give me a lot of advice. The director inspired me to do subtraction: don’t plan too many things, don’t think about having to act in a lively state, remember your motives, and then do subtraction.
The Paper: I remember that the scene where Sheng Yang resigned was actually quite simple, but some viewers were very sympathetic. Sheng Yang also had red circles in his eyes at the end. Was this a subtraction?
Xiao Zhan: Yes. In fact, we thought about whether we should say something to everyone after Sheng Yang resigned, but later I felt that there was no need to say it. First of all, the incident did happen, so it was useless to say more. Secondly, you had used your resignation to protect the interests of other members of the group, so there was no need to say too much at the moment.
We need to understand the character’s emotions based on his current situation. First of all, his family situation was not very good and he needed this job; secondly, how would he explain to his parents when he returned home? This was a profession that he loved very much and it was more than just a job to make ends meet. And he had already became the chief designer, which was a very rare opportunity. So Sheng Yang felt more sad at the moment. I was also very sad when I was acting, because everything was obviously going in a good direction and he had worked hard, but instead he received this result. In the setting in the script, it was a very famous advertising company. When we were studying design, we would also make a career plan for ourselves, so he must have been very sad to leave this company.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
The Paper: When thinking about the character, did you do any plan for Sheng Yang that might be outside of the script to make it more consistent with the character?
Xiao Zhan: Regarding the design-related content, I could refer to my previous work experience. The main thing was how to interpret it naturally and not to do too much planning. I had worked in the design industry, so I knew how the condition was like to work. In addition, before filming started, I also sorted out Sheng Yang’s growing environment, as well as his way of getting along with colleagues and superiors at work, and with his parents at home.
The Paper: What do you think of the emotional line with his parents?
Xiao Zhan: I think Sheng Yang would be confused when his parents quarreled. In fact, my parents also quarrel and sometimes I cannot understand too, just over little matters when they obviously care about each other, why do they have to hurt each other in this way? I also had the same questions like Sheng Yang in the drama. But Sheng Yang did not flee and avoid. If he had chosen to flee and avoid, he would not have grown into such a character. In fact, it could be seen from Sheng Yang’s character that his family was a very loving family.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
Understanding each other, testing each other, moving closer to each other step by step.
The Paper: In Sheng Yang’s eyes, what kind of person was Jian Bing?
Xiao Zhan: She was very independent and sober, like a breath of fresh air, her insistence on design impressed Shengyang the most, and her own high-end aesthetics.
The Paper: When Sheng Yang complained about work to Jian Bing, Jian Bing said to quit, and Sheng Yang fell silent. At this time, he was not brave. Do you agree more with Jian Bing’s statement, or do you agree with Sheng Yang’s hesitation and silence?
Xiao Zhan: I can particularly understand Sheng Yang. After all, work is not something you simply quit. Firstly, Sheng Yang is the team leader of the advertising department of a design company, and he had three projects on hand and needed to deal with three clients. If he was to suddenly quit, he would have no sense of responsibility and have a lack of professional ethics. Because the customer chose you, you would be responsible for the customer. Even in real life, I can’t do this, at least there has to be a transition period. But from Jian Bing’s perspective, she felt that it wasn’t like Sheng Yang couldn’t find a new job. Since the leader didn’t approve of him, he should quit. This was a difference between them. The younger man and older lady were in different social statuses and had different working environments, which would lead to a conflict of ideas. This was also a very real point in “Sunshine By My Side”. Both of them came together step by step by understanding and testing each other.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
The Paper: When was the moment when you felt you most resonated with Sheng Yang’s soul?
Xiao Zhan: I had always been, he resonated with me from the first scene when he went to work. But the most resonant moment might be the scene when Sheng Yang was unemployed and went home to eat dinner with his parents. His mother says what’s wrong, why did he look so tired today? In fact, they don’t know that Sheng Yang was already unemployed, but Sheng Yang didn’t tell them the real reason. I was very sad when I was filming this scene, I couldn’t help but cry while eating, but according to the plot, crying would be weird, so the director didn’t use the scene where I cried in the end. In fact, many working youths are like this. They can be strong or tolerant on the exterior, they report good news but not bad news to their families, I am the same way too. But there may be a moment facing a greeting from your loved ones, especially your parents, and you can’t help but breakdown. So I am very empathetic.
The Paper: Doesn’t his character bring out the liveliness that you don’t have?
Xiao Zhan: It’s possible, so I am very envious of him, he’s a kind of longing.
The Paper: Which scene or line in this drama do you like best?
Xiao Zhan: Independent of each other, no second guessing or suspicion.
The Paper: You have acted in a lot of dramas so far. Where do you think your greatest growth is reflected?
Xiao Zhan: I feel more relaxed and calm. This was also the biggest feeling after filming “Sunshine By My Side”. It might also be because of the subject matter, which required you to be natural and relaxed.
The Paper: As an actor, where do you think your desire for acting starts?
Xiao Zhan: When you see a good script, you have the confidence and motivation to perform it well. It is also a desire to conquer this character that I like. In fact, when filming, I just enjoy the current moment, whether it is sad or happy, just remember it.
Photograph from “Sunshine By My Side”
The Paper: When is your happiest moment as an actor?
Xiao Zhan: The director and I basically sent messages after work every day, sometimes it was to summarize the details from today’s scene that hadn’t been achieved yet, and sometimes it’s to discuss how the next day’s scenes would be filmed and whether there were any ideas. The director always sent me 60-seconds voice messages, and every time he was especially happy and excited to discuss what he was going to film tomorrow. I liked this atmosphere very much. Everyone was giving and creating, and they did it with love. This was what I liked and what I wanted.
The Paper: To be honest, especially you, many youths like you as a young actor, and the roles handed to you were relatively upright, righteous and have no shortcomings, but this seems not three-dimensional and sufficiently enjoyable. What do you think of this situation?
Xiao Zhan: I think this is a matter of career functionality of actors at different stages. There will indeed be some complex characters that are fascinating and challenging. As I grow older, experience more, and my personality attributes become more and more multifaceted, I can try them. But in fact, every character has its own shortcomings and flaws.
For example, Sheng Yang was actually a bit noisy. How do you deal with it in order to turn his shortcomings into endearing points and become the characteristics of the character. There was also Sheng Yang’s stubbornness and lack of vision. These were his shortcomings, but it was also this energy that makes him move forward bravely, so this was also what makes him endearing.
The Paper: Are you the kind of person who needs to work all the time, or do you prefer a relaxed pace?
Xiao Zhan: I should be like many people. I want to take a break when I am working all the time. When I take a break, I will say no, I have to work and I have to produce.
The Paper: Since it was filmed in Chongqing, did you bring your colleagues from the crew to introduce the local delicacies?
Xiao Zhan: I did send some to my colleagues, but they were all rejected in the end. Everyone would say we don’t eat this anymore. It turned out that I had not returned to Chongqing for several years and was already outdated.
The Paper: Do you feel a sense of loss that you are no longer familiar with your hometown?
Xiao Zhan: Don’t feel the loss, the classic ones are the best.
Xiao Zhan: About Sheng Yang, I have some questions
Original Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OCkDuZW1tVMamPrWn__SYw
Original Author: 肉英
Translator’s note: The original author is part of Yuli Studio, this article is published in Yuli Studio’s Weixin Official Account on 14 Sep 2023 as a part of “Behind the Screens” Volume 1107.
At the end of 2019, Xiao Zhan had just celebrated his 28th birthday. He had received the script of “Sunshine By My Side” and met the 26-year-old Sheng Yang in the script.
Around the same age and having similar work experiences, there seemed to be some wonderful connection between Sheng Yang and Xiao Zhan. Coupled with the lively and lovable characters in the script, it seemed to be an obvious choice to take on the drama “Sunshine By My Side”.
In Xiao Zhan’s work resume, he had portrayed the roles of a lonely and cold prince, a young man with infinite passion and sincerity, a soldier who strove to breakthrough himself, a doctor who was cold on the surface but passionate inside, etc. These roles had given Xiao Zhan different life experiences, but he still seemed to be missing a slice of life work – after Sheng Yang met the audience, this role filled the gap.
The script of “Sunshine By My Side” took more than three years to create, and during these three years, Xiao Zhan had also experienced some of his own growth, and this gave him some doubts about his previously firm choice of Sheng Yang, “I’m already 31 years old, how can I play the role of a younger man who is new and has no experience in the society? Can I convince the audience?” In his heart, Xiao Zhan asked himself repeatedly.
All of these questions, Xiao Zhan told screenwriter Li Xiao.
01
The original Sheng Yang was lively and innocent, his body was filled with endless energy. In Li Xiao’s words, “He was a sunny and light character.” This was also Xiao Zhan’s initial feelings about Sheng Yang, but soon, such a character experienced a round of challenges.
After writing more than 20 episodes of the script, Li Xiao’s emotional life had changed, and she had a deeper understanding of the love story between this younger man and older lady. “The younger man who really wants to properly fall in love must have a very mature temperament and thoughts.” Li Xiao said.
The 26-year-old Sheng Yang actually already had several years of work experience, should he still be a naive big boy? Is it possible that for him to admire Jian Bing for 10 years because of an advertisement 10 years ago, and should Sheng Yang be a completely straightforward and passionate character? Could he fall in love with the older lady Jian Bing just based on pure love?
These questions seemed to have different answers in Li Xiao’s mind, and it was also at this time, Xiao Zhan met Li Xiao for the first time at the script planning meeting.
Xiao Zhan’s doubts and Li Xiao’s thoughts collided at the same time, “Sister Li Xiao and I have met each other too late.” In Xiao Zhan’s eyes, Li Xiao is a person who is very serious about work, both of their thoughts about Sheng Yang hit it off right away at the first script meeting.
The “image of a fledgling, inexperienced younger man”, which Xiao Zhan was worried that he might not be able to interpret well, was almost overthrown by Li Xiao, and he was transformed into a more resolute character, a bit obstinate, and a more serious Sheng Yang. He was no longer a novice in the workplace, but a character with strong personal abilities, inner aspirations, and some sense of maturity.
When encountering difficulties, Sheng Yang was responsible; he also had his own persistence when Jian Bing offered her assistance after losing his job; his choice to start a business was not a decision of a youthful impulse and a hotheadedness, “We want the audience to believe that everything Sheng Yang has gone through, believe in the decisions he made,” Xiao Zhan said.
Xiao Zhan participated in such script meetings three times in total. The communication with Li Xiao also extended from the script itself to the two persons’ tastes in art. “We would talk about some of the works we have watched recently, and she would recommend many interesting movies, drama series, and even radio and audio books, and I saw a lot of good works that I had never seen before.”
It was in this atmosphere that Sheng Yang’s image becomes more and more rounded — in Xiao Zhan’s heart, Sheng Yang was no longer just a cold description of words, but there was an outline of a complete character portrait, all of the motivations behind Sheng Yang’s choices became clear. Only after oneself is convinced then the audience have the possibility to believe, Sheng Yang’s changes finally gave Xiao Zhan the confidence to perform.
“The Sheng Yang now has a clear growth path, and the family atmosphere is also clearer, his sense of responsibility presented, as well as his ability to withstand stress, have all improved. His relationship with Jian Bing has also became more grounded and more believable.” In the three years of script creation, Sheng Yang, like Xiao Zhan, had grown up.
02
“Sunshine By My Side” chose its filming location in Chongqing, a city where Xiao Zhan had lived before and could give him a sense of security. It might have been easier to find the “sense of life” desired in the drama in such a city.
Even so, Xiao Zhan was still a little nervous before joining the drama, “What I’m particularly worried about is actually that I want to interpret the character of Sheng Yang in a very life-like and natural way, if I can make everyone feel that Xiao Zhan is not acting, and he is Sheng Yang, then it will be successful.”
How to interpret a life-like character was a lesson that Xiao Zhan must complete.
Director Song Xiaofei once took Xiao Zhan to Sheng Yang’s home, and after entering Sheng Yang’s room, Xiao Zhan first stopped and looked around to familiarize himself with the environment, then he went to tidy up the quilts and pillows he was going to sleep on. He sat on the sofa again, then got up, came beside the desk, and adjusted all the ornaments on the desk to where he could easily reach them.
“I particularly like the Sheng Yang’s home. The art directors in “Sunshine By My Side” were very good. They made the Sheng Yang’s home very life-like. So when I walked in, I didn’t feel like I was acting at all. Instead, it felt like I had already lived here for a very long time.”
In Sheng Yang’s room, Xiao Zhan seemed to see the house where he lived in as a child. Whether it was the living atmosphere or the environment, everything was too similar.
With such an atmosphere, Xiao Zhan wants to do even better in showing the character of Sheng Yang. Therefore, he is always a little nervous, “I had never acted in such a life-oriented drama, and I was a little uneasy.” From the first day of filming, Xiao Zhan would send the director a message every day.
“Director, do you feel there are any adjustments today?”
“Director, do you think this segment is alright?”
“How do you feel?”
“How about the scene tomorrow?”
Xiao Zhan liked the feeling of being Sheng Yang on the set of “Sunshine By My Side”. He communicated, discussed, and created with the director every day. For Xiao Zhan, this was a way to for him to progress.
On the first day after joining the drama, Xiao Zhan’s first scene was the scene where Sheng Yang met Jian Bing in a restaurant 10 years later. Song Xiaofei deliberately put this important scene on the first day of filming in order to retain that feeling where Xiao Zhan and Bai Baihe just knew each other, and this was also the condition the characters needed.
Recalling the first day of filming, Xiao Zhan thought it was “quite fun”, and on the second day, when filming the scene where Jian Bing was drunk and Sheng Yang took care of her in the hotel, Bai Baihe’s acting skills touched him.
“The plot of that part was that Jian Bing asked for a song and Sheng Yang asked what the title of the song was, then Jian Bing looked at Sheng Yang and said, ‘I really love you’. I had a very deep impression of the look in Bai Baihe’s gaze when she raised her head, it was very stunning to me at that time, I saw the light in her eyes and her whole state directly and closely, and I really learned a lot.”
The excellent performance of the partnering actress also inspired Xiao Zhan’s energy. In the subsequent scenes where Sheng Yang muttered to himself, Xiao Zhan’s performance was more refined than when he was rehearsing.
Director Song Xiaofei was always good at capturing the impromptu reactions of actors under the camera, and that reaction was the most real and the most touching to the audience. Xiao Zhan said: “In the drama ‘Sunshine By My Side’, I just do subtractions, don’t think too much about the plan or anything else, it’s enough to just immerse yourself in the character.”
03
Sheng Yang’s lines were life-like, but they also conveyed viewpoints. To be able to express those views without preaching was a test of the screenwriter’s creative ability, and it was also a test of the actor’s lines performance.
Director Song Xiaofei didnot ask the actors to say their lines exactly according to the script, which made them seem a bit rigid. Most of them did not deviate from the original settings of the script, and the actors could handle it as they felt comfortable. “There were still some differences from the costume dramas I have filmed previously. For costume dramas, there was its own way of segmenting lines and saying words within.” Xiao Zhan said.
In addition to family, love and other story lines, Sheng Yang’s work scenes were also very important. When walking into Shengyang’s office, Xiao Zhan, who had also been a designer, even felt like he time traveled. “Those workstations, drawing pads, pens, and even the office and design software in the computer were all too familiar.” Sitting at Sheng Yang’s workstation, Xiao Zhan would feel relaxed.
“Although these software were not used frequently now, and my skills have degraded a little, it was still possible to photoshop some pictures and edit some short clips when filming.” While waiting for the scene on the set, Xiao Zhan would occasionally make randomly sketch on the draft paper, this sense of atmosphere created an inexplicable connection between him and the character Sheng Yang.
In “Sunshine By My Side”, there was a scene that moved the audience and they exclaimed it as the reality: Sheng Yang had lost his job due to a certain project accident, but he did not complain to his parents. Instead, he behaved as usual every day and went out to find a job on time, going home on time to accompany his parents.
Xiao Zhan fully understood Sheng Yang, who only reported good news but not bad news, because the way he got along with his family was similar to Sheng Yang. Xiao Zhan liked the family of three’s noisy but harmonious way of getting along with one another in the drama, “The parents would bicker and have arguments, but they loved each other very much, were very happy, and were very wonderful.” During the filming of “Sunshine By My Side”, Xiao Zhan’s parents visited him twice and to Xiao Zhan, this is also a kind of happiness.
The audience said that “Sheng Yang is Xiao Zhan in the parallel world.” Sheng Yang, a Chongqing native and designer, has a high degree of similarity with Xiao Zhan. Xiao Zhan himself also felt that “in the process of portraying Sheng Yang, I would subconsciously immerse myself.” For example, Sheng Yang and Xiao Zhan would scratch their heads when they were shy.
“But I’m also afraid that everyone will feel this way.” Xiao Zhan said, “I’m afraid that the audience will project their feelings and emotions towards Xiao Zhan onto this character. Although Sheng Yang and I had the same profession, our personalities are still quite different, Xiao Zhan may be quieter and more stable, whereas Sheng Yang is more outgoing.”
There would definitely be some connection between the character and the actor himself, the real reactions given during the filming might have merged Xiao Zhan’s own temperament in some of Sheng Yang’s scenes, but this did not mean that Sheng Yang is Xiao Zhan.
If the audience felt that Sheng Yang seemed to be truly living in a certain time and space, it might also mean that Xiao Zhan’s interpretation of this character had achieved a realized effect . The “sense of life” he wants to show had been acknowledged by the audiences.
Broadcasting three television drama series in one year is a very rare achievement for an actor and Xiao Zhan also that knows clearly, “The value of an actor lies in using his works to speak, and having a very real feedback connection with the audience.” In the future, television drama series will still be Xiao Zhan’s main development direction, so what will be his next work?
Sheng Yang [brilliant sun] and Jian Bing's [ice] names alone tell us about their personalities and that their relationship will be one of them bringing warmth and healing to the other. In the first draft of the script, Sheng Yang was just like his name - direct, light-hearted, sunny, not that many layers to him, just a simple, warm boy. But once [scriptwriter] Li Xiao got in touch with Xiao Zhan to discuss the script, she discovered other qualities in him that she could add to Sheng Yang.
This was the first time Li Xiao had any close contact with and got to know the actor Xiao Zhan. "I discovered he wasn't much like my impression of him," Li Xiao said. Before all this, she didn't know him very well, only that he was very popular.
Perhaps "popular“ is also a kind of stereotype, one that creates a sense of distance and room for conjecture. But when Xiao Zhan sat down in front of Li Xiao, she got to experience the rest of Xiao Zhan outside that stereotype.
"He has an old fashioned disposition, like someone who walked out of the past, and not like us modern people who are saturated with information with our attention constantly wandering. It doesn't seem like he gets distracted in a chaotic environment."
When they were discussing the script, Li Xiao and Xiao Zhan would recommend to each other movies they liked. "I could never imagine that his tastes would be so arthouse. Honestly, some of them were so stuffy even I couldn't sit through them."
Xiao Zhan's single-minded focus and implacability offered more possibilities for the character of Sheng Yang. Having written so many scripts, Li Xiao has discovered that sometimes if an actor's temperament isn't a good match for the character, it can be a case of great effort for little reward, but if the actor and character are a good match and the role can make use of the actor's natural disposition and temperament, great reward can be achieved with relatively little effort.
"Sheng Yang has a kind of wilfulness, he will pursue something wholeheartedly and keep at it for a long time, including how he was able to persist in his affection for Jian Bing for ten years, all this comes from how I felt after getting to know Xiao Zhan," Li Xiao said.
Conversely, those more obvious traits of Sheng Yang's, such as being a designer, his family background, knowing how to draw, those similarities with Xiao Zhan were coincidental. Li Xiao didn't know Xiao Zhan had been a designer before he became an entertainer, nor that the scene of Sheng Yang drawing for Jian Bing would utilise his drawing skills.
While the script was being written, the director Song Xiaofei and scriptwriter Li Xiao came to a clear consensus about Sunshine By My Side: the story had to be truthful, down to earth, rather than trying to manufacture the idol romance kind of relationship.
Given this, all the shooting locations were created with the aim of making it feel real for the actors, such as choosing to shoot in Chongqing, because Xiao Zhan is from Chongqing, it's where he grew up and lived, it doesn't feel foreign to him, and it made it easier for him to believe he was Sheng Yang.
"A high degree of concurrence between actor and character helps the actor's performance. First, when Xiao Zhan sits in front of a computer, he's confident; when he opens all the design software, there's not a single one he doesn't already know how to use. So I can shoot his hand and the screen, and when he's concentrating on his work that's not a performance. That makes it feel real."
During filming the director also worried that if the environment seemed too stagey, the actors would enter a theatrical performance mode. So Sunshine By My Side worked hard on realism: the subway scene was shot on the subway, for the scenes at home all the little details were in place, and when the characters went to work and turned their computers it had their work on it. "Only this commitment to reality can give the audience a sense of immersion and safety."
Back to the warm home in the parallel world. The orderly and warm nest in the chaos contains the energy and imprint of little Shengyang's growth in this space. Coupled with the happy smiling faces of Lao Sheng and Meijuan'er, they complement each other perfectly.
For me, the difference between Sheng Yang and the characters I have played in the past is that he is closer to life. He is like you and me. There are family members, partners, simple and ordinary joy and happiness, as well as endless work and chores, and unpredictable difficulties. He is just like you and me, he solves problems when he encounters them, does not question or get entangled, and follows the trend for his ideal appearance. Meeting Jian Bing again, the "goddess sister from many years ago" in Song Chen's mouth, the girl embedded in the warm sun who once brought him endless light, had ice particles hanging on the outside of her armor. What kind of story will happen when the little sun gets close to the little ice cube? Load up the little nest that stores love and light for him, run hard towards the future, and strive to pursue the love in his heart, or a better self.
I like him very much! I like this young man who works hard with everyone in the parallel world and sticks to what he loves in his heart. During those times when Jian Bing entered Shengyang's life, she gave Shengyang a lot of energy and confidence in life. Yesterday was the first day of broadcasting. Like Sheng Yang, I walked in front of the audience nervously and confidently. I hope everyone will like the story we brought about the scorching sun accompanying my big family.
There's an infamous quote by Neil Gaiman going around, regarding the general vibe of season 2, and many people (I believe humorously) yelling that it could not be further from the truth. Particularly in the last episode, where that happens.
I disagree.
The final episode of season 2 was deeply, deeply comforting to me.
I am asexual. Have been my whole life. Even before I had the words to describe what that was, child-me had this feeling in their gut of being an outlier, that everyone was exaggerating, or in on some joke, that I wasn’t privy to. Because I was bombarded on all sides by shows and movies and books, telling the same story of love, again, and again, and AGAIN. It’s drilled into our brains with the same fervor as the days of the week, or the quadratic formula. Meet-cute -> misunderstanding ->declaration of feelings ->kiss. More or less steps can be added to account for runtime or complexity of narrative, but that’s the basic structure that a relationship follows. It MUST be, because that’s the formula every character who's ever been in a story goes through, often times when it even feels like an add-on, like it’s only there because this is a story, there HAS to be a romance. And it has to follow the steps.
For a long time, I felt love wasn’t for me, because if there’s only one way to be in love, I sure as hell wasn’t feeling it.
Instead, the relationship I ended up in looked a lot like what Beezlebub and Gabriel go through. Meeting someone routinely until it starts to feel comfortable. Getting to know them and slowly growing more attached. Eating chips and listening to music.
We like to joke whenever someone asks us how long we’ve been together, because the answer is we just sort of slowly fell into it, and we honestly don’t know when the line got blurred between ‘friends’ and ‘partners’. And, at least for me, a good deal of that confusion, that hesitancy to label, came from the fact that what I was feeling, what we were, couldn’t be love. It couldn’t be romantic.
We were just quiet and gentle.
And that wasn’t love.
Because it was slow, because it wasn’t physical, because there was no structure aside from consistency and companionship. Because it didn’t follow the Rules.
Then I found myself in stories, and it felt like a revelation.
Beelzebub and Gabriel aren’t the first time I’ve seen a love like I feel represented in a narrative, but it never stops feeling special. And I don’t know if I’ll ever stop celebrating it.
Throughout the sequence in the pub, I kept expecting them to “confirm” Gabriel and Beelzebub. A dramatic line, a kiss, a whatever. That’s what I’ve been taught to expect, after all, that’s the only way a relationship is “real”. Of course, this doesn't mean Crowley and Aziraphale sharing a dramatic kiss is wrong, or that I can’t see why it resonated with so many people, but for me. Those moments in the pub are worth so much more.The last scene might have been literally showstopping, but those handful of moments between the duke of hell and an archangel were the beating heart of the season for me. A simple love story in four scenes. No kisses. No ‘I love you’s. Not even any definition of what. The love Gabriel and Beelzebub have is strong enough for them to both want to shatter their worlds and flee their lives and it's just.
It's just that.
Two people in a pub, playing the other's favorite song, giving a little gift, buying a packet of crisps.
That sequence means far more to me than any kiss ever could.
Love isn’t only real when it's hot and sudden and ephemeral, it can also be
