On October 25th, Mainland Chinese actress Yang Mi announced on Weibo that she had privately booked two films, including “Qiao Yan’s Secrets” starring Zhao Liying.
In her Weibo post revealing the private booking poster, Yang Mi wrote: “Thank you to so many ‘Yang Mi’ for booking the theater for me at the first moment. From the inception to the release of the film is not an easy process. I wish ‘Qiao Yan’s Secrets’ and ‘Burn City’ great success. A good market requires effort from both industry insiders and audiences.”
Yang Mi and Zhao Liying, as two of the most popular female stars in the current Chinese entertainment industry, have both faced challenges and hardships on their paths to success. Yang Mi rose to fame quickly with dramas like “Palace” (also known as “Palace: Lock Heart”) while Zhao Liying gradually gained recognition with series such as “The Journey of Flower”. However, the road to success for both of them has not been without setbacks as they have experienced career lows and faced criticism and attacks from the public.
There have been longstanding rumors in the Chinese entertainment industry about discord between Yang Mi and Zhao Liying, leading to conflicts among their respective fanbases. Due to their similar age and status as A-list actresses, comparisons between the two are often made.
Reports have previously mentioned that Yang Mi and Zhao Liying collaborated on a film directed by Hong Kong director Peter Chan titled “Chang Yuan Nong”, which is currently yet to be scheduled for release.
Of particular note, at the end of last year, when Peter Chan announced that Zhang Ziyi would be the first female lead in “Chang Yuan Nong”, rumors circulated about the casting of the second female lead “Su Qing” being undecided between Yang Mi and Zhao Liying, sparking intense debates among their fans online.
The official Weibo account of “Chang Yuan Nong” released a statement at the time, stating that the main actors had started filming and would share more information about the movie once the cast was complete. The post emphasized that the sequence of main actors’ announcements would follow the order of their respective character appearances, aiming to quell the waves of arguments between the two actresses’ fan bases.
Recently, with the release of Zhao Liying’s film “Qiao Yan’s Secrets” and her accolades such as winning the Flying Apsaras Award and two Golden Eagle Awards, many believe there has been a shift in the status quo of the industry, with Zhao Liying leading the pack among the ’85 flower,’ earning the title of the ‘outstanding star among ’85ers’. This prompted renowned Mainland Chinese director and editor Cheng Qingsong to post on Weibo, “Yang Mi needs to work harder,” starting off with the topic of “Zhao Liying winning the Flying Apsaras Award,” perhaps concerned about sparking unnecessary controversies, yet later revising the post. This led to renewed discussions on the rumored discord between Yang Mi and Zhao Liying.
Surprisingly, after the release of “Qiao Yan’s Secrets,” a netizen shared a screenshot claiming that Yang Mi had privately booked the movie theater to support the film. This news initially raised doubts, prompting a response from Yang Mi herself. She posted on Weibo along with the private booking poster, expressing her gratitude to all the ‘Yang Mi’ who supported the film initiative at once. Yang Mi emphasized the challenges from the film’s inception to its release and wished success for both “Qiao Yan’s Secrets” and “Burn City,” highlighting the collaborative effort needed between industry practitioners and audiences.
This gesture by Yang Mi has dispelled rumors of discord between her and Zhao Liying.