Gossip mill: Li Nanxing jumped into a mud pit of insects because it's what actors do — and other entertainment news this week

 Li Nanxing jumped into a mud pit of insects because it's what actors do

Long filming hours, working on weekends and public holidays… these aren't the worst that comes with being an actor. In the first episode of the new talkshow The Inner Circle, veteran local actor Li Nanxing told host Guo Liang that he once had to film in an icky mud pit filled with ants and worms for the 2013 Chinese drama The Journey: A Voyage.

In that scene, his character was pushed into a swamp. Filming took place in a forest and the production crew dug a hole and filled it up with water, flour, and mud. However, it was already dark when they completed the pit and so they could only film the scene the next day.

Horror of horrors, the pit was filled with ants and worms when they returned. Nanxing didn't want the crew to have to dig another pit, so he bravely went ahead with the scene and completed the filming in one take.

Recounting the experience to Guo Liang, he said: "My entire body was red and swollen from insect bites afterwards. But filming is like this."

ALSO READ: Li Nanxing wore his clothes from The Unbeatables, went to a casino with $200k and lost badly

JJ Lin wraps dumplings with Stefanie Sun, kena suan by her

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpTJQe-GHQk[/embed]

This video is probably the best thing we've watched in a while: local Mandopop stars Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin joking around while wrapping dumplings together during Chinese New Year.

In the video uploaded to YouTube on Thursday (Feb 18), Stefanie, 42, even suaned JJ when the 39-year-old's dumpling was stuck on the tabletop, telling him it's better for him to stick to singing. "You go and sing song," she chastised with a wide grin.

Their dumplings didn't exactly look very nice (JJ called one of the dumplings he made a 'curry puff'), Stefanie said the pan-frying process was "very, very disastrous", and JJ even burnt his fingers twice. But at the end of it, the two of them said it tasted rather good.

ALSO READ: Stefanie Sun releases self-written and self-produced single, her first in 19 years

Netizen admits to lying after accusing The Uncanny Counter's breakout star Jo Byeong-kyu of bullying

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CLTqbGBM3jK/[/embed]

Young Korean actor Jo Byeong-kyu is receiving a lot of attention after his performance in the hit drama series The Uncanny Counter, but stardom might have created some haters.

On Feb 16, a netizen posted on an online community claiming the 24-year-old gathered 30 students and bullied the netizen while they were studying in New Zealand. Byeong-kyu's management agency denied the allegations unreservedly and said they had "requested an investigation to punish the netizen who created the malicious post with false information".

The following day, the netizen reportedly contacted the agency, admitted to lying about the bullying and deleted the accusatory post.

According to Allkpop, his agency said in a statement: "Considering that the [netizen] self-reflected on his action, expressed his willingness to comply, and sought leniency, we decided to only receive an agreement that the netizen will no longer create false posts."

ALSO READ: Gossip mill: Huang Biren shares the only update she has on Xie Shaoguang — and other entertainment news this week

kwokkarpeng@asiaone.com