Entertaining You...

Samantha Chow: Maggie Cheung Ho Yee not ready to resurface yet

2006-11-28T20:58:00.000+01:00

Jewellery brand Jan Logan invited Samantha Chow and Tracy Yip to demonstrate the 2007 diamond and Southeast-Asian pearl series yesterday. Samantha expressed that she has just ended her contract with her modelling agency and she becomes a free person again. She said: “My relationship with the agency is like a dating relationship. If you don’t feel comfortable anymore, then you should break up. She also disclosed that her good friend Maggie Cheung helped her analyse her problem to end the contract and Maggie also supports her decision. Asked her when Maggie will come back to film series again, Samantha said: “She is currently still resting and she is also enjoying her life abroad a lot. Therefore I think she isn’t ready yet to return.”

Since Miss Hong Kong, no one pursues Tracy
Tracy expressed that she loves jewellery and she plans on following a jewellery design course. Asked her if her dream guy will give her a diamond, would she be extremely happy? She said: “If he treats me well and he gives me diamonds in addition, then he will definitely receive full marks.” Furthermore, she revealed that since the Miss pageant, no one has pursued her. Regarding her relationship with rumoured boyfriend Don Li, she said: “We are just ordinary friends. Once in a while, we will call each other. However, whenever I have problems, I will call him first. His experience is much richer than me.”

Source: Mingpao

Gigi Lai to become a sassy spinster

2006-11-28T20:56:00.000+01:00

Yesterday Gigi Lai and Ray Lui attended a promotional function in Panyu, Guangzhou as ribbon-cutting guests. Thanks to her TVB series, Gigi has received more opportunities to earn money in the Mainland. Besides performing on stage, she also cut ribbons for many new businesses. Her work opportunities increased into the north due to the good responses of her broadcasted series “War and Beauty” and “The Charm Beneath” in the Mainland. Her biggest goal is to make the entire country a place for her to earn money. She plans to buy a flat building with her future money.

Gigi’s greatest investment was to support her brother’s studies financially. Currently his dermatology practice is going very well. In the past, she went with a skin allergy to his practice, but because there were too many patients she couldn’t jump the queue. Gigi joked that now her brother’s business succeeded, it is time for him to repay her. Although her brother has urged her to retire early, but she likes the satisfaction of performing too much. She also joked that her chances of finding a partner became dimmer and dimmer. Therefore, she will have to become a sassy spinster whose brother’s girlfriend will have to be approved by her first.

Ray Lui is currently shooting the movie “Breaking through the Army” directed by Wilson Yip. However, he complained of a slow filming process which disrupts his work routine. He said that they have scheduled five days to film for “Breaking through the Army”, but in the end they only worked one day. As he has to shoot the TV series “Vietnamese King” soon, he feels really helpless because his time is tied up by “Breaking through the Army” yet they aren’t filming.

Source: Mingpao

Kenneth Ma wants to be an irresponsible siu sang

2006-11-25T23:27:00.000+01:00

If you can choose, would you like to be like Bowie Lam or Moses Chan? They have important roles in a series, but these male leads are also burdened with the pressure of TV ratings. Or would you rather be like Wayne Lai or Ram Tseung? They are a supporting actor in almost every series. Recently, Kenneth Ma has attracted the attention of many viewers with his character Mak Ka Fai in “To Grow with Love”. He said frankly: “Actually, I am quite an irresponsible artist. When I have the opportunity to carry the ratings, they definitely have to hold you back. At the moment, I want to try out many different roles. Perhaps being a siu sang in one or two series, then it will be good for me.”

People have always seen the TVB acting classes as a kind of Shaolin temple that trains actors. However, not one graduate from the Shaolin temple skyrocketed into popularity in one go. They all had to work hard and climb up the ladder one step after the other. Without three, five or seven years, the viewers will definitely not remember your name. If you have a look at the current upcoming siu sangs like Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong, Ron Ng and Sammul Chan, they all started out as kelefe. Even if some of them didn’t go through the acting classes. Can the TVB ratings guarantee today’s position of the artists to the ones who doesn’t work hard for a few years, even a dozen of years? It’s also the same for Kenneth, graduate of the 1999 TVB acting class. He started out as a kelefe as well, however he was more fortunate compared to others. He only needed three years before he had the opportunity to have a true role in a series. After five years he performed important characters in a series. Although the majority of these characters aren’t very pleasing, he believes that the most important thing is to satisfy himself.

Bad characters even more fun
“I think I can satisfy myself even more with bad characters. I have portrayed a character that was so bad that he even caused trouble for his own mother. I have also been a voyeur. These kind of characters are all bad, but just because of that it is fun to play them. You can be those kind of characters that you can’t be in reality. For example, I was a panty voyeur in “Survivor’s Law”. How can you keep on staring at women’s legs in reality? People would definitely say you are a pervert. In addition, I am quite an irresponsible actor. As long as I am not a leading actor, I will not feel the pressure of the TV ratings. This means that I can still take risks for a role and I don’t have to care too much about the opinions of others.”

Has Kenneth never thought about being the male lead? “When you get the opportunity to carry the ratings, the producer will hold you back a lot. I still feel that I should be able to take risks now. Moreover, I am not a very ambitious person.” Asked him whether he has strived for a male leading role, he said surprisingly: “At TVB, you can’t strive for it on your own initiative. If the company thinks that you are OK, then they will look for you. However, I believe I am a very lucky person. Many producers have thought that I was suitable for a specific characters and have thus asked for me. I am very grateful for them to give me so much space (to develop my character). For example, when producer Kwan Wing Chun asked me for “To Grow with Love”, he only said that he had a very cute character for me. As soon as I heard it, I accepted it. Initially, Mak Ka Fai was such a minor character that his personality wasn’t even described. When I understood this character, I told the producer how I wanted to portray him. I even had his appearance and speech in my mind. The producer also gave me a lot of freedom. In the end, if the viewers liked it then I am also happy.”

Grateful for seniors giving me advice
Besides obtaining the favour of the producers, many seniors also treat him very well and often give him advice. However, he wasn’t willing to say which seniors have praised. He only disclosed that Roger Kwok, Benz Hui and Wayne Lai has taught him a lot. Smilingly, he said: “Wayne has once said that being in this profession you have to count on thirty percent of talent and seventy percent of luck. No matter how good you are, if the viewers doesn’t like you then you are dead meat. Therefore it is very important to have a predestined relationship with the audience. Although it seems that I am currently only taking strange roles, I think it is a good thing. I don’t want to be a typical siu sang. I also don’t need to please beautiful girls. If I have to appeal to them, then it is enough to be good-looking. I think that I have already succeeded if I was publicly recognized as a gifted actor. Instead it isn’t important how much I earn. As for when I would be able to do that, I don’t dare to think about it. I will just take it one step at a time. Becoming an actor, you can’t go too fast. I’d rather you tell that I still have room to improve. If you told me that I have already reached the highest that I could get, then I would think it is a very bad situation.”

Epilogue
Having been with TVB for seven years, he has just won his first award. Was it fast or slow? Kenneth only expressed that he has never thought that it would come so fast, because he thought that the competition was very strong. That is why when they announced it, he just stayed motionless and didn’t understand the reaction. He also said that although his body lives in this entertainment industry, but many people has told him that he wasn’t ambitious. He continued to say that the reason he entered this industry is because he loved acting. Asked him about the senior who praised him, after some time he quietly said one sentence: “Won’t the person think that I used them to promote myself?” Asked him about the rumours with Margie Tsang, he wouldn’t care about what has been said as long as the female doesn’t mind it. Actually if others wrote that he was very unhappy after dinner, at that moment, Kenneth seems to resemble Ka Fai a lot.

Source: Singpao

Se7en fears to stop filming first series due to lawsuits

2006-11-25T14:50:00.000+01:00

South Korean dancer and singer Se7en became a leading actor for the first time in the series “Goong S”. Currently he is being accused by the production company of the popular series “Goong”, Eight Peaks, of plagiarism of their work. In addition, the title “Goong” is used unauthorised and lead to confusion towards the audience. They requested the court to issue a prohibition order for the filming and the broadcast later on.

A board member of Eight Peaks Choi Gye Young pointed out that it was actually the company Group Eight that produces “Goong S”. It turns out that Group Eight was established in May this year by workers who were fired from Eight Peaks. Therefore they don’t have the right to produce any works related to “Goong”.

Choi Gye Young added: “Recently, Group Eight have changed the series’ title from “Goong 2” to “Goong S”. However, they still promote their series as a sequel and a special edition of “Goong”. Yet that is actually illegal and plagiarism. Without our agreement, they have used the title “Goong”. In reality, they are stealing!”

He also said angrily that Group Eight have disappointed them and more importantly, they have affected the production of “Goong 2”. He explained: “The appearance of this pirated version of “Goong 2” (he is talking about “Goong S”) also blew up the contract negotiations for the broadcast of “Goong 2” in the other Asian regions. Group Eight exploited the “Goong” trademark to obtain many benefits. In order to avoid such losses again, we already went to court and requested to stop the production of “Goong S”.”

Yoon Eun Hye and Ju Ji Hoon for the original “Goong 2”
Because of this matter, Eight Peaks revealed that they have been planning to film “Goong 2”. Many media and viewers immediately asked them whether the two leads Yoon Eun Hye and Ju Ji Hoon will act in it. Yesterday Choi Gye Young said: “If “Goong 2” will indeed be produced, then the former leads Yoon Eun Hye and Ju Ji Hoon should certainly continue their roles. Although we understand very well what the fans want, we first have to resolve this dispute with Group Eight properly. Only then will we carry out our plans for “Goong 2”.”

Group Eight didn’t care much about Eight Peaks’ indictment. Yesterday they continued filming scenes with Se7en. They weren’t frightened at all that the broadcast will be forbidden.

Source: Singpao

Steven Ma aiming at the throne of the ‘king of ratings’

2006-11-23T21:58:00.000+01:00

With his character Sheung Chi in “Safe Guards”, Steven Ma took home the TVB award for ‘My Most Favourite Character’. His acting skills were recognised by the audience. 2006 is the year that Steven has obtained the best result in his acting career.

Regarding his good results in 2006, Steven said: “This is definitely the best reward! My colleagues and producer were also very happy for me. I will definitely hold a celebration dinner. It will be celebrated with my co-stars and producer from “Safe Guards” as it was this series that gave me an award. However, I will continue to do my best and hopefully I will receive another award next year!” He frankly said he would like to know how it’s like to win the “Best Actor” award. He will set this as his goal. It is another case whether he would succeed or not. It is the most important that he has this initiative. Asked him whether his return to TVB was a correct decision, Steven said: “I considered for half a year. I have talked many times with Virginia Lok and Catherine Tsang. Seeing TVB’s sincerity, my confidence in the company grew. In the end, it proofed that my choice wasn’t wrong. I am really grateful for their support as well as the company’s!”

Doesn’t believe that Kevin Cheng’s win was fixed
After the awards ceremony, there was many noise that it was fixed. All of these were pointed at the “Best Actor” Kevin Cheng. However, dark horse Steven wasn’t among them. He reasoned calmly: “Kevin and I are fellow apprentice-brothers. He entered this business a half year before me. I am very happy to see him obtain such a result. Throughout the whole ceremony, some people will be very joyful and others will be disappointed. The most important thing is to obtain the audience’s approval and recognition. Some things will pass very quickly. I understand very well that they have done a lot of hard work at that time. They can only continue their hard work.”

Hoping to release an album again
Talking about the projects for next year, Steven hopes to record another album again. However, he will not anticipate any award for it. He is aware that he is no longer a singer. This kind of awards is better if it stayed with real singers. Steven said: “If I have the opportunity, I would like to try shooting a movie. However, I have a lot of series lined up next year. I will be switching from modern series to ancient series and back again.”

Source: TVB Chinese News Collection

Kenix Kwok: "Frankie Lam is my singing master"

2006-11-23T20:48:00.000+01:00

Kenix Kwok has always appeared with the status of TVB’s big sister on the television screen. Recently, she showed her singing often at CCTV’s big gala. Although she was singing songs from others, her popularity is still very high. She has thus obtained the recognition and approval of the audience and the sponsors.

Before accepting the interview from the reporter, Kenix expressed that she liked to sing a lot. She would often sing karaoke with Frankie Lam at home, however she had never underwent any training for it. Her only singing teacher has been Frankie. Kenix expressed modestly that she approached singing as an amateur. But Frankie is very skilled in it. At the moment, he is preparing his new album. Everyone will be able to enjoy his singing skills soon.

Earlier, Frankie and Kenix attended a function in the Mainland. On stage, Frankie also sang the songs “The Invisible Wings” (by Angela Zhang) and “Goodbye Kiss” (by Jackie Cheung). The audience seemed to be very appreciative of it. At the contract signing ceremony for their new boss, Frankie sang “The Invisible Wings” and brought the release conference to a high atmosphere.

Source: Sina.com.cn

Jack Wu talking fat ‘nonsense’

2006-11-21T22:29:00.000+01:00

Roughly estimated Myolie Wu gained about forty pounds. Recently, she has been on the cover of three magazines with a total of almost ten articles. The recipe to increase weight is different for every person, but at least Myolie’s exposure and figure has both expanded greatly.

With the same surname Wu and also gained forty pounds is Jack Wu. However, this Wu definitely isn’t the same as the other Wu. It hadn’t been played up by the media. If it was, at the most it was a little gossip article of hundred till two hundred words, like in our weekly of last week, with the title “Jack Wu becomes fat Wu”.

Whether one is popular or not, the entertainment circle has always been very ruthless. But Jack has gone through even more ruthless times. In 1996, he won a singing contest and in 1997 he became a newcomer in the industry. Suddenly there was a financial crisis. From the newcomer with the most potential, he turned into a ‘businessman’ struggling for money. To earn money, he would often have to depend on doing shows. It is a choice that one often wouldn’t like to choose. In 2000 he joined TVB, beginning from scratch again. No one remembered that he was once a singer.

Working hard for a few years, it wasn’t easy to become a male lead. His co-star is the current rising starlet Myolie Wu. Believing he could rise up in one go, who could imagine he was frozen for the next three years. If it wasn’t for the recent creation of ‘TVB pay channel’, we wouldn’t even have a clue what was called “Net Deception”.

“Being an artist, you can’t control when a series will be aired. As long as you did your best, it is enough.”

Having been through too many situations where hope will turn into disappointment, one has learned to relativise. For example portraying a fat guy this time, it is already enough when has given his all.

“Of course it is good when I become popular with this role. If I don’t, well, I can always try next time. Anyway, at least this time I can eat and drink as much as I want. In the past, I had to watch my figure. I wouldn’t dare to let myself go like this!” Jack has just eaten curry beef noodles followed by toast, chicken wings and a coke. It seems he is talking straight from his heart. So enviable.

Perhaps I am still not good enough
Originally, we wanted to interview Jack Wu when “To Grow with Love” is airing. However, it was said that halfway the series he will start losing his weight. At the moment, he is on his heaviest. Everyone believed it was necessary to have at least a picture as a reminder.

That day, he arrived with a body weight of almost 170 pounds and a 36-inch belly. Sitting down, he was either drinking high-nutritional milk or coke all the time. His mouth never stopped working. He was asked to sit on the ground for a picture, but he couldn’t bend his legs enough. In the end, he had to sit on a chair. Seeing him like this, you would think he was having a hard time.

However, Jack is really enjoying being a fat guy. He is smiling a lot with a mischievous expression. He even swallowed the cold food props into his stomach. “It is not hard work. No matter what, I still have to eat!” he said.

What he is most excited about is not the fact he successfully gained weight. However it was this rare opportunity of performance.

He has waited for nine years, but the moment he might become popular has finally arrived. Jack knows very well what he is doing. This fat guy, his last name definitely is not ‘dead’.

“Nowadays, if I don’t feel full, I would immediately eat something. The way I eat is actually quite frightening. As soon as I wake up I will drink three yakults which help my stomach exercise. Afterwards I drink a glass of high-nutritional milk. For breakfast, I order a regular menu A: noodles with omelette and toast. In the past I would drink tea with milk, but now I drink coke. Before lunch I eat an orange and some chocolate. Then I eat a dish of greasy fried rice plus a chicken buttock. After lunch I drink another glass of high-nutritional milk. When it is tea time I eat a braised chicken bun, rice with shredded meat and vegetables plus a chicken wing with French fries. Before dinner I have two yakults followed by baked pork steak with rice. As for my midnight snack, I usually have a portion of glutinous rice with chicken and another glass of high-nutritional milk.

Besides saying my lines, my mouths is continuously eating. In the past I would go running and go to the gym. At the moment I try to move as little as possible so that I absorb a lot of warmth and energy.

To tell you the truth I am actually quite happy. As an artist, you always have to look after your body. You have to eat many small portions, but you also fear for water absorption. Usually we eat half a dish and then we stop. It is not often that they order me to let myself go food-wise. To be able to let yourself go like this is truly a rare opportunity.

Losing weight in the future are worries for the future. The company has already helped me contact a slimming company. I am a slim person from nature, so losing weight should be easier than gaining weight.

This time the company has arranged a fat role for me to play, it is a very rare and valuable opportunity. Naturally I would give it my all. Many of my friends think that my exposure has been considerably less that Myolie’s. Nobody has ever looked out for me… I admit that. However I can always relativise. She is a pretty girl who gained forty pounds, of course it has caused a sensation. No one noticing me, perhaps I am still not good enough to make others notice me!”

Pre-destined in life
No one really knows Jack Wu. We only know that he was originally a singer. He has filmed a few series and most recently, he is hosting “Scoop”. The background one grows up in often influences one’s personality. Jack should be the best example of it.

“When I was young, my family was really poor. My first memory is that my parents, my younger brother and I lived in a house with one bed for us to sleep on. Afterwards my father became a firefighter. We moved to the firemen living quarters in Kwai Chung. You could call it a richer residence. At that time, we didn’t have a television at home. My younger brother and I would daily sit on the door porch, sticking our legs through the grills of the door. Then we could see the television in the apartment across.

My mother is very smart. She often sews clothes at home. The factory knows that she is very good at it, so she doesn’t need to take those herself. Every week someone will deliver bags full of cloths to our home. My mother knew that we wanted to buy a television. Therefore she accepted an order to sew hundreds of winter coats. After sewing for a couple of months, she has earned enough money.

I grew up in a strict family. My younger brother and I weren’t allowed to play on the street. My mother always had to go with us, she feared that we would mix with a bad crowd.

Talking about it, my family actually exists of five members. After my mother gave birth to my younger brother and I, she wanted to have a daughter. However, she gave birth to another son, yet we loved him very much and treated him as a little prince.

In the second grade of high school, my youngest brother was three years old. I remember very well that one evening, he was suddenly crying of tummy ache. My parents brought him to the hospital. My other younger brother and I carried on like nothing had happened as we were playing computer games at home. We were sleeping till the middle of the night, when father phoned us: “Come quickly to the hospital, your brother doesn’t have long anymore!” Very scary, it is really scary.

The doctor told us that our youngest brother had a hereditary disease. His trachea declined sorrowfully and he would only live till his three years. This had a great impact on us, it was very sudden as there wasn’t any prior decline in his condition. When we returned home, we saw his toys and started crying.

Before this, my other younger brother and I were quite naughty. Afterwards I feel we both have matured. We wouldn’t only care about playing and will voluntarily help out in the household.

My younger brother is currently studying in the United Kingdom. At certain times, he will call back home. He is very reliable.

As for me, you often ask me that Jack Wu doesn’t seem to care about anything. I never compete with anyone. The truth is that from very early on I understood that many things are pre-destined. Fame is just something that passes. We can’t control it, so it is best to let nature take its course. For me, family will always comes first. With my parents’ support I was able to persevere till now. Perhaps in the eyes of many, I am only an unknown kelefe, but for my parents I am the male lead. My father is truly the best father you can have. Since I started out in the entertainment industry, he would record every performance I did. Afterwards he will write the time, place and date on it. The last year, it became very popular to record with VCD, so he transformed all videos in VCD’s. I am very touched by it.”

Not allowing others to forget
Actually Jack Wu entered this profession as the winner of the ‘Big Echo Summer Karaoke Contest’ in 1996. Readers with a good memory will remember that the winner before Jack was Joey Yung.

Two winners, but not the same fate. However, there is one positive note, men do not age that quickly. Working hard for the past ten years, Jack is already 28 years old. He might suddenly become another Leo Ku or Kevin Cheng in another few years’ time, which is not too bad.

“When I was young I have dreamt about following my father’s footsteps and become a firefighter. However, I developed nearsightedness afterwards. At that time, laser corrections weren’t really popular, so I had to eliminate this thought. Actually, when I was growing up I have never dreamt of becoming a celebrity. Participating in a singing contest, it was sheer greed to win the car. In the end, I really won it.

In 1997, I signed a contract with Wah Laap (record company) and in October, my album came out. The title was “1997 Wah Laap newest star Jack Wu – one promise” (Jack’s Chinese name is Lok Yin which means promise). It was quite cool. However at the end of the year, there was a financial crisis and all plans were shelved.

The following two years I had a lot of free time as I only had some singles out once in a while. My friends knew that I have to look after my family, so they introduced many mall and hotel shows to me to sing. It was actually quite awkward sometimes. You are singing, but the elderly audience doesn’t have a clue who you are. They are just eating. However to continue living, I can’t not do it. The funniest was after I have been a guest at the fitness centre for a few times, they gave me a free membership. Whenever I have free time or have nothing to do, I will go to the gym.

In 1999 Wah Laap ended the contract and introduced me into TVB. In the very beginning I did a weekend music show. Before when I was a singer, everything was arranged for me. But then I suddenly had to read the announcements myself to know whether I had to go to work or not. I really wasn’t used to it. However, there was nothing I could do, but adapt myself.

What I was less accustomed to was that I had to go to the recording studio to interview Edmond Leung. I have to such studio’s before, but this time my identity was a host. I didn’t belong there anymore. Although I was filming with a smile, my heart really felt sour.

I am actually quite fortunate. Before I was only a newcomer who just started out, coming from a normal family. Now I am only starting all over again.

Afterwards other artists taught me that only being a music host wasn’t enough. I should go upstairs and introduce myself to the producers, then I would have more opportunities. So I bravely went to look for Leung Coi Yuen: “Uncle Coi, my name is Jack Wu. I have just signed an artists’ contract…” Actually, I was quite afraid back then. He didn’t even know me at all. Fortunately, he had a new series “Lost in Love” afterwards and he really asked me. That was my first series. I was very happy then.

Recently, I have had quite a lot of opportunities. [Do you think that is dangerous?] I have never thought that. I have never been a first-line siu sang. Why should I feel pressured? (wry laugh) Raymond Lam, Ron Ng and Kevin Cheng; they are truly tall and handsome. I can’t be compared with them.

Naturally I dream of singing. In the past I would think when I could be on stage again. I want to let them know that Jack Wu also sings. However, I would ask myself: based on what can I ask everyone to buy my album? Even I can’t convince myself. If in the future I have the opportunity to participate in something like the album “All About Men” and sing one or two song, then I would already be very satisfied.

Currently I will focus on filming series. The most important thing is to keep on having work. Not allowing myself to be sifted out nor to be forgotten by the audience. Hopefully one day I will recognized by everyone. Looking at it broadly, shooting series is also satisfying. If someone calls me ‘Siu Fu Yun’ (his character’s name in “Real Kung Fu”) on the street, then I would be happy for the rest of the evening.”

Epilogue: Would you like to try it?
Inside Jack’s backpack, he has a package of yakults and four cans of high-nutritional milk. All stocked on each other.

“It isn’t actually that heavy. This kind of milk was recommended to me by a nutritionist. It especially increases fat very quickly. Fluids are much easier to take in. Let’s drink it first and worry later!”

It says on the can: “High energy, highly nutritional. Before or after an operation, during or after sickness. Suitable for middle-aged and elder people…”

“Would you like to try it? The taste is actually quite good. Give it a try.”

Wah, so fat. Of course I won’t try it, no matter how good it is. In Hong Kong gaining weight so happily, I believe there is only Jack Wu.

Source: Sudden Weekly 7^th July 2006

Many fa dans showing diamonds at TVB Anniversary

2006-11-19T23:41:00.000+01:00

Every year at the TVB Anniversary, the numerous fa dans would compare their jewelry besides competing colourfully for certain awards. However yesterday, Liza Wang’s two sets of diamonds were valued over thirty million dollars (HKD). She was sponsored by the Italian brand Damini. The two sets included a necklace from the Sophia Loren series, 81 carats of beautiful diamonds with a platinum inlay. She also had a bracelet and ring of 298,5 carats. The other set is called the Tosca set. As for the two sets that Carol Cheng wore, they were valued at 26 million. It included a 93,88 carat necklace, earrings and ring. Her other set of ruby jewellery comprised of a 65,74 carat ruby and a 149,04 carat diamond.

The two sets of Charmaine Sheh had a total value of nine million dollars. As for Sonija Kwok’s diamond necklace of 50 carats, it was worth 2,6 million dollars and was sponsored by Chow Tai Fook. Gigi Lai wore a set of 250 carats, worth 30 million dollars. The diamond earrings, watch and bracelet of Bernice Liu were valued at one million dollars together. She also spent an additional five thousand dollars to paint TVB’s logo on six fingers (representing Uncle Six). The male artists weren’t left behind in this aspect. Eric Tsang wore a diamond watch, valued at 1,6 million dollars. The same applies for Bosco Wong with a diamond watch worth eight hundred dollars.

Source: Takungpao

To Grow with Love episode 21 [The End]

2006-11-19T16:10:00.000+01:00

Mei Tien was imagining that Dai Hei was taking her away like Ka Fai, but it was only a dream. She then received a text message from Dai Hei saying that he was waiting for her at the company. However it turned out to be a lie from Ka Fai. Mei Tien told Ka Fai that she didn’t want Dai Hei to lose everything because of her. Ka Fai suggested that Mei Tien send a text message to Dai Hei to let him know that she is returning to the Philippines. Because of this, Ka Fai sent about twenty text messages to him, but he didn’t respond to any of them. Mei Tien left disappointedly.

Bo Lok questioned Lam Sam why Koon Hei had been missing for a certain period. Lam Sam said that his son went to Africa to visit Candy. Bo Lok let it sink in slowly, but jealously as well. She wasn’t even interested when Man Chun suddenly appeared. Man Chun continued to help Koon Hei prepare a secret wedding, he even asked Sau Laan to organise all the flowers for ‘Yat Nim’s wedding’. Sau Laan committed herself fully for this big job. On the day of the wedding, she saw Lam Sam arriving in formal clothing which surprised Sau Laan a lot. Throughout the wedding, Bo Lok didn’t see Koon Hei and felt sad. With the help of Man Chun, Koon Hei unexpectedly arrived with a slim body! Koon Hei even expressed that he lost weight entirely because of Bo Lok and immediately proposed to her.

After Sau Laan learned the truth, she was furious. Lam Sam saw the expression on her face and immediately hid away. Dai Hei successfully participated in the fashion contest and even obtained large orders. Man Yi generously accepted her defeat. However, Dai Hei couldn’t share his success with Mei Tien. The only thing he could do, was to write it all down in his diary. In the Philippines, Mei Tien sat there alone watching the sunset but…

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 20

2006-11-19T16:08:00.000+01:00

With hard work, Mei Tien has finally slimmed down a bit. She also told Koon Hei that this kind of sacrifice for love is worth it. Koon Hei also discovered that he had fallen in love with Bo Lok. Wong Ting and his wife were seeking for Mei Tien’s help as they wanted her to help the Dai family to sew clothes. It turned out that Man Yi was trying to prevent Dai Hei from participating the fashion contest. Therefore she has reassigned all workers to help the new designer.

During all the confusion, Mei Tien appeared to help Dai Hei. However, Dai Hei was afraid that he will blurt out about the bet to her and made her worry. Mei Tien felt very happy knowing that Dai Hei insisted on continuing the large clothing line because of her. She even started imagining the wonderful scene with her successfully slimmed down figure. It turned out that Man Yi used this to strike Dai Hei and thus made him give up and leave D-Day. However, she didn’t foresee that Mei Tien was able to cheer Dai Hei up again. A market study revealed that Dai Hei had fifty percent chance of winning. Therefore Man Yi cold-heartedly used her last weapon. Sau Laan discovered that Mei Tien was eating slimming pills in order to help herself lose weight and was unable to restrain herself from scolding Mei Tien. Ka Fai came to her defence and Mei Tien was so moved that she started crying. He also used this opportunity to tell her that he was actually her most ideal partner.

Man Yi intentionally told Mei Tien the wrong news and even informed her of the ongoing bet. She even requested Mei Tien to stop Dai Hei continuing this bet. When Mei Tien visited Dai Hei, they had a huge row about it and Mei Tien fainted. It was only then that Dai Hei found out that Mei Tien was losing weight for him. Mei Tien didn’t want Dai Hei to lose his career and thus gave him a hard time. Ka Fai proposed to Mei Tien to return to the Philippines for a while to rethink things.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 19

2006-11-19T00:43:00.000+01:00

Koon Hei saw that Lam Sam is especially caring towards Sau Laan. When he had clarified Lam Sam’s intention, Bo Lok and he encouraged Lam Sam to pursue Sau Laan. Man Chun saw that Yat Nim wanted to pursue Man Yi. Therefore he took Yat Nim to Sau Laan’s flower shop to ask her for advice on the best pursuing method. Bo Lok told Lam Sam to organise a mysterious and romantic wedding to obtain Sau Laan’s favour.

Mei Tien wanted to attend Dai Hei’s fashion contest with the best figure, so she took up boxing as a way to lose weight. However, she couldn’t sustain it and fainted. Ka Fai requested that they should lose weight together, therefore they could look after each other. Yat Nim allowed the whole company to know that he was pursuing Man Yi and Dai Hei even expressed that he didn’t mind. On the other hand, Yat Nim and Man Yi were still opposed to the fact that Dai Hei wanted to continue his large clothing line. Yat Nim even proposed a bet with Dai Hei’s shares as the stake. If the sales of the large clothing line failed, then Dai Hei will give all his shares to Man Yi and resign. Dai Hei quickly accepted the bet. In order to guarantee her career, Man Yi privately discussed with Yat Nim to promote the designs of a new person as an assurance.

At a rare opportunity for Dai Hei and Mei Tien to meet up, Dai Hei ordered a lot of delicious food for her. However, Mei Tien secretly ordered the food as take-away to give it to Ka Fai. Seeing Mei Tien suffering so much, Ka Fai told her to bite in her own arm and pretend it to be steak. Koon Hei wanted Lam Sam to give Sau Laan flowers. Although Lam Sam is afraid of embarrassment, but in the end he used a mysterious, anonymous identity to send her flowers.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 18

2006-11-19T00:29:00.000+01:00

By the sunflowers, Dai Hei expressed to Mei Tien that they will face all problems together. When Man Yi knew that Dai Hei wanted to break up with herself, she pretended to be casual and elegant about it in front of them. Man Yi had one request when Dai Hei broke up with her which is that he gave up D-Day’s large clothing line. As soon as Yat Nim learned about this matter, he expressed his love for Man Yi but was actually rejected by her. She also said that at the moment she only has her dignity and career left.

When Sau Laan found out that Mei Tien’s dream came true, he wanted Dai Hei to buy all the flowers in the shop for his girlfriend. In the end, Mei Tien was fired and Sau Laan allowed her to open her own company as a wedding planner called “Fei Tien Hei See”. Because of sickness, Ka Fai was admitted to the hospital again. When Mei Tien and Dai Hei visited him together, Ka Fai wanted to pursue Mei Tien again. Mei Tien didn’t oppose against Ka Fai’s persistence and allowed him 24 hours to express his sincerity. In order to move Mei Tien, Ka Fai has committed himself fully to help her construct her company. He didn’t force her to date him at all. Although Mei Tien is deeply grateful, she also let him know that some things can’t be forced. Understanding it, Ka Fai finally gave up.

Seeing the two of them so happily, Nim Heung urged them to get married. Dai Hei wished to have some beautiful memories of his dating period with Mei Tien. Therefore, he put down his work for a while and went on a 24 hours date marathon with Mei Tien. In a restaurant, the two of them encountered Dai Hei’s colleagues and Mei Tien made a fool of herself in front of them. On the other hand, Man Yi thought that Dai Hei was too influenced by love so he couldn’t focus on his work anymore. Yat Nim took this opportunity to instigate it.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 17

2006-11-14T21:40:00.000+01:00

Sau Laan saw Mei Tien working hard on Dai Hei’s wedding and unexpectedly told her to snatch back Dai Hei. Mei Tien opposed. Bo Lok still couldn’t forget about Man Chun and she took the opportunity to express her love for him again. However, she was once again rejected by him. Because Dai Hei requested his wedding will be held at D-Day, Mei Tien feared that she would hinder him in his work during the day. Therefore she especially inspected the location during the evening and she happened to meet Dai Hei who was doing late work.

Man Yi returned to Hong Kong from her business trip and mentioned that the response to the large clothing line wasn’t very ideal in South-East Asia. Yat Nim and Man Yi both agreed to stop the production, but Dai Hei continued stubbornly. Dai Hei’s work didn’t go smoothly and took out the pictures of Mei Tien trying on clothes to look at. At the same time, Mei Tien text messaged him which made Dai Hei have an inexplicably warm feeling. A magazine published the rumours between Dai Hei and Mei Tien. Dai Hei thought that it was part of Yat Nim’s publicity plan, but didn’t think that it was actually arranged by Man Yi. Dai Hei was shaken up by the words of Yat Nim and Dai Fu. Sau Laan believed that the timing is right and organised an opportunity for the two to meet. However, she was scolded by Mei Tien for stirring up trouble, so Sau Laan left indignantly.

Dai Hei suddenly ‘woke up’ and sent a text message to Man Yi saying “sorry”. Man Yi’s heart sank deeply upon seeing it. The Dai family understood that Dai Hei had Mei Tien in his heart and intentionally made Mei Tien read his diary to understand him. Dai Hei told her the truth and Mei Tien was so touched that she started crying. Out of rage, Sau Laan locked herself at home. Lam Sam was worried and visited her with food. Koon Hei said he didn’t mind having her as his stepmother.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 16

2006-11-14T21:19:00.000+01:00

As Bo Lok didn’t succeed in marrying, she went off to a park and cried bitterly. Koon Hei became the one whom she vented out all her frustrations, however he didn’t complain at all. Ka Fai’s parents and Nim Heung saw that Mei Tien and Ka Fai were doing things their own way, so they angrily returned to the Philippines. Bo Lok forced Mei Tien to move out and Sau Laan immediately arranged for her to stay at the roof apartment. At the office, manager Chu wanted to fire Mei Tien. However at the same time, Man Yi requested Mei Tien to be her wedding planner.

Sau Laan told this matter to Ka Fai who questioned Dai Hei about it. It was only then that Dai Hei knew Man Yi asked Mei Tien for help. Mei Tien understood that Man Yi was actually trying her out, so in front of everyone she expressed that Dai Hei and her is already history. Therefore she joyfully accepted this wedding preparation. Mei Tien felt really happy knowing that Dai Hei’s large clothing line was completed smoothly. Man Yi and Dai Hei invited Mei Tien to be a model. Sau Laan told Mei Tien that this was a good opportunity to vindicate all fat people and Mei Tien complied. After Bo Lok lost her man and job, she didn’t have anything to do all day. She wanted Man Chun to accompany her to have fun. Man Chun arranged for her to work at D-Day and she became Mei Tien’s image consultant. At work, Bo Lok was always complicating things for Mei Tien. Dai Hei couldn’t endure her attitude any longer and said that Ka Fai has once sought him. Because of this, Bo Lok and Mei Tien became friends again.

D-Day’s large clothing line came on the market and was met with criticism from its picky clients. They said that fat people wearing these clothes looked unattractive and even said that they could better asked a pig to be a model rather than Mei Tien. Dai Hei especially followed her out to comfort her. Mei Tien was very happy with Dai Hei’ s transformation and told him that she will do her best to organise his wedding. Because of her busy work schedule, Man Yi asked Mei Tien to substitute her at her wedding rehearsal. Dai Hei was starting to get doubts seeing Mei Tien’s joyous face.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 15

2006-11-12T21:10:00.000+01:00

Seeing her wedding photos for the first time, Bo Lok couldn’t bear to look at them and she couldn’t help feeling extremely sad. Because of this, Ka Fai discovered that Bo Lok is also quite cute. Bo Lok agreed on a condition with Ka Fai: if she manages to gain weight till Ka Fai’s standards, then she will become his wife. When Bo Lok was eating a lot in restaurant Sam to increase her weight, she found out there that Koon Hei had pneumonia because he shielded her from the rain. However, she hided this in order to not let Lam Sam know. Bo Lok then visited Koon Hei with Candy and even made Candy leave jealously.

Bo Lok received from Ka Fai’s parents a black golden card as a present and felt her dreams will come true. When Ka Fai’s parents proposed to meet her parents, she said that they have already passed away. However, the truth is that they have already divorced a long time and she didn’t know where they were. Bo Lok hoped that Mei Tien and Nim Heung will attend her wedding together and invited the two of them for dinner in the hope that they will make up. But at the same time, Man Chun suddenly appeared and expressed his love for Bo Lok. This made Bo Lok doubt and everyone understood then that she didn’t earnestly wanted to marry Ka Fai. Once again, it was Sau Laan who had arranged this all. She told Bo Lok the words that Mei Tien used for her good friends. This made Bo Lok misunderstood that Mei Tien was jealous of her, it made her dislike her.

At the wedding rehearsal, Ka Fai suddenly went missing and Bo Lok became worried that she wouldn’t succeed in marrying a rich guy, so she vented out her frustrations on Mei Tien. It turns out that Ka Fai went to the Philippines to seek Dai Hei who was there for business. He wanted Dai Hei to promise him to look after Mei Tien. Dai Hei rejected his request and told him that he successfully asked Man Yi to marry him. After Ka Fai returned to Hong Kong, he discovered that he still couldn’t let go of Mei Tien. In the end, he asked Mei Tien to cancel his wedding for him. She really felt awkward and difficult.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 14

2006-11-12T21:05:00.000+01:00

When Nim Heung woke up in hospital, he immediately wanted Mei Tien to apologize to Ka Fai. Because Mei Tien doesn’t want to hurt Ka Fai even more, she sticked with her own decision. However, Nim Heung perseveres in wanting Mei Tien to marry Ka Fai, so Sau Laan took Mei Tien away. Nim Heung didn’t have a clue how to explain it to Ka Fai’s parents, so he cut of their father-daughter ties. Mei Tien was very scared and begged Nim Heung to forgive her, but he actually fiercely slapped her.

Mei Tien cried all night and in the morning, she prepared a huge breakfast in the hope that her father will calm down. Unfortunately, Nim Heung announced in front of everyone that he has adopted Candy as his daughter and emphasized again that they don’t have any ties anymore. Sau Laan tried to reason with Nim Heung, but he got angry and disappeared. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. Nim Heung has invited all the neighbours, but Sau Laan also took Mei Tien with her to the drink. In the end, everyone decided to take Sau Laan’s side. It made Nim Heung terminate the adoption. But it turned out that this was all Sau Laan’s plan to allow him to not lose face. Unfortunately, in the end all efforts were wasted. Mei Tien felt really helpless, so she threw herself into her work. However, because she was labelled a runaway bride, nobody asked her for help. Therefore, she was scolded by her manager.

To avenge Mei Tien running away from their marriage, Ka Fai wanted her to continue follow up her own wedding plan. He even wanted Mei Tien to find him a suitable bride. In order to satisfy Ka Fai’s requests and standards, Bo Lok asked for the help of Koon Hei’s female friends. He was very displeased with it, so Bo Lok apologised to him. Ka Fai was not content with all the candidates. Like Dai Hei, Ka Fai also made a wedding dress and he requested Mei Tien to wear it.

Source: TVB

TVB Programme Highlights 2006 - Issue IV

2006-11-07T21:53:00.000+01:00

Glittering Days: Liza Wang, Roger Kwok, Charmaine Sheh, Paul Chun, Kwan Sau Ying, Shek Sau - Producer: Tong Ke Ming

To Grow with Love: Myolie Wu, Andy Hui, Eddie Kwan, Claire Yiu, Natalie Wong, Selena Li - Producer: Kwan Wing Chun

The Brink of Law: Steven Ma, Ron Ng, Shirley Yeung, Bernice Liu, Kate Tsui, Michelle Mai - Producer: Mui Siu Ching

Dicey Business: Bobby Au Yeung, Jessica Hsuan, Bosco Wong, Michael Mui, Tavia Yeung, Benz Hui - Producer: Cheung Kin Man

Heavenly In-Laws: Nancy Sit, Joey Leung, Linda Chung, Yuen Wah - Producer: Wong Wai Sing

The Price of Greed: Bosco Wong, Sammul Chan, Shirley Yeung, Kate Tsui, Kingdom Yuen - Producer: Tsui Yu On

At Home with Love: Lawrence Ng, Yoyo Mung, Chung King Fai, Raymond Cho, Carlo Ng, Benz Hui, Natalie Tong - Producer: Lo Weng Yim

Devil's Disciple: Bosco Wong, Kevin Cheng, Bernice Liu, Sharon Chan, Shirley Yeung - Producer: Lau Ka Ho

Credits pictures: TVFansSquare

To Grow with Love episode 13

2006-11-07T21:40:00.000+01:00

The next day, Mei Tien said she wanted to wear Dai Hei’s design at her own wedding. However, Ka Man and Bo Lok feared it would bring unnecessary complications and objected against it. They even asked Dai Fu to hide the truth of Mei Tien’s marriage from Dai Hei. When Ka Man brought Lam Sam the wedding invitation, she encountered Koon Hei and his female friends. One of them, Sweety saw that Ka Man was pregnant and told her to be careful with food. She said that she became fat after she gave birth and thus her husband abandoned. After hearing this, Ka Man became very anxious. Dai Fu even misunderstood that his wife didn’t want to be pregnant and didn’t love herself, they had a huge fight.

On the day Mei Tien tried her wedding dress, Sau Laan brought the dress designed by Dai Hei. Mei Tien didn’t dare to show her delight, but Sau Laan reminded her to think through whom she loved the most. When Mei Tien put on the dress, she thought back of the good memories with Dai Hei. Ka Man disappeared after a big fight with Dai Fu and he carelessly told the news of Mei Tien’s marriage to Dai Hei. They went to the bridal shop to find Ka Man and it was there that Dai Hei found out that the bride of the restaurant was Mei Tien. After the explanations of several people, Dai Fu decided to renew his vows with Ka Man, who was wearing her mother’s wedding dress. He also confirmed that his love for her will never change. Sau Laan also took this opportunity to sneakily take a picture of Dai Hei and Mei Tien to give to the two of them.

Sau Laan arranged an occasion for them to meet, but Dai Hei and Mei Tien each had a prior engagement. Both were evading their own feelings. Dai Hei and Man Yi would be going abroad for business and he officially proposed to her in the Philippines. Man Yi finally gave in. Mei Tien tried to put on the other wedding dress to get married to Ka Fai. Unfortunately, due to her figure, she could only wear Dai Hei’s wedding dress. However, Ka Fai did know about this matter.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 12

2006-11-07T20:56:00.000+01:00

Ka Fai appeared and asked Mei Tien to marry him. He confessed that it was because of that beautiful dream he had during his coma, he found to strength to wake up again. He also happily declared that he was very compatible with Mei Tien. Bo Lok and Nim Heung are doing their best to convince Mei Tien to marry Ka Fai. Mei Tien actually feel confused and she looked for Ka Fai to explain that she wouldn’t marry him. However, Ka Fai expressed that she will be touched by his sincerity one day.

Dai Hei proposed to enter the international market by also supplying large-sized clothing, but Man Yi believed it will go against what the brand stands. Once again Dai Fu mentioned about proposing to Man Yi with Dai Hei, but he expressed dissatisfied that his career will come first. On the one hand, Dai Hei sees how considerate Man Yi is of him in every matter and was so moved by it that he immediately proposes to her with a deformed paperclip. On the other hand, Man Yi decided to support Dai Hei with his idea of large-sized clothes. Yat Nim took this opportunity to promote Man Yi to a management position. Ka Fai does his best to protect Mei Tien. Seeing Ka Fai’s loyalty and sincerity, she expressed her acceptance of his marriage proposal with a ring made from a paperclip. However, there are no such things as coincidences. Dai Hei and Man Yi happen to be sitting in the same restaurant.

When Dai Hei found out that someone successfully proposed in the restaurant, he impulsively gave a drawing of a wedding dress to the future newlyweds as a wedding present. Mei Tien recognised the signature and rushed out to see him. Wong Ting continuously urged the pregnant Ka Man to eat food supplements, but as she was afraid to become fat she made Dai Fu eat them instead. Mei Tien got drunk in a karaoke bar and spilled out the truth, she didn’t want to marry. Ka Man and Bo Lok passed it off as pre-wedding jitters, but Sau Laan knew that Mei Tien still couldn’t let go of Dai Hei.

Source: TVB

Announcement

2006-11-06T22:54:00.000+01:00

So, what is going on with this blog and its lack of updates, certainly in the last week. Well, I started working last week and gosh, how wonderful were those student days. Every day, I am away from home for almost twelve hours, including my commute, and as I need six to eight hours of sleep, there only remains about five hours to eat, shower/bathe and watch some telly.

Anyway, I am getting used to this routine now, therefore updates will resume daily again. However, as I am following an evening course on Monday and Wednesday, there will be no updates on those dates seeing that I only have one hour left after I come home. I will also be focusing on the episode summaries from “To Grow with Love”. They are my main priority till the series has finished airing, afterwards I will concentrate back on news updates. So hopefully the news visitors of my blog won’t be too disappointed knowing this.

Please bear with me while I’m trying to get used to working life *sigh*

KTVB: Of course I would like to become affiliates with you! You really have some very informative episode summaries, so keep up the good work… I will update my links next time.

Anon: As soon as I have the TVB highlights I will scan them, unless someone beat me to it. Since I started working, my mum is responsible for renting the videos and I’m not sure when she will be going to the rental shop. I hope she’ll pop by this week, so…

To Grow with Love episode 11

2006-11-05T23:06:00.000+01:00

It turns out that the entire period Ka Fai was in a coma, he was dreaming of marrying Mei Tien. When Nim Heung visited him, he accidentally overheard the doctor say that Ka Fai might be paralysed over half his body. Nim Heung was very afraid that in the end Mei Tien might be marrying a handicapped person. Sau Laan was trying to convince Mei Tien to live with her in Hong Kong and not let Nim Heung arrange her life. Mei Tien said that Nim Heung will definitely reject this idea, but he actually brought up this topic and said that Mei Tien should live in Hong Kong.

Mei Tien agreed some rules with Nim Heung and thus successfully obtained her freedom. The three of them arrived at the Hong Kong airport where they happened to meet Dai Fu. They even exchanged gifts with them as they just returned from travelling. Dai Hei was afraid that Man Yi will misunderstand and just quickly summed up his life with Mei Tien in the Philippines. However, Man Yi believed that Mei Tien had a crush on Dai Hei, but he wasn’t willing to mention it. In order to look after Mei Tien, Nim Heung has rented Sau Laan’s roof apartment and not a hotel. Mei Tien discovered that the sunset drawings were missing and thought that she has accidentally swapped them when exchanging souvenirs. She knew that the Dai family will give the souvenirs to Lam Sam and thus she went to his restaurant to see whether she could retrieve them. However, she was forced to be taken out to dinner by him where she encountered Dai Hei. Nim Heung didn’t know and scolded that Dai Hei was ungrateful. It was only then that Wong Ting found out that he once lost his memory.

Seeking a promotion, Bo Lok was ordered to present a plan for a wedding ceremony, but she didn’t have a clue how to get started. Mei Tien vigorously participated and Bo Lok discovered that she was very creative in this kind of work. When it came to the interview, manager Chu showed his appreciation and wanted Bo Lok to explain in detail. Bo Lok could only use her phone to ask Mei Tien for help. Because of this, Mei Tien also was able to start in this profession.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 10

2006-11-05T23:04:00.000+01:00

Dai Hei was touched by Mei Tien warding off the rain from him and he doesn’t have any doubts regarding their love relationship. Sau Laan saw Mei Tien becoming soft-hearted and once again reminded her not to fall in love with him. Mei Tien pretended to celebrate Dai Hei’s birthday, so she gave him an idol doll and a diary. Dai Hei changed her skirt which touched Mei Tien a lot, but also made her feel guilty. Sau Laan expressed that the time has come.

Mei Tien unwillingly went back to Hong Kong to find Koon Hei for help. The relationship between Koon Hei and Bo Lok is gradually improving and even introduced his four female friends ‘the four queens’ to her. It turns out that his four friends were always discriminated and abandoned by others because of their figure. Thanks to the help of Koon Hei, she could refind her self confidence. However, his four friends misunderstood him that Koon Hei was pursuing Bo Lok and complained to Lam Sam. Mei Tien explained the reason to Koon Hei and Bo Lok even wanted to kill two birds with one stone. The three of them went together to see Lam Sam and explained that Koon Hei is actually pursuing Mei Tien. Lam Sam was overjoyed and immediately wanted Koon Hei to follow Mei Tien back to the Philippines. Koon Hei saw Mei Tien hesitate and hope to clarify whether she really wanted to hurt Dai Hei. While doubting, Mei Tien remembered the happy times with Dai Hei and becomes more determined.

After Mei Tien left, Dai Hei wanted to surprise her so he went to look everywhere to find a wedding dress that suits her figure, but he doesn’t find one. In the end, he decides to make one himself. When Dai Hei saw Man Yi’s picture in the shop, he got his memory back. At the same time, Mei Tien brought Man Yi to look for Dai Hei. However, she got scolded badly by Dai Hei and he once again managed to hurt her.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 9

2006-11-05T23:01:00.000+01:00

Mei Tien works hard to make Dai Hei gain weight. All day long she takes him eating, drinking and playing. She also widened his clothes in the middle of the night. Day after day, Dai Hei puts on weight like a pig. When he went to buy new trousers, he discovered that he has gained so much weight that his trousers ripped open. Afraid of changing into a fat guy, he refuses to eat anything anymore. Angered by it, Mei Tien left him in the supermarket. In the end, Dai Hei was being robbed. When Mei Tien saw him so pitiful and helpless, she felt guilty.

Mei Tien asked Bo Lok whether she has a diet for losing weight to help Dai Hei. However, Bo Lok talked about her own problem instead. Mei Tien was afraid that Bo Lok has anorexia and privately asked Koon Hei for help. Bo Lok felt that Koon Hei’s method really works and wondered how come he is so overweight. So Bo Lok also wanted Koon Hei to lose weight and she purposely forgot his clothes at the diet centre. When Lam Sam saw it, he was furious and beat Koon Hei. It is only then that everyone found out that Koon Hei’s sister died of anorexia. Bo Lok successfully partnered up with Man Chun for the new season’s promotional pictures. However, Yat Nim and Man Yi believed that they weren’t compatible with the theme and decided to not use the models for the group pictures. Instead they displayed the clothes on trees to look more natural. Yat Nim tried to ask Man Yi out once again, but still didn’t succeed.

Mei Tien and Dai Hei have been spending quite some time together, their love is increasing for the good. Sau Laan is afraid that Mei Tien will be hurt again and told her to not be too soft-hearted. Sau Laan also reminded her that Mei Tien had to make Dai Hei fall in love with her, then only can she avenge herself. But Mei Tien is afraid that she can’t do it. Mei Tien listened to Nim Heung talking about his first love and took Dai Hei with her to look for that place. However, they were met with heavy rain, so they hided under a tree to take shelter from the rain.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 8

2006-11-04T13:08:00.000+01:00

Because of the traffic accident, Ka Fai and Dai Hei were brought into a hospital. Mei Tien rushes to the hospital to visit Ka Fai, but was misunderstood by the nurses and they took her to see Dai Hei. At the same time, Sau Laan came over to prevent Nim Heung marrying off his daughter to Ka Fai when she received a wedding invitation from him. Mei Tien thus took Sau Laan to visit Dai Hei in the hospital and there they discovered that he was suffering from memory loss.

Dai Hei went over to Ka Fai in search for answers, but accidentally encountered the driver who hit him. By mistake he believed that he was dating Mei Tien. Sau Laan taught Mei Tien that she should take this opportunity to avenge herself and Mei Tien agreed to it. So the two of them dressed up as Aboriginals and exchanged their identity as sifu and disciple. They told Dai Hei he was rubbish. As Dai Hei doesn’t remember anything from the past anymore, he obeys to her. Dai Hei went home with Mei Tien where they met Nim Heung who punched him. Sau Laan deceived him by saying that Dai Hei came to the Philippines to pursue Mei Tien. As Mei Tien doesn’t want to marry Ka Fai she went along with this lie. When Man Yi returned to Hong Kong, she couldn’t find Dai Hei. Therefore she still carried on with the new season promotion function together with Yat Nim.

Yat Nim introduced Man Chun to Man Yi. With a flash of inspiration, she asked Man Chun to be a model. Bo Lok hopes to cooperate with Man Chun, so she doesn’t hesitate to lose weight. Koon Hei knows that Bo Lok wants to lose weight and gave his opinion, but Bo Lok told him that he isn’t very convincing as he is fat. Because of her diet, Bo Lok felt dizzy. After Koon Hei and Man Chun woke her up, they used reverse psychology to make her eat again.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 2

2006-11-04T13:05:00.000+01:00

Mei Tien accidently wounded Dai Hei’s leg and with astonishing strength, she carried him to the doctor. Wong Ting saw that Dai Hei didn’t invite the old neighbours to Dai Fu’s wedding, so he decides to extend another invitation to these old neighbours. The eve before Dai Fu’s wedding, Ka Man finally understood her relationship with Dai Fu. In order to complete Ka Man’s wish, Mei Tien sewed some flowers from her mother’s wedding dress on the wedding dress that Dai Hei has arranged. This made Ka Man extremely happy.

Mei Tien decides to stay in Hong Kong as she believes she has found the man of her dreams. However, Bo Lok pulled her back into reality. To realize her decision of staying in Hong Kong, Mei Tien is looking for a job but life is difficult and unfair. Her interviews didn’t went well and she becomes miserable. Fortunately, Ka Man introduced her to become another sales clerk at D-day. Dai Hei doesn’t like Mei Tien. On her first day, he arranged for her to wear the pregnant version of the sales uniform. Mei Tien felt extremely embarrassed by it. Dai Hei and Mei Tien meets again during lunch. So she took this opportunity to reflect to him that it wasn’t healthy to schedule his worker’s lunch hour so late. Instead, Dai Hei said that Mei Tien is fat because she can’t control herself and she isn’t disciplined enough. The two of them really make a lovely bickering pair.

Lam Sam and Koon Hei went to D-day to buy clothes for Dai Fu’s wedding, but Dai Hei said that his designs aren’t suitable for fat people to wear. Mei Tien also accidentally reveals that the wedding has already passed. Lam Sam was furious and asked Wong Ting for clarification. Wong Ting settled the quarrel by making Dai Fu apologize to Lam Sam with tea. Dai Hei wasn’t happy that he was forced to go home.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 7

2006-11-01T12:46:00.000+01:00

Mei Tien finally discovered that Dai Hei added some sunflowers on the drawings. The next day she took Bo Lok with her to find Man Chun. Mei Tien expressed to him that he wasn’t her dream guy, therefore she couldn’t continue this relationship with him. Bo Lok was overjoyed because she believed she had a chance now. However, Man Chun told her that they weren’t compatible and rejected her. The three of them would become friends again.

Mei Tien took the initiative and asked Dai Hei whether it was him who drew the sunflowers. Dai Hei acknowledged it, but he didn’t understand the meaning of it. Secretly, Mei Tien was very happy to hear this. Bo Lok asked Mei Tien how she would successfully win Dai Hei from Song Man Yi. However, Mei Tien said she will do nothing and Bo Lok gave up. Dai Hei wanted Mei Tien to help sew clothes. Her colleagues felt that she is being favoured and Man Yi felt that it is not quite right. Dai Hei explained that it was only because Mei Tien’s designs were too bad. That’s why he wanted her to try doing some tailor work. However, Mei Tien believed she was entrusted with a heavy responsibility and pulled an all-nighter to complete the clothes for Dai Hei. She also helped him pick up five cents from the ditch. Yat Ming wasn’t successful in inviting Man Yi for dinner and his jealousy towards Dai Hei increased. Nim Heung saw Dai Hei and Man Yi dating and thought that he was two-timing. Man Yi angrily departed while Dai Hei furiously seeked Mei Tien for clarification. The lie was finally revealed.

Dai Hei told Man Yi that he wouldn’t fall in love with Mei Tien, but Man Yi still doesn’t agree. So he ruthlessly said that he will not communicate with a ‘pig’. Saddened by this, Mei Tien returned to the Philippines with Nim Heung. In order to please Man Yi, Dai Hei secretly followed her to the Philippine business. He accidentally encountered Ka Fai in a decoration store. When Dai Hei saw Ka Fai wanted to help Mei Tien, vehicles were colliding in the direction of the two.

Source: TVB

Charmaine Sheh wins the positioning war from Myolie Wu

2006-10-30T02:04:00.000+01:00

The yearly TVB Anniversary will soon be celebrated again. The competition between Charmaine Sheh and Myolie Wu for the award of “Best Actress” has already begun early on. At the moment, we still don’t know who would be the winner. However, it is obvious that Charmaine is more favoured by the company. Besides occupying the central spot on the cover, she will also be on the front row with Bowie Lam for the month January. Her position seems to be very secure. Instead Myolie has been arranged to take part in the Anniversary month without becoming the female lead.

Yesterday, TVB issued the pictures of the TVB calendar 2007. For this production, they have invited Thai company Image Publishing Ltd to take care of the concept and the photography. A nearly twenty-head production team arrived in Hong Kong to do the shooting. Therefore the result is very different from the previous years. About 58 artists participated in this calendar shoot which is quite a smaller number than last year. Some of them were kicked out, but there are also many new faces.

Because of their popular series, Liza Wang, Sheren Tang and Angela Tong secured a spot on the calendar. However, the high positions from last year such as Kenix Kwok, Frankie Lam, Winnie Yeung and Mandy Cho were nowhere to be seen.

The calendar of 2007 will feature sixteen individual pictures of fa dans and siu sangs instead of the traditional group photo of the Miss Hong Kong finalists. The favoured ones obviously hold a spot there. Four siu sangs and fa dans occupy the center and they are Gigi Lai, Charmaine, Bowie and Roger Kwok. Others include Myolie Wu, Bernice Liu and Sonija Kwok who all oozes sex-appeal. The twelve months in the calendar all carry out a different theme where many siu sangs and fa dans are put together with newcomers.

Source: Singpao

TVB calendar: Jessica Hsuan’s position no more

2006-10-30T01:32:00.000+01:00

Every year TVB will make a calendar featuring its contracted artists to hand out to the overseas distributors. From the position on the calendar one can determine the degree of favour a certain artist enjoys. Jessica Hsuan just left TVB management, so she didn’t even have an individual picture taken. Her number-one-position is no more.

The cover of the previous calendars usually features a group photo of the Miss Hong Kong finalists, but this year they broke this tradition. Instead it will show sixteen siu sangs and fa dans. Although Jessica’s position has changed, she still holds a place in the calendar like the other appealing and powerful non-contracted artists such as Sheren Tang, Ada Choi, Liza Wang, Adam Cheng and Bobby Au-Yeung. They will also take part in group pictures. TVB implements the policy of ‘a warm family’ and ‘friends leads to wealth’.

This time, TVB invested a large sum of money in a Thai image consultancy firm to help them with the concept and photography. They are truly seeking a new angle of calendar shooting.

Source: Oriental Daily

To Grow with Love episode 6

2006-10-30T00:50:00.000+01:00

After Mei Tien knew that Man Chun wasn’t the one who left an imprint on the ad, she was afraid of the impact and her determination sank. In addition Sau Laan and Bo Lok were continuously annoying Mei Tien regarding Man Chun’s matter. Because of this, Mei Tien didn’t want to go home. Dai Hei suggested Mei Tien to visit her home in the Philippines and thus increased her homesickness. Mei Tien then dragged Dai Hei along to buy alcohol to forget her worries. In the end, she fell drunk on the street.

Dai Hei had to exert the strength of nine oxes and two tigers to successfully bring Mei Tien into a hotel room. However, he failed to leave the room as she vomited over his pants. Because Dai Hei didn’t want his family to know, he was forced to sleep in the hotel. When Nim Heung phoned his daughter, he actually heard a stranger say that his daughter was already drunk. So he immediately flew to Hong Kong. Nim Heung arrived at Bo Lok’s house and met Sau Laan. She severely taught him a lesson. Bo Lok expressed her dissatisfaction regarding Mei Tien’s attitude towards Man Chun’s matter. Therefore she took the initiative and went in search of Man Chung with Nim Heung. In the end, Bo Lok discovered that she has blamed a good guy. Sau Laan informed Mei Tien of Nim Heung’s arrival to Hong Kong. After she found out about Mei Tien and Dai Hei’s “affair”, she also helped her to make an appointment with Dai Hei to meet Nim Heung.

Although Sau Laan successfully made Nim Heung mistook Dai Hei as his future son-in-law, but Mei Tien feels that love isn’t as simple and perfect as she believed it was. Nim Heung knows that he has hurt Sau Laan in the past. Through Lam Sam, he heard that Sau Laan has some financial problems, so he wished to give her a large sum of money as compensation. However, in front of everyone, Sau Laan tore the check and dropped it on the ground. Yet as she went out, she was so pained by it that she squatted down on the floor. She continuously sighed that she threw away something valuable.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love episode 1

2006-10-30T00:45:00.000+01:00

Rich girl Ho Mei Tien and her father Ho Nim Heung rely on each other. Mei Tien is actually quite a fat girl and her father is worried that she will have a hard time finding a suitable partner. Because of this, he will arrange everything for her in the hope that she will get married soon. However, Mei Tien is very rejecting towards her father’s arrangements as she believes that true love is finding your own partner with mutual understanding. She even uses her former school mate Carman’s wedding as an excuse to leave the Philippines and go to Hong Kong. Nim Heung is too worried about his daughter and decides to go with her. They happen to meet Dai Hei on the plane and he is prejudiced towards fat people.

Mei Tien and Nim Heung were arguing with each other and thus giving Dai Hei a bad time, who sat in between them. This annoyed him extremely as well as made him feel uncomfortable. After Mei Tien has convinced her father to return to the Philippines, she had dinner in a restaurant. Suddenly she discovered she forgot her wallet. Fortunately, Mei Tien happened to encounter Dai Hei and anxiously asks him to help her. She also vowed to pay him back as soon as possible. Mei Tien will be staying with her cousin, Kwok Bo Lok, who just broke up with her boyfriend. Bo Lok urged Mei Tien to participate in a speed dating event. There Mei Tien realized that Bo Lok had ‘one foot on different boats’. In addition, Bo Lok’s principles of choosing a boyfriend differed from Mei Tien’s. Therefore she made an exhibition of herself at the speed dating event. Bo Lok also advised Mei Tien to change herself otherwise she won’t be able to survive in Hong Kong.

Dai Hei met Mei Tien again when he helped her former school mate Carman create her wedding dress. There he learned that she is one of the bridesmaids. Dai Hei frankly said that his designs weren’t suitable for fat people to wear. However, Mei Tien wasn’t convinced and immediately designed it till it suited her. Because of this, Dai Hei left angrily. Carman wished to wear her mother’s wedding dress, which her mother left her. But all decisions regarding the wedding were taken by Dai Hei. Mei Tien doesn’t agree with such an arrangement. She happens to meet Lam Sam who is searching for Dai Wong Ting for revenge. Accidently, Mei Tien resolved the feud between the two of them. On the other hand, Mei Tien found the person with whom she has a mutual understanding.

Source: TVB

To Grow with Love

2006-10-29T22:00:00.000+01:00

Plot summary

Click here

Characters

Myolie Wu – Ho Mei Tien

24 years

Occupation: D-Day sales woman/ wedding planner

Personality: Carefree and open, every time she encounters some unhappy events she will face them optimistically, vigorously seeking for solutions. She is good-hearted as she helps others enthusiastically, moreover she doesn’t argue and isn’t afraid to suffer losses. Regarding love, she has a lot of expectations. She believes that love is only based on communication and it only has a palpitated feeling, nothing else. She also believes that one day she will meet her perfect partner.

Andy Hui – Dai Hei

33 years

Occupation: Owner of a renowned fashion brand

Personality: His outer appearance is proud and calm. He also depends on his own intelligence and hard work. He will work passionately and worked his way up from rags to riches. In the fashion world, he made great positive results quickly. He established his own brand ‘D-Day’. In a few years, it became the most popular brand in the city. Because of this, he is very confident of himself and self-centered.

Claire Yiu – Song Man Yi

28 years

Occupation: Fashion chain store transport manager

Personality: Intelligent and graceful, frank and straightforward, initiative and decisive, clear and pure mentality. Very stubborn and persistent towards ‘beauty’. She will always maintains a perfect appearance. A very conscientious pursue towards health and beauty. However, she doesn’t accept to be recognized as a ‘vase’ by others. She wants to show her ability through her work. She is also very ambitious and career-minded. With regards to love, she is also very calculative. When choosing a partner, she will pay attention to his personality and future. A very initiative attitude and she will forge ahead.

Selena Li – Kwok Bo Lok

24 years

Occupation: Wedding dress company business clerk

Personality: Very loyal, very generous towards friends, a quick spender. She handles love the same way she manages a business. For her, meeting boyfriends is like an investment. She often plays with her suitors like they are shares. She believes that when they are compatible, then they should be together. If not, they should break up. However, she still longs for a happy marriage and hopes to live with her lover till death.

Jack Wu – Lam Koon Hei

26 years

Occupation: Rich son of a restaurant owner

Personality: Sluggish, likes to escape from reality, not willing to accept defeat, only knows how to seek pleasure. As he is fat, he feels inferior. Because of his inferiority complex, he also turns very arrogant. He often boasts and puts up a rich kid attitude. All day long, he stays inside the restaurant and rejects contact with the outside world. To avoid being teased by others, he often makes the first move and ridicule the others. In the end, he is labelled as ‘bad mouth’. As he wasn’t successful in his education, he turned to food and after many practice, he finally became a good chef.

Gigi Wong – Yeung Sau Laan

Over 40 years

Occupation: Owner of a flower shop

Personality: Emphasizes outer appearance, she dresses appropriately with an attractive outward appearance. Because of her focus on work, she often does several things at the same time and thus lack household skills. Therefore she hires hourly workers to take care of her household. Although she is the owner of a flower shop, she isn’t very good in business management. She doesn’t understand the methods of business management, so she has lost a lot of money. She has many debts and poor finances. Every time she is short of money, she will become very petty with others. She appears to be conservative, but she is actually a love expert.

Eddie Kwan – Cheung Yat Ming

Over 40 years

Occupation: Business man

Personality: Heroic, competent, bold and views people in a small way. Wallowed in the business world for many years, very informed and experienced. He treats people with a kind face, yet cruel heart. He appears to be amiable, tolerant, smooth and even suave. However, he likes to have the controlling power and handles business matters cruel and merciless. When you are in his bad books, he will not know you. Flirty and romantic. If he encounters true love, he will give his heart completely.

Chun Wong – Ho Nim Heung

Over 50 years

Occupation: Philippine rubber king

Personality: Because he is fat since his childhood, he is often being teased by others. Therefore he doesn’t have much self-confidence. Fortunately, he is carefree and simple as he knows how to comfort and open up himself. At home, he is a satisfied and filial son. After his marriage, he is an obedient and forgiving good husband. He is also a responsible and good-hearted father for his children. With his optimism, he isn’t afraid to suffer losses. However this is rather a disadvantage for his business.

Ram Tseung – Dai Fu (Albert)

39 years

Occupation: General manager of fashion company

Personality: Solid and introverted, easy-going and loyal, aloof from the world. Clumsy with words, he doesn’t know how to express himself. He also lacks opinion and he is easily manipulated by others. He is carefree by nature and not afraid to suffer losses. Diligent and hard-working. He also has a lot of experience in the fashion world and thus accumulated many important relations.

Natalie Wong – Lau Ka Man

30 years

Occupation: Fashion shop manager

Personality: Amiable, friendly and all-round perfect. Her working ability isn’t truly remarkable, but she understands to make it up with hard work. Earnest and responsible, she also earns the approval of her bosses Dai Hei and Dai Fu in the company. She appears to have no opinion, but she actually knows her position. She doesn’t have many friends. Therefore she will bury her heart affairs deep inside her and she will not easily reveal her emotions in front of others.

Matthew Ko – Cheung Man Chun (Joe)

24 years

Occupation: Successor of the family business

Personality: Kind-hearted, impulsive, rebellious towards family members and hates business life. His hobbies are arts and sports. He is also very active. He is also very emotional. In order to contend against his family, he acts solitarily.

Episode Summaries

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Anita Yuen eight months pregnant, Chilam Cheung doesn’t talk about baby affairs

2006-10-29T21:10:00.000+01:00

Anita Yuen is already eight months pregnant and soon-to-be daddy Chilam Cheung said: “We are in a tranquil mood now. We don’t have too many big feelings at the moment, perhaps after some time we would know.”

While Chilam was filming “Crouching Tiger” we did a ten-minutes telephone interview with him. During that interview, he mostly talked about movies while he remained quiet on the subject of his private life. Compared to his girlfriend Anita, she talks much more about the baby in her womb. Asked him about the preparations of the baby’s daily products, he said: “I don’t know. I think we have bought almost everything.” When you want to ask more questions regarding the baby like why he wouldn’t accompany Anita into the delivery room, you simply wouldn’t have the opportunity. Of course, a ten-minutes interview is too short.

In “Crouching Tiger”, Chilam portrays a mobster who is very filial to his ill mother. However, he isn’t that nice towards the prostitutes who earn money for him. He said he will not get tired of portraying such complex characters: “Such a character is very real. In reality, people are also right and evil.”

Although he is playing a mafia member, the drama team didn’t arrange for him to learn from the mafia crime inspection. He teasingly said: “I have been filming for so many years, it wouldn’t form a difficulty for me.” Chilam’s appearance is very unrefined in the movie. His clothing is very classic and he wears a big necklace. He doesn’t have a certain opinion towards his appearance: “A movie is the work of many people. What the stylist suggests I will accept it.”

The producer of “Crouching Tiger” Wong Ching said that they are also filming an undercover story, but the reality of “Crouching Tiger” is much higher. Many plots revolve around true people and facts. It is not like the movie “Infernal Affairs”, so false.

After the reporters have seen “Crouching Tiger”, they feel it is a mix of “Infernal Affairs” and “Election”. Asking Chilam’s opinion, he joked: “I think that “Election” and “Infernal Affairs” are very similar to “Crouching Tiger”.”

With his role in “Crouching Tiger” Francis Ng has been nominated in the “Best Actor” category for the Golden Horse awards. Regarding this, Chilam also doesn’t have a special opinion as he said: “You should ask Francis.” He also said that he will let nature takes its course whether his other works will be nominated in the future. He smilingly said: “I would like to win an Oscar!”

Most scenes with Jordan Chan as his co-star
The cast of “Crouching Tiger” also includes Michael Miu, Eric Tsang, Jordan Chan and Shawn Yue. Chilam mainly co-stars with Jordan as he said: “We have collaborated many times and we are also good friends off the screen. Whether we can create chemistry in a movie all depends on whether a script is splendid or not. If it is not brilliant, then it will turn into a ‘dead situation’.”

Asked him whether there is chemistry this time, he said: “Let the viewers decide.”

Source: Sina.com.cn

Myolie Wu stands up for Andy Hui to help him explain

2006-10-28T16:18:00.000+02:00

Since the broadcast of “To Grow with Love”, there have been on-going rumours. Earlier there were reports stating that Andy Hui has been crazily sending text messages to pursue Myolie Wu. On the dinner party for the first broadcast, male lead Andy also didn’t attend it. Yesterday, female lead Myolie responded on this matter while attending a function. She said that they should stop talking nonsense as it is very unfair towards Andy.

When Myolie attended TVB’s “Together Fight Aids Evening” function yesterday, she was inquired by the reporters about Andy’s absence on that dinner party with the colleagues from the series as he wasn’t invited. She immediately clarified that the producer did invite him and she also hoped that the reporters would stop talking about Andy pursuing her. There is namely no such matter. “To Grow with Love’ has been broadcasted for a week and many people have complained that Andy’s acting was not satisfactorily. Myolie replied right away that it has only been one week and she asks everyone to not say such things as it isn’t fair towards Andy. Afterwards, the two of them generously posed for a group photo.

Source: Singtao

Raymond Lam and Bernice Liu bothered by ghosts

2006-10-26T19:05:00.000+02:00

After going through two Chinese ghost festivals (this year the seventh month is a leap month), many people are already ready to welcome the western equivalent, Halloween, excitedly. They will take this opportunity to dress up extravagantly with their friends. Two artists who grew up and studied abroad, Raymond Lam and Bernice Liu are also very happy because Halloween is extremely popular abroad, especially in the United States and Canada. In particular children and youngsters will not let go this occasion to spend an evening with ghosts.

However, the majority of Hong Kong people aren’t very responsive towards Halloween. If not for a few functions or shopping malls creating atmosphere, then it would go by even more quietly. When Raymond found out that he could celebrate this holiday with Bernice at Ocean’s Park for a half day, he was pleasantly surprised. As for the typical foreign girl Bernice, she immediately imagined that the Halloween designs of ghosts and monsters in the park would be scary as well as funny at the same time!

Before he went to study abroad, Raymond lived in his ancestor’s house in his hometown. Life there is very simple, it doesn’t have as many activities as in cities. However, he was still equally as happy. Most memorable were the cricket fights and flying with beetles. Till now he still remembers them fondly as he smiles from the heart. He doesn’t believe that a simple life doesn’t include fun. Compared to the restricted city life it is a happier life as one can run and play anywhere he likes.

No restrictions is the best
Raymond thinks that although today’s children in cities have as many toys as they want, none of them were as attractive as the toys he had in his childhood, which could all be found in nature. When he grew up, he went to the United States to study. Although life abroad was different from life in his hometown, but it had one thing in common: the freedom to be one with nature. Both lives had no restrictions and one could play safely and with no fear. He has enjoyed the pleasure of celebrating Halloween in the United States as he looked back on it: “I also tried dressing up as a ghost to go ‘trick or treating’, going from door to door. Most adults will open the door and give us a big bag of sweets. It gave me a very happy and heart-warming feeling. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this in Hong Kong. Since I became an artist I had to work every year. I really would like to go to Lan Kwai Fong and play with a ghost mask. However, I don’t think the chance of that will be big because I’m afraid of the many people and chaos.” This guy is actually very cautious. Even if he wants to play, he will first think about it. He will have to know it clearly as he fears to do something wrong.

Happy, but doesn’t forget to be charitable
As soon as Halloween is mentioned, foreign girl Bernice becomes very happy. She grew up abroad, so her impressions are especially deep. She also knows how to use this holiday to do some charity. Every year as she goes on a trick or treat, she will also carry a money box and ask them to give some money which will be donated to people in need. Mentioning these days, Bernice grinned: “I am very happy. When I have a big bag full of sweets after the trick or treat, I would also exchange some of them with my friends. Living in a house abroad is very safe. However, it seems to be very complex in Hong Kong. I would definitely not dare to go to every family and disturb them. Besides, Hong Kong people aren’t used to celebrate this holiday. Instead, my younger cousin dares to go up and down the building, knocking on door to ask for candy. Fortunately, these families usually doesn’t refuse him as they all know my younger cousin.”

It surpasses Chinese Ghost Festival
That day as we arrived in Ocean’s Park, these two big children looked very happy as well as compatible. In the past, they have collaborated in “Survivor’s Law” and they both are under the same manager. So naturally, they would have more opportunities to see each other. This day of fun was also arranged by their manager, so that they could spend a special Halloween which combines work and play at the same time.

Although Raymond is a guy, it seems that he isn’t as brave as Bernice. Entering the world of Halloween with fear, different types yet lifelike ghosts and monsters would suddenly appear in front, behind, left or right of the two of them. Though Raymond is very alert, he would still jump up when a ghost suddenly appears. Instead Bernice would be laughing out loudly. In addition, Bernice is very brave as she would immediately follow these ‘human ghosts’. It seems that she is playing very crazily. At ‘the cremated scene’ the two of them were playing so happily that they didn’t want to leave. However, when they arrived at ‘the imperial court of violent ghosts’ Raymond was frightened by its gloomy atmosphere and the sudden emerging of the ghosts and monsters. Afterwards he described it as too terrorist and terrifying. Every time he thinks about it, he will have to encourage himself again!

These two big children both said: “Halloween is more fun. Our Chinese Ghost Festival is more mysterious and strange. Children feel quite uncomfortable and it could really frighten one a lot. Besides the western ghosts are more playful!”

Source: sina.com.hk

Myolie Wu fears it will be hard to lose weight a few years later

2006-10-26T19:01:00.000+02:00

“To Grow with Love” received great ratings, Myolie Wu’s fame is rising. Yesterday, she accepted an interview with the program “Cha Duk Chang” at CRHK and was asked about the criticism of her exaggerated acting skills. Myolie told that after she read these reports, she called producer Kwan Wing Chung. He comforted her by saying that some people like a specific character and others don’t. She also doesn’t feel displeased, though she is worried about the viewers’ degree of approval of “To Grow with Love”. Asked her whether she would gain weight again if the ratings justify a sequel, Myolie replied that she doesn’t mind gaining weight again. However, she feels it lacks a stunt then. If there really will be a sequel then the sooner, the better. Because if she has to gain weight a few years later, then she is afraid that it will become very hard to lose it again.

Hopes to become better friends with Andy Hui
‘Fat Tien’ has suitors contending for her. Andy Hui has been rumoured to enter the battle arena to fight Bosco Wong for her affections. Myolie clarified that Andy isn’t pursuing her and feels apologetic towards him to be dragged into it. Fortunately he is a senior so he does know that she can’t do anything about these rumours. She hopes to become better friends with him.

Source: Mingpao

Kevin Cheng completes Toronto tour, returns to Hong Kong

2006-10-26T17:54:00.000+02:00

Earlier Kevin Cheng arrived in Canada to be the guest singer at Francis Yip’s concert. Ling Bo also performed at the same concert. Their performances were well-received by the overseas Chinese people. The two evenings of concerts attracted many American and Canadian fans who especially went to Toronto to enjoy the concert. Kevin also took out time from his schedule to visit the Niagara Falls as well as held a fan meeting in Toronto. As he has completed his Toronto tour, he will return to Hong Kong where he will be busier than ever. Besides shooting a series, he will participate in “The Golden Songs of Our Century” concert. He will duet “人在旅途灑淚時” with Annabelle Lui as well as sing Leslie Cheung’s classic songs.

Source: Mingpao

Michael Tao digs out hardships

2006-10-25T23:01:00.000+02:00

Artists of the TVB series “Cadets on the Beat” Michael Tao, Ron Ng, Chin Ka Lok, Sammul Chan and Yan Ng arrived at the fruit yard in Yau Ma Tei yesterday. There they filmed a scene where the police force were handing out flyers to fight crime.

Earlier there were reports that due to the hot weather, Michael was sweating over his entire body filming a scene for “Cadets on the Beat” on location. According to the drama team that was with him, he said: “Have you seen Leon Lai sweat when filming? He and I are both idols. How come I got so wet due to the hotness?” Yesterday, reporters asked him for clarification and Michael said: “I did say that, however I was just joking around. That scene required me to have a wet body. Besides I truly feel that Leon is an idol. I am also an idol. How come there is such a difference between us? I was only kidding. [Aren’t you afraid that he will take what you have said seriously?] No, I am not afraid. Actually I know Leon and we are quite good friends. He will not get angry over such trivial matters. [Will you call him to clarify this matter?] I don’t think it’s necessary. It’s only a joke. I think everyone will understand that!”

Yesterday’s scene talked about handing out flyers to shop owners in the fruit yard to fight crime. Although they are only filming a series, Sammul said that the flyers were really lifelike. Ka Lok is usually very mischievous, but it turns out he is very popular with females. Yesterday some temporarily female artists were taking pictures of Ka Lok. Afterwards, one of them even took out her ID card and took a group picture with him. It turns out that it was her birthday and she wanted to have a picture with her ID card as a souvenir.

Source: Singtao

Niki Chow filming series: doesn’t care about image when bawling

2006-10-25T23:00:00.000+02:00

In order to continue shooting TVB newest series, Niki Chow only took one day off to promote her new movie “Skywalker”. Niki said: “It is not really hard work doing four interviews consecutively as I only had to recollect some memories of filming the movie. The most memorable scene was when Stephen Fung abandoned me. I was tied at the dock and cried fearfully, my face was full of tears and snivel. My wrist was also wounded by scrubbing the jute rope. I also had to shout and howl loudly. In the end, they had to reschedule the next day’s shooting.” Shouldn’t you be looking after your singer’s image? “The director also told me it was weakened down. Originally, I had to use foul words to agitate Stephen. However, in the end the dialogues were changed in order to pass the censorship.” Niki smiled that she knew how to use foul words, but she will not suddenly say them in daily life.

Source: Mingpao

Tse Kwan Ho let me roam his world freely (PART 1 + 2)

2006-10-19T11:14:00.000+02:00

Tse Kwan Ho is the youngest representative actor in the history of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 1997, he defeated Leslie Cheung and won the Golden Horse Award for ‘Best Actor’ with the movie “The Mad Phoenix” and thus achieved fame. Afterwards, he performed in the popular stage plays “Leung Juk”, “A Sentimental Journey” and “新傾城之戀”. In 2003, he even accepted the TVB series “Dream of Colours”.

Everyone who knows Tse Kwan Ho knows that he is very stubborn in his support and passion for stage plays. However, in the past two years, his performances on the Hong Kong stage has become quite scarce. He actually hasn’t slowed down. Since the birth of his daughter, Tse Kwan Ho started filming in the Mainland. And suddenly, we are five years later. Saying that he is focusing on the Mainland market, Tse Kwan Ho boldly expressed that he is just going with the flow: “There are artists all over the world. Where there is work, there will I go. I have performed stage plays for many years, when a production company happens to ask me to film in the Mainland. Once you have accepted, you are gone for a few months, therefore there is less time to work in Hong Kong. Actually, I haven’t especially planned when I would change my focus and I also didn’t intentionally develop my Mainland career. I just let nature took its course. It’s just a process and not a result.”

Although he has already built a foundation in the Hong Kong market, he didn’t continue to develop it. However Tse Kwan Ho hasn’t thought about whether he regrets it or not. “This is a question that my manager has to consider. For me, I will just go with the flow. The only thing I care about is whether the script is good or not.” Roaming around, Tse Kwan Ho is opening up an even brighter and wider world. Filming in the Mainland, he uses the metaphor ‘wandering in jiang wu’. And performing stage plays in Hong Kong is like practicing in the Shaolin temple. After he has learned all he could learn from this kungfu, he will have to descend the mountain to see what his own abilities are.

It is like Tse Kwan Ho said, filming in the Mainland is demanding, but of course there are also times that one doesn’t perform on level. He has once collaborated with renowned actresses Siqin Gaowa and Song Chunli in “Second Spring”. It was very memorable for him: “In this series I portrayed the son of Siqin Gaowa. I was really trembling with fear. I was continuously focused on learning more from her. The feeling she gave me is very different from the other Hong Kong actresses. Although she is a first ranked top actress in the Mainland, but she doesn’t have an attitude at all. Besides her drinking ability is excellent. Filming in the Mainland, you can meet many outstanding people. Compared to stage plays, the life experiences that I have acquired are even more and richer.”

Act good or evil, it becomes easy and familiar
In the last five years, Tse Kwan Ho has filmed many series. The most known series should be “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” in which he portrayed Mr Cheng who loved Wong Kei Yiu deeply. Regarding “Song of Youth”, he imitated the revolutionary scholar Yu Wing Zaak. In “Gunfire at the Secret Bureau”, he plays the sinister and ruthless bureau chief Cheung Zhong Nin. Till the recent “The Best Time” in which he cooperates with Stanley Kwan again. Here he returns to sincerity again as he portrays an illiterate tailor. Four completely different roles. Without thinking, he said that they weren’t too difficult to play: “These four characters were written very well. They also had a lot of space for me to develop and create them. A well-written character is the best foundation for an actor. Only bad written characters will be difficult to portray.” Seeing him analyze this so methodically, one could tell he is definitely not arrogant.

In the TV series “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” Tse Kwan Ho portrayed Mr Cheng, but the movie version was played by Tony Leung. Earlier, Tony portrayed Fan Lau Yuen in the stage play “Love in a Fallen City” while it was first Tse Kwan Ho who played Fan Lau Yuen in “Love in a Fallen City”. Talk about a subtle cross-over.

Comparing skills with Tony, each has its brilliance
Tse Kwan Ho saw Tony’s performance and thought there was a big difference with his own. “Tony’s Mr Cheng is quite suave who knows how to say no. My Mr Cheng is not worldly and will not say no. About Fan Lau Yuen, I was much deeper. I didn’t want Bak Lau Sou to be able to look through me. Tony’s performance was much opener. This comes from the actor’s own interpretation and is probably related to personality.”

Recently, more and more entertainers have started their own blog and since last year Tse Kwan Ho also has his own blog. He mostly writes about life in the Mainland when he is filming series there and once in a while he also mentions his five-year-old daughter. Lately, he also shares his daughter’s home video’s and drawings which is very heart-warming. As soon as his daughter is mentioned, this father smiles especially sweet: “She frequently tells me that she is thinking of me. Every time I return home, she will ask me to play with her all the time during the day. In the evenings, she want me to tuck her in. Sometimes she will also throw a tantrum. Like this morning when I went out, she was hugging me tightly and told me not to give this interview.”

Separated in two places, it’s hard to be a loving father
Tse Kwan Ho is frequently filming series in the Mainland, so he has missed many moments of his daughter’s upbringing. This is what he regrets the most. Fortunately, his daughter is very intelligent and she understands her father has to work. Tse Kwan Ho said smilingly: “I often tell her that her father has to earn money to pay her studies!” Even his five-year-old daughter understands his work, so does his wife. “The most important thing is that everyone understand and support it. We phone each other every day. She has never complained once. However, I know even if she doesn’t say it. Of course, in her hear she wants me to spend more time in Hong Kong. But it is hard to say at some moments as we accept one job after the other.”

It is unavoidable that one feels lonely when he is shooting a series for a long period in the Mainland while his family resides in Hong Kong. However, for a carefree and easy-going person like Tse Kwan Ho, he never felt bored. “The advantage of filming in the Mainland is that there aren’t many social events. When you are done with filming, you can go home. Having dinner with colleagues is a good way to spend your free time. In Hong Kong, you also have to go to promotion functions besides filming. You always will have a very busy feeling.”

Satisfied, not chasing fame and fortune
One of the major tendencies recently is that Hong Kong artists are expanding their career in the Mainland. Besides entering the Mainland market, another attraction are the prosperous pay checks for their services. Tse Kwan Ho has also earned quite some money during these few years, however it hasn’t changed his view on money. “Having money or not, it is all the same. Fake shark fin soup and fish ball noodles can also be a good meal. Most importantly is that you live your life happily. If you can look back on your own achievements, then you will feel satisfied.” Asked him how satisfied he currently is, he said without thinking: “Completely! I think you don’t need to wish for too much. Life is like a game. Besides doing your best, it’s more important to have fun. I think that if you play your game well, then you can justify it to yourself.” Saying this so frankly, it is obvious that Tse Kwan Ho has satisfaction written all over his face.

The stage is also his life
Tse Kwan Ho grew up in a strict family, but he has a mischievous personality. When he was young, his school mate hit his hand strongly while playing ‘tiger crane paired form fist’. After he returned home, he didn’t dare to tell his mother. However, one can’t cover fire with paper, so when his mother discovered it, he had to suffer slapping from his mother.

During his study period, he was very fond of subjects like Chinese, literature and history. He loves to read extracurricular books. Besides biographies, he likes to read historical folk tales as well. When he finished the fifth grade at New Asia Middle School, he studied very hard to resit his certificate examinations. He even retook the sixth grade at Ng Yuk Secondary School, because he failed his certificate exam for advanced English. This means he couldn’t realize his dream of reading literature at university.

High school and acting, can’t be separated
In his last year of high school, the first connection with the stage was made. At that moment, his school was holding a theatre play competition. With his school mate’s recommendation, he accepted his first role in the play “Thunderstorm” Chow Ping. It was with this performance that Tse Kwan Ho received other’s appreciation. This was also the beginning of his bond with the stage.

After his graduation from high school, Tse Kwan Ho frankly said that he has been through a confusing period. He has been an office clerk, a sales person and a street sales man. Till The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts started to enrol new students, but unfortunately he failed the first time for his entrance exam. Afterwards he took the exam to become a nurse and went to the United Christian Hospital for his practice. In his second year, he returned and passed his entrance exam for The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has already set the first step for his future acting career.

Epilogue: Next year October still in bloom
One day before the interview, a friend of mine told me to ask Tse Kwan Ho when he will be performing on stage again. I believe this is also the aspiration of his many fans. Not only his fans are looking forward to it, Tse Kwan Ho also longs to stand on the stage again. “Hong Kong will always be where my root is. I also want to spend more time with my family. Next year! I am scheduled to return to Hong Kong next year to cooperate with master Mao Jun Hui on a stage play.” That day I read Tse Kwan Ho’s blog and the date is already set. To quote one line in his blog: “Next year October, Cui Hu returns. Peach blossoms will still be in bloom.”

Source: Singpao

First part previously posted

Visiting the set of “The Changing Times”

2006-10-18T16:23:00.000+02:00

Visiting the set of TVB series “The Changing Times” when filming outdoor scenes. Main artists Damian Lau, Joe Ma, Jessica Hsuan, Sheren Tang and Michael Miu were all present on the set. The males all wore an one-coloured, expensive suit with a very handsome result. Jessica wore a black evening dress which brought out her beauty.

Source: xinhuanet.com

Straight from the set: Kenix Kwok clad with mud

2006-10-18T16:20:00.000+02:00

TV series “Red Powder” is currently filming at an incredible speed in Suzhou. For the last few days, the female lead Kenix Kwok has been suffering a lot filming a prison scene.

That afternoon, rain was pouring down in Suzhou. Kenix, wearing ragged prisoner’s clothing, was eating lunch in the car of her caretaker. Afterwards, Kenix wore filthy and muddy clothes to continue filming labour scenes in a valley. When Kenix had to run down a highly dangerous, slanted slope; she smilingly expressed: “It’s actually quite a lot of fun.” However, she probably wasn’t aware that she was grasping her assistant’s arm tightly for safety sake. In addition, Kenix portrays a prostitute. Besides wearing sexy clothes and being coquettish in the series, she also has to suffer violence and work as a coolie in a mine. However, the weak-appearing and slender Kenix didn’t complain at all: “I rarely accept Mainland series, but this time I have received a good script. And I also happen to have time in my schedule, so I have accepted this series. Of course, my pay check is also very satisfying!” Reports say that Kenix’ remuneration is almost two million yuan, which made her the highest paid artist in this series.

Source: ycwb.com

TVB promotes new travel program “Landscapes and Beauties”

2006-10-16T16:29:00.000+02:00

From the 15^th on TVB will broadcast a brand-new travel program “Landscapes and Beauties”. The hosts Bowie Lam and Wong He will take us to eight big cities in the Mainland. There they will collaborate with the local TV station to select one beauty from four candidates in each city. At the end of the year, these beauties will participate the finals in Hong Kong. The winner, the second and the third will represent their cities as confirmed candidates in the “Miss Chinese International Pageant” next year in January.

Earlier at the press conference, the following Miss Hong Kong contestants and artists represented the eight cities namely Tracy Yip, Carrie Lam, Rabee’a Yeung, Heidi Chu, Queenie Chu, Maria Chan, Anita Chan and Griselda Yeung. Together with the two hosts they carried out the ‘entering the world’ ceremony in a three-legged race.

Busy for the new program
Bowie already revealed that they have been to the four big cities Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou. Later on, they will go to Xian, Chengdu, Nanning and Guangzhou. Although Bowie has been very busy for this program recently, he still kept an eye on the news regarding the awards for “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” at the TVB Anniversary. This year he is only nominated for “Dance of Passion”, but he is still confident. However, he sees Adam Cheng and Damian Lau as his strongest opponents. He smiled that if Adam, Damian and him would be able to go through the top five, he will already feel that he has won. Fortunately, there isn’t an Ah Wong (Roger Kwok) this year or else his chances would have slimmed considerably.

Although he has once won the “Best Actor” award, Bowie still hopes to win the award again. This is because he feels the award is an honour and affirmation of a year long work. Also it is a good reason for an increase in salary. Regarding the intense competition for the “Best Actress” award, he feels that the hot favourites Sheren Tang, Ada Choi and Charmaine Sheh all have a fairly good chance. As for Myolie Wu’s “Lush Fields, Happy Times”, he hasn’t seen it yet so he doesn’t want to comment on it. However, he thinks Myolie is very hardworking.

Mainland girls are very beautiful, aren’t you afraid to be compared to them? Tracy answered: “Beautiful? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I am Shanghainese, although I don’t understand and speak the Shanghai dialect. However, my skin is very good: white and clear, so I am quite beautiful as well. Although I did gain some weight lately. [Didn’t you keep fit?] I go to do sygmass. I also tried out bone movements. It really does help you slim down. [Aren’t you afraid of the danger?] Previously, my left knee cap stuck out a bit, but now I can move it again.”

Source: The China Press

Tavia Yeung indicates that Bosco Wong is usually very warm

2006-10-15T16:01:00.000+02:00

Tavia Yeung is currently filming the series “Sweet Heart Tempest” and portrays a couple with Bosco Wong. Regarding the claim that Bosco took advantage of Fala Chan in “King of Games”, Tavia defended Bosco: “Perhaps it is a habit as he has dogs. He always treat male or female, young or old the same. He is also often touchy-feely with Moses Chan. Actually it’s normal for friends to place your hands around his/her shoulders. No one should question him. Bosco also treats me in such a warm manner. He has a very playful personality, so I don’t believe he will take advantage of female artists. Besides, if Fala was really being taken advantage of, she will stand up for herself. However, just wait for me to teach him. I will tell him not to place his hands everywhere. He should put them in front of him, so that everyone could see them.”

Source: Singtao

Joe Ma full of confidence to be the best

2006-10-15T15:19:00.000+02:00

TVB series “Maiden’s Vow” has just broadcasted its final episode the previous day. Both the male and female lead of this series Joe Ma and Charmaine Sheh have been nominated for respectively “Best Actor” and “Best Actress” award for the TVB Anniversary. Yesterday, Joe accepted a telephone interview with our reporter where he expressed that he is confident in his odds for an award this year.

Before he entered the entertainment circle, Joe was a G4-agent in the Hong Kong police force. With a friend’s introduction, he shot his first advertisement. Since then he took on modelling as a side profession. Afterwards, he resigned his police work and focused on completely joining the entertainment circle. Having worked quietly for many years, Joe finally became a household name through his series “Triumph in the Skies” and “Revolving Doors of Vengeance”.

In “Maiden’s Vow” Joe portrayed four different kind of characters. This is the first time that Joe tried to play such a comedic character. He said: “I think this funny way of acting is very refreshing. The appearance is also very special. If I have the opportunity I hope to try out more funny, comedic characters in the future.” Nearing the celebrations of the TVB Anniversary, Charmaine is one of the hot favourites for the award of “Best Actress” this year. Joe also expressed his support: “I believe that her chances for winning the award are very high, because her performance in the series was very good.” And who will be the “Best Actor” then? Joe immediately replied with a smile: “Me! Haha, how can an artist not have self-confidence?”

After he finished shooting “Maiden’s Vow”, Joe took half a year of vacation. The first series he will be working on after his vacation is the collaborated series between TVB and CCTV, namely the grand production “The Changing Times” which will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Hong Kong handover. The cast for this series is also very strong, besides Joe, it includes Damian Lau, Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Michael Miu, Jessica Hsuan, Charmaine Sheh, Myolie Wu and Sheren Tang. Joe said: “I am very happy I can work together with all these artists. I have already cooperated several times with Ron and Charmaine, so I hope we will be able to create some new sparks!”

Source: ycwb.com

Charmaine Sheh and Joe Ma highest odds in first voting

2006-10-14T21:07:00.000+02:00

Preparations for the 39^th TVB Anniversary are currently being made as the list of potential nominees were made public for the various awards. On the internet a poll voting has already started and the results are lead by the rumoured couple from “Maiden’s Vow” Charmaine Sheh and Joe Ma for the awards of “Best Actress” and “Best Actor”. The competition for this TVB Anniversary is very fierce. Charmaine is leading with 138 votes over Sheren Tang’s 103 votes for “Best Actress”. However, Sheren is in first position for “My Favourite Character” with 106 votes compared to Charmaine’s 84 votes. It’s quite clear that the differences between the two of them are very small. Both have the opportunities to turn their defeat in victories. Another hot favourite Myolie Wu only received 11 votes as of now. The reason is that “Lush Fields, Happy Times” hasn’t broadcasted yet and thus the votes have been quite low.

Strengthening force to defeat Raymond Lam
For the award of “Best Actor”, originally Raymond Lam was leading with his series “La Femme Desperado”. However, Joe caught up with him and has received 62 votes compared to Raymond’s 55 votes. Joe also obtained 73 votes and is the temporarily winner of the award for “My Favourite Character.

With regards to the award for “Best Series”, “La Femme Desperado” received very successful ratings and is thus in first position with 130 votes. However the second, which is “Maiden’s Vow” only obtained 50 votes.

Not only does “Beautiful Cooking” have the highest ratings, but the online voting poll also reflects how popular this program is. No matter for the awards of “Most Creative Program” or “Best Variety Show” “Beautiful Cooking” has obtained the highest results. Originally, the host of “Beautiful Cooking”, Ronald Cheng, was leading the award for “Best Program Host”, but he has been overtaken by Sammy from “15/15” with 86 votes compared to Ronald’s 84 votes.

Bowie Lam’s four favourites
Asked Charmaine about this matter, she replied happily: “If these results also appear at the anniversary then it will be very good. However, it’s still too early to tell now. I hope that the internet community will continue to support me with actions, therefore my confidence is growing. Two of my series have been nominated, I will be happy with whichever series that wins.”

In addition, one of the contestants for “Best Actor” Bowie Lam is also focusing on the intense competition for the “Best Actress”. His favourites includes Sheren, Charmaine, Gigi Lai and Ada Choi. However, he didn’t mention the other hot favourite Myolie. He explained that Myolie’s series hasn’t been broadcasted yet, so he doesn’t know how her performance is. Therefore he doesn’t dare to make any judgements yet.

Source: Oriental Daily

Roger Kwok cooperates for the first time with Jess Zhang in “春蠶織夢”

2006-10-14T17:15:00.000+02:00

The forty-episodes comedy series “春蠶織夢”, set in the Man Chor period, will soon be broadcasted. This series has a very strong cast including Liu Xiao Qing, Mainland’s most gentle female Jess Zhang and Hong Kong’s ‘thousand faces siu sang’ Roger Kwok. This is also the first TV collaboration between Jess and Roger, they will portray an ill-fated pair of lovers. They will experience several partings and reunions, but in the end they will overcome all their difficulties and continue their road together.

It is said that the scenery in this series is exquisite as they filmed in the ancient town Huangyou at the city of Hezhou in Guanxi. The drama team stayed over three months in Guanxi. Roger expressed that he was very satisfied as he was allowed to have eight hours of sleep daily. Not only did he sleep early and rise early, but he gave up on tea with milk and changed to drinking yoghurt now. I eat muesli and fruit form an important portion currently. My entire person feels healthy now.

Jess laughed that in the beginning she thought there weren’t many stores in Guanxi. So she has prepared a big box with cleansing water, masks, make up and cup noodles. However, it turned out that there were many supermarkets, so she really regrets bringing all those stuff.

In regards with the three-months separation from their partners, both expressed that there isn’t any problem. Everyone knows this is work and they are all busy with their own work. After work they will phone each other or send text messages to exchange news.

Source: ycwb.com

BES' Blabberings V...

2006-10-13T19:35:00.000+02:00

Well, the job hunt has finished and I will be signing my contract on Wednesday. This also means that I can dedicate myself to my blog again instead of writing numerous covering letters and preparing answers for possible interview questions. The good thing about the job is that I don’t have to start until 1^st November which means that I still have about two weeks of vacation left. Hurray!

I might be going on a short trip next week though, but nothing is certain yet. In the meantime, I have two other reviews that I would like to share with you.

Safe Guards
"His (Steven Ma) whole attitude just oozes confidence, intelligence and determination. His deep voice conveys enough authority to keep one listening to him. Emotional scenes were portrayed with such power that he literally overshadows every other character in the same scene."

Strike at Heart
"You would’ve thought that after playing these kind of characters for so long, she (Charmaine Sheh) would have enough practice."

Hope you enjoy them!

Chilam Cheung filming a movie: safety first

2006-10-13T13:44:00.000+02:00

The movie “Crouching Tiger” will be released on the 26^th of this month, but the premiere will be held this coming Monday evening. One of the male leads is Chilam Cheung. Although he is currently busy filming a series in the Mainland, but that evening he will return to Hong Kong to attend the premiere.

In the “Crouching Tiger”, Chilam will take on an evil role for the first time. One of the scenes tells that Francis Ng hits him on the head with a baseball bat. For safety reasons, they have been rehearsing this scene many times before the actual shooting. Chilam said that he will soon become a father, therefore he will put safety first. As his girlfriend Anita Yuen is heavily pregnant now, he doesn’t want to worry her too much.

Source: Takungpao

Takuya Kimura: “Me again? Can it really be like that?”

2006-10-12T21:39:00.000+02:00

Voted as ‘Most Favourite Japanese Artist’ for the thirteenth time consecutively
The thirteenth time. Takuya Kimura has been voted as ‘The Most Popular and Favourite Artist of the Year’ in Japan. Thirteen years is definitely not a short period, especially in the fast evolving entertainment world. It could be considered as a feeling of forever. However, there is only one Takuya Kimura in Japan. No matter how you look at it, this isn’t really a matter worth rejoicing about.

Him again, even he thinks it is strange
The newest edition of the Japanese female fashion magazine “an·an” came out yesterday. In this edition, the magazine has printed its yearly ranking – the voting for ‘The Most Favourite Male Artist of the Year’. As predicted yet still surprising, Takuya Kimura came out first. He is already leading this ranking for the thirteenth following year. Votes were received through the magazine, the internet and post cards. There were in total 15 409 votes of which more than the half 7723 were given to Takuya Kimura. This has definitely earned him the right to sit at the throne of the ranking. However, previously almost the entire media was reporting that Takuya Kimura’s popularity was waning. Moreover, the TV ratings and box office results of his recent series and movies were only average. Even Takuya Kimura himself feels awkward by this ‘great honour’. Yesterday, he attended a promotional function of a certain saloon car of which he is the spokesperson. After he was informed by the reporters of his first position, he suspiciously asked them in return: “It is me again? Is that possible?”

Manga culture, Japan doesn’t have a mega star anymore
In the “an·an” voting of the ‘Most Favourite Male Artists of 2006’ the popular group SMAP also received an honourable position. The captain of this group Masahiro Nakai became third with 5271 votes. Other members Shingo Katori and Inagaki Goro respectively took the eighth and ninth place. What is more important, Takuya Kimura, who took the first place, is also a member of SMAP. This means that from the five-member group SMAP, four members are listed in the top ten of ‘The Most Favourite Male Artists of 2006’.

For SMAP, this is a worthy and proud result. However, for the Japanese entertainment circle, this is certainly not a good result. SMAP was established in 1988 with the eldest members Takuya Kimura and Masahiro Nakai born in 1972. The youngest member Shingo Katori was born in 1977 – one could only conclude that they aren’t very young anymore. In addition, the top ten also includes Masaharu Fukuyama, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Satosi Tsumabuki. They are also ‘seniors’ in the Japanese entertainment circle with many years’ of experience. Perhaps their popularity could be supported in Japan. But if one look broader, to the Asian market, all these artists have already passed or are nearing their expiry date. Doesn’t Japan have newcomers anymore? A senior editor pointed out: “Actually, every year Japan has newcomers, but they all just don’t become popular outside our country. The reason is that the Japanese entertainment world has become more and more involved with the manga phenomenon in recent years. Nearly all the TV series are adaptations of mangas. The actors are all very young. Their fans are usually the Japanese youth. Japan doesn’t have such a popular big star as Takuya Kimura, who appeals to all countries and all ages, anymore.”

Hallyu wave, how about the ‘Japanese wave’ with Takuya Kimura
The mature direction of the Korean entertainment world form a big and sharp contrast with the Japanese entertainment world, which focuses on beauty and young audiences. Take South Korea’s hottest star of the moment, Rain, for example. This celebrity, born in the eighties of the previous century, only made his debut a few years ago. No matter in singing, movies or TV series, he focuses on the entire Asian market as well as the international market. With his diverse work, he is trying to please the female audiences from eight till eighty years old. Nowadays, he has became the representative example of the Asian entertainment world for the people in Hollywood. In addition, the new old Korean stars Bae Yong Jun, Song Seung Hun and Jo In Sung have initiated the strong Hallyu wave. They have successfully entered the Asian market, including Japan, and thus filled in the vacant positions of mega stars. Ultimately, even if Takuya Kimura was even stronger, he could only rely on the ‘Japanese wave’ to stand aside.

Two days earlier, the Hallyu wave had a frontal confrontation with the ‘Japanese wave’ – the Korean star Kwon Sang Woo was seen meeting up with female wannabes in Japan. The Japanese media labelled him as ‘fooling around with girls drunkenly’. To this negative news, the introverted Kwon Sang Woo clarified painfully: “I wish I could disappear into the earth”. The Korean media immediately retaliated that this was an attack of the Japanese media to counter the Hallyu wave. The Japanese media defends their own entertainment circle that there is nothing to criticize about. The ‘Japanese wave’ is so oppressed by the Hallyu wave that it doesn’t have any space to stand. If the star structure won’t be redeveloped and the focus direction isn’t changed thoroughly, even Takuya Kimura would be forgotten by the Asian people in two years.

Source: ycwb.com

Song Hye Kyo’s new movie will be postponed indefinitely

2006-10-12T16:45:00.000+02:00

Earlier North Korea carried out an underground nuclear test. This event also implicated the outdoor scenes for the movie “HwangJini”. This will lead to the indefinite postponing of the filming and the screening.

The movie “HwangJini”, which stars Song Hye Kyo and Yoo Ji Tae, has now completed 30% of its shooting in South Korea. Originally, the movie company planned to go to North Korea in November to film in Kumgangsan and Pakyon for outdoor scenes. However with the recent nuclear test, the movie company has decided to push back the shooting for security reasons. Because of this, the original screening date of “HwangJini” in February 2007 will also be delayed for an indefinite period.

“HwangJini” is a movie adaptation of the novel by North Korean author Hong Suk Jong and it tells the love story of HwangJini. This movie began its filming in June this year and was planned to release at the same time in North and South Korea. This movie is a work of The Inter-Korean Economy and Culture Cooperative Foundation and has received 150 million won of subsidies. It will also film some scenes in North Korea. At the moment, the chief representative of The Inter-Korean Economy and Culture Cooperative Foundation expressed that if the North Korean counterpart doesn’t notify of any discontinuation of the filming, the imperial scenes of “HwangJini” will not be cancelled from the filming plan. The chief representative also believes that political and military affairs should be dealt separately from cultural events. “This is a very rare opportunity. If it results in a break off in filming, it will have a great impact on the cultural cooperation.”

Source: ycwb.com

Tse Kwan Ho let me roam his world freely (PART I)

2006-10-08T13:31:00.000+02:00

Tse Kwan Ho is the youngest representative actor in the history of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In 1997, he defeated Leslie Cheung and won the Golden Horse Award for ‘Best Actor’ with the movie “The Mad Phoenix” and thus achieved fame. Afterwards, he performed in the popular stage plays “Leung Juk”, “A Sentimental Journey” and “Love in a Fallen City”. In 2003, he even accepted the TVB series “Dream of Colours”.

Source: Singpao

Chin Ka Lok refuses to talk about love life

2006-10-02T14:41:00.000+02:00

Michael Tao and Ron Ng are so exhausted filming for “Cadets on the Beat” that they automatically lose weight. On the other hand Chin Ka Lok, who practices boxing very hard, doesn’t seem to have the same result. He smiled that he doesn’t feel any pressure in his love life, instead his daily life is very stressful. He uses boxing to relieve stress, but denied that he uses it to vent his frustrations.

Yesterday TVB series “Cadets on the Beat” was filming a scene about riot police in the industrial zone at Tseung Kwan O. Michael, Ron, Ka Lok and Charles Szeto were all wearing their police uniform with a shield and a stick in their hands. They also had gas masks. With such equipment, they seem to be ready for battle. They had to suppress a group of workmen. These workers haven’t received salary payment from their bad employer. Therefore they went out on the street to demonstrate against him. However, this conflict evolved into a riot afterwards. Michael and Ron were often hit by water bottles, so they had to use their stick to attack them. This riot scene looked very realistic.

In the series Ka Lok and Michael add on to more than fifty years old and are part of ‘the old five tigers’. Together with the new generation artists Ron, Sammul Chan, Lee Ka Sing, Rocky Cheng, Zac Koo, Charles and Power Chan forms ‘the new nine tigers’. As the shooting is very exhausting, the cast members automatically lose weight with the exception of Ka Lok. He said: “Earlier I was practicing my boxing very diligently for three months, but I just didn’t get thinner. [Reports are saying that you are boxing to vent out your frustrations.] Boxing can make you lose weight, it can also help you relieve some stress in your daily life. However, you don’t have to say to vent out.” Further asked whether he experiences pressure in his love life, Ka Lok only smiled but didn’t say anything like he did in the past. Regarding their alleged break-up whether it was with mutual agreement and other question about his love, he didn’t respond to any of them.

Michael revealed that since he began shooting this series, he has already lost ten pounds. Although it is very exhausting, working together with all these people is also a lot of fun. He smilingly said: “Currently I still weigh over 150 pounds. Compared with “Detective Investigation Files”, I still weigh a lot more. My friends misunderstood me and thought I was keeping fit. However, I will now watch out and make sure I don’t return to my previous weight so I will try to maintain it as much as possible.” Earlier Michael fell sick. He said he felt weak because they have been filming day and night for two weeks. Especially when he was wearing his military uniform, he couldn’t even sit down. In the series he has about ninety percent patrol scenes, so it asks a lot of physical strength. Fortunately, the producer allowed him to take some sick leave.

Source: Singtao

Sheren Tang doesn’t believe in winning an award by ‘buying a meal’

2006-10-02T13:36:00.000+02:00

The afternoon before, Sheren Tang arrived at TVSCN to promote her new series “Love in a Young City” which will be broadcasted from 8^th October in the 7 pm time slot on TVS-4. In this series, Sheren will portray a woman who becomes schizophrenic because she loved too deeply. She said that her personal view on love is very different from the one in the series: “In the past, I used to be very stubborn in love, but now I understand that you have to learn to let go when your love reaches its peak. If you grasp on it too tightly, then you could hurt the other.” Sheren really enjoys her current single life: “It’s very free. You can do whatever you want to do.” The reporter asked her what kind of love she wants; Sheren, already a women of forty, answered: “A steady and stable relationship is fine.”

That year, the fa dans in “War and Beauty” were all competing with each other for TVB award “Best Actress” and it was Sheren who had the highest odds. However, in the end it went to Gigi Lai and many people were sympathizing with Sheren. This year Sheren made a comeback again as the ratings for “La Femme Desperado” were excellent. Although it isn’t one of the favourites, but it still remains a powerful contestant. Regarding her confidence to win the award, Sheren said: “I only do my duty of an actress. I will only pay attention to my acting and I won’t care about other matters.”

Some media reports stated that Charmaine Sheh has invited high executives for a meal in order ‘to pave the way for an award’. Sheren expressed that she didn’t believe that inviting one for a meal could win you an award. She said: “Winning an award through your own hard work is a kind of honour. If you trade the award other things, then it really doesn’t have any meaning.”

Sheren will soon begin shooting the cooperated new series between CCTV and TVB “Changing Times” which consists of sixty episodes. The theme of this series will focus on the changes that Hong Kong has experienced since the handover ten years ago. The casting is majestic. Besides Sheren, Damian Lau, Michael Miu, Raymond Lam, Jessica Hsuan, Charmaine Sheh, Myolie Wu and Ron Ng will also take part in it.

Source: ycwb.com

Frankie Lam and Kenix Kwok happily received ‘health stars award’

2006-09-29T13:56:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Frankie Lam and Kenix Kwok attended the awards ceremony for “the ten healthiest stars” organised by Next Magazine. The couple separately took away awards for “the ten healthiest artists” and together “the big healthy and sweet award”.

The host said that Kenix was the main guest of this award and thus Kenix will always be seen with it. The guest who gave away this award, Uncle Wong, told everyone that he likes to drink wine a lot, it’s like an engorgement. However, Kenix expressed she had an engorgement for eating as well. Her portions of food could be enormous, but now she finally understands that health is most important. She will not stuff herself with food anymore and just eat normal portions of food. She also isn’t picky anymore. In addition, she thinks that besides a healthy body, the mind has to be healthy well. Then one is really completely healthy. Asked Kenix how she relieves her stress, she indicated that her way of relieving stress is to chat with friends as she likes talking very much. Therefore she will choose suitable friends with whom she can share her joys and who help her relieve stress. Her whole person will then relax considerably. Frankie expressed that the best way to relieve stress is to do sports. However, most importantly is to have a healthy family life as it could make a person healthy. A happy family is a happiest event, so he attach the most importance to family life. No matter how busy or exhausted he is, he will always find the time to visit his mother as he tries to see her as much as possible. He feels very grateful to his family.

The ratings of Frankie’s series have always been quite OK. Earlier, TVB broadcasted “Forensic Heroes” which have broken the ratings’ record. And “Face to Fate” has taken the first spot in overseas renting. Although TVB continuously invites Frankie to renew their contract, but he expressed that he is very grateful to TVB that they want to renew it so sincerely. However, he hopes that he could try more different things in the future, so he will sign a contract with a Mainland agency company. As for Kenix, she is currently shooting the TV series “Red Powder” in the Jiangzhe region.

Source: Sina.com.cn

"Changing Times" press conference...

2006-09-28T23:24:00.000+02:00

Just providing a link with pictures of the press conference: Click here

Enjoy!

Handsome men cooking helplessly, providing fun and laughter

2006-09-28T00:31:00.000+02:00

TVB program “Beautiful Cooking” is very well-received in Hong Kong, so they have also filmed four special editions of it. One of these editions “Beautiful Men Cooking” was filmed the night before in a shopping centre in Hong Kong. Ronald Cheng, Edmond Leung and Alex Fong have grown used to nitpicking the food that the female contestants had cooked, but this time the roles were changed. Together with Chilam Cheung and Chin Ka Lok, they accepted this challenge. They underwent criticism from the female judges who include ‘the cook from hell’ Ella Koon, ‘the heavenly cook’ Louisa So as well as Carol Cheng and Nancy Sit. The beautiful men had to face eccentric ingredients like insects and turtles. It was obvious that they didn’t know where to begin and seeing their helpless faces, the entire scene burst out laughing.

The competition was divided into three parts. Firstly it was the turn of the three hosts with Alex obtaining the lowest score. Together with the guests Chilam and Ka Lok, he had to do a little tournament. Afterwards, the winner Chilam had to compete against Ronald and Edmond to decide the winner. In the end, Ronald successfully gained the title of ‘heavenly male cook’ with his dish ‘fish soaked in oil’. However, Alex was the worst cook with his two dishes receiving negative points. This episode is planned to be broadcasted on the evening of 15^th October.

Taking pleasure in others’ misfortunes

The person who laughed the happiest at the scene was ‘the cook from hell’ Ella. When she previously participated in the program “Beautiful Cooking”, Ella’s cooking, who has never been in a kitchen before, was ‘poisonously’ labelled by the judges and the three hosts as ‘the most hellish food from hell’. This time, it was her turn to take revenge as she could criticize the three hosts to the fullest. It seems that Ella is really taking pleasure in other’s misfortunes during the entire show.

Ostentation

Edmond will get married next year and he has always sold himself as a ‘houseman’. Although he seems to know what he was doing during the competition, but his dish ‘fried sand insects’ was described by the judges as miserable beyond description during the finals. It seems that he has forgotten to get rid of the sand from the sand insects and thus he obtained negative points.

Miserable beyond description

Carol expressed that she hadn’t thought that making this program would be such a pain as she had to eat many things that people would never eat. Upon seeing Edmond’s dish of sand insects, she already felt choked by its strange smell before eating it. Her face already told us what she was feeling.

Short of success

Chilam, who will soon be a father, has showed his culinary skills. He also demonstrated his wok skills, which were very professional. Unfortunately, he hasn’t prepared the texture of his pig brains with his dish ‘fried eggs with pig brains’. It was also still raw, so he lose out to Ronald.

Source: ycwb.com

Nick Cheung takes care of daughter, his wife can shop comfortably

2006-09-24T16:08:00.000+02:00

Earlier Nick Cheung carried his eight months’ old daughter Brittany as he appeared in an eyeglass shop with his wife, Esther Kwan, nearby Lan Kwai Fong in Central. In the shop, Nick carried his daughter all the time and he often played with her to make her happy. This allowed his wife to concentrate on the variety of glasses. Nick truly is a very loyal father and husband.

Nick and Esther really dotes on their daughter Brittany. As they both went shopping, they didn’t leave their daughter behind. Nick sat in the shop with toys in his hands to please his daughter. During the entire time in the shop, Brittany remained very good, especially with a father carrying and playing with you all the time. She didn’t cry once and was really very cute. While Nick looked after their daughter, Esther could focus entirely on what she wanted to buy. They were in the shop for about half an hour before they left.

Afterwards Nick was asked whether he missed his daughter too much to leave her at home, he smilingly said: “Yeah, I did. My daughter is already eight months’ old. Whenever I have time I’d like to bring her out, so she can encounter many different things. She is also very happy, because she loves to go out. Besides, my wife needs new glasses, therefore I’m looking after our daughter. It really can be quite exhausting.”

The reporter praised Nick for his adoration and he proudly said: “My wife even studied children psychology to understand our daughter more. I thought that looking after a baby is the same as taking care of a puppy. If it’s good and obedient, you only have to reward him. However, my wife said you have to explain it patiently and share it with her. Till its three years, a baby doesn’t know this. That’s why I’d like to spend as much time as possible with her and do everything myself.”

Source: Oriental Daily

Kenix Kwok hopes the Bao family will look after themselves

2006-09-24T15:23:00.000+02:00

At the age of 84, veteran actor Bao Fong passed away at Ruttonjee Hospital due to illness. In 1999, Bao Fong Yu was filming a series in the Mainland when he suffered from a stroke. Since then he has withdrawn himself from the entertainment circle and stopped acting. He was engaged in the movie industry for over sixty years and he was in over hundred works. TVB star Kenix Kwok has once cooperated with Mr Bao and she fondly remembers his acting.

Kenix said: “When I just started in the industry, I have once collaborated with Mr Bao Fong in the ghost play “Shade of Darkness”. It was about 1993, 1994.He played my father’s boyfriend. The impression he gave me was very friendly/ However Mr Bao’s health hasn’t been well for several years and he hasn’t filmed anything anymore since he’s sick. Therefore, I didn’t have an opportunity anymore to work with him again.84 years is a good age to die so I hope his family won’t be feeling too sad and that they will take care of themselves.”

Source: Sina.com.cn

For the ones interested, this is Kenix’ blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/m/guokeying. However it’s written in Chinese.

Visiting the set of new TVB series “An Enjoyable Life”

2006-09-22T13:25:00.000+02:00

New TVB series “An Enjoyable Life” is now in the midst of filming exciting scenes. Te main actors in this series are Gigi Lai, Kevin Cheng, Paul Chun, Natalie Tong and Evergreen Mak. Yesterday reporters visited the set, witnessing the romantic gesture of Kevin giving flowers to Gigi to express his love. TVB anniversary will be held in November, but the battle for awards has already begun. Earlier Charmaine Sheh has invited TVB high executives to secure the award for “Best Actress”. Although both Gigi and Kevin have popular series this year, the two of them have expressed that they have no intention to fight for awards.

Mischievous puppy wrecks ‘romance’
The plot goes that Kevin follows an evening course after his work hours with Paul teaching him Mandarin Chinese. He is very versatile, but his daughter Gigi, whose right hand is disabled, is entangled in a love affair. Yesterday, they have filmed the final episode of “An Enjoyable Life”. Between Kevin and Gigi exists a misunderstanding and in order to salvage their love, Kevin has especially decorated a big garden in a grassland. Gigi has once told him that the most beautiful place in her dreams is a garden full of rare flowers and grass. Therefore, he has invited Paul, Evergreen, Natalie and other relatives and friends and in front of everyone, he publicly apologizes to Gigi.

According to the plot such a beautiful gesture isn’t sufficient yet. Kevin’s dog was supposed to come over with a bouquet of roses in his mouth and Kevin will use these roses as a last gesture. This will make Gigi beam from ear to ear and successfully move her heart. However, as the dog wasn’t very obedient, this romantic scene turned into something very chaotic. The dog has tried over ten times to hold the flowers halfway his mouth, but he just rejected the flowers. He also had to run with the flowers in his mouth, but when he came over he has eaten all the flowers. The real owner was continuously giving instructions and was so worked up that he was sweating the whole time. Kevin also stood there helplessly as he said to the mischievous dog: “Please be good. How about you help us with this scene and afterwards Gigi will sing “White Shirt” for you?” In the end, it took them almost an hour to finish this scene.

Gigi finally becomes ‘innocent’ again
Gigi expressed that this role will give the viewers a refreshing feeling: “No matter in “War and Beauty”, “The Charm Beneath” and “Dance of Passion” I always portrayed rather strong and shrew characters. However, this time it’s different as I am into painting and calligraphy. My character is also a very gentle girl. Her appearance is also very innocent – long hair, white dress. It’s been a very long time since I have appeared like this on screen.”

“An Enjoyable Life” is a heart-warming love story set in modern times. Gigi said that although the shooting went smoothly and comfortable, it wasn’t without difficulties: “In the series, I will become disabled and due to my hard work I will become a famous cartoonist. Such an experience is quite complicated. As my right hand is disabled, I had to use my left hand to paint and write. It really wasn’t easy to give a life-like performance.” She also said that the plot is fresh and enlightening: “I want to tell everyone that they should learn to relax and to live an enjoyable life.”

That day, her ‘boyfriend’ has created her ‘dream garden’ in the final scene. Gigi smiled that she has never encountered such a nice gesture: “Perhaps all my ex-boyfriends weren’t the romantic type.” Reporters asked her whether she longs for such romantic scenes: “Of course I do, but not like this one. Here the sun is too strong… Hopefully, I will have such an event myself later.” Gigi indicated that after she has finished this series, she will take a long vacation. “I have been filming non-stop for 7 or 8 months, I want to begin filming again in January next year.”

The two leads won’t fight for awards
November is the month of the TVB anniversary and the battle for the award for “Best Actress” has always been the focus in the media. The year before, Gigi won it thanks to her performance in “War and Beauty” and this year, she will also have a representative work in “Dance of Passion”. Therefore she will be counted as one of the strong contenders for this award. Regarding to the rumour of her ‘rival’ Charmaine inviting executives to pave the way, Gigi expressed that she hasn’t read entertainment news for a long time. So she is not willing to comment on it. When reporters asked her whether she has a favourite this year, Gigi smoothly answered: “Every person has a chance. The anniversary is actually one big party, the most important thing is that everyone is happy. All this competition for awards, it’s only a way of promoting. I will attend it with a tranquil heart and I will be happy for the one who wins the award.”

As for Kevin, he is also considered one of the hot favourites for the award “Best Actor” because of his series “Under the Canopy of Love”. However, he isn’t very confident about it: “It will depend on many factors and I dare not have any expectations.”

Source: ycwb.com

Four leads leaving “Goong”: new formation to be arranged for sequel

2006-09-18T11:46:00.000+02:00

The immensely popular “Goong – Sassy Princess” is scheduled to begin shooting its sequel in October. However, it was still unclear whether the original leads will continue their performance. On the 15^th, when director Hwang Inroe accepted an interview, he finally revealed and confirmed that “Goong II” will have an entirely new cast. The four leads Ju Ji Hoon, Yoon Eun Hye, Kim Jung Hoon and Song Ji Hyo will not participate in the sequel.

Although many fans of “Goong” were filled with anticipation for the confirmation of the four leads, but they will have to be disappointed. Hwang Inroe, who is responsible for the shooting of “Goong II”, expressed: “Both Ju Ji Hoon and Song Ji Hyo have decided to do another work. Yoon Eun Hye has another reason, but the three of them have told me that they were unable to film the sequel. Only Kim Jung Hoon has promised to accept it. Therefore “Goong II” will be shown to the viewers with an entirely new cast as well as a different plot.” Regarding the fact that he has to prepare four new people to take up these characters, Hwang Inroe could hardly conceal that he feels abandoned.

Hwang Inroe indicated that “Goong II” will continue with the theme of a fictional South Korean monarchy, showing how tradition and the present can co-exist together. The plot will also be tied to the first series. The ending of “Goong” revealed that ultimately Lee Shin and Lee Yul didn’t inherit the throne, leading to the temporarily ascension of Shin’s sister Hyemyeong. The sequel will thus continue with this plot as the palace discovers the existence of a royal grandson living among commoners. In turns out that he have absolutely no clue about his identity. After he graduated from high school, he works as a delivery boy. He didn’t know until the palace invited him to come and he suddenly became a member of the imperial family in one night. Upon his entrance in the palace, he began his training. He will be groomed to become emperor. The inspiration for this plot came from the true story of the Joseon dynasty where a commoner became the emperor.

Currently, the drama team of “Goong II” is building a new scenery nearby Hwaseong, Suwon. They are also diligently trying out different filming angles. After the new leads are confirmed begin October, they will immediately start filming. It will then be broadcasted next year in January.

Source: ycwb.com

Charmaine Sheh on the look-out for cheaters

2006-09-18T01:58:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Charmaine Sheh, Joe Ma, Sherming Yiu and Ben Wong attended a promotional function for their TVB series “Maiden’s Vow”. Charmaine and her ‘sisters’ went into a hotel to catch some cheaters. In the end, Joe got his ear twisted by Charmaine and was forced to held up his potty. As everyone was wearing nightwear, the scene was very funny and chaotic. In the midst of it, Ben accidentally touched Tse Yiu Wan (Noodles in “Beautiful Cooking”).

Charmaine and Joe have been rumoured together, so when the two of them were asked on the topic of unfaithfulness, Charmaine responded: “Actually, I haven’t encountered such a situation, but I will not carry a weapon to find him. I will ask a group of female friends to help me.” Did you ever suspect a boyfriend before? “Of course I have, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding afterwards.” And the other way around? “Then you will have to ask my ex-boyfriend, I don’t know.”

Joe said: “My partner has never had any suspicions about me. She rarely will ask me about the reports of the weeklies and I don’t need to give her explanations all the time.” No troubles in your marriage? “Nothing at all, it’s very stable. We have been together for so many years, so there is a lot of trust between us.” Have you had any experiences catching cheaters? “I did try it once, helping a friend which ultimately ended in a divorce.” Will it make you cherish the present more? “It’s not related. I saw with my own eyes that my friend insisted on a divorce, but afterwards they continued trying to patch things up. Perhaps it was really true love.”

Source: Mingpao

Cheung Tit Lam wants to be a middle-aged idol: no more ancient series

2006-09-18T01:53:00.000+02:00

During an interview, Cheung Tit Lam suddenly indicated that he doesn’t want to shoot ancient series anymore, because he doesn’t want the viewers to be aesthetically blasé. He really hopes to act in young idol series now and thus become a middle-aged idol.

Cheung Tit Lam, Cheung Kwok Laap and Wang Kang are nicknamed ‘the on-screen iron trio’. However currently it seems that this iron trio will disappear as Cheung Tit Lam doesn’t want to film ancient series anymore. Regarding this, he indicated that he indeed is thinking about not filming ancient series anymore. He said that he has collaborated with Cheung Kwok Laap and Wang Kang for a long time. Although they are popular, he has always thought that the viewers needed something fresh and new. Recently, Cheung Tit Lam has accepted the idol series “Want to Fly” with Yin Xiaotin, Li Xiaoran and Beatrice Hsu. He smiled that he has always wanted to try an entirely different role and nowadays it’s the era with popular idols. So he thinks that when one is middle-aged, it’s time to see what it’s like to be an idol. On the other hand, Cheung Tit Lam also wants to expand his career and pick up singing. He said that he has once cooperated with Andy Lau. The Heavenly King Lau told him that his voice wasn’t too bad and that his prospects were quite good if he wanted to develop a singing career. Therefore, he would also try out singing.

Source: ycwb.com

You will all know Cheung Tit Lam as emperor Qian Long in "Huan Zhu Ge Ge". The popular trio are the main male leads in "The Bronze Teeth".

I'm back...

2006-09-17T12:18:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone!

Gosh, I know I should have resumed the translations by now, but since I've got back from New York I've been very busy and I just didn't find the time.

New York was just great and I've had an amazing time there, but tiring as well. As soon as I have the pictures I will post some up, but I'm still waiting for my friend to burn them on a DVD (we've taken over 1000 pictures in only 10 days' time!).

I've started a course Mandarin Chinese two evenings a week, but it's only progressing very slowly. I also had have two job interviews, but I'm not too confident about them. Oh well, they said they'll reply me this upcoming week whether I can go through the second round, so I'm getting quite nervous now.

Finally, while I'm still translating some interviews, here are links to my reviews of TVB series:

La Femme Desperado

Dream of Colours

Family Man

Vigilante Force

Wars of In-Laws

Oh, according to Sina.com.cn, the airing dates for "Lush Fields, Happy Times" and "Pearl of the Orient" are respectively 23rd of October and 6th of November.

Thanks for your support and bear with me...

New York, here I come

2006-09-01T06:11:00.000+02:00

Well everyone, I'm off to the airport now. Hope you're all well and posting will resume on the 12th or 13th Sep...

Take care!

Chilam Cheung loyally accompanies Anita Yuen to give birth

2006-09-01T06:09:00.000+02:00

It was the premiere of the movie “Crouching Tiger” yesterday with Chilam Cheung, Sonija Kwok and Kenny Wong. This premiere was sponsored by an electronics business and the three artistes each received a big television. Although Chilam rarely portrays evil characters, but in this movie he plays a big villain. He even poisoned the son of Francis Ng and Chilam smiled that is character is really a nasty piece of work. However as he doesn’t have many opportunities to portray evil characters, so he was very interested in this movie.

Now that Anita Yuen has finished filming “Disciple”, she can patiently wait for the birth. Asked him whether he often accompanies Anita to the doctor and Chilam smiled that he definitely would. He certainly wouldn’t be that unreliable. Although the sex of the baby is kept a secret, but earlier Anita was heard to ask Chingmy Yau to keep the clothes of her two daughters and give it to her. Immediately it was guessed that the baby is a girl. Chilam said that Chingmy does have two daughters, but the Shen family has boys and girls. Basically, whether the baby is a boy or a girl, as long as he knows it’s good.

Nearly suffering from a heatstroke filming in Hengdian
Chilam will soon head to Suzhou to film a Man Chor series which will only be completed by the end of the year. However, as Anita is due to give birth in November, Chilam will definitely protect her. By then, he will certainly accompany her. But good work isn’t that easy to receive. He said that he has filmed a series in Hengdian earlier and the temperatures will daily reach forty degrees Celsius. So he almost suffered a heatstroke there. He had change his underpants a few times a day as the changed ones were really leaking with water.

Kenny portrays a rascal and has the most interaction with Francis. He praises Francis’ acting to be very creative as he will not always follow the script and improvise his lines. Soon, Kenny will start a new work in which he will play a karate master.

Source: Takungpao

Frankie Lam and Shirley Yeung singing in Singapore

2006-08-31T11:35:00.000+02:00

Earlier Frankie Lam, Shirley Yeung and TVB8 host Lee Ka were invited to the Singapore television station ‘Starhub’ where they attended the celebration of their anniversary carnival. Besides playing games with the local fans and giving them gifts, they also treated them with some songs.

Frankie and Shirley’s series were very well-received in Singapore and many fans were hoping to see their idols. When the two of them came out of the airport, they were met with many fans. It turns out that Shirley had her birthday in the beginning of August and her fans took this opportunity to personally give birthday gifts to their idol. The atmosphere at the stage was equally enthusiastic and their singing skills were quite alright. Shirley was the first to sing with the theme song of “The Biter Bitten”, which will be broadcasted in Singapore next year, and Faye Wong’s “Promise”. In addition, two of Shirley’s leading series will be broadcasted in Singapore next year, namely “Always Ready” and “Au Revoir Shanghai”.

Frankie surprised by popularity
When it was Frankie’s turn, he sang the theme songs of the currently broadcasting series “The Herbalist’s Manual” and “Forensic Heroes”. Originally, he was worried that the fans wouldn’t know his songs. However as soon as the background music started, the audience immediately began to shout together. Some fans even sang together with him. Obviously, his series seems to be very well-received with the locals. In the end, the organisers have prepared a birthday cake for birthday girl Shirley. And as the fans were singing ‘Happy Birthday’, she made her first birthday wish for this year.

Source: Takungpao

Sonija Kwok: more sad by death of beloved dog than disappointment in love

2006-08-31T11:34:00.000+02:00

Earlier Sonija Kwok has asked for time-off from the series “The Academy II” after her beloved dog died. At the blessing ceremony of “The Academy II” yesterday, she disclosed that the funeral of her dog Lucky has been taken care of. After he was cremated, she took his ash back home. Regarding the death of her dog, she said: “I have never been this sad in my life! It really is worst than losing one’s love! Before whenever I though of Lucky, I’d start crying, but now my mood is much better.”

Asked Sonija whether she would take in another dog, she said: “I wouldn’t! Lucky is gone now and I still have two dogs and a cat at home. When Lucky died, one of my other dogs has gone blind! So in the future, I will give all my attention to my pets!”

Source: Takungpao

Gigi Lai seeking for benevolent boyfriend

2006-08-31T11:32:00.000+02:00

Gigi Lai went to Singapore earlier to promote a make-up brand. For a seven-figure sum, Gigi became the spokesperson for Asia. She put on cream and facial masks on the participants to remove their spots or whiten their skin. Her performance was very friendly. At the function, she also shared her secrets of a white skin with everybody. However, the media was much more interested in her love life and Gigi expressed that till present her love life is still very empty. She is also eager for the appearance of a kind-hearted boyfriend.

Source: Mingpao

Melissa Ng’s very professional poses

2006-08-31T11:29:00.000+02:00

Melissa Ng has shot a new ad for a make-up brand with purity as the theme. Such a theme requires elegant clothing to suit it. Melissa has chosen a lilac backless dress while the photographer wants to capture Melissa’s beauty when she smilingly turns her head. Following his request, she posed in so many different angles that even the photographer was worried that her neck and arm will ache. Therefore he proposed a little break, but Melissa didn’t want to risk that the shooting time will be extended on her account. Such professionalism definitely needs to be praised.

Source: Mingpao

Joe Ma promises non-stop kissing

2006-08-30T17:22:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Joe Ma went to Causeway Bay to support the first airing of newcomer Suki’s MV. Due to complaints of too many people barring the street, the police arrived there to see what’s happening. As a fan of Joe, Suki kissed him on a chair. Joe laughed that if the director requests it, he didn’t mind acting passionately in her MV. Joe also performed the theme song of the series “Maiden’s Vow”. He hopes that he could make an album where he’ll sing all the theme songs of the series that he has filmed. Lastly, he said that if the ratings of his new series reached forty points, people can kiss him non-stop for ten minutes at Causeway Bay.

Source: Oriental Daily
Credits Pic: Wenweipo

New member Sharon Chan portraying previous occupation: a sales lady

2006-08-30T16:54:00.000+02:00

TVB sitcom “Welcome to the House” celebrated the news that 120 episodes will be added as well as welcomed two new cast members Sharon Chan and Tseung Chi Kwong. Yesterday they held a promotion function in the studio. ‘Newcomers’ Sharon and Chi Kwong brought a fruit basket and a calligraphy painting with the words ‘Great Progress’ as a welcome gift to the Ko family. Cheng Dan Shui and Christine Ng returned the gesture with a big ginseng to welcome them to join the big Ko family.

To personally experience being a salesperson
Sharon will portray a hard-working, principled saleslady in a shop that sells massage machines and expressed that in order to play this character well, she went to such a shop to practice it for a day. This way she could observe how real salespersons sell their things. Asked her whether she could adapt herself after one day being a saleslady, she frankly said that she was once a saleslady for three years in a perfume shop. So actually, she has a very rich experience in sales! She said: “I remember that even my boss told me not to study anymore and work full-time for her, because I had the highest turn-over. But in the end, I didn’t do it.” Asked jokingly whether Sharon relied on her appearance to sell perfume, she smilingly told: “It’s true that I have sold to many guys. Some even bought perfume every few days. [Perhaps he wanted to pursue you?] A few of them actually did. Besides buying perfume, they also gave me flowers and asked me out for dinner. Although I have never accepted these invitations, but at that time I was feeling afraid and happy at the same time. Thinking back about it still makes me happy now, because it’s been a long time since anyone has pursued me!”

In addition, Ah Dan disclosed that after the rally by the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, a meeting will be set up between the Guild’s delegates and bureau chief Wong Weng Peng Friday afternoon. They will discuss whether a higher fine and a longer imprisonment will frighten the magazines off more.

Source: Takungpao

Myolie Wu on a wire: exhausting for stuntmen

2006-08-30T16:52:00.000+02:00

After Myolie Wu has finished filming “Lush Fields, Happy Times”, she has slowly started to lose weight. However, it seems that there isn’t much progress as her body still remains quite fat. Therefore three or four stuntmen were needed to pull up the wire when she was filming a Mid-Autumn promo for TVB the evening before. As all the stuntmen were seen to be sweating a lot, it seems that Myolie still weighs quite a lot.

Asked Myolie how she intends to lose weight, she frankly said that she’ll go on a diet and do lots of sport. She also said that the food will have to be made of no fat and no sugar, but most importantly she will have to abstain from junk food. Talking that she could eat non-stop earlier to gain weight, wouldn’t she be looking back on it longingly now she’s dieting? Myolie smilingly said: “No, I wouldn’t. I will encourage myself by saying that I have eaten lots of delicious food earlier. Besides, one will be happier and healthier if one has successfully lost weight. [Did the slimming company set a deadline in which period you will have to successfully lose weight?] They didn’t. They haven’t given me any pressure. [How many pounds have you lost now?] I’m not in a position to disclose it yet. I can only say it’s progressing very well. Hopefully, I’ll become slim again by the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I’m still not certain about it yet.”

Source: Takungpao

Myolie Wu burst out in tears

2006-08-29T15:46:00.000+02:00

Recently there was the incident of Gillian Chung being snapped changing clothes backstage in Malaysia where Twins held a concert. Yesterday, over three hundred artists were assembled at TV City where they used deeds to support the function ‘Privacy, dignity – A matter of the people of Hong Kong’. With this, they hope that the government as well as the legislation can protect the artists. When Myolie Wu was talking about what she has been through, she even wept loudly.

Yesterday, many artists like Jackie Chan, Jaycee Fong, Nat Chan, Andy Lau, Sandra Ng, Rosamund Kwan, TVB fadan and siu sang Myolie Wu and Roger Kwok attended the big meeting regarding snapping. Even Gillian’s rumoured boyfriend Alex Fong appeared. As for the chairman of the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, Eric Tsang, he was absent due to urgent matters.

Once a victim, Myolie also expressed her feelings. She was filming in a swimsuit earlier for her new series “Lush Fields, Happy Times” and a magazine has pointed out all her exposed parts. The more she talked about it, the more upset she got: “Although I knew that the media had taken my pictures at that time and I was certain that my swimsuit couldn’t move, but I was feeling restless the whole time before the publication of the magazine. In the end, when it was published it talked about my exposed parts. From none, they wrote till that I have.” In the end, she was weeping loudly and it took a long time till her mood turned back normal.

Afterwards, Myolie accepted an interview and said: “Adding squares means there will be a shadow and then they’ll say that I have exposed myself. It’s very stressful. Taking this kind of pictures, it’s very perverse. [Would you request the government and legislature to supervise this?] Haai, this magazine has already been published, everyone has already seen it.”

Regarding newlywed Roger, he also disclosed that he has been subject to aggressive pursuing by the media as he said: “I am just married and the paparazzi has been following my wife all the time. They want to confirm that my wife is pregnant, but there are also others who have rented the flat opposite mine to take pictures. This means that I always have to close my curtains which means I can’t really enjoy my married life.”

Over five hundred artists and media reporters attended the big meeting yesterday and the TVB Grand Hall was almost filled to the roof. In addition with the heavy air-conditioning, two artists were feeling unwell and dizzy. During that period, Jackie has also asked the entertainers to eat chewing gum to energize themselves.

Source: Singtao

Yoyo Mung didn’t take precautions when changing into swimsuit

2006-08-29T14:45:00.000+02:00

Everyone was very indignant when learned about the incident where Gillian Chung was being snapped whilst changing clothes. It also even made the female stars tremble with fear. Yesterday, Linda Chung, Fala Chan and Carrie Lam were filming a swimming scene for the new TVB series produced by Lau Ka Ho. In the changing room, they were all worried whilst changing into their swimsuits. However, only Yoyo Mung doesn’t seem to be vigilant at all, no wonder she expressed she had to consider her approach again.

Yesterday morning, the four female stars arrived at a private swimming pool to film a swim scene. Amongst them, it’s Yoyo who grabbed the most attention with a white bikini as there wasn’t any mention of the three other beautiful girls who all hailed from a beauty pageant background. Although this is the first time that Yoyo films a scene in a swimsuit, but she indicated that she wasn’t nervous. She isn’t really shy to wear a bikini in front of so many colleagues. Instead Linda and Fala who grew up abroad and returned back to Hong Kong their swimsuit is rather covering. They seemed to be a bit anxious as they often used a towel to cover themselves up.

No inspection of the changing room yet
Before shooting, all four of them changed into a swimsuit in a changing room nearby the swimming pool. Afterwards, Yoyo was asked whether they have checked the changing room thoroughly before changing into their swimsuit in order to prevent a similar incident as Gillian. Yoyo suddenly understood: “I totally didn’t thought about it. I’ve only taped my chest at home I immediately went into the changing room to change into my swimsuit when I arrived at the swimming pool. Because I’ve always thought my body isn’t outstanding and in addition quite flat, so I was certain that no one wanted to snap me. That’s the reason why I wasn’t on my guard at all. I should really reconsider this issue again.”

Yoyo then continued: “When artists are shooting outdoor scenes, we often have to change clothes in public places. It’s only that we have learned to change our clothes discreetly. It’s like going to public toilets, I will always touch the mirror with my finger to see if it’s fake or not.”

Carrie’s smart way of changing clothes
As for Linda, Fala and Carrie compared to Yoyo, they are smarter as they remembered Gillian’s incident while changing into their swimsuits. Linda said: “Before I change my clothes, I will look around carefully to see if there are any suspicious holes. I believe that I am very attentive. You know, privacy is a very important issue for a girl, so we can’t let such things occur. If I were being snapped, I’d definitely cry my eyes out.”

Carrie said she has a trick to prevent snapping, so she definitely isn’t afraid. She said: “I will use the best method to change my clothes as I will already wear my bikini underneath it before I undress myself. In this case, you definitely wouldn’t lose out then!”

Source: Oriental Daily

Lee San San doesn’t care about racing victories or losses

2006-08-27T15:42:00.000+02:00

The evening before, Lee San San acted as a judge of a model election organised by a bar. Today she arrived in Shanghai to participate in a celebrity charity racing match. She smilingly told that she has prepared herself by asking a teacher to teach her some tricks: “I don’t have any driving experience in Hong Kong, therefore I have followed some lessons with a Finnish guy who drives a Renault car. He is also the winner in Germany. However, the competition only comes at a second place as I will put friendship at the first place. I am already satisfied if I could finish the race.”

Regarding to the opportunity to compete with her boyfriend Chin Ka Lok, San San smilingly said: “He will not let me win, besides males and females will be competing separately. Besides for the partner competition, the names are drawn, so we still don’t know if we could compete together!”

In addition, Eric Tsang has already drawn the names yesterday for the celebrity charity racing match. Also yesterday, Bowie Tsang, Ken Wong, Anya and thirty other artists from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan flew to Shanghai for the race.

Source: Oriental Daily

Jeon Ji Hyun’s solid position as the queen of advertisements

2006-08-27T15:32:00.000+02:00

The newest issue of South-Korean magazine “時事Journal” has recently asked the organisation “38 Brand Research Institute” to conduct a survey on “The Best advertising Model”. This year Jeon Ji Hyun has successfully overthrown Lee Hyo-Lee as last year’s winner.

Last month the research institute has asked 1475 males and females with 16,27% voting Jeon Ji Hyun as the best advertising model, earning her the title of “The Entertainer with the Biggest Advertising Benefit”. Last year’s winner Lee Hyo-Lee has fell down to the eight position. The second to the fifth position are taken by Jang Dong Gun (9,63%), football player Park Ji Sung (9,49%), Song Hye Kyo (8,95%) and Jo In Sung ((8,81%). The sixth till the tenth position are all taken by beautiful women including Kim Tae Hee (7,59%), Lee Na Young (6,64%), Lee Hyo Lee (5,29%), Han Ga In (4,88%) and Lee Young Ae (4,34%).

Source: Worldjournal

“Maiden’s Vow”: Charmaine Sheh portrayed four characters

2006-08-26T21:40:00.000+02:00

“Maiden’s Vow” will talk about love from the Qing era till the present as it will reveal the changes that a relationship between two sexes have undergone in the different era’s.

Although there is often negative news like ‘stirring up rumours’ or ‘random electrifying’, but Charmaine Sheh’s position of a first line fadan at TVB is still very solid. “The Saviour of the Soul” will be concluded this week and new series “Maiden’s Vow” will take over starting from next week Monday evening. Main actors in this series include Charmaine Sheh, Joe Ma, Sammul Chan, Elaine Yiu, Lau Dan and Kiki Sheung. Although both Charmaine and Joe will be portraying four characters, but it is Charmaine who is the key character in the whole series and thus she will also have the most screen time.

The producer of this series Chong Wai Kin expressed that in the past all females yearn for love and marriage. However, they can’t completely grasp and decide for these life-changing matters. It isn’t until now that the position of women have been improved greatly. Yet in the case of love, can they truly desire with their whole heart? “This time I have tried a new attempt with the series “Maiden’s Vow” as four love stories will be set separately in the Qing era, the Man Chor period, the sixties and the present. All these stories are related to an old, well-known restaurant. All these stories will be linked with each other in one series. These aren’t merely love stories, but they disclose the changes of love relationships throughout the different periods.

Deciphering the plot
Charmaine and Joe are the leads in the four love stories. In the Qing era, because of the different status and position of the two people, they can only hold back their true feelings till they are old. During the Man Chor period, China experiences one revolution after the other, but in the end a teacher-student relationship is still not commonly accepted. In the sixties it is tradition that ‘the male focuses on the outside, the women on the inside’. However, this view of marriage will have to face a big impact. Originally, both sexes always appear as one, but because of their differences in values they repeatedly end up in conflict. Nowadays, there is gender equality as it is the generation of free love. Relationships are always changing. A marriage certificate isn’t a guarantee for love anymore nor the only way out for women. The two of them now face all sorts of choices.

Their view on acting
Charmaine Sheh: “During the filming period, we have to shoot several stories at the same time. One of the most exaggerated times was that we had to change seven times our costumes in one day. Every time I have to change my character, I will need some time to think about it. I will have to pull myself out of one character and get into another one all over again. I especially had difficulties with the filming of my character in the sixties. Besides asking advice from my seniors, I have also deliberately observed some old Cantonese movies, so I could learn the speech and the attitude of the people in those times.”

Joe Ma: “Compared with other series, this series needs even more reflection. Like an actor, the director and the screenwriter also had to sedulously deduct the different era’s that the stories are set in. The goal is to intensify the contrast, to display the changes in the environment, the culture and the personality of people. Although the shooting was very tough, but it is a good opportunity to train my acting skills.”

Sammul Chan: “If you only keep on portraying good policemen or nice twentysomethings, then you would be typecasted all the time and thus become inflexible. This time I will play a rich guy who will ruin his own family and who doesn’t know to feel sorry for the things that he has done. [In most of the series that Sammul has played in, he has always portrayed a good guy. However, in this series, he will play Charmaine’s husband in the Qing era. Although he comes from a rich family background, he often dominates others and is arrogant. He is also addicted to gambling and in the end, he loses his entire family fortune.] For me personally, this is my first breakthrough.”

The life of a main character: four times ‘Charmaine Sheh’

Ngai Yu Fung (Qing era)
Ngai Yu Fung’s family fortune is on the decline and she was forced to marry Wong Yuk Lun (Sammul Chan). Afterwards, he squandered his family business. In the end, Fung had to sell her engagement gift from her first love Yu Chi (Joe Ma) to establish a restaurant called ‘The Phoenix’.

Wong Zhi Kwan (Man Chor period)
The daughter of Fung Wong Zhi Kwan eloped with her teacher Lee Gat Yeung (Joe Ma) to Tianjin. Together, they experienced many twists and turns, but in the end they still broke up. With regret, Kwan returned to Beijing, but ‘The Phoenix’ has already become a bad business.

Bak Wai Zhan (the sixties)
Fung’s granddaughter Bak Wai Zhan works behind the back of her husband Dai Lap Yan (Joe Ma). In retaliation, Yan had an affair and their marriage came to an end. But destiny brought the two of them back together as they were asked to prepare a promo plan for ‘The Phoenix’.

Dai Sze Ka (the present)
The twenty-first century. Fung’s great-granddaughter Dai Sze Ka and Fong Ka On (Joe Ma) has ended their relationship and co-habitation due to personal differences. After they separated, Ka uses the family recipes from her great-grandmother’s ‘The Phoenix’ restaurant to open a ‘sie fong choi’ also called ‘The Phoenix’. She wants to re-establish her hundred-year-old family business.

Source: ycwb.com

'Sie fong choi' has become an important part in the Hong Kong eating culture. These are restaurants that are opened in one's own home and mostly prepare family food. They usually rely on mouth-to-mouth.

Wang Lee Hom’s opening concert: undressing to please fans

2006-08-26T14:50:00.000+02:00

Wang Lee Hom held two consecutive concerts of his “Heroes of the Earth Tour” in Hong Kong. Yesterday evening, it was unveiled at the Coliseum. Stages were built in four directions and no seat was left. Lee Hom first came on stage wearing a long golden beaded gown, waving a dragon flag. His hard trained work was immediately put to use on stage. Around him an imposing dragon dance was performed suiting the dazzling fireworks. This raises the concert to another level.

Afterwards Lee Hom even took his clothes off to please his fans as he took off his long gown and revealed a white vest underneath it. This made the entire audience and fans scream out loudly. He also walked out to the audience to shake hands with them. While he was playing on his guitar, he said in broken Cantonese: “I have been thinking about you! From my first concert till the present, you all have grown up quite a lot!”

This concert has also attracted Deanie Yip, Nancy Sit, Rain Li and her younger brother to see the show. The part that Deanie was most absorbed into the show was, she stood in front of her seat and yelled continuously. This degree of craziness shouldn’t be underestimated when compared with that of the younger generation. In addition, Jacky Cheung was a performing guest at yesterday’s show. Jacky is Lee Hom’s idol and holding a concert in Hong Kong, he didn’t forget to invite him to attend.

Source: Singpao

First fadan Kenix Kwok attends CCTV party

2006-08-25T12:29:00.000+02:00

The huge fine arts party was held at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium. This large scale party was sponsored by the Guangzhou government and the country’s Air Defence Agency. Besides the workers of the drama department of CCTV, they have also invited artists from Hong Kong like Nicholas Tse, Carina Lau, Twins and Kenix Kwok as well as from Taiwan like David Tao and Shin. Famous Korean stars also attended it like Jang Nara and Lee Jung Hyun. Other Mainland artists included Mao Ning, Yu Quan and Pu Shu. Many of these artists shared the stage in their performances leading the party to a high atmosphere.

The party has invited many famous singers to sing there, besides them they have also invited TVB fadan Kenix Kwok. With Kenix joining, this is the first time that “Happy Chinese Line” has invited a TVB fadan. Sending this diplomat, the TVB fadan was also asked to sing ‘a fadan song’ at this party in the Mainland. This is the first time in five years that the party is held in Guangzhou. As most of the invited guests are very well-known in the South-Chinese area and to be able to attend this CCTV party proves that they are all very influential artists in the country’s entertainment world. It goes without saying that Kenix’ popularity in the Mainland is very high.

That evening, almost 40 000 residents attended this fabulous party at the Guangdong Olympic Stadium. Kenix sang “At Least I Have You” at the party.

When Kenix was waiting backstage, many in the audience were shouting loudly her name. When she was preparing to get on the stage, many told her ‘to add oil’ and Kenix responded with an enthusiastic smile to them. As Kenix came on stage, the entire atmosphere turned into joy. The entire audience followed her singing rhythm by waving with the fluorescent sticks. Her performance made the residents of Guangzhou very excited bringing the atmosphere to an all-time height.

Source: Sina.com.cn

Maggie Siu: earning money and dressing up is better than dating

2006-08-24T17:27:00.000+02:00

Recently, Maggie Siu has joined the world of cosmetics as she invested in a cosmetics brand. Regarding to the recent report that Maggie was dissatisfied with Marianne Chan that she often uses Ekin Cheng’s name for promotion, Maggie emphasizes that there wasn’t such a matter. Although her contract with the cosmetic brand has ended, but she expressed that Marianne is still a good friend of hers. Now that she has entered the cosmetics business, she has also asked Marianne for advice.

Yesterday Maggie attended the press conference of the cosmetics brand as a shareholder. Together with the other shareholders, they toasted on their future success. This is her first time that she has invested in a business. In the past, people have asked her to be a co-owner of a restaurant, but she was afraid that the more she ate, the fatter she got. So, in the end, nothing happened. However, this time, she wants to recommend a good cosmetics brand to everyone, therefore she invested her money in it. But she isn’t willing to reveal how much money she has invested in it as she only expressed that she was a small shareholder.

Maggie also indicated that she will study cosmetology. Asked whether she will reduce her filming, she said: “I will try to combine both and continue filming. [But doesn’t that mean it leaves you no more time to date?] Earning money and making yourself more beautiful with a business is much happier.” Earlier, she was the spokesperson of Marianne’s cosmetics brand. Won’t there be a conflict if she invests in another cosmetics brand? Maggie said: “It isn’t related, but I really have to thank Marianne for teaching me so many things. Actually my contract is already terminated.”

Marianne as her example
It is said that she was unhappy with Marianne for using Ekin’s news to promote her brand. Maggie explained: “There isn’t such a matter. Please don’t misunderstand. [Is it true that you weren’t happy that she uses Ekin as a promotion tool?] No, there definitely isn’t such a case. We are very good friends, so don’t misunderstand her. Stop creating gossips about this kind of news. We have both been recommending good brands to each other. [Would you like to become like her?] Of course, I want to be like her!”

Source: Sina.com.hk

Vivien Yeo has a fuller chest

2006-08-24T17:22:00.000+02:00

Earlier when Vivien Yeo was filming for “Forensic Heroes”, she often had to film till very late making her now suffer from endocrine maladjustment. Her whole body is swollen with water. Currently, she still has a chubby face. Bobby Au Yeung and Yoyo Mung always teased her as a ‘water absorbing human machine’. Vivien said: “I’ve always had baby fat and problems with water swelling. At the moment, I am using Marie-Claire Slim Supreme Magic and after a month, my swelling has gone. My oval face shape has even reappeared.”

Vivien also used the Marie Claire eye-face device to massage her chest muscles and the swelling also disappeared. This enhanced her chest much more and became stronger. Therefore, she has also recommended it to her ‘sisters’ Leanne Li and Winnie Shum.

Source: Mingpao

Fung's Label is no more...

2006-08-23T15:58:00.000+02:00

I think a lot of people already knew this, but Raymond Lam's official website Fung's Label has closed down and with that, the name will also dissappear. It came very sudden, one day I was still surfing the site and the next day, it was gone. It was a very informative and detailed site which enabled you to keep track of Raymond's whereabouts. The owner of the site, Sasa, has also put in a lot of efforts into the site and I'm sure the numerous fans of Raymond all over the world will always be grateful for devoting so much of her time.

However, like Candy Ma said, we will all respect her decision. For now, all information about Raymond's functions or news could be temporarily found on Candy Ma's blog, who is his manager. This will only be temporarily till a new official website and webmister/mistress will be found. I have to make a note that it's all written in Chinese and she hasn't updated it yet.

Louis Koo forced to plane travelling

2006-08-23T15:07:00.000+02:00

The night before, Louis Koo, Rene Liu, Bowie Tsang, Shaun Tam, Carl Ng and Lawrence Chou were filming in Tsim Sha Tsui East for their new movie “Happy Birthday”. Soon they will be heading for Japan where they will film outdoor scenes for three days.

It turns out that Louis thought that he could rest a bit in Japan as well as try out some delicious food. However, from his manager he found out that they will start filming immediately after they have landed. They will then continuously film till just the moment before they have to leave and get on the plane. After hearing this, he was very disappointed. In addition, he will be attending the Venice Film Festival. Similarly, he will also be staying there for three days. With a forced smile, he said that he will be spending a lot of time on a plane.

Source: Oriental Daily
Credits Pic: Mingpao

Melissa Ng and Sunny Chan filming an ad as lovers

2006-08-23T14:43:00.000+02:00

The final episode of “Love Guaranteed” has just been broadcasted and with average ratings of just above thirty points, results are quite good. Taking this into consideration, the two leads Melissa Ng and Sunny Chan held a celebration feast at the Gateway Restaurant in the Harbour Crystal Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. They have booked two banquets to thank the crew behind the scenes.

That evening, besides the crew behind the scenes, Shek Sau, Paul Chun and Tseung Chi Kwong also attended it. Melissa frankly said that this is already the third time that they are celebrating the series “Love Guaranteed”. It isn’t important whether they spend a lot or a little money as the most important thing is that their hard work paid off. She also disclosed that soon she and Sunny will shoot a real estate ad in the Mainland. She said: “The real estate agency is enchanted by us as a golden couple. The set-up of the ad is also very relaxed as we only have to walk around the garden and that’s it.” After this ad, Melissa will begin her vacation of a few months. She tells us: “I don’t know where I want to go yet! I think I’ll stay in Hong Kong anyway, because I have promised to do some shows earlier.”

After “Love Guaranteed”, Sunny is already busy filming another new TVB series set in the ancient times. The night before, he sneaked out from the set and showed up at the celebration feast. With an ancient hairstyle he arrived at the restaurant and gave everyone a pleasant surprise.

Source: Sina.com.hk
Credits Pic: Mingpao

Steven Ma worries he’ll die of an accident at 49 years

2006-08-23T12:26:00.000+02:00

The costume fitting for new TVB series “Predicting Fate” with the leading actors Shirley Yeung and Steven Ma attending it. Steven will portray an unlucky criminal in ancient times. He said: “I have just read the script of the first two episodes and I will be mistreated for an episode and a half already.”

Steven admits that he isn’t superstitious, but he once saw a fortune teller who told him that he will die of a flight accident when he is 49 years old. Till the present, he is still worried about it. If I am 49 years and I have an opportunity to earn money where I have to go abroad, I’d still use alternative ways to get there.” In addition, there were internet reports saying that he got in a traffic accident with five other cars and that he was severely injured. Regarding this, Steven angrily said: “I think they are really getting over the top! This time they are talking about dead people and injured people, you can’t joke about things like this!”

Moreover, Shirley is trying her costume as a Sitdan girl, she smilingly told: “In this series I will eat a lot as well as very strong, haha!” When mentioning that Shirley hasn’t filmed an ancient series for a long time, she said: “I am not afraid of the heat, I actually fear the cold.”

Source: Singpao

Akina Hong has fierceness

2006-08-22T13:17:00.000+02:00

In the just broadcasted finale of “Men in Pain”, Akina Hong portrayed nightclub PR head Au Yeung Lei Lei. She understands the men’s heart and is flirty. Therefore, her character is popular with the male audience. In reality, Akina’s attitude and movements also give out such a feeling to others. She talks in a soft and gentle manner. No wonder she always portrays such flirty female characters so realistically. However, Akina personally is getting tired of playing these characters as she expressed: “These kind of characters are a lot of fun to portray, but after playing them for so many years it’s really getting a little bit boring! I am actually quite fierce. I really would like to try out other different kind of characters!” Aged over thirty, she still possess perfect body measurements (34C-23-33,5). Her skin still remains to be very supple. Generally, this is also what she means with fierce.

Akina participated the Miss Hong Kong contest in 1994. She has been in the industry for twelve years, but the majority of her characters were almost always flirtatious types, bad women or third parties. It is also this image that has left the deepest impression on the viewers. That day, Akina moaned about it: “Actually I didn’t portray that many ‘third party’ characters. For example in “Armed Reaction” I was a bar owner, a big sister. Even this time in “Men in Pain”, although I was a mama-san, but in the end I did not intrude in someone else’s marriage.”

Coyness is fun to play
Off the TV screen, Akina’s tone is quite coy. Her movements are also very feminine and enchanting. Asked her whether this is the reason that many producers ask her for these kind of roles, she joked: “Perhaps my face resembles these kind of women a lot! Actually I really don’t think that I am that coy! Many producers even complain that I am not coy enough.”

Akina said that in reality others often comment that she is rather cool and rude. “However, when they get to know me more they know I like to play very much. Like in the recently filmed “Pearl of the Orient”, my character likes Roger Kwok. Off the screen, we know each other well. Usually, before we start filming, I will go very coy on him, pretending to ‘electrify’ him. This will make him laugh so hard that his tummy hurts!”

Entertaining everybody
Although it is fun to play, but after portraying these characters for so many years, Akina frankly said she is getting very tired of these roles. “Actually, I really want to portray characters that are sad and weak, bullied by others or mute. It is because I am still very fierce, so I truly want to try more things!”

In reality, the so-called fierceness that Akina talks about, besides the state of mind, also includes her fine body measurements 34C-23-33,5 and white skin. Every time she attends a function, Akina knows how to be the spokesperson of sexiness. At the same time, she uses her favourite body part, her chest, to grab the attention. Regarding this matter, she doesn’t mind: “Going to functions, of course one has to be a bit sharper, more beautiful. If you appear casually, who would take your pictures? After all, I am an artist. Appearing prettier and sexier, it is just entertainment for everyone.” This is what we call knowing how to earn money.

Source: Express Weekly 12 July 2006

Announcement...

2006-08-22T13:13:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the lack of updates these few days, but my internet connection crashed down for some reason. I have been trying to get on the net, but nothing showed up. Suddenly, I could go online again today, but I don't know how stable it is so it is possible that I can't get online again tomorrow or even this evening. Hope you all will bear with me till I have found out what the real cause is... Thanks!

Anyway, since I am online now, I'll update with an Akina Hong article that I have translated some time ago. Hope you like it!

Joey Yung doesn’t believe Sonija Kwok is bad

2006-08-19T15:37:00.000+02:00

There were weeklies stating that Sonija Kwok wasn’t too happy about her status of second female lead with the first lead going to Joey Yung in the series “The Academy II”. Earlier, she also didn’t appear on the set due to sickness. The weeklies stated that it was obvious that she wanted to play a trick on Joey whom she was inseparable with back then. However, Sonija explained that her mood was very affected by the death of her eleven-year-old dog, so she asked for some leave.

Yesterday, Joey was filming for “The Academy II” when she responded on this related report as she indicated: “I don’t care about this kind of news as it is a rare opportunity for me to shoot a series, so I really hope that I can enjoy the pleasure of filming a series. Sonija and I have also discussed this matter. Actually, there is nothing between us, I even told her to not feel too pressured when she reads it. Whether it’s the death of a person or a dog, one will still feel miserable. I don’t know what I would do if my cat died.” Joey also expressed that she gets along with the other actors very well, especially Michael Tao who always gives in to her. Once he let her film her scene first, so that she can finish her work early. However, she denies that people are jealous of her because of this.

Ron Ng denies that they are on bad terms
In addition, the rumours between the cast of “The Academy II” are following each other rapidly as there are reports saying that Ron Ng and Sammul Chan didn’t get along. However, yesterday on the set, the two of them were chatting happily when they were working. They were even often playing and goofing around. It seems that there really aren’t any problems between them. Ron also indicated: “We aren’t on bad terms. We have worked together for a long time, so as long the two of us know the truth then it’s fine.”

Source: Oriental Daily

Flora Chan's Column

2006-08-19T13:47:00.000+02:00

Credits: Express Weekly

Moses Chan invites drama team for abalone to please them

2006-08-17T16:41:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Moses Chan, Linda Chung and Louis Yuen were filming for their new series at a seafood shop in Sheung Wan. Moses expressed that in this series he and Louis will portray uncle and nephew. As for Linda, she will play a friend of his. In this scene, Linda wants to borrow money, but Louis, who plays the uncle, isn’t very happy about it. He even called her a ‘pak sou’ (北嫂). Louis laughed that he will distinguish between ‘pak mui’ (北妹), ‘pak gu’ (北姑) and ‘pak sou’, but ‘pak sou’ is definitely the worst kind, haha!

Asked Moses whether the plot has provided him and Linda a love line, he expressed that the two of them only share a friendship. According to him, they wouldn’t be lovers in the script. Louis, who was standing nearby, joked that there is definitely no love line for them in the script, but in reality they are actually lovers.

Louis praised Moses as considerate
Being laughed at by Louis, Moses then expressed that as they are filming in a seafood shop this time, he has also bought abalone for everyone to eat. He said: “It’s quite rare to see such delicious abalone, therefore I have bought some for everyone. However, once they all left early, so they didn’t have the opportunity to eat it.” Asked Louis whether this is the first time that he collaborates with Moses, he said: “This is the first time, but I have discovered that he is very good and considerate. We often have to film till very late and Moses will then make coffee for everyone. Personally making it is really hard to come by and the flavour isn’t too bad either.”

Being scolded at is quite sad
In this scene, Linda has been made out for ‘pak sou’ by Louis as she indicated she understood the meaning of it. It means low or what is currently described as prostitute. Asked her how it feels to be scolded at, she said: “If this happens in reality, I would feel miserable and very unhappy. However, this is only acting.” Linda also smiled that in reality she often lends people money, but rarely borrows it from others.

Source: Singpao

Actually, '北妹', '北姑' and '北嫂' are all terms that are used to refer to the women who came from the Mainland to work in Hong Kong.

Bosco Wong’s ex-girlfriend participates in Miss Asia

2006-08-17T16:39:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Miss Asia held its second preliminary interview in bikini with 27 participants smoothly going through to the next round. The participants’ figure and quality were only average and the participant with the best figure is number fifteen Leung Choi Fan. It turns out that participant number three Tsang Wing Shan used to be Bosco Wong’s girlfriend. Asked about their dating history, she said: “This happened a very long time ago, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We don’t have much contact anymore.” Bosco Wong didn’t respond to the announcement of the participation of his former girlfriend.

The participant with the highest quality is the model-like number eight Yip Yin labelled as the ‘Mainland Aimee Chan’. Her appearance resembles Miss Hong Kong winner Aimee Chan a lot and she also hopes to have the same result as Aimee. When Andrew Yuen went on stage to give her flowers, she highly praised him as handsome. As for number two Chiu Kin Wah, who introduced herself as ‘siu siu’, she was being mocked by Benny Chan.

Source: Oriental Daily

Andy Hui’s shoulder glued to Sharon Chan

2006-08-17T16:36:00.000+02:00

Earlier, Andy Hui filmed an MV for his new song “Mr Pig” for TVB. The director has especially created two homes for him at TVB City. One of them was a rebuild pavilion outside the TVB City restaurant. The filming period happen to coincide with lunch, so it attracted many artists to this five stars home.

Like in Phuket
Regarding the fact that the pavilion has changed into a home full of furniture, Andy smilingly said: “It is really a refreshing feeling. In addition of this beautiful weather today, I can really imagine myself on Phuket!” Andy even joked that if his house is as open as this one, then when the paparazzi wants to snap pictures of his home life he will definitely invite them in. “I will even take a bottle of liquor with me and have a drink or two with them. Then I will wait till they are drunk and then delete their pictures.”

Very awkward
Moreover, they have asked Sharon Chan to be the female lead in this MV. During the filming, a funny thing occurred. One scene required Sharon to lean on Andy’s shoulder, but after the director called ‘cut’, Sharon still looked very infatuated. One after the other scene, the workers were joking that Andy’s shoulder is a very good cushion, making Sharon very awkward. The equally awkward Andy helped her to stop them by saying: “She didn’t hear the director call ‘cut’, so don’t laugh at her!”

Source: Takungpao