TVB News World - Asian Entertainment News Daily

Since TVB executive, Stephen Chan "陳志雲", became embroiled in a corruption scandal in March 2010, 17 months have elapsed with the case still undergoing trial. During the days when many artists retained their distance from Stephen due to political reasons, only Wong Hei (王喜) proved his loyalty by standing firmly by his friend’s side.

Although Wong Hei’s management contract will be expiring next month, TVB did not ask to renew his contract. At the same time, the Artist Department suggested that Wong Hei pay a fee to end his contract early in advance! Wong Hei commented, “Considered abandoned and worthless, of course I accept it!”

Since Stephen Chan was faced with corruption allegations, his cronies, Amigo Chui (崔建邦), Patrick Tang (鄧健泓), and Louis Cheung (張繼聰) disappeared from his side and docked by other allies. Only Wong Hei, who had known Stephen for 19 years, continued to accompany Stephen in court and prayed for his fortune. Wong Hei even declared that he would sell his own house to pay for Stephen’s legal fees!

In July, Stephen celebrated Wong Hei’s 44th birthday with him. It was obvious that the men shared a deep friendship. Wong Hei’s loyalty in friendship was highly praised by netizens. Unexpectedly, his loyalty resulted in being kicked out by TVB!

For many years, it was rumored that Wong Hei received the strong backing of Stephen Chan. Since Stephen’s corruption investigation occurred, Wong Hei’s star status disappeared. When Stephen resumed his position at TVB in November 2010, it was stipulated that he will no longer oversee artist management matters. Considered to be Stephen’s rival, Virginia Lok (樂易玲) took over control of the Artist Management department. Wong Hei’s work continued to decline. Due to reasons that Wong Hei did not have enough “shows,” the stipulated amount of work in his contract will not be allocated.

From Lead Actor to Cameo Roles

At one point in his career, Wong Hei filmed three installments of Burning Flame <烈火雄心>. This year, he has not filmed any TVB series. He was only offered a cameo role in Some Day "天天天晴", documentary program Three Gorges "大三峽", and the 10-episode variety program Hong Kong Back Then "香港演義". Wong Hei’s work load was even less than a third-line actor.

Kicked Out of TVB

With his contract expiring next month, Wong Hei had a schedule conflict with other colleagues while filming Hong Kong Back Then. Thus he suggested that he will film 7 episodes of the program and promised to complete the remaining 3 episodes before his contract expired. Unexpectedly, the Artist Management department suggested that Wong Hei could pay a monetary fee to end his contract early. In other words, Wong Hei was being kicked out of TVB!

Allegedly, Wong Hei was extremely saddened by the conversation with TVB. Despite working at TVB for 16 years, he received such treatment from the company. In a telephone interview, Wong Hei stated, “Since I am busy this month, I told TVB that I will not be able to film all the episodes of Hong Kong Back Then. Although my contract is not over yet, the Artist Department said that I can pay a fee and leave. I never imagined they would say that! Afterwards, I did not know how to react. I said I will think about the matter. The Artist Department has not called back; we have reached a stalemate now.”

Sealing His Own Fate By Attacking Virginia Lok

Asked whether he felt that Virginia Lok was “knifing” him, Wong Hei sounded helpless. He attacked Virginia Lok indirectly, “She has professional judgment. Whoever she cultivates or disposes, I respect her professional decisions. Since I have been considered worthless and abandoned, of course I accept it!

“Ms. Lok is only concerned about TVB’s vantage point and will even calculate every show’s fees. She is indispensable. In such a turbulent economy, many companies need the same type of employee as Ms. Lok!” Asked whether his friendship with Stephen Chan had resulted in his predicament, Wong Hei noted, “I let everyone make the judgment! Since I am involved in the incident, I’m afraid what I say will not be neutral.”

Wong Hei’s acting career was marked by high peaks and deep falls. For many years, Wong Hei has often been entangled in negative rumors. “Since I entered TVB, I have been filming one series per year. I am not the type of artist to film multiple series each year. As a result, each time I cherish the opportunity and will work very hard. Perhaps other people do not understand my feelings. Despite many odd rumors, I did not mind.”

Asked what his plans for the future were, Wong Hei replied, “Although this place is not for me, there will be another place suitable for me!” The press tried to contact Virginia Lok for comment without any success.

Source: Appledaily
Translated by: Jayne @ JayneStars

Natalie Tong (唐詩詠) and her relationship with rumored boyfriend Amigo Chui (崔建邦) has been going on-and-off. Natalie decided to seal her lips and refused to respond to questions pertaining to it. However, when mentioned about onscreen lover Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Natalie went on and on about Kenneth, having full praises for him that he was a good man and hoping to partner up with him to earn “couple money” together. Natalie also expressed that she wouldn’t mind recommending girls to him.

Pairing artistes up as on-screen couples has always been one of TVB’s recent money spinning strategies. Natalie Tong and Kenneth Ma have collaborated for three drama series now, namely, A Fistful of Stances "鐵馬尋橋", The Other Truth "真相", and The Life and Times of a Sentinel "紫禁驚雷".

Through all these collaborations, Natalie’s understanding of Kenneth deepened and as a result, when they filmed together, their acting was able to become more natural. Natalie explained, “We weren’t familiar with each other when we first filmed Fistful of Stances. Since we were acting as brothers and sisters, our relationship slowly grew. While filming The Other Truth, we acted as a loving couple. Some of the intimate scenes were requested to be added by us. Because of our mutual trust, there was no need for any avoidance.”

Highly Praised Kenneth Ma As A Good Man

*Warning: Spoilers of The Life and Times of a Sentinel ahead!

In The Life and Times of a Sentinel, Natalie and Kenneth finally married as husband and wife whereas in real life, Kenneth has always been viewed as one of the “hot properties” in TVB. Natalie laughed and said many friends have asked her to recommend girls to Kenneth, “Kenneth is a good man. However, it’s such a pity that he doesn’t know how to brew coffee like Moses Chan (陳豪). He doesn’t even know how to make milk tea. I think I must teach him to make some trademark drinks first!” As for rumors about her reconciliation with Amigo, Natalie did not admit or deny, “I will not respond to this. Work is still my top priority.”

Improving On Her Lazy Slur

Natalie’s scenes in The Life And Times Of A Sentinel was not a lot but in fact it was the first time she was shooting an ancient drama. Hence she professed that there were many areas she had to improve on, “Because the role that I’m playing speaks a mixture of Indonesian and Fujian language hence even till now, I still have a lazy slur when I speak. But I have already found my television station friend to teach me and will listen to language tapes and improve on my enunciation.”

In other news, Natalie had earlier went to Japan’s Kansai and Osaka to film a travel special. Natalie excitedly said, “Although the process was a tough one but to be able to see and feel the culture and sights of other countries, it was indeed an eye-opening experience!”

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Niki Chow and Hanjin Tan appeared at a HP event. Niki exposed that when she was on the flight back to HK from Shanghai, she encountered a 'hacker in the air'. She said: "The foreign male sitting next to me kept asking me in both English and Mandarin, if I was Niki Chow and if I bought stocks. Later, I fell asleep and suddenly was awaken when I heard shutter sounds. When I woke up, I saw him all bending over in front of me. At the time, I was very angered and frightened."

Niki expressed she didn't know if he had intentions, but she feared of her ugly sleeping look getting exposed. Later, she just complained to the flight attendant and asked her colleagues to pay more attention to websites, in order to prevent her photos from circulating. She said: "The flight attendant said she saw his behavior the entire time, but because she saw us talking, so she didn't interfere." Niki expressed the airline promised to protect any relating information. If one day she had to call the police, she can use it as evidence.

Niki said she understands that she cannot stop others from taking pictures in public areas, but the man's actions lacked respect. She said: "There is no way to avoid it other than buying the seat next to me too or maybe go on a personal airplane."

Also, Hanjin will be releasing a new album this month to celebrate his 10th anniversary of being in the industry. He said: "Next February, it will be my 10th year in the industry. The new album is about my likes and dislikes."

Hanjin will soon be charging into the toy box and shoot a TVB series. He reveals he'll be pairing up with Joyce Tang and joked if there are any intimate scenes, he's afraid someone might beat him."

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

MC Jin and Joyce Cheng attended the UNICEF fundraising event yesterday. They went around with a donation box collecting donations from bystanders, and MC Jin took the lead in donating money. Lately, MC Jin has been gaining attention from his first TV series Lives of Omission and his popularity is rising. He said his wife and parents in the States are watching him too. He also has interest in shooting TV series, and wants to collaborate with veterans Ha Yu and Bobby Au Yeung the most. He even had the idea for the story already, they can play father-son or brothers.

Joyce once had her sincerity cheated. While studying in Canada, she saw an elderly man who had trouble walking, so she gave him 5 Canadian dollars. However, once she turned around, she saw him running as fast as she could. This incident didn't impact her charitable heart to do good deeds. She is currently sponsoring a little girl in Africa and if she has time, she hopes to personally visit and meet her.

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

The day before, Ada Choi and her husband took their daughter out to Church. That afternoon at around 2pm, Ada was seen leaving the church and walking towards the parking lot nearby. The chubby baby Chor Yee was carried by her husband Max Zhang's sister-in-law. Although Chor Yee is only 3 months old, she is well spirited with her eyes looking around, and her chubby hands and feet are just so cute.

Reporters approached Ada, who was in a great mood. She said in a spoiled child voice: "I don't have make up on." Asked if she especially took her daughter out to share the family happiness? She said: "I don't have work now, so of course I'm enjoying family happiness. I stay with my daughter every day. Although baby caring is difficult, I'm still happy. My daughter is behaved and cute."

The people around Ada advised her not to praise her daughter like that, otherwise she'll get sensitive. She said: "Of course I'm not afraid of that, I believe in God."

Ada reveals her daughter is over 16 pounds now, but because the weather is too hot, she shaved off all her daughter's hair. Currently breastfeeding, Ada is working hard trying to lose the weight: "In fact, I'm keeping it pretty OK. Just about the same as before I gave birth."

When speaking of War and Beauty 2, Ada said: "Still discussing because this is a grand production. If I could take part in this series, then it be pretty good, of course it be great! However, the earliest I can start is next year." When asked when she starts shooting series again and her daughter hasn't got off the milk yet, won't that be troublesome? She said: "I'll think about it next year. Within this year, I won't be shooting any series."

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

Regarding Deep Ng (吳浩康) and Jacquelin Chong (莊思敏)’s recent break up, Deep’s former flame, Nancy Wu (胡定欣) said, “Since I’m not the actual person involved, I don’t wish to comment too much on this.” (Are you still in contact with Deep?) “Not much.” (You heard that he took drugs?) “Hope it’s just heated rumors; I don’t wish to comment too much on other matters.”

Yumiko Cheng (鄭希怡) who used to be rumored with Deep, was also asked for her opinions. Yumiko asked, ”Is this for real or not? You are saying this just to scare me right?” (They really broke up!) “Wow, I really didn’t know! But if this is true then I feel that it’s really a pity as they were together for quite some time. I’m not sure about other matters.”

Taiwanese model, Yedda Chiu (趙彤) whoacted in a movie with Deep’s ex girlfriend, Jacquelin Chong, expressed that she felt taken aback about their breakup, “Is this true?” Yedda gave an ‘O-mouthed’ expression. ”Who snitched to you? Last week, we just attended Meng Yao (孟瑤)’s wedding together and I didn’t detect anything abnormal from her. I didn’t know that they had already broken up then. So shocking and such a pity!” (Ever discussed matters relating to love with Jacquelin?) “Yes, we always have. Once, she and Deep Ng accepted an interview with a television station and they looked so sweet back then.”

On the other hand, Meng Yao professed, “I don’t know the reason behind their break up but when Jacquelin attended my wedding, she didn’t look unhappy. Tthey had been dating for so long; it’s such a pity!” (Consoling Jacquelin?) “If this is true and they really broke up, I will definitely give her a call to console her.”

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Yesterday, Niki Chow (周麗淇) attended an event for the Arome Bakery (東海堂) moon cakes she endorsed. In that event, Niki fed fans some moon cakes. When asked whether she has ever fed her boyfriend, Niki replied that she was still single.

When asked about sources saying that she has been secretly dating cotton mill and spinnery factory crown prince, Eric, for two years now and even spotted sitting in his luxury car after filming wrapped, Niki denied the romance and emphasized that she never ever had a rich boyfriend. Niki stated that she has been single for the past two years.

Niki said, “I do not have any boyfriend outside the entertainment circle. I am not dating and I will only be spending this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival with myself and these mooncakes or with my friends.” Niki confessed that she would occasionally have meals with her male friends but none of them instilled a romantic feeling in her, so she did not felt like she was being courted.

When asked how long she has not gone on a date, Niki answered, “For quite some time now! Not nice to say those of the past!” Was it because she was severely hurt during her previous relationship and did not dare to break into the boundary of love again? Niki replied, “I am a very open person. Maybe it’s because my fate in love hasn’t arrived yet. Love is a very difficult thing to speak about, my future destined one has yet to appear.”

The reporter noted that recently, there are many celebrities who found their respective partners in mainland, such as Rene Liu (劉若英). Niki noted, ”I will follow Rene’s example of announcing to the press before getting married.” (Will you announce to the public if you date?) Niki expressed, “I will not reveal it on purpose. If I am not dating, I will say that I am not. If I am dating, I will not respond and ask everyone to think on their own.”

Niki said that she understood that any male friends who appeared around her will unavoidably be included in the tabloids. Niki also declared that if she felt that there was no room for further development between her and the other party, she will “root the nail on the head” and reject him so as not to let the other party misunderstand.

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Earlier on, TVB artist Selena Li (李詩韻), went to Germany to film a travelogue special. Since it was a rare opportunity to be in Germany, of course there was a need to indulge in their local three big delicacies like roasted pork knuckle, sausage and beer. However, Selena found that the food was too oily for her liking and admitted to liking Chinese dishes the best.

In addition to that, Selena who all along doesn’t like to drink beer, was sampling the beer and filming at the same time and unknowingly drank quite a lot as the filming went on and ended up being a little drunk until she was giddy in the head.

Selena who did not like to drink in the first place, also needed to try it, “German beer is quite tasty actually. I do not like to drink beer but I felt that it was okay. However, the alcoholic content was very high. While filming, I didn’t realize and drank and drank until I was giddy. And eating lots of pork knuckles and sausages, I grew fat. afterall I’m Chinese so I think Chinese dishes, which are plain and light, suit me best!”

Simple Love Is All the More Precious

In this trip to Germany, Selena Li stayed for a total of 12 days but did not bump into any new romance. Selena laughed and said, “Nope, nothing! There’s no handsome guys in Germany. Actually maybe it’s because I’m more traditional. Chinese guys suit me the best.”

Although she did not meet any new guy during her stay in Germany, the trip overseas made Selena change her mindset about love, “Among the tour mates, there was a couple who were very simple. From first love to marriage, they were very sweet. Looking at them, I realized that love can actually be so simple. I will keep that in mind when scouting for my partner in love.”

Hopes Hong Kong Would Use Electricity Wisely

Asked whether the man whom she had hugged and kissed at a nightclub, who resembled a tall and big version of Erik Fok (霍啟山), was her cup of tea, Selena replied, “He is only my good friend. I did not feel that type of feelings towards him at all. He is a good man with good conditions but not my cup of tea.”

Germany is an advanced city in environmental protection, such that the locals had developed solar and wind energy. No one could even see bicycles placed everywhere on the streets for rental. Selena thus advised, “I hope Hong Kong will take Germany’s example as an understudy and try using solar and wind energy instead to save our electricity.”

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

The Johnnie To Kei Fung directed Media Asia film LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE (DUET MING GUM) successfully qualified for the 68th Venice Film Festival competition. To Sir and actors Lau Ching Wan, Denise Ho Wan Si and Myolie Wu Hung Yi already planned to head to Venice to attend this film's global premiere, but Richie Jen (Yam Yin Chai) will not be able to attend due to scheduling problems.

All of the actors and To Sir were rather pleasantly surprised about the film's Venice qualification. To Sir said, "Of course I have to thank Boss Lam (Peter Lam Kin Ngok)! He gave me a lot of time to create movies that I like. I also have to thank all the actors for all the efforts that they put into this film. Ching Wan is quite a guy! Right now I am still busy with post production. I myself really like this film, I hope this time it will perform well."

Ching Wan this time will head to Venice with his wife. "I am very happy! This time I will be able to go to Venice with To Sir. I heard him say that the wine there were great, but I won't be able to drink much. Right now the Old Lady and I are planning maybe to arrive in Italy earlier for fun, then to Venice. We will be able to pretend that we will be on vacation."

As for Ho Wan Si she was very pleased that the film qualified for Venice and immediately posted online that she had no intention but got lucky with the qualification, proving that without any regret for the outcome she would reap the harvest. She said. "I am really very pleasantly surprised. I have always admired To Sir and really wanted to work with him. I never guessed that the first cooperation would immediately bring us to Venice! I never thought about it. I always saw how grand these international film festivals were and how hot the actors dressed. I am now troubled about what to wear. Hmmm.....let me think how much back to show all of you on the red carpet!" This will be To sir's fourth trip to Venice, but he still did not know whether he will remain until the award presentation on the night of the 10th as he still had to rush to the Toronto Film Festival with the same film.

Source: takungpao, singtao
Translated by: hktopten

The Jackie Chan starred new film 1911: REVOLUTION has been selected to be this year's Tokyo International Film Festival special opening film. This film festival committee made the announcement yesterday. Jackie Chan will appear during the film festival to promote the film.

1911: REVOLUTION took ten years from conception to production planning. This film in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution cost over HK$300 million. At the same time it is Jackie Chan's 100th film in his career. Jackie Chan said that he looked forward very much to seeing viewers in Japan. As for his 100th film being selected to be the Tokyo International Film Festival opening film since the Earthquake, he thought it was a honor for the film to be able to bring out courage.

Source: singtao
Translated by: hktopten

Ex-rumored pair Ron Ng and Ella Koon came across each other at TVB City the night before. The two participated in the recording for JSG and What the Face respectively. The guests for both shows shared the same makeup room, and before the shows started Ella went completely 'invisible'. It turns out she was already in the recording studio, but because she wanted to avoid Ron in the makeup room, she played hide and seek with the media.

During the interview, Ella said she didn't know Ron was there too, and she wasn't trying to hide from him. Ella explained that because there were too many people using the same makeup room, she was given another room. She said even if she knew Ron was there, it is not a problem because they will still greet one another. Ella expressed anyone she knows, she will greet them, otherwise it is impolite. Since the two have not seen each other for so long, will they passionately embrace if they do meet again? Ella stretched out the topic and said she did not want to respond to anymore Ron related questions.

The other night, Ron participated in JSG recording and said he encountered Ella in other occasions before. If that night he did see her, he would have said hi to her. What Ron is more concern about is the current war between his fans and his rumored girlfriend Viann Zhang's fans. Because his fans dislike Viann, both sides opened fire on Weibo. He said he does not know the details of the situation, and it's not for him to control who fans like. In short, it is wrong to be attacking others. Will he try to convince rumored girlfriend Viann to be patient and accommodating? He said Viann is an adult too and will know how to handle it.

September 2nd is Ron's birthday. He said he'll be spending his special day at work. His birthday wish is to finish shooting ATF Terrorism ASAP because the shooting process is way too difficult. Does Ron await for a new album release, since he made an appearance on JSG? He said album preparation requires time, shooting series while recording songs can impact his state of mind. Raymond Lam sings and shoots series at once? He couldn't answer, just said that Raymond has time to rest. The other JSG guest was Susanna Kwan, who will be inviting Moses Chan, Felix Wong and Louis Yuen to her upcoming concert in September.

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

Jacqueline Chong and Deep Ng's 5 year relationship ends in a break up. The Governor's daughter Jacqueline fell for the gloomy star Deep Ng, who had a history of drug use, at first the public didn't support the couple. However, after some twists and turns, the couple is now seen as the model couple in the industry. Yesterday sudden rumors circulated that the two are broken up. A magazine reported that Jacqueline gave up on Deep after suspecting that he was back on the drugs and broke up with him a month ago. Yesterday Jacqueline was flying to Beijing for work and admitted to the rumor, that she and Deep split up, but clarified that the split was due to long-term clash in personality. It is not because of his bad habits.

Earlier this year Deep expressed in an interview that he is saving up money to buy a house and marry Jacqueline, but yesterday news broke out that they split already because earlier when Deep started a band with his friends, he came in contact with drugs again. For this reason Jacqueline broke up with him.

Yesterday morning, Jacqueline flew to Beijing and admitted the break up on Weibo that afternoon: "I am ok...although we separated, we are still good friends. I hope everyone gives up some space! I love you all!" reporters contacted Jacqueline by SMS last night to asked if it was Deep's bad habits that led to the break up? Not long after, she clarified on Weibo for her ex-boyfriend and defended him: "Our break up is because of long-term clash in personality, and is no related to bad habits. I hope you all won't have too many speculations that will hurt any party!" She said frankly that both parties were heartbroken about the split, but will still work hard on their jobs.

As for Deep, last night he broke his silence too. He retweeted Jacqueline's post and commented: "Thank you all for the concern." However, the two are still set to be in a relationship on Facebook. Perhaps, it's not long since they broke up, so still didn't made it public.

Deep's manager Mani Fok supported him over the phone yesterday that he won't get back into drugs. "I feel they are just like a couple playing love games. We believe Deep won't get back into drugs because the incident (drug possession charge) taught him a great lesson, so I feel he won't do it again. EEG believes him too, and won't get into his business."

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

Michael Tse is a hot choice for this year's TV King title depending on his Laughing Gor role in Lives of Omission. However, according to this year's TVB Anniversary Series arrangements, Wayne Lai's Forensic Heroes III gives him a chance to keep his TV King title. Reporters contacted Wayne through the phone yesterday. He expressed he had confidence to be a three time 'TV King'. When speaking of his series being scheduled as an anniversary series every year, Wayne had always been an actor guaranteed for high ratings, expressed: "It's about the same! Still have to see how the results of this series first, but I'm not trying to boast myself, the Forensic had always been a theme viewers chased after. (Do you have confidence for TV King?) Of course I do."

Facing this year's strong opponent Michael Tse, Wayne said frankly Michael of course cannot be neglected, but he personally supports Kevin Cheng's 'LAW BA" in Ghetto Justice and Bosco Wong in Lives of Omission performances. He said: "Bosco's role this time is very special, they can have the chance at anytime!" As for Michael, facing a strong opponent Wayne, said frankly he has confidence too: "It's normal for every artist to have confidence on their own series. Wayne had always been serious in filming, and I personally have confidence for my own series, but it is still too early to say now."

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

The inaugural 2011 Miss Hong Kong Pageant which was organized by TVB was held earlier, even inviting Miss Hong Kong 1999 second runner-up, Myolie Wu (胡杏儿), to give out the big award of “Most Popular Contestant” to the newly crowned Miss Hong Kong 2011, Rebecca Zhu (朱晨丽).

When the emcee for the night, Eric Tsang (曾志伟), accompanied Myolie to give out the award, he comically addressed Myolie as “Mrs. Wong (黄太)”. Although, upon hearing this, Myolie gave a coquettish look, a pleasantly sweet smile also slipped across her face.

Coincidentally, yesterday, TVB Entertainment news anchor Janice Cheung (张允芝) suddenly tweeted an accompanying photo of her and Myolie, which was taken on August 8th, tweeting, “She (Myolie) told me a piece of great news. I’m very happy for her; everyone will know about it soon.” After the tweet was sent out, there were many speculations that maybe Myolie was going to get married soon with Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) and officially become “Mrs. Wong”?

However, when interviewed, TVB executive manager, Virginia Lok (乐易玲) refuted those rumors, “That’s impossible. Their work schedule is packed all the way to the following year. They don’t even have the time to meet each other. The happy matter that Myolie mentioned was probably the plans to release an upcoming album.”

Source: ynet.com
Translated by: JayneStars

TVB’s Anniversary Awards were often regarded as the year-end report card for the company’s leading artists. The fight for TV King and TV Queen often grabbed the entire city’s attention. Unfortunately, the first half of 2011 did not yield any wildly popular series. Currently, Michael Tse’s (謝天華) Lives of Omission "潛行狙擊" was considered to be the front-runner. To make the battle for TV King more intense, TVB will be airing Men With No Shadows "不速之約" and Forensic Heroes 3 "法證先鋒III" in September and October respectively, adding Wayne Lai (黎耀祥)and Raymond Lam (林峯) to the Best Actor race!

Over the past eight months, no particular TVB series garnered extremely popular ratings or word-of-mouth. Earlier regarded as one of 2011’s heavy-hitters, Raymond Lam and Charmaine Sheh’s (佘詩曼) My Sister of Eternal Flower "花花世界花家姐" generated only mediocre ratings and response. Yes Sir, Sorry Sir "點解阿Sir係阿Sir" also failed to boost Moses Chan’s (陳豪) popularity higher. Branded as “ungrateful in love,” Moses’ character in Yes Sir, No Sir dragged down his image. The remaining series Ghetto Justice "怒火街頭" and The Other Truth "真相" resulted in the audience’s favorable response towards Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), Raymond Wong (黃浩然), and Ruco Chan (陳展鵬).

With the current broadcast of Lives of Omission in Hong Kong, Michael Tse was considered to be in the brightest spot. Allegedly, TVB did not want the TV King race to be one-sided. To increase the exciting atmosphere of the upcoming Anniversary Awards, TVB changed their strategy by adding Raymond Lam and Wayne Lai to the Best Actor battle. Due to the disappointing results of My Sister of Eternal Flower, this lowered Raymond Lam’s chances to win the TV King title. As a result, TVB decided to broadcast Men With No Shadows, which stars Raymond, Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華), and Tavia Yeung (楊怡) on September 12, 2011.

In addition, two-time Best Actor, Wayne Lai’s Forensic Heroes 3 was currently in non-stop post-production work, hoping to catch the broadcast timeslot in October. This allows Wayne the opportunity to join the battle for TV King and enhance the competitive atmosphere. Forensic Heroes 3 Producer, Miu Siu Ching (梅小青), uploaded two promotional clips of the series on her blog, attracted lively discussion among netizens. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this year’s TV King race should be between Michael Tse, Raymond Lam, and Wayne Lai!

Regarding plans to film a new “Laughing Gor” movie, Michael Tse said, “Whether the plans for this movie are definite or not, we have to wait for the official announcement.” Michael revealed that the new Laughing Gor movie should start shooting in late September 2011. New roles and actors will be added to the movie, which may be a departure from Lives of Omission. Regarding outside speculations that TVB was interested to crown Michael as the new TV King, he stated, “By the time the movie is done, it will be released at year-end. As you know, the TVB Anniversary Awards will also occur at year-end, which turns out to be a timing coincidence!”

With Lives of Omission achieving average ratings of 29 points in its first week of broadcast and peaking at 33 points (approximately 2.09 million viewers), Michael admitted that the ratings were a good start. To his knowledge, in Lives of Omission’s first week of broadcast, the series’ website received 2.2 million hits. Michael hoped that the ratings would continue to improve.

Asked whether this will increase his confidence in becoming TV King, Michael said, “It is only August now. There is still a period of time before the year-end Anniversary Awards. Of course, the more people supporting Lives of Omission, my confidence will become greater.”

Asked whether he wanted to receive the TVB Best Actor Award, Michael replied, “Every parent wants their child to earn the top score, rather than the bottom score.” (Do you have confidence?) “I have confidence in everything I do.”

Source: Appledaily.com.hk
Translated by: JayneStars

Frankie Lam and Kenix Kwok’s precious daughter Tania (nicknamed ‘Little Jun Jun’) was born on January 14th of last year – with the blink of an eye, the little one is already 18 months old. Recently, Frankie and Kenix traveled with their daughter to Singapore for vacation and also to celebrate her 18 month birthday.

Yesterday, Kenix uploaded vacation pictures of the family of three on her Weibo – one of the pictures shows the couple in the pool lifting their daughter in the air, while another picture shows Kenix and Tania in twin mother-daughter outfits. A third picture shows Frankie holding his daughter, both laughing happily. It’s obvious from the pictures that for this happy couple, having their precious daughter is enough for them.

Source: Mingpao
Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics

After changing a boyfriend, Shirley Yeung (杨思琦) seemed to have completely changed in character as well and bid farewell to her thrifty former self, buying branded goods as of late. After purchasing a branded pair of shoes, Shirley continued to shop leisurely in other branded shops.

After Shirley Yeung heartlessly cut off her 9-year relationship with Gregory Lee (李泳豪), she announced her romance with new lover, Andy Ng (吴帅). As a result, Shirley’s career dipped and hit a bottomless pit.

Yesterday afternoon, Andy Ng, who has yet to emerge from hiding, sent good friend, Yu Yue (俞越) to accompany Shirley and her mom for some shopping. Astonishingly, the usually frugal Shirley Yeung actually shopped for some new goods at a branded shop. After the identity of former HK national diver, Andy Ng, was exposed, there were several negative rumors about him. Although Shirley expressed her full support for him, amidst the development of matters, Andy has yet to appear in the public eyes. Even accompanying Shirley and her mother for a shopping trip was done through someone else’s help and that someone else was none other than his ex-teammate and best friend, Yu Yue.

Attacks Expensive High Heel Shoes

Yesterday around 4 PM, Shirley who was donned in a black outfit, appeared in Central district together with her mom and Yu Yue. Shirley, who was notorious for being thrifty, surprisingly browsed through many branded stores. This was a great contrast from her usual frugal self, in fact, it was like they were two different persons! After some time, Shirley spotted something she liked and after discussing with her mom and Yu Yue, she decided to purchase it.

The reporter later contacted Yu Yue and asked why wasn’t Andy Ng with them on that day. Yu Yue replied, “Andy wasn’t in Hong Kong but still in mainland.” (Andy asked you to take care of Shirley?) No, he didn’t but we are familiar with each other in the first place.” (You paid for Shirley’s purchase?) “We bought and paid for our own stuffs, she paid for her own purchase.”

S-style Driving to Avoid Reporters

In other news, yesterday, after attending an event, Shirley drove herself and her mom to a hair salon at Tsim Sha Tsui to do their hair. On that day, in order to avoid the interview team that was tailgating them, Shirley disregarded her and her mom’s safety and turned left and rightwards on the expressway, it was indeed very dangerous! Shirley who failed to shake off the reporters, finally entered the carpark. When asked whether she was meeting her boyfriend, Shirley smiled and replied, “Thank you” before walking into the hair salon.

Source: Sina.com.cn
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Last night when Yoyo Mung (蒙嘉慧) attended an event, she was asked about how boyfriend Ekin Cheng (鄭伊健) celebrated her birthday with her on August 3rd. Yoyo replied, “We celebrated it by gathering a bunch of friends to eat together.”

What did Ekin give you as your birthday present? “Speaking about this, he (Ekin) didn’t give me any birthday surprise. This year, while out buying my birthday present, he was seen by a friend. That friend later called me and asked whether my birthday will be upcoming, thus exposing Ekin’s intentions.” (Then there’s no element of surprise?) “Quite happy lahs, at least in the middle of it all, he (Ekin) didn’t need to give, already been given to me through the word from others and at least he gave me first on his own accord without me asking for it.”

Asked whether Yoyo had received a diamond ring from Ekin, she replied, “No need for it to be a diamond ring, I would be touched as long as there are components of diamonds.” (Do you wish to receive a diamond ring?) “Initially, I felt that it wasn’t important whether it was a diamond or not but unexpectedly felt so happy upon receiving it.”

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Since coming to Hong Kong to compete and win in the Miss Chinese Intentional pageant in 2004, Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) did not return back to Canada and chose to further her career in Hong Kong instead. Yesterday, Linda happily held onto her ID card and tweeted over Weibo that she has stayed in Hong Kong for seven years now, thus successfully receiving her Hong Kong permanent resident identification card.

Linda expressed that she couldn’t believe that she had already spent seven years in Hong Kong in a blink of the eye. After attaining her Hong Kong permanent residency, Linda immediately received a congratulatory tweet from Tavia Yeung (楊怡)

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Earlier there were reports that Alastair Lam (林忠豪) fell in love with someone’s else’s wife and crudely dumped Bernice Liu (廖碧兒) and even revealed that Bernice contacted former love, Moses Chan (陳豪), on her own accord, hoping to earn appearance fees as a couple again. In regards to this, Bernice Liu replied that it wasn’t the truth and refused to comment, professing that she will only focus on her work and not even possessing any time for her dogs.

Yesterday, when Bernice Liu, Charlie Yeung (楊采妮) and Uny Chiu (趙哲妤) attended an event, Bernice was asked whether she had seen the alleged newspaper report. She replied, “I didn’t know about this until my management company called me and told me about it.” (So were you really dumped?) “I do not know what happened. Since it’s not the truth, I won’t comment, of course.” (What isn’t the truth?) “As usual, I had been focusing entirely on my work. I completely did not keep in contact with him (Moses) at all.”

When asked about the current status of her love life, Bernice replied, “No, nothing, I have been so busy I don’t even have time to see my dogs, needless to say about dating.” (What about Alastair?) “We have always kept in contact as friends but we haven’t been keeping in contact recently.” (It has been said that Alastair found himself a new girlfriend?) “I won’t comment to other people’s matters.”

When asked whether she had asked Moses to pair up with her again and earn couple appearance fees together, Bernice said, “My work schedule isn’t organized by myself. I did not privately keep in contact with Moses at all. Afterall I have already left my former company (TVB) so connection and communication would be difficult. However, I will say, ‘Hi’ and acknowledge him when we bump into each other.” (You wanted to rekindle ties on your own?) “This is the first time I’m hearing this; I will not comment on what is not true.”

Asked whether Bernice still possessed feelings towards Moses, Bernice said, ”We are only friends.” (You sent SMS message to rekindle ties?) “No, I didn’t. Anyway in reply to this report, all I want to say is only I know best that I did not do it. I’m innocent and the truth will prevail itself.”

Alastair Lam Put Up A Statement to Clarify Matters

In other news, Alastair Lam put up a statement to refute the newspaper report as being untrue and he will reserve the right to sue the publication. Alastair accepted an interview and said, “I’m enraged; the news about me acquainting myself with someone else’s wife was not true. The falsely accused woman is my good friend’s wife. She is the Associate Chairman of the Teochew Business Association For the Young, in which I’m also a member. Hence, we attended an event together but we were on different platforms.

“I didn’t not answer Bernice’s calls. I definitely will not not answer Bernice’s calls. I did not say that Bernice worships gold and I did not say that I got tired of her. My relation with Bernice hasn’t changed at all from the start until today. I do not wish to see any more untrue reports defaming her. It is truly heart-wrenching for me.”

In addition, Bernice has signed onto the same Mainland management company as Charmaine Sheh (佘诗曼) but denied that she was pressured under Charmaine, “Both of us are under the same company and we are thus colleagues however we have our own jobs and our direction’s also different from each other.”

Source: The Sun and Sohu.com
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Yesterday, the newly-signed management company of Cecilia Cheung (張栢芝) broke their silence for the first time to clarify about the divorce proceedings between Cecilia and Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) . Cecilia’s management company expressed that they planned to sue the two Hong Kong media sources for fabricating reports that Cecilia was “rearing infant ghosts” and wanting custody of both her sons as well as money in the divorce.

In addition, Cecilia’s management company also announced that they planned to take renowned radio talkshow host, Eileen Cha (查小欣) to court. Earlier, Eileen exposed that Nicholas and Cecilia had intentions to divorce, to court. At the same time, Cecilia also re-emphasized through her management company that she does not want money and only wants her kids.

According to insiders, after celebrating Lucas’ 4th birthday, Cecilia rushed back to Xiangshan, Ningbo, to continue filming work on The Lion Roars Again "河东狮吼2".

Sent Out Lawyer’s Letter To Sue Eileen Cha And Two Publishing Houses

On August 7th, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Weekly revealed that just before Lucas’ birthday party, Cecilia sat down with Nicholas and both of their lawyers to negotiate the divorce proceedings. In that report, there was a sentence stating, “Not only does Cecilia want custody rights of the kids, she also wanted to divide Nicholas’ assets equally, thus betraying Nicholas’ trust.” The statement did not align with what Cecilia’s management company’s boss had stated earlier, “Cecilia only wants her two sons; she does not want a single cent from the Tse family.”

Regarding the reports of Ming Pao Weekly, the president of Cecilia’s management company,Yu Yuxing (余毓兴) of the New Asia Entertainment Group (AEG), responded that the news reports were purely fabricated and creating trouble unnecessarily. Mr. Yu expressed, “Ming Pao Weekly’s malicious intent have caused grief to Cecilia. This leaves anyone feeling indignant and appalled. We have already represented Cecilia to issue a lawyer’s letter as of yesterday, pursuing Ming Pao Weekly of their legal responsibility.” In their statement to the press, it was also mentioned that they would also be pursuing Oriental Sunday, the magazine under the EEG label, of any legal responsibility for their fabricated report on August 8th about Cecilia’s alleged “rearing of infant ghosts.”

Besides that, Mr. Yu also voiced, “As a veteran radio show host with the longest work experiences, Eileen Cha (查小欣) did not bother to clarify the matter and took her own liberty to spread rumors about Nicholas and Cecilia’s divorce on her radio show. For this, Eileen Cha would also have to bear responsibility.”

Cecilia Only Wants Sons; Determined Not To Take A Single Cent From The Tse Family

Besides letting her management company act on her behalf and issue out the lawyer’s letters, Cecilia who was currently filming The Lion Roars Again in Ningbo, re-iterated her stance on the divorce. Cecilia conveyed determinedly that she only wanted custody rights of her sons and did not wish to take a single cent from Nicholas Tse. Cecilia also added that she has the financial ability to provide for her two sons.

Yu Yuxing affirmed that although Cecilia was situated at Ningbo, there was never a time that she didn’t think of her sons. He also revealed that upon reading the sensationalized media reports about her, Cecilia could only express her helplessness on the matter.

Cecilia Cheung’s Management Company Circulated Statement to the Press

After verifying matters, Cecilia Cheung’s management company confirmed that there was no truth in those reports and that those reports were all fabricated. Cecilia’s company issued a statement to the media to shed light on the inaccurate reports about their artist, Cecilia Cheung:

1. In recent days, there have been false or misleading reports about Cecilia Cheung herself or her divorce matters. In particular, Ming Pao Weekly’s Issue No. 2230 which was published on August 6, 2011 and Oriental Sunday’s Issue No. 713 which was published on August 8, 2011, after some verification, have been proven to be totally different from the truth. The reports in question were also detrimental to Cecilia’s reputation. Our company and Cecilia feel extremely disappointed with regards to this and will not condone any more false or misleading reports in the future. Strictly speaking, our company have already engaged a lawyer to take legal actions against the shamed companies and reserve the rights to pursue future legal responsibilities.

2. As known to many, Nicholas and Cecilia’s divorce matters were, at an early stage, assigned to be handled by both of their lawyers. Cecilia and her family and friends have suffered many unnecessary pressures and speculation from the outside world. Thus, for the well-being of Cecilia and her loved ones, we take this opportunity to urge the media to kindly give them space to focus on domestic and work-related matters. And even if there are reports on her in the future, we hope that the media will report them in a true and factual manner.

3. Last but not least, we would like thank everyone who has shown concern for Cecilia in one way or another.

Regards,

New Asia Entertainment Group Private Limited, August 8, 2011.

Recaps On the Disputed Articles:

Cecilia Cheung Wants Both Money And Kids; Rearing Infant Ghosts

Ever since word of Nicholas-Cecilia’s troubled marriage broke out, there were plentiful rumors and disturbances. On August 6th, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Weekly disclosed that an insider revealed that Cecilia wanted half of Nicholas’ assets. Lifting an extract from the article, “It wasn’t true that Cecilia Cheung was willing to forsake and not take a single cent of money. Quite the contrary, not only did Cecilia want her sons, she also wanted to liquidate Nicholas’ assets and possess half of it.”

The article also stated the following:

Other than the above requests, Cecilia also requested for Nicholas to pay her alimony fees every single month. Nicholas’ lawyer thus rebutted whether Cecilia was asking for too much. Cecilia then replied, “Okay, then in that case, I do not want anything, I only want my two kids!” Just as everyone thought that Cecilia arrived to a new decision, she changed her mind and said, “I think it’s best to wait for me to consider things over.” The report also stated that Nicholas’ lawyer was given the impression that they have been played around by Cecilia whereas Nicholas, who fathoms Cecilia’s temperament, was not visibly affected in any way.

Oriental Sunday, published an article on August 8th, claiming that Cecilia placed an evil formation in her Yang Ming Shan mansion to honor twelve ominous god figurines when faced with Nicholas who possessed a determined will to divorce. The twelve “gods” possessed child-like figures and the offering presented to them were candies.

Oriental Sunday discussed the matter as if it were real, even pointing out that last week, during Lucas’ birthday, when Nicholas visited her at Yang Ming Shan mansion, he was suppressed and cursed by the “gods.” This resulted in Nicholas’ high fever for three days in a row. As a result, Nicholas had to cancel a performance in mainland, losing several millions HKD of income. The magazine reported that Nicholas’ mother, Deborah Li (狄波拉) was worried and quickly headed to Thailand to seek advice from the White Dragon King (an extremely popular divine figure in the Hong Kong entertainment industry).

The magazine further reported that in a past interview with Cecilia, reporters saw the mentioned figurines in Cecilia’s Yang Ming Shan home. To pray to those “gods”, Cecilia had to do some complicated ritual everyday, making it seem like she was following black magic and rearing “infant ghosts” indeed!

Source: ifeng.com
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

The previous night, when Kenneth Ma (馬國明) appeared in Tai Hang to film, he unexpectedly had a little incident and it unfolded like a scene out of a comedy. To facilitate filming, Kenneth Ma, who was donned in filming attire, left his script on the ground. Unexpectedly, the security guard of the apartment nearby mistook the script as trash, picked it up and threw it into the dustbin of the apartment block.

After shooting a line of dialogue, Kenneth Ma came back and was astonished to find the script gone. He then searched everywhere furiously for the script. Upon knowing that it had been thrown away by the security guard, he immediately ran into the apartment building and requested to be let in to retrieve his script. The scene was indeed rather comical.

After that incident, Kenneth resumed his professionalism, continued filming and practiced dialogues and which position to stand in with his co-star. Because the weather was very hot and humid, as soon as there was a break, the crew quickly stepped up to wipe his sweat and touch up his makeup.

Source: Orientaldaily.on.cc
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

According to Hong Kong media reports, since the stipulated change in Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) and Cecilia Cheung’s (張栢芝) marriage was irreversible, Nicholas and Cecilia chose to resume work on their individual filming jobs and let their respective lawyers settle their divorce proceedings. Still affected by their troubled marriage and in a bid to forget, Nicholas totally immersed himself into his work and finally couldn’t take it anymore.

Yesterday, on August 8th, while he was filming in Beijing for a mainland tv drama, Nicholas suddenly had an asthma attack due to the contraction of his breathing pipes, thus making it difficult to breathe and required a breath inhaling machine urgently. Although Nicholas escaped death, he still insisted in risking his life and continued filming.

The Nicholas-Cecilia saga has gone on for more than two months now but recently, the situation has finally began to brighten up. Nicholas’ good friend, Eric Kwok (郭伟亮), revealed that Nicholas and Cecilia have entered a peaceful stage in their divorce. After celebrating Lucas’ 4th birthday last Tuesday, Nicholas who was still severely hit by their divorce, temporarily abandoned all his troubled domestic affairs and focused on his work at hand.

On Wednesday, Nicholas flew to Shanghai to shoot a commercial and sat in a boat to Yancheng Jiangsu and Qinhuangdao Hebei for a commercial performance. Without pausing for a rest, Nicholas immediately flew to Beijing to shoot Mainland drama, The Next Miracle "下一个奇迹"。

Had A Fever; Secretly Went For A Drip

With such a closely packed work agenda, even an iron man would also collapse, needless to say for Nicholas Tse who already have asthma. In actual fact, Nicholas’ body has been showing signs of a losing battle. Now that he caught a cold and had a fever, he was forced to cancel the commercial performance in Dalian. Although Nicholas showed signs of recovery after a good rest, his health was still in a poor state. It was known that before flying off to Shanghai to shoot an advertisement, Nicholas discreetly went to his family doctor and asked to be on a drip, which eventually subsided his fever.

After Nicholas flew to Shanghai, he unfortunately found signs of a relapse of an asthma attack but luckily for him, he had brought along some medication with him to administer and was thus out of danger. Although Nicholas had a hard time due to his sickness, he insisted on completing his jobs, shooting an advert first and then performing for two commercial performances. Last Saturday, Nicholas was at Qinhuangdao for the Qi Xi Festival concert. He persisted in singing two songs despite his health and thanked the audience before leaving the venue.

Source: ynet.com
Translated by: Ah K @ JayneStars

Yesterday Steven Ma and Linda Chung were at the costume fitting for TVB new series Prosperous Father (tentative). Steven reveals he plays a PA (assistant director) working for TVB and will develop a relationship with policewoman Linda. Steven was asked if he will learn from Amigo Chui, who is currently working as a PA? He immediately started laughing: "I know being a TVB PA is very difficult, but it's still an experience." Steven said this is his 5th time working with Linda as an on-screen couple, but he claimed it's not boring and there is still feeling: "Linda is a good girl! (She's very dry though!) I don't think so! She's still single?" Asked if he has his girlfriend's trust? He laughed: "My girlfriend doesn't know Linda nor have they met. In fact after several years, she never was worried."

Linda expressed she is very happy to be playing a couple with Steven again. She reveals that this is her first time playing a tough policewoman. Her role is childhood friends with Steven's greedy role. Linda said there will be many funny scenes. Besides Raymond Lam, she rarely has any other rumors? Linda said: "Perhaps I have the good girl image, so there are less rumors. (Is it because she has an invisible boyfriend already that there are rarely any rumors?) I have many friends, but we rarely talk about relationships or family, just focus on work." Linda reveals she just reached her 7 years residing in HK, and can finally become a HK citizen. However, she won't give up on her Canadian nationality. She smiled and said that when she can get the 6,000 dollars that the government distributed, she'll be giving it to her mom or treat her colleagues a meal.

Source: Mingpao, Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

Michael Tse, Fala Chen and the rest of the cast to TVB series Lives of Omission were promoting at a shopping mall in Mong Kok. Large groups of civilians surrounded the area to see their idols. When Michael and Fala walked near the fences to take pictures and sign autographs with fans, suddenly two fans put their hands on Michael shoulder and posed behind him. This surprised Michael and got him embarrassed. He said: "You all got me blushing." Later, he expressed he did not mind: "I understand fans just wanted to see their idols in person, it's normal to get touched by the hands. (Can they give you a kiss then?) I have to know beforehand. (Only for good looking ones?) Not that, just I'll be frightened when someone kisses me out of the blue, so must ask first. It's not good to do surprise attacks. However, they are all very polite and gentle, just a small touch, it's not like they were stroking my back."

At the promotion, Michael announced the serial's peak ratings of 33 points. Asked if he has confidence for the TV King title? He said: "Right now there is still a while until the award ceremony. If there are higher ratings and audience support then I'll have more confidence. (Do you want to be TV King?) As a parent you would want your child to be the top student too. Of course every artist wants good results. (Have confidence?) I have confidence in everything."

As for Fala, she appeared to have put in a lot of effort at the promotion too. While signing autographs for fans, she carelessly revealed herself a little and disregarded it. Fala expressed her boyfriend recorded the series to watch later. She said: "He said he couldn't have guess I would look like that as a policewoman because he never seen me like that. (You are usually more dependent?) No. If there is an issue, we usually talk it over."

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

Chilam Cheung, Fala Chen, Michael Tse, Carrie Lam and Kiki Sheung were guests on TVB game show What the Face. Wearing dark shades, Chilam expressed he's wearing shades because of his blood shot red right eye. Asked how he got injured? He joked: "I suspect it's family violence, got beat by my son because when I woke up today, I saw the redness in my eye. The doctor said it's nothing serious, just a burst blood vessel. Luckily my outfit matches with the theme, Chok enough." Perhaps it's the stock market crisis that is the culprit? Chilam said: "No! My wife bought long-term investment ones, no impact. As for myself, because earlier I read a Feng Shui book and it said there would be some concern in the stock market for the next half year. It so happened I believed it, so I withdrew 6 months ago. I hope the market will be adjusted soon. The current housing prices are just way too distorted."

Michael Tse and Fala Chen joked that they were only on the show purely for their new series Lives of Omission promotion. For the show, Fala was dressed neutrally, she laughed that it matches her Madam image from Lives of Omission. She also expressed she watched the episode where she was pretending to be a prostitute, and heard about the good ratings, she excitedly said: "If we count in the viewers on the internet too, the results are even better." The entire crew is very happy about the good results, but she won't have any sexier scenes later. Asked if she has confidence for the TV Queen title based on this series? She immediately shook her head: "Michael has confidence for TV King, and I support him too, but I don't dare to say for myself. To me, it is very pressuring. I feel my acting still has a lot of room for improvement. The most important is audience have a good time watching."

Michael said TVB decided to make another Laughing Gor film and is scheduled to go on the big screen late this year. Asked if TVB is intentionally making him this year's TV King? He said: "TVB already had plans to make this film earlier this year, not because of the awards ceremony later this year."

Source: Mingpao, Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

In TVB new series Lives of Omission, Mandy Wong plays one of the undercovers. Besides having scenes with Derek Kwok, MC Jin and Michael Tse, she also has many scenes where she's madly running on the streets. Shooting in the blistering hot weather, it was extremely difficult.

When speaking of her deepest impression, her undercover scene can be considered as one. Mandy said: "Because I have several different looks, disguised as a prostitute, Miss Sexy, school girl and 3 to 4 other ones, I had to wear short skirts and the clothing were all falling off my shoulders. I don't have much experience in this aspect either, so I went to learn poses on the AV websites. I even had the photos saved on my phone, whenever I have time I would take them out to look at and learn some of the poses." She exposed that until this day, those photos are still in her phone. She's worried that she might carelessly let others see them and could misunderstand at anytime that she has some sort of addiction.

It is Mandy's first time collaborating with MC Jin and she already has a relationship line with him. She shouted that it was fun: "At first I was worried that we had take some time before we could get into character, but surprisingly, once we came together, we got along very well. The stress level went down a lot, maybe because he came back from overseas and has a different personality. He's very fun, a very good co-star. Sometimes we talk about the scenes together, there's not many differences, made me so relaxed even when shooting affectionate scenes."

Currently busy shooting for new series 36 Hours On Call, Mandy plays a doctor this time and will be involved in a love triangle with Tavia Yeung and Him Law.

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ AsianEU

The Scud (Wan Cheung) produced and directed film LOVE ACTUALLY SUCKS (OI HUNG LAN) two nights ago held a celebration. Actors Winnie Leung Man Yi and Osman attended. Leung Man Yi revealed that one of the scenes in the film appeared in another film that was released first, even the dialogues were the same. Leung Man Yi also admitted with silence that it was the earlier release LOVE IS THE ONLY ANSWER (YUN YUEK LEI FUN HAU). Leung Man Yi said, "This film of ours was made in March last year. Actually it has been made for awhile. Originally it was scheduled for a July release, but because it had to be inspected it was delayed."

Osman said that in the film she played Spider Man, so before the shoot he had to learn rock climbing. The film involved the sensitive subject of homosexuality. Osman said that he was not afraid that it would affect his image. In addition, he and Leung Man Yi did not play homosexuals. Osman said, "I would like to try and wouldn't mind playing that." Leung Man Yi said, "In the film I wasn't a homosexual, but I too wouldn't mind playing that."

Source: takungpao
Translated by: hktopten

Derek Yee Tung Sing Chi, Felix Chong Man Keung and Alan Mak Siu Fai again united for OVERHEARD 2 (SIT TING FUNG WON 2). Three leads Lau Ching Wan, Louis Koo Tin Lok and Daniel Wu (Ng Yin Cho) this time respectively played a financial wizard, Security Bureau inspector and eavesdropping expert; because they already had chemistry, this time they set off even more spark. Publicly recognized as a good actor, Lau Ching Wan ran into a huge challenge this time. The "bed scene" made Ching Wan cried for help and the directors joked that he had a weak spot. Playing Fong Chin Bok on the television series MAN OF GREED (DAI SI DOI), Lau Ching Wan this time in the film "returned" to the financial world. His well dressed look was fresh to the eyes.

During the shoot, the directors deliberately arranged for his bed scene with female Mainland star Huang Yi to be shot on Lau Ching Wan's birthday as a "gift" for the Best Actor. It turned into an enormous challenge unexpectedly, as the topless Ching Wan was ill at ease and often cried for help. He said that after 20 years in the business, his biggest taboo was bed scene. This time was the most difficult challenge to himself. He pointed out that Huang Yi was a great actress. Before hand they communicated clearly so during intimacy they were comfortable and natural. He joked that next time he would leave such "gifts" to the young people.

Director Mak Siu Fai said that Ching Wan had every performance at the palm of his hand except for the bed scene when he turned hesitant but still gave his full effort. He never thought that actually even Best Actor had a weak spot. The scene was completely smoothly with the support of the Victoria Harbor night view. Ng Yin Cho and the team afterward brought a birthday cake to celebrate both Ching Wan's birthday and successfully conquering the bed scene.

Source: takungpao, on.cc
Translated by: hktopten

TVB siu sang are getting fewer and fewer, even Steven Ma, who has previously lambasted the company for arranging the broadcast of his series in unfavorable timeslot as cannon fodder, has decided to leave the nest when his contract ends in July next year.

The fact is that Steven has already penetrated the Mainland market; recently a Mainland producer wooed him with a 2-year 12 million (yuan) package to join his company; the fee for each episode per series is 100,000 yuan; compare that to tvb episode fee of 40,000 hkd; his fee is three times higher; very tempting indeed. As to leaving the nest, Steven candidly says: “It’s true that many people have approached me; lots to discuss!” which implies his departure is imminent.

Lately Steven has been discontented with TVB, especially with the broadcast of his two series, Links to temptation and Seven Days in Life, being aired in cannon fodder timeslots, which, besides affecting their ratings may also affect his chance of winning the tv king award.

To placate him, TVB arranged to have his series, The Life and Times of a Sentinel, aired in the golden summer timeslot.* Further it also tailor custom made for him a cooking program, Apprentice Chef. ** Earlier, TVB also arranged an ice breaker dinner to have Steven sit at the same table with Virginia Lok, who was rumored to be on bad terms with him. Surely enough indication of tvb’s sincerity?

All these actions from TVB is just so that comes June next year when his contract terminates, hopefully, Steven will obediently renew his contract. Allegedly, recently TVB has been trying hard to get him to renew his contract but Steven has been dragging his feet. The fact is that Steven has already penetrated the Mainland market with his Ghost Writer, Where the Legend Begins, and his other ancient drama series. Last year airing of Ghost Writer in Mainland has also greatly heightened his popularity there. Mainland companies frequently invited him for stage performances, thus, he has no worries for other outlets.

Recently, Tsui Siu Ming (HK tv series and film producer) who now focuses on Mainland, has had his eye on Steven’s well-received ancient look. He had wanted Steven in his upcoming October Mainland tv series*** but because of TVB’s harsh terms, Tsui rescinded his offer. Consequently, Steven lost the opportunity to earn a 2 million (yuan) fee, which serves to reinforce his decision to leave the nest.

Tsui admitted candidly to this magazine: “I’d wanted to invite Steven to join in one of the big-scale productions in the nation, 建元风云忽必烈, (The Reign of Kublai Khan) collaborating with Hu Jun. But who knew, TVB’s terms and conditions will affect the future progress of the production. So the negotiation fell through. I feel helpless.” As to Steven’s decision to leave, Tsui expressed his welcome to him. “His image is good, and his other aspects also match my requirements. I want to use him, hopefully we can collaborate in the future.”

Allegedly, right now there are several production companies hoping to sign up Steven in their company. Among them is one company that has offered a contract with extremely attractive terms and conditions, including shooting one hundred tv episodes within a two-year period, each episode commanding 100,000 yuan, in a 2-year 12 million yuan package. In the interim, Steven is allowed to accept other jobs for side incomes; lots of freedom; very tempting indeed.

As to having a company offering an over 12 millions contract to him, Steven admitted to this magazine: “It’s true there are lots of ongoing discussions. TVB siu sangs have always been in great demand. Many people have approached me but at the same time, the company has arranged lots of work for me to do too. Like this coming August, I will shoot Siu Ching jie’s modern series.”

As to his contract ending next year, he said: “It’s true my contract will end next year. What’s important is to have a happy collaboration. I’ve been in TVB for 18 years, have to thank Zang jie (Catherine Tsang). She has been my benefactor, without her there's no me. All these years, she has given me ample opportunities so no matter what happens in the future, I’ll always maintain a good relationship with the company."

Steven's weibo 8/9 16:02 What a pity can't collaborate this time....but, thank you!

DirectorTsui Siu Ming's reply on Steven weibo
香港徐小明 (HK Tsui Siu Ming)2:48 The fate has not arrived. Anticipating it in the future. Believe will have a chance to collaborate.

Steven in response to a Mainland press agency weibo about Ray Lui joining the Mainland series of The Reign of Kublai Khan directed by Tsui Siu Ming. The cast still include Steven name, so Steven responded to clarify the situation.

Source: 3-Week tabloid
Translated by: Tamaya @ AsianFanatics