04 Jun 2005 - Issue 10
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NEWS ROUNDUP - 29/05/05-04/06/05
Charmaine's birthday event!
Charmaine Sheh and Ron Ng were at the opening of a furniture store and as it was also Charmaine's birthday, the organisers provided her with a cake and champagne to celebrate.
For Charmaine, this is the first year since entering showbiz that she has not had to work on her birthday, but she did not have any celebrations planned because she had already been out with a group of friends beforehand. asked if her rumoured boyfriend Benny Chan has given her a present, she smiles: "I have received a lot of presents, but I haven't opened them yet." Asked for her birthday wishes, she hopes for happiness and good health. As for awards, she will leave this to fate. Has she thought about marriage? She says that she has thought about it but has not met the right partner yet. Asked about her alleged 'secret meetings' with Benny Chan whilst filming "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" in Beijing last year, she points out that this was just a publicity stunt and nothing to do with her. Asked if her relationship with Benny has improved, she responds coyly: "Just the same..."
When it was mentioned about Faye Wong's plans to retire from showbiz after her marriage, Charmaine says she does not rule out doing the same because she will respect her future husband's wishes. As she also loves children, then she will have at least two. As for whether she is leaving it all a little late, she laughs: "It will be a while yet, but medicine is very advanced nowadays." Charmaine then chatted with the Tarot reader, who was present at the event, who told her that she should not get married just yet because she should take advantage of all the opportunities she has and make money whilst the going is good.
Ta Kung Pao 29/05/05
No more horror for Niki!
Niki Chow took part in an event promoting women's mental health earlier and together with Guest of Honour Ms Rita Fan, shared their experiences in life.
As a modern woman, Niki feels that women nowadays are too strong and this makes them susceptible to problems concerning emotions and stress, so they should take part in more of these events and learn to face life with a happy attitude. She suggests that they should talk more to friends and colleagues or learn to ease their stresses through music or shouting. As for her own ways of stress relief, she will talk to her friends from outside the industry because if they don't totally understand, this makes them a good listener. Asked if she talks to Edison Chen, she says she doesn't because their link is only through music.
As for emotional problems, Niki indicates that when she was filming for "The Gentle Crackdown" last year, she was working too hard and could not complete some action shots, so she was crying a lot. As for when she was filming for movie "Hot Blooded Youth", she had to film in a cemetary and the stress made her feel a little schizophrenic. She says that during filming, she felt like someone was talking to her and this made her cry out and ask the director to stop filming. At the time, she couldn't even tell the difference between her mobile phone ringing and the alarm clock. Luckily after two weeks filming, with lots of support from her friends and some Buddha beads from her aunt, she gradually returned to normal. After this, Niki will not be taking on any more horror movies because she is worried that she cannot control her emotions.
Ta Kung Pao 30/05/05
Sheren on Health
Sheren Tang, Ella Koon and Yu On On were invited to a female health event as ambassadors and as well as sharing their thoughts on health with the public, they also joined over a hundred ladies on the stony path to promote awareness of female health.
Sheren reveals that a doctor friend has recently created a reflexology machine and has offered her one to test and she indicates she likes the sensation of pain it gives. Asked if she has regular check-ups, Sheren says: "I started having body checks since I was in my twenties, but my family try to evade it because the elderly are afraid that they will reveal illnesses and upset them." As for the current slimming trends, although Sheren is a spokesperson for such a company, she feels that the fashion will not be long-lived because for some young people who have not yet fully matured, dieting and slimming can have disastrous effects. She also opposes taking slimming pills because there are a lot of side effects. Asked if she has any friends that are overly skinny, she says: "There are many in this industry that are just skin and bones who think they are too fat. It is easy for this to become an illness."
Ta Kung Pao 29/05/05
Charmaine is injured
Charmaine Sheh and Gigi Lai were filming in TVB City's Ancient Street earlier for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and as Charmaine was carrying a child on her back in a running scene, she accidentally lost her balance and fell onto the floor, causing her past injury to flare up and with a pain in her hip, she was rushed to hospital for treatment.
Charmaine was accompanied by her manager Tina, a female security officer, producer Chik Kei Yi and TVB Artiste Department Manager Chan Pui Wah to hospital. Later on, Tina indicated: "Charmaine could have avoided injury but because she had to look out for the child, so she knelt down and fell forward, injuring her nose. Originally she had to film this evening, but she needs rest and has gone home. As for whether she can continue filming tomorrow, then we will have to see." Afterwards, Charmaine was accompanied home by Ms Chan and there was a small injury to the left hand side of her nose.
For Gigi, this was her first day of filming and she was not quite used to it yet: "With filming just started, there are lots of papers flying around (last minute script amendments), just today there are 17 pages. This means that most nights, I have to study them late into the night because the lines are very classical and difficult to remember."
Ta Kung Pao 30/05/05
'Gentle Crackdown' Promotion
The Dragon Boat Festival will soon be with us and the cast of TVB's "The Gentle Crackdown" including Moses Chan and Niki Chow held a promotion at an old folks' home in Ho Man Tin earlier, where they played games with the pensioners as well as making them rice parcels.
Moses is currently filming for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and he felt very sorry for Charmaine who will have to carry him on his back later. He says: "I weigh 180lbs, so I hope she will be okay." As for her recent spate of bad luck, Moses seemed to misunderstand the question, saying: "She is not very tanned, she looks healthier this way." When the meaning was explained by the reporter, Moses shielded his embarrassment with a smile. Moses feels that he is not muscly enough for his character in "Flames": "In the show I have to appear naked from the waist up in a lot of scenes, so I did over a hundred push-ups earlier but that made my chest ache a bit. When I see Kenny Wong looking so fit, it makes me regret not working out enough."
As for the response to "Gentle" being fairly respectable so far, will Moses be turning his attentions to comedy? He says that when he sees the performance from Wayne Lai and Lee Lik-Chi during filming, he knows he lacks experience and still needs to learn from them.
Niki's performance in the show has gone down extremely well and her family and even the press now refer to her by her character name 'Sap Yee Mui'. She hopes that the show will have a sequel but as she will be busy with her singing career shortly as well as filming in Korea, she will not be able to fit this in until next year at the earliest.
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
King of the 'Minute Famers'
The twelve champions from the first series of "Minutes to Fame" met again in a two-hour showdown to be aired this week, where the winner will be awarded a $1000 per second cash prize.
Guest judges for the show included Nat Chan and Gigi Leung as well as hosts Hacken Lee and Joey Leung, who descended from wires at the beginning of the show as well as walking the tightrope and throwing darts. Guest performers included Lo Hoi Pang, Chung Hei Man and Iris Wong, who did impressions of Leo Ku, Britney Spears and Ayumi Hakasaki.
The twelve champions pulled out all the stops to win attention and HK-Indian contestant Paul Gill even shaved his chest hairs to show 'TVB' as he explained to a rather startled Gigi: "This is real hair! I have never shaved my chest before in my life!" Latin dancer Kwan Ho Yeung continued his hot salsa, whilst Ng Kai Lung appeared in drag and caused Nat to do a double take, before exclaiming: "I thought you were Mariane Chan!"
The 'Stripper Jay Chow' Lam Pak Lun continued his strip routine, but was quickly moved along by Nat before he had a chance to complete his act. When Gigi reprimanded Nat for stopping the show, Nat allowed Lam to continue and satisfy Gigi's curiosity.
Finally, the show was won by 51-year old Poon Chun Sing, who gave a stunning martial arts display with his 10lb spear-sabre as he sang, taking away prize money of $114,500 and over $100,000 of prizes and the title of "Minutes to Fame Champion of Champions". He called out with excitement: "I have never been so happy before in my life!"
Commenting on the show's success, Hacken could not hold back his excitement: "I never thought it would be such a hit, with ratings rising from the twenties into the thirties and the set moving from a small studio into a larger one and contestants being recruited from the mainland and Canada! I think that ordinary singing contests do not fulfil the need from the viewers any more because they are too boring, so this is really a special show. I will continue to host the second series." When reminded about his earlier comments about possibly not continuing, he quickly ate his words, saying: "You can't let a great show like this stop. I had planned to record my Mandarin album in June, but I will host the show and record at the same time. I hope that TVB will give me a rise because the show has changed a lot, but my wages have stayed the same."
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
Joey's New Show
Joey Leung, Shirley Yeung, Jerry Lamb and Anita Chan took part in a press conference for TVB's new infotainment show "Look East Look West". Joey will be hosting this new show and he thanks TVB for giving him so many opportunities: "I have 'three coloured blood' in me, so I hope that I will not disappoint the company with this job." Asked if he felt any pressure being the host of a new show, he says: "Yes, the pressure is on myself as to whether I do a good job or not. Take 'Minutes to Fame' for instance, at first people though it wouldn't work, but it was okay. Now 'Hong Kong Live' had no viewers to start with, but there are plenty now." As for whether he plans to return to acting, he says: "I have signed with TVB, so this is up to them to arrange. In the four months since I signed with them, I have been extremely happy with the arrangements."
Co-host Shirley was asked if she was confident with the new show and she just said: "I hope I can handle it." As for whether she has been watching this year's Miss Hong Kong proceedings, she says: "My deepest impression was Carol Cheng doing the splits - many girls can't do that."
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
'Gateau Affairs' Promo
TVB will begin airing new series "The Gateau Affairs" next week and a promotional event was held in a hotel earlier, but male lead Joe Ma is currently filming in the mainland, so the two female leads Myolie Wu and Bobo Chan led the proceedings. During the event, the cast decorated a cake and also cut open a cake to reveal the five main characters in the show.
In the first half of this year, Myolie has already appeared in three series, the others being "Lost in the Chamber of Love" and "Scavengers Paradise", so she is worried that the viewers are starting to tire of her. As for suggestions that the new show is a little reminiscent of 'Scavenger', she explains that as they shows were filmed in succession, she may not have completely left her last character and is therefore worried about the viewers being a little confused. Myolie hopes that the new series will break 30 points, but she admits that the cake-making scenes in the show were done by a double. However, she says that she does like making cakes and dreams of opening a bakery cafe that she just has to promote and leave the management to someone else. Myolie also reveals that as she was constantly eating cake during filming, she put on some weight, but luckily she has lost it now. She will soon be working with Ron Ng in new series "Gone with the Wind".
Although Bobo is a main character, the promo poster for the show features mainly Joe and Myolie, but she doesn't mind, saying that she is just a salesperson in the show and they are the leads because they actually make the cakes. She is happy to sing the theme tune though and her new album will be released in the summer. She hopes that the show will have good ratings that will help to boost her record sales.
Ta Kung Pao 03/06/05
Ron's Past Unearthed
With his recent success in "The Academy", Ron Ng seems to have attracted some jealousy and there have been some reports made by members of the public that pull details of his past into the media, citing that Ron's original name was Ng Siu Tong and on 1st December 1994, he was involved in a road accident, where three people died and two people were injured that led to him changing his name. Also they go on to say that Ron went to a different school to the respectable one that is reported in his profiles.
When Ron was contacted about these reports, he maintained his usual directness and openly admitted the truth: "I was one of the survivors in that accident. The driver was my sister's fiance and there were five of us, but only me and a friend, who was quite severely injured. I was lucky with minor injuries and was able to leave hospital on the same day, but of course I was very upset after the accident because three of my friends had died. This was a lesson to me never to speed when driving."
As for his real name Ng Siu Tong, he isn't sure if he changed this because of the car accident: "It was over ten years ago, I don't remember whether I changed my name before or after the accident. My family told me to change it, so I did. (Did you go to Chu King Man School?) Yes, I did. I think the fans may have got the wrong information when they wrote the information for my website. I admit that I didn't do very well at school, so that is why my sister told me to go and try as a dancer instead."
As for other reports saying that he has a rather complex background, Ron says he is not unhappy about this, but with the reports bringing back sad memories of his friends, then this is more upsetting for him.
The Sun 29/05/05
MHK meets the Press
The forty five contestants for this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant met the press for the first time this week in outfits of their own choice and most were dressed rather sexily, showing off their assets. Among them, contestant Cheung Li Li's deep V cut red strappy dress and Lau Bo Yee's black low cut top were the most eyecatching. The five overseas candidates were rather ordinary looking, with Suen Wing Sze being the most outstanding. Among the contestants is the daughter of artiste Tang Ying Man, Tang Sheung Man, who is quite pretty.
Producer Ho Siu Wai revealed that the crew will be heading out to the Maldives, Phuket and Sri Lanka on 13th for location shooting as well as a friendship visit to the areas affected by last year's tsunami. Asked if they had to increase their insurance premiums, she indicated it was as normal and as for innoculations, this depends on the circumstances.
The Sun 30/05/05
Rico Supports Ron
Rico Kwok judged a cookery competition and was asked about the recent negative press surrounding his co-star from "The Academy" Ron Ng. Rico says: "He has never mentioned about the accident or name changing, but I have heard him speak in English and it isn't bad, so it doesn't seem like he did too badly at school. I feel that he is a very confident person and is very conscientious about his work, so I don't think he is a superstitious person. (There are suggestions he has upset people so they are revealing his past?) He is really nice and treats everyone really well and gets along with people, so I don't think he has upset anyone."
The Sun 30/05/05
Leila and Bosco Cooling Off
Leila Tong and Bosco Wong were sacrificing themselves for new series "Legend of Ah Wong" as they jumped into the sea, but they both seemed to rather enjoy the experience because in the beating sun, they revelled in being able to cool down in the water. However, just as Bosco was about to jump, he remembered that he had forgotten to put some swimming trunks under his trousers, so he was worried that he did not have any spare underpants to change into to continue the day's filming. Running the risk of being labelled a pain, Bosco made everyone wait for him as he went to get changed. The scene tells of Leila wanting to catch the attention of the wealthy Bosco, but she falls into the water and the dashing Bosco jumps in to rescue her and starts off a love affair between them.
Leila's look was very feminine, with a low cut top, but because of the strong sunshine, her shoulders were heavy with sunscreen. Not learning his lesson after earlier gossip linking him to Myolie Wu, Bosco added cheekily: "Let me help to oil you! (Are you not afraid of more rumours?) I am used to it, the most they can say is I have a few more girlfriends!"
The Sun 31/05/05
First MHK Semi-finalists chosen
TVB's "Beauty Comes from the Heart - Miss Hong Kong Preliminary Shows" took off yesterday, starting with Carol Cheng and the 'sporting team', who had to demonstrate aerobics, yoga and latin dance and the three fast-track semi-finalists were announced as Yuen Nei Ming, Lee Sze Nga and Hui Pui Kei. Carol was not happy with the contestants' performances, saying that they lacked rhythm. As professional sportswomen, Lee and Yuen progressed to the next round, but were criticised by Carol for being too rigid. Hui was put through for her noticeable improvement because at first, her aerobics dance was not up to scratch, but her hard work paid off and the coach praised her latin dance for being very sexy and even Carol was satisfied.
The Sun 31/05/05
Ratings Report
TVB revealed last week's prime time ratings and after the finale for "The Academy" was moved to Monday and Tuesday, the ratings went up by two points to 35 points. Following on from this, "The Gentle Crackdown" gained 31 points and peaked at 33 points in its first week, "Just Love" achieved 32 points, up by one point and "Hur Jun - Medical Ethics" maintained a 25 point average. Last week's special interview with Lee Young Ae achieved 21 points, 3 points up on the same time previous week.
The Sun 31/05/05
Maggie Siu - Femme Fatale at Forty
Maggie Siu has always given people a rather androgynous feeling, but as she embraces her forties, she has signed a seven figure deal to be the new face of Mariane Chan's La Femme beauty and slimming products as she has successfully enhanced her 32 inch breasts to a 34C and slimmed 12 lbs in three months to give her a 24 inch waist. Maggie says: "My figure has been so enhanced that even my skin has regained its flexibility. This is a perfect transformation."
Mariane and Maggie hit it off together when they met at an event and Mariane admires Maggie's unique aura and so approached her to be a new spokesperson. Maggie arranged for a designer to create a look worth hundreds of thousands of dollars especially for Maggie's advertising shoot. Maggie says: "I have never tried such a sexy look before and with so many diamonds, I am worried about losing them, so this is all quite scary for me."
Mariane has been awarded "Creative Enterprise Honourary Award" by the City Youth Business Association and she smiles: "Since entering Miss Hong Kong in 1993 and winning the 'Photographic Beauty' award, I have not won anything in the 7 years at TVB, so I never thought that in just four years in business I would receive this award. It proves my hard work has not gone to waste."
The Sun 01/06/05 The Sun 03/06/05
Maria's Dragon Boat Recommendation
Having grown up abroad, Maria Chan has an understanding of foreign foods and has been a had a healthy appetite since she was young, with her father mistaking her for having an eating condition. Maria says: "When I was young, I could eat non-stop for 24 hours, even I thought I was ill." As a result, for a man to attract Maria's attentions, then he has to be able to cook: "Every boyfriend I have had has been able to cook. On one Valentines day, my ex-boyfriend made me a lovely meal, with starter, soup, main course and dessert and it was very romantic."
Although the dragon boat festival is a Chinese festival, Maria recommends a lobster and Italian risotto for the day: "The risotto is delicious and the texture of the rice is very thick and just right. The flavour is rich and fragrant and it looks lovely."
The Sun 31/05/05
Strappy Sonija
Sonija Kwok appeared in a short strappy dress at a beauty salon event earlier and said excitedly that she would be heading into the mainland shortly to 'make some real money' and will be staying there for several months. For this event, she had taken a couple of days off especially and she went on to say that the company boss had offered her unlimited use for life of their beauty applications for both her and her mother, so before she leaves, she will be making the most of it!
The Sun 01/06/05
Ron's Idols
Ron Ng is the idol of many young people, but his own idols when he was younger were Alan Tam and Beyond's Wong Ka Kui. Thinking back to the 80's, Ron says: "I really like Alan Tam's songs, but Ka Kui's voice really attracted me. At the time, there was also Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui and Grasshopper... I remember that Ka Kui finished his education before entering the music business, so he was not blindly following his ambitions, this affected me a lot. Although I did not complete my studies before entering this industry, Ka Kui's attitudes are still influencing me today." Ron recently shot a magazine cover for "HMC" and in a change to his usual image, he dressed up as 80's superstar Hideki Saijo.
The Sun 01/06/05
Fiona at Cookery Contest
Fiona Yuen and Joe Koo took part as guest demonstrators at a Creative Cookery competition as they both have a great interest in cooking. Fiona reveals that her elder sister has opened a restaurant in Germany and this has made her want to set up a business herself: "My sister's restaurant sells creative foods and I will go and take a look later and if I can, help her out. I have thought about doing the same thing in Hong Kong, but the rent is too expensive, so I am not thinking about it now." Despite this, Fiona has still been developing her culinary career as her second book is being negotiated and will be out for Christmas.
The Sun 01/06/05
Ada: Nicky has Someone Else Now
Nicky Wu was admitted to hospital earlier after a slimming incident and ex-girlfriend Ada Choi was asked about this, to which she smiled: "My friend told me about this and I couldn't help thinking how amusing this was. Luckily it wasn't serious and he has someone to look after him now, so he just needs some nourishment and he will be fine. (Have you called him?) We have to do these things at the right time, as friends we don't need to be in touch all the time." Talking of Maggie Siu's recent slimming ads, Ada was rather surprised: "I would like to see, I think she will look fantastic!" Due to Charmaine Sheh's injuries during filming for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands", Ada has had to bring her scenes forward recently.
The Sun 02/06/05
Rabee'a Reveals!
As spokesperson for Mid City Spa, Rabee'a Yeung took part in an event earlier, dressed in a pink low cut dress, where in her happiness during the crowning ceremony, she accidentally revealed her knickers to the crowd. Asked if she was allowed to use the spa as much as she likes during the year, she says: " Apart from the five figure fee, they have also sponsored me unlimited use of the spa, so I have been visiting their milk spa lately as it makes my skin white and smooth and me very happy!". Also at the event was Gigi Chung, who also showed off her figure in a small top and she indicated: "Recently I have put on about 10 lbs and broken 100 lbs, weighing 107 lbs now. I have developed some curves and it looks great. (Have you gone up a cup?) Yes, up by one." It turns out that Gigi is looking for a breast enhancement sponsorship!
The Sun 02/06/05
Myolie and Sammul - No fears!
Recent gossip magnet Myolie Wu and former rumoured boyfriend Sammul Chan play a couple in their new series "Legal Spokesperson", but they continue 'dating' for the cameras without fear. The scene tells of Sammul stealing the examination papers to help out his girlfriend, but Myolie is an honest person and she will not do anything illegal. Asked if she would like her boyfriend to be so reckless, Myolie responded that work was hard, so she would rather someone cooked for her: "Well, it would seem that I need a girlfriend more! I don't oppose homosexuality, so if I have the chance, I would like to play a gay person because I think it would be easier to kiss a woman."
The Sun 06/02/05
MHK Music Winners
TVB continued airing its preliminary heats for Miss Hong Kong 2005 and in the singing group, the semi-finalists were selected as Chu Lai Yin, Tsang Hin Yan and Yiu Wing Woon. With Hacken Lee as the judge, the girls attempted to sing his rather difficult song 'I Cannot Sing' with a piano accompaniment and although the prettier contestants won, their singing talent left a lot to be desired as they sang out of key, especially Yiu Wing Woon. The better singers such as Chow Wing Yee and Lau Bo Yee were unfortunately eliminated.
The Sun 06/02/05
For a full list of all the MHK semi-finalists and in-depth MHK coverage, visit Miss HK Gallery: http://www.misshkgallery.com/mhk05coverage.htm
Akina on Freckles
Akina Hong has been invited to shoot an ad for a slimming centre's new whitening machine and wearing a low cut top and short skirt, she showed off her beautiful skin, but she says that she has a great aversion to sunlight, so she tries to stay away from the sun's rays, but this is inevitable during filming and she sighs: "Sometimes people say that you have tanned and I feel that this means you have become uglier, because you do look worse and I try to make it better by eating bird's nest, but it's no good."
Each time she gets a tan, Akina's freckles will appear and for most people, freckles appear on the top of the cheeks, but for Akina, they appear on either side of her lips and this is embarrassing. Forcing a smile, she says: "They appear around my mouth and sometimes people say that I have some dirt next to my lips. Although I can cover it with make-up, it makes me unhappy when I see it."
Akina says that the benefit of the whitening machine is that it not only reduces the colour of her freckles, it can also help to reduce the hairs on your arms and legs: "My skin is very sensitive and I come out in spots easily, but this new technology is great and with the cooling applicator, it reduces pain as well as the sensitivity."
The Sun 03/06/05
Charles in Competition
Charles Szeto is currently taking part in the 'Mediterranean Swimming Competition', where he will return from on the 10th. He says that there is little pressure on him in this competition: "This is just a training style competition, because I have to go and take part in the World Championships and Asia Games later in the year." Charles has been training constantly lately and says: "I can't just take part and make an appearance, even if I don't win anything, I still have to try my best and not reflect badly on Hong Kong!" Asked how he deals with the pressure, Charles says: "As soon as I jump into the water, then I forget everything and there is no pressure. Sometimes I will chat with friends, Vin Choi is one of them." Charles seems very mature, so no wonder he has been named as 'Health Education Fund Ambassador' to lead young people into easing stress.
The Sun 06/02/05
Mr HK open to Public Vote
TVB's first "Mr Hong Kong" pageant has had a great response, with over a thousand applications returned. As you only need to be 16 years old to take part and with no upper limit, the oldest applicant is 50 and auditions will begin shortly.
The contest will be open to the public vote and from the end of next month, 800 women will fill Studio 1 and be the judges for the evening. They will represent a cross section of occumpations, including housewives, professionals and lawyers.
Three weeks before the final, TVB will be holding a competition similar to US TV's "Survivor", where they will be given a task to complete in each episode.
The Sun 04/06/05
Niki is the Next Big Thing
Niki Chow has a multi-faceted career, with her healthy image bringing her success in the music field, but she has a very modest approach and works conscientiously, not afraid of hard work.
Starting out as a model, Niki has transformed herself recently into singing star and is up for selection in this year's newcomers. With her appearance in many movies and TV series as well, her popularity is well above that of other newcomers, but this has not left Niki conceited at all as she still refers to herself as a 'newbie': "I have to do more and not be afraid of hard work because I have to try anything. (Are you becoming a singer because you are afraid that filming is hard?) No, because I sung the theme tune to my film 'Love, Battlefield' and it went down very well." Asked if she hit it off immediately with record boss Lo Kit Shing, she says: "Yes, he gives me a lot of freedom. (Will they let you date?) Yes, but I can't get pregnant!"
Niki says that when she meets the right person, then she will reveal it: "If you have to keep staggering the meetings, it puts pressure on him and is hard work. If I do it, then I will suffer the consequences, but the other person may not understand this. (Choose someone from the industry?) We'll see how it goes, the most important thing is we get on."
Niki describes herself as a tomboy, so you really have to get to know her to understand her: "Don't be affected by the roles that I act out." As for the awards ceremonies at the end of the year, Niki is confident: "I am confident, because this gives me motivation. (There are a lot of newcomers this year?) Competition is a good thing because this drives improvement and I am not afraid of being compared to them."
The Sun 03/06/05
Charmaine: Benny is Lying
After her accident earlier, when she fell over during filming, Charmaine Sheh has been resting at home and when she finally emerged, she was dressed casually as she prepared to fly out to Malaysia on a promotional trip. With rumoured boyfriend having suggested that Charmaine's lips had swollen up and that she had broken a tooth, these were not obvious, although she did have a slight swelling to the side of her mouth. When asked about this, Charmaine indicated that Benny was lying. Was she mad at him? She replied graciously: "No, I did not hear him say this, but he is the one who can't whistle!" With Benny having been photographed bringing her sharks fin and birds nest to her home, Charmaine added: "I thank him for his care!"
As for rumours that Benny was drunk during the costume fitting of his new series and giving people 'reverse V' hand signals, Chamaine says: "I don't know because I haven't read the papers, but he is not very good at drinking and gets drunk easily. (Will you ask him to drink less?) This is his business."
Benny was asked about this at a radio interview and he admitted that he had been drinking the day before because this was the last day of filming for "Mysteries of Sze Kung", but he says that he is old enough to know what he is doing. As for the 'reverse V', he says: "I don't know if that was rude, but I am not a frog in a well, so if I knew then I wouldn't have done it."
The Sun 04/06/05
Fiona: Sunny is 100% Normal!
Fiona Yuen took part in a radio interview earlier and with her series "Just Love" coming to an end, she will be enjoying the finale with a group of cast members. As for the male lead Sunny Chan once again being branded as 'weird' by the tabloids, Fiona offered her support for him, saying: "He is okay! After getting to know him, I found that he is not like what the reporters make him out to be. During filming, he is very patient and will teach me, so I feel really sorry for him being written about like this." As for the reports that Sunny's restaurant business is not so good, Fiona says that she has been to eat at his restaurant: "I don't know about how his business is doing, but I feel that it is very comfortable and clean there."
The Sun 04/06/05
Nancy at Wedding Show
Recently, many bridal studios have invited artistes to model at catwalk shows to help promote their designs and at a recent show, stars such as Rosemary, Jolie Chan and Nancy Wu were invited to model, but there were a lot of mishaps! Nancy kept stepping on her own train and Jolie accidentally stepped on Lisa S' skirt, causing a few laughs. Nancy says: "The skirt was too long and it got caught on one of the stones on the shoe. After the show, I had to go and measure myself again."
The Sun 04/06/05
main pageCharmaine's birthday event!
Charmaine Sheh and Ron Ng were at the opening of a furniture store and as it was also Charmaine's birthday, the organisers provided her with a cake and champagne to celebrate.
For Charmaine, this is the first year since entering showbiz that she has not had to work on her birthday, but she did not have any celebrations planned because she had already been out with a group of friends beforehand. asked if her rumoured boyfriend Benny Chan has given her a present, she smiles: "I have received a lot of presents, but I haven't opened them yet." Asked for her birthday wishes, she hopes for happiness and good health. As for awards, she will leave this to fate. Has she thought about marriage? She says that she has thought about it but has not met the right partner yet. Asked about her alleged 'secret meetings' with Benny Chan whilst filming "Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion" in Beijing last year, she points out that this was just a publicity stunt and nothing to do with her. Asked if her relationship with Benny has improved, she responds coyly: "Just the same..."
When it was mentioned about Faye Wong's plans to retire from showbiz after her marriage, Charmaine says she does not rule out doing the same because she will respect her future husband's wishes. As she also loves children, then she will have at least two. As for whether she is leaving it all a little late, she laughs: "It will be a while yet, but medicine is very advanced nowadays." Charmaine then chatted with the Tarot reader, who was present at the event, who told her that she should not get married just yet because she should take advantage of all the opportunities she has and make money whilst the going is good.
Ta Kung Pao 29/05/05
No more horror for Niki!
Niki Chow took part in an event promoting women's mental health earlier and together with Guest of Honour Ms Rita Fan, shared their experiences in life.
As a modern woman, Niki feels that women nowadays are too strong and this makes them susceptible to problems concerning emotions and stress, so they should take part in more of these events and learn to face life with a happy attitude. She suggests that they should talk more to friends and colleagues or learn to ease their stresses through music or shouting. As for her own ways of stress relief, she will talk to her friends from outside the industry because if they don't totally understand, this makes them a good listener. Asked if she talks to Edison Chen, she says she doesn't because their link is only through music.
As for emotional problems, Niki indicates that when she was filming for "The Gentle Crackdown" last year, she was working too hard and could not complete some action shots, so she was crying a lot. As for when she was filming for movie "Hot Blooded Youth", she had to film in a cemetary and the stress made her feel a little schizophrenic. She says that during filming, she felt like someone was talking to her and this made her cry out and ask the director to stop filming. At the time, she couldn't even tell the difference between her mobile phone ringing and the alarm clock. Luckily after two weeks filming, with lots of support from her friends and some Buddha beads from her aunt, she gradually returned to normal. After this, Niki will not be taking on any more horror movies because she is worried that she cannot control her emotions.
Ta Kung Pao 30/05/05
Sheren on Health
Sheren Tang, Ella Koon and Yu On On were invited to a female health event as ambassadors and as well as sharing their thoughts on health with the public, they also joined over a hundred ladies on the stony path to promote awareness of female health.
Sheren reveals that a doctor friend has recently created a reflexology machine and has offered her one to test and she indicates she likes the sensation of pain it gives. Asked if she has regular check-ups, Sheren says: "I started having body checks since I was in my twenties, but my family try to evade it because the elderly are afraid that they will reveal illnesses and upset them." As for the current slimming trends, although Sheren is a spokesperson for such a company, she feels that the fashion will not be long-lived because for some young people who have not yet fully matured, dieting and slimming can have disastrous effects. She also opposes taking slimming pills because there are a lot of side effects. Asked if she has any friends that are overly skinny, she says: "There are many in this industry that are just skin and bones who think they are too fat. It is easy for this to become an illness."
Ta Kung Pao 29/05/05
Charmaine is injured
Charmaine Sheh and Gigi Lai were filming in TVB City's Ancient Street earlier for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and as Charmaine was carrying a child on her back in a running scene, she accidentally lost her balance and fell onto the floor, causing her past injury to flare up and with a pain in her hip, she was rushed to hospital for treatment.
Charmaine was accompanied by her manager Tina, a female security officer, producer Chik Kei Yi and TVB Artiste Department Manager Chan Pui Wah to hospital. Later on, Tina indicated: "Charmaine could have avoided injury but because she had to look out for the child, so she knelt down and fell forward, injuring her nose. Originally she had to film this evening, but she needs rest and has gone home. As for whether she can continue filming tomorrow, then we will have to see." Afterwards, Charmaine was accompanied home by Ms Chan and there was a small injury to the left hand side of her nose.
For Gigi, this was her first day of filming and she was not quite used to it yet: "With filming just started, there are lots of papers flying around (last minute script amendments), just today there are 17 pages. This means that most nights, I have to study them late into the night because the lines are very classical and difficult to remember."
Ta Kung Pao 30/05/05
'Gentle Crackdown' Promotion
The Dragon Boat Festival will soon be with us and the cast of TVB's "The Gentle Crackdown" including Moses Chan and Niki Chow held a promotion at an old folks' home in Ho Man Tin earlier, where they played games with the pensioners as well as making them rice parcels.
Moses is currently filming for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and he felt very sorry for Charmaine who will have to carry him on his back later. He says: "I weigh 180lbs, so I hope she will be okay." As for her recent spate of bad luck, Moses seemed to misunderstand the question, saying: "She is not very tanned, she looks healthier this way." When the meaning was explained by the reporter, Moses shielded his embarrassment with a smile. Moses feels that he is not muscly enough for his character in "Flames": "In the show I have to appear naked from the waist up in a lot of scenes, so I did over a hundred push-ups earlier but that made my chest ache a bit. When I see Kenny Wong looking so fit, it makes me regret not working out enough."
As for the response to "Gentle" being fairly respectable so far, will Moses be turning his attentions to comedy? He says that when he sees the performance from Wayne Lai and Lee Lik-Chi during filming, he knows he lacks experience and still needs to learn from them.
Niki's performance in the show has gone down extremely well and her family and even the press now refer to her by her character name 'Sap Yee Mui'. She hopes that the show will have a sequel but as she will be busy with her singing career shortly as well as filming in Korea, she will not be able to fit this in until next year at the earliest.
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
King of the 'Minute Famers'
The twelve champions from the first series of "Minutes to Fame" met again in a two-hour showdown to be aired this week, where the winner will be awarded a $1000 per second cash prize.
Guest judges for the show included Nat Chan and Gigi Leung as well as hosts Hacken Lee and Joey Leung, who descended from wires at the beginning of the show as well as walking the tightrope and throwing darts. Guest performers included Lo Hoi Pang, Chung Hei Man and Iris Wong, who did impressions of Leo Ku, Britney Spears and Ayumi Hakasaki.
The twelve champions pulled out all the stops to win attention and HK-Indian contestant Paul Gill even shaved his chest hairs to show 'TVB' as he explained to a rather startled Gigi: "This is real hair! I have never shaved my chest before in my life!" Latin dancer Kwan Ho Yeung continued his hot salsa, whilst Ng Kai Lung appeared in drag and caused Nat to do a double take, before exclaiming: "I thought you were Mariane Chan!"
The 'Stripper Jay Chow' Lam Pak Lun continued his strip routine, but was quickly moved along by Nat before he had a chance to complete his act. When Gigi reprimanded Nat for stopping the show, Nat allowed Lam to continue and satisfy Gigi's curiosity.
Finally, the show was won by 51-year old Poon Chun Sing, who gave a stunning martial arts display with his 10lb spear-sabre as he sang, taking away prize money of $114,500 and over $100,000 of prizes and the title of "Minutes to Fame Champion of Champions". He called out with excitement: "I have never been so happy before in my life!"
Commenting on the show's success, Hacken could not hold back his excitement: "I never thought it would be such a hit, with ratings rising from the twenties into the thirties and the set moving from a small studio into a larger one and contestants being recruited from the mainland and Canada! I think that ordinary singing contests do not fulfil the need from the viewers any more because they are too boring, so this is really a special show. I will continue to host the second series." When reminded about his earlier comments about possibly not continuing, he quickly ate his words, saying: "You can't let a great show like this stop. I had planned to record my Mandarin album in June, but I will host the show and record at the same time. I hope that TVB will give me a rise because the show has changed a lot, but my wages have stayed the same."
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
Joey's New Show
Joey Leung, Shirley Yeung, Jerry Lamb and Anita Chan took part in a press conference for TVB's new infotainment show "Look East Look West". Joey will be hosting this new show and he thanks TVB for giving him so many opportunities: "I have 'three coloured blood' in me, so I hope that I will not disappoint the company with this job." Asked if he felt any pressure being the host of a new show, he says: "Yes, the pressure is on myself as to whether I do a good job or not. Take 'Minutes to Fame' for instance, at first people though it wouldn't work, but it was okay. Now 'Hong Kong Live' had no viewers to start with, but there are plenty now." As for whether he plans to return to acting, he says: "I have signed with TVB, so this is up to them to arrange. In the four months since I signed with them, I have been extremely happy with the arrangements."
Co-host Shirley was asked if she was confident with the new show and she just said: "I hope I can handle it." As for whether she has been watching this year's Miss Hong Kong proceedings, she says: "My deepest impression was Carol Cheng doing the splits - many girls can't do that."
Ta Kung Pao 04/06/05
'Gateau Affairs' Promo
TVB will begin airing new series "The Gateau Affairs" next week and a promotional event was held in a hotel earlier, but male lead Joe Ma is currently filming in the mainland, so the two female leads Myolie Wu and Bobo Chan led the proceedings. During the event, the cast decorated a cake and also cut open a cake to reveal the five main characters in the show.
In the first half of this year, Myolie has already appeared in three series, the others being "Lost in the Chamber of Love" and "Scavengers Paradise", so she is worried that the viewers are starting to tire of her. As for suggestions that the new show is a little reminiscent of 'Scavenger', she explains that as they shows were filmed in succession, she may not have completely left her last character and is therefore worried about the viewers being a little confused. Myolie hopes that the new series will break 30 points, but she admits that the cake-making scenes in the show were done by a double. However, she says that she does like making cakes and dreams of opening a bakery cafe that she just has to promote and leave the management to someone else. Myolie also reveals that as she was constantly eating cake during filming, she put on some weight, but luckily she has lost it now. She will soon be working with Ron Ng in new series "Gone with the Wind".
Although Bobo is a main character, the promo poster for the show features mainly Joe and Myolie, but she doesn't mind, saying that she is just a salesperson in the show and they are the leads because they actually make the cakes. She is happy to sing the theme tune though and her new album will be released in the summer. She hopes that the show will have good ratings that will help to boost her record sales.
Ta Kung Pao 03/06/05
Ron's Past Unearthed
With his recent success in "The Academy", Ron Ng seems to have attracted some jealousy and there have been some reports made by members of the public that pull details of his past into the media, citing that Ron's original name was Ng Siu Tong and on 1st December 1994, he was involved in a road accident, where three people died and two people were injured that led to him changing his name. Also they go on to say that Ron went to a different school to the respectable one that is reported in his profiles.
When Ron was contacted about these reports, he maintained his usual directness and openly admitted the truth: "I was one of the survivors in that accident. The driver was my sister's fiance and there were five of us, but only me and a friend, who was quite severely injured. I was lucky with minor injuries and was able to leave hospital on the same day, but of course I was very upset after the accident because three of my friends had died. This was a lesson to me never to speed when driving."
As for his real name Ng Siu Tong, he isn't sure if he changed this because of the car accident: "It was over ten years ago, I don't remember whether I changed my name before or after the accident. My family told me to change it, so I did. (Did you go to Chu King Man School?) Yes, I did. I think the fans may have got the wrong information when they wrote the information for my website. I admit that I didn't do very well at school, so that is why my sister told me to go and try as a dancer instead."
As for other reports saying that he has a rather complex background, Ron says he is not unhappy about this, but with the reports bringing back sad memories of his friends, then this is more upsetting for him.
The Sun 29/05/05
MHK meets the Press
The forty five contestants for this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant met the press for the first time this week in outfits of their own choice and most were dressed rather sexily, showing off their assets. Among them, contestant Cheung Li Li's deep V cut red strappy dress and Lau Bo Yee's black low cut top were the most eyecatching. The five overseas candidates were rather ordinary looking, with Suen Wing Sze being the most outstanding. Among the contestants is the daughter of artiste Tang Ying Man, Tang Sheung Man, who is quite pretty.
Producer Ho Siu Wai revealed that the crew will be heading out to the Maldives, Phuket and Sri Lanka on 13th for location shooting as well as a friendship visit to the areas affected by last year's tsunami. Asked if they had to increase their insurance premiums, she indicated it was as normal and as for innoculations, this depends on the circumstances.
The Sun 30/05/05
Rico Supports Ron
Rico Kwok judged a cookery competition and was asked about the recent negative press surrounding his co-star from "The Academy" Ron Ng. Rico says: "He has never mentioned about the accident or name changing, but I have heard him speak in English and it isn't bad, so it doesn't seem like he did too badly at school. I feel that he is a very confident person and is very conscientious about his work, so I don't think he is a superstitious person. (There are suggestions he has upset people so they are revealing his past?) He is really nice and treats everyone really well and gets along with people, so I don't think he has upset anyone."
The Sun 30/05/05
Leila and Bosco Cooling Off
Leila Tong and Bosco Wong were sacrificing themselves for new series "Legend of Ah Wong" as they jumped into the sea, but they both seemed to rather enjoy the experience because in the beating sun, they revelled in being able to cool down in the water. However, just as Bosco was about to jump, he remembered that he had forgotten to put some swimming trunks under his trousers, so he was worried that he did not have any spare underpants to change into to continue the day's filming. Running the risk of being labelled a pain, Bosco made everyone wait for him as he went to get changed. The scene tells of Leila wanting to catch the attention of the wealthy Bosco, but she falls into the water and the dashing Bosco jumps in to rescue her and starts off a love affair between them.
Leila's look was very feminine, with a low cut top, but because of the strong sunshine, her shoulders were heavy with sunscreen. Not learning his lesson after earlier gossip linking him to Myolie Wu, Bosco added cheekily: "Let me help to oil you! (Are you not afraid of more rumours?) I am used to it, the most they can say is I have a few more girlfriends!"
The Sun 31/05/05
First MHK Semi-finalists chosen
TVB's "Beauty Comes from the Heart - Miss Hong Kong Preliminary Shows" took off yesterday, starting with Carol Cheng and the 'sporting team', who had to demonstrate aerobics, yoga and latin dance and the three fast-track semi-finalists were announced as Yuen Nei Ming, Lee Sze Nga and Hui Pui Kei. Carol was not happy with the contestants' performances, saying that they lacked rhythm. As professional sportswomen, Lee and Yuen progressed to the next round, but were criticised by Carol for being too rigid. Hui was put through for her noticeable improvement because at first, her aerobics dance was not up to scratch, but her hard work paid off and the coach praised her latin dance for being very sexy and even Carol was satisfied.
The Sun 31/05/05
Ratings Report
TVB revealed last week's prime time ratings and after the finale for "The Academy" was moved to Monday and Tuesday, the ratings went up by two points to 35 points. Following on from this, "The Gentle Crackdown" gained 31 points and peaked at 33 points in its first week, "Just Love" achieved 32 points, up by one point and "Hur Jun - Medical Ethics" maintained a 25 point average. Last week's special interview with Lee Young Ae achieved 21 points, 3 points up on the same time previous week.
The Sun 31/05/05
Maggie Siu - Femme Fatale at Forty
Maggie Siu has always given people a rather androgynous feeling, but as she embraces her forties, she has signed a seven figure deal to be the new face of Mariane Chan's La Femme beauty and slimming products as she has successfully enhanced her 32 inch breasts to a 34C and slimmed 12 lbs in three months to give her a 24 inch waist. Maggie says: "My figure has been so enhanced that even my skin has regained its flexibility. This is a perfect transformation."
Mariane and Maggie hit it off together when they met at an event and Mariane admires Maggie's unique aura and so approached her to be a new spokesperson. Maggie arranged for a designer to create a look worth hundreds of thousands of dollars especially for Maggie's advertising shoot. Maggie says: "I have never tried such a sexy look before and with so many diamonds, I am worried about losing them, so this is all quite scary for me."
Mariane has been awarded "Creative Enterprise Honourary Award" by the City Youth Business Association and she smiles: "Since entering Miss Hong Kong in 1993 and winning the 'Photographic Beauty' award, I have not won anything in the 7 years at TVB, so I never thought that in just four years in business I would receive this award. It proves my hard work has not gone to waste."
The Sun 01/06/05 The Sun 03/06/05
Maria's Dragon Boat Recommendation
Having grown up abroad, Maria Chan has an understanding of foreign foods and has been a had a healthy appetite since she was young, with her father mistaking her for having an eating condition. Maria says: "When I was young, I could eat non-stop for 24 hours, even I thought I was ill." As a result, for a man to attract Maria's attentions, then he has to be able to cook: "Every boyfriend I have had has been able to cook. On one Valentines day, my ex-boyfriend made me a lovely meal, with starter, soup, main course and dessert and it was very romantic."
Although the dragon boat festival is a Chinese festival, Maria recommends a lobster and Italian risotto for the day: "The risotto is delicious and the texture of the rice is very thick and just right. The flavour is rich and fragrant and it looks lovely."
The Sun 31/05/05
Strappy Sonija
Sonija Kwok appeared in a short strappy dress at a beauty salon event earlier and said excitedly that she would be heading into the mainland shortly to 'make some real money' and will be staying there for several months. For this event, she had taken a couple of days off especially and she went on to say that the company boss had offered her unlimited use for life of their beauty applications for both her and her mother, so before she leaves, she will be making the most of it!
The Sun 01/06/05
Ron's Idols
Ron Ng is the idol of many young people, but his own idols when he was younger were Alan Tam and Beyond's Wong Ka Kui. Thinking back to the 80's, Ron says: "I really like Alan Tam's songs, but Ka Kui's voice really attracted me. At the time, there was also Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui and Grasshopper... I remember that Ka Kui finished his education before entering the music business, so he was not blindly following his ambitions, this affected me a lot. Although I did not complete my studies before entering this industry, Ka Kui's attitudes are still influencing me today." Ron recently shot a magazine cover for "HMC" and in a change to his usual image, he dressed up as 80's superstar Hideki Saijo.
The Sun 01/06/05
Fiona at Cookery Contest
Fiona Yuen and Joe Koo took part as guest demonstrators at a Creative Cookery competition as they both have a great interest in cooking. Fiona reveals that her elder sister has opened a restaurant in Germany and this has made her want to set up a business herself: "My sister's restaurant sells creative foods and I will go and take a look later and if I can, help her out. I have thought about doing the same thing in Hong Kong, but the rent is too expensive, so I am not thinking about it now." Despite this, Fiona has still been developing her culinary career as her second book is being negotiated and will be out for Christmas.
The Sun 01/06/05
Ada: Nicky has Someone Else Now
Nicky Wu was admitted to hospital earlier after a slimming incident and ex-girlfriend Ada Choi was asked about this, to which she smiled: "My friend told me about this and I couldn't help thinking how amusing this was. Luckily it wasn't serious and he has someone to look after him now, so he just needs some nourishment and he will be fine. (Have you called him?) We have to do these things at the right time, as friends we don't need to be in touch all the time." Talking of Maggie Siu's recent slimming ads, Ada was rather surprised: "I would like to see, I think she will look fantastic!" Due to Charmaine Sheh's injuries during filming for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands", Ada has had to bring her scenes forward recently.
The Sun 02/06/05
Rabee'a Reveals!
As spokesperson for Mid City Spa, Rabee'a Yeung took part in an event earlier, dressed in a pink low cut dress, where in her happiness during the crowning ceremony, she accidentally revealed her knickers to the crowd. Asked if she was allowed to use the spa as much as she likes during the year, she says: " Apart from the five figure fee, they have also sponsored me unlimited use of the spa, so I have been visiting their milk spa lately as it makes my skin white and smooth and me very happy!". Also at the event was Gigi Chung, who also showed off her figure in a small top and she indicated: "Recently I have put on about 10 lbs and broken 100 lbs, weighing 107 lbs now. I have developed some curves and it looks great. (Have you gone up a cup?) Yes, up by one." It turns out that Gigi is looking for a breast enhancement sponsorship!
The Sun 02/06/05
Myolie and Sammul - No fears!
Recent gossip magnet Myolie Wu and former rumoured boyfriend Sammul Chan play a couple in their new series "Legal Spokesperson", but they continue 'dating' for the cameras without fear. The scene tells of Sammul stealing the examination papers to help out his girlfriend, but Myolie is an honest person and she will not do anything illegal. Asked if she would like her boyfriend to be so reckless, Myolie responded that work was hard, so she would rather someone cooked for her: "Well, it would seem that I need a girlfriend more! I don't oppose homosexuality, so if I have the chance, I would like to play a gay person because I think it would be easier to kiss a woman."
The Sun 06/02/05
MHK Music Winners
TVB continued airing its preliminary heats for Miss Hong Kong 2005 and in the singing group, the semi-finalists were selected as Chu Lai Yin, Tsang Hin Yan and Yiu Wing Woon. With Hacken Lee as the judge, the girls attempted to sing his rather difficult song 'I Cannot Sing' with a piano accompaniment and although the prettier contestants won, their singing talent left a lot to be desired as they sang out of key, especially Yiu Wing Woon. The better singers such as Chow Wing Yee and Lau Bo Yee were unfortunately eliminated.
The Sun 06/02/05
For a full list of all the MHK semi-finalists and in-depth MHK coverage, visit Miss HK Gallery: http://www.misshkgallery.com/mhk05coverage.htm
Akina on Freckles
Akina Hong has been invited to shoot an ad for a slimming centre's new whitening machine and wearing a low cut top and short skirt, she showed off her beautiful skin, but she says that she has a great aversion to sunlight, so she tries to stay away from the sun's rays, but this is inevitable during filming and she sighs: "Sometimes people say that you have tanned and I feel that this means you have become uglier, because you do look worse and I try to make it better by eating bird's nest, but it's no good."
Each time she gets a tan, Akina's freckles will appear and for most people, freckles appear on the top of the cheeks, but for Akina, they appear on either side of her lips and this is embarrassing. Forcing a smile, she says: "They appear around my mouth and sometimes people say that I have some dirt next to my lips. Although I can cover it with make-up, it makes me unhappy when I see it."
Akina says that the benefit of the whitening machine is that it not only reduces the colour of her freckles, it can also help to reduce the hairs on your arms and legs: "My skin is very sensitive and I come out in spots easily, but this new technology is great and with the cooling applicator, it reduces pain as well as the sensitivity."
The Sun 03/06/05
Charles in Competition
Charles Szeto is currently taking part in the 'Mediterranean Swimming Competition', where he will return from on the 10th. He says that there is little pressure on him in this competition: "This is just a training style competition, because I have to go and take part in the World Championships and Asia Games later in the year." Charles has been training constantly lately and says: "I can't just take part and make an appearance, even if I don't win anything, I still have to try my best and not reflect badly on Hong Kong!" Asked how he deals with the pressure, Charles says: "As soon as I jump into the water, then I forget everything and there is no pressure. Sometimes I will chat with friends, Vin Choi is one of them." Charles seems very mature, so no wonder he has been named as 'Health Education Fund Ambassador' to lead young people into easing stress.
The Sun 06/02/05
Mr HK open to Public Vote
TVB's first "Mr Hong Kong" pageant has had a great response, with over a thousand applications returned. As you only need to be 16 years old to take part and with no upper limit, the oldest applicant is 50 and auditions will begin shortly.
The contest will be open to the public vote and from the end of next month, 800 women will fill Studio 1 and be the judges for the evening. They will represent a cross section of occumpations, including housewives, professionals and lawyers.
Three weeks before the final, TVB will be holding a competition similar to US TV's "Survivor", where they will be given a task to complete in each episode.
The Sun 04/06/05
Niki is the Next Big Thing
Niki Chow has a multi-faceted career, with her healthy image bringing her success in the music field, but she has a very modest approach and works conscientiously, not afraid of hard work.
Starting out as a model, Niki has transformed herself recently into singing star and is up for selection in this year's newcomers. With her appearance in many movies and TV series as well, her popularity is well above that of other newcomers, but this has not left Niki conceited at all as she still refers to herself as a 'newbie': "I have to do more and not be afraid of hard work because I have to try anything. (Are you becoming a singer because you are afraid that filming is hard?) No, because I sung the theme tune to my film 'Love, Battlefield' and it went down very well." Asked if she hit it off immediately with record boss Lo Kit Shing, she says: "Yes, he gives me a lot of freedom. (Will they let you date?) Yes, but I can't get pregnant!"
Niki says that when she meets the right person, then she will reveal it: "If you have to keep staggering the meetings, it puts pressure on him and is hard work. If I do it, then I will suffer the consequences, but the other person may not understand this. (Choose someone from the industry?) We'll see how it goes, the most important thing is we get on."
Niki describes herself as a tomboy, so you really have to get to know her to understand her: "Don't be affected by the roles that I act out." As for the awards ceremonies at the end of the year, Niki is confident: "I am confident, because this gives me motivation. (There are a lot of newcomers this year?) Competition is a good thing because this drives improvement and I am not afraid of being compared to them."
The Sun 03/06/05
Charmaine: Benny is Lying
After her accident earlier, when she fell over during filming, Charmaine Sheh has been resting at home and when she finally emerged, she was dressed casually as she prepared to fly out to Malaysia on a promotional trip. With rumoured boyfriend having suggested that Charmaine's lips had swollen up and that she had broken a tooth, these were not obvious, although she did have a slight swelling to the side of her mouth. When asked about this, Charmaine indicated that Benny was lying. Was she mad at him? She replied graciously: "No, I did not hear him say this, but he is the one who can't whistle!" With Benny having been photographed bringing her sharks fin and birds nest to her home, Charmaine added: "I thank him for his care!"
As for rumours that Benny was drunk during the costume fitting of his new series and giving people 'reverse V' hand signals, Chamaine says: "I don't know because I haven't read the papers, but he is not very good at drinking and gets drunk easily. (Will you ask him to drink less?) This is his business."
Benny was asked about this at a radio interview and he admitted that he had been drinking the day before because this was the last day of filming for "Mysteries of Sze Kung", but he says that he is old enough to know what he is doing. As for the 'reverse V', he says: "I don't know if that was rude, but I am not a frog in a well, so if I knew then I wouldn't have done it."
The Sun 04/06/05
Fiona: Sunny is 100% Normal!
Fiona Yuen took part in a radio interview earlier and with her series "Just Love" coming to an end, she will be enjoying the finale with a group of cast members. As for the male lead Sunny Chan once again being branded as 'weird' by the tabloids, Fiona offered her support for him, saying: "He is okay! After getting to know him, I found that he is not like what the reporters make him out to be. During filming, he is very patient and will teach me, so I feel really sorry for him being written about like this." As for the reports that Sunny's restaurant business is not so good, Fiona says that she has been to eat at his restaurant: "I don't know about how his business is doing, but I feel that it is very comfortable and clean there."
The Sun 04/06/05
Nancy at Wedding Show
Recently, many bridal studios have invited artistes to model at catwalk shows to help promote their designs and at a recent show, stars such as Rosemary, Jolie Chan and Nancy Wu were invited to model, but there were a lot of mishaps! Nancy kept stepping on her own train and Jolie accidentally stepped on Lisa S' skirt, causing a few laughs. Nancy says: "The skirt was too long and it got caught on one of the stones on the shoe. After the show, I had to go and measure myself again."
The Sun 04/06/05
News sources: The Sun & Ta Kung Pao