30 Jul 2005 - Issue 18
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NEWS ROUNDUP - 25/07/05-31/07/05
Liza Does Hip Hop
Liza Wang, Myolie Wu and Bosco Wong took part in a promotion for new series "War of In-Laws" earlier dressed in Hip Hop gear and Liza was really up for it, striking Hip Hop poses and saying: "Yo!". She says: "My costume and Myolie's were found for us by Bosco because has sponsors for this gear. This is my first time wearing these clothes and they are quite comfortable. Maybe I will go and watch Paula Tsui later dressed like this." There were many fans who presented her with gold and lucky packets, like it was her birthday: "My mother passed away this year, so my fans say that they will not have a party for me until next year."
The Sun 25/07/05
Tavia Suffers Sunstroke
Tavia Yeung was spotted at TVB City earlier and she says that as she has been filming hard lately in the 30 plus degree heat for "Simple Clothed Soothsayer", it has been hard work and she even ended up in hospital suffering from sunstroke. Tavia says that at the time, she was crying and being sick and frightened the crew. The doctor says she has a slight imbalance in her ears, possibly due to not having enough sleep, but after an injection, she felt a lot better. Asked about recent reports that she has a rich boyfriend who lives with her, Tavia says that these reports are all part and parcel of being an artiste and laughs that she hopes she will be on the front page next time for maximum publicity!
The Sun 25/07/05
Mr Hong Kong Contest Under Fire
TVB's first "Mr Hong Kong" Contest was held this week, but amidst the celebrations, there were many complaints received from viewers, who found the show to be like a gigolo party and demeaning to men. However, the winner Matthew Ko says that he does not feel like a 'little gigolo' and Christine Ng has supported the show, saying it was in no way seedy or tacky.
The twelve contestants showed off their talents to win the votes of the judges, including showing off their muscles and wearing wet swimming trunks. Muscleman Rocky Cheng wore a thong for his free routine, whilst Alexander Au even pulled down his trunks, causing screams from the female audience. However, the ratings for the show were disappointing, pulling in 23 points and 28 points for the two sections.
The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority received 11 complaints the following day, criticising the show for being like a 'gigolo contest', complaining that the contestants antics were indecent and the sexual nature of the women's responses being a bad influence to young people. Other comments were that the show was morally wrong, demeaning to men and unsuitable for children to watch during prime time television. Upon hearing this, overall and 'Handsome Group' winner Matthew Ko does not agree: "It was not demeaning in any way and in no way was it a 'gigolo contest'. The stage was very high class and the wet look swimming trunks were just a visual effect. As for pulling them down, this was part of the personal routine."
A guest on the stage that night, Christine Ng responds: "For TVB to make it such a success in their first year is great. The male and female gaps are being brought closer and closer together, so to have a male pageant is no big deal. You should not take a tarred view of it all, I was very happy watching it and it was not dirty in any way."
TVB's Assistant External Affair's Chief responded: "The show was meant to be a rounded view of the contestants' talents and I did not notice anything unrefined about it. The official phone lines received a lot of positive comments from viewers, who found it to be a great show, asking for it to be shown again, suggesting we should have first, second and third place and urging us to do this every year."
The Sun 26/07/05
HH3 Challenges Television Boundaries
Lawrence Ng and Gigi Lai's "Healing Hands" debuted this week and revealed scenes shot in the style of a medical documentary as the opening scenes showed Lawrence performing neurosurgery on a patient with Parkinson's Disease that looked so real that it was quite frightening. Then the story moved onto the suicide of Yoyo Mung's character and the autopsy performed by Gigi. As the naked female corpse was brought out onto the autopsy table for Gigi to examine, the camera focussed on the top half of her body and despite not showing any hairs or nipples, it was bordering on the edge of television decency to a point that had never been challenged before.
When Yoyo was asked about the naked corpse scene, she indicated that the body in the scene was a body double for her: "I received a lot of calls from friends, who were all very stunned and found it all very realistic and thrilling! The producer found me a double to film the scene and I have recorded it but not watched it yet. Although it was very risque, there should not be any problem with it airing. Corpses are like that and there is nothing sexual about it. When I had the death photo taken, the producer had given me a lucky packet."
HH3 producer Chik Kei Yi indicates that the naked corpse was in line with the storyline and in order to avoid overstepping the line, but keep the realism, they had created a 'mask of decency': "The autopsy scene is based on the practices of real coroners and using the naked woman was to tighten the story. (How did you keep within the bounds?) There was a flesh-coloured moulding to hide the sensitive parts that was worn by the artiste. In coming chapters, Michael Tong's character dies and he is also inspected naked by Gigi and we used a similar masking to cover up his important bits!"
The Sun 27/07/05
Great Start for 'War of In-Laws'
New series "War of In-Laws" starring Liza Wang and Myolie Wu began airing last week and has achieved an average of 34 points, equalling the first week record set by "Square Pegs" and peakig at 35 points. A celebration party will be held this week for the cast and crew. Liza was very excited about the good results, but would not agree to wearing a swimsuit. She says: "I have put on some weight lately, but I will consider some beachwear!" As for Myolie, who had agreed to wear a bikini if the ratings hit 36 points, she says: "On this matter, I will respect Liza and ask for her opinion, I can't take this in my own hands!"
Also, the Real Madrid vs Beijing football match on Saturday only pulled in 18 points, a massive 18 point drop on the finale to "Misleading Track" on the previous Saturday.
The Sun 26/07/05
Maggie Back at TVB
Maggie Cheung will be playing the 'Queen of Steamer Dumplings' in her new series and recently she has appeared in a simple costume back at TVB City to start work. However, since working too hard in China for 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow', she has come down with an illness.
After seeing a doctor, Maggie has found that she has a thyroid problem that requires a year and a half for treatment. During this time, she will have to take medicine, but possibly due to a reaction to the medication, it has caused her face to swell up slightly, especially her eyes. Maggie says: "The worst is that my moods have gone extremely bad, so I have to drink herbal teas to calm myself. (Both you and Sammi Cheng filmed the same story and have similar problems?) I don't know if she has this condition, but you can't compare it like that. It makes it seem like an unlucky omen."
Despite the hard work on the mainland, the money is good and Maggie admits that she will not let go of a chance to make some real money. She hopes that through TVB's ties, she can go and film more there.
The Sun 26/07/05
Mandy's Sexy Slimming Ads
Mandy Cho has recently signed to represent a slimming company in exchange for a six-figure fee and recently she has shot a set of bikini ads for the company. As Mandy wore a bikini for her beauty pageant appearances, this was no big deal for her, so even with a largely male crew, she was fine with this and was very professional.
Mandy says: "All the safety precautions have been made with plenty of tape, so I am confident that there will be nothing shown that shouldn't be. Also I don't own any one piece swimsuits, so when I go swimming, I wear a bikini and I am used to it." Asked about whether she is planning to change her image to a more sexier one, she immediately shook her head and says she wants to keep a healthy image and does not have this intention.
Losing over ten pounds in the space of six weeks, Mandy has regained her slim figure. She says that the long hours endured during filming left her in a bad way because she was eating junk food and not getting enough sleep. Mandy resolved to get fit though because she will be wearing chipaos in new series 'Troubled Times' and she did not want to show her plump figure. She has now regained her 24 inch waist.
The Sun 26/07/05
The Sun 27/07/05
Mr Hong Kong Reputations Intact
Freshly chosen 'Mr Hong Kong' winners Matthew Ko and Rocky Cheng received their awards from a men's beauty centre, where they were presented with prizes and prize money to the value of $200,000. As for the criticisms against the contest, they both insisted that this was just the views of the individual viewer and they will not allow the complaints to affect the reputation of the contest.
The Mr Hong Kong contestants were all arranged to have a screen test with TVB and Matthew seemed confident. He indicates that he has already received a script, but he has not read it yet, but will do before the audition. Conversely, Stephen Wong cannot read Chinese, so he has had to have his script translated for him by friends and he does not hold much hope for his future in showbiz.
The Sun 27/07/05
Myolie Promotes Malaysia
With her recent rise in popularity, Myolie Wu has been invited by the Malaysia Tourist Promotion Board to open their official Hong Kong website as guest of honour. During the event, as well as sharing some of her travel experiences, she also tried some traditional Malaysian foods, that she found very delicious.
Myolie flew out to Malaysia earlier to guest perform at Sam Hui's concert there and although she stayed there for just four to five days, she took time out to go shopping and try the local delicacies. She says that the food there is lovely and advises everyone to lose some weight before visiting the country. She also bought sixteen pairs of shoes there, on a crazy shopping frenzy.
Myolie says that the time of her last visit, the local TV stations were airing her series "Triumph in the Skies" and many people who saw her called her by her character name Zoe. Her new series 'War of In-Laws's is also doing well, so Myolie hopes that she can join with Liza and go there for some stage performances. As for whether she will consider emigrating to Malaysia. Myolie laughs that there is a lot of sunshine and lovely beaches there, so it is great for relaxation. She adds that there are a lot of beach villas there, but as she has to work in Hong Kong, she has not thought about moving there just yet.
Asked about the stories of discrimination against the Chinese in Malaysia, such as the recent incident of a hotel drawing pictures of pigs onto the keycards of Chinese tourists, Myolie says that these are most likely to be isolated incidents and things should settle down soon.
The Sun 28/07/05 Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Healing Hands Blood Donor Day
To tie in with the promotion of "Healing Hands III", TVB arranged a special blood donation event earlier at TKO Industrial Estate, where the cast members from the series encouraged their colleagues to give blood as well as donating blood themselves. For Gigi La, who is very fearful of pain, this was her first time, but she suffered for the cause. Other stars taking the plunge included Bernice Liu, Melissa Ng, Raymond Cho, Claire Yiu and Miguel Choi. Surprisingly, the two strong guys Bowie Lam and Moses Chan did not take part. For Bowie, he had to leave immediately after the main show, but for Moses, he just seemed to sit around and poke fun at the girls before running away when it was the turn of rumoured girlfriend Bernice Liu.
It was revealed later that Moses is a regular blood donor and as he has recently given, he does not need to give again. As well as giving blood, Moses has also signed an organ donation card, so that his organs can be donated to help others when he dies. Asked if he would donate sperm too, he says awkwardly: "I don't know, but I can't if I am dead! (How about when you are alive?) No, I am very traditional, so unless I have problems with fertility, then I will not go and donate for no reason. (Some people sell their sperm?) If I have no money, I will ask you [reporters] to lend me some." Melissa is also a regular blood donor and she explains that when her mother gave birth to her, she lost a lot of blood, so she has always believed that she should give back what helped her.
This is the first time giving blood for Bernice and she is happy to be able to help others. As she had another engagement afterwards, her parents were on hand to be her chauffeurs and they were there to pick her up from TVB City, just in case she felt unwell after giving blood. Talking of Bowie and Moses not giving this time, she says that blood donation depends on the condition of the donor and if you are too tired or on medication, then you cannot donate.
Maggie Siu was unable to give blood because she is anaemic and she says: "Ten years ago, I went to give blood just for fun, but stepping into the mobile donation unit again gives a very different feeling. You get more biscuits for a start! When I get over my anaemia, then I will give blood again." She also sighs that she did not know how to look after her health when she first entered the industry and became ill through overwork. She now knows the value of good health and so she will try to take things easy, curb her temper and keep a happy attitude. She smiles: "I don't wish to live to a hundred, just that I have a comfortable death that does not impact other people." Maggie will be heading out to Yinchuan soon to film for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and asked what she will be bringing with her, she laughs that she seems to be emigrating there, taking everything except the house itself.
At first, Gigi did not want to donate the blood because she had experienced the pain from having blood tests and was a little afraid. However, after some encouragement from TVB executive Catherine Tsang, she decided to give up her 'virgin blood'. Afterwards, she indicated that giving blood was more of a mental pain than the actual pain that she felt and with the professional and caring nature of the nurse compared to those in the testing centres, she did not feel the pain at all, but afterwards she felt a little bit clumsy. She does plan to continue donating and urges other strong men and healthy people to give blood because one pack of blood can help many people.
Gigi will also be heading out to Yinchuan to film for "Dancing Flames" and she says that she will be taking four large boxes with her, filled with sun protection products, including five parasols and even 20 rolls of toilet paper. She has a friend who is seeking a mobile toilet for her in Japan, but she does not think she will get it in time, so she will have to drink less water and save herself until she returns to the hotel. She laughs: "Yinchuan is a little strange for me, unlike Beijing and Hengdian, where I have been quite a lot, so I am taking more with me just in case. I haven't taken too much food though because I want to slim down. I don't really mind what I eat, so soy sauce and rice is fine for a meal or even biscuits. I will be taking some vitamins with me to make up for it."
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
The Sun 29/07/05
Niki has a good look at Mr HK
Kevin Cheng and Niki Chow took part in the blessing ceremony for "Lovers Under Sky Curtains" earlier and talking of the responses to the Mr Hong Kong programme, Niki says: "Maybe the Hong Kong public just haven't got used to it yet. The contestants were all very intelligent, having both looks and charm. Wet swimming trunks? They get wet when you go swimming! Don't think about it with a tainted mind!"
As for Kevin, he is full of admiration for the men who paraded in their trunks, as he admits he would not have the guts to do that: "I have realised how dirty-minded the women in Hong Kong are. When they saw the muscle and swimming trunks, they suddently got all excited! However, they were all very direct about it, unlike men who pretend not to look when they see a pretty girl in a swimsuit and act all false."
The Sun 27/07/05
When Mandy Met Rocky
Mandy Cho joined the three Mr Hong Kong winners to promote a circus event and Mandy openly admired Rocky Cheng, saying that she loves watching his muscles. She says: "I was very excited when I was watching him on the television, it was so thrilling! We did chat a little backstage. (Are you disappointed that he is married?) I just admire his body! If I had to choose for my boyfriend, then I would opt for someone with a figure between him and winner Matthew Ko." When Rocky heard about Mandy's praises, he said immediately: "Oh? She did not say anything to me. We did chat a little backstage because I wanted to learn some English from her!"
The Sun 29/07/05
Fu Sze Sze Leaves to Continue Education
Fu Sze Sze left Hong Kong yesterday to return to her university studies in Singapore and her parents and Miss Hong Kong fellow contestant Chow Sze Man were there to see her off. The night before, she had been for dinner with good friend Kate Tsui and TVB executive Rosa Chan to say goodbye: "I will miss Kate because I never thought I would make such a good friend from entering the pageant." Sze Sze took a lot of luggage with her as she left for Singapore and had to pay over $800 in excess baggage. She says that her two younger sisters are also studying there, so they can look after each other. After graduation, she plans to pursue research, so she will not be returning to showbiz: "After a four year course, I will be 26 years old! I will be too old to come back to this industry."#
The Sun 29/07/05
Cindy has no fears of Seven Year Itch
Cindy Au and Roger Kwok have been dating for over six years now and she admits that she has been rushed to get married by her family: "They have put some pressure on me by dropping hints that we have been dating for so long." She reveals that she have the urge to get married last year: "There was a time last year that I really wanted to get married and even looked up a lot of wedding information on the internet, but I couldn't even take a week off at the time and now the urgency has gone again." With the approach of the seven year itch, is she worried that there will be some danger? She says: "We have been dating for so long and there is a loss of interest sometimes and this causes friction, but we are very honest and will see this as a challenge. (How about the question of children?) Roger likes babies, but I am so-so. I look like a little girl, so if I become a mother, many of my characters will become unconvincing."
The Sun 29/07/05
"War of In-Laws" Celebrations
First week ratings results for TVB series "War of In-Laws" indicated an average of 34 points and a peak of 35 points, equalling the first week ratings for the first week of top series "Square Pegs". The show's two female leads Liza Wang and Myolie Wu led cast and crew at a champagne celebration at a hotel recently, but 'good son' Bosco Wong was absent due to filming for another series. During the event, 'bossy mother and daugther-in-law' Liza and Myolie were very excited, hugging each other and forcing each other to drink champagne.
Drama Department Assistant Director Tommy Leung was also presented with a kiss from Liza. She explains that they have worked together on a number of series such as "At the Threshold of an Era" and "The Awakening Story" that she really likes and he has thought out some great roles for her. As for the ratings, Liza says that the most important thing is that the audience are happy. Liza feels that she has not been bossy enough in this series and if she were to do it again, she would make the character even worse, but there are no plans to film a sequel at the moment. When it was mentioned that she seemed a little distressed whilst filming the show, Liza admitted: "At the time I did not have enough sleep and filming for comedies is quite exhausting, so I was feeling quite stressed." As for Bosco's earlier pledge to appear at the celebrations wearing white swimming trunks, Liza says that she has put on some weight lately, so she will not consider wearing a swimsuit out, no matter how good the ratings are. Asked if she has thought about exceeding the results of "Square Pegs", she says she doesn't really care for this, but she hopes that the audience will support local productions.
Will 'bossy Daughter-in-Law' be wearing swimsuits for the celebration? She laughs: "The promotions for 'Yummy Yummy' are already featuring swimsuits, so there is nothing special now, so maybe I will treat everyone for shark's fin instead." With the popular image of their roles, Myolie and Liza have received offers of advertising work, including a mooncake promotion, but Liza has own own mooncake sponsor so she cannot join Myolie for this job. Myolie hopes to win the 'Best Partnership' award together with Liza at this year's anniversary awards, but asked about the 'Favourite Female' award, she laughs: "With Liza around, I don't stand a chance!"
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Natalie's Sunshine Slimming Ad
Having successfully lost fifteen pounds earlier, Natalie Wong has been showing off her great figure filming an ad in the Philippines, but her revealing sight did not go down well with the locals and filming was stopped, leaving everyone rather frustrated.
Originally arranged to shoot some advertising stills for her slimming company, Natalie seemed to upset the conservative values of the locals and whilst filming on location outdoors, they were approached by some church workers who argued with the crew against her wearing a bikini and in the end, Natalie had to change into shorts and a little top to continue filming. She said with resignation: "After losing fifteen pounds, I don't mind appearing in a bikini, but there were too many people there surrounding us and staring at us with very strange looks, so it was quite embarrassing."
Asked about her fee for the job, she said with satisfaction: "It is six-figures, but the trip has been hard. Filming in the jungle, I am very afraid of the creepy crawlies and it is very hot here, so my skin has gone very dark." Natalie is very pleased with her new image though and says: "It is my birthday soon, so a change of image makes me feel like I have been reborn."
Natalie adds that after her slimming regime, she has received some rather envious stares and as for pursuits, she laughs and says: "I don't know, you will have to ask for me, haha! I don't mind how many men I have after me, the most important thing is I have gained some confidence after slimming and I even dare to wear a bikini again, so it has all been worth it."
The Sun 29/07/05
Kate and Kenneth Make Sushi
Having been romantically linked in earlier rumours, Kenneth Ma and Kate Tsui will be dating in their new series "It's Hard to be a Woman". In the series, Kenneth plays a sushi chef and Kate plays his student. They joined together earlier for some sushi making lessons at a hotel and although they were both quite clumsy, they worked together well, with one of them cutting the fish and the other making the rice balls, but Kate was quicker to pick up the skill and it was laughed that she was more like the teacher and not Kenneth.
There will be a lot of romantic scenes between them in the show, asked if she was worried about more rumours, Kate laughs: "They have already started even before filming, but it is all just acting, so there is nothing to worry about." With some kissing scenes in the show, Kenneth was asked if he feels awkward: "I don't know if there are any kissing scenes, but it is just filming. I don't know if Kate is worried though because this is her first screen experience."
The Sun 30/07/05
Bernice Keeps Fit for Ads
As spokesperson for health drink product 'Tense Slim', Bernice Liu joined together with other celebrity users Joyce Tang and Belinda Hamnett to shoot an ad that featured them wearing sportswear, casual wear and evening wear. Appearing in her sports gear, Joyce was most obviously the slimmest of the three and when Bernice was asked if she was concerned about being outshone by the other two ladies, she laughed that she was not afraid at all because this was a great chance for the audience to appreciate three different women of different ages and figures. As this is Bernice's second year as spokesperson for the product, she says that the sponsors are very good to her, increasing her fee each year. She is also negotiating other fashion and skincare contracts, so with so much income coming in, will she be rewarding herself? She says openly that she has been saving her money and the most urgent need at the moment is to buy a big house, where she can find a mate for her pet dog. As for a partner of her own, Bernice says: "It's not that TVB are stopping me from dating, just that I am working hard at my career for now."
As for Joyce, who has had sneaky fat in the past, she says that after using the product for a month, she has seen the results and finds that her arms and thighs have tightened up a fair bit. Asked if she is happy with her currrent figure, she says she is very pleased, especially as her bust has not been affected. Will she be promoting the product to her boyfriend Marco Ngai, she laughs she will keep the best things for herself.
Belinda indicates that this job has paid a happy and satisfactory fee and it is a rare occasion for the three girls to get together on a shoot. As for whether there will be a comparison, she says that they are all in different images and they each have different frames, so there is nothing to compare.
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Moses is a Lightweight
Moses Chan joined Fennie Yuen and Miss Chinese International winners Leanne Li and Fala Chan at a drinks tasting event earlier and was rather red faced as he chatted with Fennie. After trying a few new cocktails, Moses admitted that he is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and becomes rather light headed after just a few drinks. He says: "I become General Kwan [red faced god] after just a little bit. (With so many drinks tonight, it will be easy to sort you out?) I am prepared!" As for Fala, she has been 'trained' from a young age, so she can handle her drink: " Since I was young, my father has given me alcohol to drink and on occasions has left me rather tipsy and singing and dancing - he has even recorded me doing this!" Also, Fala and Leanne have both signed for TVB and will be heavily promoted. Fala will soon be filming a movie opposite Alex Fong (Lik San).
The Sun 30/07/05
Louisa's Spa Hard Sell
Spa skincare treatment has been rather popular lately and Louisa So is one avid supporter after renewing her spokesperson contract with Ios Spa. Attending an opening earlier, she played her role to the full, saying: "The boss looks after me well and I am happy to co-operate with her again, we are good friends. I have offered her my services forever!" She adds that she has promoted the product to her friends a lot, so little wonder the boss is very happy. The other spokesperson Jackie Lui is a little more low key, saying that he has just asked for a 'friendly fee'. Asked how long his contract is for, he smiles: "If she adopts me as a godson, then it will be forever."
The Sun 30/07/05
"Yummy Yummy" Cast Interview
Cast members from TVB's new series "Yummy Yummy - Food For Life" including Tavia Yeung, Natalie Tong, Benz Hui and Singaporean star Ben Yeo were interviewed for a radio show earlier. They were not joined by the leads though as Charmaine Sheh was suffering from gastroenteritis and Raymond Lam was busy filming for another series.
In the show, the girls go chasing after the boys, but all the female stars indicated that in real life, they would not do this because they prefer the feeling of being pursued. When Benz heard this, he immediately did not say anything and just smiled, as Tavia asked him: "Benz, did you trick your wife into marrying you?" At this point, Benz immediately showed his comedic wit and said: "Yes, she was unlucky!"
For Tavia, who had earlier been spotted with a man from outside the industry, she admitted that this was a great inconvenience to the person involved and she is very apologetic towards him. Although this male friend is not dwelling on this, she still feels very helpless because to have a male friend causes rumours, to have female friends leads to rumours that she is gay, if she meets an uncle, she is accused of having a sugar daddy - so how is she supposed to make any friends? As a result, Tavia will be concentrating on her work and will leave the relationships up to fate to arrange.
Natalie indicates that she received a mysterious parcel at her work mailbox earlier and found that there was some yellow, foul-smelling liquid inside, suspected to be semen, that is very disgusting. The sender claims to be a student at a designer university, saying that her lips and figure are very sexy. After seeing this, she was very frightened and threw away the package. Asked if she has reported this to the police, Natalie says that as she has thrown away the evidence and this is the first time she has received this kind of mail, she does not want to press charges this time, but she will be more careful in the future when heading in and out.
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Linda on the Importance of Skin Protection
Linda Chung has recently been filming in the mainalnd, where the weather is quite changeable and her skin has been affected rather badly, not only has she tanned a lot, the skin is even peeling from her nose. Luckily she is a spokesperson for a whitening skincare brand and her sponsors have immediately couriered a box of products out to her, so no matter how tired she is, she will have a facial before she goes to sleep.
Linda says: "This is my first time filming in China, so I did not know that it is so tiring and the weather is so unsettled, leaving me little time for skincare. After receiving the box of masks and using them for three days, there is a noticeable difference and it has whitened a lot now. Now, no matter how tired I am when I get back to the hotel, I will do a mask before I go to sleep." After this lesson, she has been wearing plenty of protection when she films out on location to avoid being sunburned. The best thing for Linda is the box of masks is enough for her to use one a day for the rest of the year!
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
Helena Advises Fans
Since Helena Law became spokesperson for a lingzhi product, sales have risen sharply and appearing at a promotional event in a shopping centre earlier, she attracted over a hundred fans, who wanted to catch a glimpse of her as well as pick up some health tips from her. When she saw some of her fans with their walking sticks, she said: "I am so happy to see some old neighbours and fans who have supported me for all this time. They give me a feeling of warmth and friendliness. I have given them advice about using this product because it will help them to maintain good health."
Helena has always been full of goodwill and enthusiastic about community and voluntary serice, so when she found out that her sponsors will be holding a charity sale in Tsing Yi, she was very excited to take part. She says: "As spokesperson, you can still do charity work! This time we will be raising money for the Tung Wah Hospitals and helping those in need."
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Yummy Yummy Promo
Kevin Cheng, Raymond Lam, Charmaine Sheh and Tavia Yeung were promoting new series "Yummy Yummy - Food For Life" at the Miramar Hotel swimming pool earlier as the show will be following on from "Fantasy Hotel". Charmaine pledged that if the show reaches 40 points, then she will wear a bikini to celebrate, whilst Kevin says that if they reach 45 points, then he will appear in a thong. Joining in the revelry, Tavia laughs that she will wear a thong too, but just reveal it at the side.
The cast members played some games at the poolside before splitting into teams to find some fine food ingredients, before stepping on the floating pads, where Charmaine kept to the rules, but Iris Wong cheated a little by kneeling down. In the end, Raymond, Tavia and Iris's team lost and had to face being sprayed with water, with Raymond being sprayed 'down under' by a rather playful Kevin.
Under attack, Raymond laughed that it must have been Kevin because this is not the first time has done it. With none of the girls wearing their swimsuits, Raymond was asked if he was disappinted by this and he said: "I did not notice really. I don't think so, there is air conditioning in the swimming pool, so I think they were afraid of getting cold."
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Paul Gill's Charitable Nature
After becoming the latest comedy idol through his act on "Minutes to Fame", Paul Gill has decided to donate his fee for dubbing the new summer animated movie "Valiant" to the 'Dreams Come True Foundation'. This is because as a civil servant, Paul is not allowed to take a second job, and so all the money he has won from 'Minutes' can only be used to take his friends out for a slap up meal.
In an interview earlier, Paul was asked if he intends to forge a career for himself in showbiz. He replied: "I would prefer to just to community work or voluntary work, because I am in the front line of the correctional services and this in itself is providing a service to the Hong Kong people. Even if I perform, then I only want to do it in a community or charity element." For the film, Paul is voicing over for the two carrier pigeon brothers and for him, this is another experience and he will be putting the money he earns to good use. He says: "When I was watching a film at the UA cinema at Langham Place, I saw a short film about the fundraising effort for the 'Dreams Come True Foundation' and the scenes really touched me, so I decided that I will donate all the money I make from the dubbing work to them. I used the money from 'Minutes to Fame' to take all my friends out for dinner and although we had a good time, I felt it lacked a meaning to it."
In the film, the story tells of a bird called Valiant, who bravely faces his disability to overcome adversity. Paul feels that the story will encourage children not to give up when they encounter difficulties and to face them bravely. This is totally in line with the aims of the foundation, so he feels that this opportunity to make sick children's dreams come true will bring them a lot of hope.
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Charmaine heads to the Mainland
Charmaine Sheh headed over to Yinchuan earlier, but before she left, she did her final bit for the 'Yummy Yummy' promotions. With the swine fever reports from the mainland, Charmaine indicates she is not worried: "Luckily, people in Yinchuan eat lamb and I like eating that, but after a month and a half of filming, I might turn into a lamb myself."
The Sun 31/07/05
Sonija is Praised
Sonija Kwok has recently become spokesperson for a beauty mask product and flew back to Hong Kong to shoot an ad especially. In the ad, she displays four different looks and she is most pleased with the casual look. With her many other beauty contracts, Sonija seems to be covered from head to toe and she denies this, saying: "Don't say that, there is still my hair and other parts that need a sponsor!"
After the shoot, Sonija flew straight back to filming in the mainland and although it is hard work, she is enjoying it. She says: "I play Xi Xi (Western Beauty) in the series and she is very pitiful because she is betrayed, so there are a lot of tearful scenes and it is a challenge for me." After a long spell in the mainland, Sonija will be back at TVB City in October filming an ancient drama and will finally have a chance to rest a little.
The Sun 31/07/05
Miss Hong Kong Promo
The twenty Miss Hong Kong contestants joined with Rain Li and Annie Man at a beauty event and Rain and Annie both praised the standards of the girls. As for beauty advice, Annie says: "I have experienced lack of sleep and lack of regulation, so I have a lot of spots, but when you are happy, they will disappear." Her theory is that a happy heart gives rise to a healthy body. rain reveals that she will soon be filming opposite veteran actress Liu Xiao Qing and Dicky Cheung in a production where she plays an acrobat. She says: "I am happy to do lots of wirework, but my mother is worried about me and has upped my insurance premiums."
The Sun 31/07/05
main pageLiza Does Hip Hop
Liza Wang, Myolie Wu and Bosco Wong took part in a promotion for new series "War of In-Laws" earlier dressed in Hip Hop gear and Liza was really up for it, striking Hip Hop poses and saying: "Yo!". She says: "My costume and Myolie's were found for us by Bosco because has sponsors for this gear. This is my first time wearing these clothes and they are quite comfortable. Maybe I will go and watch Paula Tsui later dressed like this." There were many fans who presented her with gold and lucky packets, like it was her birthday: "My mother passed away this year, so my fans say that they will not have a party for me until next year."
The Sun 25/07/05
Tavia Suffers Sunstroke
Tavia Yeung was spotted at TVB City earlier and she says that as she has been filming hard lately in the 30 plus degree heat for "Simple Clothed Soothsayer", it has been hard work and she even ended up in hospital suffering from sunstroke. Tavia says that at the time, she was crying and being sick and frightened the crew. The doctor says she has a slight imbalance in her ears, possibly due to not having enough sleep, but after an injection, she felt a lot better. Asked about recent reports that she has a rich boyfriend who lives with her, Tavia says that these reports are all part and parcel of being an artiste and laughs that she hopes she will be on the front page next time for maximum publicity!
The Sun 25/07/05
Mr Hong Kong Contest Under Fire
TVB's first "Mr Hong Kong" Contest was held this week, but amidst the celebrations, there were many complaints received from viewers, who found the show to be like a gigolo party and demeaning to men. However, the winner Matthew Ko says that he does not feel like a 'little gigolo' and Christine Ng has supported the show, saying it was in no way seedy or tacky.
The twelve contestants showed off their talents to win the votes of the judges, including showing off their muscles and wearing wet swimming trunks. Muscleman Rocky Cheng wore a thong for his free routine, whilst Alexander Au even pulled down his trunks, causing screams from the female audience. However, the ratings for the show were disappointing, pulling in 23 points and 28 points for the two sections.
The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority received 11 complaints the following day, criticising the show for being like a 'gigolo contest', complaining that the contestants antics were indecent and the sexual nature of the women's responses being a bad influence to young people. Other comments were that the show was morally wrong, demeaning to men and unsuitable for children to watch during prime time television. Upon hearing this, overall and 'Handsome Group' winner Matthew Ko does not agree: "It was not demeaning in any way and in no way was it a 'gigolo contest'. The stage was very high class and the wet look swimming trunks were just a visual effect. As for pulling them down, this was part of the personal routine."
A guest on the stage that night, Christine Ng responds: "For TVB to make it such a success in their first year is great. The male and female gaps are being brought closer and closer together, so to have a male pageant is no big deal. You should not take a tarred view of it all, I was very happy watching it and it was not dirty in any way."
TVB's Assistant External Affair's Chief responded: "The show was meant to be a rounded view of the contestants' talents and I did not notice anything unrefined about it. The official phone lines received a lot of positive comments from viewers, who found it to be a great show, asking for it to be shown again, suggesting we should have first, second and third place and urging us to do this every year."
The Sun 26/07/05
HH3 Challenges Television Boundaries
Lawrence Ng and Gigi Lai's "Healing Hands" debuted this week and revealed scenes shot in the style of a medical documentary as the opening scenes showed Lawrence performing neurosurgery on a patient with Parkinson's Disease that looked so real that it was quite frightening. Then the story moved onto the suicide of Yoyo Mung's character and the autopsy performed by Gigi. As the naked female corpse was brought out onto the autopsy table for Gigi to examine, the camera focussed on the top half of her body and despite not showing any hairs or nipples, it was bordering on the edge of television decency to a point that had never been challenged before.
When Yoyo was asked about the naked corpse scene, she indicated that the body in the scene was a body double for her: "I received a lot of calls from friends, who were all very stunned and found it all very realistic and thrilling! The producer found me a double to film the scene and I have recorded it but not watched it yet. Although it was very risque, there should not be any problem with it airing. Corpses are like that and there is nothing sexual about it. When I had the death photo taken, the producer had given me a lucky packet."
HH3 producer Chik Kei Yi indicates that the naked corpse was in line with the storyline and in order to avoid overstepping the line, but keep the realism, they had created a 'mask of decency': "The autopsy scene is based on the practices of real coroners and using the naked woman was to tighten the story. (How did you keep within the bounds?) There was a flesh-coloured moulding to hide the sensitive parts that was worn by the artiste. In coming chapters, Michael Tong's character dies and he is also inspected naked by Gigi and we used a similar masking to cover up his important bits!"
The Sun 27/07/05
Great Start for 'War of In-Laws'
New series "War of In-Laws" starring Liza Wang and Myolie Wu began airing last week and has achieved an average of 34 points, equalling the first week record set by "Square Pegs" and peakig at 35 points. A celebration party will be held this week for the cast and crew. Liza was very excited about the good results, but would not agree to wearing a swimsuit. She says: "I have put on some weight lately, but I will consider some beachwear!" As for Myolie, who had agreed to wear a bikini if the ratings hit 36 points, she says: "On this matter, I will respect Liza and ask for her opinion, I can't take this in my own hands!"
Also, the Real Madrid vs Beijing football match on Saturday only pulled in 18 points, a massive 18 point drop on the finale to "Misleading Track" on the previous Saturday.
The Sun 26/07/05
Maggie Back at TVB
Maggie Cheung will be playing the 'Queen of Steamer Dumplings' in her new series and recently she has appeared in a simple costume back at TVB City to start work. However, since working too hard in China for 'Song of Everlasting Sorrow', she has come down with an illness.
After seeing a doctor, Maggie has found that she has a thyroid problem that requires a year and a half for treatment. During this time, she will have to take medicine, but possibly due to a reaction to the medication, it has caused her face to swell up slightly, especially her eyes. Maggie says: "The worst is that my moods have gone extremely bad, so I have to drink herbal teas to calm myself. (Both you and Sammi Cheng filmed the same story and have similar problems?) I don't know if she has this condition, but you can't compare it like that. It makes it seem like an unlucky omen."
Despite the hard work on the mainland, the money is good and Maggie admits that she will not let go of a chance to make some real money. She hopes that through TVB's ties, she can go and film more there.
The Sun 26/07/05
Mandy's Sexy Slimming Ads
Mandy Cho has recently signed to represent a slimming company in exchange for a six-figure fee and recently she has shot a set of bikini ads for the company. As Mandy wore a bikini for her beauty pageant appearances, this was no big deal for her, so even with a largely male crew, she was fine with this and was very professional.
Mandy says: "All the safety precautions have been made with plenty of tape, so I am confident that there will be nothing shown that shouldn't be. Also I don't own any one piece swimsuits, so when I go swimming, I wear a bikini and I am used to it." Asked about whether she is planning to change her image to a more sexier one, she immediately shook her head and says she wants to keep a healthy image and does not have this intention.
Losing over ten pounds in the space of six weeks, Mandy has regained her slim figure. She says that the long hours endured during filming left her in a bad way because she was eating junk food and not getting enough sleep. Mandy resolved to get fit though because she will be wearing chipaos in new series 'Troubled Times' and she did not want to show her plump figure. She has now regained her 24 inch waist.
The Sun 26/07/05
The Sun 27/07/05
Mr Hong Kong Reputations Intact
Freshly chosen 'Mr Hong Kong' winners Matthew Ko and Rocky Cheng received their awards from a men's beauty centre, where they were presented with prizes and prize money to the value of $200,000. As for the criticisms against the contest, they both insisted that this was just the views of the individual viewer and they will not allow the complaints to affect the reputation of the contest.
The Mr Hong Kong contestants were all arranged to have a screen test with TVB and Matthew seemed confident. He indicates that he has already received a script, but he has not read it yet, but will do before the audition. Conversely, Stephen Wong cannot read Chinese, so he has had to have his script translated for him by friends and he does not hold much hope for his future in showbiz.
The Sun 27/07/05
Myolie Promotes Malaysia
With her recent rise in popularity, Myolie Wu has been invited by the Malaysia Tourist Promotion Board to open their official Hong Kong website as guest of honour. During the event, as well as sharing some of her travel experiences, she also tried some traditional Malaysian foods, that she found very delicious.
Myolie flew out to Malaysia earlier to guest perform at Sam Hui's concert there and although she stayed there for just four to five days, she took time out to go shopping and try the local delicacies. She says that the food there is lovely and advises everyone to lose some weight before visiting the country. She also bought sixteen pairs of shoes there, on a crazy shopping frenzy.
Myolie says that the time of her last visit, the local TV stations were airing her series "Triumph in the Skies" and many people who saw her called her by her character name Zoe. Her new series 'War of In-Laws's is also doing well, so Myolie hopes that she can join with Liza and go there for some stage performances. As for whether she will consider emigrating to Malaysia. Myolie laughs that there is a lot of sunshine and lovely beaches there, so it is great for relaxation. She adds that there are a lot of beach villas there, but as she has to work in Hong Kong, she has not thought about moving there just yet.
Asked about the stories of discrimination against the Chinese in Malaysia, such as the recent incident of a hotel drawing pictures of pigs onto the keycards of Chinese tourists, Myolie says that these are most likely to be isolated incidents and things should settle down soon.
The Sun 28/07/05 Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Healing Hands Blood Donor Day
To tie in with the promotion of "Healing Hands III", TVB arranged a special blood donation event earlier at TKO Industrial Estate, where the cast members from the series encouraged their colleagues to give blood as well as donating blood themselves. For Gigi La, who is very fearful of pain, this was her first time, but she suffered for the cause. Other stars taking the plunge included Bernice Liu, Melissa Ng, Raymond Cho, Claire Yiu and Miguel Choi. Surprisingly, the two strong guys Bowie Lam and Moses Chan did not take part. For Bowie, he had to leave immediately after the main show, but for Moses, he just seemed to sit around and poke fun at the girls before running away when it was the turn of rumoured girlfriend Bernice Liu.
It was revealed later that Moses is a regular blood donor and as he has recently given, he does not need to give again. As well as giving blood, Moses has also signed an organ donation card, so that his organs can be donated to help others when he dies. Asked if he would donate sperm too, he says awkwardly: "I don't know, but I can't if I am dead! (How about when you are alive?) No, I am very traditional, so unless I have problems with fertility, then I will not go and donate for no reason. (Some people sell their sperm?) If I have no money, I will ask you [reporters] to lend me some." Melissa is also a regular blood donor and she explains that when her mother gave birth to her, she lost a lot of blood, so she has always believed that she should give back what helped her.
This is the first time giving blood for Bernice and she is happy to be able to help others. As she had another engagement afterwards, her parents were on hand to be her chauffeurs and they were there to pick her up from TVB City, just in case she felt unwell after giving blood. Talking of Bowie and Moses not giving this time, she says that blood donation depends on the condition of the donor and if you are too tired or on medication, then you cannot donate.
Maggie Siu was unable to give blood because she is anaemic and she says: "Ten years ago, I went to give blood just for fun, but stepping into the mobile donation unit again gives a very different feeling. You get more biscuits for a start! When I get over my anaemia, then I will give blood again." She also sighs that she did not know how to look after her health when she first entered the industry and became ill through overwork. She now knows the value of good health and so she will try to take things easy, curb her temper and keep a happy attitude. She smiles: "I don't wish to live to a hundred, just that I have a comfortable death that does not impact other people." Maggie will be heading out to Yinchuan soon to film for "Flames Dancing on Yellow Sands" and asked what she will be bringing with her, she laughs that she seems to be emigrating there, taking everything except the house itself.
At first, Gigi did not want to donate the blood because she had experienced the pain from having blood tests and was a little afraid. However, after some encouragement from TVB executive Catherine Tsang, she decided to give up her 'virgin blood'. Afterwards, she indicated that giving blood was more of a mental pain than the actual pain that she felt and with the professional and caring nature of the nurse compared to those in the testing centres, she did not feel the pain at all, but afterwards she felt a little bit clumsy. She does plan to continue donating and urges other strong men and healthy people to give blood because one pack of blood can help many people.
Gigi will also be heading out to Yinchuan to film for "Dancing Flames" and she says that she will be taking four large boxes with her, filled with sun protection products, including five parasols and even 20 rolls of toilet paper. She has a friend who is seeking a mobile toilet for her in Japan, but she does not think she will get it in time, so she will have to drink less water and save herself until she returns to the hotel. She laughs: "Yinchuan is a little strange for me, unlike Beijing and Hengdian, where I have been quite a lot, so I am taking more with me just in case. I haven't taken too much food though because I want to slim down. I don't really mind what I eat, so soy sauce and rice is fine for a meal or even biscuits. I will be taking some vitamins with me to make up for it."
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
The Sun 29/07/05
Niki has a good look at Mr HK
Kevin Cheng and Niki Chow took part in the blessing ceremony for "Lovers Under Sky Curtains" earlier and talking of the responses to the Mr Hong Kong programme, Niki says: "Maybe the Hong Kong public just haven't got used to it yet. The contestants were all very intelligent, having both looks and charm. Wet swimming trunks? They get wet when you go swimming! Don't think about it with a tainted mind!"
As for Kevin, he is full of admiration for the men who paraded in their trunks, as he admits he would not have the guts to do that: "I have realised how dirty-minded the women in Hong Kong are. When they saw the muscle and swimming trunks, they suddently got all excited! However, they were all very direct about it, unlike men who pretend not to look when they see a pretty girl in a swimsuit and act all false."
The Sun 27/07/05
When Mandy Met Rocky
Mandy Cho joined the three Mr Hong Kong winners to promote a circus event and Mandy openly admired Rocky Cheng, saying that she loves watching his muscles. She says: "I was very excited when I was watching him on the television, it was so thrilling! We did chat a little backstage. (Are you disappointed that he is married?) I just admire his body! If I had to choose for my boyfriend, then I would opt for someone with a figure between him and winner Matthew Ko." When Rocky heard about Mandy's praises, he said immediately: "Oh? She did not say anything to me. We did chat a little backstage because I wanted to learn some English from her!"
The Sun 29/07/05
Fu Sze Sze Leaves to Continue Education
Fu Sze Sze left Hong Kong yesterday to return to her university studies in Singapore and her parents and Miss Hong Kong fellow contestant Chow Sze Man were there to see her off. The night before, she had been for dinner with good friend Kate Tsui and TVB executive Rosa Chan to say goodbye: "I will miss Kate because I never thought I would make such a good friend from entering the pageant." Sze Sze took a lot of luggage with her as she left for Singapore and had to pay over $800 in excess baggage. She says that her two younger sisters are also studying there, so they can look after each other. After graduation, she plans to pursue research, so she will not be returning to showbiz: "After a four year course, I will be 26 years old! I will be too old to come back to this industry."#
The Sun 29/07/05
Cindy has no fears of Seven Year Itch
Cindy Au and Roger Kwok have been dating for over six years now and she admits that she has been rushed to get married by her family: "They have put some pressure on me by dropping hints that we have been dating for so long." She reveals that she have the urge to get married last year: "There was a time last year that I really wanted to get married and even looked up a lot of wedding information on the internet, but I couldn't even take a week off at the time and now the urgency has gone again." With the approach of the seven year itch, is she worried that there will be some danger? She says: "We have been dating for so long and there is a loss of interest sometimes and this causes friction, but we are very honest and will see this as a challenge. (How about the question of children?) Roger likes babies, but I am so-so. I look like a little girl, so if I become a mother, many of my characters will become unconvincing."
The Sun 29/07/05
"War of In-Laws" Celebrations
First week ratings results for TVB series "War of In-Laws" indicated an average of 34 points and a peak of 35 points, equalling the first week ratings for the first week of top series "Square Pegs". The show's two female leads Liza Wang and Myolie Wu led cast and crew at a champagne celebration at a hotel recently, but 'good son' Bosco Wong was absent due to filming for another series. During the event, 'bossy mother and daugther-in-law' Liza and Myolie were very excited, hugging each other and forcing each other to drink champagne.
Drama Department Assistant Director Tommy Leung was also presented with a kiss from Liza. She explains that they have worked together on a number of series such as "At the Threshold of an Era" and "The Awakening Story" that she really likes and he has thought out some great roles for her. As for the ratings, Liza says that the most important thing is that the audience are happy. Liza feels that she has not been bossy enough in this series and if she were to do it again, she would make the character even worse, but there are no plans to film a sequel at the moment. When it was mentioned that she seemed a little distressed whilst filming the show, Liza admitted: "At the time I did not have enough sleep and filming for comedies is quite exhausting, so I was feeling quite stressed." As for Bosco's earlier pledge to appear at the celebrations wearing white swimming trunks, Liza says that she has put on some weight lately, so she will not consider wearing a swimsuit out, no matter how good the ratings are. Asked if she has thought about exceeding the results of "Square Pegs", she says she doesn't really care for this, but she hopes that the audience will support local productions.
Will 'bossy Daughter-in-Law' be wearing swimsuits for the celebration? She laughs: "The promotions for 'Yummy Yummy' are already featuring swimsuits, so there is nothing special now, so maybe I will treat everyone for shark's fin instead." With the popular image of their roles, Myolie and Liza have received offers of advertising work, including a mooncake promotion, but Liza has own own mooncake sponsor so she cannot join Myolie for this job. Myolie hopes to win the 'Best Partnership' award together with Liza at this year's anniversary awards, but asked about the 'Favourite Female' award, she laughs: "With Liza around, I don't stand a chance!"
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Natalie's Sunshine Slimming Ad
Having successfully lost fifteen pounds earlier, Natalie Wong has been showing off her great figure filming an ad in the Philippines, but her revealing sight did not go down well with the locals and filming was stopped, leaving everyone rather frustrated.
Originally arranged to shoot some advertising stills for her slimming company, Natalie seemed to upset the conservative values of the locals and whilst filming on location outdoors, they were approached by some church workers who argued with the crew against her wearing a bikini and in the end, Natalie had to change into shorts and a little top to continue filming. She said with resignation: "After losing fifteen pounds, I don't mind appearing in a bikini, but there were too many people there surrounding us and staring at us with very strange looks, so it was quite embarrassing."
Asked about her fee for the job, she said with satisfaction: "It is six-figures, but the trip has been hard. Filming in the jungle, I am very afraid of the creepy crawlies and it is very hot here, so my skin has gone very dark." Natalie is very pleased with her new image though and says: "It is my birthday soon, so a change of image makes me feel like I have been reborn."
Natalie adds that after her slimming regime, she has received some rather envious stares and as for pursuits, she laughs and says: "I don't know, you will have to ask for me, haha! I don't mind how many men I have after me, the most important thing is I have gained some confidence after slimming and I even dare to wear a bikini again, so it has all been worth it."
The Sun 29/07/05
Kate and Kenneth Make Sushi
Having been romantically linked in earlier rumours, Kenneth Ma and Kate Tsui will be dating in their new series "It's Hard to be a Woman". In the series, Kenneth plays a sushi chef and Kate plays his student. They joined together earlier for some sushi making lessons at a hotel and although they were both quite clumsy, they worked together well, with one of them cutting the fish and the other making the rice balls, but Kate was quicker to pick up the skill and it was laughed that she was more like the teacher and not Kenneth.
There will be a lot of romantic scenes between them in the show, asked if she was worried about more rumours, Kate laughs: "They have already started even before filming, but it is all just acting, so there is nothing to worry about." With some kissing scenes in the show, Kenneth was asked if he feels awkward: "I don't know if there are any kissing scenes, but it is just filming. I don't know if Kate is worried though because this is her first screen experience."
The Sun 30/07/05
Bernice Keeps Fit for Ads
As spokesperson for health drink product 'Tense Slim', Bernice Liu joined together with other celebrity users Joyce Tang and Belinda Hamnett to shoot an ad that featured them wearing sportswear, casual wear and evening wear. Appearing in her sports gear, Joyce was most obviously the slimmest of the three and when Bernice was asked if she was concerned about being outshone by the other two ladies, she laughed that she was not afraid at all because this was a great chance for the audience to appreciate three different women of different ages and figures. As this is Bernice's second year as spokesperson for the product, she says that the sponsors are very good to her, increasing her fee each year. She is also negotiating other fashion and skincare contracts, so with so much income coming in, will she be rewarding herself? She says openly that she has been saving her money and the most urgent need at the moment is to buy a big house, where she can find a mate for her pet dog. As for a partner of her own, Bernice says: "It's not that TVB are stopping me from dating, just that I am working hard at my career for now."
As for Joyce, who has had sneaky fat in the past, she says that after using the product for a month, she has seen the results and finds that her arms and thighs have tightened up a fair bit. Asked if she is happy with her currrent figure, she says she is very pleased, especially as her bust has not been affected. Will she be promoting the product to her boyfriend Marco Ngai, she laughs she will keep the best things for herself.
Belinda indicates that this job has paid a happy and satisfactory fee and it is a rare occasion for the three girls to get together on a shoot. As for whether there will be a comparison, she says that they are all in different images and they each have different frames, so there is nothing to compare.
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Moses is a Lightweight
Moses Chan joined Fennie Yuen and Miss Chinese International winners Leanne Li and Fala Chan at a drinks tasting event earlier and was rather red faced as he chatted with Fennie. After trying a few new cocktails, Moses admitted that he is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and becomes rather light headed after just a few drinks. He says: "I become General Kwan [red faced god] after just a little bit. (With so many drinks tonight, it will be easy to sort you out?) I am prepared!" As for Fala, she has been 'trained' from a young age, so she can handle her drink: " Since I was young, my father has given me alcohol to drink and on occasions has left me rather tipsy and singing and dancing - he has even recorded me doing this!" Also, Fala and Leanne have both signed for TVB and will be heavily promoted. Fala will soon be filming a movie opposite Alex Fong (Lik San).
The Sun 30/07/05
Louisa's Spa Hard Sell
Spa skincare treatment has been rather popular lately and Louisa So is one avid supporter after renewing her spokesperson contract with Ios Spa. Attending an opening earlier, she played her role to the full, saying: "The boss looks after me well and I am happy to co-operate with her again, we are good friends. I have offered her my services forever!" She adds that she has promoted the product to her friends a lot, so little wonder the boss is very happy. The other spokesperson Jackie Lui is a little more low key, saying that he has just asked for a 'friendly fee'. Asked how long his contract is for, he smiles: "If she adopts me as a godson, then it will be forever."
The Sun 30/07/05
"Yummy Yummy" Cast Interview
Cast members from TVB's new series "Yummy Yummy - Food For Life" including Tavia Yeung, Natalie Tong, Benz Hui and Singaporean star Ben Yeo were interviewed for a radio show earlier. They were not joined by the leads though as Charmaine Sheh was suffering from gastroenteritis and Raymond Lam was busy filming for another series.
In the show, the girls go chasing after the boys, but all the female stars indicated that in real life, they would not do this because they prefer the feeling of being pursued. When Benz heard this, he immediately did not say anything and just smiled, as Tavia asked him: "Benz, did you trick your wife into marrying you?" At this point, Benz immediately showed his comedic wit and said: "Yes, she was unlucky!"
For Tavia, who had earlier been spotted with a man from outside the industry, she admitted that this was a great inconvenience to the person involved and she is very apologetic towards him. Although this male friend is not dwelling on this, she still feels very helpless because to have a male friend causes rumours, to have female friends leads to rumours that she is gay, if she meets an uncle, she is accused of having a sugar daddy - so how is she supposed to make any friends? As a result, Tavia will be concentrating on her work and will leave the relationships up to fate to arrange.
Natalie indicates that she received a mysterious parcel at her work mailbox earlier and found that there was some yellow, foul-smelling liquid inside, suspected to be semen, that is very disgusting. The sender claims to be a student at a designer university, saying that her lips and figure are very sexy. After seeing this, she was very frightened and threw away the package. Asked if she has reported this to the police, Natalie says that as she has thrown away the evidence and this is the first time she has received this kind of mail, she does not want to press charges this time, but she will be more careful in the future when heading in and out.
The Sun 30/07/05
Ta Kung Pao 30/07/05
Linda on the Importance of Skin Protection
Linda Chung has recently been filming in the mainalnd, where the weather is quite changeable and her skin has been affected rather badly, not only has she tanned a lot, the skin is even peeling from her nose. Luckily she is a spokesperson for a whitening skincare brand and her sponsors have immediately couriered a box of products out to her, so no matter how tired she is, she will have a facial before she goes to sleep.
Linda says: "This is my first time filming in China, so I did not know that it is so tiring and the weather is so unsettled, leaving me little time for skincare. After receiving the box of masks and using them for three days, there is a noticeable difference and it has whitened a lot now. Now, no matter how tired I am when I get back to the hotel, I will do a mask before I go to sleep." After this lesson, she has been wearing plenty of protection when she films out on location to avoid being sunburned. The best thing for Linda is the box of masks is enough for her to use one a day for the rest of the year!
Ta Kung Pao 29/07/05
Helena Advises Fans
Since Helena Law became spokesperson for a lingzhi product, sales have risen sharply and appearing at a promotional event in a shopping centre earlier, she attracted over a hundred fans, who wanted to catch a glimpse of her as well as pick up some health tips from her. When she saw some of her fans with their walking sticks, she said: "I am so happy to see some old neighbours and fans who have supported me for all this time. They give me a feeling of warmth and friendliness. I have given them advice about using this product because it will help them to maintain good health."
Helena has always been full of goodwill and enthusiastic about community and voluntary serice, so when she found out that her sponsors will be holding a charity sale in Tsing Yi, she was very excited to take part. She says: "As spokesperson, you can still do charity work! This time we will be raising money for the Tung Wah Hospitals and helping those in need."
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Yummy Yummy Promo
Kevin Cheng, Raymond Lam, Charmaine Sheh and Tavia Yeung were promoting new series "Yummy Yummy - Food For Life" at the Miramar Hotel swimming pool earlier as the show will be following on from "Fantasy Hotel". Charmaine pledged that if the show reaches 40 points, then she will wear a bikini to celebrate, whilst Kevin says that if they reach 45 points, then he will appear in a thong. Joining in the revelry, Tavia laughs that she will wear a thong too, but just reveal it at the side.
The cast members played some games at the poolside before splitting into teams to find some fine food ingredients, before stepping on the floating pads, where Charmaine kept to the rules, but Iris Wong cheated a little by kneeling down. In the end, Raymond, Tavia and Iris's team lost and had to face being sprayed with water, with Raymond being sprayed 'down under' by a rather playful Kevin.
Under attack, Raymond laughed that it must have been Kevin because this is not the first time has done it. With none of the girls wearing their swimsuits, Raymond was asked if he was disappinted by this and he said: "I did not notice really. I don't think so, there is air conditioning in the swimming pool, so I think they were afraid of getting cold."
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Paul Gill's Charitable Nature
After becoming the latest comedy idol through his act on "Minutes to Fame", Paul Gill has decided to donate his fee for dubbing the new summer animated movie "Valiant" to the 'Dreams Come True Foundation'. This is because as a civil servant, Paul is not allowed to take a second job, and so all the money he has won from 'Minutes' can only be used to take his friends out for a slap up meal.
In an interview earlier, Paul was asked if he intends to forge a career for himself in showbiz. He replied: "I would prefer to just to community work or voluntary work, because I am in the front line of the correctional services and this in itself is providing a service to the Hong Kong people. Even if I perform, then I only want to do it in a community or charity element." For the film, Paul is voicing over for the two carrier pigeon brothers and for him, this is another experience and he will be putting the money he earns to good use. He says: "When I was watching a film at the UA cinema at Langham Place, I saw a short film about the fundraising effort for the 'Dreams Come True Foundation' and the scenes really touched me, so I decided that I will donate all the money I make from the dubbing work to them. I used the money from 'Minutes to Fame' to take all my friends out for dinner and although we had a good time, I felt it lacked a meaning to it."
In the film, the story tells of a bird called Valiant, who bravely faces his disability to overcome adversity. Paul feels that the story will encourage children not to give up when they encounter difficulties and to face them bravely. This is totally in line with the aims of the foundation, so he feels that this opportunity to make sick children's dreams come true will bring them a lot of hope.
Ta Kung Pao 28/07/05
Charmaine heads to the Mainland
Charmaine Sheh headed over to Yinchuan earlier, but before she left, she did her final bit for the 'Yummy Yummy' promotions. With the swine fever reports from the mainland, Charmaine indicates she is not worried: "Luckily, people in Yinchuan eat lamb and I like eating that, but after a month and a half of filming, I might turn into a lamb myself."
The Sun 31/07/05
Sonija is Praised
Sonija Kwok has recently become spokesperson for a beauty mask product and flew back to Hong Kong to shoot an ad especially. In the ad, she displays four different looks and she is most pleased with the casual look. With her many other beauty contracts, Sonija seems to be covered from head to toe and she denies this, saying: "Don't say that, there is still my hair and other parts that need a sponsor!"
After the shoot, Sonija flew straight back to filming in the mainland and although it is hard work, she is enjoying it. She says: "I play Xi Xi (Western Beauty) in the series and she is very pitiful because she is betrayed, so there are a lot of tearful scenes and it is a challenge for me." After a long spell in the mainland, Sonija will be back at TVB City in October filming an ancient drama and will finally have a chance to rest a little.
The Sun 31/07/05
Miss Hong Kong Promo
The twenty Miss Hong Kong contestants joined with Rain Li and Annie Man at a beauty event and Rain and Annie both praised the standards of the girls. As for beauty advice, Annie says: "I have experienced lack of sleep and lack of regulation, so I have a lot of spots, but when you are happy, they will disappear." Her theory is that a happy heart gives rise to a healthy body. rain reveals that she will soon be filming opposite veteran actress Liu Xiao Qing and Dicky Cheung in a production where she plays an acrobat. She says: "I am happy to do lots of wirework, but my mother is worried about me and has upped my insurance premiums."
The Sun 31/07/05
News sources: The Sun & Ta Kung Pao
Translations: Em