30 April 2005 - Issue 5
main page
main page
NEWS ROUNDUP - 23/04/05-30/04/05
Kyeon Mi Ri and Eim Ho Visit Hong Kong
Following the visits of many stars from the Korean hit drama 'Jewel in the Palace', the latest Korean visitors to arrive in Hong Kong were Kyeon Mi Ri (Chui Seung Gung) and Eim Ho, who played the Emperor on a flying three day visit.
Despite her portrayal of the antagonist in the series, Kyeon's popularity was not affected as she met the crowds, who praised her for her beauty, in particular when she met the crowds in a beautiful purple Korean style evening gown. Eim was not overshadowed by this as he appeared in a smart suit and entertained the crowds with his many expressions.
After many comments that Christine Ng resembled Kyeon in looks, TVB took the opportunity to arrange for them to meet as Christine was sent out along with the welcoming party consisting of TVB's resident Korea expert Sung Chih Ling and MC's Geena Cheung and Rubyanne Choi. When Kyeon met Christine, she remarked: "When I saw the photographs in Korea last time, I already thought we looked alike, now I get to meet her in person, she is much more beautiful and stylish!" Christine replied modestly, saying: "She is very very pretty, we are not really alike, she is much prettier than me." There was an instant rapport between the two ladies as Kyeon held Christine's hand throughout the event. As for Christine's wish for them to appear as sisters in a series, Kyeon says: "For us to look so alike and then be able to meet despite living so far away, this is a kind of fate."
Ta Kung Pao 24/04/05
Ta Kung Pao 24/04/05
The Sun 18/04/05
The Sun 18/04/05
Scavengers Paradise Promotion
Roger Kwok, Myolie Wu, Kenneth Ma, Cherrie Kong and Iris Wong were among the cast members at a promotion for "Scavengers Paradise" earlier as they donned their vintage costumes to take part in activities ranging from making toffees to plaiting hair and then handing out candies and singing songs from the series.
Roger looked like he had put on a lot of weight compared with his character from the series and he explains: "When I was playing this character, I had to slim down to about 140 lbs, but currently for 'Legend of Ah Wong', I have had to put on weight up to 160 lbs." As he has also been filming for movie "Saint of Mah Jong" at the same time, he has been working incredibly hard, but he has finally completed this Wong Jing movie now.
Myolie was asked how she could possibly fluff up when she was miming to the theme song and she explained that she usually sings the normal version of the song, but this was the extended one that they had played. She says she found it extremely funny because she has not messed up as badly as this before and laughs: "It's just for atmosphere, it doesn't matter if it looks bad as long as everyone is happy." Myolie hopes to have the chance to take part in a TVB Music production and have her own songs like Bowie Lam and Ron Ng, but is she worried about the fee being very low? She says: "It's not all about money, it's all about the opportunity to develop."
Ta Kung Pao 25/04/05
The Sun 25/04/05
Ekin and Niki Out at Sea
World Wide Fund for Nature's "Ambassador for the Sea" Ekin Cheng joined up with Niki Chow at the opening gala for the 'Underwater Project 2005' in Sai Kung to raise money for WWF's marine life projects. Ekin presented Niki with a special backpack containing a snorkel that once belonged to him in a gesture to encourage her to take part in more marine activities. For Niki, this was her visit to the Sai Kung Wan Peninsula.
Ekin's eyes were rather bloodshot at the event and he explains that he has been working hard in filming for new series "Always on Standby" and later he will be shooting some dangerous location shots. He says that earlier he had to shoot a scene where he was dangled from a helicopter and asked if he was afraid, he says: "No, it was very exhilarating. The authorities only allowed us one day to film, so it was very special indeed."
Niki says that she did not mind Ekin giving her a second hand snorkel because she supports recycling and the environment. She says she did not know how to swim, but after doing a diving scene for a series, she has been brave enough to go diving a few times with her friends. However, she says that Ekin is very safety conscious and scolded her for going diving without receiving the proper instruction, so she would like him to teach her. She adds that he is a very caring man that is very hard to find nowadays, but such a shame she is too late because he already has a girlfriend.
Ta Kung Pao 25/04/05
"Legal Spokesperson" begins filming
Liza Wang began filming earlier for TVB's new lawyer series "Legal Spokesperson", where she plays a lawyer for the first time ever, so this is a fresh experience for her. Asked about the sensitive Chinese title for the show, Liza supports it, saying that it is okay and not open for misinterpretation. As she has been busy filming, Liza has not been able to visit her other half Law Ka Ying, who is currently filming in China, however, she says that she has never really had to visit him, although they do call each other every day.
Co-star Myolie is working with Liza again after "My Sassy Mother-in-Law", but this time, she plays Liza's daughter, who suffers from anorexia. Myolie says that due to a stomach bug earlier, her weight dropped to 106 lbs, but she does not want lose any more weight, denying this was because she didn't want her boyfriend to worry. As for Sammul Chan, he says that he was very worried earlier about working with Liza to the point where he would wake up at night, but after meeting Liza and finding out what a great sport she is, he feels a lot more relaxed now.
The Sun 24/04/05
Ron, Race, Natalie and Deep in New Movie
Ron Ng, Race Wong, Natalie Tong and Deep Ng will be filming a new movie "Holding Onto Each Flame" (translated title) and a blessing ceremony was held for it earlier, attracting many fans of the young idols. Making a movie for the first time, Ron was asked for his feelings and he says: "I am very curious and happy, compared to series, it is much more relaxed and I hope there will be more opportunities in the future." As for his series "The Academy" reaching average ratings of 32 points, Ron says: "I hope it will get even better, but of course it won't do as well as 'Dae Jang Geum'." Asked if he would be supporting his co-star Fiona Sit in her movie "Early Maturation", he laughs: "She should give me free tickets, both to the premiere and to the normal showings because she is my friend!"
The Sun 23/04/05
Joey Leung's Comeback in Hosting
TVB's "Minutes to Fame" has had good ratings and host Joey Leung reveals that the show has been extended until September. Together with his hosting job on the daily "Hong Kong Live" show, Joey Leung has plenty of work lined up for him. Even his film job in September has been upgraded from a doctor role to one that involves hosting. With a change in his image to that of an MC, Joey accepts this graciously, saying that he likes hosting shows like "Hong Kong Live" because this is one of the very few shows where TVB lets the hosts have an element of freedom and he likes this: "I am doing two days a week, but this is not enough for me. If I could do all five days, then it would be even better. (When will you be back in dramas?) I would like to, but I have to wait until I finish the film because I had agreed to do it last year, but I didn't have time then. It will be at least the end of the year before I can film a series."
The Sun 25/04/05
Jade Starbiz bids farewell
Carol Cheng's new legal affairs quiz show will be replacing "Jade Starbiz" as of next week and the hosts from Starbiz will be taking a hiatus until June. As a Starbiz host herself, Carol says that her most memorable moments on the show were interviewing Dik Na, Faye Wong and Sammi Cheng: "Dik Na is a very intelligent person and this is well known. Faye talked openly about her relationship with Mr Tse, but did not know what 'negative equity' is because she always pays for her properties in one go. As for Sammi, I found out from her that her slimming method was to eat a watermelon every day."
Carol's new show will have 25 episodes and air until the end of May, when Carol plans to go for a relaxing trip to New Zealand and Greece, which she has never visited.
During the handover ceremony, the hosts shared a bottle of champagne and 'Queen of Outtakes' Sharon Chan mis-pronounced some of her words, leading to mass ridicule from Timmy Hung, who was then attacked by everyone else. Halina Tam commented in jest: "The best thing for me is to get away from the evil hand of Timmy Hung!"
The Sun 24/04/05
Raymond wants Brains and Beauty
Raymond Lam was the subject of a CRHK interview earlier and indicated that he has been busy on promotional activities for the TVB Music record "All About Men" and when he found out that the record had sold nearly 10,000 copies, he was very happy and has bought 20 copies himself to give to his friends. Asked if he would be celebrating with the other male artistes featured on the record, he says that it will be difficult for all ten of them to attend because they are all so busy, but he will be going for a meal with Kevin Cheng and Ron Ng.
Will he be releasing an album of his own? He says that if he is to release a record of ten theme songs, it will take at least 3 years because he will have to film 5 series for it. However, he says it is great that the company lets the artistes have a go at singing. When it was mentioned that some of the artistes aren't very good, Raymond says diplomatically that everyone has their own styles, but he would love to do a duet with Hacken Lee.
Despite being photographed out with many ladies, Raymond says he is not dating anyone because he does not have a target due to his standards being very high. He says as well as being beautiful and having a great figure, his dream woman also has to be intelligent, so he is very picky. When it was mentioned that many of his colleague have great figures, he laughs: "Really? I don't think so."
Ta Kung Pao 19/04/05
TVB Pearl Star Wars Promo
Fu Sze Sze, Kate Tsui, Joe Ma, Lai Lok Yi and Charles Szeto were all dressed up as characters from 'Star Wars' at a promotion for the airing of "Episode II" on TVB Pearl. Kate was made up as Queen Amidala, but when she appeared, there were rather cruel comments that she looked like a paper doll that is burned as offerings to the dead. In response to this, Kate said: "The costume is like this in the film and I have to put on a cool expression because that is how the queen acts in the film.
Joe indicates that he likes watching 'Star Wars' and his favourite characer is Darth Vader. He will be heading out to the Mainland next week to film a China series together with Sonija Kwok and Damian Lau and working in a Mainland series for the first time, Joe says that he will be asking 'old hand' Sonija for advice on what to bring with him.
Ta Kung Pao 26/04/05
Gigi is No Longer Just About Pretty
Gigi Lai was at the costume fitting for new series "Flames Dance on Golden Sands" and she seemed a little worried that her costume was too pretty and not in line with the show's style. Producer Chik Kei Yi was happy thought and said to her: "You can't help being as pretty as you are!" Gigi's character is constantly being mistreated and having to run away in the show so she feels that the costume should have a rather dirty and worn look to it. She says: "I'll just have to make up for it with the acting." Gigi says that her outlook has changed after gaining recognition for her work recently: "In the past, I was only concerned about looking beautiful in every shot, but now I limit that to photoshoots. In acting, it all depends on the character and I would like to try and play an ugly character because that will let people see my acting instead."
AAs for Sharon Chan, her rather wild costume was a little spoiled by her rounded cheeks, so little wonder that her nickname at school was "Bun Superman". However, she does not dare to try some of the treatments such as botox, preferring to go for safer options such as massage to slim.
The Sun 26/04/05
Fisherwoman Kate in Leon MV
For his latest set of telecoms ads, Leon Lai's co-star will be this year's Miss Hong Kong winner Kate Tsui and in their first co-operation, Kate and Leon will be giving a fresh image to everyone. In a rather large investment from the sponsors, the cast and crew were flown to Japan for the location, where Kate was cast as a fisherwoman, something rather different from her previous images. Changing from her usual pretty and sexy image, Kate tied back her hair and donned wellies and rubber waders in a fisherwoman look as she joined a similarly clad Leon, for whom this was also a new experience. Together with the eye-catching scenery, this shoot gives a great summer feeling and this campaign should leave a lasting impression.
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Male Beauty Pageants Comeback
Recruitment for the "2005 Mr Asia Pageant" began this week and the press event was attended by handsomes including Terence Yin, Ken Wong, Andrew Lian and Hiro Hayama, who all shared their insights into looking good and what made up a 'Handsome Man', with Andrew Lian saying that to be a man is not simple and the first criteria is for a man to be strong and in no way androgenous.
To fight back against ATV's 'Mr Asia' venture, TVB will be holding a 'Mr Hong Kong' contest in July and ATV's Deputy Managing Director Yip Ka Po welcomed this news, laughing that he never thought that their friends in the industry would copy their idea. He indicates that there will be 12 contestants for the contest that will include 3 from Hong Kong, 3 from China and the remainder from other Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, India and even Iran. International filming is yet to be decided, but there has been contact from the 'Mr International' organisers in India, inviting 'Mr Asia' to take part in their contest. The show will be judged by a panel of women, but there will be a group of male 'consultants' including Terence and Andrew.
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Ron & Myolie at Camera Promo
Ron Ng and Myolie Wu were guests at a promotion for Nikon earlier and also took part as models on the catwalk. Ron indicates that he is very interested in photography and whilst filming for "Twin of Brothers", he would take his camera to take pictures everywhere, including when people were asleep, hanging from wires or doing kung fu. Then he would stick the pictures to the walls of his dormitory to enjoy. As for his subjects, they were mainly Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung.
Ron also told a funny story of him being followed by the press earlier, when they followed him as he had a haircut and had dinner, but when he saw them and waved to them, they still continued as though he hadn't seen them. For his new series "The Academy" achieving ratings points of 34, Ron is very pleased and is glad that he did not agree to appear in swimwear. As for how he will celebrate, he says it is up to Michael Miu and the producer, but if he has to pay a little towards it, he doesn't mind at all.
Myolie's series "Scavenger's Paradise" is also doing well and as a result she has had many offers of work as well as the camera promotions, she has also had many offers of work overseas. Although she is currently filming for "Legal Spokesperson", the company will give her many chances to make more money abroad. After being presented with a new digital camera as well as her fee for the event, Myolie says she is very pleased and hopes that they will invite her and Ron to be their spokespersons. Myolie also loves taking photos and will snap any cute cats she meets in the streets as her favourite subjects are landscapes and animals. She laughs that she had enough pictures taken of her whilst entering Miss Hong Kong to last a lifetime, so she does not like portraits much. Asked if she takes pictures of her boyfriend only when they are dating, she laughs: "No, because I only take landscapes and animals anyway!" Myolie says her walls at home are looking rather bare, so she hopes that she can hang up some of her own creations on the walls.
Myolie adds that she would like to have a family portrait taken though because she finds this is a very warm experience. Her family has six members, including her grandmother, parents and two unmarried sisters. Asked if she would invite her boyfriend along, she says: "No, we are not married yet, so it would be rather awkward if he is not my future husband!"
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
The Sun 27/04/05
Bowie and Ekin Skating Fun
Ekin Cheng and Bowie Lam were filming for "Always on Standby" earlier at an ice rink in a scene where the two men take Bowie's son along to overcome an emotional barrier. However, before dealing with the kid, they had to sort out Bowie's fear of the ice. He says: "I went to Beijing's Badaling at the beginning of the year and tried ice skating for the first time and I bruised my left leg very hard before crashing into a girl and grabbing hold of her hands."
Ekin on the other hand is an old hand and had no problems at all on the ice and asked if there was anything he was afraid of, he smiled: "I am afraid of boredom because I can't sit still. I am afraid of being bored and alone, but when there is no-one to keep me company, then I go cycling. Then again, cycling alone is rather boring too!"
The Sun 27/04/05
Ronald Cheng to host Reality Show
TVB's latest reality show offering "Give it All You Got" will be having some celebrity specials, hosted by Ronald Cheng and Johnson Lee and in the filming of the first episode, Johnson Lee's mispronounciation of a phrase made it sound like a swear word and he had to apologise immediately. Upon seeing this, Ronald laughed: "Good job it wasn't me who said it, otherwise I'd be in trouble!"
Among the acts on the night included Yan Ng's dog Win challenging Rubyanne Choi in painting and Wong Cho Lam's impressions of an er-hu, vacuum cleaner, Chung King Fai and Siu Leung providing the soundtrack to Mimi Lo's mime act. The finalists then had to shake out 120 toothpicks from a dispenser in one minute, but they failed this task and lost out on the $100,000 prize money.
The Sun 27/04/05
Roger Bids Farewell to his Mother
Roger Kwok's mother passed away on 18th of this month at the age of 88 years, but Roger has still continued filming for 'The Legend of Ah Wong' despite the loss, proving his professionalism all along. The family held a Buddhist funeral ceremony for Mrs Kwok on 26th, with floral tributes from her sons and daughters. Roger's girlfriend Cindy Au was not present upon instructions from him. During the ceremony, Roger was very upset as folded paper tributes for her and wearing the traditional mourning clothes. The family then moved off to the funeral parlour to say their final goodbyes to their mother.
The Sun 28/04/05
Louisa's Alternative Career
Louisa So was invited as a guest at the opening of a boutique and had special VIP treatment from the owner as soon as she arrived. The owner then went on to personally design some outfits for Louisa, who remarked: "She really is a very nice person. I have always had an interest in design and I remember when I was a child, I would be drawing at every opportunity. One year at the new year, I selected an outfit for my mother to go out in, so if I was not an artiste, I would most likely have become a fashion designer."
Louisa has been working on the stage recently and with her production being extended, she is very pleased about this: "I am working with Chet Lam and we have sparked off a lot of stage chemistry. In September, I will be doing a show with Tony Leung in a new show and I hope it will do well."
The Sun 29/04/05
Gigi is Licked by Friendly Dog
Animal lover Gigi Lai was invited to the SPCA to visit a primary school yesterday as their "Ambassador of Love" and she went down very well with the schoolchildren and even the dog was full of affection for her as one of the dogs awaiting adoption called Daisy jumped all over her and gave her a long wet kiss. As the people around her were rather startled by this, Gigi didn't mind at all and even gave the dog a kiss back, showing her love for the animals. She went on to promote the message of caring for the lives of pets, saying: "Pets not only have life, they are also sentient because my dog can read my brow and is very smart."
Gigi was very happy to visit a school because she loves children and reveals her future plans: "I have set a target to have children by the time I am 40, the more the better! Shame I haven't found a husband yet and I can't be a single mother!" To fulfil her wish for children somewhat, Gigi has adopted some children in the mainland.
The Sun 28/04/05
Sharon Chan Remembers Lost Loves
Sharon Chan is currently filming for new series "Barber Father Stylist Son" and in the show, she has to fight against Nnadia Chan for Kevin Cheng's affections, but in real life, she has also met with a similar situations and was distraught when she found her boyfriend cheating on her. She frowns as she thinks back to her sad story: "This was my first love and I was still at school. One day I saw my boyfriend in the street and he was on a date with a girl. It was very upsetting and I cried for a long time. (What happened?) I could not put up with my boyfriends betrayal, so although I was very unhappy, I split up with him."
Currently putting her career first, Sharon finds each series a challenge. Thinking back to filming "Rouge and Powder" as a pitiful girl, she says that she would make herself feel sad even when she was not working and sometimes she would cry for no reason. Luckily, her character cheered up later so she could bring her emotions back to normality!
The Sun 29/04/05
Nnadia Chan Raises Suspicions
Nnadia Chan, Kevin Cheng, Halina Tam and Wayne Lai were filming for "Barber Father Stylist Son" in Stanley for a wedding scene earlier. Having been single for a while, Nnadia says that her family are eager for her to find a companion and even asked her if she was homosexual: "My friends saw that I hadn't been dating for a while and asked about my sexual orientation! I am rather unenlightened when it comes to love and I don't usually spot the signs when men are flirting with me. I'll just go with the flow, work is more important at the moment."
Halina Tam says she has worn wedding gowns for work more times than she can remember: "My future wedding ceremony will be very simple and may not have a banquet. Maybe I will choose to get married abroad."
The Sun 29/04/05
Maria is braver than you think
Don't think that women are always cowardly! Maria Chan and Ellesmere Choy tried their costumes for the latest episode of "The Zone" yesterday and Maria said excitedly: "I really like watching horror movies, maybe because I am a Christian and not superstitious." She adds that when she went to the movies with her boyfriend, he was more afraid than her and she had to protect him. What is more surprising is that Ellesmere Choy is very frightened of ghosts: "Usually I am not brave enough to watch horror movies because I don't want to scare myself."
The Sun 30/04/05
Natalie Wants Breasts Like Maggie's
Girls like to have a great figure and Natalie Tong is no exception and hopes to join the breast enhancement leagues, but after trying methods such as drinking papaya milk and enhancement creams, she hasn't got very far. She says: "Some friends suggested I massage myself, but I am too lazy and it won't work. I wish I could be like Maggie Cheung and have them enhanced so naturally." Asked if she has thought about having implants, Natalie responded very strongly saying: "Of course not! It would be to unnatural and feel strange."
The Sun 30/04/05
Stars Appear on the 'Other' Side
TV stars Francis Ng, Flora Chan and Dayo Wong were in Dongguan promoting their new mainland series "The Adventurers". With ATV winning the overseas distribution rights to this series, there was a little conflict of interest with the leading stars as they all hailed from or are still working with TVB as Dayo has a 'per-series' contract with them and although Flora and Francis no longer have any contractual obligations, their recent successes with TVB still place them in an awkward situation.
Francis was the boldest of the three, saying openly: "The show is paid for by this company, so there is nothing wrong with promoting it for them. If you put it that way, then you are tarnishing TVB's image."
Dayo however bowed to realism and made a sharp exit from the event as soon as he could. Later, he explained: "My relationship with TVB is a long-term commitment and many things have to be dealt with sensitively." As for Flora, she put the onus onto her manager when asked why she was promoting for 'the other side' despite being a 'TVB person': "I filmed for an external company, but I can't control where it ends up being aired, so I can just do my job. Today's promotion was arranged by my manager."
The Sun 30/04/05
Roger Kwok Back to Work
After being granted two days leave to deal with the funeral of his late mother, Roger Kwok is back at work filming for "Legend of Ah Wong" and his professionalism has kicked him back into character as he was laughing and joking once again with his colleagues in a skateboarding scene.
Roger indicates that his emotions have settled down now and he knows that death is an inevitable part of life and his mother lived into her eighties, so for Chinese people, this is worthy of a celebration, so he will try to look at it this way. Although his mother is no longer here, Roger will still live stronglly and will not let this affect his work or his life.
As for "Scavenger's Paradise" losing out in ratings to "The Academy", Roger says he is not disappointed because it still broke 30 points, but he hopes it will keep going up.
Co-star Jessica Hsuan has not reacted especially to the news, simply offering her support with a pat on his shoulder. She praises his professional attitude in not letting it affect his work. In "Ah Wong", Jessica and Bosco Wong have a love affair and in a scene, Bosco has to declare his love for her. At first, Jessica was rather opposed to this when she received the script, because she felt that Bosco was too much of a kid. In real life, she would never choose a boyfriend who is younger than her. However, Bosco would not refuse a girlfriend who is older than him and says that he actually prefers more mature women. In the past, his girlfriends have all been two or three years older than him.
The Sun 30/04/05
'Hur Jun' promo
Leading on from "Jewel in the Palace", TVB will be airing "Hur Jun" (aka "Medical Ethics") and a special press event to introduce the new show was held attended by Hacken Lee, who will be singing the show's Chinese theme tune; Amigo Chui and Sung Chih Ling, who will host the short intro clips and also Sammul Chan and Shirley Yeung.
Amigo and Chih Ling were dressed as the emperor and empress, whilst Sammul Chan with a beard was dressed as the show's star Hur Jun and Shirley was dressed as the female lead. Sammul was walking around with a limp at the event and he explained that he fell over on some stairs and injured his left hip, so it hurts when he walks. Asked if he has been particularly unlucky lately, Sammul says it is just down to him being careless. Despite wearing a traditional Korean dress, Shirley was still showing off her great figure and when this was pointed out, she was a little embarrassed and said that maybe it was because she has been doing yoga lately in the hope of healing all her old injuries.
Hacken indicated that he has broken all records in writing the lyrics and recording the song in just three and a half days. Asked why he does not follow Kelly Chen's lead and wear Korean costume to film the MV, he laughs that his appearance in traditional costume looks very odd and he is afraid of it looking terrible. He remembers the time when he wore ancient costume to play Sai Mun Chui Suet and the results were frightening. However, he feels that Bowie Lam looks great in Korean costume and maybe he should give it a try. Hacken doesn't have a problem with facial hair though because he has grown a beard before in 1996.
Ta Kung Pao 29/04/05
main pageKyeon Mi Ri and Eim Ho Visit Hong Kong
Following the visits of many stars from the Korean hit drama 'Jewel in the Palace', the latest Korean visitors to arrive in Hong Kong were Kyeon Mi Ri (Chui Seung Gung) and Eim Ho, who played the Emperor on a flying three day visit.
Despite her portrayal of the antagonist in the series, Kyeon's popularity was not affected as she met the crowds, who praised her for her beauty, in particular when she met the crowds in a beautiful purple Korean style evening gown. Eim was not overshadowed by this as he appeared in a smart suit and entertained the crowds with his many expressions.
After many comments that Christine Ng resembled Kyeon in looks, TVB took the opportunity to arrange for them to meet as Christine was sent out along with the welcoming party consisting of TVB's resident Korea expert Sung Chih Ling and MC's Geena Cheung and Rubyanne Choi. When Kyeon met Christine, she remarked: "When I saw the photographs in Korea last time, I already thought we looked alike, now I get to meet her in person, she is much more beautiful and stylish!" Christine replied modestly, saying: "She is very very pretty, we are not really alike, she is much prettier than me." There was an instant rapport between the two ladies as Kyeon held Christine's hand throughout the event. As for Christine's wish for them to appear as sisters in a series, Kyeon says: "For us to look so alike and then be able to meet despite living so far away, this is a kind of fate."
Ta Kung Pao 24/04/05
Ta Kung Pao 24/04/05
The Sun 18/04/05
The Sun 18/04/05
Scavengers Paradise Promotion
Roger Kwok, Myolie Wu, Kenneth Ma, Cherrie Kong and Iris Wong were among the cast members at a promotion for "Scavengers Paradise" earlier as they donned their vintage costumes to take part in activities ranging from making toffees to plaiting hair and then handing out candies and singing songs from the series.
Roger looked like he had put on a lot of weight compared with his character from the series and he explains: "When I was playing this character, I had to slim down to about 140 lbs, but currently for 'Legend of Ah Wong', I have had to put on weight up to 160 lbs." As he has also been filming for movie "Saint of Mah Jong" at the same time, he has been working incredibly hard, but he has finally completed this Wong Jing movie now.
Myolie was asked how she could possibly fluff up when she was miming to the theme song and she explained that she usually sings the normal version of the song, but this was the extended one that they had played. She says she found it extremely funny because she has not messed up as badly as this before and laughs: "It's just for atmosphere, it doesn't matter if it looks bad as long as everyone is happy." Myolie hopes to have the chance to take part in a TVB Music production and have her own songs like Bowie Lam and Ron Ng, but is she worried about the fee being very low? She says: "It's not all about money, it's all about the opportunity to develop."
Ta Kung Pao 25/04/05
The Sun 25/04/05
Ekin and Niki Out at Sea
World Wide Fund for Nature's "Ambassador for the Sea" Ekin Cheng joined up with Niki Chow at the opening gala for the 'Underwater Project 2005' in Sai Kung to raise money for WWF's marine life projects. Ekin presented Niki with a special backpack containing a snorkel that once belonged to him in a gesture to encourage her to take part in more marine activities. For Niki, this was her visit to the Sai Kung Wan Peninsula.
Ekin's eyes were rather bloodshot at the event and he explains that he has been working hard in filming for new series "Always on Standby" and later he will be shooting some dangerous location shots. He says that earlier he had to shoot a scene where he was dangled from a helicopter and asked if he was afraid, he says: "No, it was very exhilarating. The authorities only allowed us one day to film, so it was very special indeed."
Niki says that she did not mind Ekin giving her a second hand snorkel because she supports recycling and the environment. She says she did not know how to swim, but after doing a diving scene for a series, she has been brave enough to go diving a few times with her friends. However, she says that Ekin is very safety conscious and scolded her for going diving without receiving the proper instruction, so she would like him to teach her. She adds that he is a very caring man that is very hard to find nowadays, but such a shame she is too late because he already has a girlfriend.
Ta Kung Pao 25/04/05
"Legal Spokesperson" begins filming
Liza Wang began filming earlier for TVB's new lawyer series "Legal Spokesperson", where she plays a lawyer for the first time ever, so this is a fresh experience for her. Asked about the sensitive Chinese title for the show, Liza supports it, saying that it is okay and not open for misinterpretation. As she has been busy filming, Liza has not been able to visit her other half Law Ka Ying, who is currently filming in China, however, she says that she has never really had to visit him, although they do call each other every day.
Co-star Myolie is working with Liza again after "My Sassy Mother-in-Law", but this time, she plays Liza's daughter, who suffers from anorexia. Myolie says that due to a stomach bug earlier, her weight dropped to 106 lbs, but she does not want lose any more weight, denying this was because she didn't want her boyfriend to worry. As for Sammul Chan, he says that he was very worried earlier about working with Liza to the point where he would wake up at night, but after meeting Liza and finding out what a great sport she is, he feels a lot more relaxed now.
The Sun 24/04/05
Ron, Race, Natalie and Deep in New Movie
Ron Ng, Race Wong, Natalie Tong and Deep Ng will be filming a new movie "Holding Onto Each Flame" (translated title) and a blessing ceremony was held for it earlier, attracting many fans of the young idols. Making a movie for the first time, Ron was asked for his feelings and he says: "I am very curious and happy, compared to series, it is much more relaxed and I hope there will be more opportunities in the future." As for his series "The Academy" reaching average ratings of 32 points, Ron says: "I hope it will get even better, but of course it won't do as well as 'Dae Jang Geum'." Asked if he would be supporting his co-star Fiona Sit in her movie "Early Maturation", he laughs: "She should give me free tickets, both to the premiere and to the normal showings because she is my friend!"
The Sun 23/04/05
Joey Leung's Comeback in Hosting
TVB's "Minutes to Fame" has had good ratings and host Joey Leung reveals that the show has been extended until September. Together with his hosting job on the daily "Hong Kong Live" show, Joey Leung has plenty of work lined up for him. Even his film job in September has been upgraded from a doctor role to one that involves hosting. With a change in his image to that of an MC, Joey accepts this graciously, saying that he likes hosting shows like "Hong Kong Live" because this is one of the very few shows where TVB lets the hosts have an element of freedom and he likes this: "I am doing two days a week, but this is not enough for me. If I could do all five days, then it would be even better. (When will you be back in dramas?) I would like to, but I have to wait until I finish the film because I had agreed to do it last year, but I didn't have time then. It will be at least the end of the year before I can film a series."
The Sun 25/04/05
Jade Starbiz bids farewell
Carol Cheng's new legal affairs quiz show will be replacing "Jade Starbiz" as of next week and the hosts from Starbiz will be taking a hiatus until June. As a Starbiz host herself, Carol says that her most memorable moments on the show were interviewing Dik Na, Faye Wong and Sammi Cheng: "Dik Na is a very intelligent person and this is well known. Faye talked openly about her relationship with Mr Tse, but did not know what 'negative equity' is because she always pays for her properties in one go. As for Sammi, I found out from her that her slimming method was to eat a watermelon every day."
Carol's new show will have 25 episodes and air until the end of May, when Carol plans to go for a relaxing trip to New Zealand and Greece, which she has never visited.
During the handover ceremony, the hosts shared a bottle of champagne and 'Queen of Outtakes' Sharon Chan mis-pronounced some of her words, leading to mass ridicule from Timmy Hung, who was then attacked by everyone else. Halina Tam commented in jest: "The best thing for me is to get away from the evil hand of Timmy Hung!"
The Sun 24/04/05
Raymond wants Brains and Beauty
Raymond Lam was the subject of a CRHK interview earlier and indicated that he has been busy on promotional activities for the TVB Music record "All About Men" and when he found out that the record had sold nearly 10,000 copies, he was very happy and has bought 20 copies himself to give to his friends. Asked if he would be celebrating with the other male artistes featured on the record, he says that it will be difficult for all ten of them to attend because they are all so busy, but he will be going for a meal with Kevin Cheng and Ron Ng.
Will he be releasing an album of his own? He says that if he is to release a record of ten theme songs, it will take at least 3 years because he will have to film 5 series for it. However, he says it is great that the company lets the artistes have a go at singing. When it was mentioned that some of the artistes aren't very good, Raymond says diplomatically that everyone has their own styles, but he would love to do a duet with Hacken Lee.
Despite being photographed out with many ladies, Raymond says he is not dating anyone because he does not have a target due to his standards being very high. He says as well as being beautiful and having a great figure, his dream woman also has to be intelligent, so he is very picky. When it was mentioned that many of his colleague have great figures, he laughs: "Really? I don't think so."
Ta Kung Pao 19/04/05
TVB Pearl Star Wars Promo
Fu Sze Sze, Kate Tsui, Joe Ma, Lai Lok Yi and Charles Szeto were all dressed up as characters from 'Star Wars' at a promotion for the airing of "Episode II" on TVB Pearl. Kate was made up as Queen Amidala, but when she appeared, there were rather cruel comments that she looked like a paper doll that is burned as offerings to the dead. In response to this, Kate said: "The costume is like this in the film and I have to put on a cool expression because that is how the queen acts in the film.
Joe indicates that he likes watching 'Star Wars' and his favourite characer is Darth Vader. He will be heading out to the Mainland next week to film a China series together with Sonija Kwok and Damian Lau and working in a Mainland series for the first time, Joe says that he will be asking 'old hand' Sonija for advice on what to bring with him.
Ta Kung Pao 26/04/05
Gigi is No Longer Just About Pretty
Gigi Lai was at the costume fitting for new series "Flames Dance on Golden Sands" and she seemed a little worried that her costume was too pretty and not in line with the show's style. Producer Chik Kei Yi was happy thought and said to her: "You can't help being as pretty as you are!" Gigi's character is constantly being mistreated and having to run away in the show so she feels that the costume should have a rather dirty and worn look to it. She says: "I'll just have to make up for it with the acting." Gigi says that her outlook has changed after gaining recognition for her work recently: "In the past, I was only concerned about looking beautiful in every shot, but now I limit that to photoshoots. In acting, it all depends on the character and I would like to try and play an ugly character because that will let people see my acting instead."
AAs for Sharon Chan, her rather wild costume was a little spoiled by her rounded cheeks, so little wonder that her nickname at school was "Bun Superman". However, she does not dare to try some of the treatments such as botox, preferring to go for safer options such as massage to slim.
The Sun 26/04/05
Fisherwoman Kate in Leon MV
For his latest set of telecoms ads, Leon Lai's co-star will be this year's Miss Hong Kong winner Kate Tsui and in their first co-operation, Kate and Leon will be giving a fresh image to everyone. In a rather large investment from the sponsors, the cast and crew were flown to Japan for the location, where Kate was cast as a fisherwoman, something rather different from her previous images. Changing from her usual pretty and sexy image, Kate tied back her hair and donned wellies and rubber waders in a fisherwoman look as she joined a similarly clad Leon, for whom this was also a new experience. Together with the eye-catching scenery, this shoot gives a great summer feeling and this campaign should leave a lasting impression.
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Male Beauty Pageants Comeback
Recruitment for the "2005 Mr Asia Pageant" began this week and the press event was attended by handsomes including Terence Yin, Ken Wong, Andrew Lian and Hiro Hayama, who all shared their insights into looking good and what made up a 'Handsome Man', with Andrew Lian saying that to be a man is not simple and the first criteria is for a man to be strong and in no way androgenous.
To fight back against ATV's 'Mr Asia' venture, TVB will be holding a 'Mr Hong Kong' contest in July and ATV's Deputy Managing Director Yip Ka Po welcomed this news, laughing that he never thought that their friends in the industry would copy their idea. He indicates that there will be 12 contestants for the contest that will include 3 from Hong Kong, 3 from China and the remainder from other Asian countries, including Japan, Korea, India and even Iran. International filming is yet to be decided, but there has been contact from the 'Mr International' organisers in India, inviting 'Mr Asia' to take part in their contest. The show will be judged by a panel of women, but there will be a group of male 'consultants' including Terence and Andrew.
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Ron & Myolie at Camera Promo
Ron Ng and Myolie Wu were guests at a promotion for Nikon earlier and also took part as models on the catwalk. Ron indicates that he is very interested in photography and whilst filming for "Twin of Brothers", he would take his camera to take pictures everywhere, including when people were asleep, hanging from wires or doing kung fu. Then he would stick the pictures to the walls of his dormitory to enjoy. As for his subjects, they were mainly Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung.
Ron also told a funny story of him being followed by the press earlier, when they followed him as he had a haircut and had dinner, but when he saw them and waved to them, they still continued as though he hadn't seen them. For his new series "The Academy" achieving ratings points of 34, Ron is very pleased and is glad that he did not agree to appear in swimwear. As for how he will celebrate, he says it is up to Michael Miu and the producer, but if he has to pay a little towards it, he doesn't mind at all.
Myolie's series "Scavenger's Paradise" is also doing well and as a result she has had many offers of work as well as the camera promotions, she has also had many offers of work overseas. Although she is currently filming for "Legal Spokesperson", the company will give her many chances to make more money abroad. After being presented with a new digital camera as well as her fee for the event, Myolie says she is very pleased and hopes that they will invite her and Ron to be their spokespersons. Myolie also loves taking photos and will snap any cute cats she meets in the streets as her favourite subjects are landscapes and animals. She laughs that she had enough pictures taken of her whilst entering Miss Hong Kong to last a lifetime, so she does not like portraits much. Asked if she takes pictures of her boyfriend only when they are dating, she laughs: "No, because I only take landscapes and animals anyway!" Myolie says her walls at home are looking rather bare, so she hopes that she can hang up some of her own creations on the walls.
Myolie adds that she would like to have a family portrait taken though because she finds this is a very warm experience. Her family has six members, including her grandmother, parents and two unmarried sisters. Asked if she would invite her boyfriend along, she says: "No, we are not married yet, so it would be rather awkward if he is not my future husband!"
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
Ta Kung Pao 27/04/05
The Sun 27/04/05
Bowie and Ekin Skating Fun
Ekin Cheng and Bowie Lam were filming for "Always on Standby" earlier at an ice rink in a scene where the two men take Bowie's son along to overcome an emotional barrier. However, before dealing with the kid, they had to sort out Bowie's fear of the ice. He says: "I went to Beijing's Badaling at the beginning of the year and tried ice skating for the first time and I bruised my left leg very hard before crashing into a girl and grabbing hold of her hands."
Ekin on the other hand is an old hand and had no problems at all on the ice and asked if there was anything he was afraid of, he smiled: "I am afraid of boredom because I can't sit still. I am afraid of being bored and alone, but when there is no-one to keep me company, then I go cycling. Then again, cycling alone is rather boring too!"
The Sun 27/04/05
Ronald Cheng to host Reality Show
TVB's latest reality show offering "Give it All You Got" will be having some celebrity specials, hosted by Ronald Cheng and Johnson Lee and in the filming of the first episode, Johnson Lee's mispronounciation of a phrase made it sound like a swear word and he had to apologise immediately. Upon seeing this, Ronald laughed: "Good job it wasn't me who said it, otherwise I'd be in trouble!"
Among the acts on the night included Yan Ng's dog Win challenging Rubyanne Choi in painting and Wong Cho Lam's impressions of an er-hu, vacuum cleaner, Chung King Fai and Siu Leung providing the soundtrack to Mimi Lo's mime act. The finalists then had to shake out 120 toothpicks from a dispenser in one minute, but they failed this task and lost out on the $100,000 prize money.
The Sun 27/04/05
Roger Bids Farewell to his Mother
Roger Kwok's mother passed away on 18th of this month at the age of 88 years, but Roger has still continued filming for 'The Legend of Ah Wong' despite the loss, proving his professionalism all along. The family held a Buddhist funeral ceremony for Mrs Kwok on 26th, with floral tributes from her sons and daughters. Roger's girlfriend Cindy Au was not present upon instructions from him. During the ceremony, Roger was very upset as folded paper tributes for her and wearing the traditional mourning clothes. The family then moved off to the funeral parlour to say their final goodbyes to their mother.
The Sun 28/04/05
Louisa's Alternative Career
Louisa So was invited as a guest at the opening of a boutique and had special VIP treatment from the owner as soon as she arrived. The owner then went on to personally design some outfits for Louisa, who remarked: "She really is a very nice person. I have always had an interest in design and I remember when I was a child, I would be drawing at every opportunity. One year at the new year, I selected an outfit for my mother to go out in, so if I was not an artiste, I would most likely have become a fashion designer."
Louisa has been working on the stage recently and with her production being extended, she is very pleased about this: "I am working with Chet Lam and we have sparked off a lot of stage chemistry. In September, I will be doing a show with Tony Leung in a new show and I hope it will do well."
The Sun 29/04/05
Gigi is Licked by Friendly Dog
Animal lover Gigi Lai was invited to the SPCA to visit a primary school yesterday as their "Ambassador of Love" and she went down very well with the schoolchildren and even the dog was full of affection for her as one of the dogs awaiting adoption called Daisy jumped all over her and gave her a long wet kiss. As the people around her were rather startled by this, Gigi didn't mind at all and even gave the dog a kiss back, showing her love for the animals. She went on to promote the message of caring for the lives of pets, saying: "Pets not only have life, they are also sentient because my dog can read my brow and is very smart."
Gigi was very happy to visit a school because she loves children and reveals her future plans: "I have set a target to have children by the time I am 40, the more the better! Shame I haven't found a husband yet and I can't be a single mother!" To fulfil her wish for children somewhat, Gigi has adopted some children in the mainland.
The Sun 28/04/05
Sharon Chan Remembers Lost Loves
Sharon Chan is currently filming for new series "Barber Father Stylist Son" and in the show, she has to fight against Nnadia Chan for Kevin Cheng's affections, but in real life, she has also met with a similar situations and was distraught when she found her boyfriend cheating on her. She frowns as she thinks back to her sad story: "This was my first love and I was still at school. One day I saw my boyfriend in the street and he was on a date with a girl. It was very upsetting and I cried for a long time. (What happened?) I could not put up with my boyfriends betrayal, so although I was very unhappy, I split up with him."
Currently putting her career first, Sharon finds each series a challenge. Thinking back to filming "Rouge and Powder" as a pitiful girl, she says that she would make herself feel sad even when she was not working and sometimes she would cry for no reason. Luckily, her character cheered up later so she could bring her emotions back to normality!
The Sun 29/04/05
Nnadia Chan Raises Suspicions
Nnadia Chan, Kevin Cheng, Halina Tam and Wayne Lai were filming for "Barber Father Stylist Son" in Stanley for a wedding scene earlier. Having been single for a while, Nnadia says that her family are eager for her to find a companion and even asked her if she was homosexual: "My friends saw that I hadn't been dating for a while and asked about my sexual orientation! I am rather unenlightened when it comes to love and I don't usually spot the signs when men are flirting with me. I'll just go with the flow, work is more important at the moment."
Halina Tam says she has worn wedding gowns for work more times than she can remember: "My future wedding ceremony will be very simple and may not have a banquet. Maybe I will choose to get married abroad."
The Sun 29/04/05
Maria is braver than you think
Don't think that women are always cowardly! Maria Chan and Ellesmere Choy tried their costumes for the latest episode of "The Zone" yesterday and Maria said excitedly: "I really like watching horror movies, maybe because I am a Christian and not superstitious." She adds that when she went to the movies with her boyfriend, he was more afraid than her and she had to protect him. What is more surprising is that Ellesmere Choy is very frightened of ghosts: "Usually I am not brave enough to watch horror movies because I don't want to scare myself."
The Sun 30/04/05
Natalie Wants Breasts Like Maggie's
Girls like to have a great figure and Natalie Tong is no exception and hopes to join the breast enhancement leagues, but after trying methods such as drinking papaya milk and enhancement creams, she hasn't got very far. She says: "Some friends suggested I massage myself, but I am too lazy and it won't work. I wish I could be like Maggie Cheung and have them enhanced so naturally." Asked if she has thought about having implants, Natalie responded very strongly saying: "Of course not! It would be to unnatural and feel strange."
The Sun 30/04/05
Stars Appear on the 'Other' Side
TV stars Francis Ng, Flora Chan and Dayo Wong were in Dongguan promoting their new mainland series "The Adventurers". With ATV winning the overseas distribution rights to this series, there was a little conflict of interest with the leading stars as they all hailed from or are still working with TVB as Dayo has a 'per-series' contract with them and although Flora and Francis no longer have any contractual obligations, their recent successes with TVB still place them in an awkward situation.
Francis was the boldest of the three, saying openly: "The show is paid for by this company, so there is nothing wrong with promoting it for them. If you put it that way, then you are tarnishing TVB's image."
Dayo however bowed to realism and made a sharp exit from the event as soon as he could. Later, he explained: "My relationship with TVB is a long-term commitment and many things have to be dealt with sensitively." As for Flora, she put the onus onto her manager when asked why she was promoting for 'the other side' despite being a 'TVB person': "I filmed for an external company, but I can't control where it ends up being aired, so I can just do my job. Today's promotion was arranged by my manager."
The Sun 30/04/05
Roger Kwok Back to Work
After being granted two days leave to deal with the funeral of his late mother, Roger Kwok is back at work filming for "Legend of Ah Wong" and his professionalism has kicked him back into character as he was laughing and joking once again with his colleagues in a skateboarding scene.
Roger indicates that his emotions have settled down now and he knows that death is an inevitable part of life and his mother lived into her eighties, so for Chinese people, this is worthy of a celebration, so he will try to look at it this way. Although his mother is no longer here, Roger will still live stronglly and will not let this affect his work or his life.
As for "Scavenger's Paradise" losing out in ratings to "The Academy", Roger says he is not disappointed because it still broke 30 points, but he hopes it will keep going up.
Co-star Jessica Hsuan has not reacted especially to the news, simply offering her support with a pat on his shoulder. She praises his professional attitude in not letting it affect his work. In "Ah Wong", Jessica and Bosco Wong have a love affair and in a scene, Bosco has to declare his love for her. At first, Jessica was rather opposed to this when she received the script, because she felt that Bosco was too much of a kid. In real life, she would never choose a boyfriend who is younger than her. However, Bosco would not refuse a girlfriend who is older than him and says that he actually prefers more mature women. In the past, his girlfriends have all been two or three years older than him.
The Sun 30/04/05
'Hur Jun' promo
Leading on from "Jewel in the Palace", TVB will be airing "Hur Jun" (aka "Medical Ethics") and a special press event to introduce the new show was held attended by Hacken Lee, who will be singing the show's Chinese theme tune; Amigo Chui and Sung Chih Ling, who will host the short intro clips and also Sammul Chan and Shirley Yeung.
Amigo and Chih Ling were dressed as the emperor and empress, whilst Sammul Chan with a beard was dressed as the show's star Hur Jun and Shirley was dressed as the female lead. Sammul was walking around with a limp at the event and he explained that he fell over on some stairs and injured his left hip, so it hurts when he walks. Asked if he has been particularly unlucky lately, Sammul says it is just down to him being careless. Despite wearing a traditional Korean dress, Shirley was still showing off her great figure and when this was pointed out, she was a little embarrassed and said that maybe it was because she has been doing yoga lately in the hope of healing all her old injuries.
Hacken indicated that he has broken all records in writing the lyrics and recording the song in just three and a half days. Asked why he does not follow Kelly Chen's lead and wear Korean costume to film the MV, he laughs that his appearance in traditional costume looks very odd and he is afraid of it looking terrible. He remembers the time when he wore ancient costume to play Sai Mun Chui Suet and the results were frightening. However, he feels that Bowie Lam looks great in Korean costume and maybe he should give it a try. Hacken doesn't have a problem with facial hair though because he has grown a beard before in 1996.
Ta Kung Pao 29/04/05
News sources: The Sun & Ta Kung Pao