[News] Steven Ma will announce once TVB contract termination discussion ends

Steven Ma will announce once TVB contract termination discussion ends

There were more updates yesterday on Steven Ma's early contract termination with TVB. According to the news, Steven has already made his decision and implied he didn't have a good relationship with Virgina Lok. Reporters contacted Steven over the phone for clarification. He admitted he is currently discussing with TVB about the contract termination, but decline to reveal any details: "I will not say too much, let TVB to handle it. (Contract termination?) It is indeed about a contract termination."

As Virgina Lok said Steven requested to leave TVB close to the TVB Anniversary Awards ceremony, it was said he had a 'special request'. Regarding the rumor, Steven commented: "I am currently discussing contract termination, not contract renewal. Do not misunderstand the whole situation, I never requested anything." He also said that when everything is settled, he will have an announcement himself.
Credits : Asian EU

[News]Unhappy About Being Coldly Treated, Steven Ma Angrily Dumps TVB

The trend of TVB Siu Sangs Actors and Fadans “absconding” TVB has been persisting of late. Recently, even Steven Ma (馬浚偉) was rumored to have resigned and had stopped working for TVB.
It was known that the spark of outrage started from Steven’s dissatisfaction about being coldly treated, despite raking in an impressively high rating of 40 points for the finale of his drama, The Life and Times of A Sentinel《紫禁驚雷》.
Another leading factor which led to his alleged resignation was TVB’s lack of consideration by turning down his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of starring in a Mainland grand production with a sordid cast, which could have enabled his venture into the Mainland market and brought his career to greater heights.
This caused Steven to feel dismayed and enraged enough to request TVB Production and Resource Director Virginia Lok (樂易玲) for a early release from his contract. It was known that the agitated Steven even confided bitterly in his good friend, “I am truly disheartened this time ’round!”
The trend of TVB Siu Sangs Actors and Fadans breaking away from TVB has been like a revolving door, “fleeing away” one after another.
Following the evacuation of “Stephen Chan camp” member Wong Hei (王喜) and other actors and actresses like Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), Bowie Lam (林保怡), Yoyo Mung(蒙嘉慧), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒) and etc from TVB, the latest to leave was none other than another rumored “Stephen Chan camp” member, Steven Ma.
However, there were rumors that Steven’s departure from TVB was in a fit of anger and was committed due to his falling out with the boss of the TVB Artistry Department, Virginia Lok, who allegedly has always been engaged in a power struggle with Stephen Chan (陳志雲).
Steven, whose contract with TVB would only end next June, requested Virginia Lok for an early release from his contract last month, thereby officially cutting his 18 year employee ties with TVB.
Ever since joining TVB, Steven Ma’s performance has been nothing short of exceptional, specializing in periodic dramas, taking up hosting work and even singing the theme songs of his dramas, totally slogging his guts out for TVB, without any complaint.
However, despite the superb rating of “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, not a single celebratory dinner was thrown by TVB. That was officially the last straw for Steven who was still upset over the previous forfeited opportunity to “dig for gold” in the Mainland. It came as no wonder then that he finally hardened his heart and requested for a early termination of his contract from TVB.

[Caption: Virginia Lok strongly supports her "beloved generals" Michael Tse (謝天華) andBosco Wong (黃宗澤) and attended the celebratory event of "Lives of Omission" to show her support for them]

[Caption: Despite raking in high ratings, "The Life and Times of A Sentinel" was not awarded any celebration in contrast]
Poured out one’s bitter sufferings: I am truly disheartened

Yesterday, while filming new drama, Lucky Father《當 旺爸爸》, in TVB City which was situated at Tseung Kwan O, Steven Ma carried a somber expression, looking like he was feeling down.
In the early years, Steven had already joined TVB and only “sold” himself to TVB in the form of a management contract in the year 2006, officially becoming their “biological son”. After which, Steven was mostly assigned to act in periodic dramas and was nominated in the running for TV King every year but had failed to clinch the award each time. It was thus inevitable for even an undeterred man like Steven to feel acidulous.
Apart from being unable to fulfill his dream of becoming TV King, Steven Ma has yet to have the opportunity to film a Mainland drama. Whereas his fellow acting peers like Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Roger Kwok (郭晉安) and etc had the chance, one after another, to head up to the Mainland to “dig for gold” (earn the Renminbi filming fees).
It was known that a few months ago, Steven’s big break came when he was approached byTsui Siu-Ming (徐小明) to shoot a fifty episodes ancient periodic Mainland drama, Legend of the Yuan Empire Founder《建元風雲》, together with a star-studded cast consisting ofHu Jun (胡軍), Ray Lui (呂良偉), Charmaine Sheh and etc.
Although Steven was scheduled to be a second line actor in “Yuan Empire Founder”, his scenes in there were not insignificant at all.
Furthermore, being able to participate in a CNTV (China Network Television) production was also considered to be a rare golden opportunity to any actor in the industry and especially to Steven as it would meant a threefold increase in his filming remuneration to a sum of 1.8 million RMB.
However, unexpectedly, his hopes went up in smoke when they turned down the offer for him. Upon learning about this, it was known that Steven flew into a rage and thus became the motivating factor behind the determination of an early contract dismissal.
On the other hand, Steven’s recently-concluded TVB drama, “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, hit a record high rating of 40 points [2.55 million viewers] when they broadcasted their finale early this month. This placed “Sentinel” on par with the equally highly rated TVB drama, Lives of Omission《潛行狙擊》.
Although both TVB dramas achieved remarkable ratings, their fates were as different as night and day, “Lives” was thrown a lavish and huge scale celebratory event which received massive press coverage whereas “Sentinel” was not thrown any, in comparison. It thus came as no surprise why Steven felt utterly disappointed and looked listless on the filming set of “Lucky Father”.
This devastating treatment had, no doubt, added onto his anguish over the recent rejection of the lucrative Mainland drama offer as last month, Steven allegedly took Virginia Lok by surprise when he requested for an early release from his contract, in a bid to resign as soon as possible.
According to sources, the senior management staff of TVB were severely taken aback by Steven’s request and actions as they felt that it was no laughing matter for TVB to lose such an invaluable first line actor like Steven. In a bid to make amendments and hopefully succeed in making Steven change his mind, they immediately contacted the “Yuan Empire Founder” drama team to arrange for Steven’s participation once again.
Although Steven might ultimately fulfill his wish and clinch a role in the Mainland grand production, it could be seen that Steven’s determination to terminate his contract was still ongoing as he had even revealed to his friend that he was thoroughly disheartened and apathetic this time ’round.
Termination of contract: Wait till things are clarified before discussing

[Caption: After many twists and turns, Steven Ma was finally permitted to join the cast of Mainland grand production drama, "Legend of the Yuan Empire Founder"]
Yesterday, the reporter asked Steven for clarifications on rumors that he was terminating his contract with TVB. Upon being asked over the phone, Steven’s tone sounded evasive, “I thank everyone very much for their concern lah, I did discuss with the company over some problems, the process is quite complicated, I am a little uncomfortable over some matters but it’s not convenient for me to go into details.”
With regards to rumors that he had fallen out with Virginia Lok over the turning down of the Mainland drama, Steven responded, “In any case, Hillman [Steven's manager from the TVB Artistry Department] told me that the higher authorities said no, I am rather unhappy but they are still in the midst of handling this matter.”
Any particular person who is amongst the “higher authorities” then? Steven laughed and replied, “I really don’t know about this lah.” (Reporter: What are their reasons given to you for being unable to accept the Mainland drama?) “Company policies, I don’t know why, but they said it has to be premiered in Hong Kong first. They also said this applies to every artiste in TVB.”
When it was mentioned that “Sentinel” had no celebratory event despite raking in an impressive rating during their finale, Steven responded, “It was the company’s decision. I also wanted to celebrate it or maybe arrangements were not able to be coordinated hence there wasn’t a single form of celebration at all. Actually, after so many years, I’m already used to it.”
During a previous interview, Steven hinted of intentions to leave TVB so was he planning to leave TVB now? Steven did not rule out the possibility and replied, “My contract with TVB would be up next June. I will probably decide about it later lah. However, I must admit that I have a lot of pressing issues on my mind. I will have to wait till things are clarified before addressing everyone.”
From Steven’s previous reply, he sounded extremely disappointed with TVB, so was he? In reply to this, Steven responded, “I really love TVB. I have plenty of feelings for it. However, the company involved in too much matters, too many people, matters in the future will be decided in the future.”
Regarding rumors that Steven had requested for an early termination of his contact, Virginia Lok responded over the phone yesterday, “Really?! Wait till I seek an understanding about this matter. He (Steven) still has quite a period of time before his contract with us officially expires.”
What about rumors that Steven was displeased about how “The Life and Times of A Sentinel” was coldly treated? Virginia Lok responded, “It is not my responsibility to decide whether to celebrate or not, it is the responsibilities of the production department and the external affairs department.” (Reporter: What about the turning down of the Mainland drama?) “This information source isn’t accurate, we already helped him to accept the Mainland drama and he will be filming it next month.”
Steven Ma gives a forewarning about his startling resignation

Steven Ma also left a message on Weibo, sighing away, “Passionate as the summer heat, he rushed, only to be coldly treated and proudly appearing like the pine. Raising his head high when receiving insults from a bully who is throwing his weight about, how much longer can he withstand it?”, which clearly depicted his dissatisfaction on being coldly treated.
Despite raking in a phenomenal rating during the broadcast of the final episode of his drama, “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, on 26 August 2011, TVB did not hold any form of celebration before, during or after the broadcast of the finale.
Crestfallen, Steven and the producer of “Sentinel”, “Uncle Choi” Leung Choi-Yuen (梁材遠) have been playing a “single darting competition” over Weibo for a few consecutive days, hinting of their displeasure.
Singlehandedly release hidden arrows all over
On the broadcasting day of the finale, Uncle Choi wrote a message on Weibo, “In “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, while Nip Dor-Po [Steven Ma's character in the show] was on the stage and undergoing the test to be an imperial bodyguard, there were hidden arrows from all sorts of places, expectedly, direct and public arrows, hidden arrows, poison arrows, sadistic arrows, arrows of malicious pursuit and arrows of unwillingness and reluctance. In the end, the archer who released these arrows would eventually disappeared. If you shoot someone today, someone will, in turn, shoot you the next day.”
Soon after Uncle Choi posted up this message on Weibo, Steven replied to him, “Haha Uncle Choi, it’s hard to safeguard against so many arrows! However, being Changshan’s Zhao Zi Long, I have a gall that can never be beaten down!” Steven later followed up with another message, “In a messed up reign with such an evil rampage on the loose, sticking by one’s principles and defending the right path till the very last breath, whether it is capable of being accomplished…I still firmly believe that good will always triumph over evil!”
On 30 August 2011, after learning that their drama, “Sentinel” has raked in an impressively high rating, Uncle Choi wrote to Steven over Weibo, “Buy and drink coffee (to celebrate) on your own.” Steven mocked in reply, “Can I drink soft drinks (to celebrate)  instead?”
The next day, Uncle Choi uploaded a computer graphic of opening champagne, implying to celebrate on his own to quench his own “thirst”.  Actually, last month after Steven allegedly requested for a early release from his contract, he had already hinted signs of it over Weibo, “A game. Not necessary to continue playing. If it’s worth staying then stay. If it’s time to go then go.”
Looking back in history: Four-time recipient of  ”My Favorite Male Television Character” award

Next month would mark the 40 year old Steven’s 18th year in the industry. Steven, who came from a singing background, turned tracks to venture into an acting career to make a name for himself.
Back in 2000, he starred in TVB classic drama, Return Of The Cuckoo《十月初五的月光》, and scored one of the main leading role as Szeto Lai-Shun, tugging at the audience’s heart strings together with Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), Chilam Cheung (張智霖) andMichael Tong (唐文龍). Their love triangle relationship even managed to take Hong Kong by storm, making their series the highest rated drama of the year.
In 2001, Steven clinched the “My Most Favorite Male Television Character” with his portrayal as horse trainer Kam Yuen in TVB drama, On The Track Or Off《勇往直前》, thus securing his position as one of the lead actors in TVB.
After which, Steven won the “My Most Favorite Male Character” award three consecutive times in a row, in the year 2002 with Where The Legend Begins《洛神》, in the year 2003 with Perish In The Name of Love《帝女花》and in the year 2006 with Safe Guards《鐵 血保鏢》. However, despite his tremendous luck with the “My Most Favorite Male Television Character” award, Steven did not have any affinity with the Best Actor Award all these years.
Steven had in fact slogged his well-diversified talents out for TVB for the past 18 years, achieving a high rating of 40 points for “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, singing the theme song to it and hosting programs for TVB due to his eloquence and gift of the gab, even winning recognition for gathering high ratings for his cooking variety show, Apprentice Chef《大廚出馬》.
Steven Ma self-depreciates himself as a mommy’s boy; wants a sense of security from the company
Recently, there were rumors that Steven Ma was planning to leave his “biological home” for greener pastures. On 15 September 2011, when Steven was at a commercial radio station, he accepted a phone interview. Steven didn’t went overboard and left some leeway, “I did discuss with the company. I urge everyone to give me and TVB some time.” He even self-depreciated himself as a mommy’s boy who needs his company to give him more sense of security.
When it was mentioned that the recently-concluded “The Life and Times of A Sentinel” had received commendable ratings, Steven expressed that the producer did consider celebrating it with all the cast and crew but everyone was too busy to squeeze any time out of their hectic schedule, “I’m already very happy to see that the drama achieved such a good rating. I would already be more than satisfied even if the company only treated me to cake as a form of celebration.”
Asked whether it was true that he couldn’t get along well with Virginia Lok, Steven responded, “We don’t see each other often. We usually talk about work when we meet.”
About rumors that TVB rejected the Mainland drama for him, Steven remarked that that said drama would be starting filming next month, “I will have a share in acting the drama.” (Reporter: Will you be reluctant and unwilling to leave TVB?) “Yes, I’m a mommy’s boy in terms of work.”
Michael Tse ridicules Steven Ma for being like a kid who snatches for toys
While attending a crime-prevention activity, actor Michael Tse (謝天華) was asked about his opinions on Raymond Lam‘s (林峰) public declaration of having the confidence to fight for the TV King award with him. In reply to this, Michael felt that any actor who participated in the running for TV King would feel confident.
Other than that, there were rumors that Steven was malcontented about his TVB drama, “The Life and Times of A Sentinel”, not receiving any much-deserved accentuation and celebration despite the high rating during their finale. Asked whether Michael would call Steven up to console and ask him not to be so petty, Michael responded, “It shouldn’t be in a way such that it’s like kids fighting and snatching over toys and saying that their parents advocate favoritism.”
Thoughts : HOW RUDE OF MICHAEL ??????STEVEN MA HAVE MORE MAIN ROLES THAN MICHAEL AND HOW DARE MICHAEL SAYS STEVEN CHILDISH ?

[News]Steven Ma terminating contract early

Steven Ma Deprecates Self as Mother's Boy, needs security from the Company.

2011年09月15日 (05:06 pm)

It is rumored that Steven Ma will leave TVB home to venture outside.  Today he took a phone interview with Commercial Radio Station, leaving much leeway he said: "Currently negotiating with the company. Everybody, please give the company and me time."  He also deprecated self as a mother's boy, and that he needs the company to give him a bit more security.

When brought up that the series, Sentinel, has just recently finished broadcasted and that its ratings are not too bad, Steven said that the producer has discussed about celebrating with the cast but everybody was busy so could not decide on the time.  "The ratings being this good is already very happy. Even if Company treats me to partake a cake, I'll be very satisfied already."  He also said he does not have discord with Ms. Lok. 

Michael Tse Derides Steven Ma as Little Kid Fighting over Toys. [17:44] 2011/09/15

謝天華嘲馬浚偉似小朋友爭玩具

Actor, Michael Tse, was at the event for "Life of Omission" .  When asked about Raymond Lam having confidence to fight for TV King, Michael felt that every artist who is in the competition will have self-confidence.  On an aside, brought up that Steven Ma being dissatisfied with his series though getting high ratings did not get acknowledged, or having any celebratory event.  Asked Michael if he had called him up to console him and tell him not to be so petty?  Michael said: "He should not act like a little kid as if fighting over toys, and said the parents are biased."

Steven Ma admits to be TVB mother's boy  [20:07] 2011/09/15

Steven Ma on a phone interview explains about his leaving tvb rumor. He says: "Still negotiating on the contract. (Not on good terms with Virginia Lok?) Don't see much of each other, mostly talk about work."   About tvb rejecting Mainland series, Steven says the series will finally start production in the middle of next month: "I'll have the opportunity to shoot it. " (Will you miss TVB?)  I will.  As far as work is concerned, I'm a mother's boy."

Credits : Steven Ma Chun Wai Fan Blog

[News] Linda Chung Has The Confidence To Fight For TV Queen; Nancy Sit Blows Up Over The Poster Arrangement

Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) and Nancy Sit (薛家燕) attended the River of Wine《九江十二坊》promotional event yesterday.
When the topic of the TVB Anniversary TV King and Queen awards was brought up, Linda professed that she has the confidence and said, “My reaction in Yes Sir, Sorry Sir《點解阿Sir係阿Sir》was unexpectedly well-received and I gained a lot of fans as a result. Furthermore, the audiences also like my role as Miss Koo in “Yes Sir, Sorry Sir” hence I will be shooting a spin-off series centralizing around Miss Koo in the month of November.”
Linda continued, “Of course I do hope that I could win the “My Favourite Female Television Role” award based on my role as Miss Koo too.”
When mentioned about her ex rumored boyfriend Raymond Lam‘s (林峯) new drama, Men With No Shadows《不速之約》, being accused of plagiarizing Death Note《死 亡筆記》, Linda responded, “I’m not too sure. But they will always say that every time when there’s a new drama series. Actually having filmed so many dramas, it is inevitable as there will easily be slight similarities in the plots every now and then. However, I feel that their drama seems attractive and Bobby Au-Yeung (歐陽震華) is also rather comical.”

Nancy Sit blows her top over the alignment of the drama promotional poster
On the other hand, it was evident that Nancy Sit’s image was heavily enlarged on the backdrop, in an eye-catching position, as compared to the first promotional event for “River of Wine”.
This was because during the first “River of Wine” promotional event, Nancy Sit felt that her portrait image on the poster was too small. This made her extremely displeased as it thrust her into a supporting character, which prompted her to  reflect it to the producer.
While attending the “River of Wine” promotional event yesterday, Nancy Sit revealed that she had earlier on expressed her dissatisfaction to the producer, Wong Wai-Shen (黃偉聲), about her positioning in the promotional poster.
Nancy continued to say that Wong Wai-Shen explained that it was a printing problem and promised her that he would make sure the problem doesn’t persist again for the second promotional event.
Nancy also joked that she would look at the backdrop first when she enter the venue in the afternoon and would entertain thoughts of leaving if it wasn’t amended by then.
However, upon reaching the venue, she immediately felt happy again upon seeing that there was marked improvement in the poster during this current promotional event.
Nancy professed that she only filmed one to two drama series for TVB every year hence she was obviously uneasy about being treated as a supporting character when she was in fact the main lead of the drama.
Nancy proceeded to say that after seeing her discomfort, the producer was sensible and understanding enough to make the immediate amendments.
Nancy also emphasized that she wasn’t petty but just felt a little unsettled as her relationship with TVB has always been good and they had said that she would be acting as the main lead when they had initially invited her to film this drama.
Since yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, did Nancy remind her children to be careful while celebrating it with their other half?
Nancy replied that she is an open-minded parent and will give them space for their own activities but she did ask them to enjoy and appreciate the full moon and didn’t ask them to “eat the moon”.

[Caption: Nancy Sit emphasized that she was one of the main leads hence she was not used to being placed on either sides of the poster]

[Caption: Evergreen Mak (麥長青) was already used to being the supporting character]

[Caption: Besides diligently filming dramas, Pierre Ngo (敖嘉年) and Sire Ma (馬賽) were as assiduous when doing promotions]

[Caption: TVB Fadans are almost all gone, Linda Chung seizes the opportunity to fill the empty void]
Linda Chung likes Raymond Lam’s portrayal of a devil

Although the Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festive season for family reunion, Linda self-professed that her personality was westernized and since her family was in Canada, she didn’t have the habit of celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In other news, Raymond Lam’s new drama was recently accused of plagiarism. About this, Linda replied that there were simply too many dramas in this world hence it was ineluctable for similarities in drama plots and that there were accusations of plagiarism, even in songs.
Linda also expressed that she knew Raymond was portraying a devil and felt that the concept was rather appealing.
Credits : Jayne Stars

[News]Bosco Wong & Kate Tsui Too Carried Away In Their Kissing Scenes

32 years ago, “Fa-Gor” Chow Yun Fat (周潤發) and “DoDo-Jie” Carol Cheng (鄭裕玲) sealed a kiss for three minutes in classic TVB drama, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly《網中人》, thus paving the way for intense kissing scenes in the future dramas to come.
Fast forward to today, Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) and Kate Tsui (徐子珊) imitated those two seniors and even did a good job of glamorizing intense kissing scenes, smooching each other in every episode until their lips were cramped. As for whether the other party is a good kisser? Well, only they would know the truth. Even if the other party isn’t a good kisser, guess they would rather suffer bitterly in silence than to voice it out…
R = Reporter
B = Bosco Wong
K = Kate Tsui

Got despised for not being comfortable enough
R: “Have you guys kissed until your lips were cramped yet?
B: (Turns to Kate and asks her) “Are your lips cramped yet?”
K: “Still okay! Haha!”
R: “Is the other party good to kiss?”
B: “She (Kate) honestly said that I wasn’t good to kiss.”
K: “Not good, really not that good to kiss! It felt dirty and antagonizing (forced) as he stank of smoke. This was because in “Lives”, Bosco’s role as Cripple Co. required him to smoke all day long so it was really smelly and a big turn off!”
B: (Jokingly)  ”You say it like as if I ate garlic meh?”
K: “I really detest the mustache lor! It made me feel very uncomfortable!”
R: “Then in this case, Kate, what is good to kiss? If the lips isn’t good to kiss, maybe it would be better to reach inside the lips? (The reporter was referring to french kissing.)”
B: “Joking meh? We never kissed inside until so deep lah!”
K: “Yeah, we strictly abide by the yardstick imposed on television dramas.”
R: “So is Kate good to kiss?”
B: “Kate is well-known for her pair of red lips and renowned for possessing a deer-like mouth. Only one word to describe, satisfactory!”
K: “What did you mean by that ah?”
B: (Hesitantly and uncertainly) “Well, you are really famous for your thick lips mah! No meh?”
K: (Gives a dumbfounded gape and speechless stare) “Is there really such a thing?”
B: “It actually felt quite okay!”

Throwing himself into character, kissing until he felt great
R: “Among so many female stars, who is the best to kiss?”
B: “It had to be “Xiao Yi” Kitty Yuen (阮小儀), Xiao Yi’s lips are really thick, but that’s just my personal feeling!”
R: “Not good to neglect Kate’s “face” oh, is Kate amongst your top three actresses who are good to kiss?”
B: “Kate is also included, she’s in the top three position.”
R: “Is Kate as good to kiss as [Bosco's heavily rumored girlfriend] Myolie Wu (胡杏兒)?”
B: “Er……Almost the same lah!”
K: “Each of us simply can’t be compared to Myolie in any way lah!”
R: “Actually do you guys refrain from acting in kissing scenes?”
K: “When we accept the role, we would know in advance about the kissing scenes required in the script. Since we have already accepted the job on our own accord then we must accept the roles. If the plot requires us to do these, we will do so. I feel that if kissing scenes are necessary for the roles, then I will perform them lor, it’s okay for me!”
B: “Yes ah, we don’t think so much after we get into our positions for filming.”

Prefers winning rave reviews of their performances than winning an award
R: “Do you guys feel that you will win an award based on your drama, Lives of Omission《潛行狙擊》?”
B: “Kate would definitely win an award. Yes, I said that!”
K: “Yes ah, then in that case, it would be winning your award for top three actresses who are best to kiss lor!”
B: “Talking about the truth now, to me, an award is nothing much to me, I don’t care about it but of course I would be happy if it was awarded to me lah!”
R: “The neighborhoods even said that you acted way better than Laughing-Gor Michael Tse (謝天華)?”
B: “I’m just relying and depending on Michael! I feel that we each have our own acting strengths. I don’t know ah! I have always felt that winning an award is nothing much because maybe it’s only because the role is very popular with the masses. I would rather have people praising me. When this drama came out, very good public appraisals were received! They praised that I acted well and had improved. All those made me felt much more happy than receiving an award.”
R: “What do you feel about Kate’s acting performance then?”
B: “Kate really gave a liberating acting performance. I felt very comfortable partnering with her to act in dramas because Kate’s personality is really easy-going, anything will do for her, she would not be hung up over her image as a pretty girl or that she used to be a ex Miss HK winner…there’s nothing like that coming from her. Acting is just purely acting, Kate has no emotional or psychological baggage restraining her. Thus I felt that it was comfortable partnering with her. I even saw that she kept improving, the more she acted, the more natural she was in front of the camera.  Even when we were shooting the opening scene, I could feel that she has her own thinking. In a nutshell, I strongly support Kate Tsui to win the award!”
R: “Kate, what do you think about Bosco then?”
K: “Bosco and I have known each other for quite some time now. I feel that having audiences who identifies with your efforts is much more significant than winning an award. I remember that on the first day of filming, everyone wanted to come up with something fresh and new. In the end, it was our combination that brought something different to everyone. If only there was an award for “Most Improved Onscreen Couple”, I feel that we will have a high chance of getting it lor! We really put so much effort into our roles.”
B: “Yes, even though many people placed more emphasis into our kissing scenes, but if they were attentive enough, they would notice that the kisses in the opening episodes, middle episodes and the final episodes were all different and each carried a different meaning.”

The intersection between love and hatred is overpowering
K: “We used plenty of efforts into building up the relationship between these two characters, Cripple Co. and Paris. Just like what Bosco had mentioned earlier, I acted very liberally but there was definitely a need for this. Bosco is one good partner. Since there is a new award almost every year, can they add on some new award to encourage him (Bosco)?”
R: “Michael Tse’s Laughing-Gor and Fala Chen‘s (陳法拉) Madam Jo are after all the main centralized couple in this series, will you guys feel pressurized in this case?”
B: “Our characters’ romance and their characters’ romance were remotely different. Even before we started filming, it was already decided that their character’s romance would be traditional and conventional while our characters’ romance would be a abnormal one.”
K: “Our main focus was to come up with something unconventional, something new. In the past drama series, very little had scenes as intense as ours, which was such a loving, hating and agitating romance.”
B: (Adding on to Kate’s words) “Not to forget our strong and “heavily flavored” dialogues. We would have to say things like “I’m calling a prostitute” and “I’m feeling unhappy because my “aunt flow” is here”, those kind of dialogues.”
K: “Yes ah, we will also use our might to slap, smack and box each other, totally jumping out of the television’s boundary.
Epilogue: There’s mustache but not much, so?
Kissing someone out of no reason, when you have no physical attraction to him or when you are not acting with him, is indeed really tough.
On the day of the interview, the photographer requested Bosco to kiss Kate for a photo. Initially, the duo immediately agreed but just as everything was set and ready and awaiting for their kiss, Kate suddenly backed out and said, “I think it’s not good for us to kiss!” (Reporter: Why?) “Bosco’s growing a mustache again! (Kate meant Bosco still had stubbles of hair above his lips)”
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately went silent and a cloud of dead air filled the scene. Well, guess only one person in TVB City or even in the entire world, can kiss Bosco anytime and anywhere and that is none other than “her”.

[News] Bobby Au-Yeung Supports Raymond Lam to be TV King; Raymond Lam Views Michael Tse As His Strongest Opponent

Bobby Au-Yeung (歐陽震華), Raymond Lam (林峰), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Mandy Wong (黃智雯), Sire Ma (馬賽) and the rest of the cast attended the promotional event of their new TVB drama, Men With No Shadows《不速之約》yesterday.

About succeeding the broadcasting time slot of their predecessor,  previous high viewership drama, Lives of Omission《潛行狙擊》,  the cast of “Men With No Shadows” professed that they didn’t feel stressed at all.

Bobby said, “We should (actually feel stressed) lah! The influence of “Lives of Omission” was done up to the point where it was so compelling. Thus Raymond didn’t even go for his movie filming and rushed here instead. I am definitely confident about this series!”

When the TV King award was mentioned, Bobby initially laughed and joked, “There are huge expectations about this drama. This year’s TV King should be me, only lacking and contending for Mr Chan’s (Stephen Chan (陳志雲)) one and only remaining vote!” (Reporter: You are not competing with them for the TV King award lah!) “Already “convert” lah! (Bobby meant that he had already left TVB for so many years and converted to filming in Mainland, China so he was surely not in the running)”

Bobby later also expressed that he highly looked upon Raymond to win the TV King award and expected their drama, “Men With No Shadows”, to rake in a high rating of at least 32 points.

Guest starring as Chang ‘Er for the festive season

As it was nearing to the Mooncake Festival, Bobby and the other cast of “Men With No Shadows” had huge fun dressing up as Chang ‘Er (a female Chinese celestial being who lives on the moon) to welcome the Mooncake Festival.

Amongst them, Bobby was the most hilarious Chang ‘Er such that when the producer awarded the marks, he remarked that Bobby was the most feminine out of them.

This “angered” Bobby who mockingly retorted, “You turned me into this, I still need to venture into the Mainland industry leh!”

As for Tavia Yeung, she was considered to be the actress with the most production works out this year. However, Tavia expressed  that she wasn’t afraid that she would get a lack of votes as her roles in the dramas were all different.

When it was mentioned that voices of support for Fala Chen (陳法拉) to be TV Queen were relatively high this year, Tavia responded, “Fala good lah! I definitely have confidence for the TV Queen award. But those who truly know me would know that I don’t really put that much emphasis on the award. However, I will still work hard and try my best to strive for the award.”

Is Tavia confident about the ratings for their new drama then? Tavia responded, “Of course the higher the ratings the better it is, relying on Raymond to “Chok” the ratings up.”

About rumors that “Men With No Shadows” was plagiarizing the popular Japan manga series cum 2006 movie adaption of it, Death Note《死亡筆記》, Tavia felt that only the storyline was somewhat similar.

Raymond Lam thinking about his battle suit for the TVB Anniversary Awards night

On the other hand, Raymond was dressed as a “Chok” bunny to welcome the Mooncake Festival too. Raymond expressed that his role as a devil in “Men With No Shadows” was very challenging and he had used a fresh acting method of following his own inclination to portray it out.

Raymond also professed that he didn’t feel pressurized, “Succeeding the previous highly rated drama is also good in a way, it can act as a momentum to move us along and make the audience continue to chase after the following dramas. So we should instead thank them! Although I didn’t watch “Lives of Omission”,  I did, however, hear that Michael Tse‘s (謝天華) and Bosco Wong‘s (黃宗澤) performances were outstanding in “Lives”.”

[Caption: Raymond Lam's fans came in hordes yesterday night, he was so charismatic that even kids were mesmerized by him]

When the reporter asked him whether he still has the confidence to strive for TV King and oust Michael Tse in this case, Raymond laughed and replied, “I’m just happy that this series could reach the audience in time. I just hope that we could all get into the top five together lah! I don’t want to win lah, I’m already happy enough to be able to contend with Michael for the TV King award! It’s really nothing much, I’m just troubling over what to wear for the TVB Anniversary Awards night!”

Credits : Jayne Stars

[News] Has “Rosy Business 3″ Gone Kaput? Magazine Reports Cheung Wah-Biu Not Returning to TVB

Earlier on, TVB had previously earnestly discussed with famed golden scriptwriter Cheung Wah-Biu (張華標) for his mighty return to TVB this October.
Cheung Wah-Biu was initially scheduled to come back and churn out a second highly-anticipated sequel to the TVB blockbuster hit, Rosy Business《巾幗梟雄》, together with original producer “Tim-Gor” Lee Tim Shing (李添勝), main leads Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) and the rest of the original cast and crew of “Rosy Business”.
However, the magazine recently received news that Cheung Wah-Biu was asked and persuaded to stay in Taiwan by Jimmy Lai (黎智英) thus abandoning plans to return back to TVB.
Upon hearing about this piece of news, the reactions given by the male and female main leads were as different as chalk and cheese.
Wayne Lai replied in deep disappointment, “All happiness for nothing in the end.” Whereas Sheren Tang instead responded, “It’s best if Wah-Biu could return to TVB slightly later because it wasn’t easy (for me) to await for War and Beauty《金枝慾孽》 to shoot another sequel. If we go according to the original plans, the filming schedule of both “War” and “Rosy” would clash with each other, which is truly such a pity.”
Credits : Jayne Stars

[News]A rough Kate Tsui criticizes Bosco Wong being too fastidious

A rough Kate Tsui criticizes Bosco Wong being too fastidious

Bosco Wong and Kate Tsui should just switch their identities. In other words, these two mutually criticize each other that their personal character does not match with their respective genders. In Kate's eyes, Bosco is more fastidious than a girl, but in Bosco's eyes Kate is like a rough man ('ma lut').

This wrong match, one is a man that is fastidious while one is woman who is more sloppy than a guy. Bosco said: "Kate is really like a man. Don't see her with those generous lips and a fit body figure, she is actually those types that is sweet on the outside, but rough on the inside."

Sitting besides him was Kate who heard the way Bosco described herself, she instantly refuted: "You think you're really Man? You are so much more fastidious than a girl, I never seen a guy wanting to look pretty as much as you do!" Bosco laughed out loud and said: "I have a sense of cleanliness! I dislike being like you, don't even clean up your car." Although Bosco and Kate are bickering and aren't willing to compromise, the two still have great chemistry. They both ordered a lightly sweetened iced tea, definitely have minds that are alike.

In Lives of Omission, Bosco's role as Michael and Kate as Paris has left a deep impression on audience. Towards this new challenge, Bosco said: "My role has a mustache. I personally thought it was OK, pretty hot. However, I feel it's really annoying because I have to keep maintaining it. Maintaining and taking care of it, but it's something different that I can show people. Not your typical Bosco Wong."

Kate said: "When I first got this role, I was really scared. I feared being a lawyer. Aside from me not looking too good in a lawyer's costume, I couldn't handle the wig. The worst was the dialog of lawyers is truly difficult, and I had to be a really smart lawyer too. I had to come out as like a winner, so it was quite pressuring. The dialog really requires a lot of time to memorize, like a student studying. Compared to the time I usually spend on memorizing scripts, this time I spent ten times more."
Credits : Asian EU

[News]Myolie Wu just taking it easy on the TV Queen award

Myolie Wu just taking it easy on the TV Queen award

Myolie Wu, Johnson Lee, 'Blueberry' Kirby Lau and the rest of the cast to new series Endless Exchange of Enjoyment took part in the blessing ceremony at TVB City yesterday. It was rumored that Fala Chen got new boss Chan Kwok Keung's strong support and has the highest chance to get TV Queen this year. Towards this, Myolie said: "I don't even know if this rumor is true or not? This year they are all pretty good, Fala is good and Linda Chung is good too. This award has been one of my goals, it has been for many years! I don't dare to say I'm a seniority, just taking it easy. 
Credits : Asian EU

[News]Michael Tse Not Afraid That Stephen Chan’s Camp Will Fight For TV King; Kate Tsui Denies Fighting For More Screentime

TVB drama, Lives of Omission《潛行狙擊》, is still currently broadcasting and heating up the television screens of households. This thus made Michael Tse (謝天華) and Kate Tsui (徐子珊) a fast-rising target of magazines out there.
There were rumors that with Stephen Chan‘s (陳志雲) official return to TVB, he was planning to support either Wong Hei (王喜) or Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) up to be TV King, which could burst Michael Tse’s dream of becoming TV King. It was also rumored that in a bid to be more outstanding than Fala Chen (陳法拉) in new drama Schemes of East and West《東 西宮略》, Kate Tsui had apparently requested the producer to add in more scenes for her but later quit the drama after her plan to gain additional screen time backfired.
Yesterday, Michael Tse, Kate Tsui, Ella Koon (官恩娜), Mag Lam (林欣彤) and etc attended the recording and praying ceremony for “Macau Shopping Festival 2011: The Entire City Moves Along” (tentative title) .
Stephen Chan’s return to TVB had set off rumors of a massive shift in the TV King and Queen positions, even indicating Wayne Lai, Wong Hei and etc of “replacing” Michael as the top contender.
In reply to this, despite facing with all kinds of speculations, Michael’s confidence of winning the TV King award did not waver one bit. Michael even professed that he did not need to respond on who would be TV King, “I do not need to comment on this. There has been too many sensationalized news, I will always respond only to the truth.” (Reporter: Starting to feel the pressure from the intense competition for TV King?)  ”No. Just felt that everyone will talk about this issue sooner or later. Furthermore, when I walk on the streets now, many people chase after me to ask about the finale of “Lives of Omission”, feeling more happy than stressed.”
As for rumors that Stephen Chan’s return had divided the artistes into two different camps, the “Stephen Chan camp” and the “Virginia Lok camp”, Michael clarified that the company has never split into any camps, “Actually it [the splitting into camps] isn’t portrayed by Mr Chan himself but rather, it was portrayed by the outside world. I feel that everyone only has the same target in mind and that is, working for TVB.”

Kate Tsui was, on the other hand, pestered to answer rumors that she lost out the role of Xia Ying Chun from TVB upcoming drama “Schemes of East and West”, which was eventually awarded to Sharon Chan (陳敏之), because she had allegedly threw a tantrum and refused to share equal screen time with Fala Chen.
In reply to this, Kate helplessly said, “Never heard about these news. Sounds quite interesting though. Previously, Tommy Leung (梁家樹) [TVB Deputy Chief-Director and Producer] did discuss with me about this drama but at that time, he hasn’t determined the roles yet and I couldn’t take on the drama after that as it clashed with my work schedule.” (Reporter: Don’t wish to collaborate with Fala Chen?)  ”No such thing. We had just co-operated and completed a series together so how could that be possible?”
(Isn’t it a case of it’s either choosing between me or her and no coexistence?) “How could that be, the company is already short-handed, we can’t wait for more people to come and join the company so that we can have more time to head out and earn more money.” (Fala Chen is your biggest opponent for this year’s TV Queen award?) “I only know that I have five dramas out this year. However, I look highly upon Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) as I heard that she gave a stellar performance in TVB Anniversary drama, The Queen of All《萬凰之王》.”
*Warning: Possible Spoilers for “Lives of Omission” ahead*
In other news, there has been a circulation of a so-called “Lives of Omission” ending around the web but netizens were skeptical about whether the ending was true. In that ‘unconfirmed-to-be-true” ending, most netizens widely discussed about how Fala Chen’s Madam Jo turned out to be a turncoat police while Kate Tsui’s Paris was, in fact, a police undercover agent. As for Bosco Wong‘s (黃宗澤) Cripple Co. having a “brokeback” romance with his underling Bao Deng (爆燈) in that ending, netizens felt that it was nothing but hogwash.

[News]Deric Wan: “Why Did I Not Marry Maggie Shiu?”

Recently, famous Hong Kong film, television, music talent, Deric Wan (温兆伦) appeared as a guest on major television talk show, Looked and Looked <看了又看>.   Deric revealed the inside details of how he became famous as well as the true personalities behind past co-stars, Maggie Shiu (邵美琪), Kathy Chow (周海媚), and Irene Wan (温碧霞)! In the interview, Deric even raised and answered the question of “Why did I not marry Maggie?” The contents of Deric’s interview were quite compelling!

Obedience Led to Breakthrough Performance

Debuting as a singer, Deric’s career was tepid until starring in 1989′s Looking Back in Anger <义不容情> as the well-known villain, Ding Yau Hong. Since Deric [did not take formal acting classes], Deric was concerned that he would be unable to deliver a competent performance after receiving the role in Looking Back in Anger. Regarding Deric’s concern, Producer Wai Ka Fai (韦家辉) said bluntly, “As long as you are obedient, you will be fine. You have to do what the director, scriptwriter, and I tell you to do. If we ask you to blink your eyes three times, do not blink four times!”

Since Deric was super-obedient on the filming set of Looking Back in Anger, this led to good results in his performance. After the broadcast of Looking Back in Anger, the audience reacted strongly and Deric became a leading man at TVB. Since the outset of his career and to-date, Deric continued to be a very”obedient” actor.

Considered as a veteran, Deric collaborated with numerous TVB actresses, including Irene Wan, Kathy Chow, and Maggie Shiu. The program host imitated Irene’s soft voice, leading to laughter on the set. On the other hand, Maggie and Kathy possessed tomboyish personalities. Asked which actress he was most comfortable acting with, Deric admitted that he was most comfortable with Maggie Shiu. The pair shared a good understanding and will understand each other’s thoughts with one glance.

Deric revealed that Maggie Shiu possessed a great appetite. Despite her feminine appearance, her true personality was very tomboyish. In the past, many viewers asked why Deric did not marry Maggie Shiu. Deric raised the same question in the talk show and answered by stating that they collaborated too many times and became “brothers.”

In the television program, Deric performed a duet with Maggie Zhong (钟纯妍), entitled One Person’s Love <一个人的恋爱>. For this single release, Deric was involved in the image and graphic design, as well as the creative planning of the music video.  Deric also wrote the lyrics and completed the music production. Deric and Maggie performed their duet with deep feeling together.

Getting Married for the Third Time?

Focusing his career in mainland China in recent years, Deric maintained a low-profile romantic life since breaking up with TVB artist, Sonija Kwok (郭羨妮). Deric currently focused on acting and behind-the-scenes development. Several days ago, he attended a promotional event in mainland China and reports surfaced that he got married for the third time. Allegedly, Deric stated that he wanted to have a baby girl and was interested in naming her “Gentle Beauty” (温柔美) which bore the same name as his new song title.

The identity of “Mrs. Wan” was a mystery as Deric refused to disclose who the woman was. This naturally sparked much speculation,  even embroiling Deric’s recent mainland partners, Zhao Ting (赵庭) and Maggie Zhong in the romantic rumors. Due to their new duet, One Person’s  Love, Deric and Maggie often performed at events together.  Maggie often posted their photos together online, with Deric responding to her messages thus leading to speculation that Maggie was “Mrs. Wan.” At the same time, Deric left a message on Zhao Ting’s blog, “Your idol loves you,” which gave rise to speculation as well.

Mysterious About Love

When the reporter called yesterday, Deric pretended to be mysterious about his alleged marriage. Deric said: “Marriage is my ultimate goal. Having a baby a girl is a little more urgent, which I am looking forward to. This is my dream; however everything needs to be confirmed.” (Is Zhao Ting Mrs. Wan?) “Of course not! Many people write in such a manner on blogs.” (Is Maggie Zhong Mrs. Wan?) “No, of course not!”

It was understood that Deric possessed a very good relationship with his mainland girlfriend, however the couple did not get married yet.

Credits : Jayne Stars

Men with No Shadows pictures

Credits : TVB Horizon