[Ta Kung Pao]

TVB's 36th Anniversary Awards has become the focus of the entertainment media of late - who will be this year's most popular male and female artiste? With the gossip before the results, Roger Kwok has been the unanimous favourite of the town and with her great performances in both the modern and ancient series, Maggie Cheung is hot favourite for the ladies. As for the newcomers, the front runners with the most potential are Sammul Chan and Leila Tong as they compete for an award that is pivotal in turning one's career around, as can be seen with the progression of last year's winners Myolie Wu and Moses Chan.

However, there will always be surprises as was shown last year when Ada Choi's performance in "Where the Legend Begins" was pipped at the post by Flora Chan. So with this element of unpredictability, will we see Adam Cheng and his sparkling chemistry with Cecilia Yip pull through amidst their raving reviews?

Gains and losses are hard to predict and with the fierce competition at TVB, sometimes the focus and attention created by these awards can become a disadvantage. This was the case with the 'good boy' of the past and three times winner of the award Gallen Lo, who found that this brought with it a string of negative press and a pressure that ultimately ended his seventeen years of service with TVB. Is this because it is lonely at the top? He finds it is more peaceful to move away from the line of fire and spend more time mending his home.

If Roger Kwok wins the award, then as well as being happy for 'Ah Wong', he will also have to work hard on polishing up his acting and presentation. Over ten years ago, he was once faced with becoming one of the top leads, but his lack of vigour and lazy pronounciation were his main obstacles. Acting skill is ultimately down to experience and it is good to see his determination to drive away the black clouds.

As for Adam Cheng who has been in the film industry for forty years, his comedic performances does not let down his sparkling nameplate. At one point, Adam seemed to be stuck in a certain class and even gave people the feeling of being old-fashioned, as it is even harder for established artistes to find a breakthrough. However Adam has finally found an forward path and in his middle age he is gaining fans. As long as he can walk alongside and adapt to the times, the audience will still support him all the way.

Report: Chow Yan

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2003-11-16/UL-198211.htm



[Oriental Daily]

TVB's 36th Anniversary celebration will be taking place on 19th November and there are only a few days left for the rehearsals and preparations. Among them is a fashion show that will feature the the station's top beauties Kenix Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, Maggie Cheung, Charmaine Sheh, Anne Heung, Sonija Kwok, Shirley Yeung and Myolie Wu accompanied by the dashing Moses Chan, Steven Ma, Bowie Lam and Joe Ma. However, as these top stars have all been busy filming recently, they have had little time to prepare and as many of the outfits the girls will be wearing are quite revealing, there are concerns that this lack of rehearsal will lead to some unexpected mishaps on the night.

Remarks from some of the artistes reveal that on the night of the full rehearsal on the 18th, they are still scheduled for filming , but celebration producer Lam Ka Wing says: "It is very difficult to bring together all these leading actors because they all have to film their respective shows. However, all the dancers for this part of the show have rehearsed and although the time is tight, I am sure they will be able to handle it. They have been given time on the 18th to rehearse, so this should not affect their performance."

As for Variety and Sports department Manager Wong Ka Leung, he responds to the complaints of not having enough time saying: "The anniversary is a grand scale production and it is sufficiently rehearsed so there will be no compromise on the performances. Moreover, the show is a live broadcast, so the artiste's concerns can be understood, but we hope that they can adapt to the needs of the piece."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a19cnt.html