[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily]

The international spectacular that is the Olympic Games happens only once every four years and this year's games will be held in Athens with the opening ceremony on 13th August. Both TVB and ATV will be airing the coverage and to fight for the ratings, they have each started their promotional activities. They even held their press conferences at the same time yesterday to announce their arrangements and this time it was TVB who seemed to have the upper hand.

TVB's Jade and Pearl channels will be airing between them over 20 hours of Olympic coverage and at yesterday's press event, the Olympic hosts across the two channels were revealed as Andy Hui, Alex Fong (Lik San), Winnie Yeung, Michelle Ye, Myolie Wu, Joe Ma and the 'Pearl Ambassadors', who went on to introduce the different shows that will be aired for the games as well as wishing for good results. However, during the champagne reception, a waiter accidentally broke the glass, but the artistes immediately suggested that this is an indication of good luck (Chinese superstition).

Alex and Michelle will be heading out to Athens to host the event and Alex says that he hopes to be able to report on the swimming events, because he retired from the swimming team last year, but he is still very interested in their progress and can grasp the information much more quickly. However, seeing his ex-team mates, he has very mixed feelings because he is only 24 and if he had not pulled out of sports to enter showbiz, he should still be able to take part in this year's Olympics and he feels a little regretful of this.

Michelle Ye has been looking through piles of information in preparation for her role and she has heard that you have to be very quick to be able to interview the athletes at the Olympics and so she has been getting fit so that she doesn't lose out to the other reporters. As Michelle only returned to Hong Kong four years ago, she was unaware that Alex's achievements in swimming, so when she found out, she immediately showed her respect to him, saying: "I knew he was a good swimmer, but I didn't know he broke Hong Kong records." When a reporter suggested that she should try wearing a bikini to try and attract the attention of the athletes, she replied immediately: "I wouldn't be let in wearing a bikini, they might think I am a terrorist! (Are you not worried for your safety?) A little, but Asian people should be fine. I just won't tell anyone I have a US passport!"

Myolie has also been studying her information and she feels it is like revising for an exam, but it is more interesting. As she will be hosting the live show from the studio, she does feel the pressure somewhat. On the 13th, Myolie will be on a marathon session, working from early morning to late into the night, firstly filming in the morning for her series, then rehearsing and performing for her part in the Miss Hong Kong final, before joining the Olympics studio in the evening to cover the opening ceremony late into the night. She hopes her body will be able to handle this.

Andy Hui was asked to respond about his mentor Anita Mui's mother making allegations that Anita's estate was being leached away, but he says he is not in a position to comment and this should be left to the lawyers to deal with. He says that at the moment, he is working on fulfilling Anita's wish to set up a 'New Talent Student's Association' charity and hopes this can be realised as soon as possible. Andy's birthday is approaching and when asked how he will be celebrating, he says: "My birthday is on 12th, but I will be doing the Olympic show on the 13th, so I will not be celebrating. (Your birthday is so close to Sammi's, will you go and celebrate with her at her concert?) Of course not!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-7-31/UL-288703.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20040731/20040731010757_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a63cnt.html



[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun]

Dayo Wong and Ada Choi's new series "To Catch the Uncatchable" reached average ratings of 31 points in its first week, peaking at 33 points and this is a good result for recent months. To celebrate, Dayo dug deep into his wallet to take the cast and crew out for a meal and those who took part included Ada, Claire Yiu, Elaine Yiu, Cheung Chi Kwong, Woo Fung and Lo Hoi Pang.

How much did they spend on the meal? Dayo laughs: "It wasn't too much, I will just treat it as giving up my fee for one or two episodes. This is the first meal, for every point it continues to go up, there will be another meal. I hope that we can have ten meals, but the ones later will be paid for by Ada. (Do you hope to reach 40 points?) I dare not dream about it, the TV atmosphere isn't so great at the moment - since Ah Wong, 40 points is not an achievable rating in this current climate."

Dayo will soon be releasing his own album, with a band he has formed with a few friends called "Happy". Their record should be out in September and there will be a song released next week. This venture has been financed by Dayo himself in the hope that it will not exceed seven figures. Talking of Athena Chu's venture into the music industry losing her a fair amount of money, he says that he has mentally prepared himself to lose money because it is difficult to make money from the music business nowadays. His investment is purely to create an opportunity for the band to perform, so sales are not important, what is most important is that someone will ask them to keep singing in the future, otherwise this will be a great loss. Dayo hopes that when Sam Hui retires, he can have the chance to perform in the Coliseum in the "Wishing you Happy Concert".

Ada's performance in the series has been noted and some people have praised her for letting herself go in the role, whilst others have felt that she is copying Dodo Cheng's character in "War of Genders". Ada says that maybe Dodo's 'Miss Mo' and her own 'Vivi Lee' are both business professionals and many of the cast in "To Catch" also appeared in "War", them many people mistake the show for copying Dayo's last series.

Ada says: "Being like Dodo is not such a bad thing, because she is a very strong character actor and also a 'best actress', so being compared to her is a great deal. On the other hand, if you said my acting was poor, then I would mind that." She also says that her own character is a little like that of Vivi, for example she is not vain and is very bubbly and lively, but she is not as miserly as Vivi.

As for Dayo saying that Ada has to pay for future meals, she laughs that she is just a supporting actor in the show and it should be Dayo paying for them. However, she says that as long as everyone is happy, then she doesn't mind paying. As for Dayo saying that she has to wear a bikini if the show's ratings hit 40 points, Ada says that if this is the case, then Dayo should get married and if the ratings reach 45 or 50 points, then he should have kids straight away.

Ada indicates that she will be heading out to Xinjiang next Thursday to film for a China Central TV and Tsui Hark co-production entitled "Seven Swords of Tianshan". The trip will last for a month and a half and co-stars include Chiu Man Cheuk and Julian Cheung. She will return to TVB to film a new series in November. Having had her calendar shoot paired with Bowie Lam yesterday, Ada reveals that she has been busy moving house recently: "I managed to fill a ten tonne truck, so it will take me a while to sort through it all!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-7-31/UL-288701.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-7-31/UL-288699.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20040731/20040731011137_0003.html



From top: 4 Jaymee Tang; 1 Queenie Chu; 2 Irene Yu & niece.

[The Sun & Oriental Daily]

The 18 Miss Hong Kong contestants were arranged to visit a jewellers to try on some jewellery yesterday and 4 Jaymee Tang was chosen to model the 12 carat coloured gemstone necklace that has been prepared for the first runner up in the competition. 15 Emmy Kwan wore the 2nd runner up 4 carat necklace. Jaymee said confidently: "I was very happy to have been chosen and I think I am able to take it home with me. (Will you be happy with second place?) It doesn't matter, I will do my best and my brother will be returning from Holland to support me, so the best thing would be for him to put it on for me. (Do you have any diamond jewellery of your own?) For my 18th birthday, my parents bought me a diamond ring, but it is not part of my dowry." As for Emmy, she says: "The necklace is very pretty! If I could take it home, that would be great. I am happy that we can try all these items on at the jewellers and not feel awkward about it."

As for the other contestants, they each went about looking at the goods on offer and 1 Queenie Chu chose some gold jewellery to try on. When asked if she was worried people might call her scrooge, she says: "No, even if I wear diamonds, people will still say something. I am very traditional, so when I get married, I will be wearing gold." As for 2 Irene Yu, she received great support from herr niece and some fans at the event and she says: "My niece is on summer vacation, so she has come to support me today." Some fans pretended to be reporters to try and get close to their idol, but their cover was quickly blown. Even so, they still insisted on hanging around and not leaving.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20040731/20040731010558_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a71cnt.html



[The Sun & photo from Oriental Daily]

William Hung has arrived in Hong Kong and he will soon be filming for movie "My Crazy Mother" with Nancy Sit, where they play mother and son. Having just stepped off the plane yesterday, he immediately went to Kowloon Tong to pay respects to his ancestors. When he arrived there, he met with Nancy who was filming for "Virtues of Harmony" in the area, but they did not greet each other. It was only later when Nancy appered at William's dinner function that they shared a hug and shared a cup of tea together. Also, Catherine Hung indicates that she was originally to join the cast of this film, but due to changes in her character, she has decided to turn it down. Movie boss Yeung Pan Pan says: "Maybe she feels that as she only has a small number of lines, then she cannot accept this. She did say sorry to me for this."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20040731/20040731010211_0003.html




[Oriental Daily]

Roy Chow has been sentenced to 18 months probation and counselling for his charges of drug possession and there have been different responses to this from the people around him.

Roy's manager Pang Suk Ha emphasises that the company will not be letting go of him, but they will not be arranging work for him for the time being. She says: "Now is the time for the start of the real Roy Chow. This sentence is a good thing for him and I feel that he has realised his mistake deep in his heart. He has said to me that this incident has hurt his family and friends and he hopes that this can send a positive message to other young people. Understanding that drugs are no help to him, has made him take responsibility for his actions. (Will you be urging him to distance himself from his bad friends?) I don't need to, I believe that he has learned who his real friends are and which ones he should leave behind."

Yu Chiu has refused all along to admit her relationship with Roy and had once set her boundaries with him, but in fact, she has been there supporting him all along and in response to the sentence, she says: "I will care for my friends, but I will not discuss anything else."

Upon hearing the news of Roy's sentence, the press tried to contact Deep Ng, who is currently awaiting his sentence, but was unsuccessful. His record company director Mani Fok says that he is not in a position to comment on Roy's case.

Candy Lo says: "Roy called me this morning and he left me a message saying the sentence had been passed and telling me not to worry. I did also read the news and he looks okay. I hope he will behave himself and be truly regretful, but brave to look ahead and accept responsibility. I treat him as a younger brother and I have breathed a sigh of relief now. (The judge scolded him harshly.) He is stil young, so he needs to be scolded."

Joey Yung responded: "I don't know if the sentence was justified, but the most important thing is that he has learned how to start afresh and although I don't know him, I will still support him."

Sammul Chan was originally to work alongside Ron in "Police Cadet Brave Hearts" and when he heard that Roy had admitted to the counsellor that he had been taking cannabis for over a year, Sammul said: "It is good that he has the courage to face up to this. I do have some admiration for Deep Ng too, as he was able to admit his mistake from day one , so I am concerned about his sentence now."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a53cnt.html