[Ta Kung Pao 23/08/04]

Ron Ng appeared at a promotion for his vegetable juice sponsors yesterday, attracting a crowd of fans, including many Filipino and Indonesian maids.

As it was raining yesterday, Ron was worried that there would not be many people at the event, but when he found out that the fans were already queuing up in the rain at 8am and there were many maids there on their day off, he was very touched. When asked if he had considered breaking into the Filipino markets, he says that as "Triumph in the Skies" is currently airing overseas, then there are many places in South East Asia that are watching him, so his profile has been raised in the Indo-Filipino community and if there is an opportunity, then he hopes to learn the local language.

As for the mediocre results for his series "Twin of Brothers", gaining only 28 points, Ron says that this show will be airing until September and later on it tells of the great brotherhood that develops between them, so it will become more interesting and exciting and he believes this will draw in the viewers.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-8-23/UL-297095.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 23/08/04]

TVB's new series "War and Beauty" will begin airing this evening and a premiere party was held yesterday. However, as two of the female leads Charmaine Sheh and Maggie Cheung have already returned to filming in the mainland, those appearing included only Sheren Tang, Gigi Lai, Moses Chan and Bowie Lam. Gigi appeared at the event wearing a sparkly Mickey Mouse T-shirt worth around a thousand dollars, but she clashed with one of the other actors Cheung Pui Sin. Although Gigi did not mind and appeared on the same stage with her the first time, she wore a top over her t-shirt for the second photocall to avoid further embarrassment.

Gigi smiles: "I had a feeling that I would clash with someone, because a lot of girls like Mickey and this design is very popular this year." She adds that although she is already thirty years old, she still loves cartoon characters so she hopes that the Hong Kong Disneyland will be completed soon so htat sh e can go and buy lots of cute toys. Having lost some weight already, Gigi appears even slimmer recently and she laughs: "Because I have been working non-stop lately, filming and doing promotional work, I don't see anything when I shower apart from my legs, so I can only show off my legs with a short skirt."

In recent promotions for "War", Gigi has become the middleman in the conflict between Charmaine and Maggie and when asked who she was friendlier with, Gigi had indicated that she has been shopping with Maggie and so suggesting she is friendlier with her than with Charmaine, but she clarified this yesterday because she did not mean this at all. She says: "Although what I said was the truth and the press have not mis-reported, it does give the feeling that I don't get on with Charmaine. I have never been out for a meal or shopping with her in private, but this does not mean that we are not friendly with each other and we can chat about things with each other." In order to avoid Charmaine misunderstanding her, she has tried to call Charmaine to explain, but she has already returned to China and was not contactable. Gigi laughs awkwardly and says: "I would rather have romantic rumours rather than gossip like this because it is easier to distinguish what is true and false."

Sheren is currently filming for new series "Imperial Layabout", but this was delayed for two hours for her to take part in the promotion for "War and Beauty", where she felt a great responsibility and appeared in a seethrough dress.

"War" tells of the battles between the concubines in the inner palatial chambers and there are many rather suggestive scenes, but Sheren indicates that as her character is already very much loved by the emperor, then she does not need to seduce him any further. In the past, sexy scenes have been Sheren's weakness and even for kissing scenes, she has been described as a 'woodpecker', but since filming "The Threat of Love", she has started to overcome this fear and it is no longer such a great challenge. As for many female artistes being very against close screen encounters, Sheren says that this is all down to the understanding of the scene and she believes this is an integral part of acting, like scenes where you don't wear make up or have to do wire work. She is more bothered by whether the scene is necessary to the storyline because it would not be good to film just for the sake of it.

As there will be a lot of sexy scenes in the show, some parents have indicated that they will not allow their children to watch. When Sheren was asked about whether this would affect the ratings, she laughs: "It doesn't matter if the kids don't watch, as long as the parents do. Actually the ratings are not a problem for me, it is more for the company, but I have confidence in this show because there are a lot of co-stars in the show and it has pulled a challenge in acting between us all, so we have all put in a great effort and I can safely say that every one of us has a surprise for the viewers, just watch and you can see who is being themselves!"

With the recent rumours linking Bernice Liu with Moses Chan, she has been chased around by the press and the earlier kiss scenes between her and Bowie Lam whilst filming for "Healing Hands III" was affected by the presence of press who were constantly shooting photos and this not only upset her, but also caused her to leave half way.

When asked about this event, Bowie explained the situation on Bernice's behalf: "She did not lose her temper, just that the story told of her being in low spirits, so she had to chat with me." Bernice did not leave half way, the change was made to film the rest in the studio because of the interference from the press. As for the kiss scene, it was to be led by Bernice, because in the show, her character has a crush on Bowie. Talking of the rumours between Bernice and Moses, Bowie says: "It has been so bad for them recently, always being followed by the paparazzi and having to escape by the back door after work." Bowie also praises Moses for being a good man, but not assertive enough.

When Moses was asked if he has had a lot of problems, he says: "Not really, I don't have any problems. (But you have to escape by the back door?) Actually I have always been afraid of being followed and if I don't see them, I can pretend they are not there, but the press are so open about their actions that I cannot escape them."

As for rumoured girlfirend Bernice losing her temper, Moses laughs: "Don't ask me, I don't know! (Will you call her to see how she is?) I do not do these things and we have not seen each other in private, just bumping into each other at work." In "Healing Hands III", Bernice also has romantic scenes with Moses, but it is unknown whether there will be a kiss scene because the script has not yet been released. When asked whether he is worried that the writers will create a kiss scene for them as a result of these rumours, he laughs: "No, if there was one, then there will be one, if not, then there will not be one."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-8-23/UL-297090.htm
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