[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 13/12/04]

TVB's annual telethon charity event for Tung Wah Hospitals took place on Saturday evening and raised a total of $76,288,888 breaking last year's record of $73,888,888 and making the three MC's Eric Tsang, Lydia Shum and Nancy Sit very happy indeed. Among all the events, the swimming race between Nicholas Tse and Tian Liang raised the greatest amount, totalling $1.3 million.

Many newcomers were featured in this year's event and some of the more well known comedic faces such as Timmy Hung, Jerry Lamb and Chin Ka Lok were noticeably absent, making the later part of the show a little bit dull. Eric said: "I felt that it lacked a little atmosphere because many of the original team were missing and the newcomers were not as playful as the others."

In one of the events, newcomer MC Amigo Chiu announced incorrectly the amount raised and was publicly scolded by Lydia for being unable to improvise. Afterwards Amigo explained: "This is my first such big show, so of course I was nervous. I don't feel embarrassed. Lydia did help me out of many situations. I will not be unhappy about this and I do not feel that she came down hard on me, in fact she taught me some of the secrets of being a good MC." As for Lydia, she did not think much of this, saying it was just a little thing.

Of TVB's female leads, only Gigi Lai was present at the event and she was asked if this was an indication of her status in the company. She said: "Appearing on the event does not reveal anything about my status, it is just an opportunity given to me by the company and I will put my all into it."

Also, Danny Summer was originally to sing four songs on the show, but in the end he left before performing. Was this because he was scheduled to appear in the middle of the night and it made him upset? In response to this, the show's producer Lai Wai Tong explained: "Danny had a sore throat and a husky voice earlier, so he was not able to perform. He was not unhappy with the arrangements."

Former lovers Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung both took part in the show, but the rumours were that they would be in and out at different times and not run into each other, but they were almost in TVB City at the same time. Although they had both indicated that they did not mind bumping into the other, their staff made sure that they did not meet or have photos taken together.

Cecilia rushed back to Hong Kong for the show and immediately headed to TVB City and when it was mentioned she might bump into Nic, she said: "I know, but I will only be there for a short time before I leave. I will not evade him, nor will I wait around to see him. I am used to it now, so I don't mind any more." When asked if she is still in contact with Nic, she said: "We have filmed together and sometimes we meet each other through our work, but personally we have not kept in touch."

Also, Cecilia was asked if she has donated any money and she says that she gives to charity like everyone else by calling in. She will use 'Anonymous' or 'Miss X' or 'Mr X' but she did not say how much she would give because it is the thought that counts.

Top Ten Fundraising Events at Tung Wah 2004

1. Nic Tse & Tian Liang - Swimming Contest ($1.3 million)
2. Nat Chan & Cecilia Wong - Cantonese Opera "Legend of the Purple Hairpin" ($1,118,000)
3. Ensemble - Karastar Song ($840,000)
4. Liza Wang & Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra ($800,000)
5. Fiona Yuen, Carlo Ng et al - baseball event ($500,000)
6. Miriam Yeung & Nancy Sit - dumpling making ($320,000)
7. Joey Yung ($300,000)
8. Joyce Koi & Ming Chi Sing - Cantonese Opera "Nine Day Fairy" ($280,000)
9= Alex Fong, Shawn Yue, Cutie Mui, Sherming Yiu - wakeboarding ($250,000)
9= Boyz, Isabella Leung, Wilfred Lau, Renee Tai ($250,000)

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-12-13/UL-341127.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-12-13/UL-341128.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20041213/20041212234115_0003.html



[Oriental Daily 13/12/04]

Nick Cheung took part in a press conference to mark the release of a new book by Hong Kong's first blind writer Wong Ming Yan and Nick indicated how much he admired her determination as well as admitting his shame to his own laziness and fickleness, saying that he should follow in the footsteps of Chapman To and write his autobiography to share his experiences when he was growing up. However, he laughs that he is afraid of frightening the readers with some of the bad things he has done in the past and says: "I would like to write a book, but some of the things I did were just too bad. Even the things I did when I was a police officer I dare not mention in case it tarnishes the reputation of the police. There are some things that even my wife (Esther Kwan) does not know about, so I will have to plan this carefully first!"

As for his series "The Last Breakthrough" not doing as well as expected, Nick feels that this is because the storyline of this series is a little more down to earth and not as groundbreaking as that of "War and Beauty" and so it will attract the housewife viewers more. Nick says: "I have heard some friends mention that the show is okay and I feel that there is a lot of sincerity in the show. Maybe 'War' was too extreme and people are finding it hard to adapt. I hope that the ratings will get better in the weeks to come."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a18cnt.html



[Oriental Daily 13/12/04]

This year's Miss Hong Kong winners Kate Tsui, Queenie Chu and Fu Sze Sze joined together with Rabee'a Yeung to act as models for the "Hong Kong Young Photographers Contest" yesterday, wearing costumes from the sixties and seventies to show off their beauty. Rabee'a's dress was a little short though and it left her with a 'bucket figure' as she laughed: "Yes, it makes me look like I have no curves, so maybe I will have to pin it together with a safety pin!" She reveals that she has been the Hong Thai Tourism Ambassador for a year now and is looking for a new career development: "In the past year I have been busy filming travel shows, so I hope to try other things now."

Kate says that under the influence of her father, she has never been too interested in antique costumes: "Although the clothes are quite nice, my dad has always been very fashionable and disliked old things, so when I look at his old pictures, he had a beard and wore tight fitting clothes, showing he was always at the pinnacle of fashion." Conversely, Queenie loves the memory lane look: "I really like it. Although my grandmother has passed away now, she has left a lot of her old clothes behind."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a16cnt.html


(File photo)

[The Sun 13/11/04]

TVB's "Triumph in the Skies" gained good results and brought fame to Ron Ng and a group of newcomers. After this, TVB is planning to start filming "Determination in the Clouds" telling the story of Hong Kong's Government Flying Services Teams. The lead roles will be played by Ekin Cheng and Bowie Lam and newcomers will include Charles Szeto and Linda Chung. The artistes will begin undergoing three days of training at the airport on the 15th to prepare for the series.

Having been away from TVB series for a while, Ekin says he is very confident that he will complete the training: "Actually I have owed TVB one series all along and when I received this script, I agreed to it straight away because I feel that the genre is very fresh and we have to go into the air and the sea, so it should be good fun. I think that my fitness should be able to handle it."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20041213/20041212235404_0003.html



[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 13/12/04]

Nancy Sit, Woo Fung, Louis Yuen, Michael Tse, Joyce Chen and Bondy Chiu were in TVB City's church set yesterday, filming for a wedding scene in "Virtues of Harmony". The newlyweds were Nancy and Woo Fung and the scene tells of a dream scene where she marries her true love.

During the filming, the press asked for a kissing pose, so when Woo Fung just positioned himself for the photo, Nancy took the lead and pushed her face against his lips so that he really kissed her. Afterwards, Nancy indicated that she did not want to be kissed, but she wobbled and caused Woo Fung to kiss her by accident.

As Nancy has a reported boyfriend in real life, will she be having a dream wedding with this man? She says playfully: "Not yet! There are too many vows and promises to do things for the other person and I do not have this inclination just yet. Last year's horoscope said that I would wear a wedding dress this year, I think it has come true as I am wearing the dress, but just in the show!"

Nancy also reveals that she had worked together with Woo Fung when she was just eight years old, when she played his 'son'. Never would she have thought that she would now play his wife and walk into a church together. When asked if Woo Fung fits the bill as her groom, she says: "He is perfect! He is a good person, loves his wife and is so stylish!" When Woo heard this, he smiled: "Too bad we don't have a true destiny together, only in acting. Haha!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2004-12-13/UL-341132.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20041213/20041212235528_0003.html