[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 07/02/05]

A promotion for TVB's "My Family" was held yesterday at Olympian City Shopping Mall and cast members including Shirley Yeung, Sam Chan, Hawick Lau, Chan Ka Yee and Rebecca Chan played games with the audience where they could win golden chicken figures. In the end, Hawick and Ka Yee's teams won and they were awarded a large and small chicken respectively.

Shirley will soon begin filming for new series "Always on Standby" and in the show, she will play a disabled person in a wheelchair. Shirley says: "The company wants it to be as realistic as possible, so they have bought me a wheelchair. I have started to use it and as I am pushing it hard with my arms, I am worried that in time, I will begin developing very muscly arms." When asked if this was rather unlucky to be trying this in the new year period, Shirley says she is not superstitious about these things because she wants to be fully prepared for her performance. As it was the 28th day of the 12 month yesterday, will Shirley be following the tradition of 'cleaning'? She says: "When I get home, I will be giving my dogs a bath and changing them into new clothes.

The promotional poster for "My Family" the focus seems to be placed on Alex Fong, with all the other stars behind him with smaller pictures and there have been calls that this is unfair. Hawick, who plays Alex's elder brother in the show says graciously: "I don't mind, maybe because Alex is a singer, so the company is putting the emphasis on the outside help because singers tend to be more famous. It doesn't matter how big the head picture is, as long as you can act, so it is not about it being fair or not." As for the theme songs, one of these has been allocated to Hawick and he says: "I am very thankful to the producer for giving me this opportunity, in a character that has a chance to shine and to sing the sub-theme." When asked why Alex was not at the promotion, Hawick revealed: "He has to do a California Red promotion, so he can't be here."

Hawick was seen to be wearing a ring on a chain around his neck and was asked if this was a love trinket from a new girlfriend. He replied: "No, I am not dating at the moment and will not be in the next two to three years. Being single is fine because I can be with whoever I like." Hawick says he will be taking part in a singles party for Valentines Day and having a great time.

Alex was at a charity DVD sale event that clashed directly with the promotion and he says that he has been predicted a lot of gossip this year, but he does not believe that Hawick was speaking sarcastically. He says: "I don't think I am being insulted, the promotional material is down to TVB to arrange and I just do my job. (Do you feel that it is a challenge?) It doesn't matter, what other people say is not important, the biggest head on the poster is Grandpa (Chung King Fai) and he is respected by all, so that is okay."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-7/UL-363116.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050207/20050206233417_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a09cnt.html



[The Sun & Oriental Daily 07/02/05]

TVB's heavily promoted young male Ron Ng takes some time out each year to spend the Lunar New Year with his family as well as choosing some plum blossom to decorate his home, to signify popularity and for everything to run smoothly. He says: "Every year I am responsible for buying the plum blossom and this year is no exception. (Your plum blossom must be very fruitful?) Aiya, it does not just represent romance, it can also signify popularity with viewers and other people. For me, I buy it because I want to get along with other poeple and it is definitely not about romance, so I don't feel that it is very fruitful."

When Ron was younger, he heard an elder tell him that learning to do brush calligraphy was very therapeutic and good training of patience, so every year, he will write some greetings posters, but as he has grown up, this custom has faded. Ron has reaped some big rewards in his career in the last year and his aims for the Rooster year is for everything to go smoothly and to try different fields. Also he hopes for his family to be healthy and wishes everyone a very lucky year of the Roosters. He says: "I hope that everyone can have a fresh start and everything goes smoothly. Men and women, young and old to have good health, vitality of the spirit and tiger, prosperity in the hand and great success all round."

Mandy Cho was born in the year of the dog and there are conflicts in her horoscope this year with the gods, but she has never really believed in this custom, so she is not afraid or think about it. She says: "The last year has actually been very good for me. Apart from entering showbiz, I have had many opportunities from the company that I will truly treasure. I hope that in the new year, I will have good health and improve in my acting , gaining recognition from the viewers." With her western values, Mand really loves the New Year because she can receive lucky packets and help her mother to prepare them.

Bosco Wong is another who is heavily promoted by TVB and he is being offered series one after another. After finishing "My Sassy Mother-in-Law", he will be back to work again in March, filming for 2005's focus "Square Pegs" - the modern day sequel. He has been given the heavy responsibility of playing the younger brother of Roger Kwok's 'Ah Wong', who is the complete opposite of the simple character. An intelligence and successful CEO of a company, Bosco will not be displaying any of Ah Wong's innocence, but he is not disappointed because he understands that there cannot be two 'Ah Wong's in the show and he has no intentions of challenging Roger's stronghold on the audience.

Instead of being simple, Bosco will be pushing the handsome, stylish and smart CEO image and he says that this will put a lot of pressure on him because the success of the first "Square Pegs" means that viewers will have high expectations, so he will be doing his homework to prepare and even designing himself a completely new image. As he has had to shave his head for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law", is he worried his hair will not grow back in time and he will not look handsome enough? Bosco says: "If I keep growing it until March, then I should have an army cut look. A lot of the young executives nowadays have a skinhead!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050207/20050206234406_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a29cnt.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a18cnt.html



[The Sun 07/02/05]

Bernice Liu was filming for new series "Disappearance" yesterday and although this is the third day on the shoot, she has still not worked opposite the show's star Michael Miu yet. She says: "Before, I was mainly working with young people, but this time I have the chance to work with Rebecca Chan. I am most looking forward to working with Michael later though because I will take the chance to learn some acting skills from him." Recently, the weather has been wet and cold and Bernice says that it has been hard for her system to get used to it, leaving her with a cough and having to consult with a herbalist for a week before she got better.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050207/20050206235458_0003.html



[The Sun 07/02/05]

Myolie Wu has become the spokesperson for 'Modern Classics' and earlier shot a set of wedding photos with a Japanese male model. When they first met and were asked to put on a loving pose, they seemed a little awkward, but after Myolie worked her magic, he relaxed a little: "At first, I was a little nervous, but he was even more shy than me and I had to lead him into it. Luckily he was quite good looking and it was okay!" When the two got together to shoot the close up pictures, they both nearly fell asleep at the same time and the crew laughed that they were not shooting bed scenes.

When asked when she would be getting married to her boyfriend, Myolie says: "I am afraid that if he proposes, I won't know how to handle it because I am not ready for it yet. Luckily he has not done this yet. I am still young and I have not won the 'female lead' award yet. There are many people I have not worked with yet, such as Eason. I think he would be so much fun to work with because he is great fun, but I think it will be difficult in TV."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050207/20050206233500_0003.html



[Oriental Daily 07/02/05]

In past years at Chinese New Year, Maria Chan will dress up nicely and visit her friends and family to receive lucky packets and to see if she can meet some handsome men. With the year of the Rooster approaching, Maria says bluntly that what she wants the most is not romance though: "The thing I would most like is to make more series. I don't mind being the flirty woman, the bossy gossip or the common girl, as long as I have a strong character and feeling for the role, then I will take on any difficult challenge." She reveals that she has always had a major interest in acting and last year she even applied to study drama at university that brought her great benefit: "Studying some of the theory behind it makes actual acting a lot easier."

As today is the 29th day of the last month, Maria has made two special dishes to share with the readers. These are Carp shaped New Year pudding and deep fried pastry balls. Although she was rather clumsy in preparing them, she has produced the goods!

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a06cnt.html



[Ta Kung Pao 07/02/05]

Sherming Yiu, Stephanie Cheng and Rosemary took part in a "Stylish Guy and Gal Challenge" final as guest judges and Sherming says that there are many competitions like this now, providing a shortcut for people who want to enter showbiz. For this particular show, the contestants have to parade in swimwear and walk the catwalk, so it is certainly not easy.

Sherming says that she would never had dared to take part in these contests in the past. Her own entry into showbiz was after being spotted by a talent scout. At first she thought it was a con and it was only after she made her first advertisement that she believed it. After several auditons, she made her first soft drink ad and at the time she was only in her teens. She says that her pay then was better than many newcomers nowadays because she was paid $8000. Some of her friends had to sign for a particular skincare product in a five year contract, where they were paid $50,000 and were not allowed to shoot any other ads during this time. Sherming says that after this, she was asked to film some karaoke videos before being invited to TVB for a screen test. She says that if she was to take part in these contests, she would not have the courage to. When asked if she admired the contestants for not being embarrassed, she smiled that to enter this industry, then you cannot be timid at all.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-7/UL-363105.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a15cnt.html



[Ta Kung Pao 07/02/05]

Leo Ku held an album signing event in Mongkok yesterday and attracted several hundred fans and to get into the new year spirit, he wore a golden yellow traditional jacket. He also showed off his art at the event, writing a pair of greetings to wish everyone a Happy New Year, but the verse seemed to be geared towards making TVB happy instead!

Leo took a whole evening to think up the lines: "Listen to songs on Jade Solid Gold, then your house will be filled with Solid Gold." As 'Jade Solid Gold' is the name of a TVB show, then it is obvious where he loyalties lie. Leo feels that this year will be a good start as he has done well in both record sales and sales in his concert tickets and he believes the coming year will be even better. With the additional shows to his sellout concert run and tickets on sale today, it is believed that again the demand will outstrip the supply. In light of this, Leo's manager Paco Wong plans to hold a set of 'Part 2' performances later in the year, if they can fit it into their schedules. The management team is working hard to satisfy all the fans and the mainland tour is planned for the second half of the year.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-7/UL-363118.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 07/02/05]

Kelly Chen sings the Chinese theme tune to the hit Korean Drama "Jewel in the Palace" that is currently drawing in ratings points of 30 as it currenly airs on TVB. Earlier, Kelly was filming the music video to this song "Hope" and wore a traditional Korean dress for the first time ever.

Kelly says: "I have been to Korea before on holiday and to work, but I have never worn their national dress. It is great to have a chance to try this and I feel that their beautiful colours of their costumes are very eyecatching. During the filming, I have also learned a number of traditional handicrafts, such as making incense out of flower petals before placing them into wooden boxes and I will be giving these to my friends as gifts."

As well as learning new skills during the filming, Kelly has also learned a lot about medicines and food from watching the show. She says: "The series has made me aware that if you put seasonings into coal, then you can remove all the strange odours. No wonder that this show has broken all the ratings records in Korea. When I do not need to work, I will stay at home and watch it and I have even been onto TVB's official website to catch up on the storylines." On the official site's forums, there has been much applause for Kelly's song and this has made her even happier.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-7/UL-363112.htm