TVBspace News Roundup

2007-01-11T22:43:00.000Z

Hmm... wonder why it never occurred to me to leave a quick message on this site.

Anyway, we're back (and have been since May 2006) - but we have moved house again...check out the new and improved TVBspace News Roundup at:

http://tvbspace.blogspot.com

Toodle pip!
Em

2005-04-02T14:56:00.000Z

Many hours of hard work culminates in this new site - hope you like it!
To get there, just click on Ghosty's belly.

Oooh... such excitement! It's just too much....
Hahaha!

2005-03-14T23:59:00.000Z

See you in three weeks!
But couldn't resist this bit of news on Roger and Bosco... hee hee hee!

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 15/03/05]

Roger Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, Bosco Wong, Leila Tong, Angela Tong and Hui Siu Hung took part in the costume tryout for new series "The Legend of Ah Wong". With the last installment "Square Pegs" being set around a cake shop, where Ah Wong made his famous 'Wife's Cakes', the modern version of the story will be set in a sweet soup shop and Hui announced that if this series does as well as the last, they should all club together to open their own sweet soup stall and make the most of the publicity!

With this much anticipated modern version to "Square Pegs", Roger and producer Wong Wai Sing emphasised that this is not a sequel to the original, but is just starring most of the original cast and Roger reprising his role as a simpleton who happens to have the same name "Ding Sheung Wong". Although there are high expectations to this production, Roger says he has no pressure or mental obstacles before him. As he is currently filming for Wong Jing's movie, he cannot put on too much weight just yet, but he will be using a week to try and pile on the pounds for the role. He laughs: "I have already put on a lot of weight, another ten pounds or so will be enough. (Will you invest in a dessert shop?) We were just joking about it, but if it does happen, then I could do the opening myself and save some money!"

After resting for five months, Jessica admits she is a little confused about the new series and needs to step back a little because in the last show, she and Leila played sisters, but this time, they will be fighting over the same man. However, she feels it will be hardest for Roger because in an ancient comedy, he can be a little exaggerated and overact, but in a modern show, it is all down to true acting ability. Fortunately, there is no feeling of pressure among the cast and they were all happily chatting yesterday. As for the suggestion of Hui Siu Hung to open a sweet dessert stall, Jessica is not particularly interested as she says: "It is hard to run a business in Hong Kong and keeping it is even harder. You have to put a lot of time into looking after it and since I failed in my last business venture in a fruit juice shop, I understand that if you don't put the effort in, you won't make the money. We are all so busy filming all the time, I think we would be more relaxed doing that!"

One of the other stars in the original Winnie Young is currently pregnant, with her baby due in June, but despite this, she still really wants to be in the show so the producer has allowed her to guest star in three episodes, completing filming for her scenes in fifteen days. Winnie will play Ah Wong's schoolfriend from primary school, who works in Bosco's company. As she became pregnant unknowingly, Ah Wong helps her to find out who the father is and becomes the baby's godfather. Wong Wai Sing says: "In order to work around Winnie, I will try to arrange all studio scenes for her and if we have to do location, I will keep it to one or two scenes."

In the show, Bosco will play Roger's half-brother, where they share the same father and he is a very intelligent young talent in the IT world, who sets about buying up satellites. When it was mentioned, his character resembles real life businessman Richard Li (son of Li Ka-Shing), he asked how old Li is. When he found out from the reporters that Li is 36, he was rather amused and said: "Well, I am smarter than him then because I am only in my twenties!" As he has recently filmed a number of ancient series, Bosco was somewhat unrecognisable in modern clothing and as he forgot to bring his leather shoes with him for the event, his suit and sneakers look was rather unusual!

Angela's look yesterday was rather pitiful and she says that she plays a rubbish girl in the show who has a very low self esteem, but she is good friends with Roger's Ah Wong character and she smiles: "The producer asked me to do this role to let me have a breakthrough. I thought that I had to play a sexy role, but instead I have to play an ugly girl. I will be wearing some crooked teeth and it will be a new experience for me."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-3-15/UL-376628.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-3-15/UL-376627.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050315/20050315010527_0003.html

[Additional translation from Sing Pao by Tammy]

TVB’s new series “New Legend of Ah Wong” held its costume fitting the day before, those in attendance include Roger Kwok, Bosco Wong, Jessica Hsuan, Leila Tong, and Angela Tong. All though Bosco expresses that this series is not the continuation of “Square Pegs”, but in the series Roger’s name is still called “Ding Seung Wong”, and will frequently call Jessica his “Lo Por Jai”, showing the close similarities to “Square Pegs”.

In the series, Bosco portrays Roger’s stepbrother (same father, different mother), and will develop relationships with both Jessica and Leila. He is also the IT world’s young talent, his appearance resembling closely to Lee Chak Kai. Bosco laughs saying that Lee Chak Kai is 36 years old and he is only 26 years old. Bosco had earlier filmed for a few ancient series, this time he can finally film a modern series, so he had especially gotten a new pair of glasses made.

Producer Wong Wai Sing reveals that “Square Pegs” participant Winnie Yeung, will only be guest-starring in “Legend of Ah Wong” for three episodes, portraying Roger’s elementary classmate. Because she had been cheated and gotten pregnant, Ah Wong will help her track down the father.

http://www.singpao.com/20050315/gossip/686772.html

And the best of the rest...

[The Sun 15/03/05]

Ron Ng, Tavia Yeung, Myolie Wu and Joe Ma headed out to Canada for some promotional activity yesterday and with a seventeen hour flight ahead of them, they were a little worried about getting bored on the plane. Ron said: "This is the first time I have tried a seventeen hour flight. I was watching football all night last night and didn't sleep very much, so I will be sleeping later." Tavia has brought many things with her to pass the time: "I have taken a lot of facial masks onto the plane, putting one on every seven hours to pass some time."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050315/20050315010208_0003.html

[The Sun 14/03/05]

With the sudden drop in temperatures in Hong Kong lately, Charmaine Sheh has caught a cold and looking rahter tired, she was at TVB filming for "Always on Standby" yesterday. She said: "I have been to see the doctor, but the cold has still not got better, maybe because I have not had time to rest from filming. I don't want to take any medication because I am scared it will make me drowsy. I don't want to turn into Garfield during filming." However, for Charmaine, working whilst being ill is no hardship, the worst thing is filming on location in the rain because this takes a lot of endurance.

Apart from Charmaine, Michael Miu returned from Shek O filming for "Disappearance" yesterday looking rather flushed and said: "I have been stuck out in the wind at Shek O for three hours and it was only four or five degrees, so my skin is very chapped now."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050314/20050314004354_0003.html

[The Sun 14/03/05]

Kevin Cheng will be playing a hair stylist in new series "Barber Father Stylist Son" and in order to play his part well, he has been taking time to learn the trade at a hair salon and after practicing on a dummy a number of times, he has finally been able to try his skill on a real head of hair and he was very excited when faced with his model. When the time came, Kevin and his young tutor finally came up with a suitable style and after about an hour of careful snipping, he had created a porcupine head for his victim.

Reflecting on his virgin creation, Kevin said he was very pleased with it: "It has a lot of layering to it and the gel gives it a lot of volume. I am quite talented!" He also revealed that when he was younger, he had thought about becoming a hairstylist: "I am quite vain, so becoming a stylist means that I can pretty myself up without any excuse as well as designing images for other people, that would be very satisfying."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050314/20050314002733_0003.html

[The Sun 14/03/05]

Six months pregnant, Winnie Young is expecting her first child in June this year and with TVB soon to begin filming on "The Legend of Ah Wong", it was expected that she would not have a part in the follow up to her series, but a special part has been arranged for her in her pregnant state. When asked if she was worried about it being hard work, Winnie says she is not afraid of this and says happily: "Many women do not take maternity leave until they are eight months pregnant, I will only be filming just over ten scenes in two weeks. I play a pregnant woman in the series and it will not be too hard. I have put on about 25 lbs, but I am still quite agile."

When asked if her husband, who is always very loving towards her, will let her film with their baby, Winnie says: "He has not stopped me, just telling me to employ an assistant to look after me. I will see how it goes. I really wanted to take part in this series and it is fortunate that the producer is giving me this chance. I am very happy about this. (Will you be asking for any special treatment with you being pregnant?) No, I will do what the series needs."

Winnie says that her bump is getting bigger, but it is getting more and more comfortable. When asked what her secret is, she says: "Eating bird's nest and drinking chicken soup!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050314/20050314003202_0003.html

[The Sun 12/03/05]

Linda Chung, Lai Lok Yi and Ekin Cheng have been busy filming for "Always on Standby" recently and they comment that Ekin is like a big kid, always making them laugh and taking the pressure off. Linda says: "We can even make a game out of clapping." Ekin often buys us all food, so no wonder he is so popular. Lok Yi and Shirley Yeung have a lot of scenes together and as Shirley has to play a disabled girl in a wheelchair, he has to bend down all the time to speak to her. Lok Yi also complains that she often doesn't stop in time and crashes the wheelchair into his legs.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050312/20050311233928_0003.html

2005-03-10T23:59:00.002Z

Recent News Highlights

Just to keep you all going before I go away......

[The Sun 11/03/05]

Leila Tong will be working together with Roger Kwok again for the modern version of "Square Pegs" after the delay of filming for her mainland production of "Wu in Spring-Autumn" meant she was able to work with Roger after all. "I really like working with this crew after last time and I was so scared that the schedules would clash and I wouldn't be able to do it. Now we can work together again, I am so happy."

In the show, Leila plays a successful businesswoman: "I don't feel too much pressure, I will just do my best. Actually, my manager is more worried than I am, but I feel that to do my best with my performance is enough and more importantly, the producer is confident in my ability. I will have to sacrifice though, because after cutting my hair short last time, I did not want to grow it again, but to tie in with my more mature character, then the producer has asked me to grow it longer, so for the sake of Roger, I will wear my hair long again."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050311/20050311001706_0003.html

[The Sun 11/03/05]

Shirley Yeung took on a special project recently for the Kwun Tong Professional Education College's "Professional Film Development Project" where she worked for free to shoot a set of 'Constable and Entertainer' images, with looks similar to those from Zhang Ziyi's "House of Flying Daggers".

During filming, Shirley posed in a sexy dropped shoulder costume with a Pipa, whilst also showing a strong official air to her. She says: "The job was quite challenging because when you are acting, you use your voice and expressions to get your feeling across, but for still photos, then you can only use a picture to get the message across, so it is quite difficult."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050311/20050311001736_0003.html

[The Sun 10/03/05]

Recently, there have been rumours that Gigi Lai has been playing up whilst filming "Powder and Rouge", leading to Kiki Sheung losing her temper and swearing at her. As a result, the show's producer Mui Siu Ching was on set in person yesterday, but there seemed to be no awkwardness between Gigi and Kiki and when they happily posed for a photograph together, Gigi and Mui both insisted that Kiki had not been swearing, with Gigi saying: "This gossip magazine is not truthful or honest, we don't need to respond. (How are you working with Kiki?) I loved watching her series "Once Upon An Ordinary Girl" when I was young and it was great, so being able to work with her makes me very happy. She has taught me a lot."

As for Kiki, she seemed rather relaxed and even though she had to film a scene where she was soaked, she did not complain at all. In response to Gigi seeing her as a role model, she smiles: "Don't say that, we are all working hard! Actually we only argue because we have to in the show, these little gossips are quite funny because those who know me know that I do not swear!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050310/20050309233629_0003.html

[The Sun 10/03/05]

Adam Cheng's new series "The Prince's Shadow" (previously referred to as "Imperial Layabout") will begin airing next Monday and has once again caused concern over the 'Ding Hai Effect' that suggests Adam's appearance on screen will affect the stock markets. An internet betting site has even opened odds at 4-1 that the markets will fall when the show is aired.

Upon hearing about this, Adam laughs that they are underestimating his influence: "How dare they! They will pay! (Do you want the markets to go up or down?) I hope that it will rise over 14,000 points because that is good for everyone except the betting company!"

As for the other cast members in the show, they are not superstitious and believe that Adam will not crash the markets. Marco Ngai says: "Nothing happened when 'The Driving Power' aired, I don't believe in the 'Ding Hai Effect' and when the show airs, everyone will be too busy laughing at the show to care about the markets." Marco would bet on the markets going down though: "If the markets go down, the ratings go up because people have time to watch TV then!" Tavia Yeung has many scenes with Adam in the show and she would bet on the markets rising: "I will support Adam and bet on it rising because I don't believe in the 'Ding Hai Effect'."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050310/20050309232844_0003.html

[The Sun 09/03/05]

The recent rise of "Dae Jang Geum" (Jewel in the Palace) fever has led to Kelly Chen's Chinese theme tune "Hope" becoming the hit song on the streets and a special event was held yesterday to premiere her two subthemes for the show, one of which is a duet with Bowie Lam. With rumours that Bowie's involvement in this venture was part of the negotiation of his recent signing for TVB management, this was denied by TVB production chief Lok Yee Ling: "When we bought the copyright to the show, we had already chosen three songs and as Bowie was involved in filming the supplementary clips for the show, then it was only natural for him to sing the song. He has already signed for TVB management last month."

Bowie knew about recording the song in November last year and as for not receiving a fee for this work, he says: "It doesn't matter, we need to look further than this. Only with TVB is there Bowie Lam, so it can't be counted so strictly." As for Kelly, she says: "I heard the songs before and wanted to ask the company to let me sing them, but they asked me anyway and I agreed immediately. (Bowie will be taking a share of the work?) I don't mind, as long as the song is popular, the more people who hear it the better. (The show is popular, are you confident with your new album?) I don't have any expectations from the music industry, but my album comes with a free soundtrack for the show, so its a bargain!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050309/20050309012333_0003.html

[The Sun 08/03/05]

Mimi Lo and TVB's Infotainment Manager Siu Wai Hung took part in an event to promote exTV's "TVBQ Super Kids Contest" heats. Mimi indicated that the layout is similar to "Minutes to Fame" (The Cruellest Bell), where the kids will have to recite a tongue-twister, do a talent act and a reflex test, but emphasises that the judges are not at all cruel! She laughs: "I will be hosting along with Joey Leung, but this is a children's challenge show and Joey will be showing some love and definitely will not be sending the children off with his bell."

Mimi also reveals that the show will give children plenty of time to display their talents and the prizes are very attractive, with the winner taking a scholarship worth $50,000 as well as a chance to take part in a large scale variety show. She says: "I hope that the little girl who was rejected from 'Minutes to Fame' will come and join in this event again because we will only encourage children to have a good educational spirit." The selection event will take part this month on 13th and 27th in Tuen Mun City Centre, with guest judges Nancy Sit and Lily Lei.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050308/20050308000655_0003.html

[The Sun 08/03/05]

TVB's new series "Disappearance" was filming on location in Sai Kung yesterday and leading stars Michael Miu and Melissa Ng were shooting a scene with a dog. The story tells of Melissa taking her dog with her to look for Michael's missing son and Melissa has to take Michael's shoe off. She cries out: "I have never had to take a man's shoe off in all my life! If it wasn't for acting, I wouldn't do it." To which Michael replied cheekily: "If you've never tried it, then you should, there will come such a day!"

Michael laughs that he is like a newcomer to the TV station and often asks Melissa for advice. He says: "I have been filming now for a month and have got to know the other cast members now. I am very happy with filming and the best thing is working with so many pretty girls. Although I am married, but to be in such ravishing company makes the time pass so much quicker when I am working!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050308/20050308000056_0003.html

[The Sun 07/03/05]

Michael Tse appeared at an event with his pet dog yesterday and told of how when he was on his honeymoon with his wife, he receive the news that one of his other dogs, that was 13 years old had died. Michael said that this dog was very faithful and one day when he went wakeboarding, the dog was in the boat and thought he had fallen in the water, so it jumped in and tried to rescue him. Since then, he loved the dog even more, so when it died, he immediately returned to Hong Kong to attend the dog's creation and set up a shrine for its ashes at home.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050307/20050306235435_0003.html

[The Sun 06/03/05]

Ron Ng, Michelle Ye, Myolie Wu and Kenneth Ma were at a promotional event for "Lost in the Chamber of Love" yesterday and Michelle seemed a little weepy eyed throughout the event, forcing a smile during the games and bursting into tears twice during the press interviews. She squeaked: "This is my last interview and I will miss Myolie." After saying this, she was in floods of tears as she rushed to the washrooms.

Myolie stepped forward to offer comfort as well as explaining: "I think it is because she will not be signing again (for TVB management). When we went out earlier, she had already cried once, she is a more sensitive artiste." She says openly that she and Michelle are like sisters and emphasises that if she had not worked with Michelle in "Lost", the results would not have been as good: "I admire her bravery to try her luck outside the company, but I need a sense of security."

After composing herself, Michelle indicated that she will not be signing for TVB again when her contract expires in June, but she will miss her manager and her colleagues: "I will not be filming for TVB for a while. TVB discussed it with me a year ago, but I wanted more space in my career." After saying this, she broke up again, but remembered to thank TVB boss Lok Yee Ling and saying that she is currently the target of many mainland production companies.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050306/20050306013040_0003.html

[The Sun 06/03/05]

Recently there have been rumours that Charmaine Sheh is secretly dating Matt Yeung and even staying over at his home. At an event yesterday, Charmaine denied this romance and thanked rumoured boyfriend Benny Chan for supporting her.

Modelling at a wedding show with Julian Cheung, Charmaine was asked whether she was dating her junior Matt and she said with frustration: "I know there are such reports, but what do you want me to do? When I am on my own, people say I am a loner, if I am with someone elder than me
then they are my sugar daddy, if they are younger then they are my toy boy! My family are not in Hong Kong and my friends are important to me, so if I am not working then spending time with friends is very normal. (What is your relationship with Matt?) Colleagues and friends, we have got on well all along. (The reports suggest you went to his home in the middle of the night?) No, this is not true."

As for words of support from her former rumoured boyfriend Benny Chan, Charmaine says happily: "I will thank anyone who supports me. (Has this affected your relationship?) We are separate entities."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050306/20050306012637_0003.html

[The Sun 05/03/05]

Myolie Wu says that if the finale of "Lost in the Chamber of Love" pulls in good ratings she will pay for a sharks fin meal, so Ron was asked what he would do if the show gained 30 points in the final week and he said he will take everyone out for dinner, but admitted he is not as generous as Myolie. He says that he has just finished filming for "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" and when asked if he will be keeping in touch with rumoured girlfriend Ella Koon, he said defiantly: "I don't want to be photographed by the press!" He added that the rumours were rubbish and he has just seen it as a joke.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050305/20050305005215_0003.html

[The Sun 03/03/05]

TVB's new series "Always on Standby" held a blessing ceremony at the Government Flying Services hangar yesterday and promotional shots were taken with three helicopters worth $250 million. TVB General Manager Stephen Chan and Production Department Deputy Chief Catherine Tsang were present at the event and Mr Chan hopes that "Always" can be as popular as "Jewel in the Palace": "Hopefully it will reach 40 points!"

Lead cast members from the show including Ekin Cheng, Charmaine Sheh and Bowie Lam were also present and of the stars, Charmaine was the most popular with the staff as many pilots and crew asked her to pose with them for photos. Charmaine says she will be totally absorbed in this production: "I don't know who I will end up with yet, I have a romance with Ekin and he is like a big kid, always playing computer games." Ekin says he only took on the role because it gives him the chance to go up in a helicopter: "I will be filming in the hangar and every time I enter, we have to take our ID. If we lose it then we have to report it to the police and whenever the alarm sounds, we have to clear off... it is very stressful!" As for Bowie, he reveals that at the moment only he has had the opportunity to fly a helicopter and adds: "I held the controls for about thirty seconds and I was both excited and scared. I will put my all into it and as William (Hung) says - Do my best!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050303/20050302235127_0003.html

2005-02-24T23:59:00.000Z

It's me - just can't keep away from this place.. hee hee hee!
Still working hard on the new site, but will keep dropping by with the odd piece here and there that catches my eye.
Anyway, noticed this excellent preview article from this week's TVB Weekly, so just couldn't help but share it with everyone. There are some gaps, so bear with the dots because its hard to read from the web version. Hopefully, there will still be a copy of the real thing in the shops on Sunday when I go to Chinatown!

[TVB Weekly Issue 402 - 22/02/05]

Cover Story - The Show Must Go On

This is the motto that 'big sister' Liza Wang deeply believes in. It means that no matter what the situation, everything has to carry on.

In the same light, this is also what TVB deeply believes in and regardless of past performances, the show must go on and they will continue to bring the best productions to their viewers.

In 2004, shows such as "To Catch the Uncatchable" and "War and Beauty" were greatly welcomed by the audience, but TVB's production department does not live in the past as they have already started the hard work in bringing plenty of new ideas to life in the form of captivating dramas. They understand that ratings are important, but what is paramount is bringing entertainment to you, the viewer - making you laugh out loud or shed an emotional tear as each scene reaches out to you.

Led by Liza herself, here is a preview of some of the great shows that TVB has in store for this year that encompasses all. "TVB 2005 Showdown" has invited the support of the leading cast members to reveal some secrets behind forthcoming productions.

My Sassy Mother-In-Law (Translated title)
Producer: Kwan Wing Chung
Script: Choi Suk Yin, Leung Yan Dung
Cast: Liza Wang, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Christine Ng, Shek Sau

Synopsis:
In the Qing Dynasty, there was a bossy princess (Liza Wang) who married into a noble family, but still exerted her influence. Whilst choosing a wife for her son Mau Chun (Bosco Wong), she accidentally marries him to Tin Lik (Myolie Wu), who is the daughter of a gang leader. Thus begins the battles between mother and daughter-in-law with the son stuck in the middle, having to win the affections of his wife as well as keeping his mother happy, playing the sympathetic one. However, he is actually a great martial artist who is hiding a secret from them all. What is this secret? And what will happen to the rowing duo? You'll have to wait and see....

Liza:
"I haven't filmed a comedy for a while now and this series was quite interesting. When they designed the characters, they let their imaginations run riot and I am always being sprayed with rice and water. The character is actually much like myself and is very bossy, but actually she is very direct as well. I hope the audience will both love and hate her!"

Bosco:
"The best thing about the show is Liza because I have never seen her so bossy. On the other hand, her character also has some very feminine qualities about her and it is this soulful inner acting that is great to watch."

Myolie:
"The deepest impression for me was filming an argument scene with Liza that lasted three hours. We were both very absorbed and the lines were very piercing, so after we finished, everyone gave us a round of applause."

Healing Hands III
Producer: Chik Kei Yi
Script: Chow Yuk Ming, Choi Ting Ting
Cast: Gigi Lai, Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Lawrence Ng, Bernice Liu, Melissa Ng

Synopsis:
Doctor Ching Chi Mei (Lawrence Ng) fought alongside his girlfriend Ho Sum Yin during the SARS epidemic, but after the disease was eradicated Sum Yin is fatally injured in an accident that left Chi Mei falling deep into depression. Luckily, he receives comfort from pathologist Shum .. Ching (Gigi Lai) and regains his confidence. As for Doctor Lai Kwok Chu (Bowie Lam), he has split up with his lawyer girlfriend, but soon finds himself between the affections of bone specialist (Melissa Ng) and junior doctor Tsang Suk Kei (Bernice Liu). This instalment of the show will also look into various conditions from a professional angle, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and SARS, indicating the effects and causes of the illness and raising the profile of these ailments.

Gigi:
"This is the first time I have played a pathologist, but it wasn't too difficult. However, I had to do some autopsies and despite not being too scared, sometimes duirng the night I did have some nightmares!"

Bowie:
"For me, filming 'Healing Hands' lets me pretend to be a middle class person and drive my dream car, a Maserati Spider. It was a titanium silver one too, so I had my fun! As for my character Henry, after so many experiences, he has reached the stage where he wants to settle down, but he knows that his love for Melissa is only on the surface and they cannot be together. This is quite reflective of the relationship troubles of the middle classes."

Yellow Earth Great Plains (Translated title)
Starts filming beginning of May 2005
Producer: Chik Kei Yi
Script: Chow Yuk Ming
Cast: Moses Chan, Bowie Lam, Charmaine Sheh, Ada Choi, Sonija Kwok, Kenny Wong

Synopsis:
Set in the 1920's and 30's, the story is set in a village nestled in the yellow earth of the higher plains, where the villagers make their living by making fireworks... this gradually brings fortune to some of the residents as well as complications to their simple life. Originally, there were just two families living in the village, the Lams and the Chois, where the Lams were the original inhabitants and the Chois were accepted after they offered to help with the firework trade. All was fine, but after a while, there were disagreements between Lam descendent (Bowie Lam) and Choi descendent (Ada Choi) and a struggle for power begins to appear.

Chik Kei Yi:
"In the show, Moses will be playing a Choi family descendent and he will be arch rivals with Bowie. He is big and strong enough to play a northerner and fits the role exactly. His character is both good and evil as he will do anything to seek his vengeance. The conflict and fighting in this gives the feeling of a male version of 'War and Beauty'."

Ada Choi:
"I have just been in a meeting about this and have heard a little of the plot., I really like the story, so I hope to start filming soon."

The New Legend of Ah Wong (Translated title)
Producer: Wong Wai Sing
Script: Lau Choi Wan
Cast: Jessica Hsuan, Roger Kwok, Bosco Wong

Synopsis:
This show has nothing to do with the original "Square Pegs", apart from the main character 'Ah Wong' being mentally disabled. When Ah Wong (Roger Kwok) was thee years old, his mother (Michelle Yim) could no longer stand his father (Paul Chun) and left, taking him with her... After growing up, Ah Wong finds his place in society and meets his ambitious and determined 'Lo Por Jai' (Jessica Hsuan) and a success-hungry young talent (Bosco Wong). Ah Wong decides that in order to marry his beloved, he will work hard to be a useful person, so he finds his first job in the dessert cafe where his mother works and creates "Lo Por Sweet Dumplings" that spark a massive trend...

Jessica:
"The show will be keeping Ah Wong's innocence and everyone in the show will be good people, with no major bad guy. However, my character this time will not be a perfect girl because she has a little wild streak to her. I am so glad to play a bad role, so remember to tune in!"

Roger:
"Filming hasn't started yet, but I have started putting on weight, so I will eat whatever I see. I think I will put on about 20 lbs to make my appearance look naive. Luckily the character of Ah Wong is timeless, so the play the modern version of him isn't too difficult. Lo Por Jai, I am coming back!"

Ten Brothers
Producer: Poon Ka Tak
Script: Chan Wai Yin
Cast: Frankie Lam, Kenix Kwok, Lai Lok Yi, Jack Wu, Don Li, Jason Lam, Matt Yeung

Synopsis:
Orphan Chan Dai Ha (Frankie Lam) sells sweet soup for a living and has a secret admiration for rich girl Kei Hau Yee (Kenix Kwok). On a day when the skies showed strange apparitions, ten crystals descended into Dai Ha's home. He did not think much of this, but when the ten crystals were swallowed by Hau Yee, she finds herself becoming pregnant before marriage and giving birth to the ten brothers, including 'Thousand Mile Sight', 'Super Hearing Ears' and 'Strongman Three'. Each of the brothers had their special powers and using them properly, they are able to bring fortune to their family. However, the local general wants to capture the brothers and use them for his own gain, so he plots to come between them. Dai Ha and Hau Yee have to work hard to keep their family together as they meet with these difficulties.

Lai Lok Yi:
"In the show, the ten brothers each have their own oddities, so the costumes were all very different. This kind of ancient fantasy story is very rare, so we should be able to bring a fresh concept to everyone. Apart from different make up effects for each of the brothers, the special effects and props are also very unusual and in the final scene, the brothers get together to fight a big fish and as they each use their powers to the limit, it should be a great scene."

Kenix Kwok & Frankie Lam:
"To be able to film such a well-known classic story is an honour and working every day with such a big group of cast, even the daily trip to the canteen meant that there was not a table big enough for the ten brothers, the director, PA and us. It was all very happy though because we could order lots of food. There were a lot of funny incidents in the group. Once, we were rehearsing in the brothers' room and it was suddenly very smelly. It turned out that all ten had taken their shoes off and got into the bed. It was so smelly! Filming this show was very happy and the ten brothers still call us 'Mother' and 'Father'."

Yummy Yummy - Food for Life
Producer: Amy Wong Sum Wai
Script: Wong Wai Keung, Lam Siu Chi
Cast: Raymond Lam, Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, Kevin Cheng, Hui Siu Hung

Synopsis:
This is a co-production starring Hong Kong and Singapore actors. The story surrounds a TV Gourmet competition that spans Singapore and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong team - Yau Hok .. (Raymond Lam), Chow Chi Yan (Tavia Yeung), Chan Ka Lok (Kevin Cheng) and Singapore's Wong Fook Sang (Ben Yeo) meet in the competition and turn from opponents to good friends. Chi Yan meets with her half sister Chow Man Hei (Charmaine Sheh) and these five young people overcome great difficulty in search of business success.

Charmaine:
"We filmed in Singapore for about a month and a lot of Singaporean cuisine will appear in the show. My favourite was Bak Kut Teh and Pepper Crab. During filming, the best fun was during an eating competition scene and although I did not have to eat, seeing everyone else eating made me very happy. Finally I couldn't resist and ended up eating lots of satay skewers."

Raymond:
"The most unimaginable thing filming this show was having to shoot in the forests for a modern series and having to catch fish and chicken. Not only did we have to get wet in the water, we even had to do wirework! However, to have the chance to work with the Singaporean artistes and communicate in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and even Taiwanese during working was quite an unusual experience. The most important thing was of course all the food that we were able to try that you cannot usually find in Hong Kong."

Tavia:
"Whilst filming this series, I had to eat turtle and snake and I am actually quite scared of these things, but had to just grin and bear it for the show. Luckily, when I had spare time from filming in Singapore, I made the most of the Hainan Chicken Rice, in particular one restaurant where it was delicious. Their Beef Fried Noodles was also amazing, you really have to try it!"

Barber Father Stylist Son (Translated title)
Filming begins March 2005
Producer: Leung Choi Yuen
Script: Chan Ching Yee
Cast: Nnadia Chan, Kevin Cheng, Wayne Lai, Sharon Chan, Halina Tam

Synopsis:
In the holiday hotspot of Stanley, a light hearted romance and heartwarming story evolves. Chiu Tin .. (Kevin Cheng) is a famous name in the world of Hong Kong hairstylists and despite his popular salon in the heart of Central, he was born in Stanley, where his father brought up his two sons by cutting hair. Unfortunately, his expectations for his sons are too high and this puts a strain on the father-son relationship. Chiu meets with debt problems and has to move back to live with his father in Stanley, where he meets his childhood sweetheart Pang Ching (Nnadia Chan), who is a windsurfing expert as well as a mechanical engineer...

Nnadia:
"I always go to Stanley, but I don't know much about the local traditions and customs. When the producer told me that there are no discos, karaokes or triads there, then I was very shocked. I never imagined that the place was so 'clean'. Working with Kevin will be a fresh experience and as for the role, she is very suited to my personality, but the biggest challenge for me will be to go windsurfing. At the moment I am working hard to pick up exercising again."

Kevin:
"Although the show hasn't started filming yet, to be able to go to film in Stanley should be very relaxing. I think it will be very light hearted and this is the first time I am working with Nnadia, but it should be good fun. The story tells of the love between a father and son and there will be a lot of opportunity to shine as well as to convey the message that love is valuable."

The Academy
Producer: Wong Wai Sing
Script: Lee Yee Wah, Choi Suk Yin
Cast: Michael Miu, Ron Ng, Tavia Yeung, Sammul Chan, Fiona Sit, Deep Ng

Synopsis:
This is not the story of "Naja not fearing the Dragon King..." (reference "Police Cadet 1985"), but the story of Chung Lap Man (Ron Ng), who enters the Police Training Academy after his parents split up as a protest against instructing officer Lee Man Sing (Michael Miu), who he believes to have caused the break up of his happy family. In the 27 week training course, he meets many other cadets and gets on well with Lee Pak Kiu (Sammul Chan). Due to a misunderstanding, Pak sees Man Sing as an obstruction... The two men also meet waitress Ho Fa (Tavia Yeung) and rich girl Ma Hoi Lam (Fiona Sit) and embark on some romance... Who will eventually find success?

Sammul:
"Maybe because I hadn't filmed a series for a while, but I felt a little uneasy during the shoot for this series. It wasn't too hard work being a cadet, because I have experience of working for the Red Cross and marching was not a problem for me. The happiest thing was to be able to spend time living and filming in the Police Academy, it really was a memory that will last a lifetime. The must surprising incident was finding an ATM inside the school, but it was very hidden, you had to go past the principal's office and down a corridor before you saw it. It was quite unusual."

Fiona:
"Filming series for the first time broke three personal records for me. The first was only sleeping for three hours in three days, the second was putting on 10 lbs and the third was getting the best tan ever after so much location filming in the sun. Afterwards, I felt very accomplished, because at the end of it, our marching was almost as good as the real cadets and all the cast were very happy. As the weather was very hot and uncomfortable, so hot that the soles of our shoes were melting, it was very easy to suffer sunstroke."

Fantasy Hotel
Producer: Lee Tim Sing
Script: Cheung Wah Biu
Cast: Michael Tao, Melissa Ng, Wayne Lai, Woo Fung, Ben Wong

Synopsis:
This story is set around some tour guides - Kam Chi Kit (Michael Tao) is known by the nickname "Hong Kong Pass" after having been through many ups and downs in his career, from being a rich businessman to rock bottom, but still keeping a positive attitude and the belief that he can find his third bucket of gold. He meets the woman in his life Man (Melissa Ng) and they go from arguing duo to good friends who bear troubles together. One day, he meets the boss of the "Golden Hotel" Kam Kwong .. (Woo Fung), who gives him some shares in the hotel. At first, Kit wants to just sell them and make a quick buck, but Kwong instructs him that he is not allowed to sell his share of the hotel. After many difficulties, Kit finally puts his heart into making the hotel work.

Michael:
"This is the first time I have worked with Melissa and I never imagined her to be so comedic. In one scene, we had to play tour guides and lead a group of tourists from the mainland from Whampao Gardens to the train station and it was very amusing. Another scene told of an air stewardess that my character had a crush on being killed in an air disaster, leaving him with a phobia of plains. Luckily with Melissa's help, he finally overcomes this, if you want to know how, then you have to watch it."

Melissa:
"This is a light production and in the show, I keep having to chase after buses in search of a husband, but apart from running, filming for the show was not hard work really because Michael is very gallant and often gets drinks for me, so I thought it was rather relaxing. Also, we went to film for the show at many of Hong Kong's tourist attractions because it tells of us being tour guides, so there are plenty of great locations to see."

Scavenger's Paradise
Producer: Kwan Wing Chung
Script: Wong Kwok Fai
Cast: Kenneth Ma, Roger Kwok, Myolie Wu, Cherrie Kong

Synopsis:
This story is set in Hong Kong in the 50's and 60's and how two young people with different personalities meet and look out for one another. Tang Wai Cheung (Roger Kwok) and Tang Kwok Fung (??) (Kenneth Ma) are uncle and nephew, but have different characters. After the death of his parents, Cheung arrives in Hong Kong to look for Ling Sing Bo, because Ling owed his father a favour, where he meets his uncle Kwok. Because Kwok owes a large amoutn of money to the loan sharks, the two of them can only work in whatever they can to make money to repay the loan. After working through 72 different jobs, they meet Cheng Pik Wan (Myolie Wu) and Ling Fung (Cherrie Kong) and embark on their own happy love stories.

Kenneth:
"The series is full of the sights and colours of the fifties and sixties and you could say that it is a classic show from the times but in colour. The younger generation will find it quite fun and the older generation will find it very reminiscent, like looking back on their pasts. The main selling point of course is Roger, because he has become a very flexible actor and he captures the essence of Brother Cheung [ref to Cantonese opera and classic film star Tang Wing Cheung]. I learned a lot from working with him and as well as looking after his own performance, he often offered a lot of advice to me on how to act. He would go into every detail and offer a fix for every scene, so the whole show is very refined!"

Always on Standby (Translated Title)
Producer: Lo Wing Yin
Script: Ng Siu Kong, Choi Ting Ting
Cast: Linda Chung, Shirley Yeung, Ekin Cheng, Bowie Lam, Charmaine Sheh, Lai Lok Yi

Synopsis:
This series is based on the work of the Government Flying Services (GFS) and is the first such venture for TVB. The two male leads Ko Ho Fung (Ekin Cheng) and Yip Ching Wan (Bowie Lam) are the top partners in the GFS and they are made responsible for training a group of new trainees, including the intelligent but untrusting Sze Cho Ki (Linda Chung) and the talented but unfailing Wong Ka Lok (Lai Lok Yi). During the training, they all face challenges in career and romance, but they manage to face up to their difficulties and put rescuing people as their number one priority. Always on standby to face life and all it brings.

Linda:
"In the show, I play a flying services officer and have to go and rescue people on the mountain and at sea. Although the series has not officially started filming yet, we have been through a four-day training course with the services and one of the experiences was to to go into the air in a helicopter that kept rising and falling, making you feel very dizzy and nauseous, I was so scared I had to grab onto the person beside me. However, if I have the chance, then I would do it again because maybe this would help me to overcome my fear of roller coasters!"

Shirley:
"My character is a communications officer for the GFS and she is very optimistic, but because she is disabled, she has to use a wheelchair. During filming, I practised with a manual and an automatic chair and my arms are getting very strong with all that training!"

Ekin:
"In the show, I am the team leader of the flying services team and the best thing about filming this is to be able to go and train with them beforehand. Each of the cast members took turns to be hoisted from the helicopter to rescue a 'victim' from the sea. When I did not have to do this, I went to play the victim and made it all very dramatic."

Revolving Doors of Vengeance
Producer: Poon Ka Tak
Script: Lee Yee Wah, Yip Sai Hong
Cast: Ron Ng, Joe Ma, Kenix Kwok, John Chiang, Lau Dan, Ella Koon, Elaine Yiu, Ellesmere Choy

Synopsis:
The story befalls the family of Wong Yuk Ting (Lau Dan) who runs a five-star hotel chain and tells of how repaying a favour turns into seeking vengeance in a twisting story of honour and revenge. Wong Kai Kit (Ron Ng) is the youngest son in the Wong family, but his two elder brothers are not suitable heirs to the family wealth in the eyes of his father. Then Yuk Ting suddenly dies mysteriously and the business is strangely handed to a man named Ko Fung (Joe Ma) to head. He develops a romance with Bik Kei (Kenix Kwok), whom he meets in the hotel and becomes embroiled in a tangled power struggle with the family, including Kit's uncle Wing Fat (John Chiang), where deceit and plots unfold around every twist and turn...

Ron:
"My character has very distinct stages throughout the series, going from headstrong and enthusiastic into having to face Joe Ma (enemy in the show) and everything for him is a test. At first there was some pressure on me, but after chatting to the producer and the director, I began to feel more satisfied with my performance. There are a lot of surprises in this series and you have to watch out for my dad's storyline because the father-son bond will be there throughout the show."

Joe:
"You really have to be observant throughout this series, because there are a lot of different plots and it will be difficult to tell between the good guys and the bad guys. There are also many emotional scenes from the heart and it was quite difficult to portray these. Sometimes, Kenix and I found it hard to keep up with each others reactions and we would joke tht the other was a dozy spy."

The Prince's Shadow
Producer: Chui Ching Hong
Script: Ng Siu Tung
Cast: Adam Cheng, Sheren Tang, Tavia Yeung

Synopsis:
Ko Sing (Adam Cheng) is a handservant of Emperor Qianlong, but he is very smart and intelligent, often offering ideas to the emperor and therefore gains the emperor's trust and favour. Qianlong takes a fancy to Yu Yi (Tavia Yeung), so he sends Sing to go and seek her out. When he reaches the town, he finds that Yu Yi has been sold into the local brothel, owned by So Sam (Sheren Tang), who becomes a quarrelling twosome with Sing, but gradually develops feelings towards him. Later on, Sing finds out a secret about the emperor and finds his own life at risk, how will he, So Sam and Yu Yi escape with their lives? Where will Sing's affections eventually lie?

Adam:
"Haha, I was so happy to film this series because there were so many pretty girls doting on me. Tavia even had to bathe me! It was like being as charming as Chor Lau Heung. However, this man has a blind devotion to the Qianlong Emperor, so there is a serious side to it and there will be plenty of emotion for you to watch!"

Sheren:
"Filming this show was such a happy time because every day on set, we were able to mess around with Adam. There is a great advantage of working with him because he will always be clear about which position gives the best lighting and makes you look your finest. That is why whenever Adam was around, people would stand beside him, that way it will make you look even more photogenic!"

Rouge and Powder (Translated title)
Producer: Mui Siu Ching
Script: Ka Wai Nam
Cast: Sharon Chan, Anne Heung, Michael Tong, Mandy Cho, Moses Chan, Gigi Lai, Yoyo Mung, Chan Hung Lit

Synopsis:
"Powder and Rouge" is set in the background of 1930's Hong Kong, and follows how rich heir Chuk Yau .. (Moses Chan) lets the family business fall to ruins before finding his drive and determination again to put it all right. Together with his sister (Gigi Lai), they work hard to build the business, selling cosmetics and perfumes. At the same time, he also develops a three-party affair with Ng Yi Fong (Yoyo Mung) and Wong Hiu Ching (Sharon Chan). On the other hand, Wong Hiu Fai (Michael Tong) arrives at the Chuk family in search of his sister and has a romance with the Chuk younger sister Chuk Ming Man (Mandy Cho). Elder sister in law Sung Ngai Sheung (Anne Heung) also plays a part in breaking up Chuk's relationship with his family which is faced with the results of jealousy and vengeance...

Sharon:
"I play a woman who meets with a lot of bad luck on her path to romance and for me it was quite good fun because the character was very layered and gave me an opportunity to test my acting. I have really liked Siu Ching's productions all along because she is very knowlegable, take 'Better Halves' for example."

Anne:
"The character for me was a great challenge, especially as there are many more crying scenes than I have done before. The strangest thing is that sometimes when I couldn't cry, all I had to do was look back at the script and I would cry, it worked every time! Also, as the show was called 'Powder and Rouge', all the female cast members would get together to share ideas on the best cosmetics and when we found the best one, we would all start using it."

Michael:
"This time, my character is a little different from before as it is not comedic and is very serious, because he comes in search of his sister. My part isn't very big, but there is one scene that is totally focussed on me that tells of me going to the Chuk family to eat and from the first bite, the family question me endlessly. When we filmed it, we all found this scene very amusing."

Mandy:
"I have never had so many pretty costumes to wear! I never imagined that it would be so much fun, because a lot of the scenes included some great actors and I could quietly learn a lot from them. Sometimes during rehearsals, I would ask them for their experiences and I have picked up so much."

Disappearance (Translated title)
Producer: Cheung Kin Man
Script: Chu Keng Kei
Cast: Bernice Liu, Michael Miu, Melissa Ng, Kenneth Ma, Hui Siu Hung, Ben Wong

Due to his work as a police officer, Ko Chung Ching (Michael Miu) first loses his wife when she leaves him and then his son, who runs away and the two people dearest to him disappear from his life... Later on, Ching leaves the police force and sets up his own detective agency. On one hand, he helps other people find their lost items and on the other, he continues to look for clues on where to find his lost family. He has three assistants at the agency: .. (Power Chan), Man Tai Bo (Bernice Liu) and Lam Yan Yan (Vivien Yeo). Later, he meets .. (Melissa Ng) and embarks on a many stranded love affair...

Bernice:
"When I received this script, I was really happy because I really love this role and it gives me a chance to shine. As she is not a police officer, she does not have the right to do any direct investigation, so my character has to dress up a lot, like Charlies Angels, so I will have a lot of different images. I am really looking forward to playing with pinhole cameras and listening bugs as a private detective. I think everyone has this idea of what detectives do, like when women hire their services to check on what their boyfriends are up to."

Michael:
"After filming 'The Academy' as a police cadet trainer, I now move onto becoming a detective in 'Disappearance', which is a good natural progression. The role seems to be written with me in mind because he is around the same age, same personality and has a son as well. As for the selling point, then it was the lack of detective investigation shows lately and of course the chance to be the male lead! Haha! To be able to share acting experiences with the younger generation feels good. Take for example the three younger female leads in the show Melissa, Bernice and Vivien, they are all from abroad, but they are still so professional and hard working, always being fully prepared in their work."

Mr Chan of Foshan (Translated title)
Producer: Chong Wai Kin
Script: Wong Kwok Fai, Leung Wing Mui
Cast: Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Maggie Siu, Leung Ka Yan, Jack Wu, Timmy Hung

Synopsis:
Leung Chan (Yuen Biao) is the successor to Wing Chun Master Wong Bo Wah (Yuen Wah), but when he becomes involved in a murder case, he has to flee to Foshan. His sweetheart Cheung Kin Hei (Maggie Siu) also goes to Foshan, but is forced to marry into the Chan family. When her husband dies suddenly, she becomes a widow. When she is later reunited with Leung Chan, they work together to find out the truth behind the murder.

Yuen Biao:
"The role this time is really honourable and his martial arts skill is high, but he is not very brave really and will only fight when he has to. On the romance front, he is rather wishy-washy so he is a failure when it comes to love."

Yuen Wah:
"In the show, I have a guest role, playing Yuen Biao's master and I am very strict in the show, but despite being disciplined, he is a good master. Actually, my own master was even stricter. In those days, if he headed east, then I would run towards the west!"

The Gentle Crackdown
Producer: Lau Ka Ho
Cast: Moses Chan, Niki Chow, Yuen Wah

Synopsis:
Ming dynasty and the corrupt officials rule. Master Constable Luk Chin (Yuen Wah) falls in love with the female outlaw Fei Ying (Michelle Yim) and they have a daughter - Luk Sap Hei (Niki Chow). When she grows up, she becomes a female constable, but in the male dominated world of the court, she is often underestimated. Luckily, the newly appointed magistrate Shui .... (Moses Chan) is not a corrupt official and solves a number of unusual cases. Then there is a mysterious murder case and the evidence points towards Fei Ying. Luk and the others set about investigating to clear her name and venture deeper into the tiger's den...

The Sze Kung Files (Translated title)
Producer: Lam Chi Wah
Cast: Bobby Au Yeung ...

Synopsis:
In the Qing dynasty, there was an Official named Sze (Bobby Au Yeung) who wanted to be a good minister, but he was naturally rather clumsy. Until the day that he dreamed about the 'Pillow God', who told him about the key to solving a case. However these clues were puzzles and it was down to Sze to work them out. This god turns out to be a lingering spirit and in training Sze, it wants him to help solve a cast for it in return.

Epilogue:

Jumping out of the TV on the cover, via the rope tended to by the artistes and then back onto your screens as they all perform to their best....
This "2005 Showhand" has been completed with the help of many departments and artistes. In the same light, every series produced by TVB is the result of the hard work of every single crew member, all pushing themselves to the limit to bring you the best on your screens, so that when everyone is lavishing in family time, then you can also enjoy the entertainment and excitement brought to you by TVB.
For each series to be completed, the path is long and arduous, but cast and crew before and behind the camera all work through their difficulties, just in the hope that you can give them two words:
"Good Show!"

http://jade.tvb.com/weekly/402/index.html

This article has taken some time and effort to complete - if you repost all or part of it, please remember to credit correctly - including TVB Weekly - and link back to the site.
(And do not use for commercial activity please!)
Thanks

2005-02-21T23:46:00.000Z

A bit of moonlighting...

Heehee... this place is like an addiction for me.
Anyway, this isn't really news considering its from over 4 years ago, but seeing as I've done it, then here is a treat for all you Bosco Fans, whilst you're waiting for April!!!

Em

Summary of TVB Webcast with Guests: Timothy Zao (Siu Chuen Yung) and Bosco Wong - 24/11/2000

Q = Web question
B = Bosco
T = Timothy

Q: What do you find is the difference between hosting and acting in drama?

B: I find that the scripts for hosting are easier to relay because it is just a set of points to express and you can improvise and be yourself, but in drama it is all very rigid and it is more difficult to be someone else.

*******

Q: What experiences have you had as an MC?

B: My first big show was for a talent contest and I really couldn't be myself because if you made one slip, then you were in trouble and ready to be sacked. The worst thing is when you miss the cue for the next person and you have to improvise. Then you have to repeat yourself without looking like a fool. The easiest way to do this was to laugh.

********

Q: What ghostly experiences have you had at TVB?

B: I have never met any myself, but I have heard stories from Studio 8...

T: But this industry is very susceptible to these things. It's a very superstitious industry.

B: I didn't know that.

T: What stories have you heard?

B: I once heard from a martial arts guy that he was in the elevator in the D2 building next to this one when it suddenly stopped and the door opened. He was faced with a ghostly figure in red, but he just kept staring at it until the doors closed again. That would have been quite scary!

********

Q: Have you met anything spooky on travel shows?

B: I didn't come across anything in Hainan Island, but when I was young, I went on holiday to Thailand and fell ill after a couple of days for no reason. I was there for seven days and was ill for four days with a fever and nausea. I had some buddhist beads that I kept in my bag and my mum suggested I wear them. After resting that day, I found that three of the five beads had split in half and I was fine then after going to the toilet.

********

Q: What is your favourite series?

T: I liked watching "Long Vacation"....

B: I don't really like watching Japanese series because I am afraid of reading subtitles. With English shows, then it is okay because you can half understand it, but because I don't have a clue with Japanese, then by the time I have read the subtitles, then I can't watch the acting. When Nicam dubbing came along, then I felt it had lost its original feeling. My favourite series is Stephen Chow's "The Final Combat" because it was so funny and I still remember the jokes and lines from it. It was unbeatable.

********

Q: What would you do if you weren't in showbiz?

B: If I wasn't in showbiz, I would do one of two things. The first one would be to work for the SPCA because I love animals, but only those with fur like dogs and cats. Not snakes though, because I am scared of them. The other thing would be to do with cars, but not fixing them because I am afraid of dirt. I'd probably be a salesman and sell them instead.

********

Q: What kind of girls do you like?

T: I think she just has to give me the right feeling. How about you Bosco, does she have to be 5 ft however many inches or something like that?

B: No, you can't do that. I think for me, as you say, it all comes down to feelings. As long as we are right for each other. The think I hate is for people to have dirty and untidy fingernails.

T: This is like an Eddie Murphy film where he checks the toenails of beautiful women he sleeps with...

B: I remember, there is a scene where he is in bed and he pulls away the sheets just to see her feet.

********

Q: Who is the funniest person you have filmed with?

T: Possibly Eric Tsang... I have never worked with Stephen Chow

B: Not only filming, but Eric is just very funny in general.

T: Yes, he just comes out with things that make you laugh out loud...

B: For me, apart from Stephen Chow obviously, who is renowned for being funny, then I think Nick Cheung is a very funny guy, but as a person, he can be quite serious though. For someone who can really make you laugh when you work with him, it is Chin Ka Lok.

T: There is one person who is very funny, Bobby Au-Yeung.

B: Yes, I interviewed him once and he is so funny. From the time that we entered the studio to the time we finished, we were laughing all the way.

http://tvcity.tvb.com/drama/chat/artist/index_02.html
(Thanks to ingrid from Boscoland forum for the links!)

2005-02-11T11:06:00.000Z

UPDATE:

Hi Everyone!

A huge thank you all for the messages you have left here and emailed to me. I am truly grateful for your support and it is this wonderful spirit that gives me the motivation to continue with working on TVBspace.

As far as I understand, the dialogue with the third party involved has produced results and I now no longer feel that the voluntary and unpaid work that I do in helping other fans is being exploited for financial gain by others. For those who wanted more details, I would rather leave the matter where it is without any further discussion, but a word of advice in general, always be wary when people on the internet ask for money and be sure to question what exactly you are paying for!

In the meantime, I think this incident has given me the kick up the backside that I needed to help TVBspace News Roundup along in the new direction that I have been formulating for some time. I have found a new dedicated host that is affordable and gives me more flexibility (although I must admit that blogspot has served us grandly for the last couple of years) and I will be changing the format of the site so that it is not just a collection of translated news articles. The new features have been built on your comments and feedback and I hope they will prove interesting and informative.

I plan to launch the new site when I come back from my vacation in April (I am going star-spotting in Hong Kong! haha!), so in the meantime, please be patient and you can always get your fix of news from the plethora of news sites that have sprung up recently (including said third party...)!

That's all from me before I go on hiatus!
(Mrs Ghosty can finally have some quality time with her fella!)

Take care!
Em

2005-02-10T17:41:00.000Z

Note from Em:

Happy New Year Everyone!
I hope you have all had a fun and enjoyable new year period.

I regret to inform you that due to an incident by a third party that puts in jeopardy the legal standpoint of this site and the use of the articles I translate, then I will taking time out to reconsider whether I should continue working here or put my time to better usage.

I appreciate that this will come as a blow to many of my readers who have supported me for so long and it is unfortunate that it has reached this stage. Hopefully, the situation will be resolved shortly and normal service will resume.

In the meantime, please feel free to email me if there is something specific you would like to discuss with me.

Thanks to everyone for your support in the past.
Em

PS - I'm not in any trouble, in case you're worried about me! Just gonna maybe find a new direction and catch up a little on the main TVBspace site in the meantime! (Yes, you lucky Rogerspace fans!!!)

2005-02-09T21:25:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao & Oriental Daily 10/01/05]

TVB Executive Chairman Sir Run Run Shaw (Uncle Six) took part in a special Chinese New Year greeting show "Golden Rooster Greets the New Year in Lively Mood" yesterday and seemed to be n high spirits, holding tightly to Miss Hong Kong Kate Tsui throughout the performance, where the absence of Liza Wang, Lydia Shum and Carol Cheng was noted, Sir Run Run was still happy to see some younger faces among the performance.

Ninety-eight year old Sir Run Run arrived at TVB City with his wife Mona Fong yesterday and in line with the show's title was in a lively mood as he chatted away with Kate and held her hand. He then went on to hand out $20 'Start of Work' lucky packets to all his staff, assisted by Kate and Queenie Chu who kept him talking throughout, saying lucky phrases. Even when Sir Run Run left, he turned to them and said: "I'll take you out for dinner sometime!" Afterwards, Kate said: "I will definitely accept. Uncle Six kept saying how pretty and young the girls were, whilst he is nearly a hundred years old. When Mrs Li heard this, she suggested that we should have a special birthday party for him and he said that would be good."

Although Liza, Lydia and Carol were not present to oversee proceedings, there were plenty of male and female leads there to keep the show running, including "War and Beauty" leads Gigi Lai, Charmaine Sheh, Bowie Lam and Moses Chan and "Square Pegs" stars Roger Kwok and Jessica Hsuan.

Born in the year of the rabbit, Charmaine says that her sign is in conflict with the gods this year, so she has bought plenty of plum blossom for her home, as she really wants a date this year: "After being in the industry for eight years, I think it is time to find someone and enjoy dating life. It will also be good to raise my spirits." After the show, Gigi rushed off to Dongguan to appear in another stage show and make some new year fortunes. She will be staying at home on the 2nd and 3rd days of the new year. "I have to get enough sleep before I continue filming 'Rouge & Powder" and I need to spend some time with my family." With a rewarding year last year, Gigi has prepared a large sum as a new year gift for her parents to share her fortunes.

There was a short hiccup during TVB's New Year's Eve show when there was some confusion resulting in no countdown to the new year at midnight. MC Cutie Mui explained afterwards: "There were some technical difficulties and we thought that there would be simultaneous broadcast with the location team watching the fireworks, but we could not connect in time and it was only when we heard the fire crackers that we realised we had already entered the year of the rooster. Let's just put this down to experience."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050210/20050209234443_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a53cnt.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 10/02/05]

Fearless of the gossip mongers, Sammul Chan and Bernice Liu shared a New Year meal together yesterday and wishes everyone success in your careers. Everything about the new year i about good luck, so Bernice chose to eat some red hot spicy crab in the hope that this will bring her good luck. (Red is the Chinese lucky colour.) As for new year traditions, Sammul says: "People say you should not buy shoes or wash your hair at the new year, but I will still do these things because I am not so superstitious. (What is your new year wish?) I hope that I can make new developments in my career and release a record soon. Also I wish for world peace!"

Despite her western upbringing, Bernice is actually a very traditional person as she says: "I will use pomelo leaves to bathe at the new year, buy some new underwear and ask for lucky packets. I hope that the Rooster Year will be even better, I can earn more money to buy an even bigger house and work goes smoothly. Also I wish for good health."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050210/20050209234148_0003.html

2005-02-09T00:01:00.000Z

Wishing you good health, great luck, happiness and prosperity for the lively year of the Rooster!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!!

2005-02-08T23:45:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily 09/02/05]

Having risen to fame through TVB's "War and Beauty", Gigi Lai and Bowie Lam have had a very fruitful year last year and in the year of the rooster, they both hope that they will maintain their popularity and step up in their careers.

Gigi and Bowie are known for being quite inseparable in their work and their New Year photoshoot is no exception, as Gigi laughs that they seem like a married couple. However, they will be leaving each other for a short while in the new year as Gigi will be heading into the mainland to do some stage shows, whilst Bowie will be flying to America. Today, for Chinese New Year's Day, they will be heading into TVB City to offer their greetings to Sir Run Run Shaw and receive their special lucky packet before going off on their separate ways.

Gigi says: "I have two days off this year and after doing the shows, I will not be going anywhere and just going home to sleep to get rested before starting work again."

As for Bowie, he is a little more relaxed as his favourite festival is the new year, so he will be going to the flower markets and decorating his home. When Bowie was asked if he will be buying any flowers, he says: "Definitely, especially the very Chinese gladioli. (Will you buy plum blossom for popularity?) I don't need to, there is a large one at home already (his girlfriend)." Upon hearing this, he was asked when he would be getting married and he replies: "Not at the moment, my career has just started taking off and we have an understanding, unlike some 'loving couples'. As long as we are comfortable together, then that is enough."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a07cnt.html

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 09/02/05]

Myolie Wu and Bosco Wong were hurriedly buying flowers from Sai Kung market last night because they had been so busy filming for "My Sassy Mother-in-law" that they only had time yesterday on New Year's Eve to go and buy some new year flowers.

At the market, Myolie and Bosco showed off their haggling skills and Myolie won the contest, talking down the price of a plum blossom from $150 to just $88 and also buying a lion head ornament.

Myolie reveals that she bought plum blossom for the first time last year and was told by Bosco that once you start, you have to keep buying it every year to increase your popularity. Myolie laughs that Bosco only needs to buy a vase because he already has enough 'plum blossom' (gossip). In fact, Bosco's earlier rumours were quite numerous and he also had bad luck on the last day of the Monkey year as his car was dented near his home by a rubbish truck, making him very upset indeed. He sighs: "My car was parked in the car park and was hit by a garbage truck, leaving a dent in the back and a shattered rear windscreen. So unlucky!" Fortunately, Bosco was not in the car at the time and did not suffer any injuries.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a06cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050209/20050208234846_0003.html

[The Sun 09/02/05]

Iva Lo was spotted at the Mongkok new year market, running her own ornament stand working hard to collect money and sell her goods. When the reporters praised her for being pretty and intelligent, she said with a boss' tone: "I have invested a five figure sum into this stall, so I will be selling toys in the afternoon to the children and then some household items in the evening to attract the adults. That way I can break into the young and old markets. Haha!" Iva's plan seemed to work as the crowds were never ending, so she should make a fair bit for the new year!

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050209/20050208235849_0003.html

2005-02-07T22:15:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 08/02/05]

"Lost in the Chamber of Love" will be airing after "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" and cast members including Ron Ng, Myolie Wu, Michelle Ye and Kenneth Ma took part in a promotion at Harbour City Ocean Terminal yesterday. The group of artistes joined members of the public making soup dumplings, writing greeting posters as Ron and Myolie's theme song to the show was revealed to the crowd.

After writing her half of the greeting, Michelle wished the show blockbusting ratings, saying: "How many ratings points shall we aim for? What do you think Myolie?" To which Myolie responded shaking her head and saying: "What? You ask me to talk about ratings! I don't know, let's just say it will be great!" Myolie explains that as this show is following on from "Wong Fei Hung" that reached ratings in the thirties and this puts even more pressure on her, laughing that if "Wong" reaches 35 points in its final week, then this would make her even more scared. She reveals that she is taking a two month vacation and planning to go on holiday to Bangkok with her friends and family, but on one day, she will have to come back to Hong Kong for a promotion, so she will be paying for her airfare back to do the work before continuing her holiday afterwards.

Making his debut on the musical side, Ron feels his performance is not bad. He says that it is thanks to Myolie's lead, because she liked to sing when she was studying. He will have three days holiday for the new year and he will be going visiting with his parents.

There have been rumours that after a recommendation by a well known person, Michelle Ye is planning to sign with a mainland production company soon and is therefore pushing up the negotiations with TVB when her contract expires in July. When asked about this, Michelle says that her contract is up in July, but she is still considering whether or not to renew. As for reports that she is pushing up her salary, Michelle says immediately that she has no means to do this because TVB is where she has been nurtured and she will remember where she came from. She feels that for the magazines to write this about her, they are too flattering, but it is most likely just an eyecatching headline.

Asked if she would sign with TVB again, she says she is still undecided and will think about it carefully. However, she insists that her decision is not based around money and that Lok Yee Ling and Catherine Tsang have both been to see her recently as well as being approached by other companies. She says that she will decide after the new year and when asked if she was worried that TVB will be quite sensitive about the magazine reports, she says that this is irrelevant and the company has always been very kind to her, such as arranging for her to film with Chinese Best Actor Chen Du Ming in a new mainland production.

TVB's ratings for last week during prime time were very respectable as Korean Drama "Jewel in the Palace" continued its success, achieving 30 points and both "My Family" and "Wong Fei Hung" gaining 29 points. Saturday's first episode of "The Cruellest Bell" averaged at 25 points, but Sunday's "Fantasy Trend" only reached ratings of 17 points, falling 9 points from the previous week. The Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority also received one complaint about "Fantasy" being too horrifying.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-8/UL-363456.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-8/UL-363457.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050208/20050207235757_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 08/02/05]

Andy Lau filmed a short New Year clip for TVB earlier where he performed some Chinese Calligraphy, offering a greeting to the Hong Kong people in the word "Strong". The meaning behind this is for Hong Kong's economy to become Strong and for Everyone's health to be Strong and free from illness. He says modestly that he is not a strong person and there are plenty of people in the world who are stronger. However, he hopes to be 'strong-willed', keep working hard and show the strongest side of the Hong Kong people's spirit.

Andy will be heading out to Beijing for the new year to promote his New Year Movie "Kung Hei Fat Choy" as well as taking part in CCTV's New Year Eve show. He will take this opportunity to catch up with many friends based in Beijing such as Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang for the Gathering Dinner. Feng has also invited Andy to his home as a guest for the New Year.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-8/UL-363473.htm

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 08/02/05]

Bernice Liu and Michael Tao were in TVB City yesterday filming some promotional clips for their new series "Love Bond" that will begin airing on 28th February. When asked if they are winding down for the new year, Michael says that as he will be doing stage performances on the mainland over the new year, he has had to have an early family gathering meal. When he gets back, he will be finishing filming for "Fantasy Hotel" that should be completed on the 6th day of the new year when he can take a rest. He says: "Because I have been filming non-stop, I have neglected my wife, so I will be taking her on holiday during my break together with my newly-wed manager and his wife, travelling as a double couple, probably somewhere in South East Asia."

Bernice reveals that she will probably be filming for new series "Disappearance", so she is not sure as yet whether or not she will have time off and she has already had her family gathering with her sister and mother. Earlier when she was filming at a flower market with Roger Kwok and Tavia Yeung for "Jade Starbiz", she experienced the buzz of the new year markets for the first time ever. As she does not have too many relatives in Hong Kong, Bernice does not receive too many lucky packets. When asked if she bought any plum blossom at the flower markets, she says that she will be putting her career first, so she doesn't need it just yet. As she has bought herself an apartment and a dog this year, she will be working hard to make money and has no time for a boyfriend.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-8/UL-363468.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050208/20050208000004_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 08/02/05]

Michelle Yim is always glowing at any time of the day and as she has become the spokesperson for a Chinese Herbalists, she has been busy taking part in many promotional events, but she has still kept at her best and has recently accepted a series with TVB. Although it will be on a guest star basis, it is enough to satisfy her acting bug.

Michelle is very good at arranging her life and making it fulfilling and satisfying and this is one of the ways that she maintains her youth. As she enjoys her work so much, including her voluntary work with old people, helping them to cut their hair. She says that hairdressing has always been her hobby and she has plenty of experience, with many people asking her to help them style their hair and making her very happy. Also, she has agreed to be a drama consultant for a school, visiting rehearsals and offering her professional advice and proving popular with the students. Last year, she guest starred with the Hong Kong Dance Troupe and received a good review, learning to play the Chinese Zither for the show, when she was invited to perform in Singapore and entering the stage on wires, giving the audience a surprise.

On the day of the meeting with Michelle, she brought with her some delicious dessert that she had made herself, using just simple marshmallow and crunchy biscuits, but creating a tasty snack. She says that when she sees other people eating her food happily, then she is satisfied because loving life is not just about playing, eating and drinking, it is arranging for every day to be worthwhile and fulfilling.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-8/UL-363463.htm

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 08/02/05]

Sheren Tang's favourite new year food is definitely the sticky puddings, including New Year Pudding and Mooli Cake and has a startling appetite, often eating half of a large one as a meal. However as she is the spokesperson for a slimming company, she has to keep her figure, so she has to try and resist the temptation, not accepting them as gifts, or frying them and of course eating them: "I have no choice, but there is a trick to resisting temptation and the best thing is not to take them home. If they are not in the house, then there is no temptation to eat it. So when my mother asked me if I wanted any mooli cake this year, I said no and I also instructed my friends not to give me any."

Sheren explains that she would rather go without because she does not want to have to shed the weight again if she puts it on: "Losing weight with the machines is very effective, but it is quite hard work as you have to take all your clothes off and get into the machine that is cold and uncomfortable. I don't want to have to go through it again, so I would rather not eat and resist."

Sheren will be heading over to America to do some stage shows and visit some friends over there for the new year, returning in mid-February.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050208/20050207235357_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a55cnt.html

[Oriental Daily 08/02/05]

This Spring Festival, Charmaine Sheh has to work, but she consoles herself by saying that she will receive a lucky packet for working and can treat that as New Year prosperity as this signifies good luck for the year of the Rooster. She says: "Receiving a lucky packet on Chinese New Year's Day makes me particularly happy." Even though she is not yet married, Charmaine will hand out lucky packets to her colleagues as well as revealing the secret to her riches to wish everyone a prosperous new year.

A friend of Charmaine's once lost his wallet that contained a lot of money as well as souvenir banknotes from different places and he had given up hope of finding it again. Then he called his friends around to play Mah Jong and he seemed to be on a winning streak, winning so much money he was quite embarrassed, so in the end, he just asked his friends to pay him a token $10 for good luck. The next day, someone returned his wallet to him and the moeny had not been touched. This seemed like a miracle.

Charmaine says: "I feel that this proves that a good heart will be rewarded. As long as you are gracious, then good luck will come to you. Not only did he win people's hearts, he also won financially and this is a double gain. This is the true secret of prosperity." Charmaine truly believes that kindness is rewarded, so recently she has been discreetly donating to charity, so no wonder she has a car and an apartment. She says: "If you are kind, then good luck will come naturally, these are words of true wisdom."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a71cnt.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 08/02/05]

Gordon Liu was in court yesterday to face charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, where he made a not guilty plea and the case was adjourned until 9th June. Whilst in court, there was a call for another person called Ka Fai and Gordon mistook it for being his turn and it was only when he stepped forward that he was told it was not his turn yet, leaving him rather embarrassed. There was more confusion later when the usher called out Gordon's real name Sin Kam Hei and he stood up again, but no-one realised this was him.

Gordon is suspected of drink driving on 1st January and was allowed to be bailed for $5000 pending the trial.

Afterwards, Gordon was asked about the mix-up in court and he said: "I really thought he called out 'Lau Ka Fai' so that is why I stood up. I was quite bemused myself as to why he was calling my artiste name, but I thought it was rude to ignore him. Maybe he was a fan of mine!" Gordon went on to point out: "This is my first time in court and I have never filmed any court scenes, but it did look like a studio set inside, just without a dock."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050208/20050207234828_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a54cnt.html

2005-02-06T23:19:00.000Z

[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

2005-02-06T16:30:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 06/02/05]

Linda Chun and Cutie Mui were among the artistes taking part in the recording of some New Year Entertainment for TVB. One of them showed off her voice singing live for the first time, whilst the other showed off her figure, making the show rather interesting.

Linda has always been a regular at the Karaoke and singing live for the first time in this show, she was rather nervous, but still performed very well. She would rate herself a 7/10 for her performance. MC for the show Cutie squeezed herself into a very feminine chipao for the show and later she explained that she was wearing a wonderbra that gave her an amazing 35D bust and together with the warm up training she has been doing for her wakeboarding, she has really toned her body, taking her waist down to just 25 inches. As a result, she had the dress specially made for her to show off her great new figure.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a59cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050206/20050206000242_0003.html

[The Sun 06/02/05]

Sharon Chan has been busy filming for TVB's "Rouge and Powder" and as her old fashioned hairstyle makes her face look rather large, she has been eating less to try and lose a little weight. However, because of this, she felt a little faint whilst filming one day and luckily Lee Ka Ding spotted something was amiss and started to press on the pressure point on her nose as well as pulling at her hair roots until she felt better, avoiding the need to go to hospital.

Afterwards, Sharon said that she was very thankful to Ding Ye for saving her life: "After this, I am afraid and daren't diet any more. When I have time I will go and eat and I am also going to a herbalist and accupunturist to fix my health."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050206/20050205235607_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 06/02/05]

Sammul Chan and Shirley Yeung were in China earlier on behalf of "Jade Starbiz", filming a special report on the Panyu Circus and as well as enjoying the flora and fauna of the park, they even came close to the white tiger, bald eagle and other rare animals. Little wonder they seemed rather excited about it all, but when they were having a photo taken with a cross breed goat-llama, the little animal jumped towards Sammul, making them both scream and run away. Afterwards, Sammul said: "I was quite scared before, the animal was really ugly and was a little wet with a strange smell , so it was quite frightening when it jumped at me."

Talking of earlier reports about his record contract being terminated by Universal, Sammul shook his head and said: "It has not yet been terminated. (There are rumours that Bobo Chan can stay on with support from Alan Tam?) I don't know because I am unclear on how the company works. I am not in control when it comes to releasing a record, it is all in the hands of my management company. Originally I was looking for new songs, but there are some internal problems at the moment. Will I be disappointed? I have been through the worst when I was in Taiwan and it was abandoned after everything had already been recorded. However, I really do want to sing and release a record."

Shirley revealed that she has been asked by her old schoolfriends when she would be getting married and handing out lucky packets and she smiles: "Many of my friends have already got married and they keep asking me when it is my turn. Of course I don't want to do it so soon because my career is more important for now. (Has Sze Ming rushed you to get married?) No, she is very open-minded and will let the young people develop their own relationships."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050206/20050205235936_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a52cnt.html

[The Sun 06/02/05]

Ursule Wong and Pat Liew were celebrating the thirteenth anniversary for "Pleasure and Leisure" and when asked about her plans for the new year, Ursule says that as her father has died not too long ago, then she cannot go to visit people yet at the new year, but she will be having dinner with Tang Chi Fung and his family on New Year's Eve. She says: "He is the husband of my cousin, so we are family and the tradition is not so strict."

When asked where she plans to go for the new year, Ursule says she will stay in Hong Kong and she is happy to hear the fortune tellers predict good luck for her and others born in the year of the dragon, so hopefully this will come true! [Em hopes so too as she is a dragon as well!]

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050206/20050205235629_0003.html

[The Sun 06/02/05]

Alex Fong held an autograph and mini-concert yesterday signing 200 autographs in a one go. He says he likes signing autographs because his fans are very happy when they obtain his autograph, so he is very willing to put pen to paper to satisfy them all. He says his record is to sign 5000 autographs in the space of three days, leaving his hands rather numb.

He also says happily that this new year will be a prosperous one for him because since Christmas, he has received many offers of advertisements and stage work and has earned a seven figure sum. Among these was a renewal of an advertising contract, where he will be working alongside Sammy Leung and not Patrick Tang any more.

Alex says that originally, after so much hard work, he had planned to buy himself a watch worth $200,000 as a reward, but he felt that this was too extravagant and decided against it, putting the money instead into lucky packets for his staff and colleagues who have also worked so hard for him or maybe to buy some presents for his parents and play the good son. Alex says that his TV series debut "My Family" is doing quite well, with many viewers asking why his character in the show is so dumb, always being taken advantage of.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050206/20050205235732_0003.html

2005-02-06T01:37:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 06/02/05]

Bondy Chiu and Joyce Chen were at a New Year Foods promotion in a shopping mall yesterday and were joined by a geomancy expert to give some horoscope readings as well as Brianna Chan (Ling Li) as MC. Joyce's horoscope predicted romance in the air for the coming year and she responded happily: "I hope this will come true, but the most important thing is peace and health."

When asked if she could feel the love channelling through, Joyce laughs: "It has always been there, but it has always ended quite soon because we felt we were not right after getting to know each other." In the middle of this month, she will be going to Singapore with Mimi Chu and Johnny Ngan to do a show and she will be taking her mother with her on the trip. If she has time next week, she also plans to take her mother to Thailand. Suddenly playing the filial daughter, Joyce explains that in the past she has not had much time to spend with her mum, so now she has grown up, then she hopes to spend more time with her family. Is her mother afraid of getting in the way of her dating? "She has said this and even tried to introduce men to me, but I told her that I am not unwanted, just that I haven't found the right person yet." She says that love is for life, so she will choose carefully.

Already the mother of two sons, Brianna would like to have a daughter, laughing that she has some slimming sponsors anyway. She will be heading up to Beijing to visit her husband Lam Man Chung with her eldest son Lincoln, laughing she will take the opportunity to 'molest' her husband. She says that in the next couple of years, they will be flying around a lot because Ah Chung will be working mainly in Beijing. Is she worried her husband will have an affair? She says confidently: "Although we have been together for eight years, our relationship is still very strong. Maybe absence makes the heart grow stronger and Ah Chung trembles when he tells lies, so I am not worried about him at all. He is more worried about me!"

Bondy will be heading out to America on Lunar New Year's day for a show before staying on for a week to take in the sights. As her boyfriend will be accompanying her on the trip, they plan to have a very romantic Valentines Day together and he may even propose to her. She smiles: "As long as we are together, then that is all that matters. I haven't really thought about getting married because I am still enjoying receiving lucky packets! (Do you have plans for marriage?) I am not telling you, I am in no rush, so why are you rushing?"

As she has to prepare for her America trip, Bondy will not be going to the New Year flower markets, saying that this makes her unhappy: "Although I will not be in Hong Kong throughout the new year period, I still wanted to decorate my home. At the moment, I have only bought some sweets." Usually it is not convenient for artistes to visit the markets, but Bondy has always loved going there and remembers that when she was a singer, she had to be surrounded by seven colleagues from the record company when she went, but her bag still went missing, together with her brand new $6000 phone. After this, she will only take a small bag with her to the markets to be on the safe side.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-6/UL-362824.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-6/UL-362823.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 06/02/05]

Cerina Da Graca, Sam Chan, Angela Tong, Ellesmere Choy, Jo Jo Shum and Eddie Lee took part in a Valentines Day show promotion yesterday, where they demonstrated some of the games in the pairs competition such as eating a biscuit stick from both ends at once and Angela teamed up with a kid from the audience won.

Having previously been rumoured to have been dating, Cerina and Sam seemed a little awkward at first, but when the press asked them for a photograph together, they finally agreed to it. When it was mentioned about Sam's romance with Fiona Yuen's sister Lina, Cerina was asked if she had congratulated him. She says she has not, but if it is true, then she will congratulate him. She does not yet have a new love because she feels that this should be allowed to develop naturally, but she has always been rather late in spotting potential romances and if the other person does not make it clear, then she will not notice. On the other hand, if the other party is too direct, then she will be frightened, so she does not know if anyone is interested in her. Having grown up abroad, Cerina has been very forward in asking a guy on a date, but unfortunately was turned down.

MC Vinci Wong will be holding a second hand clothes charity sale at the end of April to raise money for the Tung Wah Hospitals. He will also consider donating some of the funds to the South Asian Disaster Victims. Vincie says that usually many of his friends, such as Sandra Ng, Remus Choi and Karen Mok will take their clothes donations to his home, so he has built quite a collection. As he will be moving to a smaller home later, this will most likely be the last sale that he will hold. At the moment he is worried about selling fake designer goods without knowing it.

Angela was really happy whilst playing games with the kids and she says that the children nowadays are really smart and are not shy at all even when playing games in public events. She feels that they are not as simple as they seem!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-6/UL-362819.htm

[Ta Kung Pao Commentary by Chui Hiu - 06/02/05]

TVB's "The Cruellest Bell" has been a hit, but this can be expected.

With the local music industry going through difficult times all the kings and queens of pop from days gone by (Andy Lau excepted) have all faded away and the new generation of pop singers are meeting many challenges, some sporting a good appearance but no talents and others revealing a less than positive side to their private lives. This makes it hard for them to find success. The shelf life of the "New Heavenly Kings" and new songs has been shortened and there is the continual threat from piracy and downloading from the internet that paints a murky picture for the future of music industry in Hong Kong.

Talent however still emerges from the masses. Karaoke has become a part of people's daily lives and after much practice, the hardened amateurs are not far off the standards of the professionals. When it comes to pitch, rhythm and pronunciation, there are plenty who are miles better than some of the young singers being promoted, so there seems to be a new breed of 'amateur professional' emerging, who are even giving performances to their audiences.

William Hung's overnight rise to fame has given the hope for these people that there is an opportunity for 'Joe Public' to find fame and this has stirred the Chinese community greatly. There may have been laughs and jeers when he first arrived in Hong Kong and was offered advertisements, movies and promotional events, but without a doubt, William has become a hero in the 'commoners' singing community.

With the release of "The Cruellest Bell", this rides on this trend and ties in nicely with the current turn in the economics of Hong Kong. With the focus on raw talent, strong will and determination and attracted by the offer of prize money and recognition, it is bound to win the support of the masses. Moreoever, the entertainment value of some of the 'weirder' contestants is fantastic, but this will be balanced by some singers with real talent, showing us the potential of our 'Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons'.

A suggestion for TVB would be in addition to the professional judges and singer guests on the panel, they should also invite other celebrities and academics to join the judges to balance the standards of the criticisms as well as put more weight behind the contest.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-6/UL-362811.htm

[Ta Kung Pao Commentary by Chow Yan - 06/02/05]

The Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005 was held last week and with the reaction was the public was outrage that Hong Kong representative Kate Tsui did not make the top three, with the top spot being taken by Vancouver's Leanne Li. Kate had been among the favourites from the start and she was brimming with confidence, but leaving without a top award can only be put down to her being unlucky on the night. Maybe her slimming regime before the show had put undue pressure on her and this had affected the standard of her performance at the final show.

Miss Chinese International has been held for 17 years now and the Hong Kong representative has always fallen to the winner of the Miss Hong Kong contest, with many taking a second crown in first or second place. For Kate to break this tradition is already unusual, but she has great talent for performance and losing out at MCI has in no way impacted her future celebrity status.

Kate is articulate, photogenic and highly reactive and her latest skincare advertisement has generated a good public response. The star quality she possesses is the truth. Her chances to shine far outweigh those of her predecessor Mandy Cho and she has the determination and confidence to make strides in the entertainment industry.

The designs of the swimsuits in this year's pageant have been a bone of contention as the questions arise whether they are sexy and flattering or stepping into obscenity. In the earlier Miss Hong Kong pageant, it was obvious that TVB was testing the boundaries of decency and as beauty contests become more and more commercialised, then the use of sexiness to attract the ratings cannot be denied. However, the criteria for beauty is not based purely on the contestants figures or appearances and the themes introduced each year can play a big part, if they are well adhered to.

All in all, the quality of the contestant and how they are packaged directly affects the viewability of the show and in selecting which road to take, then there are different aspects. To maintain the brand without dropping decency, this is the way to keep the reputation of an established instution and win the support of the viewers, this is the truth.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-6/UL-362812.htm

2005-02-05T15:41:00.000Z

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

RTHK's sex education programme hosts Sheren Tang, Zac Koo and Ching Chui Wan were handing out new year greetings at the Star Ferry Terminus yesterday, wishing the public an early happy new year and spreading the word to take care with safe sex on Valentine's Day. Sheren's "Yu Fei" popularity continued as many people came to take greetings posters from her and ask for a photograph with her and the commotion even attracted many foreign tourists to stop and take a look.

With Sheren's popularity has also come much gossip, with the most recent suggestions that she is too busy making money to work for TVB and causing their displeasure. Faced with the questions from the press, Sheren says from the start: "Apart from topics related to this event, I will not discuss anything else. I don't want to give a response, otherwise you will just write more rubbish. (Do you feel that people are writing what they want?) No comment. (Is the recent gossip frustrating you?) If people are always calling you, then would you be frustrated? So I don't want to say anything." As for when she will be filming for TVB again, she says tthat in the short term, there is nothing suitable. As for whether she has reached an agreement with TVB, she says that the company will understand and this is a common occurence. Her health is not too good at the moment, so she plans to take a break for at least three to four months to rest. Sheren had been back to a shoot for the TVB Weekly magazine and she indicated that she will be on vacation until mid April, then she will see whether there is suitable work for her after that.

For the Chinese New Year, Sheren will be doing a show in San Francisco before visiting friends in Los Angeles. She smiles: "These are friends whom I met when I was studying in LA and they have all got married and have children, some have as many as four! (Everyone else has got married, so do you feel pressure to do the same?) They have rushed me, but it is no use because there are still so many things I want to do and I hope to achieve them whilst I am still single. (How do you turn away your pursuits?) I have had no-one pursuing me, apart from work, my life revolves around the church."

Sheren goes on to mention that many young people have misunderstandings about sex and she says that when she was young, there was no such thing as sex education, so she could only get the information from magazines. As a result there are a lot of myths in circulation, such as abortions by eating cold and raw foods. She smiles: "I know a pair of sisters and the elder sister started her period, but thought she had piles so she tried to treat it with her family member's haemorrhoid cream. This shows how important education is."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-5/UL-362412.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050205/20050204235257_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a04cnt.html

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

Yoyo Mung and Moses Chan were filming in TKO TVB City for new series "Rouge and Powder" yesterday in a scene where Moses's character was being picked on by his uncle Lee Kwok Lun and forced to sweep the path. Luckily Yoyo appears to console him and help to raise his determination again. Moses laughs that in real life, no-one dares to bully him: "Maybe I look terrifying, so if they dare to mock me, then they must be pretty powerful themselves!"

Yoyo was earlier accused of being arrogant and upsetting everyone, but Moses supports her saying: "I have worked with her on several series now and she has always been really easy going. This is small gossip really, when we were filming for 'War and Beauty' it was even worse. Luckily, men don't usually take much notice of these things."

With Moses's words of support, little wonder that Yoyo has much admiration for him in real life. She says: "In the show, I have a crush on Moses and in reality, I did have a crush on someone when I was in Form 5, but I did not have the courage to tell him and he emigrated!" Yoyo says that her appearance was rather ordinary when she was at school, so it was hard for her to attract the boys: "I have a schoolmate from high school who is a fan of mine and my other fans say they are very envious of this person for sitting next to me at school. However, this friends said that I looked quite ugly at the time and it was quite difficult to sit next to me for even a week!"

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a13cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050205/20050204235241_0003.html

[Oriental Daily 05/02/05]

Every Chinese New Year, Niki Chow will order some New Year foods such as puddings and Mooli Cake and as she is Shanghainese, then she is also quite a dab hand at making Shanghai foods, but she has never tried making New Year foods. Niki likes the New Year Pudding because it is sticky and sweet and the eating sensation is good, but desserts will make you put on weight, so she can't eat too much. This year, Niki has decided to make some desserts that are suited to her tastes as she says: "The food you buy from outside has a lot of sugar in it and is not very fresh, so this year, I have taken lessons from a master and learned how to make this 'Coconut Milk Carp Dessert', which is easy to make and looks very appealing. I will make a few and take it to my mum and family to try."

Recently Niki has signed for a new manager and record company and has given the impression that she has plans to show what she can achieve. Niki says: "It is not anything major, but I will be advancing in many different directions, such as singing and filming. However, as I have time now, I will be improving myself a little first, learning to play the drums, singing and languages, especially Shanghainese because my origins are from Shanghai." This year, Niki will be taking a week out for the new year and going on vacation to relax.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a11cnt.html

[The Sun 05/02/05]

Michelle Ye was taking part in filming at TKO TVB City yesterday for "Stars Dreams Come True" and talking of the news recently about Chinese diver Tian Liang who has been thrown out of the Chinese Diving Team, Michelle says that she has called him to comfort him: "Tian Liang seems very determined and at the moment, he is concentrating on his diving. There is too much speculation from outside."

As for the suggestions that Tian likes to go out at night a lot, Michelle supports him, saying: "Everyone has to go to a Karaoke at least once! To never to have been is more unusual. Sportsmen are still human." Asked if she had urged Tian not to enter showbiz, Michelle says: "No, as a frend, then I dare not say too much, I don't want to be too nosy."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050205/20050204235925_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 05/02/05]

Keanu Reeves has spent three days in Hong Kong and attended the world premiere for his new film "Constantine" at Times Square on Thursday, before holding a press conference yesterday with the film's director Francis Lawrence.

The handsome Hollywood superstar attracted some of Hong Kong's most rich and famous beauties who crowded around him like teenage fans trying to catch their idol's attention. Among them was Rain Li, who raved at how good-looking Keanu was and became rather excited when she heard that Keanu would be flying back to America tomorrow, on the same day that she planned to head there on vacation. However, when she found out that they were leaving at different times, Rain seemed a little disappointed that she would not be sharing a flight with the superstar. Rain went on to imagine that if she could get close to him, he would ask him to autograph her skirt. When asked if her fanaticism for Keanu would make her boyfriend jealous, she pretended not to hear and went on to say that since she was young, she had wished to attend an International School and it was a shame that she could not achieve this goal. When asked why this was, she laughed that she just wanted to understand the personalities and appearances of foreign men.

2R were also present at the premiere and indicated that they had been fans of Keanu since the days of "Speed" and they were very excited as they watched "Constantine", saying that even though they had been recording for their new song in Tsimshatsui earlier, they still had to rush to attend and see their idol. When asked if they would lose control and pounce on him if they managed to get close, they both said no, but they wanted to have their photos taken with him and get to know him. As for Hong Kong being chosen as the venue for the film's world premiere with Keanu paying a visit in person, 2R feel that this is a great achievement for Hong Kong.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-5/UL-362421.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-5/UL-362419.htm

(File photos)

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

Ada Choi, Charmaine Sheh, Alice Chan, Bobo Chan and many other female artistes have been involved in an internet stunt where their heads have been edited onto pictures of nude women, raising complaints from the artistes and fans alike for this despicable act.

When Ada was told about the incident by the press, she responded saying: "These epople have no morals or ethics." Alic Chan scolded angrily: "That is despicable, pointless, low and disgusting, but what can we do?" As for Bobo, she released a statement through her assistant, saying: "Hopefully, these people will learn not to be so 'mo liu' (pointless). I support the readers who are complaining."

TVB's External Affairs Deputy Chief Tsang Sing Ming expressed a response: "This is totally disrespectful to the female artistes and it is also an insult to all women. I hope they will stop doing this because as humans, we should have a conscience."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a19cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050205/20050205000345_0003.html

[The Sun 05/02/05]

Dayo Wong has recently been filming a mainland series version of "Justice, My Foot" and the producer Yeung Siu Hung has asked him to sing the theme tune, with lyrics penned by Dayo and Chan Siu Ki. Dayo says that as he understands the character, then he is able to write the feelings of 'life is a game' into the song.

Dayo has always had strong feelings towards singing and when he watches "American Idol", he understands the determination of the contestants to make something of themselves is just like himself when he entered the MC contest earlier and William Hung when he auditioned. When it was mentioned that TVB have begun filming for "The Cruellest Bell", Dayo says: "If TVB want me to be a guest judge, then I am prepared to consider it."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050205/20050205000318_0003.html

2005-02-03T22:27:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 04/02/05]

To welcome in the Chinese New Year, cast members from TVB's "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu", including Bosco Wong, Rain Li, Cerina Da Graca, Angela Tong and Helena Law gathered for a promotional lion dancing event on the streets of Tsimshatsui yesterday and handed out greetings posters as well as paraded with the lion heads in a lively event.

The show's ratings have been fairly good throughout, peaking at 34 points and Rain is very happy about this, saying that if the finale next week reaches 40 points, then she will do whatever is asked of her. When it was mentioned that Bosco will be handing out lucky packets, Rain says that she has had this habit since she entered showbiz, but she has received less because she does not go out visiting as much and feels awkward to ask people for lucky packets. When asked if she is scared of people rushing her to get married, Rain says that no-one is rushing her and they tell her to work hard on her career instead and get married later. As there are many good men, then she can take her time in choosing. As for rumours that she has already selected 'Master Siu', she laughs that this is nothing to do with him and there are actually plenty of people to choose from. She also says that she hopes to film another fighting action series with TVB because she likes wirework and swordplay.

Bosco says that if the final weeks ratings average at 34 points, then he will definitely be handing out lucky packets with at least a four figure sum as long as everyone is happy. As the show has been popular, Bosco has been called by his character name "Wong Fei Hung" during the parade and have forgotten his real name, so he would really like the original cast to join together again for a sequel.

Whilst Bosco was carrying the lionhead, Rain spotted his underpants sticking out from his trousers and couldn't resist the temptation to pull them out, causing plenty of laughs. Talking of her plans for the new year, Rain says: "I will be working on stage in America for the New Year."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-4/UL-361949.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050204/20050204002553_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a59cnt.html

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 04/02/05]

TVB will begin airing new series "Fantasy Trend" this Saturday, hosted by Ekin Cheng and Mimi Lo, each episode will featuer short stories enacted by young singers and artistes. Cast members taking part in a special premiere event yesterday included Shirley Yeung, Bobo Chan, Edwin Siu and Girl's Dormitory.

Shirley arrived late because she was busy filming and when she got there, she was very apologetic, saying: "I am very sorry, I was filming a music video for a children's song in Sai Kung today and it was delayed because of the rain. I rushed here by taxi, so I hope you will forgive me. Shirley plays a beautiful sprite in the series, who likes to con people on the internet.

Bobo signed together with Sammul Chan for Universal Records, but because the company is not doing very well, Sammul has since had his contract terminated, but luckily Bobo escaped this fate. With suggestions that this was thanks to the support of Alan Tam, Bobo responds: "Maybe I have already released an album! I believes that if Alan was going to help, he would not just have helped me." She has not called Sammul about the incident for now because she feels a little awkward about it. She just hopes that Sammul, who loves singing, will be able to release his record. At the moment, she has started recording her new album and this is planned for release in April or May.

At the Chinese New Year, many artistes will have their fortunes read for the coming year and Bobo will also give it a try, but not take it too seriously as she will be asking her mother to have it read on her behalf. She says that she usually asks about her career progress as this is the priority in her life at the moment. When asked if she needs to recover from her love wounds, she smiles: "I did not say that! (There are suggestions that you want someone who is faithful?) A lot of girls want a dedicated man! (Was your last boyfriend unfaithful?) This was from a long time ago and it is quite foggy now. I usually don't see good looking as being one of my criteria for a partner."

In the series, Edwin plays a pedlar who deals in people's conscience, but he insists that in real life he will never betray anything, including family love. Reently, he has been focussing his career in the mainland and although he would like to spend more time in Hong Kong, he will not let go of the mainland market because he does not want to waste his efforts.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-4/UL-361948.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a60cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050204/20050204002753_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 04/02/05]

Hacken Lee and Joey Leung recorded the second episode of "The Cruellest Bell" two nights ago that will be aired on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year and feature speical guest host Andy Lau. The three made an amazing comic trio and there was a great atmosphere and chemistry throughout the show. Andy was left with a particularly deep impression of contestant number 5, six year old Mok Hoi Heem.

Together with the reigning leader from the first show Kwan Ho Yeung, there were nine contestants in the second show, with ages ranging from six to forty nine years old. Hoi Heem sung a rendition of Joey Yung's "Habitual Love Lost" for 71 seconds and toppled the champion, who was not on form singing "I want", becoming the winner of this episode. Andy jokingly asked him: "You are only six years old, do you know what losing love is about? How can it become habitual?" - to which the child replied: "I am only here to sing some songs and have some fun!". Andy then said : "You should have told me earlier, then I didn't need to give you 71 seconds!" causing the audience to laugh out loud. Andy complimented Hoi Heem's performance, saying that he was very calm and his performance was very fresh and unusual.

When Andy saw a pair of fifteen year old girls, Yip Wai Yan and Ma Sze Wan, wearing a short skirt and tights and doing a can-can dance singing to "Scent of a Woman", he gave them 61 seconds before sending them off. He joked that her high kicks were not high enough and when the girl heard this, she demonstrated them again, scaring him into screaming: "It's the new year! Don't do this to me!" before telling her to kick in another direction and raising more laughs from the audience.

Forty nine year old Leung Tim Fat also caught the camera's attention, wearing his home made cape as he showed off his "Lee's Flying Dagger" and throwing plastic knives at the audience. There were screams from the audience, but Andy played it calm as he waited for another flying knife. However after it didn't materialise 49 seconds into the performance, he was sent on his way. Tim Fat went on to exude confidence as he described his singing voice as smooth and strong.

When Hoi Heem was announced as the winner, he was congratulated by a troupe of can-can dancers and seemed a little intimidated. Andy took pity on him, saying: "He won and still has to go through this torture, that has to be the cruellest thing!"

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[The Sun 04/02/05]

Michelle Ye and good friend Selena Li took part in TVB's "February Birthday Stars" event yesterday and held an early birthday celebration. Having just bought a new home, Michelle says that many friends have bought her housewarming presents ranging from shoe cupboards to plasma TV's, so this has saved her some money.

Selena has a horoscope clash with the coming Rooster year and although she is very Western-minded, she will still be going to pay her respects to the gods for peace of mind and to ask for good luck.

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[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 04/02/05]

Louisa So has recently been signed as spokesperson for a spar and since taking on the job, her skin and figure have improved a lot and this has attracted many men to pursue her and even asking her on a date for Valentines Day, thus raising a little jealousy in her boyfriend of ten years. Louisa laughs: "I shot another set of stills for the ads recently and I was very happy with them, so I wanted to share and admire them with him, but he complained that they were too sexy. What a spoilsport!" Louisa admits that she was a little annoyed at her boyfriend's reaction, joking: "As I have so many men wanting to date me, then maybe I should see if there is someone more suitable!" Could this be a challenge to their ten year love affair?!

In truth, Louisa is a very faithful person, so her boyfriend has nothing to worry about, but she is a woman after all and yearns for affection. She says: "My boyfriend bought me some diamond earrings earlier, so we'll see what he produces this time!"

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[The Sun & Oriental Daily 04/02/05]

Nnadia Chan was in Tsimshatsui yesterday at a massage and beauty centre, shooting a TVB ad as spokesperson for the company. The sponsors have invested heavily in the promotion and even Nnadia laughs that the boss is very generous, investing without a care and even she is worried for him. Entering 2005, Nnadia has accepted three ads and will have a prosperous new year.

Earlier, whilst shooting a skincare and bathing foam advertisement in Singapore, Nnadia developed two ulcers in her right eye and nearly had to give up the job to have an operation in hospital to have them removed. Nnadia was very worried that she would not be able to do the job and have to compensate the sponsors. She says: "Luckily I used a very old-fashioned remedy, steaming my eye with chrysanthemum water and it was better before I started filming and we completed the shoot." For the new year, Nnadia will finally have a break, able to stay in Hong Kong with her family for three weeks over the new year period. Nnadia says that she will be learning how to make radish cake during this time.

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2005-02-02T23:59:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 03/02/05]

The international recruitment campaign for the 2005 Miss Hong Kong pageant will be taking place between 8th and 28th February, under the slogan "Believe in Yourself as the Most Beautiful". A press conference detailing the process was held yesterday and attended by last years winners Kate Tsui, Queenie Chu and Fu Sze Sze together with the contest supervisors Ho Lai Chuen and Rosa Chan and producer Wai Sai Fai.

Ho Lai Chuen indicated that this year's campaign will be extended from last year's Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles activities to cover Europe, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. However the overall number of international contestants will not be increased and will be maintained at 5-6 people. Mr Ho says that he feels that in the past, the overseas contestants have achieved good results, so this campaign has risen in importance over the years and the company will begin by sending representatives to North America in March to conduct interviews and auditions. Last year's contest shed the semi-final in order to tie in with the Olympic Games coverage and whether it will be the same again this year is still under consideration along with the location of the international shoot, but the final will be taking place in mid-August at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Kate revealed that she has many aunties who wish for their daughters to take part in the pageant, but they are afraid because they have never come into contact with the television industry. She would encourage them that the most important thing is to be confident. Talking of her experiences from taking part in last year's contest, Kate says that the biggest change for her was that in the past she rarely wore dresses and high heels, but after winning, she has had to wear heels more often than trainers. When Kate was asked if she was annoyed that she did not reach the top three at Miss Chinese International, hence appearing to frown on the cameras, she explains: "Maybe I just wasn't smiling at that point. I will smile more in the future."

Kate will be heading out to Sapporo in Japan on Saturday to take part in their snow festival, returning on Lunar New Year's Eve to have dinner with her family.

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[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 03/02/05]

TVB's managed artistes gathered together two nights ago for their end of year dinner and among the fifty people taking part were Roger Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, Charmaine Sheh, Raymond Lam, Frankie Lam, Moses Chan, Winnie Yeung, Michelle Ye, Tavia Yeung, Shirley Yeung, Bernice Liu, Linda Chung and Melissa Ng. Many TVB executives also took part, including Leung Nai Pang, Ho Ding Kwan, Stephen Chan Chi Wan, Lok Yee Ling and Catherine Tsang. Although Bowie has not yet signed officially with TVB, the deal has been 90% struck, so he was present and Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Gigi Lai and Anne Heung were in the midst of filming, so they appeared in their costumes.

Myolie and Bosco even had to leave before the food was served, so the restaurant prepared some noodles for them to eat beforehand. Before the meal, the artistes were split into three teams for a greetings design contest, judged by Mr Chan and Ms Lok. The contest was won by Bowie and Shirley's team, who wrote: "Year of the Chicken brings lots of money, highest ratings and the best development." Of course, the judges were attracted by the words "highest ratings"!

Mr Ho will be retiring at the end of April and this is the last annual dinner that he will be attending. He comments that it is time for him to let the new blood take over as there is so much talent in the company. When asked if he has made enough for retirement, he smiles: "I am sixty years old now, so of course I hope to take time out and go travelling. As for whether I have made enough, everyone has different needs and I just feel that after so many years working, I am starting to get tired and it is time to put work aside. (Will you miss the job?) I can't really say, everyone has experiences and it is all about attitudes." Although TVB staff have been issued bonuses worth half a month's pay, there has not been an overall pay rise announced, with only individual performance based considerations.

Myolie and Bowie have just returned from Atlantic City and responding to reports that Sheren Tang only had a 30% turnout for her show, Myolie says that she was more fortunate with almost a sell out show. This was her first trip to the city and she just went to take a look at the casinos, so she did not gamble. Bowie has not yet signed officially for TVB, but he says that he was invited to the dinner by Ms Lok and Catherine, so he has to accept their sincerity. When asked if he is afraid of following in Sheren Tang's footsteps with her rumours of being 'frozen' by TVB, Bowie says that he does not know what happened to her, but respect is up to other people to give, whereas embarrassment is brought on by oneself.

Gigi is currently filming for "Rouge and Powder" and as she has a heavy role in the show, nearly every scene has her in it and it has been hard work. Sometimes, she has only been getting two hours sleep for four nights in a row and even if she can sleep a little more on the fifth night, she is still unable to ease her exhaustion and as a result, her cough has not got better. At the dinner event, Gigi still seemed to look very fresh and it was commented that she is coping very well. When she heard this, she immediately said: "Don't say that, otherwise they will make me work even longer before I get time to rest!" As she is busy filming, she has not been able to complete two commitments in for promotional events China and two commitments in Hong Kong. As a result, her sponsors have sent her feedback that if she does not fulfil her obligation, then they will find someone else and demand their deposits back.

Rumoured couple Moses Chan and Bernice Liu seemed to avoid each other at first when they met at the meal, not only not talking to each other, but also standing far away from each other to avoid being snapped together by the press. However, by coincidence or deliberate arrangement, or maybe showing that they have an underlying fate, they ended up in the same team for the greeting design competition and as they got absorbed into the activity, they ended up standing beside each other anyway. Afterwards, they did talk and laugh with each other. As they have both been educated abroad, their creations went well together, combining a mixture of Chinese and English greetings.

Winnie was propping up her belly at the dinner and she says that since falling pregnant, she has gained 15 lbs, so she can no longer wear the clothe she had at home. She has been for a scan earlier and they revealed that she is carrying a daughter, but to be sure, she will be going for another scan soon. As her belly is now the size of a watermelon, her husband jokes that they should name their daughter "Melon". She also says that her pregnancy has not been as hard work as she had expected, so she plans to possibly have some more children.

Seeing Winnie's belly, Roger and Jessica couldn't resist stroking it and laughed that it felt good. When it was mentioned that Roger could make a baby for himself, he laughed: "It is not so easy because there is so much to plan, not around dates, but around finances. I have only just made myself a little pot of money, so I have to save a little more. Paul Chun who has been giving me tips on how to manage my money. (Isn't this best being handed over to a woman to do?) There is a chance, I will gradually let her look after it." As Roger will soon be filming the sequel to "Square Pegs", he has gained 6 lbs recently and he laughs that without having to limit his food, he has been very happy!

During the group photocall, Catherine called out to last years Favourite Male and Female Lead Role award winners Gigi and Bowie to stand in the middle, with TVB's male 'Top Dog' Roger being pushed to one side. Later when he was called to stand beside Bowie, the smile returned to Roger's face. He later indicated that he was fine before excitedly chatting away to Winnie and Jessica.

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[Ta Kung Pao & Oriental Daily 03/02/05]

Combining a traditional singing competition with reality TV, TVB's new creation "The Cruellest Bell" began recording yesterday afternoon and General Manager Stephen Chan was there to lend his support. The hosts Hacken Lee and Joey Leung have high expectations for the show and hopes that it will go on to become a long running series.

Hacken laughs that all the contestants have amazing hidden talents and his role in the show is to stir up their emotions, but he will not make personal attacks. When asked which of yesterday's contestants left him with the deepest impression, Hacken would not reveal this because he feels this would be unfair to the other contestants. Hacken says: "Many contestants have come prepared and they all have their talents, able to dance and sings. I am confident that they will have the audience in stitches." As for suggestions that the singers are making clowns of themselves, the two hosts both deny this, saying: "Definitely not! Our ultimate aim is for them to win more prize money." As for whether there will be guest performers on the show, Hacken says that the second episode will have Andy Lau on and this will be followed by Joey Yung, Gigi Leung and Alan Tam. As well as performing, they will also be helping out with the 'dings'.

Eleven contestants were featured in yesterday's show and altogether they amassed singing time of 458 seconds. In other words, TVB handed out prize money of $45,800. All the singers were very absorbed and the winner on the night was 'Kenneth Fok lookalike Kwan Ho Yeung and his Latin Dancing, who sung "Lady Marmalade" for 75 seconds, winning $7,500. Currently studying in Form 6 of high school, 18 year old Ho Yeung took time off from school to take part and says that he has been doing Latin dance for 12 years. He is not worried about his schoolmates mocking him because this is an artform. In line with the forthcoming new year, Ho Yeung also won a gold chicken figure and will be invited back to defend his title in the next show.

Of course, there were plenty of the audience's favourite 'weird' entries, such as No 2 'Bald Eagle' Wong Yiu Wing who sung Kelly Chen's "Big Day" totally out of tune and with unintelligible lyrics. Being sent away after only 18 seconds to boos from the audience, he was the shortest act in the show. However, he still took away $1,800 in prize money - enough to take his family out for a slap up meal. The two hosts mentioned that he is a phenomenon that appears once in a hundred years and even has the image to match. Number 3 Chung Hoi Ki dressed up as a cutesy J-pop star singing "Nee", but after only 53 seconds, she was sent on her way after the hosts found her a little too sweet for their tastes. Number 6 Yip Kwok Hing, who referred to himself as a 'stuntman' did some flame throwing as he prepared to sing "Hot hot hot", but as the hosts complained about seeing the fire but not hearing the voice, he was dismissed after 22 seconds to avoid setting the studio alight. Yip was rather displeased at this and retorted: "Do you want to try?", at which point Hacken was worried that some real flares would be lit, so he instructed the two masked security officers to remove him from the stage.

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2005-02-01T22:52:00.000Z

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

TVB will be broadcasting a selection of special shows over the Lunar New Year period and it showcased the schedules yesterday in a presentation attended by guests including Boyz, Yumiko Cheng and Isabella Leung as well as artistes Linda Chung and Shirley Yeung. There was also a prize draw during the event, with Linda, Don Li and Renee Tai all winning a golden chicken each.

Linda seemed extremely happy when she won the prize and she revealed that she has not had any luck when it comes to draws since she was fifteen and she hopes that this is the beginning of a good run. Linda will be working over the new year and with her family all in Vancouver, then she naturally feels a little lonely. She says: "It is the first time I have spent the new year in hong Kong and without my family here, it will not be as warm. My mum has sent me a lucky packet though and I am old enough now to learn a little independence."

Yumiko will be heading out to Canada with Nicholas Tse on the 2nd day of the new year to take part in the "Four Seas One Heart" show, taking time out to go and visit her grandmother there. However, Yumiko has to then rush back to Hong Kong to record her album and do promotional work, so she cannot stay for long. As this is the first time she has visited Canada, she feels it is a shame she cannot stay and take in the sights. She Smiles: "I am worried that being in Canada means I will not receive as many lucky packets. Last year I received a five figure sum in lucky money, but it was not enough to cover what I handed out. Even so, I am still happy because it proves I have work and I receive a day's worth of special treatment from my colleagues!"

Although Yumiko will be away for the new year, she will still be buyig some flowers, especially the plum blossom because as an artiste, popularity is important. Is she also after some romance too? She smiles: "Of course to have it would be better than not to. (Have you checked on your romance horoscope for the year?) Some magazines say it is not strong only having 2 stars so I hope that it is not right!"

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

Bosco Wong's series "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" has had fairly good ratings since it began airing, averaging at 30 points, but when Bosc was spotted in TVB City yesterday, he did not seem too pleased: "I though that it would keep improving and reach 31 points at least! It doesn't matter though, I hope that the final week will achieve 33 points, if so, I will hand out lucky packets to everyone so we are all happy!" He says that two weeks ago, he saw Law Ka Ying visiting Liza Wang on the set of "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" and although he is very ill, Bosco says that he looks in good spirits and should be better soon.

TVB's other primetime show at the moment is the Korean series "Jewel in the Palace" and after the show achieved ratings of 30 points in its first week, there have been rumours that there are plans to promote it even further by airing the show a little earlier, swapping with Alex Fong and Shirley Yeung's series "My Family". However, TVB's General Manager Stephen Chan denied this yesterday, saying: "The audience's preferences are very even and it is unclear whether they want the shows to be changed around or not. I have received an email from a high ranking official who has asked for it not to be changed because they have not yet returned home at the earlier time, so at the moment we have no plans to move the schedules." Producer of "My Family" Amy Wong has not heard about the plans to change, but will leave it in the hands of TVB.

It is yet unclear whether "Jewel" will prove the massive hit that "War and Beauty" was last year, but there are already pirate copies of the show on the market by people eager to cash in. A trip to Mongkok quickly reveals copies of the show placed in the focus of many stalls, with prices ranging from just over $100 to $300 or more. The official distributors who own the show's copyright have filed a case with customs to investigate this widespread piracy activity. Faced with the sales of official and illegal copies of the show in direct competition, TVB is still confident in its ratings, as TVB External Affairs Deputy Chief Tsang Sing Ming responded: "The version that TVB is airing has been especially edited and dubbed by our professionals, so the effect on ratings should be minimal."

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(File Photo)

[The Sun 02/02/05]

After gaining the award for "My Favourite Male Lead" for his role in "War and Beauty" last year, reports indicate that Bowie Lam will be signing under TVB management soon. TVB is promoting Bowie quite heavily at the moment, arranging for him to present New Year wishes to Sir Run Run Shaw on Chinese New Year's Day and also being invited to the salaried artistes year end dinner yesterday by Lok Yee Ling and Catherine Tsang yesterday evening.

Having just returned to Hong Kong from Atlantic City, Bowie was asked whether he has signed for TVB. He says: "Not yet, but the discussions are almost complete and are just lacking a signature. My heart turns towards TVB and I am thankful for all the opportunities they have given me in the past. If it wasn't for TVB series, my show in Atlantic City would not have sold out!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050202/20050201233112_0003.html

[Oriental Daily 02/02/05]

Former Miss Hong Kong contestant, Sung Chih Ling was travelling in the company transport to film on location in Ma On Shan for "Rouge and Powder" on Monday when after falling asleep, she woke to find that her mobile phone had been stolen from her bag. The show's producer Mui Siu Ching has promised to investigate the incident.

At around 10am, over twenty cast members gathered to film a funeral scene, including Gigi Lai, Yoyo Mung, Anne Heung, Mandy Cho and Moses Chan. Apart from Gigi and Moses who took their own transport, all the others were driven to the location from TKO TVB City in two 24-seater coaches. The vehicle that Chih Ling was in carried just artistes and no crew or extras.

Chih Ling's phone was a new model that had been bought for her by her boyfriend and during the journey, she had received several text messages on it. After reading them, she placed the phone in the side pocket of her sports bag. When she reached the destination, as the other artistes queued to retrieve their costumes, Chih Ling took a short nap, but when she woke up and searched for her phone, it was nowhere to be found and Chih Ling was so upset that she burst into tears. There was a commotion and the director asked if she wanted to have bags searched, but as they were due to film a big scene, Chih Ling turned down the offer because she did not want to delay filming.

Chih Ling was called by reporters yesterday and she said: "The bus was just full of artistes and I really can't believe that any of them would steal my phone, would they be comfortable doing something like that? I once spotted a diamond ring on the floor in the make up room and immediately alerted a member of the crew because I understand that when the owner lost it, then they would be very distressed. I trusted the other artistes in the bus, so I did not think twice about putting my phone in my bag. I never imagined this would happen." However, Chih Ling laughs that after comforting her, all the other artistes went to check that their phones were still there and breathed a sigh of relief when they found it.

When the show's producer Mui Siu Ching was asked about this, she indicated that she did not know because the director and PA at the time had not yet reported the incident to her. As theft is a serious issue, she will be launching an investigation into the matter.

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2005-02-01T18:40:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 02/02/05]

Shirley Yeung will be working on the day of the Chinese New Year, but she says she does not mind, laughing that she can really soak in the New Year atmosphere. As her two grandmothers are still alive, Shirley will have to spend time with them to have the New Year's Eve dinner. As for her mother-in-law to be Sze Ming, then Shirley will make time for her.

Shirley's series "My Family" has just begun airing, but because of the popularity of Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace", TVB plans to switch the broadcast slots for the two series so that "Jewel" will be aired first and "My Family" will be aired later. When Shirley was asked for her thoughts, she says she did not know about this and it is all in the hands of the company anyway. As for whether she is worried about the ratings for "My Family", she says she doesn't mind as long as someone likes it. At the moment, a lot of people have to work overtime and a lot later, so airing it early may not necessarily be a good thing. It may be better airing later because people can then watch when they get home after work.

Shirley will begin working on 14th for new series "Always on Standby" and as her boyfriend Gregory Lee also has a part in the show, she was asked if they would be spending Valentine's Day together at work. She says she does not know yet. As for whether she has prepared a present for him, she smiles: "When your in love, a glass of water is often enough and even if we just have a piece of cake and some water, then we will be happy, so we don't need to think too much."

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2005-01-31T23:17:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 01/02/05]

After "War and Beauty", the latest TVB production to be pestered by gossip appears to be "Rouge and Powder" as the reports yesterday suggested accusations of arrogance and rule breaking by Yoyo Mung. However, as the cast filmed a funeral scene on location in Ma On Shan yesterday, Yoyo, Gigi Lai, Moses Chan, Anne Heung and Mandy Cho all seemed to get along fine, chatting and laughing and with Mandy even helping Yoyo out with her hairclip.

In response to the allegations, Gigi says she has not seen the actual report, but was asked about this by the press earlier and she had to ask them in return what was happening. She says that she does not have many scenes with Yoyo in the show, but she is a very lively and direct person and very tomboyish, so she makes a good friend because this type of person is less scheming. When asked about the suggestion that her "War and Beauty" co-star Sheren Tang has upset TVB and therefore been left out of some high profile TVB events, Gigi responded: "I don't want to comment as I am not a TVB executive. I think it is just publicity."

Mandy has worked together with Yoyo before in "Split Second", but they did not have many scenes together. This time, they have more chances to work together and she has not heard anything bad said about Yoyo. She feels that all this gossip about fighting and hatred is quite amusing.

Yoyo herself responded by saying: "Nothing of the sort has happened, for fear of sounding cliched, we are all getting along very well. Even producer Mui Siu Ching has denied it and I don't believe that the crew or fellow cast members would say that about me."

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[Oriental Daily 01/02/05]

When one is popular, the gossip will follow and earlier whilst 'Yu Fei' Sheren Tang was away from Hong Kong, news reports broke suggesting that on the grounds of only winning the 'veteran' award at the TVB Anniversary, she refused to film TVB series "Rouge and Powder" or to shoot a special "Jade Idols" special, leaving TVB executives rather unhappy and pondering over freezing her work.

After returning from New York, Sheren took part in a radio broadcast in the early hours of yesterday morning before holding a press conference, where she faced the negative press rather with a relaxed air: "It was because my schedule clashed that I couldn't film 'Rouge' and I did request leave from TVB, but everyone is too sensitive. It is not a great deal and this is a false report anyway. As for 'Jade Idols', they didn't invite me on the show and after taking my vacation, my schedule is very packed, so when the company asked me to fit them in, I couldn't."

Sheren says that she does not believe that TVB are so petty that they will freeze her work, especially as this is a very normal occurrence: "Some people just have a very wild imagination. Many people think that I will be annoyed at not winning the female lead award, but in fact I have not been angry at all. This was all in 2004 and after seeing the Tsunami disaster, then I would be silly to be annoyed by these minor incidents. It is all material, so don't make it all so complicated." When asked if she feels that she has too strong a character and this will make her lose out? Sheren laughs: "I have lost out for so many years already, so I cannot be a celebrity, just an artiste. A happy artiste, I don't need to be smart, but I do have intelligence."

Sheren does not think too much about incidents of last year as she prefers to look forward and set new targets for herself: "Recently, my health has not been too good. After filming so much, it is hard on the body, so from March and April onwards, I will take more rest and balance my work, my home life and my health."

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[The Sun & Oriental Daily 01/02/05]

Kam Shek Kai is the manager of Michael Tao and Halina Tam and yesterday, he married his girlfriend of many years Yu Fung Chu, holding a 34 table banquet in a hotel in the evening. However, Michael was unable to attend the ceremony because he was busy filming and the couple's matchmaker Kiki Sheung was also absent because of work.

Best man Marco Ngai and chief bridesmaid Fiona Yuen led the group of celebrity "Brothers and Sisters" including Halina Tam, Gilbert Lam and Louis Yuen as they played games with the newlyweds, the funniest and most disgusting of which was a 'poo in a nappy' made from bananas and chocolate sauce that the groom and his 'brothers' were forced to eat when they picked up the bride. As Halina was having so much fun, she almost forgot that he was her manager and when Gilbert and Marco mocked: "Are you not afraid that you won't get paid if you play tricks on your boss?". However, Ah Kai's words: "It is the best day of my life, everyone gets paid!" brought a sigh of relief to Halina.

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[Oriental Daily & The Sun 01/02/05]

Saturday's Miss Chinese International Pageant achieved average ratings of 24 points, which was quite respectable, but there have been criticisms that some of the girls' swimsuits resemble lingerie and the Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority has received 8 complaints about the show, all aimed at the swimwear section of the show.

Complaints included the swimsuits being too revealing and degrading to women, unsuitable and a bad influence to children. TVB's External Affairs Assistant Chief Tsang Sing Ming responded to this, thanking the viewers for their comments, but TVB itself has not received any complaints as yet. He adds that the swimsuits worn by the girls are of an international fashion standard, but TVB will take on board the experience and there will be lessons learned from the post-event production review.

The winners of the pageant were out and about again collecting their prizes from the sponsors and in total received $228,000 of watches, $100,000 of skincare products and health foods and $100,000 in cash. When asked about their comments on the swimsuits, they all said that they were fine. Kate Tsui added: "For the show to only receive 8 complaints from the whole of Hong Kong, then that is a small number really. It is a very personal opinion." She wore a black swimsuit on the evening and she said jokingly: "I didn't really notice the other girls in their white swimsuits because we were very rushed and I had to watch a tape to review the show."

Winner Leanne Li and first runner up Fala Chen both wore pink swimsuits and did not think that they were too revealing. Leanne smiles: "That is what swimwear is like!" As for Fala, she responds: "Every beauty pageant has a swimwear section for the judges to look at the contestants' figures. I felt very comfortable and I saw the other girls were very happy too."

Second runner up Jessica Young and 'Miss Friendship' Jolene Chin both wore white swimsuits, but did not think that they were disadvantaged. Jessica even says: "It was not like underwear, the material was like swimwear and I felt it looked quite good." Jolene added: "It was okay and the sparkly sequins were quite unusual."

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2005-01-31T18:55:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

The five new Miss Chinese International Award Winners: Leanne Li, Fala Chen, Jessica Young, Kate Tsui and Jolene Chin continued their tour of sponsors to collect their prizes yesterday and winner Leanne was presented with a diamond watch worth $90,000, with the other four ladies receiving watches worth between $4000 and over $60,000.

Leanne admits that this is the first time that she has been given such an expensive watch and she will keep this in her security deposit box and only wear it on special occations. When asked what her family have given her, she said articulately: "They have given me love and that is enough." When it was mentioned that she resembles Miriam Yeung, Leanne says that she does have this feeling and when she saw Miriam performing at the music awards earlier, she had hoped to be able to have her photo taken with Miriam. Can she sing Cantonese songs? Leanne's thoughts turned to Faye Wong as she replied: "I know how to sing Faye's songs, she has a very unusual voice." When asked if she sees Miriam as her idol, Leanne smiled: "I like them all!"

First runner up Fala received a watch worth $63,000 and as she has not eaten very much in the run up to the pageant, she indicates that she went for a massive celebratory meal the night before with her friends and family.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360571.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

Ella Koon was spotted in TKO TVB City yesterday as she joined the rest of the cast from "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" as they headed out to film on location in Laoag in the Philippines.

Seeing her with her case, Ella was asked by the reporters what she had prepared and she indicated that as she suffers very easily from allergies, she has brought plenty of mosquito repellant as well as shorts, tops and bikinis. When it was mentioned that she could go sunbathing on the beach and meet some handsome guys, Ella joked that she would like to try nude sunbathing, but now she is in showbiz, she is afraid of being photographed, so she daren't do it now.

When she was warned about the local hygiene standards, Ella says that she will be careful: "I will not eat the local chicken." Also she knows that the sex industry there is rife, but she likes to have massage and is worried that she might end up in the wrong plcae. She laughs: "It happened once when I was in Dongguan and the receptionist asked me if I wanted 'traditional' or 'non-traditional' massage service. I didn't understand and when I asked again, she indicated that the 'non-traditional' side had more men queuing."

Talking of the casinos in Laoag, will Ella take time out for a flutter? She says: "It depends if I have time or not. I was in England the first time I went to a casino and it was very spooky because I guessed correctly every time, but I did not bet very much." Ella will be spending the Chinese New Year period in Hong Kong and she says happily that she has not been in Hong Kong for the new year in the past couple of years, so she has lost out on a lot of lucky packets. Hwoever, as well as receiving lucky money this year, Ella has also prepared around $10,000 to hand out to her colleagues and staff.

Co-star Ron Ng filmed a promotional clip for new series "Lost in the Chamber of Love" before setting out for Laoag and he says that apart from filming, he will be spending all his time in the hotel. However, he is not worried about the local hygiene problems: "Two years ago I already had a hepatitis innoculation and this is active for 8-10 years, so I am not afraid of what I eat."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360560.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 01/02/05]

when the news broke earlier that Law Ka Ying was suffering from the third stage of liver cancer, his friends around him were very concerned. Now Ka Ying is resting and facing his illness optimistically.

Ka Ying's partner Liza Wang was filming yesterday at TVB City for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" and when asked about him, Liza said that she did not want to say any more and asked the press to give Ka Ying a little space so he can concentrate on getting better. She says: "Please don't disturb him, usually he has a good relationship with the media, so please don't follow him around. He had to go to the doctors today and there were still reporters following him." When Liza was asked if she was worried about his condition, she says that there is no point in worrying about these things. At the moment, the only thing to do is to work with the doctor. When it was mentioned that Ka Ying had earlier joked about Liza not making him any soup, she immediately responded: "I don't have any either! He has his family to look after him."

Christine Ng only found out about Ka Ying's condition after reading about it in the press and she says: "I have great admiration for Liza, she has not been affected by this and Ka Ying is very strong and determined. Although he is suffering from the third stages of cancer, I believe that with the current advances in science, he will recover." Christine indicates that she has a body check every year because it is easy for women to develop problem with their breasts. If you are always unhappy then it is easy to become ill, so the most important thing is to be optimistic and happy through each day.

TVB announced its ratings yesterday for last week and "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" maintained an average of 30 points. The finale of "Shades of Truth" pulled in an average of 29 points, peaking at 31 points. The premiere week of "Jewel in the Palace" reached 25 points and Saturday's "Miss Chinese International Pageant" only pulled in 24 points.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-2-1/UL-360573.htm

2005-01-30T23:43:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 31/01/05]

The five newly crowned Miss Chinese International award winners were on a busy schedule yesterday as they attended presentation ceremonies by the show's sponsors in Mongkok and Tsimshatsui. Three different sponsores handed out prizes that amounted to totals of $228,000 of diamond jewellery, $200,000 of leather goods, skincare products to the value of $100,000 and $100,000 in cash.

The winner Leanne Li was also presented with a gold and jade sceptre by 3D-Gold, worth $238,888 in a ceremony that was also attended by her proud mother. When asked what she would do with her award, she says she will take it home to Vancouver and display it in a glass cabinet. As for her other prizes, she says she will give the money to her mother and donate some to the church because she is a Christian. Leanne says that she is very interested to working in front of the camera and if she has the opportunity, she would like to try her luck in Hong Kong. First runner up Fala Chen says that she will share her prizes with her mother and use the cash prize to help pay off her student loads. When asked if it was enough, she replied that it wasn't.

Priscilla Chik was later asked for her thoughts on the result and she did not seem surprised that Kate did not make the top three, saying that she thought the three winners were very justified and it was good enough for Kate to win the Cosmopolitan Beauty award. When asked if she even felt that outsider Jessica Young should have won, Priscilla replied saying: "You thought she wasn't in the running? I thought she was okay." As for Kate's performance, Priscilla thought she did well, but she says that the other girls did even better: "All the girls from abroad did their very best when they were faced with questions about Chinese culture and did not seem nervous at all, this made it even more entertaining. (What about Kate?) She did a very good oldie dance - I couldn't take my eyes off her body!"

After hearing boos from the audience during the pageant and now not receiving a vote of confidence from her predecessor, Kate responded to Priscilla's comments saying: "I do not really know her very well, but as a fellow Miss Hong Kong, then I am sure she will support me. I have not heard these words from her directly and she even says that for me to win an award is a good thing, so I will take this as words of support. (She says that she didn't think you would get into the top three?) Everyone has their own choices, not choosing me does not mean she did not support me."

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[Ta Kung Pao & Oriental Daily 31/01/05]

Linda Chung, Fu Sze Sze, Winnie Shum and Vivien Yeo appeared wearing Korean national costume yesterday in a promotional event alongside Charles Szeto, Priscilla Chik and Rubyanne Choi for "Jewel in the Palace" as well as an early Chinese New Year celebration. During the event, they played games with the audience and Priscilla showed off her singing, whilst Rubyanne demostrated some Korean dance.

In response to the news that Hong Kong's Kate Tsui was not placed in the top three at the Miss Chinese International pageant, receiving only a consolation prize after the local phone/text vote, Linda says that she was surprised the Kate did not make it into the top three because she had always expected Kate to do well. However, she does feel that Kate did a great job representing Hong Kong and that the award she won should not be referred to as a consolation prize because winning or losing is not that important. When asked about her own performance in the pageant, Linda says that since taking part herself last year, she has not tried such a sexy performance and she was a little embarrassed during rehearsals. She smiles: "When it was the actual performance, I just didn't think about anything and tried my best."

As for the comments that the swimwear looked more like lingerie, Linda does not agree, saying that this bikini was able to fully showcase the contestants figures, but the colour of it gave the wrong impression to viewers.

Sze Sze also added that Kate is not unhappy at not reaching the top three because she is happy to have been awarded "Miss Cosmopolitan Beauty" and believes that the judging was fair with beauty in the eye of the beholder. She also adds that she finds that Fala Chen is very beautiful.

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(File Photo)

[The Sun 31/01/05]

Earlier reports have indicated that because Sheren Tang has turned down several jobs from TVB, she has upset the executives and is being pulled from other productions. However, TVB's Production Resources Deputy Chief Lok Yee Ling has stepped out to clarify this, saying that TVB has not put any restriction on Sheren: "Sheren is signed on a per-series contract and she has applied for leave from TVB that has been accepted, so we have not offered her any work for now." She says that TVB were unable to book time in Sheren's schedule this time and so they could not offer her this job: "Sheren still has a contract with us, so there will be offers of work for her to do."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050131/20050131004631_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 31/01/05]

Yoyo Mung has been working alongside Gigi Lai and Moses Chan in new series "Rouge and Powder" lately, but things haven't been running too smoothly as there have been reports from crew members, accusing her of several sins, that have made her the public enemy on set. She has been accused of being arrogant and not getting along with the other cast members, insisting stylists go out on set with her to fix her wig and not clearing up her own rubbish in the studios.

It is reported that when news of this reached the show's producer Mui Siu Ching, she decided to step in and handle htis herself, to avoid any more rumours affecting the show. She has also instructed the crew not to mention this any more.

When Yoyo was asked to confirm this news, she admits that she has asked for her wig to be styled on location because she says that as the journey is long, then it often becomes misplaced. This is why she has asked for her hair to be styled on location instead. Mui Siu Ching had also asked about this and she gave the same explanation. If there was a problem, then the producer would have said something, moreover this has never affected the timing of the filming schedules.

As for the issue over meals, Yoyo has only eaten once in the make up room and has always eaten in the canteen at other times. When she snacks in the studio, then she will always clear away her own rubbish and no-one has ever complained about her. Yoyo says that she has worked at TVB for a while now and no-one has ever spoken to her about any problems, so she feels that she is the innocent party in this and that there must be some misunderstanding.

When Producer Mui was asked about this, she was very concerned and supported Yoyo, saying: "Yoyo did ask me about having her hair done on location and I have spoken to the crew about this. They all agreed to it. From what I know, Yoyo is getting along fine with the other cast members and I have also asked her about eating in the studio. She tells me that she was only eating in the make up room."

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2005-01-30T03:22:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 30/01/05]

Miss Chinese International 2005 - Results

Winner - Leanne Li (Vancouver)
First Runner Up - Fala Chen (New York)
Second Runner Up - Jessica Young (Melbourne)
Miss Cosmopolitan Beauty (Local Phone/Text Vote) - Kate Tsui (Hong Kong)
Miss Friendship - Jolene Chin (Kuala Lumpur)

The Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005 was held at TKO TVB City yesterday and after many rounds of selection, the title was awarded to 22 year-old Leanne Li from Vancouver. Hot favourite Fala Chen was only able to make second place, with outsider Jessica Young from Melbourne taking third place. When Hong Kong's Kate Tsui was chosen for the top five, there were many shouts from the audience, but she did not make the top three, taking only the 'Miss Cosmopolitan Beauty' award as a consolation. The 'Miss Friendship' award had earlier been announced as Jolene Chin from Kuala Lumpur.

Leanne hails from Shanghai and is currently studying at university. Her ambition is to become either a producer or an artiste. Leanne says that she was always confident in herself and just enjoyed the contest calmly without any pressure. With Kate Tsui winning the local phone vote, she does not feel that this was a consolation prize, because she was chosen by the Hong Kong and China audience. Judge Andy Lau praised thet top three contestants, saying that Leanne has the look of a winner, Fala has the beauty of a star and Jessica has a wonderful singing voice. As for why Kate Tsui did not reach the top three, Andy felt that this was due to her having too much pressure put on her.

This year's show was themed "Eternal Beauty - Touching Hearts for Five Thousand Years" and the contestants paraded in various period costumes that were very beautiful, but in one of the swimwear items, the girls wore white bikinis that resembled underwear and the thin material at times showed a little more than was decent, causing complaints from some of the audience.

Additional MCI 2005 coverage:

1. When Annie Chang was performing her ribbon dance, the ribbon got caught on her body, leaving her rather embarrassed, but she did not trip over. After nearly overexposing herself in the overly tight swimsuit earlier, she had exchanged her costume for a larger size that was very safe, but it completely covered up her amazing figure, losing her some points perhaps.

2. TVB's Executive Chairman Sir Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong did not sit together at the MCI show as Sir Run Run was accompanied by last year's First Runner Up Mandy Cho. They laughed and chatted throughout the event and Sir Run Run kept brushing across Mandy's fur coat.

3. Kelly Wang stole the show in the swimwear event with her 35.5 bust and her expression of 'selling milk' as she twisted her body around caused a roar from the audience.

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[Oriental Daily & The Sun 30/01/05]

Gigi Lai, Anne Heung, Kiki Sheung, Moses Chan and Sharon Chan were all back at work yesterday filming for "Rouge and Powder" and as the scene was for a birthday celebration, the ladies all had to wear their chipaos and furs for the function. Gigi was a little unwilling to wear fur because she is the SPCA ambassador.

Gigi says: "Last time, when I appeared at the costume fitting, the Society contacted me asking why I had to wear it. I explained that the show was set in the thirties and research indicates that the ladies of the era liked to wear fur and that TVB had not bought any additional fur for this show's costumes as these have all been taken from the wardrobe department's existing stocks. Some are antiques that could have been worn by Deborah Dik in the past. I am an artiste, so in order for the show to be made, I am prepared to roll around in the sand, so wearing a fur is not a massive issue, but when I am wearing it, I do feel rather uncomfortable, because it is cruel and I would urge people not to buy any more fur." Fortunately, the society is very understanding of Gigi's predicament and has not put any pressure on her. In fact, there is more pressure from the show being filmed until April and Gigi having to maintain her figure to fit in her chipao costumes until then.

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[The Sun & Oriental Daily 30/01/05]

Raymond Lam and Leila Tong took part in in a charity sale of Fortune Bamboo yesterday and also received a fortune reading from renowned Geomancy expert Lee Shing Chak. Born in the year of the Goat, Raymond's romance luck for this year is so-so and he will be subject to a lot of rumours. With the earlier press surrounding his 'close encounters' with women in Singapore, Raymond laughs it off, saying that it does not matter whether or not his romance is blossoming because he is a Fujian native and in their traditions, the plum blossom is not placed at home over the new year.

As for Rooster Leila, this year is a direct clash and so her romance and interpersonal luck will be rather slow. She says: "My manager will offer blessings to help me revert the clash of the horoscopes, but I will also do this and buy myself a windmill for good luck." Master Li also says that those born in the Dragon will bring good luck to Leila, but she says she has no intention of hitching up with a young male Dragon. She says: "I will wear a little dragon or look for a youngster dragon, but I won't bother with the older ones." Although their romance luck will not make great bounds, they both say that they don't mind and went on to buy some bamboo plants to bring in more success in their work. This can be done by putting the bamboo stem on the West Side of the home.

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2005-01-29T01:17:00.000Z

From Top: Jolene Chin (KL) takes "Miss Friendship"; Annie Chang (SF) and Kelly Wang (Brisbane); Joyce De Jong (Amsterdam), Fala Chan (NY), Kate Tsui (HK); the girls congratulate Jolene; Kimberley Chin (Taipei); Jasmine Lim (Singapore)

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 29/01/05]

"Miss Chinese International 2005" will be taking place this evening in TKO TVB City and the 22 contestants paraded yesterday for the first time in their swimwear for the press as they voted among themselves for the winner of Miss Friendship, that was won by Jolene Chin from Kuala Lumpur.

Jolene was very surprised to win the award, saying that she never would have imagined it. Talking of the suggestion that the winner of this award was usually from someone who was no threat, Jolene laughs: "I am sure that the others would not vote for me because I am not a threat to them. We are not really fighting for anything, but anyway, I am confident in myself."

From the scenes yesterday, the swimwear arranged for the girls was not only rather skimpy, the material was also quite thin and the girls revealed some of what was underneath, including bra pads. Hong Kong representative Kate Tsui seemed to have overdone the weight loss regime as she revealed her bra pads as well as some rather bony ribs. Also as she walked, she seemed to be covering up some serious cellulite near her bottom. When asked if she was disappointed at not taking the first award, Kate seemed a little put out as she said: "Disappointed? How? I am very supportive of Number 5 and after sharing a room with her for three weeks, we have not argued at all. (Did you vote for her?) I don't really want to say because that would be unfair." When asked about her very thin figure leaving her a little behind the others when showing off her figure, Kate disagreed, saying: "Actually, my weight is very similar to when I was taking part in Miss Hong Kong and my measurements have not changed. I feel that the most important thing is the balance." She does not feel that she is too skinny, saying that her figure is okay.

Among the other contestants, there were some rather voluptuous figures and Brisbane's Kelly Wang has been recognised as the 'Bustiest Contestant' by the press with her 35.5 inch breasts. Annie Chang from San Francisco seemed to be wearing a bikini that was a size too small for her, giving the feeling of 'overflowing' and attracting much attention. Annie herself felt that the costume was a little tight, making her look even sexier, but everyone else was wearing the same, so she did not want to comment, despite laughing that no-one in America would wear it like this. As for the hot favourite New York's Fala Chen, she was very confident, smiling sweetly and showing a well balanced figure. When asked if she was confident about taking the crown, she said modestly: "I will do my best and give my all for tomorrow's show. (Is there any pressure?) Being favoured naturally puts a bit of pressure on, but my confidence grows with this." Fala's parents have come to Hong Kong especially to watch her performance and this has also helped her.

Amsterdam's Joyce de Jong is also dubbed for the top three and it has been revealed the Kimberley Chin from Taipei is the daughter of "Apple Flower Songstress" Yang Yan, who has also come to support her daughter.

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[The Sun & Oriental Daily 29/01/05]

Whilst filming in Singapore earlier for new series "Yummy Yummy - Food for Life", Raymond Lam was photographed with his arm around a girl as he went clubbing and when he returned to Hong Kong two nights ago with Kevin Cheng, he responded to the incident, saying: "Going to relax is a very normal thing. The Singaporeans are like that, very friendly and warm."

Raymond continues: "That night was the second time I had been to a disco in Singapore and there was a big group of us there, but I have to praise the photographer for just managing to get a picture of me. I don't mind, it is just normal socialising, you wouldn't go to a coffee shop for a drink and relaxation!" When asked if he was worried about affecting his image, he says there will be an effect, but it will be minor.

As for the girls that Raymond was photographed with, one of them was Singaporean artiste Michelle Chia and she indicated that she was just chatting and dancing with Raymond in the club and insisted that she was not usually the type to flirt with men. Kevin also supported Raymond, saying that he did not see him flirting with girls in Singapore.

Raymond also revealed that he wanted to go and visit a gay bar, but he was too frightened in the end. He says: "When I came to Singapore in the past, I have been touched on the bum by a gay man. Then he turned and greeted me and I was so stunned, so the more I thought about it the more frightened I got and decided against it in the end."

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(File photos)

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 29/01/05]

Last March, under the guiding hand of Alan Tam, Sammul Chan and Bobo Chan were introduced to Universal Records, but in the slow market of the music industry at the moment heavily affected by illegal downloading, there have been many rumours that the company have been trying to terminate their contracts early. With Universal denying this all along, Bobo has managed to overcome the obstacles and record her album, but Sammul has not been so lucky and latest reports indicate that he has already had his contract terminated early. Universal executive Chu Kwok Ching denies this, but does confirm that their short term contract has expired now. Sammul's manager Ivy has refused to comment on this, saying: "I am not in Hong Kong at the moment, so I do not want to discuss this matter."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a68cnt.html

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 29/01/05]

Fiona Yuen earlier rewarded herself with a brand new dream car Jaguar worth $360,000 but after being on the road for just over a month, she has had an accident in it. At the beginning of the week, late one night, Fiona was driving home on her own from Hong Kong Island when she lost concentration and crashed into a garbage truck. Luckily, no-one was injured and Fiona called the police for assistance. The refuse department reserve their right to claim for damages and Fiona's expensive car has been severely damaged, requiring extensive repairs that will certainly hurt Fiona in the pocket.

When reporters contacted Fiona , she did not want to comment on the incident too much, but insisted that she was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. It was purely a lapse in concentration that caused the accident. Fiona says: "At the time, I was feeling a little faint when I crashed into the rubbish truck. It was a minor mistake and luckily I am fine. (Have you been to get checked out at the hospital?) I was just a little shocked. I called the police, but did not go to hospital because I was busy sorting out the car. (Do you know how much you have to pay for the damage to the truck?) I don't know how much yet. My car has only been on the road for a short time and has been crashed into this state, so it hurts a lot. The repairs will cost quite a lot."

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[The Sun 29/01/05]

Michael Tao's manager Kam Shek Kai will be marrying his girlfriend next Monday and originally, Michael was going to be his best man. Then when Michael got married himself, he agreed to be a member of his entourage, but because Michael is currently busy filming for "Fantasy Hotel", he will only be able to take time out to go and join in the wedding banquet, leaving his manager a little disappointed. Michael says: "I could not even make it to Michael Tse's wedding earlier because I wanted to save the time off to go to Kai's wedding, but now the series has overrun its schedules, there is nothing I can do! If he is a mate, he will not be mad at me."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050129/20050128235716_0003.html

2005-01-27T23:08:00.000Z

[The Sun 28/01/05]

Michael Tao, Melissa Ng and Michael Tong were filming on location earlier for TVB's new series "Fantasy Hotel" in a scene where Melissa is brought back to Hong Kong after a traffic accident in China in an ambulance. Before filming started, Michael (Tao) did not care for superstition as he rested inside the ambulance and jokingly said to Melissa: "Come in and have a seat, you don't get much of a chance to do this!" In response, Melissa cried: "Choi! Don't say things like that! Actually though, I have never been inside an ambulance before, but it is okay if it is for filming, just hope that in real life I don't have this experience."

Later, they went on to film Michael collecting Melissa from the hospital, where he meets the other Michael, who happens to be his love rival and has already collected her and Michael (Tao) then has to pretend to be gracious and help them shut the car door. Although on-screen, the two Michaels are fighting over their girl, in reality, they are very polite to each other and Michael (Tao) laughs: "If we really had to wrestle over her, I would not be able to beat Michael because he is bigger than me! I would definitely lose."

For Melissa to have two men courting her simultaneously, she still seems to be dissatisfied as she laughs: "No, there is also Ben (Wong). In the story, they are all trying date me and as there are not many female characters in the show, then they all look after me well. Ben often buys me breakfast, when I am cold, Michael (Tong) will lend me his jacket and Michael (Tao) looks after me all the time. Even Wayne (Lai) will buy me afternoon tea sometimes, so I am really enjoying this show."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050128/20050128000229_0003.html

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 28/01/05]

TVB's new series "Rouge and Powder" has been filming for a month, but the actors have all taken turns to fall ill and leading stars Gigi Lai, Anne Heung, Moses Chan and Kiki Sheung have all spread their colds to each other, with Gigi coughing for a month without any improvement and Kiki suffering the most serious symptoms. As they have not had time to go and consult a doctor, only buying over-the-counter remedies from the pharmacist, Kiki has also suffered from an allergy to the medication and her face has developed a bright red rash.

As a result, the show's producer Mui Siu Ching has allowed the entire cast to take two days off from filming to rest and recover. However, she still praises them for their endurance: "The cast are all very good and even keep working despite their illness." She says she is very touched by their dedication and the two day stoppage will have an effect on progress, but fortunately, this is not major.

Currently taking the time to rest, Kiki said with a weak voice: "As I did not have time to go and see the doctor, I had to buy medicine from the pharmacy and taking both cold remedy as well as antibiotics left me with a rash. At first I did not notice, it was only when I got to work and everyone in make-up asked me why my face was so red that I noticed. After seeing the doctor, he confirmed that I was suffering an allergy to the medicine and I cannot put on make-up yet." Kiki indicated that as her costume in the show was just a chipao dress, it was very tight fitting and as the producer is quite strict in not letting them wear a shawl, it was very easy to catch a chill. She adds that her character in the show is a very bossy woman and her lines sometimes span three pages of the script, which is quite hard work.

Moses mocks himself, saying that he is just cheap labour, so even if he is ill, he still has to work: "Maybe it was me who spread my germs to everyone else." He indicates that he is much better now, with just a little cough left.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050128/20050128000357_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a02cnt.html

[The Sun 28/01/05]

Recently busy filming for TVB's "Rouge and Powder", Sharon Chan gave up her valuable break time between shoots to spend time with her group of dedicated fans and celebrate her 26th birthday. During the event, the fans gave her many words of support and she was moved to tears, almost crying out loud.

The fans were very thoughtful and made her many presents, including lucky stars, a scarf and birthday cards. Sharon loved all the gifts she received and was very thankful to her fans for their gestures. When asked how Sharon will be repaying her fans, she says: "Of course I will work hard and I have agreed to hold more functions with them and see them a little more."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050128/20050127235507_0003.html

[The Sun 28/01/05]

Some of the twelve artistes currently being promoted by TVB, including Winnie Shum, Fu Sze Sze, Vivien Yeo, Martin Lau, Vin Choi, Jack Wu and Amigo Chui were broadening their horizons and knowledge on Chinese Culture by meeting at a Chinese Tea House and savouring this Chinese artform together. Among them, the internationally educated Vivien and Sze Sze were particularly excited and acted like they had discovered something new and causing some amusement. Vivien laughs: "I really love Chinese Culture, but I have not had very much opportunity to come into contact with it, so this is quite an experience for me. (Will you learn to make arts and crafts?) I do not have the patience, but if I can focus my attentions to enjoy it then it is even better."

When the men started looking around the buddha statues, they changed their lively personalities as they became subdued and serene as Jack explains: "You never know these things, so being respectful is just good manners."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050128/20050127234931_0003.html

(File Photos)

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 28/01/05]

TVB series "War and Beauty" set off a massive response last year and was hailed a great success, but the show's producer Chik Kei Yi has always insisted that he would not shoot a sequel. However, he is planning to film another period costume drama "Yellow Earth Great Plain" starting in May that will be featuring many of the "War and Beauty" cast members and this show has already been dubbed the 'pseudo sequel' to "War". Favourite Male and Female Leads Gigi Lai and Bowie Lam have been offered parts and reports suggest that Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh are also in consideration, but it would appear that the publicly acclaimed 'Best Actress' Sheren Tang has been taken out of the equation.

Reports suggest that the reason for Sheren's omission is down to the criticisms that she had made after losing out on the female lead award after last year's anniversary that possibly upset some of the TVB executives. Feeling that Sheren was not giving them any respect, they have decided not to invite her to take part in the forthcoming production. However, it appears that Producer Chik admires Sheren's talents a lot and feels there is a role that would suit her a lot and so has submitted numerous requests to Catherine to change her mind and let Sheren take part.

Upon hearing this news, the press contacted Sheren's assistant Ruby for confirmation and she said: "I am unclear about this, I only act on her behalf for stage shows as she negotiates her own TV series. At the moment she is not in Hong Kong and will return at the end of the next month, so you can discuss it with her then. There is further speculation that the role planned for Sheren will be offered to Ada Choi, but this is down to whether Ada can fit it into her schedule.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a15cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050128/20050128000534_0003.html

[Oriental Daily 28/01/05]

Kingdom Yuen and Joyce Chen joined together to take part in the opening of a photographic service in Bao An and they each received a five figure sum for their trouble. Kingdom says that this is very satisfactory and added happily that the company will have other branches opening throughout China in the future and she and Joyce will definitely be the guests for the store opening. Kingdom says: "There are other areas of work that I would like to try and earn some money from!"

Since the end of "Virtues of Harmony", Kingdom, Joyce and many of the cast members have been out and about making stage performances. Kingdom and Joyce have joined together to make money together. When asked if this led to a lower fee, Kingdom replied: "Of course not, we are like sister sharing from the same bowl."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a03cnt.html

2005-01-27T18:25:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 28/01/05]

Linda Chung and Leila Tong were presented with awards for "New Favourites" at a jewellers yesterday, whilst models Vanessa Yeung and Eunis Chan were presented with "New Femininity" awards. Leila and Linda were presented with Chinese Zodiac gold jewellery, whilst Vanessa and Eunis received a set of diamond jewels. Leila had to rush back to work, so she left soon after the ceremony.

Linda was asked if she likes to buy jewellery for herself and she indicated that her mother bought most of it for her and every time she visited from Canada, she would bring some jewellery over with her. Of course it is not precious jewellery, just enough to accessorise an outfit. In response to her award, Linda was asked whether she felt that she had become TVB's "New Favourite" and she nodded saying: "Yes, the company has given me a lot of opportunities and I will make the most of them."

Apart from the sceptre she received for winning Miss Chinese International, this is the most gold that Linda has been presented with and she says happily: "With so much gold at the beginning of the year, the feeling is good and I think the coming year will go smoothly. (What will you do with so much gold?) I will save it up and certainly not give it to anyone. I am not saying where I will keep it though to avoid it being stolen." Linda was asked if she preferred gold or diamonds and she says that her favourite is actually crystal because under the lights, it can show off different colours and she feels that is very special. She smiles: "Maybe when I am more mature, then I will change my taste and start to like diamonds. (Does that mean that if someone wants to date you, they don't need to buy you diamonds?) Dating me is all about the heart, not about money."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-28/UL-358971.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 28/01/05]

The news of China's "Diving Prince" Tian Liang being thrown out of the national team has become the talk of the town lately and filming in TVB City for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" yesterday, Liza Wang was asked what she thought about it. She said directly that it was a shame, but if he did not treasure his opportunity, then there is nothing more to say.

Liza feels that in every occupation in society, there are rules and athletes should carry out the duties of athletes, like artistes have to carry out the obligations of their contracts. As a member of the national team, then Tian Liang should follow their rules. She goes on to show her concern for him by asking the reporters whether or not Tian will be able to continue diving. When she heard that he was still able to represent his province at national level, then she sighed: "If he really does love diving, then he needs to work hard. The temptation of money is great, but there is no need to rush."

As an onlooker, Liza feels that maybe Tian has spent so long just concentrating on his diving and has seen very little of the outside world, so when he was raised to dizzy heights on his previous visit to Hong Kong, then this must have had a very big effect on him. She says: "This will be a warning to other people that the country has invested a lot of time, effort and resources into them and if they do not appreciate it, then there is nothing more to say." She adds that for athletes, it takes a lot of training and hard work to succeed and the working life of a sports personality is very short. When asked if she felt sorry for Tian Liang, Liza says: "Yes, very sorry, but there is nothing we can do, he has to be punished." She is also concerned about Guo Jingjing, but the reporters told her that Guo has apologised and returned to the team, so she should be alright.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-28/UL-358984.htm

ATV News

[Ta Kung Pao 28/01/05]

Pinky Cheung headed out to Zhongshan to shoot a travelogue show for the new year in a Hot Spring resort, where she had to try out over ten different springs, each with different health effects, including a spring that was build on snow and some with herbal medicine in it. However, after trying out the springs one after another, Pinky's skin was very shrivelled and she says that her newly installed hair extensions meant that if she got her hair wet, then there would have been trouble.

Pinky also talked about an earlier magazine interview that she gave when she was asked a lot of questions about sex. When the report was printed, they had twisted all her words and this made her rather unhappy. Luckily her friends all know that she is not that kind of person and have not misunderstood her. Also the magazine's headline claimed that she was not wearing any underwear for the shoot, but in fact she had pads and tape to cover herself. The photo also appeared to have been touched up and was very different to the original.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-28/UL-358975.htm

2005-01-26T22:53:00.000Z

Stars react to the spread of Illegal Downloading

[Oriental Daily 27/01/05]

Customs officers in Hong Kong earlier cracked the case surrounding the illegal sharing of copyrighted material via Bittorrent (BT) and arrested a man in connection of these activities, but the filesharing network continues and the three prime time series currently airing on TVB "Master of Kung Fu - Wong Fei Hung", "Shades of Truth" and "Jewel in the Palace" can all be easily found on the internet and even the forthcoming series "Lost in the Chamber of Love" is already available. Little wonder that the stars of the show, Ron Ng, Myolie Wu, Kenneth Ma and Michelle Ye are all in unison as they express concern over the show's ratings and Ron says: "Hearing this news makes me very disappointed because filming these series takes a lot of time, effort and hard work and it is shocking to find that the show can be downloaded even before it has been aired. I hope that everyone can support original copyrighted productions and not download the series to watch from the internet because this way you will be wasting the efforts of everyone in the cast and crew."

Gigi Lai was also asked if she thought that BT downloading was affecting the ratings for her series "Shades of Truth" and she says: "I believe that there will be some effect on the ratings because of BT. A lot of people have said that they have watched the show and liked it and I never understood why the ratings were so low in the twenties all the time. Now I realise that the viewers are able to download it from the internet to watch and it makes me feel very helpless."

TVB's External Affairs Assistant Chief Tsang Sing Ming indicates in reaction to this: "BT is an infringement of our copyright and of course it will affect TVB's ratings and material rights. The higher the ratings, the more advertising revenue we make, but there is nothing we can do immediately as it is all handed over to our legal team to handle."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a60cnt.html

[Ta Kung Pao & Oriental Daily 27/01/05]

TVB's new series "Always on Standby" held its costume tryout yesterday and cast members present included Ekin Cheng, Charmaine Sheh, Bowie Lam, Shirley Yeung and Linda Chung. They all wore a smart uniform and Production Department Deputy Director Catherine Tsang was also present to watch over the proceedings.

Catherine indicated that they have received 100% support for filming from the Hong Kong Government Flying Services on the condition that they will not interfere with the normal emergency work of the teams. Even if they are in the midst of filming, if there is a call for the team to go on a rescue, then the crew must stop work immediately and as a result the plan is that filming the 30 episodes will take around 4 months. She says: "We have not allowed the cast members to take time out from their schedules and have prepared a backup, so if Plan A is delayed, then we can film Plan B and not affect filming progress."

Since filming "Face to Face" with TVB six or seven years ago, TVB has been offering Ekin series scripts, but he has not had time and this has fallen through on numerous occasions. When Catherine mentioned this series to him, he felt that the theme was quite fresh and it needed a brave artiste who was willing to go and do all his own scenes, this fitted the bill for Ekin and he immediately agreed to it. He even cut off his mop of long hair to show how serious he was for the role. In order to meet the challenge, Ekin has undergone a special training course last year. He laughs: "I feel that I should actually go and work for the flying services, but I am not educated enough." As for the need to climb mountains and enter the sea to rescue people in the show, even going out as far as an oil rig, is he worried about the danger? Ekin smiles: "It should be safer than shooting movies! (Catherine is not allowing cast to take time to do other things, will this affect your other work?) No, because I have already set out my schedules." Originally, Ekin owed TVB 20 episodes from an earlier contract, so not only has he repaid his debt, he has exceeded it this time. When asked if he will be singing the theme tune, he says this is still in discussion.

Charmaine has just returned from filming "Yummy Yummy - Food For Life" in Singapore and only arrived in Hong Kong two days ago. In the new series, she plays a doctor in ER, who volunteers to help with the Government Flying Services at the weekends. She will also have romantic affairs with Ekin and Bowie in the show. As for all the previous female artistes who have worked with Ekin having nothing but praises for him, Charmaine laughs: "I can see for myself whether or not he is so good this time!" With many rumours of animoscity between Charmaine and Shirley whilst filming for "Angels of Mission", Charmaine indicates that there should not be too many rumours this time because they do not have many scenes together and laughs: "It was all just publicity before anyway.". Later on, she posed happily with Shirley for photographs. In the series, her character will be in a car accident and fall into a coma, so she plans to either cut her hair short or even cut it all off. When it was mentioned that her good friend Sonija Kwok seems to have had a downturn in her luck after cutting her hair, Charmaine was asked if she was afraid of the same thing happening to her, but she replied that it is not related.

Bowie will be playing a Class I pilot in the show and he laughs that this will be more comfortable than Ekin because he is only responsible for flying the helicopter, whereas Ekin has to get wet through during the rescues. Bowie has also been through special training for the show, but he can only pretend to fly the helicopter and not do it for real. Bowie says that he has thought about applying for a helicopter licence, but he does not know how much the lessons will cost. He also says happily that he gains a lot of good from each of his shows as last time he learned to dive and this time he has learned how to fly a helicopter, so he can really handle land sea and air!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-27/UL-358568.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 27/01/05]

This year's Miss Chinese International Pageant will be taking place on Saturday and yesterday, the 22 contestants together with MC's Cheng Dan Shui, Stephen Au and Joe Ngai were rehearsing in TVB City and it also happened to be the 20th birthday of No 6 Linda Tomko from Seattle. The crew prepared a birthday cake for her and everyone sung 'Happy Birthday' to her and presented her with cards and flowers, making her very happy. Ah Dan called out that the MC's had to give her a birthday kiss, but in the end, he was the only one to blow her a kiss. The other girls then played a trick on the birthday girl, leaving her with cream on her nose.

Spending her birthday with 21 other girls from all over the world, Linda felt very happy because she has never spent her birthday with so many other girls before, so even if she had cream on her nose, she didn't mind because it was a lovely and happy surprise. When asked about her birthday wish, she hopes that she and her family have good health. Asked if she would like to win an award as a birthday present, she smiles that she will try her best. As well as the flowers and cards, some of the other girls had also presented her with some gifts, such as a purse and accessories.

Ah Dan was asked whether his refusal to really kiss Linda was because he was afraid of his wife and he laughs: "No, it is just that we did not need to go that far." He has been at TVB for over ten years, but this is the first time he has MC'ed for MCI and he feels very excited about it, complimenting the girls' appearances, saying the quality was not bad, especially No 10 Fala Chen.

Joe was the MC for Miss Hong Kong when Amy Kwok was the winner, but he will just be a guest this year, responsible for asking questions about Chinese history, so he will not bee too hard on them. Talking of the quality of beauty this year, Joe says that they are overall better than Miss Hong Kong, where he judged the 'Perfect Skin' award last year. In comparison, he feels that the MCI girls are more embracing and eyecatching, especially Kate Tsui, who seems more radiant and youthful than when she entered MHK, so she stands a good chance of winning.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-27/UL-358573.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a74cnt.html

(File photos)

[Ta Kung Pao 27/01/05]

Magazine reports broke the news yesterday that Law Ka Ying has been diagnosed with intestinal cancer and the press immediately called him to ask after his condition. Ka Ying did not evade the question and bravely admitted that he had suffered from cancer, but did not indicate which part of his body it affected, simply saying it was one of his vital organs and he has reached stage 3 of the condition. He said openly that he had an operation at the end of last year to remove the cancerous cells and with the chance of the cancer returning, the coming year will be a critical one and so he has stopped working at the moment so that he can rest and recover.

Ka Ying reveals that last year he was suffering from stomach pain and after a detailed body check, they could not find what the cause of the problem was. Only after an MRI scan did they find the cancer. He remembers distinctly that the date was 20th December and the operation was booked for 29th December. The wound from the operation is about a foot long and he needs to rest for at least three months to recover from his operation. At the moment, he has to eat very simply and keep a highly vegetarian diet as well as vitamin supplements to keep up his nutritional levels. He goes for check-ups every three days and after the operation he has not required chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Ka Ying says that at first when he found out about his condition, he was quite numb, but it is quite serious and of course this has left him with a low mood. Originally, he wanted to keep it low profile, because he did not want his family to worry about him, especially his mother who is in her eighties and has had a heart attack two years ago herself. He did not want to shock her in case her heart stopped again nor did he want to upset anyone else. Although his condition has been discovered now, he does not want to say much more.

Ka Ying says that this illness has made him realise that we should treasure life and our health. When asked if he will treasure his friend and consort Liza Wang even more, he says: "I will treasure our love. I have received an even greater care and love from her and her family since developing this condition and my friends have provided me with a lot of tips to get well, but I will only be receiving Western treatment for now. Still, I am thankful to my friends for their offers of help." His voice on the phone seemed rather weak and he indicated that he could not say too much. During his convalescence period, he is just taking it easy and not thinking too much and he just hopes to recover soon and get back into work.

Since Ka Ying confirmed his illness, good friend and partner Liza has been the focus of the press and after filming for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" yesterday, Liza returned home to rest before returning to TVB City in the evening to continue filming. In response to the media attention asking after Ka Ying, she did not want to say very much at first, telling the press to ask him directly, but after continued hounding from the reporters, she finally spoke about his condition.

When asked if she was worried about him, Liza says: "He has been to see the doctor and had an operation a few weeks ago, we know that he is fine now. Illness is so difficult to predict and no-one wants to be ill. (How is he now?) Physically, he is rather weak and he has cancelled a lot of work so he can rest. The doctor has advised him to do some gentle exercise. Usually I have much more ailments than him and lacking in exercise. Conversely, he takes a lot of exercise, such as football and golf, so it is so hard to judge when illness comes."

Liza says that Ka Ying will have to rest for at least two months and originally they had planned to fly to Toronto to do a show at Chinese New Year, but now she has told him to stay at home and rest because the weather there is cold and she is worried that he cannot handle it. Liza adds:"A few days ago, he came to visit me filming at TVB City as well as dropping by to see Yuan Biao and Leung Ka Yan, but after walking a few paces in the car park, he was already very tired. Luckily his condition is very optimistic and he laughs that the operation was just like having a tooth extracted." She says that luckily the illness was detected early and in time, there should be good recovery.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-27/UL-358581.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-27/UL-358580.htm

2005-01-25T23:06:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 26/01/05]

Alex Fong (Lik San)'s first TVB series "My Family" will begin airing on MOnday and yesterday morning, he took part in an interview for Metro Radio alongside fellow cast members Shirley Yeung, Chung King Fai, Hawick Lau and Sam Chan. Afterwards, Alex took part in a press conference and told of his travels with Oxfam to Lanzhou.

Alex indicates that with this being his first series and as he will also be singing the theme tune, he is a little nervous and has bought himself a new video recorder to keep a personal record of his performance. As filming for the show was only completed last July, Alex is pleased that it will be aired so soon. He says: "I have something arranged for the new year, then I will be releasing an album, so I feel that everything is going very well. (Usually the New Year series are poorly received though?) Not necessarily, although a lot of people go away for the holiday, there are also those who come and visit Hong Kong. In any case, to have a series aired is always a good opportunity."

When asked how he thought his first performance went, Alex says: "I will need time to get accustomed to it. As I had other work on at the same time, and I am not very good at staying awake, there was one point when I fell asleep at the wheel during fiming, so when you see my appearance, you can tell that I was quite tired. Sometimes I would snatch some time to sleep and sometimes I would shoot without any make up on. (Wouldn't that cause continuity problems?) No, the lights will amend that. The happiest thing was when we filmed the family eating, so I felt that twenty episodes was too short. (Isn't the prop food really horrible?) No, it is very nice, like it has just been freshly cooked!"

Last month, Alex visited Lanzhou for the first time and stayed there for three days. He says: "The children there have to raise $500 to hire books to study in school, but for some people, their income is only $300, so their children are not able to study. Although Oxfam have successfully helped 92 children to go to school, but there are still a lot of children who cannot benefit from this and need everyone's assistance." Talking of his trip, the deepest impression he was left with was that for their team of over ten people, a generous and hearty meal in the hotel only cost $200, but when he went to visit a family of five, their living quarters were extremely cramped and they only had potatoes to eat for their three meals a day with not a scrap of meat. Alex says that thinking back to the meal he had just eaten, he realised how fortunate he is. He says: "When I was at school, I have played truant before, but when I see these children who thirst for knowledge, I feel that we should all treasure our opportunities to learn and work hard with it." In order to help these children go to school, Alex will be making monthly donations to the fund.

Shirley feels that "My Family" is very suited to air over the Chinese New Year Period because it is a light-hearted family comedy, but with comments that the ratings are usually poor around this time, it is easily for the expectation to fall to dust. Shirley says that as long as it is a good quality show, then she is not worried because "Square Pegs" did well around this time.

Shirley will be taking part in the costume tryout for TVB's new series "Always on Standby" and in the show she has mainly verbal scenes, whereas her boyfriend Gregory Lee will have a lot of action scenes, such as jumping from a plane. Asked if she was worried about him, Shirley laughs: "I am not worried because I have confidence in his ability. Accidents are hard to predict, like my accident at the anniversary show, but we just have to make sure we take safety precautions."

Also, Chung King Fai has returned to Hong Kong from Shanghai, where he has been rehearsing with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre because his earlier HK production "Noises Off" is being performed there by local artists. His other forthcoming work will include "A Sentimental Journey" in February working with Connie Chan. When asked if he had any expectations for the ratings of "My Family", he says that he has never really cared for ratings as long as the audience enjoy the show.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-26/UL-358100.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-26/UL-358099.htm

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 26/01/05]

"My Sassy Mother-in-Law" was filming in TVB's Ancient Street yesterday in a scene where Bosco Wong is framed for murder and sentenced to death. Just as he is about to be executed, his mother Liza Wang and wife Myolie Wu arrive to rescue him and plead for mercy from the Emperor. Myolie was totally absorbed into the scene and cried real tears.

Bosco was kneeling for the whole day's filming chained at the wrists and he said straightly: "After kneeling for a day, my legs are weary and numb. Luckily I had prepared some knee pads." When asked if he felt that filming was hard work, he remarked obediently: "Of course not, because we often get to share Liza's home made soup. She prepares some for me every day, sometimes it is sharks fin, sometimes it is shellfish and even Dong Cong Cao. Even my own mother has not made this for me, if it wasn't for Liza, I would have dried out!"

Myolie says that she will be heading out to Thailand on vacation in February for the Chinese New Year and then heading out to Atlantic City at the end of the month for a stage performance, earning her a six figure fee for a great start to the new year!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-26/UL-358105.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050126/20050125235400_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 26/01/05]

Valerie Chow, Alex Fong (Chung Shun) and Christine Ng took part in a notebook PC promotion yesterday and were all presented with the latest products. Valerie often has to use a laptop computer for her work, but she says she has never experienced romance online. However, she has already decided to get married soon.

1991 Miss Hong Kong Runner Up Valerie and Indian designer boyfriend have been dating for nine months and their love has blossomed, so on her birthday last December, he has proposed to her and she has agreeed, so they plan to get married at the end of this year in a ceremony abroad. When asked why she will not be getting married in Hong Kong, she says there would be too much pressure, she wants to keep things simple and this is difficult in Hong Kong.

When asked if her boyfriend had got down on one knee to propose, Valerie smiled: "He did everything. (You have not been together for even a year, is this a lightning wedding?) We are old enough and know what we are doing. (What attracts you to your boyfriend?) He is a good person and we do not need to compromise for each other as we are so alike and it is very comfortable. (Will you be having children after you marry?) At the moment, my career comes first because it is getting better and better and there are a lot of opportunities, so I do not want to give it up yet. (How does your boyfriend feel?) He lets me make my own decisions."

Alex goes on the internet every day, but he only has one laptop at home and sometimes when he and his girlfriend need to go and work away, they will fight over who takes the computer. Now he has been given another one, he can avoid this conflict. He laughs: "Originally I was going to buy another one, but my girlfriend said it would be a waste, so now we have been given one, it is the best thing tht could have happened!"

Talking of his recent developments, Alex says that originally he was planning to head to the mainland to shoot a series in March, but because of a problem with the script, it has been delayed until June. However, he has agreed to film a series for TVB in May, so he does not know what to do. As for the three months he has in the meantime, will he be going on vacation? He says that his girlfriend will be heading over to Thailand for work in February, so he will be going diving with Jacky Lui and some friends in Malaysia. When asked if there was any effects to the area from the earlier Tsunami disaster, Alex says the effects are enormous because the sea bed will take at least eight to ten years to return to normal. When asked if he was worried about further earthquakes, he says: "If it was to quake, Hong Kong would be destroyed to, you cannot underestimate the power of nature."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-26/UL-358108.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-26/UL-358107.htm

[The Sun 26/01/05]

Shirley Yeung, Bernice Liu and Michelle Ye took part in an opening and promotion for a health product yesterday and Bernice's strappy top was the most eye-catching of the three girls. On hearing this, she laughs: "I am not the sexiest, I am showing off my top half and the others are showing off their bottom halves!"

Shirley was asked how she felt about having to work opposite her rumoured arch rival Charmaine Sheh in forthcoming series "Always on Standby" and she says: "It will be good to work with her again, but I am not worried because we do not have too many scenes together." She says that earlier when she was doing a promotion with Charmaine in Singapore earlier, she had the chance to try a lot of lovely food and also brought back a lot of Pandan Cake as souvenirs.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050126/20050126000232_0003.html

[The Sun 26/01/05]

After "Virtues of Harmony", TVB's new sitcom will be very female orientated and has been dubbed as the Hong Kong version of "Sex and the City" starring Christine Ng, Kingdom Yuen and Joyce Chen.

This "HK Sex and the City" will begin filming in March and the male leads are yet to be confirmed, but there are reports that Dayo Wong and William So are being considered. However, producer Tsui Ching Hong indicates that there are problems with Dayo's schedules, so he is unlikely to accept the role. As for the female leads, they are still being selected, but there are some preliminary selections, including Christine, Kingdom, Joyce and Joyce Tang. When Christine was asked if she had accepted, she says: "TVB have asked me and said that someone would be in touch, but I have not heard anything yet, so I do not know if it is real or not. I am feeling a sense of insecurity at the moment and do not know whether to take on other work, but I would like to try a sitcom because I have never filmed anything like this before."

As for Kingdom, Louis and Joyce who seem to be 'staying on' in the world of sitcom, Kingdom says she has heard about this, but she has not received official notice yet. "I am thankful to the company to give me this opportunity. (You have been in five sitcoms in a row, are you looking to be crowned 'Queen of Sitcom'?) Surely not, the reason I keep being given this is simple, I am not pretty, so I am of little threat. Also I am kind, caring and friendly, so people are very at ease when people introduce me to their other halves. They call me the 'ancient well type', so I am very popular with other women!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050126/20050125235802_0003.html

[The Sun 26/01/05]

There have been reports recently that whilst filming in Dongguan for "Revolving Doors of Vengeance", Joe Ma has been trying to become friendly with Kenix Kwok to step up the ranks and they have had an affair. Kenix indicated in a telephone interview yesterday that they are just having a laugh at the rumours and there is no need to respond. The magazine reports also suggested earlier that they had fallen out, so they seem to have changed their tune rather quickly to say they are having an affair now. Joe says that he is unhappy with the report but will not comment.

Frankie Lam has just returned to Hong Kong after visiting his wife in Dongguan and he says: "The trip was not to win her back, we had planned the trip a while ago and when the report was printed, we knew that there would be these suggestions, so we will not be angry or let it affect our relationship. I trust Kenix 100%." He emphasises that if it is not something that he sees and hears with his own eyes and ears, then he will not believe the reports: "I have already told Kenix about this and she did not respond very much at all."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050126/20050125235501_0003.html

2005-01-24T22:59:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 25/01/05]

The Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005 will be held on Saturday and a special press conference was held yesterday, where the girls met the five judges - artistes Andy Lau and Cecilia Yip, Dr Robin Chan Yau-hing GBS JP EOE, The Hon Maria Chan Wai Chu and The Hon Henry Wu JP. The three guest performers Eason Chan, Linda Chung and Gigi Yiu were also present alongside MC's Cheng Dan Shui and Stephen Au, but guest MC Joe Ngai was absent. The figures of the 22 contestants are not bad at all, but it was No 3 Annie Chang rom San Francisco and No 14 Kelly Wang from Brisbane who stood out from the rest and caught the attention of the cameras, whilst No 2 Jessica Young wore a low cut deep V dress.

Andy has been a judge in a beauty pageant before, but he has forgotten what contest and year it was. He jokes: "In the past, I represented the opinion of the young people, but now I am representing more mature men and there is a big difference between them. When you are younger, you look for external beauty, but now I also take their internal personality and how lovable they are into account." After the press conference, the judges each had twenty minutes to chat with each of the contestants. When Andy was asked about what he would be asking them, he syas that he does not have any special topics and will improvise. As for the earlier criticisms that No 16 Kimberley Chin had received from people about her looks, Andy laughs: "The people who are criticising should look at themselves first. (Will you show favouritism towards the Hong Kong representative?) Of course! I support Hong Kong! However long hair and big breasts will not get higher points, but maturity will. (There are so many contestants already 25 this year?) No wonder they asked me to be the judge this year."

Andy adds that 40% of the score will be down to the pageant's structures, the other 60% is down to the opinion of the judges, otherwise they could judge using robots. As Andy has travelled to many places before, he was asked which location has the most pretty girls. He says openly that it is India because in facial shape, they look very sharp and their eyebrows are especially defined.

Originally working away in Shanghai, Cecilia Yip took time out especially to judge the contest before heading back to work. She says on meeting the contestants for the first time that that their figures are very good maybe because of the good nutrition of modern times. When asked what her standards are as a judge, she says that her first wish is for girls to get to know about Chinese culture. When it was mentioned that Andy would give more points to the Hong Kong rep, Cecilia insisted that she would not do this because in her eyes, every girl in the contest has the same standing and she will be giving out her points fairly.

In response to becoming the target for the press at the event, Annie says that out of the six outfits she had tried, this was the most conservative. When asked why she did not choose the high cut dress, she says that it was rather tight. Was she embarrassed at being the focus of attention? She says no, because she does not usually wear this type of clothing and No 14 was looking sexier. Asked if she felt she would get more points from the judges for looking sexier, she says she does not know, because the other contestants have great figures too. Kelly had already added a tube top to her outfit, but her figure still stood out and gave the impression of 'overflowing'. When asked if she thought the judges would show favouritism over Hong Kong, she says that she believes that they will be fair and she has confidence in herself, especially in her eyes, because they are the windows to the soul. Kate Tsui responded to Andy's comments about giving her more points by saying she believed that Andy would be very fair to the other contestants, but she thanks him for his support. She has always been in admiration of Andy for his hard working and determined character. As she has lost some weight, her original dress no longer fitted her, so the black dress she wore yesterday was borrowed from No 21 Tahiti's Elodie Chung.

Meanwhile, guest star Eason said modestly that the responsibility of being a judge is very great, so he would have to consider very carefully if he was offered the role. He adds that he has his own criteria for a pretty girl: "I like girls who are confident and their own personality. All you have to do is look at who I am with to see. She (Hilary Tsui) once threw a can at someone, even I have never dared to do that!"

It was also revealed that the stage design for this year's pageant will be kept simple to avoid hazards resulting from too many traps and gadgets.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-25/UL-357680.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050125/20050124233403_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 25/01/05]

Michelle Yim has been described as the "Legend of Everlasting Youth" and recently she has been signed to be the spokesperson for a range of health foods in a two year contract worth a seven figure fee, that she is extremely happy with. Earlier she took part in a shoot for still picture ads and a TV commercial and she will be taking part in a promotional event on Saturday.

Before taking on the role, Michelle had tried out the product for nearly a year and as she was filming for TVB's "The Gentle Crackdown" at the time, often having to work hard and late into the night, she felt that she really benefitted from the health effects of the product, making her more alert and also putting the life back in her eyes. She says: "This product is made from 'Dong Cong Cao' [Cordyceps Sinensis - a rare Chinese herbal remedy] and it is very benefitial to the lungs. If you have healthy lungs then you will naturally look more beautiful." On the day that Michelle filmed the ad, the temperature was only 8 degrees C, but fortunately she was filming indoors and had the heating on, so it was not hard work at all and to top it all off, the photographer complimented her saying she looked 'ravishing', making her very happy indeed and leaving her in an extremely good mood despite nearly 20 hours of filming.

As for her 'Legend' title, Michelle was asked if this put any pressure on her and she smiled: "Everyone is too kind. Having worked in this business for so many years, I have never put pressure on myself. No matter if news is good or bad, it is just a laugh and if it is praise, then it is like a dessert, but of course I will do my best to keep healthy. (Are you usually early to bed and early to rise?) No, I do not sleep until around 2am and I wake up at 6am." Michelle says that mainland reporters like to ask her age, but she will reply that she is whatever age they think she is. She admits that as an artiste, then if you constantly talk about your age, it will affect the roles you will be offered because it will be less convincing for the viewers if they have it on the mind.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-25/UL-357683.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050125/20050124234354_0003.html

[The Sun 25/01/05]

Kingdom Yuen took part in a shopping mall event yesterday and joked that after the end of "Virtues of Harmony", she is now unemployed. "I am not bored though because I am busy making stage performances and doing openings. I am planning to try different businesses and also to study a course on law to try and improve myself."

Also, the ratings reports indicate that the final week of "Virtues" resulted in an average rating of 31 points, up five points on the previous week, with the final episode averaging at 26 points. "Master of Kung Fu - Wong Fei Hung" and "Shades of Truth" reached average ratings of 30 and 26 points respectively.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050125/20050124234337_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 25/01/05]

After being arrested for drink driving on New Year's Day and bailed for $5000, Gordon Liu was required to report back to the police station on 24th. However, Gordon indicated that he had to film for TVB series "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" on that day, so he was unable to attend and has left the matter in the hands of his lawyer. Reports indicate that the police have formally charged him with drink driving and he is due to appear in court on 7th February.

In response to the charges against him, Gordon says that he has received notice from his lawyer and if he has to work on that day, then he will take time off to go to court. In a telephone interview, Gordon says that he will not be pleading guilty: "I was actually just asleep in the car, so how can they actually prove I was driving under the influence? If there was a charge of 'drink sleeping' then I would admit that. The police saw a dent in the car and tried to blame me, but that dent was there beforehand, so I will not be pleading guilty. If they have the evidence, they can prove otherwise. I will definitely take time out to attend the hearing though because I want to get it all sorted out before the Chinese New Year."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a52cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050125/20050124232656_0003.html

2005-01-23T22:55:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 24/01/05]

Spurred on by the 'success' of William Hung in the hit talent contest "American Idol" in the states, audition fever has hit Hong Kong in the form of TVB's "The Cruellest Bell" that will begin airing on February 5th. In this contests, there are no age limits for the contestants, as long as they make it to sing on stage, they will be awarded $100 for each second they survive before the cruel and ruthless sounding of the bell. Those who make it to the end of the show will have the chance to take away prize money of $100,000 and a recording or artiste contract.

The show held its first set of open auditions yesterday and the panel included one of the show's hosts Joey Leung, renowned opera singer Warren Mok and veteran singer Albert Au. A total of 240 individuals and groups took part and a crowd of several hundred gathered to watch in amusement. As this is no ordinary talent show, it has attracted some rather weird and wonderful acts to take part as well as some professional talent contest participants. These included a 'Ricky Martin' latin dancing guy who lost his cool when facing the judges and a mother and son singing Cantonese Opera, then there were the singer-songwriters who accompanied themselves as they sung and the little kids who were well beyond their years as they croned about love lost... unfortunately, they were all quickly moved along by the judges. Among those who only lasted several seconds were 'Attitude Hacken' with his hands in his pockets, 'XL Joey' who left a deep impression with the judges and a six year old 'Mini-Andy Lau'.

Producer Chin Kwok Wai reveals that the show has been set at 12 episodes for now, each lasting 30 minutes and as the response has been overwhelming, there will be a huge open audition on 16th and 17th of January to select the contestants for the show. As for guest performers on the show, Chin says: "Many stars are interested in coming along to 'buzz' people off, Andy Lau will be the guest in the first show and be judging alongside hosts Hacken Lee and Joey. Others who have agreed to come on include Joey Yung and Gigi Leung."

Joey indicates that as well as showing off singing talent, the contestants can show off their creativity: "If they can do magic or ride a bike whilst they sing, then they can give it a try. (Will there be a bottom line to your criticisms?) No, so they will need to toss their egos aside to take part. If they are afraid, then don't come along!"

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a03cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123234132_0003.html

[The Sun 24/01/05]

Michael Tao was shooting a plane crash scene for new series "Fantasy Hotel" yesterday and although they did not ever leave the ground, being blasted for nearly an hour by a giant fan was certainly not much fun. When the 'cover girls' page of a flying newspaper blasted into his face during the shoot, Michael noticed this and joked: "Aah so warm!". Afterwards, Michael says that it was not too hard, because the worst was the female artiste playing the cabin attendant in the scene who had to be suspended from the ceiling of the set. Michael says that he plays happy rivals with Melissa Ng in the series and compliments her saying: "She is not only quick with her reactions, she is also a great comedic actor."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123233923_0003.html

[The Sun 24/01/05]

Andy Hui was filming a music video for his new song "Can't Even Say It" and 2003 Miss Hong Kong Runner Up Rabee'a Yeung was his guest in the shoot, who provided a number of sexy dresses from her own wardrobe. Andy says: "I wanted to wear something summery to match her, but I have developed a rash on my body recently, so I had to wear something long sleeved to cover it." Andy indicates that maybe because he is due hold his concerts at the end of next month, so he is nervous and his hormones are abnormal. He is currently seeking medical advice in the hope that he will get better soon.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123233655_0003.html

[The Sun 24/01/05]

Bobo Chan was filming for TVB's new series "Fantasy Trend" earlier and was asked whether she was trying to look studious with her hair extentions. Bobo smiled widely with her new image and said: "A lot of friends have said that about me, I am not trying to look more ladylike, but I will be releasing a new album soon and I want to give people a fresh look. I have not had long hair since I was in high school, so I am feeling more feminine now."

Bobo says that she plays a very superstitious girl in this short story who often tells fortunes with Tarot cards. She says that she has played with them herself to ask about love but she finds that there is nothing special.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123233801_0003.html

[The Sun & Ta Kung Pao 24/01/05]

Kelly Chen has been recording the theme song to TVB's version of Korean Drama "Jewel in the Palace" entitled "Hope" and the Mandarin version of the song will be sung by her junior Angela Chang. Before recording the song, TVB had presented her with a copy of the first two episodes of the show so that she could understand the emotions behind the story, but after watching them, Kelly has become quite addicted and asked TVB if they could give her a fe more to watch, but they told her to watch it when it airs, leaving Kelly a little disappointed! Kelly says that she has been strongly attracted by the storyline and the determination and intelligence of the female protagonist Jang Geum to overcome all the difficulties. She adds that she would really like to film an ancient drama: "The costumes in ancient dramas are very beautiful, but I don't know why people don't ask me to make period films. Maybe they find my look too modern!"

"Jewel" is 70 episodes long and is the first long-running Korean drama to be aired on TVB.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123234632_0003.html
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-24/UL-357290.htm

[Oriental Daily 24/01/05]

Having decided to gradually retire from showbusiness, Priscilla Ku indicated at an event yesterday that although she will be lightening her workload, she will be doing a lot of meaningful things with her time and as well as writing her book, she will be doing voluntary work at a school, sharing her experiences with parents and students.

Priscilla says that as a mother herself, she hopes that she can use her experiences to share methods on how to bring up children well as well as encouraging children to understand the feelings and aspirations of their parents bringing the family bond closer together.

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

2005-01-23T21:53:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 24/01/05]

Nancy Sit and Linda Chung took part in an event at Olympian City yesterday and Nancy revealed that although she feels quite relaxed now that she has finished filming for "Virtues of Harmony", when she wakes up in the morning, she feels like there is something missing, so the feeling is rather mixed.

Originally planning to take a break after "Virtues", Nancy is now considering filming a mainland series because she does not want to give up the opportunity of working with mainland actor Zhang Tielin. However, she is as yet undecided because she promised her children that she would take a good rest and spend some time with them and if she has to go and film in China, then it will be at least three or four months away from Hong Kong and her children would object to this. She says she will decide after returning from the States.

As for Linda, she reveals that she will begin filming for TVB's new series "Always on Standby" in February, where she will play the first ever female member of the Government Flying Services, so recently she has been busy gaining experience for the role. She says with resignation: "When I get on the helicopter, then I feel faint and nauseous, so I have to take some plastic bags with me." The uniform is also quite heavy, so she says that filming for the show will be quite hard work, but she is happy to have the opportunity to try new things. In the show, she will be paired with Ekin Cheng. Also, Linda will be a guest performer for the opening of Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005.

When it was mentioned that the standards of this year's contest was rather ordinary and that Hong Kong's Kate Tsui stood a good chance of winning, Linda offered her support for her colleague, saying: "Of course she has a chance, in my opinion she will be in the top three."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-24/UL-357293.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050124/20050123234253_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a15cnt.html

2005-01-22T23:44:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 23/01/05]

Miss Chinese International 2005 will be held next Saturday night and in addition to the top three and Miss Friendship, this year there will be a new award that is voted for by viewers in Hong Kong and China entitled "Miss Cosmopolitan Beauty" (directly translated). A special promotional event was held yesterday at a Mongkok Shopping Mall marking the beginning of voting as well as showcasing one of the prizes for the winner - a jade and pure gold sceptre worth a $238,888.

When the 22 girls appeared, they attracted the cameras of many passing members of the public and when they each introduced themselves on the stage, Tahiti's representative Elodie Chung was nervous about her poor Cantonese and as she stuttered her words, she became very embarrassed and silent as she just smiled. Then when she was being interviewed, she also revealed her bra that she was wearing under her dress. Afterwards, she explained that Cantonese is not her mother tongue as she speaks French or English normally. She only knows a little bit of Mandarin Chinese and no Cantonese at all. However, she wanted to give it a try though, even though it ended in embarrassment. There were other mishaps at the event as some girls showed their knickers whilst walking onto stage in their mini-skirts and some contestants were so nervous that they were photographed in compromising positions, such as adjusting their bra straps.

Although this was the first official public engagement for the girls, there were many fans there supporting the contestants, in particular Toronto's Lena Ma, Hong Kong's Kate Tsui, Amsterdam's Joyce de Jong and Pradubduen Sawankwan from Bangkok. When Kate appeared, her fans blew wolf whistles at her and she did not disappoint them, winning the vote for "Audience's favourite contestant" at the event, her reward was the chance to be the first to hold and parade with the winner's sceptre. She smiled: "I am very happy and thank you to the Hong Kong fans for their support. This is a great encouragement for me and has increased my confidence." With just a week left before the girls all return to their respective countries, Kate says she is starting to miss them already, so she is spending time chatting to the other contestants in the evenings and sharing their cultures. Yesterday was the first time that Kate had come into contact with the winner's mace and she smiled that she will try her best to win it and have the chance to take it home. She is also thankful to Mandy Cho for her support.

The hot favourite to win the contest Fala Chen from New York indicated that she was not disappointed that Kate had won yesterday because there is still another week for her to prepare. She admits that she is a little nervous, but luckily the contestants are all encouraging each other. She is not worried that she does not have the advantage of being the local delegate because this is an international contest, with entries from all over the world and everyone has a chance to win. As for the confidence to win, Fala says that of course she has it, otherwise she would not be able to perform to her very best.

The Co-ordinating manager for the pageant Chan Ka Yeung indicates that the judges for this year's contest will include Andy Lau, Cecilia Yip, Dr Robin Chan Yau-hing GBS JP EOE, The Hon Maria Chan Wai Chu and The Hon Henry Wu JP. The guest performers on the night will be Eason Chan and dancer Gigi Yiu and the show will be MC'ed by Cheng Dan Shui, Stephen Au and guest MC Joe Ngai. Mr Chan says: "Andy was very happy when we asked him to be a judge, so he agreed at once. As for the outfits, we will have swimwear, chipaos and 60's miniskirts."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-23/UL-357006.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050123/20050123004808_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a69cnt.html

[The Sun 23/01/05]

Jerry Lamb and his wife Lily Hong were spotted in Causeway Bay earlier, out shopping with their eldest son Lam Bo. It was an ordinary family shopping trip, but the only unusual sight was seeing Jerry wearing a carrying rack on his back, housing his young son, whilst Lily walked around with nothing in her hands. When passers-by mentioned to Jerry that he must love his wife very much, he replied: "My wife did the hard work carrying my sons, so now it is my turn to do some of the work. The rack was ordered from the states and comes in really handy!"

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050123/20050123005153_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 23/01/05]

Niki Chow took part in a Pet Lover's Computer Design Competition event yesterday and arrived half an hour late, but she immediately rushed onto stage and apologised. She indicated that this is the first time she has been late for an event and she feels very sorry about it.

Niki then revealed that since she was young, she has been an animal lover, often helping out as a volunteer at the SPCA, but through lack of knowledge, she inadvertantly caused the death of some of the animals: "I tried rearing a rabbit like a dog and gave it a bath before blow drying it, but it died. It was only then I found out that rabbits could not be immersed in water." However, she does not ask that her boyfriend is also an animal lover: "I have seen reports that when couples have arguments, they neglect their pets and this is very wrong."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050123/20050123005724_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a59cnt.html

[Oriental Daily 23/01/05]

Nancy Sit did a show in the grounds of the university earlier, singing and dancing to nearly a thousand enthusiastic students. When asked if she had asked for a lower fee for the student performance, she said: "When I found out that it was organised by students, I did not ask for a fee. Usually when my daughter asks me for help, then I will offer my support, so I have never thought about charging other students. Singing a couple of songs justs makes everyone happy."

Nancy says that although she has finished filming for "Virtues of Harmony" now, her work for the near future is still non-stop. She will be heading out to America with Michael Tse and Louis Yuen for some stage performances on 26th, but as the show is not until 5th February, Michael has asked for everyone to leave him alone for the first few days, so he can have a pseudo honeymoon with his wife. Nancy's son will be entering university in July in America, so she will be looking around for the campus environment.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a71cnt.html

2005-01-21T23:28:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 22/01/05]

After a four year run, the TVB situation comedy blockbuster "Virtues of Harmony" is finally drawing to a close as the final episode is aired this evening. As well as the originally planned ending, there will also be a half hour special for the show's cast to share some of the interesting moments over the years.

In the show, Steven Ma will be explaining the earlier news about the ghostly apparition of a figure resembling Anita Mui in an earlier episode. He says: "When I was shooting the scene, there was a canvas bookcase behind us and on the shelf was a magazine. The image could have been from the magazine, but afterwards, the crew could not find any trace of the magazine." He also says that when the episode was aired, he was in Hengdian filming and only saw it when a friend emailed it to him. Apart from this scene, another spooky time was when three heads appeared on the kitchen counter whilst Linda Chung was in a scene cooking breakfast. Steven says: "I think that those must have been computer generated. (Are you afraid?) I have never been afraid of ghostly incidents because I have not done anything wrong."

As most of the cast members will be away doing stage appearances over the Chinese New Year, the cast and crew had an early New Year dinner and cast members present included Nancy Sit, Steven Ma, Linda Chung, Louis Yuen, Joyce Chen, Michael Tse and Bondy Chiu. The deputy director of drama department Catherine Tsang also took part an shared some funny moments with everyone as well as giving Nancy a big hug on the stage. During the event, many records set by "Virtues" were announced such as the 772 episodes each of 30 minutes resulting in 23,160 minutes of airtime; racking up 6,948,000 characters in the scripts that if stacked together would be over ten feet thick. Also the show used 33,196 metres of film that is almost as long as the Airport Express railway line.

Nancy, Louis, Michael and Cutie will be heading out to America on 26th for some stage shows and Nancy will also be seeking out a suitable university for her son on this trip. When asked if her boyfriend would be accompanying her, Nancy said hesitantly: "He is very busy, but I will be returning to Hong Kong on the fourth day of the new year because the fifth is Valentines day." Last year, as Nancy was busy filming for "Virtues", then even her stage performances were very rushed, always flying out at night and returning in the morning. However, now that the show has finished, she can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy her trips. After the new year, she will be heading out to Australia and New Zealand to do stage shows. Originally, the promoters agreed to let her head back to Hong Kong early, but she insisted on staying a little longer to take in the sights.

Nancy led the rest of the cast members in a singalong at the event, but she was so excited that she fluffed the words and went out of tune, whilst Steven and Yu Yeung were rolling around causing great amusement. With happiness, there comes a moment of sadness and Nancy said weepily: "After filming, there will be a lot of people jobless again, but I know that Catherine will make arrangements. Although there were some 'meetings with the management' during filming, it was all for our own good."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-22/UL-356650.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050122/20050121235442_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a15cnt.html

[Ta Kung Pao 22/01/05]

Yoyo Mung and Sharon Chan were filming at an old fashioned cinema in Fanling for "Rouge and Powder" yesterday in a scene where Yoyo is helping Moses Chan to court Sharon by telling him to take her to the cinema, so Yoyo hands the tickets to Sharon.

Yoyo exclaims that she never knew there were still cinemas in Hong Kong so old and she remembers that when she was in high school, she played truant and went to a cinema in Sheung Shui to watch "All About Ah Long" and she sat on wooden benches to watch the show. She laughs: "At the time, everyone had seen the film and if I didn't watch it then it would be behind the times, so I had to skip school to go and watch it."

In real life, has she helped a man to court a girl? She says she has not because if they split up, then she would feel guilty about hurting the girl. However, she has introduced men to her female friends, for example during filming for "Split Second", she met a girl through Alex Fong's girlfriend Mok Ho Yan and they became friends, then she introduced her to a male friend and they started dating. They are getting along very well and for Yoyo, she feels happy to have done a good deed.

Sharon wore a chipao for yesterday's scene and as she suffers from low blood sugar, she is very susceptible to the cold, so she wore two pairs of tights and also plenty of heat pads underneath. Despite her condtion, Sharon still wants to lose weight and she will only eat boiled vegetables after work each evening. She says: "I can't help it, the producer says he thinks my cheeks are rather puffy and filming this period series does require a slimmer face to look good. I just love eating too much, so I did put on a lot of weight before and when I wear the chipao's for this show, I am afraid to breathe too deeply in case I split the clasp. Once when Moses heard the buttons pop, he couldn't help laughing, so I really have to lose weight."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-22/UL-356644.htm

[The Sun 22/01/05]

Leila Tong was spotted at the radio station yesterday and said happily that she will be heading to Hengdian to film a historical TV series. At first, she thought she would be spending a lonely Lunar New Year there, but the crew have announced that to tie in with everyone's schedules, then they will not begin filming until after the new year and so she can spend the festival at home with her family. Leila says that her Mandarin is okay, but she has never used it to speak her lines, so she will try it this time: "When it comes to the dubbing, it will be easier to match my own lip sync."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050122/20050121235727_0003.html

[The Sun 22/01/05]

Natalie Ng has announced that she will be marrying her boyfriend of five years, Kim who works in investment. Although when she mentioned her intentions to friends earlier, there were remarks that this Rooster year is a 'blind' year and not suitable for marriage, she says she has consulted with an expert, who says that despite this, the couple are very suited to getting married this year, so they have decided to tie the knot in November or December.

The couple were originally planning to hold the marriage ceremony on the beautiful beaches of the Maldives, but after the disastrous tsunami devastated the island, they have changed their minds and will be staying in Hong Kong instead. When reporters called to congratulate Natalie, she was a little surprised, but still revealed her excitement, saying: "Don't ask me about it yet, because a lot of things are yet to be decided. When the time is right, I will tell everyone. (Has your fiance asked you to retire from showbiz after your marriage?) What era are we in now? My boyfriend is very supportive and I will definitely not be retiring because I love this career. (Will you have children after you get married?) No, this is too far in the future, so I will think about it later."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050122/20050121234950_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 22/01/05]

Gigi Lai was very well wrapped up as she wore a fur coat and a high neck dress to the opening of a casino in Macau yesterday. Arriving in a helicopter at the event, she earned a six-figure fee for two hours work, proving her current popularity.

After her arrival, she joined gambling tycoon Stanley Ho and his fourth wife Angela Leong for the opening ceremony and although faced with the highly attractive Gigi, Mr Ho seemed rather distanced, possibly because of the presence of Ms Leong, not even speaking to her at all during the ceremony.

After the opening, Gigi tried her luck at the tables and used her complimentary chips to play on the electronic roulette and horse racing machines, finally winning $30 and taking the first luck of the day. Gigi says that she does not gamble very much and is very gullible, so her friends like to play mah jong with her. She says: "This is the first time I have been to a casino in Macau and to win money just before the new year is a good start." Gigi emphases though that a little flutter can be fun, but definitely don't get addicted.

With the news breaking of a gunfight at Macau's New Century Hotel, Gigi was rather shocked to hear this: "I was not worried about my safety because there are many high ranking officials here from the Chinese and Macau government offices, so security is very tight." However, Gigi says that she would not dare to travel to Macau on her own in the future. Towards the end of the event, a man rushed into Gigi suddenly causing a minor security alert. It turned out that he just wanted a photo with her and she was in no danger.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050122/20050121234904_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a06cnt.html

2005-01-20T22:42:00.000Z

[The Sun 21/01/05]

Bernice Liu's innocent princess image has been forged deep into people's hearts and as we enter the new year, she openly admits that she wants to shed the crown of the princess and learn to become a mature and skilful artiste because she does not want to seem as naive as she was before. She indicates that a lot of things have happened in the past year and after so many 'firsts' in her life, it has forced her to become more mature.

Bernice laughs that now she has a home in Hong Kong and a 'son' (her dog), then her responsibility has increased and she has to work even harder to earn money to pay for her home and keep her son. She says: "When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I could not even speak Chinese properly and a lot of things were not so easy to take on board. I did not understand the scripts and just simply recited my lines when acting, with little emotion and wooden expressions. Now I have learned to understand Chinese and realise what acting is about."

Although Bernice wants to change her image, she will never change her personality: "I am a very happy character and I will not remember any unhappy things. Take the reports last year that said that I lost my temper whilst filming, I will not intentionally go and explain myself because that will just make things worse. In this industry, you are prepared for people to write about both good things and bad things." She emphasises that she is concentrating on her work and does not have the time nor inclination to start dating just yet.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121005202_0001.html

[The Sun 21/01/05]

After the news broke of Fiona Yuen's younger sister Lena dating Sam Chan, the two people in question have kept a low profile, preferring not to talk about it. As the elder sister, Fiona reveals that she was responsible for bringing the couple together. She says: "Last year, I introduced Lena to him and never thought that they would end up dating. (Did Sam Chan get in via the big sister then?) Not at all, but I do have a good impression of him and he is a good guy. They have been progressing well." Lena has returned to Germany to continue her studies now, so Fiona smiles they are having a long distance relationship.

This matchmaker does not seem to be having much luck herself though, after breaking up with her boyfriend, it seems she has not managed to find anyone else yet. She is worried that her romance luck for 2005 is not that great, so she laughs that she will have to buy some plum blossom [traditional Chinese love flower] at this year's New Year flower market to help with her romance.

Talking of the men in pursuit, Fiona says: "I have been to several wedding banquets lately and every time someone has introduced a man to me. One friend introduced an American Taiwanese to me and after becoming friends, we are getting on quite well, but he will be heading back to America soon, so I don't think we will have time to develop anything."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121004458_0003.html

[The Sun 21/01/05]

Nancy Sit helped out in the promotion yesterday for Korean series "Jewel in the Palace" that will begin airing next week. Normally, wearing the Korean traditional dress does not require a bra as the sash ties everything together, but Nancy revealed that she was very embarrassed because at first, she did not dare not to wear a bra, but after a long time they could not get the dress right, so in the end she had to give in. Nancy joked that she has sacrificed a lot to promote the show because she was afraid of something "sticking out".

TVB will begin airing the show as of next week and as each episode is an hour long, shows such as "Friday Variety" will be cut down to half an hour. As one of the show's hosts, Cutie Mui says that she does not mind as she will still put as much effort into preparation for it.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121005230_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 21/01/05]

TVB's progressing female artistes Mandy Cho and Shirley Yeung were at an event yesterday presenting some awards and Shirley wore a strappy dress that showed off her shoulders, stealing the limelight somewhat from the well covered up Mandy. Shirley says that this was not intentional as the dress had been prepared by the organisers. Mandy indicated she did not mind at all.

Mandy has been watching the progress of this year's Miss Chinese International and as well as being biased and supporting the local contestant Kate Tsui, she also thinks that Bangkok, New York and Amsterdam are very good. With the suggestion that Kate's relationship with the other girls is only so-so and her chances to win 'Miss Friendship' are slim, Mandy supports her successor, saying: "Maybe they have just not warmed up yet. Kate is a very direct and open person, but she just takes time to warm to people." When asked if she has passed on advice to Kate, Mandy says: "For fairness, then I will not. If have to teach them, then I will teach them all." As for the reports of the Taiwanese representative being criticised and called ugly, Mandy believes that until the day of the final, you cannot say who is better than who, so she should not mind this too much.

Shirley says that she does not need to work over the Chinese New Year, so she can go and visit friends and family and collect lucky packets. When asked if she is worried about being nagged to get married by her family and friends, she says: "No, I will tell them that I prefer to receive lucky packets more!" [Chinese tradition: When you get married, you no longer receive lucky packets and have to hand them out instead!]

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a69cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121004936_0003.html

(File photo)

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 21/01/05]

After Bowie Lam and Gigi Lai took the male and female lead role awards at the TVB Anniversary last year for "War and Beauty", there have been endless rumours that they secured the award for signing a contract with TVB. Although later on Gigi revealed that she has actually signed a management contract with TVB, Bowie has always kept his situation to himself. Recently, Bowie's contract with M8 has officially ended and with Bowie invited to take part in a Chinese New Year event alongside TVB managed artistes in presenting New Year wishes to Sir Run Run Shaw, this has fuelled new rumours that Bowie has actually signed with TVB after all.

The Chinese new year celebratory show will feature a comedy sketch, where the four stars of last year's hit drama "War and Beauty", Bowie, Gigi, Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh will join with the stars of the forthcoming "The Legend of Ah Wong" Roger Kwok and Jessica Hsuan in greeting Sir Run Run for the new year.

In response to the suggestions that he has signed for for TVB, Bowie responded on the telephone, saying: "I know that appearing alongside all the managed artistes in the show will cause people to jump to conclusions, but it is an honour to perform for Sir Run Run and I am very happy, so no matter what I am doing, I will take time to appear. However I really have not signed for TVB yet. I won the award with my own ability and I will not be as secretive as Gigi, who did not even tell me." Bowie reveals that his contract with M8 has just expired and as well as TVB, he is also discussing new contracts with Beijing and Taiwanese companies. If there is no success, then he may not sign another manager and manage his own affairs.

Bowie says: "I have been in this industry for nearly twenty years and I have never been afraid of negotiating a price, so I have the ability to arrange my own work. My ambitions are very simple and I do not have any great expectations for my singing, so it will be mainly centered around acting and making some real money with external productions. My schedule this year is already quite full, with two series for TVB because Catherine Tsang is my saviour, so if she needs me, then I will do it. I can always postpone the money-making schemes until the end of the year." With such regard for his roots, little wonder that Bowie is well loved by TVB.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a64cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121002504_0003.html

2005-01-20T21:41:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 21/01/05]

There have been reports in a magazine recently alleging that Yoyo has had to borrow money to pay for her apartment because her management company M8 owed her three months wages amounting to $300,000. Yoyo took part in the blessing ceremony for "Rouge and Powder" yesterday and she says that she was not angry at the report because this kind of news appears all the time. However, saying that she has no money to pay her mortgage is quite serious and she does not want her family to worry about her, so she has handed the case to her lawyers. She says that her management company is angrier than her and have made their own statement. She feels that if there is an issue, then she will meet them in private to discuss and she will still be negotiating her contract with them later. When Gigi Lai and Moses Chan handed out lucky packets during the ceremony yesterday, Yoyo joked: "Yes, I am getting paid now!"

Co-star Anne Heung's boyfriend is an executive at M8 and she says that she is not in a position to comment on this matter, especially as it is not directly related to her as she is a TVB-managed artiste. As for the financial position of the company, she is unclear because she is a third party and does not need to know.

As Gigi shared a piece of roast pork with the other female stars, she was asked about the news that her ex-boyfriend Tony Wong (Yuk Long) has been rumoured to have separated from his wife Ngai Sze Pui and she says that it is nothing to do with her and she does not know anything about it. She has not kept in touch with Wong and will not respond to any questions regarding him. Whilst filming for "Rouge", Gigi has been suffering from a sleeping disorder and as many of the crew are unwell, she has been going to sleep as soon as she gets home to build up her immune system.

Gigi comments that in "Rouge" there are plenty of beautiful costumes and beautiful people to see: "The producer has very high standards, so we always have to touch up our make-up and be very meticulous."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-21/UL-356175.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a65cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121004329_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 21/01/05]

TVB newcomer Charles Szeto and Nancy Wu have been chosen for their healthy images to become the 2005 Yau Tsim Mong Crime Fighting Stars, responsible for promoting young people to assist the police with their investigations and reduce crime. Nancy indicates that she has always been very careful with her possessions and rarely loses things. When she was at school, she was playing ball in the courts, but she left her bag at the side and when she went back, it had gone missing, leaving her very upset. She says: "We should all be careful in looking after our things as this can help to reduce crime already."

Charles celebrated his 26th birthday on 5th of this month and this is his first birthday since entering the entertainment industry, so he held a special party with twenty or so fans on that day. The fans presented him with a birthday cake and made some thoughtful gifts for him, including a photo collection and a hand knitted scarf. On the evening of his birthday, Charles took time out to celebrate with his family and his father gave him a lucky packet, whilst his mother bought him some clothes. His birthday wish is for his work to go well, have more jobs and receive the recognition from even more people. When asked if he was in a rush to start dating, he says: "I am not dating and am in no rush because I want to concentrate on my work. Once this is established, then I can start thinking about romance."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-21/UL-356178.htm

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 21/01/05]

The 22 contestants from this year's Miss Chinese International Pageant went two separate ways yesterday and contestant numbers 8-11 and 17-22 visited Stanley, whilst the other girls stayed at TVB City trying on their Ming Dynasty costumes and filming. First they went to take photographs at Stanley Fort before heading into Stanley Market to go shopping. Afterwards, they enjoyed lunch at the Jumbo Floating restaurant.

After arriving at the market, they attracted many local traders and other tourists and although they were shopping, the trail of press following them made them rather unwelcome, with complaints coming from shopkeepers saying they were getting in the way.

No 20 Cecilia Liu from Montreal bought an angel headdress for No 22 Sawankwan Produbduen from Bangkok and as she was too happy, she slipped as she left the shop and as the press were too busy taking photographs of her, no-one bothered to help her up. Luckily she was fine and continued to shop away happily afterwards, buying a set of dragon-phoenix pictures for her family that signified "Safety in the Home". No 10 Fala Chen and No 12 Lena Ma [Em: this seems to be a mistake as No 12 wasn't there! Haha!] bought some doggy clothes, but the most prolific shopper was No 8 Patricia Hon from Calgary, who not only spent $600 on three pairs of shoes, she went on to buy a stone chop with her name on. Hot favourite Fala seemed rather chilly in her thin clothing and when they were having their photographs taken on Stanley beach, she was shivering with the cold. A warm hug from Kate soon warmed her up and Kate showed her friendship by helping to fix Fala's hair.

Hong Kong representative No 17 Kate Tsui played the photographer for the others throughout the trip, so she did not buy anything for herself. She laughs: "It doesn't matter because if I wanted to, I could come here any time. The most important thing is for me to be a good tour guide, group leader and interpreter because the main role of being Miss Hong Kong is to promote Hong Kong. (Some people thought you were just a tour guide and did not recognise you as Miss Hong Kong.) Really? Some people recognised me and called my name and even asked me to have my photo taken with them! (Some shopkeepers found you all obstructive and yelled at you to move on.) I did not hear them and did not notice. This trip to Stanley would have helped their business, so it is good publicity for them."

Meanwhile, five contestants were rehearsing in TVB City and were very excited about their Ming Dynasty costumes. Having been called 'ugly' by some tourists in Lantau Island the day before, No 16 Kimberley Chin from Taipei did not seem affected by this and said defiantly: "I am very confident in myself, this is not just about appearances, internal beauty is just as important." Vancouver's representative No 15 Leanne Li was asked if she was under any pressure after the previous successes of Vancouver in the contest and she said: "No pressure, as long as I do my best then that is fine."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-21/UL-356176.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a58cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050121/20050121004839_0003.html

2005-01-19T20:22:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 20/01/05]

Contestant numbers 17 to 22 in this year's "Miss Chinese International Pageant" filmed in Qing Dynasty costumes at TVB City yesterday and this is the first time that Hong Kong representative No 17 Kate Tsui has worn period costume. She says that when she was young, she wore a Qing costume for ballet, but it was rather simplified. Riding on the back of the popularity of "War and Beauty", she feels that the costume this time is very beautiful and all the outfits and shoes have been especially made for the event. As for whether it is hard to walk in Qing palatial shoes, Kate says that it is not and she can actually walk faster than wearing heels, but she does say that the hairpiece is very heavy.

For this year's pageant, the girls will be wearing fur as well as bikinis and Kate was asked if she has been keeping fit. She says that she started her regime very early on. She adds that although she is representing Hong Kong, she still has to move into the hotel with the other contestants and for security reasons, she has to sign out when she goes out. Even when her mother brings her soup, she has to take it to TVB City to hand it to her.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-20/UL-355747.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 20/01/05]

TVB's new series "Mr Chan of Foshan" held its studio blessing ceremony yesterday and cast members attending included Yuen Biao, Timmy Hung, Leung Ka Yan and his son Leung Ho Yee. At the age of just twenty, Ho Yee is Leung Ka Yan's youungest son and has appeared in series before. He has signed with TVB on a 'per-series' contract in the hope of laying a path for himself into showbiz.

After seven or eight years away from TVB, is Leung Ka Yan's return for this series in the hope of helping his son? He says: "I have hoped that I could work with my son, but there are many others in this series whom I have not worked with for a while, such as Yuen Biao and producer Chong Wai Kin, so I wanted to work with them again. (Do you hope that your son can succeed you?) I have nothing to succeed! (So are you keeping an eye on him?) He is old enough now and knows how to think for himself, so I don't need to watch over him." In teh series, Ho Yee will be playing Ka Yan's nephew, so they will have plenty of scenes together.

Ho Yee says that working opposite his father will have a certain amount of pressure, because with one look from his dad, he will feel quite uncomfortable, so he would rather work with strangers. Asked if his kung fu is as good as that of his father, Ho Yee says that he has only been learning Wing Chun for a few months.

On the topic of successors, Yuen Biao was asked when he would be allowing his son to enter the industry. He says that his son is only seventeen years old and studying is still a priority. His son has very little contact with people from showbiz and would rather work abroad. When asked if he was his son's idol with his excellent martial arts, Yuen laughs: "He has never complimented me before!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-20/UL-355749.htm

2005-01-18T22:18:00.000Z

[The Sun 19/01/05]

In her third year as spokesperson for Starrywood, Shirley Yeung shot the new season's ads for them in a show apartment yesterday and had to change into 20 different images in the space of half a day. As it was the summer collection, most of the clothes were shorts and miniskirts and posing beside the pool in a premature summer left Shirley shivering as the wind machine generated a gentle breeze but in the freezing cold. However, Shirley was very professional and did not utter a word of complaint at all.

Shirley took the opportunity to look around the apartment and she says: "I have always wanted an apartment of my own in the hope I can live with my family. (With so many ads, you should have enough by now?) I am still very far off and I want to think about how I will decorate it."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050119/20050118232611_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao 19/01/05]

Since becoming involved in the intimidation case, Nick Cheung has been under the protection of the police and not ventured out of his home very much. Nick was back at work filming for Johnnie To movie "Triads" yesterday. The shoot was on location at the Kam Shan Country Park on Monkey Hill and other artistes included Simon Yam and Louis Koo. There were a lot of cast and crew members there and reporters from the press, but there did not seem to be a police officer present.

Despite the case still looming, this had not affected Nick's mood and he remained absorbed in his work, not leaving the director's side throughout. When he saw the reporters, Nick was happy to stop for a chat. At this point, Simon Yam was nearby and he said to Nick: "Don't worry! With the papparazzi following you around and so many media friends helping you out, you won't be disturbed!" When asked if there was police protection around, Nick says that he does not need it when he is working, but if there is a need, he will contact the police. Was the offer of protection from the police themselves? Nick says that it was, as he is just an ordinary citizen and does not have the right to simply ask for protection in this way. The police have their own guidelines to follow.

When asked if he has been for the identity parade, Nick did not respond and moved the topic back to the protection issue. He says that at the moment there are a lot of crew around, so there is no need for it. When the question was asked again, he indicated that he does not want to talk about the process because it is all in the hands of the police and he cannot say very much, nor does he want to add his own opinions.

However, Nick does indicate that recently there have been a lot of press reporters waiting for him outside his home and he would seriously urge everyone not to waste too much time on him. He lives in the country and the weather is getting very cold and he is not in any special situation really. Also he is concerned because this will cause complaints from the other residents living nearby. He hopes that the media will not wait around for him any more because at the moment he is not in a position to comment. He says: "I do not have any unusual lifestyles or habit, so there is no point in waiting!"

When asked whether his mood has been affected by the matter, Nick says that he would be lying if he said he was not upset, as he is not someone who is constantly caught up in something, so of course he will be affected. When asked if his wife is worried, he says that now his wife knows that the matter is in the hands of the police, then she will not be too worried. Nick worked until the evening yesterday and went straight home. Louis Koo was asked if he had seen any strange men around and he replied that he did not notice or see anyone. He has asked after Nick and he says that protection is not needed when filming. Louis did not feel that Nick's mood was too affected and he seemed quite happy when they were working.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-19/UL-355294.htm

2005-01-18T19:04:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 19/01/05]

The second group of this year's Miss Chinese International Pageant contestants (Nos 6-11) continued filming in their Tang Dynasty costumes yesterday and as it was also the 25th birthday of No 5 Jolene Chin respresenting Kuala Lumpur, a special birthday party was held for her. The other girls gave her a big surprise as they presented her with cards and flower and her room mate No 17 Kate Tsui gave her a dress and a birthday kiss.

Whilst preparing in the dressing room, Kate was exchanging language tips with No 22 Sawankwan Pradubduen from Bangkok and just at this time, a staff member was handing out the girls' number badges and someone was teaching Sawankwan to say the number 19 in Cantonese, but on a number of times, she mispronounced the number 9, making it sound like an expletive and causing a few laughs.

As Jolene is an only child, she is very happy to share her birthday with so many people this year and her birthday wish is for good health and everything to go well and progress. When asked if her boyfriend had called to wish her a happy birthday, she says she does not have a boyfriend yet, but she did receive a lot of greeting texts earlier. She was busy filming in TVB City, but the other girls came to visit her in the studio. When asked what presents she had received, she says that when she returned to the hotel, apart from Kate's dress, there was also a mysterious bunch of flowers. No 12 Lena Ma from Toronto also presented her with a pair of earrings. When asked if she would win, she says she will go with the flow as she is only here for the experience and sees it as a learning opportunity. If she wins an award, then it would be a bonus.

No 10 Fala Chan is a hot favourite to win this year and wearing her ancient costume yesterday, she was even more photogenic. She says that this is because she has a rather classic appearance and the period costume is very beautiful. Talking of this year's theme being "Eternal Beauty - Touching Hearts for 5000 Years", does she feel that her appearance puts her in a good position? She says that this may not be the case because it is not just about looks, as stage presence, poise and reaction are just as important.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-19/UL-355298.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 19/01/05]

Louisa So celebrated her birthday earlier with a group of fans, firstly having a barbecue at the South China Club before heading off to celebrate at a karaoke. Among these fans, there are some who have been supporting her since she first started performing in theatre over ten years ago, so they are very faithful.

During the celebration, the fans opened their hearts and told of their feelings towards Louisa and the only male fan present gave her an emotional rendition of "Forever Beautiful" and leaving Louisa a little teary-eyed. When asked what presents she has received, Louisa says: "This year is a little unusual as I have not received many gifts. THis is because my fans put all the money they would have spent on a present into a box and I will donate it on their behalf to Oxfam to go towards the Tsunami Disaster appeal." As for her birthday wish, Louisa hopes for good health and no more natural disasters.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-19/UL-355288.htm

2005-01-17T22:17:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 18/01/05]

With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, TVB sent out its New Year cards yesterday, continuing the tradition of featuring 36 of the company's salaried artistes on the front of the fold out design. This year, they were split into five groups, each consisting of some already popular stars and some who are currently being promoted. Although they were in groups, within each group, they were carefully placed into positions that reflected their rankings within the company. Roger Kwok and Jessica Hsuan sit comfortably in the middle of their group, indicating their No 1 status for male and female leads, whilst Raymond Lam, Kevin Cheng, Moses Chan and Ron Ng are in the middle of their respective groups, indicating their importance. As for the female artistes, Charmaine Sheh appeared in the sexiest outfit of a tube-top, but not to be outdone, Anne Heung, Gigi Lai, Myolie Wu and Michelle Ye all appear in strappy tops, with Gigi positioned beside Moses Chan despite just recently signing with the company. On either side of Ron are Bernice Liu and Mandy Cho and other stars making an appearance include Sonija Kwok, Tavia Yeung and Melissa Ng.

TVB aired new series "Master of Kung Fu - Wong Fei Hung" last week and it reached average ratings of 29 points, peaking at 33 points, doing well for a new series for recent standards. As for "Virtues of Harmony", it stayed steady, keeping an average of 28 points. "Shades of Truth" rose by one point, but still only managed an average of 26 points. The Yan Chai Charity event only gained a 20 point average.

[Em's note: You can see the other pictures from HK Image online through these links:
Roger & co, Kevin & co, Raymond & co, Moses & co, Ron & co ]

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http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050118/20050117234241_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a04cnt.html

(L-R: 1 Gaynor Chin (Sydney), 2 Jess Young (Melbourne), 3 Annie Chang (San Francisco), 4 Lisa Wang (Chicago), 5 Jolene Chin (Kuala Lumpur); 2nd Pic: No 3 Annie Chang; 3rd Pic: Jess Young)

[Ta Kung Pao 18/01/05]

The Miss Chinese International Pageant will be taking place on 29th January and as there is no international shoot this year, the 22 contestants have already began shooting their film clips for the final show. In order to tie in with this year's theme of "Eternal Beauty - Five Thousand Years Touching Hearts", the contestants have been split into four groups, which are Tang Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and Dunhuang styles. The Ming girls will appear as fighters and the Qing as princesses.

The first group to be filmed were contestant numbers 1 through 5, who appeared in Dunhuang themed costumes and in line with the feeling of fairies in heaven, they had to be suspended by wires. Luckily none of the girls were afraid of heights and although they were four metres above the ground, they all had a great time. No 1 Sydney's Gaynor Chin felt rather chilly wearing the sexy Dunhuang dress and this was her first experience of wirework. She says they had begun rehearsing for this two days ago and although it was hard work being pulled up in the air, it was a lot of fun. When asked if she was used to life in Hong Kong, she says that they have three weeks to train and she is gradually adapting to it.

No 2 Jess Young is from Melbourne and when she was waving her ribbons around in the air, the crew praised her beautiful pose. She says that she has been learning ballet since she was three years old and did it for ten years, she then moved onto singing when she was older and has taken part in musical productions. As for the praises from the crew, she smiles: "Thank you, this was not actually that difficult or hard really. (Does this add to your confidence?) Yes, but anything to do with singing or dancing makes me confident because I have done this since I was young." As she emigrated when at a small age, she no longer has any relatives in Hong Kong, but on the 29th, her mother will be arriving in Hong Kong to support her.

No 5 Jolene Chin hails from Kuala Lumpur and she says she likes extreme sports, so she feels that wirework is great fun. Her eyes were very red yesterday and she said that she did no know why. When jokingly asked if she was envious (Cantonese "red-eyed"), she responded in good humour: "I am envious of myself!"

The remaining contestants 12 through 22 had their official portraits and measurements released today and also revealed some rather impressive figures. Among them, No 14 Kelly Wong tops the list with measurements of 35.75,25,35, closely followed by No 20 Montreal's Cecilia Liu (35,25,36) and No 21 Tahiti's Elodie Chung (34,24.75,35) together with No 15 Vancouver's Leanne Li (34,24,36) were not far behind. After the makeover, by far the most eyecatching was No 17 Kate Tsui representing Hong Kong.

After disappearing from the small screen for a little while due to problems with his record company, Eason Chan will be making his comeback for 2005 by appearing at the pageant as the special guest star. In order to show his sincerity to TVB, he will be taking a few days out of his hectic schedule to rehearse and make the performance something special.

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[Ta Kung Pao 18/01/05]

Hacken Lee will soon be hosting TVB's new gameshow "The Cruel Bell", based on the American Talent Show "Fame". Hacken says that he had earlier turned down the job because he will be heading to England in February to record the Manchester United Club anthem before heading out to America and Canada in March. However, after the sincere invitation from TVB General Manager Stephen Chan, who insisted that this show was especially made for him and even offering to adjust the filming schedules, then Hacken was rather touched and could not turn it down any more.

When reporters laughing referred to Hacken as "TVB's Godson" and therefore unable to turn down work, he says: "Luckily it is already past the beginning of the year and things are not as sensitive now. However, I do hope that the show will do well, just like 'Fame' in America." As for whether he will give contestants a hard time, Hacken syas that he will not be too nasty because he is a rather friendly pop star and will not make it difficult for the contestants. However, it is hard to speak for his co-host Joey Leung, because he is not a singer and does not have an image to keep up, so he can be the antagonist, whereas Hacken is the good guy! The contestants shouldn't be too worried because the rule is for every second that they last, they will receive $100, so if they win for several weeks on the run, then they will earn more than some professional singers!

Hacken was a judge at a singing competition two nights ago and his judging criteria is very rounded, including appearance as well as singing ability. He also says that it is not easy being a newcomer nowadays because you have to be able to sing, dance as well as know martial arts and be able to cook, so you really do have to be multiskilled. He adds that if he was to enter a contest now, he would never have made it, so is he glad he entered the contest early on? He laughs: "Yes, otherwise a very talented singer will have been buried and lost."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-18/UL-354872.htm

2005-01-16T23:44:00.000Z

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 17/01/05]

Moses Chan, Yoyo Mung and Sharon Chan were filming yesterday on location for "Rouge and Powder" on a hillside in a scene that tells of Moses being kidnapped, but rescued by the two ladies. The three run for their lives down the hill and luckily neither Yoyo nor Sharon are afraid of heights.

Sharon also has to wear high heels to film this scene and in the end the heels were completely worn down. Yoyo was a little smarter as she had changed into some pumps to film the scene. She says: "Originally my shoes were two and a half inches high and to run in them meant that it was quite easy to twist my ankle, so I wore a similar coloured pair of pumps instead." As for this show being a female focussed series, there has been very little gossip so far on the set. Yoyo says proudly: "Yes, I am quite lucky in that I do not attract much gossip. The best way to avoid it is to reach an understanding with everyone not to let any rumours affect our friendship. Gigi and I are always joking and we all have a good time playing around."

Sharon does have some bad memories of hillside filming though as she recalls: "Once when I was filming in Beijing on a hillside, I saw that there was a woman on the opposite side of a valley holding a baby. As it was quite close to the 14th day of the 7th month (Chinese Ghost Festival) and no-one around me could see her, I was quite afraid to start with. Luckily it was not night filming."

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http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050117/20050117000139_0003.html

[Oriental Daily 17/01/05]

Myolie Wu was filming in Sheung Shui yesterday for "My Sassy Mother-in-Law" in a scene where she was soaked and although the storyline told of Myolie falling into a dirty pool, some clever camera angles meant that Myolie only had to stand on a ladder and pretend to have climbed up from the muddy pool. As her costume was soaked for effect and muddy stains were added, together with some pondweed in her hair and leaves in her mouth, Myolie was left looking quite a sight.

Myolie says that after all the conflicts that she has had with her screen mother-in-law Liza Wang, there have been countless scenes so far where she has to get wet, but luckily the weather then was not too cold. When asked if she has put extra clothes on to protect herself in these scenes. she says: "I did not need to wear a wet suit today, but I did put a polythene sheet from the dry cleaners underneath my costume." After this shoot, Myolie had to continue with a studio sesion, so Myolie has prepared some spare sets of clothes to change into.

The show is due to complete filming at the beginning of February and at the end of January, Myolie will be heading out to Atlantic City for a stage performance with Bowie Lam. When asked if she had heard about the blackmail case involving Nick Cheung, Myolie says that she was once a model for his music video and although she does not know him very well, they are still friends, so she is worried about him because he is out in the open, whilst the other party is hidden. However, these situations are hard to avoid when you are a public figure.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a56cnt.html

[The Sun 17/01/05]

Since it was revealed that Nick Cheung has become involved in a blackmail and intimidation case, his friends have been especially concerned for him and he has been receiving 24-hour protection from the police. At around 7pm on Saturday, Nick left his Sai Kung home to go to a seafood restaurant, where he had dinner with his colleagues from the movie "Triads" Johnnie To and Sean Lau. Nick was accompanied by a plain clothes police officer throughout his trip.

Nick did not respond to any of the press' questions when he left, saying only that it was all in the hands of the police. New reports speculate that when he was a uniformed police officer, his career with the force was not going well, so he left and spent some time mingling with some triad gangs. When he entered showbiz and wanted to distance himself from these acquaintances, he was subjected to some disturbance and this case may be related. Based on the information gathered from Nick, the police have arrested a man, but arrangements are still being made for Nick to identify the suspect.

Good friend Sing Fui On picked Nick up to go out yesterday but to avoid revealing where they were going, he did a few circuits before enlisting the help of a police car to stop the following press gangs. Afterwards, he denied knowing of Nick's whereabouts, saying: "We just went for tea, I did not ask about his case." Johnnie To also refused to reveal anything, saying: "We just had dinner together!" Nick returned home safely last night at around half past eight.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050117/20050117001150_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 17/01/05]

Sheren Tang was in a simple white strappy top yesterday shooting an ad for a skin whitening formula. To avoid Sheren catching cold, the sponsors had arranged a heater and a warm fan for her, looking after her well. Little wonder that Sheren said excitedly: "This is my first ad of 2005 and the fee is very good. We have worked together well." Since last year, Sheren has had an endless string of jobs and from mid-January until the Chinese New Year, she will be heading over to do some stage performances in America (New York, Atlantic City & San Francisco), combining business with pleasure as she tours with her auntie and cousins in a small family reunion.

Sheren admits that she has been very busy with work recently and as she matures, then her family becomes more and more important to her. As a result when she goes abroad, she will take her folks with her. As she has become very weary lately, she is planning a break in March when she will travel to Greece with her family to visit her uncle there. Sheren will find a balance between her work and her health and will not go flat out just to make money. She laughs that she has never been very vain, but after so many beauty and slimming ads, she has to keep herself looking good.

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http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050117/20050116235428_0003.html

2005-01-16T21:04:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 17/01/05]

As the ambassador for the Hong Kong SPCA, Gigi Lai took part in a promotional event yesterday, encouraging the public to adopt animals from the society and she was arranged to show off a 2 month old puppy named "Chocolate" to everyone. When Gigi saw the dog, she fell in love with it and wanted to take it home with her, but she was worried that her seven year old dog at home would bully it.

Gigi has kept a dog herself for a while now and although it is quite old, it is very sensitive and when it sees her feeling frustrated, it will leave her alone, but if she is in a good mood, then the dog will fly towards her. As Gigi is busy working all the time, who looks after her beloved dog? She says that her family looks after the dog for her, especially her mother who seems to spend more time looking after the dog than she does her daughter, leaving Gigi a little jealous sometimes!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-17/UL-354437.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050117/20050116235450_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 17/01/05]

Community Chest Fundraising event "Hong Kong and Kowloon Charity Walk" set off yesterday from Hong Kong Stadium and teams took part from TVB, ATV, Cable and CRHK. TVB was led by General Manager Stephen Chan Chi Wan alongside the 22 Miss Chinese International Contestants, Bernice Liu, Shirley Yeung, Linda Chung, Winnie Shum and Heidi Chu. ATV's team was led by Managing Director Yu Tung Ho and their team consisted of the three Miss Asia winner Lu Jing Jing, Wang Hui and Fung Chi Ying as well as artistes Alice Chan, Joey Meng, Kenneth Chan and Gilbert Lam. As for Cable, their team consisted of Chief Executive Ng Tin Hoi and Television Chief Executive Tsui Siu Ming with a group of their artistes and CRHK's executive Yu Jang also took part with some of her staff.

With TVB sending out an all female team apart from executive Mr Chan, he says that this was not an intentional choice, but as they wanted to tie it in with the Miss International Pageant, especially as they were not filming abroad this year, then it was a good chance to take part in a worthwhile event and as the other artistes all have a beauty pageant background, then it is a good chance for them to pass on their experiences and support. When asked what his impressions of the contestants was, he says that they have three 'highs' - that is their high level of education, their height and their high standards.

With reports that TVB plans to hold a talent search show in the same vein as the American show with the 'Bell of Cruelty', where contestants will be rewarded with $100 per second they last on the stage before being 'pinged' off and suggestions that the show will be hosted by Hacken Lee and Joey Leung, Mr Chan responded to questions saying that there is such an idea being considered at the moment, but they are still looking into it and the hosts are yet to be decided. All he would reveal was that the two hosts would be TVB artistes and one of them is a professional judge. He says that this new format will be revealed at the end of January and constestants will not be limited by age or sex, provided they can sing. As well as cash rewards, there will also be record company scouts present, so even if you do not make it to the end, you may still be noticed. When asked if he would be asking William Hung on as a guest, Mr Chan says that this may be a good idea!

The 22 contestants for the Miss Chinese International Pageant took part in yesterday's walk and were able to meet and mingle with their predecessors including Bernice, Linda and Shirley. For Bernice, this was her first meeting with the contestants and her first impression was that they were all very tall and slim and that their quality was very evenly spread. When asked if she has any advice for them, she said: "My advice would be to just be yourself and be happy because this is a unique experience and you should not just think about winning."

This is the third time that Bernice has taken part in the charity walk and before the event, she had her first Fan Club meeting. However, before that, she went to see the Chinese chiropractor because in the previous evening's "Yan Chai Charity Show", she injured herself when she walked up some steps whilst bending over backwards. In order to avoid further effects to her work, she sought treatment quickly.

Last year's MCI winner Linda Chung had met with this year's contestants earlier in the TVB canteen and in the dance studio and she feels that they are not only very tall, but also of a very high standard of beauty. Whenm asked if she has any tips for her successors, she smiles: "Remember to smile and be yourself. (Do you have favourites?) Yes, but I don't want to say because I don't want to put pressure on them. I hope that they all do well as winning or losing is not important."

Bernice, Linda and the Vancouver Representative Leanne Li all hail from the same university, so yesterday they were requested to pose for a photograph together. Linda says: "Earlier, when Lena took the winner in Canada, I was the one who crowned her." When asked if she thinks she will be crowning Leanne as Miss Chinese International too, Linda laughs that she will not respond to this because she does not want to put pressure on her.

Alice Chan poked a little fun at TVB's lack of male participants, saying: "All the cast and crew from before and behind the screen are taking part, so we appear to me more united than the TVB lot. Have their men forgotten to get up today?"

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http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050117/20050117000454_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a65cnt.html

(L-R: 10 Fala Chen - New York, 3 Annie Chang - San Francisco, 4 Lisa Wang - Chicago)

[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun 17/01/05]

The Miss Chinese International Pageant 2005 will be held on 29th January and yesterday, the organisers released the official photographs and measurements for contestants 1 through 11. The shots this year show all the contestants in a low cut shoulderless dress, showing the great figures of the majority of the girls. Among them, No 4 Chicago's Lisa Wang's stats were the most outstanding measuring in at 35.5,25 and 36. No 3 Annie Chang (San Francisco) stats are 34,24,34 and No 7 Grace Sze reports 33,24,34.5. After the official makeovers, the most eyecatching contestant appears to be No 10 Fala Chen from New York, who also has a rather perfect figure at 34,24,34.

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[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 17/01/05]

Yuen Biao has taken on filming for TVB's new series "Mr Chan of Foshan" and he says that this first time venture filming TV series is just to learn new things. It would appear that his friendship with TVB boss Lok Yee Ling has influenced his decision to take on the role. Yuen says: "Many friends have encouraged me to film it and so I am doing it with the mentality of giving it a try and learning things. Filming for television is quite hard work, but I have been acting for over twenty years so I should be able to adapt quite quickly." He also says that before filming this series, he has not been too busy and has had some quite leisurely time because his eldest daughter is twenty and already at university and his son is seventeen and no longer needs supervision so now he has plenty of time to himself. He says that he will be working with his 'martial nephew' Timmy Hung in this series and as an uncle, he is full of praises for him, saying: "I have been holding Timmy since he was very young and he is a good boy. I see him finding success in so many areas and his performance is not bad. Earlier I have worked with him and I feel that his skills are quite good. My brother Samo will teach him, so I don't need to pass on any tips. Actually our group of brothers do get together from time to time, but it is rare that everyone can turn up together." In this production, he will be offering his martial arts advice and as the martial arts choreographer for the show Yuen Bo is his martial brother, then they should be able to communicate well. He also says that his wife will be returning to Hong Kong from Canada next month to spend the Chinese New Year with him.

Also, Yuen will be playing a couple with Maggie Siu and they filmed a fiery dragon dancing scene in TVB City's ancient street two nights ago together with Charmaine Li and Jack Wu, where they played with lanterns in the street. A dragon adorned with incense measuring over a hundred feet long was paraded through the street by ten men to complete the festival scene. Maggie has worked with Yuen before ten years ago and meeting him once again, she praises him for still being so stylish, saying: "He has not changed, still so dashing and agile!"

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2005-01-15T22:56:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 16/01/05]

Nick Cheung has been helping police with their investigations following an alleged intimidation and blackmail case involving the star. Reports indicate that the case is currently being followed by the Kowloon West Police. As this case involves a well-known artiste and a Triad gang leader, the police have filed this as a confidential case and are offering 24 hr protection to Nick and his wife Esther Kwan.

In relation to the case of Nick receiving blackmail threats, the reports say that as Esther is currently filming abroad and will not be in Hong Kong in the near future, the focus of the protection is mainly around Nick. The report continues that after receiving the contact from Nick regarding the case, they have immediately started investigations into the suspect and arrested a man last week, who has a triad background and a criminal record. This man has been taken back to the Kowloon East Serious Crime and Anti-Triad Department for Nick to carry out an identification.

When reporters saw Nick leaving his Sai Kung home with a man yesterday, they immediately asked him about this case and at first his reaction was that of surprise, but after much harrassment by the press, he finally admitted that this was true. However, he would not go into any detail, saying that everything is now in the hands of the police to investigate.

When the press asked if he was under a 24 hour guard, Nick nodded but insisted he did not want to say too much. When asked if the man accompanying him was a police officer, Nick would not comment. Will he be considering employing security staff in the future? Nick says: "The police have already done it very well and have given me a very good service. It is so good in fact that the Tourism Board should promote the Hong Kong Police for their standards, so I will be fine." As for whether he is worried about his wife who is currently filming abroad, Nick once again said he did not want to talk too much. At the moment he is busy filming Johnny To's new film "Triads".

Further reports reveal that earlier there was a man, claiming that he was representing a 'brother' of his who had just been released from prison, who contacted Nick and said that this brother had been sent down after his involvement in the robbery of a gold workshop in 1988. As this was related to Nick in some way, he wanted to 'send his regards' to Nick. As Nick was a police officer before he entered the showbiz industry, there is speculation that this intimidation case could be related to his previous work.

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http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050116/20050115235706_0003.html

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 16/01/05]

As the event's celebrity ambassador, Kenix Kwok appeared at the "Hong Kong Quality and Trusted Enterprises" awards ceremony yesterday and she indicates that to go and buy things from unlicenced retailers is not worth it. She says: "The first time I was paid after entering the industry, I bought a 1 carat diamond ring for my mum for $50,000. However, I later found out that the ring was not worth that much and I had been conned so I never bought anything from that shop again." Talking of some lawless retailers selling fake products as the real thing to mislead their customers, Kenix says that she will always go to the licenced retailers to buy designer gear as this way, you will not be affected.

Theresa Lee was also at the event and as a slimming spokesperson herself, she has been busy looking after her son recently. In response to the recent news about Carol Yeung's pregnancy affecting her contract with the slimming company she represents, Theresa says: "My contract does not say that I cannot have children and the element of freedom is very great. It also allows me to breastfeed and I don't need to take pills, so my work has not affected the baby at all."

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[Oriental Daily 16/01/05]

New generation 'Housewife Killer' Moses Chan, with his healthy image and amicable nature, has recently become the health ambassador for a Chinese herbal health product. Yesterday, a special contract signing and promotional event was held where he also took ten members of the audience to the product's production line and shared with them his experiences on keeping healthy. Afterwards, Moses went to a shopping centre for an autograph session that attracted quite a crowd, including over 80% female fans as well as a foreign lady, showing how popular Moses really is among the more mature lady.

With his fame once again proven and a substantial fee to go with it, no wonder that Moses was smiling broadly as he said: "This time I will be their health ambassador for a year and the fee is very good. (Is there also a limitless supply of the product?) I hope so! I am always going without sleep and not doing enough exercise, so it is just right for me!" Moses indicates that after becoming their ambassador, his friends are often calling him asking him for samples so his lines have been very busy!

Moses has been busy filming recently and has not had a break now for nearly three years. Luckily, he has three days off for Chinese New Year to let him recharge his batteries. He says: "It has been a long time since I have had several days off in a row, so I will try and get as much rest as I can. I will buy a kumquat tree and some flowers to decorate my home to create some New Year atmosphere."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a12cnt.html

2005-01-15T20:24:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 16/01/05]

Anne Heung, Alice Lau, Priscilla Chik, Vinci Wong, Jimmy Wong and his wife Maple Hui were all guests on the "Friday Variety Show" Celebrity Karaoke item earlier showing off their singing. Vinci was referring to Anne as his 'auntie' throughout the show and it turns out that the two are related, but they were not aware of this until it was pointed out by a common relative. Anne says: "The world is really small! Although I am from a higher generation than Vinci, I am actually younger than him!" Vinci also reveals that as well as Anne, Kevin Cheng is also related from his as they are first cousins.

Anne was asked about an earlier interview with Angel Tong who had said that Anne had undergone a slimming procedure with her company and then signed as a spokesperson with another company. Anne says with resignation: "It was way back in 2001 and at the time, Angel was a judge with me in the Miss Hong Kong Perfect Figure award and did not sign with me. Afterwards, the other company approached TVB to sign me as their spokesperson and TVB contacted Angel at the time to explain and then I stopped attending her company for sessions."

Jimmy and Maple brought their son along to TVB City for filming and having slimmed down to just 90 lbs after giving birth, Maple was asked whether she is not planning another baby because she has a contract with the slimming company. She says: "The contract does not say that I cannot have another baby and I will be renewing my contract with them in February. If I have another baby, then I can always lose it again!"

Priscilla was singing with her stylish dad on the show and they often join together for karaoke at home, so even without rehearsal, they managed to harmonise very well.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-16/UL-354149.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 16/01/05]

As spokesperson for a massage and beauty centre, Nnadia Chan was a guest at the opening of a new salon yesterday and her godfather Yeung Koon Yat also attended. Although the weather was rather cold yesterday, Nnadia was not afraid as she appeared in a thin backless dress. Luckily there was a heater inside, otherwise she may have caught a chill. Having just finished filming in Singapore, Nnadia was asked how long her sponsorship deal was with the company and she laughed in response: "The longer the better!", but she says that she will definitely no longer suffer from city stress because she now has her own personal masseuse to get rid of any fatigue. She laughs: "If I am filming in Hong Kong, the boss will send someone with me onto the set and whenever I feel tired, then they will massage me." Nnadia plans to start filming a new series again in March.

Nnadia also adds that she has always been a fan of massage, because it helps with circulation, making you prettier and also because it can help with slimming, so she will go for a massage at least once a week. As she loves it so much, why doesn't she invest in a massage parlour? She laughs: "If the boss will let me invest in the company, I am willing to but if I was to do it myself, then I do not have that kind of capital yet." When asked what her fee is for this contract, Nnadia says that she does not want to talk about money because the owner looks after her too well, taking her for dinner, saving her a lot of money and even applying for gym membership for her to keep fit, taking care of her every whim.

Also, with the Chinese New Year approaching, Nnadia will be filming two ads in Singapore for a skincare product and a health drink. As a result she will be spending the new year over there and she laughs that her lucky packet income will go down as a result, because Hong Kong lucky packets tend to be very generous, in particular those from her godfather Mr Yeung, that is comparable to a month's wage!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-16/UL-354148.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 16/01/05]

Michael Tse was married two days ago and he held a Western buffet style reception in the evening. MC'ed by good friend Louis Yuen, Patrick Lui and Nelson Cheung were the singers for the night. Among the guests from the entertainment industry were Jordan Chan, Julian Cheung and Anita Yuen, Nat Chan, Nancy Sit, Frankie Lam and Kenix Kwok, Cheung Tat Ming, Vincent Kok, Linda Chung, Yvonne Lam, Chan Ling Li and the soon to be married Chapman To and Krystal Tin.

Nancy revealed that the groom sang many love songs at the reception, making his bride very happy indeed. Nancy laughs: "As the weather was quite chilly, many of the female guests were wearing fur. As well as telling the story of how he proposed, he also played the guitar and sung to her, making the bride extremely emotional as she rushed onto the stage to hug him. It turns out that the guitar he used was given to him by Tina a few years ago, but he had never used it until his wedding day, when after much practice, he played and sung 'A Better Man' making the whole scene very romantic!"

Also, Vincent, Tat Ming and Jordon joined in playing games with the newlywed couple including a 'Find the Bride' game where a blindfolded Michael guessed that Jordan was Tina, but luckily still managed to get the right person in the end. The couple will soon be heading out to America and Canada on their honeymoon.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-16/UL-354156.htm

2005-01-14T23:53:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 15/01/05]

Michael Tse finally ended his twelve year pursuit of the hand of his girlfriend Tina Lee in a romantic marriage ceremony yesterday. The couple followed the Chinese traditions as the groom collected the bride from her home in the morning before the ceremony was held at Sham Shui Po Country Club in the afternoon. At the venue, there were many photographs of the couple on their special photo shoot in Thailand for the guests to share in their happiness. As it was a very private venue, the press and guests were all asked to switch off their phones and even TVB's own camera crew were strictly regulated so they did not accidentally film any of the club's other members.

The venue for the couple's wedding with its sea views was extremely romantic and the bride was led into the ceremony at the arm of her father as she received the well wishes from her guests and then in the presence of their parents, family and friends, they were joined in matrimony by the deputy registrar before Michael kissed his bride, sealing their love. They both seemed very nervous as they exchanged their rings and Timmy Hung helped the atmosphere by laughing: "Put some emotion into it!" The bride then pulled a cheeky face that caused some amusement.

The 'brothers' in Michael's entourage included Timmy Hung, Louis Yuen, Johnny Tang and choreographer Sunny Wong, whilst Tina's four sisters were led by Bondy Chiu. What was a little unusual was that there was a best man, but no bridesmaid. Michael's screen wife Bondy wore a pastel orange dress together with trainers. Other guests at the ceremony included Patrick Tam, Cheung Tat Ming and his wife, Sima Yin, Bobby Au Yeung's wife and Emotion Cheung and his wife Cheung Yin. Emotion also played photographer for the whole day, helping out very enthusiastically. Michael's two former singing partners Jordan Chan and Jason Chu were also present.

The weather yesterday was rather cold, but luckily the sun was shining and this made the scene much warmer. Michael was thankful to the heavens for keeping the rain away as he had been worried about this for a while. However, in preparation for the wedding, he had been extremely anxious and has not had enough sleep for several nights. Michael says that although he has filmed many wedding scenes in the past, the real thing is very different and of course he is very nervous. when asked if this was his dream wedding, Michael says that it is about 90% of what he had dreamed of and everyone was very happy. After the registration ceremony, there was a cocktail party before a buffet style reception in the evening.

As for the performance of his brothers, Michael was full of praise for their support, doing all his forfeits for him such as Timmy wearing a bra and knickers to run to the supermarket and buy sanitary towels and Louis having to go and catch a wild chicken. Michael says that the sisters were very careful in picking tasks that focussed on their weaknesses and when Timmy gets married in the future, he will certainly repay the favour and help him out. As for whether the lucky packet was astronomical, Michael says: "Of course it was sky high, but in the end I gave them a sum that was acceptable. After all the thought they had put into the games, it was worth it."

Michael reveals that he has been preparing for this wedding since he proposed a year ago and he kept putting off the booking until three months before. Luckily his friend is a member of the country club and booked the venue on his behalf. He also says that his wife had previously been practising her signature to sign the register so that she did not shake too much when she was signing it for real, but when the time came, she was still very nervous and had extremely sweaty palms! As for their plans to start a family, Michael says that he will follow the course of nature.

Timmy revealed that Louis was a little tearful when he watched Michael's wedding ceremony and Louis explained: "I was happy for them because I knew the bride first and then I watched them both start dating and now they are finally married." However, Louis was frightened to tears when he was made to face his greatest fear - chickens. "The sisters targeted our weaknesses and they made me open a box that had a chicken in it. This idea had to come from Bondy! They made me pose for a photo with the chicken, but I couldn't do it, so I held it inside the box, but I was so frightened that I broke out in a sweat!"

Congratulations to Michael and Tina!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-15/UL-353780.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a59cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050115/20050115022057_0003.html

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 15/01/05]

Joe Ma and Kenix Kwok were filming for TVB's "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" two nights ago, braving the piercing winds as they shared a romantic meal on Stanley beach.

The weather has been very cold with temperatures falling below 10 degrees C and Kenix also had to film on location yesterday on Kowloon Peak, but as she wanted to attend Michael Tse's wedding reception, the shoot was postponed late into the night. Although she had to brave the midnight cold, she says it was worth it because when she married Frankie Lam, Michael was part of his entourage, so they both had to be present at Michael's big day.

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050115/20050114233045_0003.html

[Ta Kung Pao, Oriental Daily & The Sun 15/01/05]

The Yan Chai Charity Show will be held this evening at TVB City and yesterday, Nancy Sit, Shawn Yue, Jade Kwan, Bosco Wong, Sammul Chan, Chan Kwan and Dickson Lee were all rehearsing their acts for the show. Stars of "Master of Kung Fu - Wong Fei Hung" Bosco, Sammul, Chan Kwan and Dickson will be doing a display of tile smashing with their hands, feet and heads, raising $5000 per tile that they will be breaking. Yesterday, Sammul was using his hands and Bosco was smashing the tiles with his head. When Bosco was asked if he felt fait at all, he says he is fine, just a little sleepy because he was working late the night before. He believes that he can break about twenty to thirty tiles. With a previous injury to his head, is Bosco worried about sustaining another injury this time? He says that at the moment he does not know if he will definitely be doing the head smashing party in the real thing because it may not be allowed to be aired. Producer Chin Kwok Wai will be checking this against broadcasting regulations and he says that if they are not allowed to show the head smashing, then the artistes can use other parts of their body.

Sammul has been rather nervous about ratings for "Wong Fei Hung" and has been checking the reviews on the internet to see what the fans think. Fortunately the response has been quite good and he is quite relieved.

Linda Chung, Fu Sze Sze, Winnie Shum, Rabee'a Yeung, Jade Kwan and Cecilia Yeung will be doing a 'Cross Dressing Dance' where they will be pairing up and even wearing moustaches for their three minute dance routine, that Linda is finding quite hard work. She says: "Usually when I dance, it is only for about a minute, but this time it is for charity and I believe our act will raise $500,000 so I hope that after watching the dance, the audience will donate even more." As she has worked together with him filming for "Virtues of Harmony", Linda says that she attended Michael Tse's wedding reception yesterday. When asked what gift she presented the couple with, she says that she gave them money because she was worried if she bought them something they would already have it, so cash is the most practical gift as it can go towards a very luxurious honeymoon.

In the 'Kung Fu Charity Soccer' item, Nancy will be performing with Shawn and Jade to blow the ball on a table into the other team's goal. When Shawn was asked why he is taking part in such an easy performance, he says that recently he has been flying between Hong Kong and Taiwan a lot and has had not had much time to rehearse, so he could only do a simple task. When asked if he has made a lot of money with so many stage performances over the new year, he laughs that he has made a fair amount of money, but he has to save up for the Chinese New Year because he handed out lucky packets to his colleagues last year and gave away a lot of money. The money he received in lucky packets was not balanced with the amount he handed out.

Nancy was a little late for her rehearsal yesterday and she was very apologetic. She says that she will be heading to America on 26th to receive an achievement award as well as do some stage performances and when asked if she will be travelling with her boyfriend, she says she will not because he does not have time. She will return to Hong Kong on the fourth day of the new year. Her son will be entering university next year, so she will also be checking out a suitable establishment for him to attend. As for Michael Tse's wedding day, Nancy says she has already given him a gift of a soup-making rice cooker and a pair of coconuts in the hope that they will have plenty of children!

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-15/UL-353772.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050115/20050114234026_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a58cnt.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a70cnt.html

2005-01-13T23:20:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 14/01/05]

Michael Miu, Melissa Ng, Bernice Liu, Yuen Kit Yee, Patrick Tang and Vivien Yeo were among the stars gathered for the costume tryout for TVB's new series "Disappearance". After taking a guest role in the production of "The Academy" (Police Cadet Brave Hearts) last summer, Michael returns to TVB this time taking the lead role as a private detective.

When asked whether he would be uncovering secret love affairs, Michael says: "It is not just about investigating romances, when you lose a cat, or a dog or even a shoe, you can ask someone to find it for you. The storyline is very light and interesting." When asked if he has left his business in the capable hands of his wife Jamie Chik whilst he is filming, he explains: "We have our other partners keeping an eye on things and our time is spread out well, so I agreed to do this series. As the filming is in Hong Kong and it is a modern show, then it should be very relaxed. Filming last time brought back a lot of happy memories and to be able to work with so many new stars, it is very refreshing. (Will Jamie be coming back to acting?) She is interested, but she has to look after the home, so it is down to me to do it instead."

It was mentioned by Alan Tam that the reviews for his new album are good and even "Ho Man Tin's Fat Chun" (Jamie) has been praising him. Does Michael mind about this? He laughs that he doesn't mind because this nickname was given to her by Alan and has been with her for a long time. She did put on a lot of weight three or four years ago but she is a lot better now. Also Alan is her idol, so whatever he calls her, she will accept it!

Melissa will be playing Michael's girlfriend in the show and working with Michael for the first time, she says excitedly: "I am so happy to be able to work with 'Sam Gor' (Miu's nickname). This is the first time I will be playing two different characters in the same show as I will also be playing my character's missing sister. As the 'sister' character is also that of the mistress of a triad gang leader, I will have to smoke for the role. Later when I have finished filming for 'Fantasy Hotel', then I will be cutting my hair short to tie in with this character."

As for Kit Yee, who has just joined TVB, this is her first series with the company and she will be playing a homosexual character and will also be cutting her hair short. She says: "I will be playing a tomboy who is attracted to Melissa's character and it is very different to what I have played in the past, so I hope that I can put aside the 'Big sister Kit Yee' image that has followed me for so long."

Bernice reveals that in the show she will be playing Michael's assistant and also a detective. In order to follow their leads, she will have to play many different roles, from a massage girl to Charlie's angels, so there will be a lot of sexy images. She says: "There will be a chance to try a lot of different looks, even a masseuse, so it should be a lot of fun! I will be working with Michael, Kenneth Ma and Power Chan for the first time, so it will be very refreshing."

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-14/UL-353326.htm
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-14/UL-353323.htm
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050114/20050113235512_0003.html
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a09cnt.html

[The Sun 14/01/05]

After working hard in losing 10 lbs recently, Rabee'a Yeung shot a wedding gown advertisement earlier and indicated that she dreams of a fairytale wedding, ideally in Disneyland, riding a pumpkin coach in Snow White's parade. Rabee'a looked her best for the shoot in exchange for a five-figure sum.

Rabee'a says that it was very hard work on the day of the shoot because despite the cold weather, she had to walk barefoot along the beach and with the waves from the sea lapping her feet, they became painful from the cold. However, she laughs that women only care about looking beautiful, so she would still bear the cold. She says that when she gets married in the future, she will also want to have photos taken on the beach: "Because I love the sunshine and the beach, with the blue skies and blue sea in the background, it is not only beautiful, but gives the feeling of a painting."

When asked what her dream wedding would be like, Rabee'a says: "I hope to be able to have a fairytale wedding in Disneyland, wearing a Snow White style wedding dress and riding a pumpkin carriage in a parade receiving the wishes of all my friends and family." When asked what her criteria is for a boyfriend, she laughs: "Of course I want him to be tall, strong and handsome, but the most important thing is that we get on and he loves me."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050114/20050113233436_0003.html

[The Sun 14/01/05]

Shirley Yeung and Nancy Sit took part in the "3rd Senior Citizen's Further Education College Graduation Day and Quiz Challenge" at Shatin City Hall yesterday and witnessed the graduation ceremony of many elderly students. Shirley says: "Seeing them wearing their graduation gowns and mortar boards reminds me of my own graduation ceremony at the Hong Kong Institute of Education in 2001. (Will you continue your study?) Not at the moment because I have been very busy." There are reports that she has been watching VCD's with her boyfriend to try and improve their acting and she admits it saying: "It is true and I don't mind people pointing it out. At the moment my acting is much better than it was when I first started. (Have you been following the gossip about Nancy and Yeung Pan Pan?) I will support her and hope that she will get over it and not be unhappy.)

Nancy indicates that she is interested in continuing her studies and praised her father in his nineties for his willingness to learn new things, like a font of knowledge. She reveals that she will learn how to use a computer from her children and when asked whether she has a generation gap, she says awkwardly: "Yes, in our outlook on love! In my generation, we were very reserved, but now they have seen and experienced a lot more so they are more open-minded."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050114/20050113234447_0003.html

[The Sun 14/01/05]

Kenix Kwok was filming for "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" on location at the 'Yucca De Lac' restaurant in Shatin with Joe Ma and John Chiang earlier and she says that when she was a child, her father would bring her here to eat and this left her with many happy memories: "At the time, I liked to have my photo taken beside the lake and coming here to film after so many years gives a very special feeling." In March, Kenix will begin filming a new series with Bobby Au Yeung, where she plays an intelligent and argumentative role. She says: "The feeling will be very much like that of Anita Mui in the film 'Justice, My Foot' and I have been watching videos of her performance to learn from her acting. The show will also include Tavia Yeung and Benny Chan, so it will be like a crossover between 'Shine on You' and 'Vigilante Force'."

In order to relax a little while, Kenix had planned to go on vacation abroad, but because of the South Asian Tsunami Disaster, she has cancelled her trip. She says: "I will not be going on holiday now. Maybe I will go and visit the affected areas and offer as much help as I can. The most important thing in humanity is to offer a helping hand."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050114/20050113232938_0003.html

[The Sun 14/01/05]

The ever charitable Halina Tam has been invited to a charity musical event alongside Dexter Young and in line with their performance, they have to rehearse ballroom dancing together for the first time. As they are both beginners, they seemed rather clumsy to start with, but with careful instruction from their teacher, they did improve. A little embarrassed, Halina says: "When I was at school, I did Chinese dance, but I have not had any practice for over ten years now, so my limbs have stiffened up!"

As well as having to dance, Halina will also be wearing a low V and backless dress to show off her singing voice: "I think that I am too bony, so I am hoping to pad out my bottom and chest area to make myself more s-shaped and perfect. (Will you be taking breast enhancement pills?) I don't know yet, I will ask some friends about it first."

Dexter is very happy with Halina though and laughs that he is attracted to bony women: "I have to be careful when I select my partner because I cannot choose a girl who is too tall." When asked if he has been asking for dancing tips from his mother, Connie Chan (Bo Chu) he says: "I have asked her for advice about speaking my lines and my expression, but my family are not strong dancers. I will work hard at rehearsals though." He indicates that he will be wearing a dinner jacket and the feeling he had when he tried it on was rather special: "The first time I wore a complete siot was for my High School graduation ball. At the time I was rather fat, so I felt like a little odd, but now it feels very different."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050114/20050113232845_0003.html

2005-01-12T22:58:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily 13/01/05]

Gambling tycoon Stanley Ho's fourth 'wife' Angela Leong held a special launch party in Beijing for the release of her monthly publication in China and among the guests were Roger Kwok and his girlfriend Cindy Au. It would appear that Roger and Ms Leong's relationship is quite strong and Roger says he has to give his respect to her, whilst Cindy adds: "It's alright if you are asked by Stanley Ho!"

Roger says that this is the first time he has taken part in a function together with his girlfriend and this is all down to the respect he has for Angela. He says: "I worked with Ms Leong earlier, so I am here at her request. (You are being paid well?) Don't talk about it like that, this is all because of the occasion as I would like to take part in some worthwhile causes." Roger is particularly happy that he can work away together with his girlfriend, but sighs that the time is too short and they do not have time to go and look around.

Roger also says that he has been asked to film together with his girlfriend, but he has always rejected this, saying: "It would be too awkward to work with her because there would be a lot of pressure and it would be really ugly and we would end up unhappy." Cindy agrees with him, saying: "Once he came to visit me on set and originally I was doing very well, but when I saw him smirking, I started having NG's and in the end I had to push him out of the studio."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a52cnt.html

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 13/01/05]

Michael Tse will be getting married tomorrow (14th Jan) to his long time girlfriend Tina and yesterday one of his entourage Johnny Tang accompanied him to a final fitting of his outfit. When Michael donned his dinner jacket, Johnny laughed: "Your outfit looks just like that of my father (the late Cantonese Opera star Tang Wing Cheung), when he got married, black tie and tails, just the trousers weren't grey." Michael then tried on an open collar evening suit and laughed that he will have to 'push out' his chest muscles. Johnny laughed jokingly: "Add a couple of brushes of shadows on, I am good at that!"

Groom-to-be Michael says: "Bondy and the rest of the 'sisters' will be very tough and I have heard along the grapevine that they will be planning lots of tricks to play. Luckily there are only four of them and there are eight of my 'brothers' with me including Johnny, Louis Yuen and Timmy Hung, so we should be able to beat them on just numbers." Johnny joked: "We will be like muggers - two brothers to each girl, dancing in to pick up the bride. I was thinking of getting Michael a mistress for the stag night." As Michael was doubled over with laughter, he said: "No mistresses, no strippers, just a blow up doll."

Tomorrow afternoon, the happy couple will be marrying at the Hong Kong Country Club and then holding a buffet reception in the evening. As for the news that good friend Chapman To will also be getting married soon, Michael is very happy for him, also revealing that Chapman had asked him about tips for marriage after the fundraising event at the Hong Kong Stadium earlier. Michael says: "I knew there was something up, so of course I gave him some advice. I have heard that Andy Lau will be sponsoring his reception, if that is true, then I am very envious of him!"

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a56cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050113/20050113000317_0003.html

[Oriental Daily 13/01/05]

Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, Raymond Lam and Kevin Cheng are currently filming in Singapore for the joint production "Yummy Yummy" and they appeared with the other cast members at a press event earlier. Although the stars hail from different countries, they still get along very well and what makes Charmaine the most excited is that the Singaporean artistes are very attentive of the Hong Kong actors' performances, so she is sure that there will be a good exchange of experiences.

Tavia indicates that the local hosts have been very hospitable and taken them to visit all the sights and sample all the local foods, so she is feeling extremely relaxed and leisurely as she combines work with pleasure. She says: "Although this is the first time I have worked with Singaporean actors, we are still having a great time and they say that they will take us to eat some good stuff. That's fantastic!"

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a65cnt.html

[Oriental Daily 13/01/05]

Gigi Lai, Mandy Cho, Moses Chan and Ram Tseung were in Fanling filming for "Rouge and Powder" yesterday in a scene that tells of Ram owing a big gambling debt and commits suicide in front of them, but for safety reasons, a body double was used for this scene.

There have been rumours earlier that Gigi has been unhappy about Mandy's frequent NG's and showing displeasure, but yesterday the two women were seen to be chatting away merrily with no animoscity at all. Talking of the reports, Gigi could not help laughing as she said: "Haha, we are working together very well actually, so you have fallen for the plan. Don't publicise for the magazines, there is nothing between us. NG's are nothing, I have them too." Mandy supported her saying: "Even if Gigi coaches me, then that is very normal. It would be even worse if she just watched me doing it badly and did not say anything."

In the series, Gigi and Mandy play sisters and although they do not know each other that well yet in real life, they seem to be quite friendly and when Gigi was asked if she would teach Mandy to act, she says: "She is very intelligent, not like some newcomers who are very naive. (Like who?) Like me, when I first started, I was very dreamy and no-one taught me. It was only after being told off too much that I started smartening up."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a68cnt.html

2005-01-12T18:05:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao 13/01/05]

TVB's new series "Fantasy Hotel" held its start of filming blessing ceremony yesterday and cast members present included Melissa Ng, Michael Tao, Wayne Lai and Devily Leung. During the event, when the crew noticed the appearance of Michael and Melissa, they immediately shouted out their new joint nickname "Tai Yu Mei Yan" [Literal translation: 'Big Breasted Beauty' but it is a play on their Chinese names 'Tai Yu' and 'Mei Hang'.] that caused a lot of laughs. Melissa appeared not to mind at all when she heard this name and immediately laughed along with everyone. When asked if she was bothered by this rather crude nickname, she laughed: "This is the first time that I have worked with Michael and we are working very happily and well together, so that is why they call us this name. I know they are all joking and just having some fun!" As for Michael, he had nothing but compliments for Melissa, saying: "Actually, Melissa's first series was 'Detective Investigation Files' and you could say that we had worked together before, but our storylines were different and we did not meet properly. This time it is different because we play a couple and are always together. After getting to know her, I find her to be very nice and easy to get along with. The feeling I get from her can be summed up in one word: good!"

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-13/UL-352838.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 13/01/05]

The cast of TVB's new series "Yummy Yummy - Food for Life" including Charmaine Sheh, Kevin Cheng, Tavia Yeung, Raymond Lam and Carlo Ng are currently filming on location in Singapore. As this is the first joint production between TVB and Singapore's Mediacorp Studios, there is a heavy focus on this series and a special press conference was held to mark this. After the Hong Kong cast had joined with the Singaporean cast earlier to film in Zhuhai, they had already become great friends and for Charmaine, Kevin, Tavia and Raymond, they have been warmly received by their local hosts and are working very well together with them.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-13/UL-352835.htm

2005-01-11T23:35:00.000Z

[The Sun 12/01/05]

With her healthy image, Kenix Kwok has been invited to become the promotional face of The Second Annual Hong Kong Quality and Trusted Enterprises Recommendations and will be taking part in the awards ceremony on Saturday. This event has selected 80 Hong Kong businesses for the contest and then opened up the voting to 110,000 mainland citizens to select the most trustworthy names to be promoted in the tourist guides, so Kenix feels that this event is very worthwhile. She says: "This is a very meaningful thing to do because this can help to promote Hong Kong's tourism industry and economy. I, myself, am an intelligent consumer and maybe I am naturally a shopping lover, so I feel that having second hand designer outlets is a great idea because you don't have to waste things and they can be recycled. (What is classed as a quality business?) The most important thing is to have good service and high quality goods because the worst thing is to spend lots of money on bad service and poor products."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050112/20050111235620_0003.html

[The Sun 12/01/05]

Ellesmere Choy, Ron Ng and Edward Mok were filming earlier during the night for a water scene in TVB's new series "Revolving Doors of Vengeance" and the scene showed the three men having a fight on a boat, in which Edward falls into the sea and the other two men try to rescue him. Although the temperatures have risen slightly in recent days, they were rained on all evening and when they had to get into the water it was almost 1am, so it was quite difficult and the three men were all shivering with the cold and looking quite pitiful. Afterwards though, they all brushed it off as nothing and Ron said: "It wasn't that hard work this time, compared to working on 'Twin of Brothers' when we were filming water scenes in temperatures of -4 degrees C, so this is small fry in comparison. (How did you feel in the water before?) It was not too cold because I have a wet suit on underneath. After swimming around for a bit, I had warmed up completely and I will get a hot drink in a moment that will warm me up in no time."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050112/20050111235556_0003.html

[The Sun 12/01/05]

Liu Xiao Qing appeared in a stage production of "Kam Taipan's Last Night" in Shanghai earlier and many celebrity fans and friends were there to lend their support. Among them were Sheren Tang, Elaine Ng, Lok Pui, Monica Chan and Meg Lam. Liu was very touched to see so many friends from Hong Kong.

Sheren has a very strong friendship with Liu and as well as bringing her father to come and support her idol, she brought along a gift that has the words "Forget the past and work hard for the future" etched on it. Sheren says: "My dad and I are both massive fans of Liu and after watching her performance, I will work even harder. Although a lot of people agree that I have worked hard on my acting, but compared to Madame Liu, there is still a long way to go and I will continue to watch and learn."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050112/20050112000201_0003.html

[The Sun, Ta Kung Pao & Oriental Daily 12/11/05]

Deep Ng, Sammul Chan, Jade Kwan, Yan Ng, Vangie Tang and Renee Tai were among the guests at the press conference for the Yan Chai charity show that will be taking place on Saturday. When asked what event he would be taking part in at the show, Deep replied: "The thing I am best at - singing! I will be jamming with Joey Yung, Boy'z and Isabella Leung and singing an encouraging song." As for Jade, she reveals that she will be doing some difficult games to raise money and she hopes that when the donors see that she is doing precarious acts in her evening dress, then they will donate some more money to the worthy cause.

Deep is currently working on his album that is due for release next month and he says excitedly: "Finally I can put some of my own songs on my album because they kept getting rejected by the company before." In one song entitled "Unhappy Prince", there are some undertones of criticism on life. In response to his good friend Chapman To successfully proposing to Krystal Tin, Deep is very happy for them and says: "I am full of good wishes for them. If they can make a 'mini-Chapman' soon then that would be great! Haha!"

Despite his relative youth, Deep is littered with injuries from his boxing and even has arthritis. He indicates that he has most injuries in his head area and once, he was fighting against a black man and although he won in the end, he suffered internal injuries and after urinating blood, he fainted and had to stay in hospital for a week.

Sammul revealed that he was bleeding slightly from his ear yesterday and he had to go and see a doctor. He explained that some water got into his ear whilst he was showering and when he tried to clear it, he found some blood. After seeing the ENT specialist, the doctor indicated that there are a few small pieces of glass lodged in his ear from his earlier car accident and it is a good job they were found before they became infected.

Sammul will be joining Bosco Wong and Kenneth Ma to take part in a tile-smashing event for the fundraising show and as there have been a lot of fundraising activity for the tsunami disaster recently, TVB Assistant Chief Director Ho Lai Cheun indicates that the amount raised may be less than in previous years, but all the guests will still be performing to their best.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-12/UL-352513.htm
http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a13cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050112/20050111235424_0003.html

2005-01-10T22:30:00.000Z

[Ta Kung Pao, The Sun & Oriental Daily 11/01/05]

2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant Contestants

1 Gaynor Chin / Chan Wai Ling / Chen Hui Ling - 23 - Sydney - Student
2 Jess Young / Yeung Man Ki / Yang Wen Qi - 19 - Melbourne - Student
3 Annie Chang / Cheung Sing Ying / Zhang Sheng Ying - 25 - San Francisco - Customer Account Supervisor
4 Lisa Wang / Wong Yuet Ki / Wang Yue Qi - 22 - Chicago - Analyst
5 Jolene Chin / Chan Ying Man / Chen Ying Wen - 25 - Kuala Lumpur - Student
6 Linda Tomko / Lam Yuen Hung / Lin Wan Hong - 20 - Seattle - Student
7 Grace / Sze Kai Yi / Shi Jia Er - 21 - Manila - Student
8 Patricia Hon / Hon Wing Yan / Han Yin En - 20 - Calgary - Administration & Marketing Planning Consultant
9 Jasmine Lim / Lam Si Wai / Lin Shi Hui - 21 - Singapore - Student
10 Fala Chan / Chan Fa Lai / Chen Fa La - 22 - New York - Student
11 Jeanette Ma / Ma Chin Wai / Ma Zhan Wei - 19 - Auckland - Student
12 Lena Ma / Ma Yim Ping / Ma Yan Bing - 17 - Toronto - Student
13 Cheung Kit / Zhang Jie - 22 - Los Angeles - Student
14 Wang Sze Nga / Wang Si Ya - 18 - Brisbane - Student
15 Leanne Li / Lee Ah Nam / Li Ya Nan - 20 - Vancouver - Student
16 Kimberly Chin / Chan Ka Ka / Chen Jia Jia - 22 - Taipei - Student
17 Kate Tsui / Tsui Tze Shan / Cui Zi Shan - 25 - Hong Kong - Marketing Executive
18 Alicia Augusto Wang / Wong Suet Hung / Wang Xue Hong - 24 - Lima - Assistant Manager
19 Joyce de Jong / Ho Mei Hing / He Mei Xing - 21 - Amsterdam - Assistant Customer Manager
20 Cecilia Liu / Lau Kai / Liu Jia - 21 - Montreal - Student
21 Elodie Chung / Chung Mei Lin / Zhong Mei Lian - 21 - Tahiti - Student
22 Ying Pradubduen Na Lamphung / Sau Yi Fong / Xiu Yi Fang - 19 - Bangkok - Student

(Additional information from Miss HK Beauties)

The 2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant will be taking place on 29th January and the 22 beauties from all over the world met the press for the first time yesterday and revealed their contestant numbers. Overall, the standards of the girls this year was rather ordinary, with the favourites already being selected as No 8 Patricia Hon from Calgary, 10 Fala Chan from New York, 15 Miss Vancouver Leanne Li, 17 Hong Kong's Kate Tsui and 19 Joyce de Jong from Amsterdam. As far as the best figures go, Number 3 Annie Chang from San Francisco and 14 Kelly Wang from Brisbane stand out from the crowd.

However, among the girls, the most photogenic appears to be Joyce from Holland and she shows off a tattoo of her Chinese name "Mei Hing" on her right ankle. She is the first contestant to openly reveal a tattoo in the history of the contest.

After the 22 contestants introduced themslves, an arrangement was made where two of the other contestants presented Miss Bangkok and Miss Kuala Lumpur with cards expressing their best wishes for the victims of the Tsunami disaster in Malaysia and Thailand. Amsterdam's Joyce seemed rather confident and when asked if she is worried about her tattoo giving the judges a bad impression, she indicated that the tattoo was done when she was 17 and said: "I don't know, it depends on the judgets, but I think it looks very beautiful and this is very much part of me."

New York's Fala was asked how she felt about being a favourite and she said: "I am confident, I hope that I will have good luck." Currently studying at university, she is interested in entering the Hong Kong showbiz industry and has a strong interest in music.

As for Hong Kong's representative Kate, when she was asked about losing out on her figure, she said: "The judges will look at other things. I am confident."

Also, the international location shoot has been cancelled in this year's contest and the Project manager Chan Ka Yeung revealed that it will be filmed entirely in the Hong Kong studios, but the contestants will have Tang, Ming, Qing and Dunhuang style ancient costumes made for them to bring out their ancient beauty.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a74cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050111/20050110233326_0003.html
http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-11/UL-352115.htm

[Ta Kung Pao 11/01/05]

Steven Ma and Linda Chung were filming a final scene for "Virtues of Harmony" earlier in a scene where Linda's character thinks she has a terminal disease and hides away in a nunnery, not letting Steven find her. In order to tempt her into revealing herself, Steven wears a monk's outfit and pretends to become a monk.

During filming, when Steven arrived in costume, he found that wardrobe had prepared a monk's outfit for him, but with it was a 'Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain' hat. He thought that this was a bit strange and amusing and as he is always quite careful with his appearance, he was doubtful, but ever the professional, he put it on anyway.

When Linda saw his strange appearance, she did not find him ugly nor did she laugh at him and even helped him to fix his costume. When the crew saw this, they found them both very funny indeed. Finally, Steven picked up his broom and played out a modern version of the classic opera scene in the monastery full of comedy as well as romance.

http://www.takungpao.com/news/2005-1-11/UL-352106.htm

[The Sun & Oriental Daily 11/01/05]

Bowie Lam, Shirley Yeung and Gregory Lee donned their flying services uniform costumes in a costume tryout for TVB's new series "Always on Standby" and Bowie's uniform had a zip in the groin area and he laughed: "Don't be curious, I have asked about it and it is for ease of going to the toilet." As for playing the helicopter pilot instructor in the show, he says: "I'll leave the mountain climbing and sea diving for Ekin to do, but the worst thing is all the English lines when it comes to filming helicopter scenes. I will have to just do what I do in 'Healing Hands' and try to memorise it all."

After working opposite real-life boyfriend Gregory in "Blade Heart", they will be partnering each other again in the new show. When asked if they would get married in this show, she replied at first saying: "I don't know yet." but later she clarified saying: "I don't know what we will be doing in the show, but in real life I have not thought about it because it is still too soon." Even though she will be working opposite rumoured enemy Charmaine Sheh in the new show, Shirley says: "I don't know if we are in the same storyline, but I am not worried anyway and don't want to talk about it again."

Gregory responded to Shirley's earlier fortune reading for the year of the rooster and being asked whether he would propose to her by laughing: "No, I am too young and want to do some work first. I am not worried about her having romance because it can also mean popularity and she is always liked by many. It is all about her really, I have faith in her and she is very dedicated, especially to her dogs!"

Shirley had to have her dyed hair sprayed black again to give a better immage: "I have to look professional, so I plan to dye my hair black again." She will be having romances in the story with Lai Lok Yi and Bowie, but not with Gregory.

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a67cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050111/20050110232650_0003.html

2005-01-09T21:33:00.000Z

[Oriental Daily & The Sun 10/01/05]

Andy Lau made history at this year's "Jade Solid Gold Music Awards", being the only artiste ever to win both the Most Popular Male Singer and Asia-Pacific Most Popular Male Singer awards in the same year for the first time ever in the 20 year history of JSG. He was presented with his award by a rather stunning Vivian Chow. At the celebratory party afterwards, a crowd of 200 fans gathered to welcome and congratulate him and when he arrived home later another group of over a hundred fans were there ready to celebrate with a toast.

When Andy, Twins, Miriam Yeung and other winners arrived at the party venue in a bus, the five hundred fans gathered there flooded into the road and there was a lot of confusion as the police stepped in to control the situation. In an interview, Andy's excitement had still not settled down yet as he said: "To make history proves that anything can happen in this world. Whatever we do, the most important thing is never to give up. When I received the Asia-Pacific award, the three tigers (Kent Tong, Felix wong and Michael Miu) were quite disappointed because they thought I would win the other award, but when they announced my name for the Male Singer award too, I did not know how to respond. All the other singers came to congratulate me and Hacken hugged me and said: "You git! This has never happened before in history!" With so many people caring so much for me, I am very touched."

In the stakes for the combined media award, Andy is currently trailing behind Joey Yung with 13 awards compared to her 15 so far. He says: "It's enough, haha! It is really more than I expected, but I will continue working hard next year and with Eason returning to the music scene, it will be quite colourful."

When Andy left the part, the fans all stretched out to try and touch him and he had to bow down to get into his car. When he returned to his home, over a hundred fans were waving champagne bottles at him, but in order to avoid disturbing his neighbours, he quietly toasted his fans before cutting a cake with them, but telling them to try and keep quiet.

Hacken indicated that he would take Andy bowling: "As a friend, I am happy for him. After all it is a competition and it will be hard for the loser, but I will console myself and no matter who I lose to, I will accept it. (You are TVB's godson though?) If I was, then I should have won 15 years ago!" With only half an award, Andy Hui said: "Andy deserved the award, I am very happy and not disappointed at all."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a01cnt.html
http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050110/20050109235542_0003.html

[The Sun 10/01/05]

A group of overseas contestants gathered at TVB City yesterday to shoot their official photographs for the Miss Chinese International Pageant that will be held on 29th January. There are reports that the representative from Amsterdam has a tattoo on her ankle and when asked about this by the press, she openly admitted to it, indicating that she has her name tattooed on her right ankle. However, when she was asked to show it for a photograph, she quickly turned and walked away.

The show's image director, Karen indicated that she had tried to use concealer to cover up the tattoo, but it looks like she has some kind of skin condition, so she has decided to openly reveal the tattoo to everyone. As for the other contestants, it was revealed in the 'official inspection' that as well as tattoos, there were also some who had belly button rings. Hong Kong representative Kate Tsui did not know about the tattoos, saying: "This is their choice and the contest rules will allow this, so I have no comment."

http://the-sun.com.hk/channels/ent/20050110/20050110000040_0003.html

English article on "Yummy Yummy - Food for Life" press conference and start of filming in Singapore.

http://ch8.mediacorptv.com/around8/interviews/view/554/1/.html