Justvb | A moment with Just TVB on your mind

Since filming for TVB in 1991, Bowie Lam has filmed series after series on an almost non-stop basis. He indicated that he has a wide choice in selecting which series to act in. However, when Bowie Lam received the Best Actor Award at the 15th Asian TV Awards held in Singapore in December, TVB did not celebrate his victory until one month later.

Yesterday, TVB held an event celebrating the international television awards bestowed upon its artists. In attendance were Bowie Lam, Wayne Lai Yiu Cheung, and Susan Tse Shuet Sum. TVB managers, Stephen Chan Chi Wan, Virigina Lok Yi Ling, Catherine Tsang, and Producer Lee Tim Shing also attended. Mr. Chan said, “We did not treat Bowie Lam poorly!”

Although Bowie indicated that he did not mind the late celebration on TVB’s behalf, he admitted in a mainland interview that he will be shifting his career focus to China . After his TVB management contract ends in June 2011, he will sign a per-series contract with TVB, filming only twenty episodes per year.

While onstage, Mr. Chan said, “Earlier, everyone’s focus turned to Bowie . I hope everyone understands that the company did not him poorly. Each year, the event to celebrate international television awards for our artists is held in January. We have to wait until all the awards results are announced.” Afterwards, the press asked Mr. Chan whether he was attempting to clarify matters that TVB did not value Bowie ? Mr. Chan smiled, “No, my statement was intended for the press. Bowie understands that each year this celebratory event is held in January.” (Do you need to console Bowie ?) “He is not hurt; there is no need to do so. I am not concerned that he will misunderstand. He is a very understanding person. If we do not value our artists, then we will not nominate them to enter international award competitions.”

Winning the Best Actor Award for his performance in Sisters of Pearl <掌上明珠>, Bowie Lam shared the stage with Wayne Lai, who received the Best Character Award at the 2010 New York Film and Television Festival. When the press asked whose award was more prestigious, both Bowie and Wayne said, “Please do not talk about this.” Will Bowie accept Mr. Chan’s explanation? “It’s better to have a late celebration than none at all! Mr. Chan did not treat me poorly.”

After completing the filming of TVB series Jiujiang Wine <九江意釀>, Bowie will take his time to negotiate new contract terms with TVB. Will Bowie trade an award for a contract? Bowie looked at his trophy in hand, “This award does not barter for anything. As a matter of fact, I will never use awards to trade for anything else.” (What was Bowie ’s most important term in negotiating his contract?) “The most important thing is money! I have a very good relationship with TVB. If my salary and freedom are increased, then that’s all it takes to renew the contract.” (Are you asking to increase it to the pay level of “Best Actor” ?) “That’s a good idea, but I have not thought about how much to increase yet!”

Bowie also noted that he was interested in appearing in international productions and hoped that Ms. Lok would make the proper arrangements. “It would be great to film a Japanese drama, while receiving free housing and meals!”

 

Compiled from the Sun, Mingpao