Archive for 2013

Source: Mingpao
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Wayne Lai Praises Louisa So a Strong Co-Star, Collaborates Again After 10 Years

Yesterday Wayne Lai, Louisa So, Jennifer Shum, King Sir and Tony Hung attended the costume fitting of TVB new series Men Getting Married. Wayne laughed and said the series plays with uniform enticing, he'll be playing Louisa's driver. Wayne expressed the last time he worked with Louisa was over 10 years ago in TVB series Anti Crime, where they played a bickering pair. He's happy to collaborate with her again.

Wayne said: "After 10+ years, we've had our experiences and Louisa is a good actress. Its rare to get such a strong co-star, I'm look forward to it. At my age, its difficult to find a partner to match me. If this pairing does well, then I'll have more to choose from and not just Sheren Tang."

It was reported Sheren Tang thinks she has a tumor in her neck, Wayne expressed he does not really keep in touch with Sheren. Its been several months since they last seen each other, but last time he didn't feel she had any issues. Will he tell Sheren to relax a little? He said: "Sheren working with me is a joy because I am quite laid back. (Will you call her to show your concern?) I'll have to see what the situation is like first. I always tell her to open up. I know she gets anxious about her work, whereas I am more relaxed. I've always seen fame like its a floating cloud."

Louisa wanted Wayne's Son to Marry Her

Louisa was very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Wayne again. She said this year is an enriching year for her because she got to work with Gardner Tse, Anthony Wong and Wayne, three smart men from three different industries. She feels very blessed. "I've already got the script for 6 episodes, its great. I'm really excited." What's most exciting to Louisa is that she gets to work with her stage play mentor King Sir. "We collaborated before in stage plays, but its strange, after so many years at TVB, we have never collaborated in a series before. Fate has come, I will really take advantage of it." Louisa recalls she used to joke around with Wayne's son in the past. She would tell his son to marry her when he grows up. "That time I called Wayne and his wife my in-laws. I heard his son is now all grown up, I look forward to meet him."

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

"Tiger Cubs 2" Big Explosion Scared Residents, Called The Police

Yesterday Joe Ma, Linda Chung, Him Law, Nancy Wu and Mandy Wong were shooting a big explosion scene for TVB new series Tiger Cubs II. The crew chose to shoot the scenes near a large government stadium in Causeway Bay. The scenes started out with Linda opening fire at Timmy Hung, then Nancy drives a car into an office building and threw a grenade. The SDU heard the loud bang and rushed to the scene.

Before the cameras rolled, the cast were relaxed and chatted happily, but once the staff shouted to clear the location, they ran over to their positions for this big scene. Linda, Nancy and Mandy ran over to their distant positions in 9 seconds!

Because the explosion was too severe, the staff asked all artists to take cover to avoid injuries, but among the female artists, Linda had the best treatment. She got to sit in the car and enjoy the big explosion scene in the car. The others had to stand there or crouch besides the car! At the moment of the explosion, the blaze was extremely fierce and not long after the dark smoke filled up 5 stories in the building. The people in the nearby buildings thought there was a real explosion and called the police. Results, several fire marshalls and the police came to the scene. Producer Lam Chi Wah said: "So sorry, the loud explosion sounds frightened everyone. We followed all the procedures and finished shooting the scene in the designated area."

Linda got special treatment from the staff, allowing her to sit in the car during the explosion. Linda was asked if she was in a great panic? She laughed: "I wasn't that scared because the biggest explosion scene I've done was actually in Brother's Keeper, so I had the experience. (Why did you hide in the car?) I'm the most well behaved, the staff kept telling me to get in the car, treating me just like a real BB. Actually I really wasn't that scared. (The explosion scene got the police involved?) Proves how realistic the scene was, we want to show the audience the best. The crew had done all the registrations and applications beforehand, but if the loud scene disturbed other residents, really sorry about that."

Joe expressed Tiger Cubs II filming is ending later this month, and praised the HK Police Force really does work efficiently, they came right to the scene when reported, but he was sorry the explosion caused disturbance to the nearby residents.

Him Captures "Evidence" On Camera

Him expressed he ran to the best place to take over and used his phone to take a picture of the scene. He shared the picture with everyone around him. Him disclosed this is not his first time shooting such a big explosion scene, so he wasn't as frightened as the female artists. He said: "Just now after we completed the scene, I immediately took off my helmet and put up a 'YEAH!' hand gesture to prove that I was in the scene. (Wasn't afraid the heat may melt your phone?) So that's why I used another staff's cell phone to take the pictures, haha!"

Nancy Felt Face Heating Up

Mandy and Nancy expressed this is their first time shooting such an intense explosion scene. Mandy laughed: "I felt scared, but at the same time I wanted to see it. Its so exciting, but when I got up, the explosion already happened. Luckily there were many other people on the set. Just now the camera man said he was filming a similar scene, but ended up losing all his hair. Just hearing that scared me, so I kept my head as low as possible during the explosion. (A resident thought it was real and called the police!) I saw the police come, but we were just filming. If we disturbed the residents, so sorry!" Nancy exclaimed: "It was such a strong explosion. I felt my face heating up. The staff told me to be careful and stand further away!"

Source: Mingpao Weekly, HKChannel
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Bobby Au Yeung Tries to Convince Esther Kwan for "Armed Reaction 5"

Bobby Au Yeung and Esther Kwan are the golden and classic pairing, the two pair up again 13 years later in the current TVB series Always & Ever. The series has been quite a success since its premiere with positive feedback, applaud and the TV rating peaked at 33 points within the first two weeks. Bobby said satisfied: "You all better watch it while you can, this happens once in 10+ years. I actually really hope to collaborate with her again in a series similar to Armed Reaction...perhaps it may happen soon!" Indeed, if this golden pair collaborate again, it will be the biggest surprise.

A Classic On-Screen Pair That Never Failed

Appealing to viewers is difficult to explain, just as it is in finding a good partner. Even if two people are a great actor/actress, it does not necessarily mean they will create sparks. When Bobby and Esther are partners, people are already anticipating to see them. As one of the parties involved, Bobby also felt curious: "Each individual have a different acting style, regardless of a male or female partner, time is still required to get accustomed. Sometimes when two people are paired up, it really doesn't work, there always seems to be something missing. They (audience) may think, this person and Bobby are missing something, no matter what they don't have the sparks or chemistry. But its really strange, Esther and I as a pair, the public didn't have much to say. During Always & Ever filming, I had a few meals with her, but our chemistry doesn't need to absorb, its just there when we come together and the audience doesn't need time to get used to us. They'll definitely think we're a match right off the bat. I remember there is a scene about the 'curse', Esther knew I would end up killing her, she didn't want to leave me heartbroken, so she left me. When we were rehearsing that scene, she did embrace me, but when the cameras rolled, she totally just charged over and embraced me tightly with a 'ping' sound, it was such an upsurge feeling. We cried tremendously for that scene. If Esther isn't familiar with you or doesn't have enough trust on you, it is very difficult for her to embrace you. She also needs to know her partner will have a reaction for it to work and to be able to boost the feelings to another level. Esther has a very peaceful heart, she is very concentrated and among the whole crew, she probably knows best on acting, haha! I'm not as concentrated as her, today I haven't enough gotten off work yet or didn't even get in position for a scene yet, but I'm already thinking about where I'm going on vacation; where I'm going to go play."

Always and Ever could be considered a series that really satisfied this best on-screen pair's crave for acting. The 30 episode series tells a story of their love through a thousand years, passing through different time periods. Bobby laughed: "Rare chance for Esther to make a comeback, I did hope the series could be a little longer. Same goes for the audience, better watch it while you can. If we waited another 10 years to shoot this series, even if I wanted to, she probably wouldn't want to. It's really an one time thing. So, I had made this suggestion to Esther before, we should collaborate in another series similar to Armed Reaction. Take advantage of the opportunity that she can still be a policewoman, you know civil workers retire at age 55, so can't have someone too old to be an Ah Sir. After speaking to Esther, she agreed that its a good idea. Perhaps this might very well happen soon! The collaboration between Esther and I have never failed, if not, then Chan Siu Sang (Bobby's role in AR) survived until Armed Reaction 4 and still didn't disappear. I'm known to be the Sequel King."

A Loyal Friendship

What's special about Bobby and Esther is they don't really keep in touch in their personal lives, but on-screen they are invulnerable. "How do I invite her out in private life? I usually invite Nick Cheung out for dinner, then Esther follows along. Nick and I are good friends, luckily she married Nick and not someone else, otherwise I really won't have the opportunity to see her outside of work, but Esther is a good friend too. During Always and Ever filming, I wasn't feeling well and 'crashed' (take a day off) for two days. Then, I wasn't feeling well again and felt bad to 'crash' again, but she helped by 'crashing' for me. She's quite okay. As a result, that day we were able to get off work early and I had some time to rest. You tell me, which female artist is willing to 'crash' for you? Not even a male artist could do that. Its like, you're not feeling well, then you can 'crash' on your own, why am I accounted for it? Perhaps she knows me well, I am very honest with her and even share my physical exam with her, such as how men gets their prostate checked... (Many people are afraid of Esther, is she really that straightforward and serious?) When I first collaborated with her, I wasn't afraid of her. I personally like to play, but I know when to and when not to. After all, being sincere to others is very important. Just like while we were filming, one time Esther said she hadn't had pork braised with shrimp paste in a long time. My maid is excellent, I asked her to make the dish for Esther to try. Initially I planned to bring it over to her house, but Esther said Nick doesn't eat fatty foods, so I brought it to work with me and we ate it together in the makeup room. She licked her lip and shouted it was so good. Esther was so happy. I actually enjoy pleasing the people around me."

Bobby is absolutely right, usually he's very playful, but also knows how to keep the people around him happy, even the cleaning lady or the rumored "mean" artists. He said: "Regardless of friends, partner or the staff, regardless of the person's position, I treat them all with true sincerity. I'm serious! The cleaning lady treats me very well, she makes the areas I use for work sparkly clean everyday, so I usually ask if she had something to eat yet and just chat with her. That alone makes her happy. Just like during Happy Ever After filming, Kwong Wa and I were the male leads together, I heard of his rumors too, but I shouldn't use my ears as my eyes. I remember the first day of filming, I finished putting on my makeup, and Kwong Wa was still doing his makeup on his eyes, I went to ask if he's up for breakfast, but he said he's busy and won't be eating. I was bad, I bought Ha Gau and Siu Mai back and said to him: 'You're too busy, so I brought it back to eat together.' He stopped putting on his makeup at once and came to eat with me; he was so happy, he totally wanted to make me his 'lengmo'. That time we had a great collaboration. People relations are just like that."

Source: On.cc
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Fala Chen Stresses She & "Neway Prince" Are Good Friends

Yesterday Chilam Cheung, Fala Chen, Kenneth Ma, Elena Kong, Nancy Wu, Eliza Sam and the other cast of TVB series Triumph in the Skies II attended the promotional event. Recently due to Fala's appearance on TV and on the big screen, she has gained popularity, thus she does not know when she will be going back to the U.S to continue her studies. When speaking of her current relationship with Neway Prince Daniel Sit, Fala stressed they are considered good friends. In regards to all the rumors, that she got a "break up fee" of HK$50 million and that she gets another HK$200,000 per month from Daniel, Fala said those numbers are astronomical and the rumors are really creative. She is currently concentrating on her career, her income lately has been pretty good and she does not have any pursuers now.

At the promotion, magician Louis Yan and Chilam performed a magic trick on Fala, making her volley in the air, but unfortunately the trick was accidentally revealed the trick from the side. "Cool Mo" Chilam Cheung's birthday is on August 27th, Fala "magically" got a birthday cake and kiss for Chilam, which got loud cheers and applause from the audience. TVB prepared another earth-shaped birthday cake. Chilam expressed because this year he maintained high sentiments, he actually hopes for a peaceful birthday. "I'm afraid of surprised parties. The best is to not have one at all. (Birthday wish?) Nothing much, just so long as Morton (his son) is healthy and happy, that is my birthday gift. (You don't want to try for a girl?) Let nature take its course."

Earlier Kenneth Ma and Elena Kong's bed scenes from the series has surfaced, it is predicted that their bed scenes will be broadcasting soon. Kenneth expressed the scene is more of a comedic scene, the scale is not as broad as Fala and Chilam's one. Kenneth disclosed he will be heading to Xiangshan for outdoor shooting of his new series Cold Mountain, Hidden Dragon. When he completes that series, he will be flying to Tianjin for Jackie Chan's new film. Kenneth explained he is not the lead actor in the film. "This other Mainland artist is the lead actor. (You portray a playboy again?) A lawyer, but I haven't had time to read the script yet."

Source: Apple Daily, HKChannel
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Esther Kwan - Loving Family Is More Important than Anything

On screen, Esther Kwan is a perfect candidate for roles like "Miu Chui Fa" (Lady Flower Fist), "Chu Sau Ngor" (Armed Reaction) or "Hon Seung Seung" (Always & Ever), but behind the cameras she is the model of a good wife and an attentive mother. She takes good care of her daughter, so her husband Nick Cheung can go out and work without worries. Esther did not agree with the view that there was a "woman superior, man inferior" gap between her husband's career and her career back in the day. She also felt guilty she neglected her husband while he was in depression. Such a great wife, loves family and husband, their fate as a married couple, how can it be just three lifetimes?!

Twelve years later, Esther collaborates with Bobby Au Yeung once again in TVB new series Always and Ever, making her active in the industry again. Recall Esther came back in 2007 for the sitcom Best Selling Secrets, but she suddenly withdrew because she needed more time to look after her daughter Brittney. Esther smiled: "At the time, my daughter was only 1 or 2 years old and I didn't have any time off from filming. I had to work on weekends too; I worked from morning to night; a person filming all year long, exhausted for months, anybody would dry out. The only way was to not film it." Although in a blink of an eye Esther's daughter is already 7 years old, she still willing to live a semi-retired life. "If I don't be by her side now, I will miss it! I have to be with her to cultivate the relationship, chat with her more and teach her the things at the appropriate times, that's how it will stick in her head. Whatever she does right or wrong, I have to compliment or scold her and grab her to tell her off, but I cannot do that if I am not by her side."

Willing to "Privatize" to Family

Esther puts her daughter and family in first place, her husband Nick's career has been at its peaked in the past year and Esther has reduced her appearance on-screen, but she is still a good actress after all and getting "privatize" to her family is indeed a waste. This time, she encountered a good script and partner, thus she "sneaks out" for three months to shoot Always and Ever with Bobby. Now that her daughter is older, will she be in more series? Esther said: "There was nothing written on paper, but I shouldn't be out working at the same time as Nick. Even when I accepted Always and Ever, I checked the schedules with him, but after we talked about it, it was like we never did. No matter what we planned, there will always be sudden changes. When I was shooting in Foshan, one day my daughter called me and said, 'Aiya, no dad or mom.' The next day, I had a day off and I went straight back to HK to comfort her. Although there is someone to babysit her, when she misses her mom and dad, she doesn't have any siblings, so I have to play the sister role too!" Esther expressed she doesn't have too many productions, but for future series, she will look at fate and the script before she considers whether to take it or not.

Esther had an extraordinary success in television; she had portrayed several roles on screen. Back then, Esther's career was doing better than Nick, thus the couple was seen as 'woman superior, men inferior'. Esther immediately stopped this thought: "No! That's what you (the media) think! Our relationship isn't about who is better than who. The relationship is the relationship, we don't talk about our work. In my eye, Nick is my boyfriend, my husband. Today he had made good accomplishments and success, he is definitely 'My Pride'!" She praised Nick for being hard working all along, even for comedies, he really puts in a lot of effort into doing well. It was just his hard efforts didn't encounter a good opportunity yet.

Felt Guilty for Neglecting Depressed Husband

Esther disclosed when Nick had depression, she felt guilty because she neglected him. "I really do feel a little guilty! At the time, I was taking care of our daughter, and when he came back from work in Mainland, he didn't really want to talk to me about it. While he was in Mainland, I knew he wasn't feeling well and back home, he kept throwing tantrums or does something strange. Actually he knew himself, eventually he was the one who told me he had some problems and needed to see the doctor. He knew how to face the problem himself and I didn't have to convince him to go see the doctor. I felt guilty for neglecting him. He came back and didn't want to tell me much because he didn't want me to worry. He had too much to think about. After all, the people relations in the film industry is much more complicated than in the TV industry. The most important is to let him have a good sleep, I was responsible for making this happen for him, but I never tried to encourage him."

Choose Bobby as Her Partner

Nick is Esther's current 'My Pride', but at work, is Nick also her best partner or is her old partner Bobby better? Esther laughed: "That can't be compared! They each have their strengths. At work, Bobby is a good partner. He knows how to create atmosphere. His personality can make the whole crew happy and turn stressful moments into relaxing ones. He has very good people skills. I get into arguments when working with Nick, at work we don't get along, but nothing happens with Bobby. He is all around and laid back. You can give him the lines any way you want and he will take it. He's very flexible and won't be too stubborn. I'm personally more stubborn and match perfectly with a non-stubborn partner."

Bobby suffered from acute pneumonia during filming of Always and Ever and fell into a coma. He practically came back from the dead. Esther frankly expressed she jumped in shock when she heard the news. "He almost died, he was in the ICU! But, when I visited him, he was already speaking nonsense and at that moment, I knew he came back! You know, someone lacking oxygen can really affect the brain, but I saw he was joking and speaking nonsense, I knew he was ok." Bobby's accident has influenced Esther to be more cautious about her own health. She said: "I heard he almost lost his life, and it was just food going down the wrong pipe too. I'm not young either, I should not be talking while I'm eating, don't want to be choking. He's a man and that accident hurt him that much, it will be even more damaging for us women. Can't be rescued."

Today's FaDans Are Courageous

Esther was awarded the TVB title "Best Actress in a Leading Role" in 1997. She was the first one to get that title and definitely qualifies to comment on today's FaDans. Esther laughed: "They each have their strengths. For one thing, they're all taller than me, they look hotter as pilots and fire fighters. I'm not sure why they wanted me to be a fire fighter back then, and even carry such heavy equipment around. The girls nowadays are much more courageous. In the past, we would never appear on screen with just our bras. Eliza Sam even pulled out her bra. We're very conservative."

Supports TVB Awards Game Rules

TVB choosing TV Kings/Queens, whether the rules behind the game is fair had always been questioned. Esther actually accepted this type of game. "Doesn't really matter. Artists doing well, the audience will naturally support them. Having a good relationship with TVB and contributing for TVB, then giving them the awards is no doubt. Contracted artists, of course they can get awards. Its hard to keep people now, they can't give enough money, but they can give them some fame. Also to be regarded highly by TVB, you must have some audience fate. TVB can have their own strategic planning. Allowing audience to vote, there is fairness and there is TVB's standpoint as well. I don't oppose to it."

The StarHub TVB Awards celebrate the stellar partnership between StarHub and TVB that has spanned over 20 years. Organized by StarHub (VV Drama and E City), and co-organised by TVB, the Awards honour the hard work and effort put in by TVB artistes in the past year and also bring the stars closer to StarHub’s audience. In the fourth year running, StarHub TVB Awards 2013 will be held on 28 September 2013 at the Marina Bay Sands. The night will begin with the stars arriving at the red carpet show in Level 1 Hall C at 5pm, followed by the Awards ceremony in the Grand Theatre at 7.30pm. Information on tickets sales can be found on the StarHub TVB Awards website (www.starhub.com/tvbawards2013) from 19 August. Tickets will be available at $78, $98 and $128.

This year’s event will be graced by more than 20 TVB artistes and local celebrities at the red carpet walk as well as the live awards show. Held at the Marina Bay Sands’ Grand Theatre, this event will be witnessed by a 2,000 strong live audience. Amidst the glitz and glamour of stardom, be prepared to be bedazzled at the StarHub TVB Awards—it will be an evening of stars, glamour and splendour to look forward to.

Red Carpet Special
Date: 28^th September 2013
Time: 5pm to 6pm
Venue: Marina Bay Sands Expo Level 1, Hall C

Award Show
Date: 28^th September 2013
Time: 7.30pm to 10pm
Venue: Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre

A total of ten StarHub TVB Awards 2013 nomination categories will be opened to the public for voting via the website (http://starhubtvbawards2013.com/en/voting) from 15 August 2013 to 25 September 2013. Readers of Lian He Wan Bao, Shin Min Daily and U-Weekly can also participate in voting by completing and sending in the contest form in September. All voting participants (Online, Newspaper & Magazine) also stand a chance to win 15 pairs of tickets to the 2013 StarHub TVB Awards held at Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre.

The nominations for StarHub TVB Awards 2013 are jointly determined by StarHub and TVB for TVB programmes shown on VV Drama, E City, TVBJ, TVB8, TVBS Asia and Video-On-Demand between 1 April 2012 and 30 August 2013. The final results are decided by a combination of Online/Newspaper/Magazine voting (70%) and a panel of professional judges (30%) which will be announced at the live awards ceremony of StarHub TVB Awards 2013 telecast on E City channel.

Check out past year award results in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

My Favourite TVB Actor Nominees

My favourite TVB actor

My Favourite TVB Actress Nominees

My favourite TVB actress

My Favourite Male TV Character Nominees

My Favourite Female TV Character Nominees

My Favourite TVB Drama Nominees

My Favourite On Screen Couple Nominees

My Favourite Mega Variety Specials Nominees

My Favourite TVB Variety Nominees

My Favourite TVB Variety Host Nominees

My thoughts:

The award ceremony is usually held in August but this year it has shifted back to September perhaps to accommodate more star-studded series such as Triumph in the Skies II. If you want to see your favourite artistes to appear in the awards ceremony do vote for them at http://starhubtvbawards2013.com/en/voting and you may stand a chance to win tickets to the awards show. As usual, artistes who are present are bound to get award with non matching titles whether you like it or not. I personally have some doubt about the 30% professional judges thingy. Wonder if it is unbiased or not. Anyway, congrats to all nominees! On a side note, the price of the tickets for the Class C category has risen by S$10 from the previous S$68, looks like the S$98 is more worth it as the S$78 one really can't see anything unless you are comfortable looking at the screen but you might as well stay at home and watch the cable TV. However, you get the chance to get up close with TVB artistes during the red carpet, be sure to squeeze all the way to the front. =D

Source: Oriental Daily
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Kenneth Ma’s Big Screen Debut in Jackie Chan’s Romantic Comedy

Kenneth Ma had a rise in popularity since he starred in Triumph in the Skies II portraying the two-timer pilot Roy. He has become a “bestseller” in the industry along with the other stars Francis Ng, Chilam Cheung, Fala Chen and Myolie Wu; the group has been accepting jobs nonstop. Kenneth had endured through 14 years in TVB. Earlier several filmmakers approached him, offering him an opportunity to make it on the big screen and pocket a big paycheck. Kenneth ultimately chose to participate in Jackie Chan’s romantic comedy Fate Is Actually A Game (緣來是遊戲). His role is a handsome lawyer and a playboy, surrounded by seven beautiful women. Jackie also invited his buddies Eric Tsang and Irene Wan to take part in his film; they are considering to make guest appearances.

The lead actress is rising star Tiffany Zhang, the actress who starred in the 350 million RMB box office film Love Is Not Blind. The actress was named “Best New Performer” (Gold) at Taiwan’s 49th Golden Horse Awards and “Best Newcomer Award” at The 31st China Golden Rooster Awards. Tiffany had also been in Taiwanese group Mayday’s MV as the lead actress. She is one of the rising new stars in the past year. According to sources, Kenneth and Tiffany will have passionate intimate scenes.

Aside from guest starring in 72 Tenants of Prosperity with several other TVB artists, Kenneth has never participated in a film before. It was understood, his will be pocketing HK$3million for this debut film. That averages out to HK$100,000 a day! Jackie Chan noticed Kenneth all because of his performance in TITS2, where he plays a two-timer. His sexy beach scene with the girlfriend Philis (played by Coffee Lam) and his bed scenes with Elena Kong were a plus too. Jackie deeply believed Kenneth can successfully become the new “Cool Mo Lawyer” in this new romantic comedy. The film is scheduled to start shooting in October. [Oriental Daily] contacted the film production company to confirm, the spokesperson admitted Kenneth will be participating in the new film, but was unwilling to disclose how much their paying him.

Source: Oriental Daily, Good News
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

Triumph in the Skies II has Over 100 Million Views, Possibly Get a Film Version

TVB grand production Triumph in the Skies II is on its third week of broadcast, "Sam Gor" Francis Ng and "Cool Mo" Chilam Cheung have melted a thousands of fans. The ratings peaked at 35 points and the first 11 episodes have over 130 million views online, averaging 9.5 million views per episode. There are over 30,000 topics on the series on discussion forums.

Fans were touched by Sam Gor's tearful apology to "Zoe" in episode 14. Francis thought the outcome of that scene was pretty good, but he felt he didn't look his best because he was sick at the time and his face looked swollen.

Possibly a Triumph in the Skies II Film Version

Last night Francis and Chilam Cheung appeared in Tseung Kwan O for a celebration dinner with the crew. It was rumored TVB and film producer Stephen Shiu are fighting to produce the TITS film version. Francis and Chilam both expressed their interest in participating, but hasn't confirmed which side they'll be on. Francis said: "I will see what Tommy Leung (TVB executive) does, I will only collaborate with others if he doesn't work there. (A greater chance to collaborate with TVB?) Not necessarily. They still have a Lunar New Year film to shoot, so its not gonna happen that fast." Chow Yun Fat expressed he wanted to portray a Captain server, Francis laughed: "Then his salary should be lower than ours. He can do all of the work."

Netizens wondered why Sam Gor didn't continue his fate with Flora Chan? Francis said: "You ask the scriptwriter. I just do what I'm told! My relationship with Zoe later will explain what happened before. (The audience should prepare tissues?) Towels! Everyone put in a lot of effort into the performance, the two girls did very well."

Didn't Understand Why Sam Gor Ends Up with Fala

Francis also did an interview with [Good News] and talked about his co-stars from TITS2. About Fala Chen, he expressed: "Fala has high expectations on herself, she has to look at everything at a time and see if she did her best. Fala concentrates too much on herself, she has to relax herself. Working in the TV industry does not necessarily have to be like that. Perhaps female artists value the outcomes more. I heard many artists are concern of their destiny, I would express my advice, but its mostly on the character, not the character's destiny." Francis also mentioned he didn't understand how Sam Gor's story developed. He said: "Sam Gor is a very faithful person, but in the end, how could he forget about his ex-wife and end happily with Fala? I asked the scriptwriters this question, but they said there is no reason. Then I asked how can I portray him then? Which scene will explain it?"

Myolie Wu Needs to Change her Attitude on Life

About Myolie Wu, Francis expressed although her acting has improved, he advised her that her attitude on life will cause problems. She should learn from Ron Ng. "I think she should learn to relax as well, just like Ron! I think sometimes in this industry, girls have higher expectations on their careers than guys do because they want to make accomplishments while their still young. Ten years ago, Myolie was rather anxious, but now she pressures herself because she wants to do better. She wouldn't be able to get a clear idea of other things, so she ends up not reaching the outcome she wanted to. Change is not saying you are willing to try different roles, but rather you are willing to change your thoughts on some aspects of life."

Nancy Wu Just Lacks an Opportunity

On the contrary, Francis praises Nancy Wu, who has not reached the front line yet. He said: "I think Nancy is worth to compliment. Her acting is pretty good, its just she lacks opportunities from producers. She needs a breakthrough, such as an even better role."

Can't Compare to Ron Ng

Ten years ago, Francis criticized Ron for not having his homework done. Ten years later, Francis didn't only say Myolie should learn from him, but he also felt he has areas where he can't compare to Ron. "He's good with people relation and of course his acting has improved too. Actually TITS2's role fits his personality, but some other roles may not fit him, its just TVB wants to give him different types of roles to try. I think he's changing, he's becoming a better and better fit in this industry."

The 43 episodes TITS2 is airing two episodes on September 6th, even the other series Always and Ever will have to step aside and give up its time slot on that day for TITS2. On September 8th, TITS2 will have a two-hour finale. TVB wants this series to become the highest rated series of the year, so there will be a dinner celebration with that cast that night. By then, Fala Chen will be back to help the team promote.

Ratings:

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*Contains spoiler*
Episodes 1 to 30:

Nikki Chow (Yuen Siu Kat 阮小吉) is a HK police officer and commander of her own investigative squad. A dutiful cop, she works hard to maintain order and justice, however, secretly, she's on a personal quest to find her mother's killer. Unfortunately, her journey would lead to many tragedies as well as revelations to the people around her and the unusual connections of her past, present, and future.

Nikki's mother was once a showgirl that had fallen on hard times. Desperate for financial survival for both mother and daughter, Nikki's mother became a prostitute to survive; it was a life she wanted to leave and planned for a fresh start once she had saved enough money. Unfortunately, it was believed that her mother was robbed and killed for her money. Thereafter, Nikki became an orphan and that anger and need for justice drove her to become a cop. The only clue she had was a man with a dragon shaped tattoo on his left arm running out from her apartment before her mother was killed. However, she was never able to resolve the case and continued her career as a cop.

Nikki eventually have a romantic relationship with Bosco Wong (Dr Yiu Yat San 姚日山), a cardiologist and loving boyfriend. As the two gotten closer, Bosco wanted to marry Nikki, but she always resisted as she could not get over her mother's case. However, she eventually confided her past with Bosco and Bosco wanted to help her move forward with her life, but she only felt he was interfering in her personal matters. After learning that Bosco also tragically lost his mother (drowning accident while attempting to save someone), she became more understanding and the two later reconciled over their differences and even agree to marry, but it wouldn't be so as Bosco died after saving an old lady from falling roof tiles. He suffered a fractured skull and was proven to be brain dead, as his final wish, he was a registered organ donor and his heart would be given to one of the most powerful businessman in HK, Michael Miu (Fong Chi Lik 方自力).

Michael Miu is the ruthless CEO of Lik Chi Ko (LCK) Enterprises. He's a raging executive that uses his power to dominate and force people to bow to his will in order to realize his capitalistic ambitions. His greatest vision is to reclaim a series of old estates to re-develop those territories into the latest commercial zone as Sleepless City; unfortunately, he suffers from a coronary heart condition which causes his health to be deteriorating. His wife, Joey Meng (Tong Sin Hang 唐善行), is a trained nurse and has been managing his health. As time passed, Michael's health declined drastically and he was near death when he got news that they have a donor, a turning point in his life. The donor as mentioned earlier was Bosco but it was unforeseeable that his heart would be transferred onto Michael.

With a new heart and a second chance on life, Power returned to LCK with a new perspective on life. Through a combination of a renewed chance for life and inheriting the goodness from Bosco's heart, Power began to show a change in personality. He's no longer as ruthless and unforgiving as he used to; he began to focus on social development of his enterprises even treated his staff around him with a more pleasant attitude. He also inherited Bosco's taste for sweets and his sense of moral/ethical responsibilities. It was because of his change of heart that would become the prelude to many things, including atoning for his past.

While Nikki was devastated over Bosco's death, she was surprised to meet her fiance's younger twin brother, Bosco (Yiu Yuet San 姚月山) who look and sound exactly alike like big brother Bosco, however, Bosco appears to be the less responsible one. Bosco personally watched his mother drown because she tried to save someone; moral responsibility became a joke afterwards as it cost his mother's life. He became a wandering vagrant. After big brother Bosco's death, Bosco wanted to do more for his great aunt and unofficially replaced Bosco; he moved into his brother's apartment and even lived with Bosco's best friend and roommate, Vincent Wong (Eason, Tong Sin Chi 唐善知).

Because of his brother's memory, both Nikki and Vincent would voice disappointment over Bosco's nonchalant irresponsible nature. Things would change dramatically for Bosco when Michael decided to hire him to work as a bartender at his night club perhaps out of a sense of life-debt to big brother Bosco and/or a connection with Bosco.

Over time, Michael sees highly of Bosco and had promoted him multiple times and fast-tracked him as his new right hand man in his operations. However, all of Michael's recent actions, along with Bosco's fast career advancement did not agree well with Joey and his subordinate, Benjamin Yeun (Martin, Ting Chun Ping 丁俊平), .

Joey is the elder half-sister to Vincent, however the pair relationship was very bad. Vincent's father made a selfish decision to abandon his previous family for the sake of greater financial gain with his new one, however, his actions would indirectly lead to many tragedies. Joey watched her mother die from illness (her father wouldn't see her mother in her final moments before she died) and the fact her father chose Eason's family over hers made Joey into a resentful person. Although she had other relatives to help raise her, she was often abused; all of this negativity shaped Joey into the manipulative, ruthless, and spiteful woman that she is today. She loves Michael greatly and would do anything for him, but she begins to distant herself from him as she couldn't stand Michael's new sense of social and personal responsibility for his many years of wrongdoings.

After Michael recovered from his heart condition, Joey developed a more powerful seat with the board at LCK Enterprises and she began to lust for more power. She originally teamed up with Benjamin, Michael's original right-hand-man, to help Michael maintain his CEO position as well as to gather funds for the Sleepless City project; Michael showed gradual disinterest in the project and focused more on philanthropy and dedicating funds to more social responsible causes, a series of disappointing decisions from the perspectives of Joey.

Around that same time, Nikki also developed an unusual friendship with Power as she was partially drawn to him because big brother Bosco's heart lives through him. Their odd semi-friendship lead Joey to misunderstand and she started an affair with Benjamin.

Concurrently, Power assigned Bosco to go undercover for him to keep tabs on his wife's activities, however, that lead to misunderstands and negative feelings from Bosco's friends and family, thinking that he is a changed person.

In between, Nikki started to date Bosco; it was a challenge for her due to his resemblance to big brother Bosco and she admitted that sometimes it was hard not to think about big brother's Bosco while dating Bosco.

She later put their relationship on hold while investigating her mother's death. Secretly, Vincent and Benz Hui (Yip Sai Kau 葉世九), (Nikki's subordinate and godfather) started to look into the case for Nikki and later collaborated with her. At first, the trio had circumstantial evidence to suggest Michael had something to do with Nikki's mother's death due to the similar tattoo he had. Due to Nikki's overzealous nature, she had Michael arrested and he confessed that he stole money from her mother, but never killed her. Michael was jailed for a couple of months on the charges of robbery and assault.

By chance, a piece of jewelry from the crime scene was found and it linked to Benz Hui's wife as the killer. Benz Hui tried to help his wife escape, but Nikki caught up to them and learned that his wife had stole money from her mother, and while Nikki's mother tried to stop her she was accidentally pushed to the floor, where she landed on top of a glass shard that killed her. The revelation was heartbreaking to Nikki as she loved her god-father and his family; both Elaine Yiu (Yip Wing Yan 葉詠恩) (Nikki's best friend and Benz Hui's daughter) and Benz Hui kneel and begged for mercy, but his wife was ultimately arrested and sentenced for secondary degree manslaughter.

Joey and Benjamin eventually put themselves in a difficult situation. In their quest to help Michael sourced more funds, they aligned themselves with a triad boss. The deal was that Joey would help use LCK Enterprises to help clean his dirty money in exchange for his resources to keep the Sleepless City project afloat, but things went awry when Michael was released from jail and realized what was happening; Michael seized those assets and threatened the triad boss with the police to end their ties. The triad boss didn't take things well and decided to teach Power a lesson by slashing his wife's beautiful face, causing Joey to have a 4-inch scar on her face. To return a favor, Michael had his agents attack the triad boss's house in Thailand and threatened to kill him and his family; Michael ultimately had them released as he reasons his death would result in a vicious cycle of vengeance and reminded the importance of learning to let go of things.

Joey's life would continue to fall apart as her web of deception unraveled. Oppa, a cop under Nikki was desperate for money and found incriminating evidence containing Joey's confession that she threw the tiles that killed big brother Bosco; he blackmailed Joey. However, things did not go well for Oppa after Nikki suspected him and he ran for it. He tried to blackmail more money out of Joey to escape the country, but the two ended up in a struggle when Vincent came to try to rescue his sister; he ended up with a serious head injury. As Oppa was running, Nikki caught up to him. He was then knocked down by a car while crossing a road, resulting in his death. Although Joey felt guilty for Vincent who was hospitalised and in critical condition, she pretended to show no remorse. Later on, Joey met her father as the two looked after Vincent, but it was there she said some hateful words, enough to encourage his father's heart to fail and died, leaving Vincent the only family member still alive.

Taking advantage of Joey's fragile mentality, Nikki staged a fake supernatural event in the parking lot, by having Bosco put on a doctor's robe to resemble his big brother, to fool her to think karmic forces are after her. In a confrontation with her weakened will, she revealed to Nikki that it was she who threw the tiles that lead to big brother Bosco's death. Because she confessed while the police were recording her, it was used as evidence on top of other alleged crimes and she was sent to jail for processing. However, not long, the cops that was transporting her through a rainy day lost control of their van and it slipped right into the sea and Joey's body was never recovered; she was presumed dead.

With Joey gone and justice served for both her mother and big brother Bosco, Nikki's quest for justice left her police record tarnished while she was fulfilling her goals. Nikki deemed it as a non-regrettable outcome and she chose to leave the police force for some time off.

One year later, Vincent has married Elaine (the two always had feelings for each other throughout the story) and Bosco continues to wait for Nikki's return. Not long after, the two found each other and Nikki finally agreed to marry Bosco. Shortly after, Michael received an unusual text message from Nikki, with her telling him she doesn't really want to marry Bosco, but wants to be with him. Nikki then appears before Michael, wanting him to answer about his feelings about her. Michael admitted feeling something for her, but he explained he loves his wife very much and can't be with her. It was because of his love for Joey that Nikki reveals she's really Joey.

Through plastic surgery, Joey re-made herself a replica of Nikki, believing this would please her husband; she was happy to know that Michael still loves her and abandon her thought of planning to kill Michael and commit suicide afterwards since she realises that she had misunderstood Michael all this time. However, Joey complicated matters as she's still mentally/emotionally unstable and had kidnapped Nikki earlier and hidden her inside a cargo container. She planned to use Nikki's identity permanently and continue her rest of the her life living with Michael. However, Michael was against the idea and demanded Joey to tell him Nikki's whereabouts. Bosco and Nikki's police crew later joined in to help locate Nikki. Unfortunately, Joey died as she sacrificed herself to save Power from heavy-falling cargo.

Further time has past and Michael has since focused heavily on social work and his fate within LCK Enterprises is unknown. However, while working on a farm site with some children, he encountered a loving teacher that had a strong resemblance to his dead wife, Joey (also played by Joey Meng), suggesting he'll try to start a new life with her. Elsewhere, at the grand opening of the LCK Community Centre, Nikki and Bosco are now happily married. It was never revealed whether Nikki return to the police force, but she quietly says to Bosco that she's in a better place.

References: Wikipedia

My thoughts:

A recommended drama to watch for year 2013 other than Triumph in the Skies II. It has an unexpected turnaround in the final episode although most of the plot can be easily guessed as it was made too obvious by characters in the drama.

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