Justvb | A moment with Just TVB on your mind

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." 

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." 

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. 

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." 

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." 

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." 

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.

Credit to aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net

My thoughts:

Bobby and Esther finally teamed up in a new series since Armed Reaction II! It is one of my anticipated series and hope that there will be a good ending and not end up in tragedy. :/ Feel free to voice out your thoughts under the comment section. ^_^

Last night George Lam was rehearsing for his upcoming concert. As for the recent criticisms on his Triumph in the Skies II theme song, he initially avoided the topic, but then after his one hour rehearsal, reporters asked him again. He said: “Cheng Sir (lyricist Cheng Kwok Kong) didn’t want to talk about it either. I don’t go online, don’t even use email or SMS. I don’t know what’s going on. I haven’t seen the complaints, how can I be offended?” 

When speaking of TITS’ original theme song being Years Like a Song, Ah Lam asked: “That is one of Eason Chan’s songs?” He then quickly defended his song: “Some people like this song, but others like another song. I sang this song, but I didn’t fight over to sing the song, TVB asked me to. They asked me to compose a theme song for them, I followed what was requested and Cheng Sir did the content. Composing a song is just that simple. As a singer-songwriter, you must create something that has the most feeling and be able to produce something for TVB. Why care so much?” 

Asked if he had ever listened to Eason’s Years Like a Song? Ah Lam said: “Yes, it’s a good song.” Ah Lam was displeased his song was being compared with Eason’s one. He said: “A good song, you can listen to it if you like it or if you don’t like it, then don’t listen to it. There is no need to compare. Ten years later, the plot is different and it is two different matters.” 

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. 

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.

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.