Source: HKChannel(Original Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2236)
Translation: llwy12@
http://asianfanatics.net/
Now that the TV series <>, which successfully re-ignited the Laughing craze, is over, audiences have switched gears from being concerned about the series’ ending to how the film version continuing the Laughing saga (tentatively titled <>) will work. Just like with the previous Laughing Gor movie from 2009 (<>), TVB will be inviting many ‘heavyweights’ in the HK entertainment industry to participate – according to reports, TVB has already contacted several ‘big name’ artists to collaborate on the film, however due to issues with scheduling and compensation, the negotiations have not been successful. So far, only actor Francis Ng is confirmed to participate in the movie.
In terms of the female lead for the movie, there were reports earlier that the role will go to a newcomer – rumor has it that newly crowned Miss HK Rebecca Zhu (known as a ‘Fala Chen look-alike’ throughout the competition) has the best chances of getting the coveted role. As for Fala Chen’s character Madam Jo, who died tragically in the series, it has already been confirmed that she will be taking on a cameo role in the movie version.
Last Friday (Sept 9th), the finale for <> was aired and at one point, reached peak ratings of 40 points. In efforts to keep up the Laughing fervor, TVB has decided to start filming on the movie version of the Laughing saga in October – in addition, to heighten the level of suspense, it has already been announced that the plot of the movie will continue where the series left off. As for Madam Jo [Fala Chen] and So Sing Pak (aka Bai Co) [Bosco Wong], both of whom tragically died in the TV series, the original intention was that they would not be a part of the movie version. However, due to audience’s dissatisfaction with the ending as well as netizens organizing a ‘save Madam Jo’ mission on-line, TVB’s head of production Tommy Leung has decided to change plans and ‘resurrect’ both characters in the movie. Tommy Leung states: “Whenever I go buy groceries, people ‘scold’ me and ask why I killed off Madam Jo. Actually, at the time, we had filmed several endings [to the series] with the intention of catering to the audiences’ wishes – therefore, this time around, we will exhaust all effort to ‘resurrect’ the Madam Jo character in the movie version. However, the script has not been written yet…looks like we will need to come up with a plan.”
As for actress Fala Chen, who portrayed Madam Jo, she expressed that she does not know how the storyline for the movie will progress. With regard to netizens’ online mission to ‘save’ Madam Jo, Fala laughed and responded: “It looks like the audiences have good hearts and want ‘a good person to have good results’. I’m happy that the audiences like Madam Jo, but all good things must come to an end. The ending was poignant in order to emphasize the special relationship between Laughing Gor and Madam Jo and so that the audiences are left with a deep impression. If I will be ‘re-appearing’ in the movie version, then perhaps they can develop the storyline to say that Madam Jo actually didn’t die and that scene where it showed her grave, that wasn’t really her buried in there! Haha!” Even though Fala is not opposed to participating in the film, she is currently busy filming her new series for TVB, so it is not yet known whether her schedule will be able to accommodate: “In the new series, I play the role of Chong Mo Yim, which is a pretty heavy role – if I have to take a break from filming, that would surely cause delay to the rest of the cast and crew, so scheduling-wise, still need to look at it more.”
As for Bosco Wong, whose character Bai Co will also be ‘resurrected’ in the movie, he suggested that they could write that Yiu Ho Ho has schizophrenia and Bai Co appears as a figment of her imagination.
Even though the movie version is scheduled to start filming soon, the characters and script have not been created yet – even main lead Michael Tse expressed that he does not know the storyline or how things will develop. According to reports, in the past few weeks, TVB had already been in contact with Nick Cheung, Julian (Chi-Lam) Cheung, and Annie Liu as well as a few others about participating in the series, however so far, the discussions have not been successful. Therefore, only Francis Ng’s participation has been confirmed. As for the ‘coveted’ role of female lead for the movie, Tommy Leung would only state: “This person will cause the audience to be pleasantly surprised and yell out ‘Wow’!” With rumors that the lead role will go to a newcomer, it is reported that the movie’s director Yau Lai Tao has been holding auditions with many TVB new artists lately. An insider points out: “Majority of those auditioning for the role are newcomers from this year’s beauty pageants.” This year’s Miss HK winner Rebecca Zhu was amongst the candidates who auditioned and it has been rumored that she has the best chance of getting the role. To this, Rebecca responded: “If I get the opportunity, I will definitely make good use of it. Do I have confidence in acting? Never tried it so don’t know how it will turn out, but if given the opportunity, I will definitely put in my best effort.”
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