Michelle's Beloved!!!

Nick Cheung won Golden Horse, TV King Bobby kneels down

2009-12-02T16:43:00.003-05:00

Nick Cheung and Bobby Au-Yeung once worked together in TVB's "The Legendary Four Aces". Although as movie king and TV king, but the two haven't contact each other for a while. The two met at the airport yesterday and Bobby dramatized his appearance by shouting out, "Hail to the Emperor!", and kneeled down. Then he teased Nick, "You won again? You took everything pretty much. When should I invite you to dine?" Nick replied, "This is what we call friends!" Bobby kept on teasing, "Hold on, I almost forgot about you if 'The Legendary Four Aces' didn't rebroadcast again! You were blocking the road!"

EEG Movies also sent people to pick up Nick and brought flowers. People nearby also shouted out, "What a handsome movie king!" Foreign visitors also shouted out, "Congratulations! I love you so much!"

Nick said in an interview that he was very worried during the announcement of the new movie king. He watched the movies where his competitors are in and didn't dare to think of winning. He expressed winning the award is the best birthday gift and it's the most valuable thing than anything. Nick also said right now he wants to film Ang Lee's movies and work with his look-alike, Jacky Cheung.

Source: Oriental Daily
Credits: PopularAsians

CONGRATULATIONS to Nick for becoming 2009 movie king!!! I'm happy he received recognition in the movie industry, finally. It's so nice and refreshing to see somebody else wins the award instead of the always familiar faces... Bobby is so funny!

Frankie and Kenix Behind the Scenes

2009-12-02T16:29:00.001-05:00

Now these are what I call real pregnant pictures. She looked too glamorous in the previous ones. Hopefully she's having healthy pregnancy. Frankie is such a loving husband. On a side note, I'm somewhat disappointed to learn that she will have a C-section. I thought natural birth is better...

Thanks to DAN for the images.

Frankie Lam wants Kenix Kwok to retire from the industry after giving birth

2009-11-09T21:09:00.005-05:00

Kenix Kwok who is 5 months pregnant accepted a radio interview earlier accompanied by Frankie Lam. There were rumours that claimed she is retiring from the entertainment industry after giving birth. Frankie said "It's my wish. But as a couple we respect each other. I will respect her decision". Kenix stated that it was too early to say. Frankie also exposed that every night he would touch Kenix's tummy and speak to their Baby. He laughed and said "It is quite silly doing that."

Source: On.cc

Translation: matchbox @ http://illusive-serenity.forumotion.net/

Lol, I think Kenix seems to be too ambitious to retire right now.

I'm currently watching Born Rich both in Chinese and with English subtitles. However, I'll wait until I'm done with the series in Vietnamese then I'll do a review. I'm enjoying the series although I don't think it is living up to expectations as an anniversary series. Kenix is having a very refreshing role playing a psychotic, obsessive woman who is crossing all boundaries to make her world of fantasies happen in real life. I also enjoy watching the veterans very much. Ray, Jamie, Gallen, Anita, Joe, Nancy, etc... That's what I call true acting.

Born Rich - Kenix as Tung Ling Chi

2009-10-17T13:40:00.015-04:00

Kenix - Tung Ling Chi, age 34

With the early passing of her mother, Ling Chi's father (Lau Siu Ming) puts all his love on his precious daughter. Ling Chi graduated from law school at the age of 23 and began her internship at a law office. During this time, she met and fell in love Cheuk Yat-yuen (Ray Lui) who is betrothed Ho Tseuk-nin (Jamie Chik). Ling Chi always thought that Yat Yuen would leave Tseuk Nin to be with her but he chose to marry his fiance at the end. Devastated, Ling Chi went to England to forget the past.

Ling Chi comes back to HK a few years later but she still cannot forget Yat Yuen. Unable to fool herself and others, she cancels the wedding plan with her fiance and reunites with Yat Yuen. Tseuk Nin discovers the affair which eventually leads to their divorce. Ling Chi offically enters the Cheuk wealthy family as Ms. Cheuk. Ling Chi's happiness turns sour when she attempts to uncover the truth behind her father's death but Sha Fu-loi (Gallen Lo) will do what it takes to silence her...

Ok, so Tung Ling Chi will die. If she’s harmed by the main villain Gallen, I do not think she will survive. Plus, there was a piece of news that happened when the filming just started saying that the characters of Ray and Jamie will reunite, so I’m pretty certain Ling Chi will not have a happy ending. Oh well…

By looking at the pictures, I could guess that Savio Tsang must play a part in the Tung family and after reading this synopsis, I bet he is Ling Chi’s fiancé. The scene that they shake hands above must be one of the early scenes when Ling Chi just comes back to HK. I cannot wait to watch their sparkles!

I translated this from a Vietnamese translation so I'm not sure how accurate this is. I find it unbelievable that Ling Chi can graduate from law school by the age of 23. Perhaps she graduated with a B.A. and then went to law school and perhaps had her summer internships.

Thanks to Miki @ DAN for the translation.

Source: TVB.com

Kenix at Born Rich's Promotion - Baby is a Girl

2009-10-14T20:36:00.009-04:00

Kenix Kwok is having a girl by Caesarean Section next February

Kenix Kwok is 5 months pregnant and the ultra sound showed that it is going to be a girl. She is having the baby delivered by Caesarean Section next February. Kenix attended TVB publicity and charity gala for "Born Rich" yesterday, wearing a 4 inches high heel shoes. Since husband Frankie is not in the cast, he was not there to look after her. When Kenix arrived at the gala, she was being spoilt by many colleagues. First one to take her hand was her senior Lau Siu Ming, followed by director Chong Wai Kin who took a chair out for her to sit down when they had a group photo taken. Ray Lui, Joe Ma and Nancy Sit all went up to her to ask how she was. Kenix said she was a bit embarrassed.

Last month when Kenix accepted an interview by MingPao, she was already 4 months pregnant, but the photo showed her looking more like 5-6 months pregnant. Last night, she wore a red dress, but it didn't show her tummy that big. It could be the angle of the picture which was taken last month.

Some cast members were worried about her wearing a 4 inches high heels, in particular, the males who kept reaching out their hands to help her. Kenix explained that she only put on her high heels since she arrived, and she was wearing a pair of flat shoes beforehand. Kenix stressed that her high heels shoes are very stable, and they are very safe. Talking about the changes that she has to make since she is pregnant, Kenix smiled "I put on 10 pounds in weight, and my bra size has gone up one cup. Otherwise, everything is normal. Sometimes I crave for certain food, like if I want to eat cheung fun, I ask Frankie to get it. " (Do you know if its a boy or girl?) The ultra sounds showed it is a girl, and her face is round with a high nose. The doctor said her brain development is very healthy."(Do you like baby girl?) I don't mind, I thank God for carrying a baby.(Wiil Frankie be there when you are in labour?) Sure, I am having a Caesarean Section in February, we have been thinking a few names to call her."

Talking about the rumor that Kenix will retire from the entertainment industry after her delivery, Kenix said "It is hard work in this industry, and it is time consuming too. I don't mind attending any functions or doing some light commercials, but it is hard to tell. You never know what will happy next." For the coming "TV Queen" award, Kenix thought Sheren Tang looks promising.

Source:MingPao
Translator: R.E.D @ http://www.asianvn.com

Watch out on those heels, you pregnant woman!

Born Rich - My Speculations

2009-10-10T18:39:00.014-04:00

For those who are interested in this series, you can visit this link to take a glimpse at what will happen:
http://images.yule.tom.com/vw/157394-1.html#picchange.
I found this link in Frankie-Kenix's Chinese Forum.

From the pictures, everything looks glamorous - the settings, the people, the fashion, you name it. For me, of course, I only care about what will hapen to my beloved Kenix's character throughout and at the end of the series. From the pictures, Kenix and Ray are simply lovebirds. I didn't expect them to look so compatible, so matching, so ideal, so perfect. Because it seems so perfect, I'm worried that they might not end up as this picture might imply:

Is Kenix dead? It looks like she is to me, especially when she has that white blanket on her that must have been uncovered by Ray. Either she's seriously wounded or... dead from the car accident. I just pray that the script didn't give Kenix the latter ending. But there's a glimpse of hope: the GRAND wedding. If she will die, I don't think the director would have wasted so much time and effort filming that wedding scene on the ship.

That was just my two cents. I don't mind Kenix's character dying (yeah right!) but I do dread that Ray will get back with his wife Jamie after Kenix's death. That will totally ruin the perfect love story.

On a side note, I haven't seen such a casual and relaxing scene of Kenix for a long time.

Xuanzang Expels Sun Wu Kong

2009-09-25T19:53:00.002-04:00

I found this clip on Youtube & it really brings back memories. The person singing the song is different and doesn't sing as well as the version I have. This is one of my favorite songs from all the Journey to the West classic songs. The maker of the MV did a good job adding the last part of Xuanzang rescuing Sun Wu Kong. It really "completes" the sad story.

Born Rich Premiering in October

2009-09-20T15:46:00.003-04:00

Premiering 18th October - 13th December Mon-Fri, 9.30pm

Sophisticated banker CHEUK YAT YUEN (Lui Leung Wai) mistakes con artist SA FU LOI (Lo Ka Leung) for his half brother CHEUK YAT MING, fortuitously elevating the swindler to one of the leading figures in the banking industry. The lost and found brotherhood has blinded YUEN to FU's real nature and intentions.

YUEN is kidnapped overseas by a group of rioters. He undergoes a dramatic personality change after the incident. YUEN's wife HO TSEUK NIN (Chik Mei Chun) has tried her best to console him but still cannot help him get over the unpleasant experience. Longing for more comfort and support, YUEN gets back with his ex-lover TUNG LING CHI (Kwok Ho Ying). NIN is heartbroken to learn about the affair and it has left the broken mirror that can't be mended.

The identity of CHEUK YAT MING gives FU not only a sense of family warmth but also a sweet taste of romance. He finds himself in love with YUEN's little sister CHEUK YAT SUM (Yuen Wing Yi). SUM is attracted to FU too but thinking that they are true biological siblings, she decides to keep her love under wraps and stays with her long-term admirer KO TOK MAN (Ma Tak Chung) instead. This comes as a huge blow to FU. He is not willing to lose his love, but neither can he reveal his real identity. Caught up in the dilemma between love and money, FU finally chooses the fortune road of no return.

It is all about a tough battle for money, a devious triangle of love, and a severe challenge to ethics.

Series sypnosis credits to Astro on Demand.

Images credits to respective owners.

Congratulations to Kenix and Frankie!

2009-09-19T14:56:00.002-04:00

From what I read at DAN, Kenix is 4 months pregnant. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this picture & couldn't believe what I just read. I simply thought this day will never never come. I've been wondering what Kenix has been doing since the wrap up of Born Rich. So she was trying to have a baby. It seemed like Kenix was never ready to settle down and that she and Frankie are never going to have a kid. Hahaha... I guess nothing is certain ^___^ I cannot wait to see the miniature Kenix or miniature Frankie ^___^ I'm sure they'll be great parents. Poor Frankie... He has been waiting for so long... and finally...

It looks like Born Rich is going to be Kenix's last series for a while...

No Justice For All ending

2009-09-02T20:29:00.002-04:00

Credits to jack24277259 at Youtube.

Sales Presentation and Actual Series

2008-12-26T19:07:00.043-05:00

I was visiting hyn5 Fortunate City blog and stumbled into this very interesting article about TVB's sales presentation compared to the actual series being filmed. First of all, I need to give special thanks to hyn5 for the wonderful information and rare pictures that I am using for my own entry.

As a fan, whether you are a certain artist's fan or a TVB fan in general, it's always interesting and curious to find out what artists were supposed or first chosen to film a series and then were replaced by a completely different cast. I have chosen certain series to give my two cents about out of the many series and sales clips that hyn5 has at his/her blog.

Romance Beyond: Frankie Lam, Athena Chu.
Sales Cast: Frankie Lam, Dicky Cheung, Gigi Lai, Fennie Yuen.

I've watched this series and I'm glad TVB chose Athena to pair with Frankie. In general, this series is very mediocre and maybe a bit lame but Frankie and Athena had great chemistry. It's really cute how Athena's character would follow Frankie's almost anywhere he goes and seems to trust only him. The ending is a bit disappointing for me but I did enjoy their collaboration throughout the series. TVB made the right choice to eliminate Dicky, Gigi, and Fennie because there is no other good role for them in the series. I do not like the supporting male character so I'm glad Dicky didn't have to play him.

Holy Dragon Saga: Frankie Lam, Catherine Hung, Marco Ngai.
Sales Cast: Eddie Kwan, Emily Kwan.

Again, TVB made a great decision by choosing Frankie for this role. After all, this was the role that I fell in love with Frankie and his character. I mean, I absolutely would not mind watching Eddie in this role because his handsome looks will fit the role and perhaps I would fall in love with Eddie instead. However, I despise watching Eddie with Emily or even worse, Chilam with Emily. I have watched parts of TVB version of Dagger Lee and whoever casted Emily for the role Lin Shi Yin must be blind or out of his mind. I like Emily as an actress and she is indeed a wonderful actress, but her look is no where near Lin Shi Yin who has two men fighting head over heels for her. Eddie made a fine choice as Li Xun Huan but his partner, tsk tsk tsk... I guess TVB realized its mistake and decided to cast Frankie with Catherine rather than torturing its audience one more time with the pairing of Eddie & Emily. The worst decision, however, was casting Chilam and Emily as a pair in Mystery of the Condor Heroes...

Speaking of Holy Dragon Saga, I was hoping Frankie would end up with Jojo Cho instead of Catherine Hung. Catherine just looks so awkward with the tribal costumes. Despites being a small production, the fighting scenes were great. Frankie and Marco had great chemistry.

Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994: Julian Cheung, Athena Chu, Gallen Lo, Emily Kwan
Sales Cast: Frankie Lam, Athena Chu, Julian Cheung, Leung Siu Bing, Lam Wai, John Chiang, Lau Dan, and Law Lok Lam.

What role would Frankie play if he was in here? Hm... Chilam did a great job as Kwok Jing, so I don't know if I can picture him as Yeung Hong? Maybe Frankie could be Yeung Hong and paired up with Noel Leung. That would be great. I read an article about Noel in which she claimed that one of the biggest regrets during her early career was losing the role Wong Yung to Athena. Perhaps Noel and Athena were both considered for the role but for some reason Athena got it? Athena was very cute with the role and she did perform very well. However, one thing about her performance that bugged me was that she kept playing with her hair and sometimes her expressions were a bit too much. I think perhaps Noel would do a better job as Wong Yung but Athena was great as well. By the way, the Gallen and Emily pairing was another bad decision.

Remembrance: Chilam Cheung, Kenix Kwok, David Siu.
Sales Cast: Chilam Cheung, Kenix Kwok, Athena Chu, Sunny Chan.

Oh my! This is new and interesting! I am so glad Athena did not take part or else Kenix was likely to play a supporting role. I cannot imagine her playing the annoying sister. Oh my! Plus, Kenix doesn't look like she is Athena's younger sister. Maybe Athena could be the younger sister? ^___* This series belongs to Chilam and Kenix. Hey you, back off!

Never Made #1: Frankie Lam, Chilam Cheung, Noel Leung
Who in their right mind wouldn't make this into a series?

Detective Investigation Files: Michael Tao, Kenix Kwok, Joey Leung
Sales Cast: Michael Tao, Kenix Kwok, Deric Wan, Alex Fong, Sheren Tang.

I have no comment about the sales cast. It would be great if Kenix could collaborate with Deric, one of my favorite actors, but the chosen cast’s chemistry and performance exceeded expectations.

Down Memory Lane: Alex Man, Frankie Lam, Michelle Yim, Kenix Kwok, Candy Lo.
Sales Cast: Alex Man, Damian Lau, Michelle Yim, Kenix Kwok, and Eddie Cheung.

So, if TVB kept the sales cast, I guess Kenix and Frankie would have no collaboration and we probably won’t have this one of the most loved couples of Hong Kong showbiz?

Criminal Investigator or what?
Hm… maybe Kenix and Frankie would meet in this series instead of Down Memory Lane, hahaha… Anyway, the pairing of Kenix and Felix Wong was great. I’m glad they changed the cast. Plus, I don’t enjoy watching Gordon Lam at all.

Cold Blood Warm Heart: Adam Cheng, Julian Cheung, Gallen Lo
Sales Cast: Alex Man, Julian Cheung, Nadia Chan, Athena Chu, Kenix Kwok, Gallen Lo, Frankie Lam, Jessica Hsuan, and Louis Koo.

I cannot think of any role Kenix could have played except for Christine’s? I would not mind watching her with Alex Man, although I prefer Adam more.

Never Made #2: Bobby Au Yeung, Kenix Kwok, Athena Chu, Noel Leung.

It’s a shame these girls didn’t get to collaborate in a series… But three beautiful ladies for one Bobby? Isn’t it a bit… too much? ^__^

Never Made #3: Michael Tao, Kenix Kwok, Jessica Hsuan.

Kenix and Jessica!!! I am speechless!

Detective Investigation Files 4: Louis Koo, Sunny Chan, Jessica Hsuan, Charmaine Sheh.
Sales Cast: Michael Tao, Kenix Kwok, Joey Leung, Ada Choi, Gallen Lo, Louis Koo, Jessica Hsuan, Flora Chan, and Patrick Tam.

I’m glad Michael left TVB or else there would be another pairing for him with Kenix. I’m so tired of watching them.

At the Threshold of an Era: Gallen Lo, Sunny Chan, Roger Kwok.
Sales Cast: Felix Wong, Deric Wan, Eddie Cheung, Sunny Chan, Lawrence Ng, Amy Kwok, Vivian Chow, Ada Choi, Kenix Kwok, and Monica Chan.

Uh… too many people. But I don’t mind watching Kenix with Felix though, if she gets to pair with him again. There are too many strong female casts we would not know where Kenix would end up.

Credits: hyn5 at Fortunate City

The Grand Entrepreneurs Blessing Ceremony

2008-12-22T20:03:00.003-05:00

The Grand Entrepreneurs held its blessing ceremony today. It happens to be Ray's birthday as well so he received many kisses from the girls. What a coincidence! There have been three birthdays within a month for the Grand casts: Kenix, Gallen, and now Ray. I heard that Jamie's birthday is coming up next month!

Credits to DAN for the image.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO KENIX!!!

2008-11-26T18:56:00.002-05:00

November 27, 2008.

I wish the Grand Entrepreneurs will have a strong script & turn out to be a success.
I wish this role will be a breakthrough performance for you.
& I hope that you will continue to film more series for us fans in the future to satisfy our Kenix-cravings ^__^

The Grand Entrepreneurs Costumes Fitting

2008-11-24T20:17:00.010-05:00

Clip at Youtube.

Clip at Baidu

Finally a picture of Kenix and Ray together. Yay! That's all I'm looking forward to at the costumes fitting ^___^

Okay, Kenix must be wearing a wig throughout the series then. She's back to the curvy hairstyle again that I'm not too fond of. She looks much younger & more beautiful with straight hair. However, I should be glad that she doesn't have the same short hairstyle that she has in the sales presentation clip. I kind of like her outfit, so shiny lol... She looks very pretty for a TVB comeback. Ray looks much younger in these pictures than he did in the clip, which is a great thing. He and Kenix look so compatible. I cannot wait for their "steamy" scenes as Kenix has mentioned to the reporters (Batgwa).

Did the lighting strike me or that's Gallen with the beard on the chin? Is he out of his mind? With such an image, I'm so glad Kenix is not paired up with him. I'm speechless.

Jamie looks very pretty and fashionable. She doesn't look like a housewife at all. Kenneth with the mustache, I have no comment. It's a shame Bernice cannot take part in the series. I was looking forward for the second collaboration of Kenix and Bernice after their cute scenes in Love Bond. So Krystal Tin isn't part of the cast?

Credits:
dienanh.net
asianfanatics

The Grand Entrepreneurs Sales Presentation Clip

2008-11-19T20:06:00.010-05:00

The clip is finally released!!! Tudou

I remember reading somewhere regarding the release date of the clip but then I forgot what date. Consequently, I have to go online every night to check if it's released ^___^. Today is finally the day!

TVB has a strange way of setting up the background for this clip. I dislike the fake scenes & computer effects because I thought they make a big production look cheap. I remember the sale presentation clip of Revolving Doors of Vengeance was very well done, very captivating even though the actual series didn't turn out to be as great as I expected. I hope The Grand Entrepreneurs will turn out to be something similar to At the Threshold of an Era I and not Revolving Doors.

I haven't seen Ray Lui and Jamie Chik onscreen for such a long time and now they look so different. Gone were their youthful days of the Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain. Kenix looks even skinnier with that puffy hair style. I really hope she won't leave her hair like that for the entire series. In spite of all the above negative comments, I'm so excited about the pairing of Ray and Kenix. Their love story sounds very interesting already and it's been a while since Kenix last played a third party. (Kenix's fans, don't ask me what series she played third party. I'm going to murder you if you ask me!)

So Anita plays Gallen's step-sister? How can you love your step-sister? She got two men falling for her but Kenix seems to have no one. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I'm actually thrilled that Kenix is not paired with Joe Ma again. Ray Lui is such a great choice for a new partner. I've always wanted to watch Kenix with different non-TVB actors. I'm tired of seeing the same old faces over and over again. This is one of the two main reasons I stop watching TVB's recent series - watching the so-called talents is such a waste of time.

On a side note, even though I haven't watched any series this year besides The Silver Chamber of Sorrows, which was an excellent series in a long time, I must offer congratulations to Michelle Yim, Ha Yu, and Tavia Yeung for their long overdue, well deserved awards! Michelle gave an outstanding performance in the Brink of Law two years ago. If I had any influence in TVB, I would've given her the Best Actress title that year.

Kenix's Message to Fans 10.13.08 - Rough Translation

2008-10-14T21:46:00.007-04:00

"Hello everyone! During this September month, I only stayed in Hong Kong for a few days. I spent the rest of my time vacationing all of China. I visited many beautiful places (Sorry I can't translate the names) and the local people were very nice to me. Each place has its own historical features that I find irresistible. Throughout September, I feel very happy and satisfied. Perhaps I will take another vacation with Frankie in November."

I thought she's filming in November? Maybe she'll go with Frankie in early November before the filming starts. Gotta enjoy life while you can before the hard work comes along huh? I wonder why she didn't go with Frankie this time. I thought he was done with his latest mainland drama.

Source: Kenix's Sina Blog
Credits to DAN for Vietnamese translation.

More Information on the November Series

2008-10-10T20:52:00.004-04:00

I just visited several forums and here are some more updates that I stole from them ^__^

The series will start filming in either mid to late November to April 2009. There will be many scenes that take place in Europe. Aside from the strong casts, it looks like TVB is putting great investment into the series by filming it in other places.

Kenix will play an ambitious lawyer who sacrifices love for career but she will regret later. Ray will be a successful business man whose life story is based on one of the Kwok brothers, the third wealthiest family in Hong Kong. However, TVB claims that their script is "original."

Based on the various resources, the relationship and connection among the characters are as follows:

Family Life:

Ray Lui, Gallen Lo, and Sunny Chan will play brothers. So far we know that Gallen will play a villain and he and Ray are not getting along.

Krystal Tin, Kenix Kwok, Vincent Wong are siblings and children of Nancy Sit.

Ray, Gallen, & Sunny will be cousins of Krystal, Kenix, and Vincent.

Love Life:

Jamie Chik is Ray's legitimate wife and Kenix plays his first love and soulmate. Jamie and Kenix are not getting along.

Anita Yuen is Gallen's wife and best friend of Krystal.

Krystal plays Sunny's girlfriend.

Here's what I think. First, I pray that Gigi Lai will not join the cast. It would be fine if she does, but I still prefer her out of the picture. I also hope Kenix will have close scenes with Anita Yuen simply because I love to see Kenix cooperate with artists who she hasn't worked with before. Too bad Anita & Krystal will play best friends. This might not be a bad thing after all because I very much anticipate Kenix's ambitious character. I hope this role will be something different. I don't want her to be nice anymore and if she's not nice, she might not have a friend *___^

It's a shame that Kenix and Gallen are not a pair even though I also look forward to seeing Ray and Kenix. Ever since we know that Kenix will be paired with Ray and Gallen with Anita, I start to miss their previous collaboration in ATE. I rewatched a few video clips from ATE and also parts of the series itself. They were so cute in there that I really hope for a second collaboration. I wonder if Kenix and Sunny will have any spark? Just a wishful thinking...

I'm not fond of the pairing of Sunny-Krystal. I don't think they look compatible. I watched Phoenix Rising and as much as I admire Sunny's love for Krystal in there, I still don't think they match. Sunny looks so much better with Kenix. So far, we haven't heard much about Sunny's character so lets hope that TVB put something on the plate for him. When was he added to the cast anyway? I have not seen his name anywhere and suddenly he pops up as one of the brothers.

Jamie not getting along with Kenix will be interesting! Lets see if Kenix will get scolded on the streets ^___^

Credits:

http://www.dienanh.net/

http://www.spcnet.com/

Tentative Title: Gold-Plated Wealthy Family

2008-09-23T20:33:00.012-04:00

This is the information I've collected from other sites and forums. I just want to put everything together; it is not an update entry on the series.

Cast:

Gallen Lo

Ray Lui

Kenix Kwok

Anita Yuen

Jamie Chik

Nancy Sit

It appears that the above names, especially Gallen, Kenix, Ray, and Jamie are confirmed. Anita Yuen will play Gallen's wife. Kenix-Ray-Jamie will have a love triangle relationship with Jamie being Ray's legitimate wife while Kenix will be his soulmate. Nancy might play Ray's mother.

Kenix's character will be a lawyer. It looks like another strong, independent role for Kenix but this time, I hope her character will have inner conflicts with twists and turns. I dread another role like Kit in Take My Word For It.

While I was hoping that this will be a second collaboration of Kenix and Gallen, the idea of pairing Kenix with Ray is equally pleasant. I like Ray as an actor, especially his role in The Upheaval with Idy Chan in 1985. I'm looking forward to watching them together as a couple.

The filming will likely start in late November.

Warning: a lot of the information on the characters' relationships above is still rumors. As we all know, TVB likes to change their script everyday so don't put your hope too high.

Credits:

DienAnh.net

Cnhubei News

Gallen Habour

Kenik Kwok will film TVB's new epic series, stated all earlier rumors are meaningless

2008-08-22T21:04:00.005-04:00

Since Kenix Kwok had lost out in receiving TVB's "Best Actress" award there had been numerous rumors claiming that her relationship with TVB had changed and she was also removed from casting in "A Pillow Case of Mystery II". Due to not liking how TVB treated her she accepted an interview for i-cable's channel. But it seemed that these rumors were untrue because Kenix has been officially casted in TVB's new epic series and will be heavily promoted.

TVB will start filming a new 40 episode series in November. The main leads will not involve any new actors or actresses. Rather inviting back veteran artistes such as Gallen Lo, Kenix Kwok, Ray Lui Leung Wai and Jamie Chik (Michael Miu's real wife) and many more. TVB hope's that the more experienced actors acting and storyline will attract the audience. Anita Yuen may also be casted in the series.

Kenix accepted a long distance call and admitted that she had accepted to film TVB's new epic series. She said "All the rumors earlier were not true and I do not need to clarify anything. When people hear that I am filming for TVB again it proves that earlier rumors were meaningless." She stresses that she hasn't filmed a series for 2 years and her relationship is still good with TVB. She was just hoping for a good storyline and stated that she had finally found one. Not only did the storyline appeal to her but also TVB executives Virginia Lok and Ngau Koon Ying had invited her to film the series. They also increased her salary making her very touched.

The reporter also asked Anita Yuen who is currently taking a break about the new series, she replied " I'm not sure, I have to look at the script and the requirements. I also have to see how my dieting is going because many people said I looked fat in (Love Exchange)".

Source: The Sun
Translated by: kingkongit27 @ http://asianuniverse.net
News taken from Asian Fanatics

Kenix is Hoping for Twins

2008-07-22T21:51:00.006-04:00

Yesterday Kenix Kwok attended Christie Wo's (founder of Charmonde Luxury Limited) promotion activities. Reporter asked her if she would wear lovers matching watch with husband Frankie Lam. Kenix said she had done in the past, but not always the matching watch. She expressed that although they have been married for only four years, she feels they are an old couple. But they still have love of fire towards each other. She disclosed " My hubby and I are still feeling fresh. We have been going out for a long time, therefore it seemed we have been married for a long time. "Reporter asked if she wanted to be a mother yet and if she would like some secret formula to have a baby. Kenix said she is not particularly keen on children. Therefore, she is not in a hurry. If she was to have baby, she prefers twins. Reporter asked if she has seeked fortune teller advice. She said she was told she would only have one baby, but she wanted to have two.

Credits: dragon888 @ http://asianvn.com/

Image: www.kwokhoying.com

News taken from Asian Fanatics

John Woo puts career on the line with 'Red Cliff' blockbuster

2008-06-27T21:53:00.003-04:00

Director John Woo, widely known here for his masterful "A Better Tomorrow" series and "The Killer," seemed deeply reluctant to take any chance in marketing his ambitious big-budget historical movie "Red Cliff."

At a press conference held on Wednesday in posh W Hotel in eastern Seoul, Woo led a traditional Korean ritual to invoke spirits. The ritual's single-handed purpose - a huge box-office success for "Red Cliff." The unprecedented marketing gesture illustrates the intensity of Woo's passion - and concerns - about the forthcoming movie, which cost $80 million to produce. What's more, "Red Cliff" is not a single movie; it's the first installment of a two-part series. The second installment will come out later this year.

"This movie is to realize my 18-year dream," John told reporters. "I was given generous opportunities to make films in Hollywood, but it seemed like Western people did not understand our culture accurately. This movie is part of my efforts to help them get a better picture of our culture and spirit." Woo went on to proclaim that "Red Cliff" is the most important film he has ever made.

The press conference was the world-first appearance of Woo and his star-studded cast members to the public. "Red Cliff" is set to be released on July 10 in Korea. The movie showcases the spectacle of grand-scale battles in autumn of 208 A.D. - a turbulent period of Chinese history that is featured in the popular historical novel, "The Romance of Three Kingdoms." The original novel is extremely popular with Korean readers, a plus for the film adaptation of the historical saga.

Among the main cast present at the press conference was Tony Leung, who plays Zhou Yu in "Red Cliff." He left an indelible impression with his impassioned role in "Lust, Caution." Asked about the traditional musical instrument he plays in the film, he said he found it difficulty to synchronize his hand gestures to the tune because he does not play it himself. When a seemingly ardent fan-cum-reporter asked about how he looks sexier, Leung smiled and replied that men become more mature as they get older, perhaps because life experiences add to the internal charm.

Chen Chang, who plays Sun Quan, said he felt a surge of excitement on the production site when he was filming. "When I put on the traditional clothes and got ready for shooting, I felt as if I'm actually in the very battlefield in that ancient era."

Wu Chin-cheng, also known as Takeshi Kaneshiro, said that he was not bothered by the absence of action scenes allocated for his role, Zhuge Liang, the paragon of a masterful war strategist. "I focused on sharpening my inner feelings that can be reflected on the screen, and watched other related films to add more depth to the character."

Lin Chiling, who makes a silver-screen debut with "Red Cliff," said she was under a lot of pressure in playing the role of Xiao Qiao, but she found the character intriguing and attractive. "Xiao Qiao is realistic and relies on her husband to see the world, but she is, at heart, very passionate about peace, which I hope will be relayed to the audience," she said.

The movie, showing off a number of massive battles and numerous extras, builds up necessary dramatic tension and provides a basic storyline right before the make-or-break battle at the Red Cliff starts. The full-scale battle at the cliff will play out in the second installment, to be released around the winter season.

By Yang Sung-jin

(insight@heraldm.com)

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

Article taken from AsianFanatics

Tony Leung & Carina Lau to Tie the Knot

2008-06-19T10:55:00.003-04:00

PETALING JAYA: Finally, long-time Hong Kong showbiz couple Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Carina Lau Ka Ling are tying the knot in a big way. News has leaked that the couple’s wedding will cost them well over HK10mil (RM4.4mil) reports China Press and Nanyang Siang Pau.

This is said to include a 38-table wedding dinner (RM456,000), a 38-table wine party (RM45,600), a HK50,000 per night (RM25,000) presidential suite for a week, wedding cakes and invites worth HK200,000 (RM82,000), a dowry of HK1mil (RM410,000), a diamond ring worth HK2mil (RM850,000) and a honeymoon in Europe costing HK300,000 (RM123,000).

Some 10 years ago, Leung was reportedly advised by fortune-tellers not to tie the knot or have any children before the age of 46 for fear of poor health and bad luck. Leung turns 46 on June 27. Lau, believed to be four months pregnant, will turn 43 in December. The pair have been together since 1989 and their wedding is expected to be held at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong sometime in October.

Lau makes millions in product endorsements every year and is still a stunning beauty. Just last year, it was reported that Lau was being courted by Taiwanese tycoons Terry Gou and Jack Sun. Before she hooked up with Leung, Lau was engaged to Hong Kong tycoon Hui Chun Hung.
Then rumours abounded that the long-time couple secretly married after Lau was named best actress at China’s Golden Rooster Awards last year while a fellow actor revealed that they had already applied for a marriage licence.

The Suzhou-born beauty showed off her wedding ring to the Chinese media during a visit to China in April and announced her marriage to Cannes best actor Leung. The happy couple were pictured together while on a working holiday to France for the 61st Cannes Film Festival late last month.

Leung is currently busy with promotional activities for John Woo’s war epic Red Cliff and is set to play Bruce Lee’s martial arts master Ip Man in Hong Kong art house director Wong Kar-Wai’s biopic.

By Seto Kit Yan

Credits: The Star Online

Wow, so it was the fortune teller who "delays" the wedding all this time? What about the article of him and his marriage phobia? I guess we should all be skeptical when reading stars' reports. Anyway, I cannot wait to see his grand wedding and grand production Red Cliff!!!

Catch Me Now: Idy Chan's Last Series?

2008-06-04T12:03:00.009-04:00

After 14 years of hiatus, Idy Chan had made a comeback to the small screen due to the persuasion of her latest co-star Damian Lau. Catch Me Now has an interesting plot and was able to garner satisfactory ratings when it was aired just a few weeks ago. However, it might be the last series of Idy for us fans for quite a while. Due to various news articles, it appears that Idy will leave it to fate whether she'll film another series. She has no interest in staying in the limelight but aims for the tranquil and meaningful life doing charity. Ever since Catch Me Now was aired, she was forever absent in all of the promotion and rating celebratory events. Damian talked her into coming back for Catch but I highly doubt that he can persuade her to stay for more...

I am currently watching Catch and it is a fairly enjoyable series so far. Idy looks pretty in the series with nice outfits. She really knows how to dress beautifully onscreen compare to how casual she is offscreen. Unlike some negative comments from the youngsters, I thought she acts great so far. After 14 years out of showbiz, being able to show convincing emotions speak for her natural acting talent. Take one scene for example. Her husband used dirty trick to take the custody away from her and she went to negotiate with him. Damian winked at her and she turned around and slapped the husband. I could see the shock on her face because even she was amazed at what she just did. Being a kind woman and an obedient housewife, this action was so new to her. I totally love the look on her face at that time. She just looked so cute!

I have read many good comments on the series and I'm so glad that her first comeback was a success. After the filming wrapped up, I prayed that TVB would air the series and not warehouse it. When they decided to air the series, I prayed it would attract the audience. I was so happy to read the ratings report everyweek and see that Catch could stay in the top spot with more than 30 points average. The final week even peaked at 38 points. It is more than I could ask for. Now if she can film another series, and then another... I'm so greedy. ^___^

Catch Me Now Ratings:

Week 1: 31 pts

Week 2: 32

Week 3: 32

Week 4: 33 (highest at 38)

Image: TVB

Credits to A5News and AsianFanatics

Kenix Kwok Denies Anorexia and Marriage Conflict Rumors

2008-05-07T23:55:00.006-04:00

Earlier, there were rumors circulating that Kenix Kwok and husband, Frankie Lam Man Lung were in a rocky marriage. Allegedly, Kenix's weight decreased dramatically to 80 pounds. She was rumored to be suffering from anorexia.

Appearing at a fashion boutique opening with Theresa Fu Wing and Yumiko Cheng Hei Yi, Kenix wore a pale pink dress. She sported a wide smile and appeared to be in good spirits. Yesterday, while blow drying her hair at home, the blow dryer sparked and the flames burned Kenix's right palm. The blow dryer was placed closely to her face at the time. Fortunately, the flames did not burn her face.

Reporters asked how Frankie comforted Kenix. She noted that he was not home at the time. Was Kenix concerned that her burnt palm will be a cause of speculation that she was not taking care of herself? "I will view the incident through another light. Perhaps this mishap barred me from other major catastrophes."

Regarding rumors that her marriage with Frankie was on the rocks, Kenix said the news was fabricated by tabloid magazines. In the past, she would have been bothered by the reports and may have held a press conference to clarify. However, she will now ignore these type of rumors and not let them affect her emotional state. Was Frankie troubled by the recent marriage rumors? "Of course not. Frankie's EQ (emotional quotient) is greater than mine. These rumors have not affected our relationship."

How would Kenix describe her current relationship with Frankie? "We care about each other greatly. Even if both of us are not at the same place together, we will often think of the other person. Although Frankie and I have known each other for 13 years, our relationship does not lack sparks. I continue to perform romantic gestures, such as cook for him."

In response to anorexia rumors, Kenix smiled and noted that her weight has remained in the 90 pound range in the last several years. She does not care what the tabloid reports say, as long as she is happy.

Will Kenix consider having a child to improve her marriage with Frankie? Kenix indicated that having a child will be in the long-term. without a child, she can pursue a more independent lifestyle. However a family will be more lively with a child. However if a particular family member is missing, Kenix will have other family members to accompany her.

Source: Wenweipo
Translations from Jaynestars

Kenix Kwok Has a Habit of Not Wearing Rings

2008-05-03T15:29:00.003-04:00

Earlier there were reports that Kenix Kwok and her husband Frankie Lam had problems in their marriage. Yesterday Kenix did an interview but the reporter noticed that she wasn't wearing her wedding ring. Kenix explained that she had got used to not wearing rings due to work and said there were no problems whatsoever in her marriage.

Tang Duk Hei a Top TVB Producer will be the producer for a new ATV series called 《法網群英》. He had already casted Lawrence Ng, William So and a number of previous TVB actors to star in the series. He hopes that the influence of these actors will steal Top ratings from TVB.Kenix admitted that she had also been offered to star in this series but she had decided to temporary rest from fliming any TV series. She hopes to find a role that will allow her to have a good response before she returns to act.

Kenix said "ATV have talked about offering me a role. If I think the role is good I won't mind taking it. TVB had also asked me to return to film a new series. I have a very good relationship with TVB so there will be plenty of opportunities working together in the future".

Translated by: kingkongit27 @ http://asianeu.net/forums/
Source: Oriental Daily

I'm so glad Kenix plans to continue acting in the near future. There seemed to be implications at various places in the web that TVB has stopped asking Kenix to film for them (e.g. they asked Jessica to film Pillow 2) but now this news proves that was false. So TVB contacted her to film a series. I wonder if it was Pillow 2 or another series. It's good she didn't accept ATV's offer; their productions have low quality.

'Red Cliff' Website Releases

2008-04-28T13:22:00.004-04:00

The highly-anticipated blockbuster "Red Cliff" directed by John Woo launched its official web site, Wednesday in Beijing. Supplementing the pre-release promotion are a series of related events before the film hits the cinema in July.

Director John Woo and his leading actor Zhang Fengyi gave presentations at the launch of the film's web site. For the first time clips of the film were released to media. The trailer was produced too early to preview some of the film's biggest scenes. It did provide a glimpse of the films costume and props for a story about events in China between 184 and 280 AD.

The inspiration for the film is "Romance of Three Kingdoms" considered among China's four most important works of ancient literature. It tells amazing tales of the era when China was divided into the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The vast 600-year-old novel has been a favorite for many generations and a popular focus on screen. Many wonder what John Woo has in store for the audience.

John Woo said, "Each director has his or her own style. The story I want to tell about the three kingdoms will not be very fancy. The figures in our film even don't have that kind of helmet. But we care more about the inside of each character, the interior person. We have done a lot of research. I use my emotions to feel the ancient figures' thought. It's a kind of adaptation but won't run far away from the history or the truth.

"It's said Woo has added his classic scene of flying pigeons again. He used it in his early film "A Better Tomorrow" which established his reputation.John Woo said, "I couldn't put any guns into the film. But I kept the pigeons there. You will see Zhuge Liang let pigeons go and fly away for three times. I can't help doing this."

The opening of the web site reveals only the story of Cao Cao, one of the three most powerful leaders. Later another two tales, about Sun Quan and Liu Bei will soon be added.

Source: CCTV.com

Editor:Liu Fang

News taken from AsianFanatics

Kenix Kwok Steps into Modelling Industry

2008-04-23T23:28:00.002-04:00

It’s been 1 year since Kenix Kwok’s contract with TVB had expired. Recently she has signed a modelling contract with Style International Management for 1 year. Other Top models in the company are Lynne Hung, Mikki Yao, Angelababy. Kenix is the first actress to sign with this company. Asked whether Kenix consider’s herself replacing Lynne’s (Style sister position) in the future? Kenix replies comfortably “ All of us have different individual styles. We are like a family, most important is that we are happy working together”.

Kenix appeared with a new image yesterday. She had a new hair cut that resembled to Victoria Beckham. Wearing a long DKNY dress and Chanel, Piaget Brands. Style Management Kim and Angelababy gave Kenix gifts and flowers to wish her a good start. Kenix claimed that she has a similar personality to Kim and they both get on very well. Her contract is also very flexible and doesn’t effect her plan’s for having children in the future. She says “My contract does not say that I cannot have children. Briefly speaking, I am ready to have children whenever the time comes”. Kenix is mainly focused on modelling for commercials and will do catwalks. Kenix states “ I want to temporary rest from any tv productions. If there is a good storyline or good partner I don’t mind filming for TVB or a mainland China series in the future”.

Translated by: kingkongit27 @ http://asianeu.net/forums/
Credits to asianfanatics
Source: Mingpao

1956-2003: Leslie Cheung & Happy Together

2008-04-01T18:23:00.016-04:00

It's been 5 years since the passing of our beloved star Leslie Cheung Kwok Wing. How time flies! I've heard of his name for quite a while and the first time I really got to know about Leslie's work was with Farewell My Concubine, the performance that made him an acclaimed actor. At the time, I did not know of his sexual orientation. I just thought that the man did extremely well playing a young actor who was in love with his male colleague. However, his friend loved a woman played by Gong Li. When I rented the movie, the cover said that Gong Li's character would come between the friendship two men. At the time, I interpreted as her being loved by these two men only to find out that it was the total opposite of that. I still vividly remember the scene during which Leslie's and Gong Li's characters first met. Leslie's character was still in his female opera costumes and he politely nodded at Gong Li's to say hi. Then he walked into his room slowly with unchanged expressions, and all of a sudden, everybody heard the door slammed. I thought the scene was very well done and Leslie's performance exceeded expectations. It was too obvious that the man was full of jealousy of a third party in his relationship. I fell in love with Leslie right after this scene and ever since.

A few months ago, I got a chance to watch Happy Together, a collaboration of Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai. This was yet another gay role for Leslie. I've always wanted to watch this movie for so many reasons. Two of my favorite actors playing gay lovers and Tony playing a homosexual for the first time; I would be ashamed to call myself a fan if I have not watched Happy Together.

SPOILERS ALERT!

It turned out the movie was done beautifully and the performances were top-notch. Tony & Leslie were lovers but Leslie was not serious with the relationship. He enjoyed having different partners, especially those who could cover his expenses. Both men came to Argentina to work (not quite clear on how they got to this country) and Leslie stated that he wanted to break up. They've used up all the money and Tony had to work at various jobs to earn a ticket back to Hong Kong. They bought a pretty lamp with animated image of Iguazu waterfall. Tony would love to go see the waterfall with Leslie but they never got the chance.

One night, Tony got drunk and came to ask Leslie why he had to suffer so much. It was because of Leslie that they got to Argentina; his money was gone and he could not make enough to go back to Hong Kong; and while he was working restlessly, Leslie was hanging around with different rich men. Leslie answered that he really wanted to be with Tony at the time but Tony punched him and left. Leslie was crying on his bed afterwards.

Leslie came to see Tony one time with his face and body all bruised. His boyfriend beat him up because he gave Tony a watch as a gift. The doctor bandaged Leslie's hands and so Tony had to take care of Leslie for quite some time. Everyday, Tony would go to work and stole the food or leftovers from the restaurant where he worked, or cooked for Leslie. He had to do all the bathing, feeding, putting Leslie in bed, etc... to nurture him back to health. Tony was really happy to be back with his lover but he knew Leslie was not a faithful person. Tony hid Leslie's passport and other things so Leslie could not leave. As expected, Leslie tried to leave once he was healthy again and asked for his passport but Tony refused to give it back. Nevertheless, Leslie left and did not come back to the apartment for a long time, giving Tony the second blow in their love life.

Tony continued to work hard to earn his way back to Hong Kong and gradually, he learned to forget. When he finally saved enough money, he wanted to do one last meaningful thing before leaving Argentina for good. He went to Iguazu waterfall and reminisced about the past. He was feeling very sad and wished that Leslie was here with him. It would be much nicer if both of them were to look at the beautiful waterfall together. He came back to Hong Kong and rebuilt his life, alone. Meanwhile, Leslie went back to the apartment to look for Tony. Either he got bored with his latest partner as usual or he had realized that Tony was the only person who treated him good, but it was too late. He waited and waited for hours, rearranged the items, cleaned the room, and made the bed. He then bursted into tears realizing that he had lost a loving and devoted relationship that would have belonged to him if he valued it.

Tony very much deserved his Best Actor Award for this performance. Leslie came very close behind only because his screen time was less. I just read an article about Leslie Cheung and there was a paragraph that mentioned how he persuaded Tony to feel comfortable filming their love scene in the movie. I thought it was a very nice drama behind the stage that we don’t get to know very often. I highly recommend Happy Together to anyone who knows how to appreciate the true beauty of performing arts.

Captures were done by me.
First image credit to respective owner.

Tony Leung defends blacklisted Chinese "Lust" actress

2008-03-18T20:03:00.007-04:00

2nd picture caption: Tony Leung and South Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Award-winning Hong Kong actor Tony Leung said Chinese actress Tang Wei should not have been singled out and blacklisted by Beijing, following her sexually explicit role in the acclaimed movie "Lust, Caution."

China's State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) recently demanded local stations cease airing ads starring Tang, including skin care commercials for cosmetics brand Pond's, which local media have linked to her sexually explicit and politically sensitive role in "Lust."

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympics in August, China has moved to crack down on broadcasters, Web sites and print media showing sexually explicit content.
"I think the (Chinese) film authority understands an actor's place," Leung said after picking up the best actor award at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Monday night. "Our work is only to express our roles and I don't think that an actor should be blacklisted because of this."

He said the entire film crew including himself had a shared responsibility to bear any controversy generated by the film. "If a film has problems, then the whole (film production) crew should have a responsibility. We are a team and not an individual, and I'm a part of this team," said Leung at a post-award media conference.

Tang, 28, lost out on the best actress award at the Asian Film Awards for her debut performance in "Lust, Caution." She played a student activist who seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese spy during Japan's World War Two occupation of Shanghai.

The film's Oscar-winning director Ang Lee earlier expressed "regret" that Tang had been hurt by the blacklist decision.

(Reporting by James Pomfret; editing by Mary Gabriel)

credits to Reuters

I'm not so surprised to hear about this since I am one of the few conservative people who still exist in this progressive world. I know I have said that I would not watch "Lust, Caution" but I still could not resist. Not that I could not resist the "scene" *__^ but because I was missing Tony. I'm very much anticipated for the release of "Red Cliff" because I have not watched Tony onscreen for quite some time already. I always like the war strategy in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and so I believe "Red Cliff" will be a great movie. While waiting for the movie, I got a chance to watch "Lust, Caution" that I found it hard to pass it up when it was right in front of me.

After watching the movie, I must speak my regrets. I really should not have watched it. No, it does not ruin my fondness for Tony because I have seen him in love scenes before. However, the ones in this movie are BAD; not one, but TWO! The scenes are so sexually provocative that I find it unbelievable that Tony and Tang Wei agreed to film this movie. Call me conservative, outdated, whatever, but I still say these scenes were unnecessary. Now I totally understand what Andy Lau meant when he said that he would not be able to film such scenes. If it wasn't for the big names of Ang Lee and Tony Leung, would "Lust, Caution" be considered pornography? I would say yes. However, with Tang Wei being the only person who is being punished from filming the movie whereas Tony is grabbing awards for the same performance, I find it very unjustified. My best wishes are with her. I believe she won't be severely affected by this incident and will even gain better recognition in the near future.

Frankie & Kenix at Lydia Shum's Memorial

2008-03-03T11:50:00.003-05:00

February of 2008 was such a memorable month for the Hong Kong showbiz. First was the tabooed scandal, then Jackie Chan's father's passing & Jacky Cheung's grandmother's, the departure of Lydia, and the snow storm in China with artists lending a helping hand.

Rest in Peace, Mrs. Lydia Shum!

Image Source: Tungstar

No Justice For All

2008-02-29T20:41:00.016-05:00

Starring: Kenny Ho Kar King, Kenix Kwok, Jin Chao Chun

No Justice For All was the very first movie that Kenix made in her early showbiz days. She and Kenny looked very compatible since both have the looks and the talent. This was, and is still a very rare movie that it's almost impossible find it anywhere. I've been looking all over the internet, the video stores, etc... but there was NO WAY that I could find it. Luck only started to smile with me "YAY!" when a fan uploaded the movie online for others to watch. Many fans were THRILLED because we really thought that we would never get a chance to watch this early work of Kenix. I was especially disappointed because I would love to watch Kenix and Kenny as a couple. Who wouldn't love Kenny as Zhan Zhao in the Taiwanese/ATV classic Judge Pao? Perhaps due to the tremendous popularity of the Judge Pao series, NJFA is like a movie version of it. It reunites the main casts of Judge Pao with Kenix's story being "the case."

The story starts when Kenny, being a talented lawyer, just wins a case in the court. He's eating in a restaurant with a colleague to celebrate and meets Kenix there. She introduces herself as a hairstylist and gives him her business card. He then goes to the salon to have his hair done. While Kenix is doing his hair, she receives a phone call from her brother who needs her to bail him out from the police station. He and another friend go to a convenient store and the cashier is not there to check them out. Suddenly, a man comes out from the back of the store with blood all over his body and falls dead on the floor. These two boys are too scared that they run out of the store and bump into a few CIDs who are on their way in. The police see the dead body and understandbly assume that the boys must have done something. They chase after the two boys and only Kenix's brother is caught. In the police station, the CIDs interrogate the boy and conclude that he's the murderer. Without the boy's confession, they start to beat him up (I guess this happened back then) until he admits the crime. The whole interrogation process takes hours and finally the boy gives in to the brutality and comes near the window. Pardon my memory on this part because I have seen this movie quite a while ago. I think the police push him out the window and threaten to throw him down if he doesn't admit the crime but he ends up falling down anyway. This part seems unrealistic because it's hard to believe that the police, even back then, would go to such extent to crave out a confession. Nevertheless, the boy is dead and fortunately, there are two people who witness the whole scene. One is a very young school boy who is about six or seven years old, and the other one appears to be a resigned policeman. There is also an evidence because when the brother is about to fall down, he is too terrified that he grabs on to a CID's necklace.

Kenix as a sister comes to the place and sees that her brother is lying dead on the top of a car. When she still hasn't seen her brother's body yet, the school boy pulls her aside and tells her that he has seen the policemen pushing this young man down from high above. Kenix decides to sue those 3 CIDs and hires Kenny to help her with the case. Kenny has recently joined a law firm and his boss played by Jin Chao Chun (Judge Pao) also agrees to take on the case. As easy as it might seem, the case starts to get real complicated mainly because the lawyer on the opposite side is a filthy talent. First, the police department will not cooperate because they know that revealing the truth about using violence during interrogation will damage the Hong Kong police's reputation. Second, the school boy is unqualified to be a witness because he is too young. The resigned policeman also refuses to appear in court because he fears revenge by the CIDs (this part might be erroneous due to my rusty memory). Kenix and Kenny then have to search for the friend of her brother who is in hiding but that doesn't help either. In addition, the CID with the necklace claims it was lost before this incident happens. In order to make Kenny continue with the case, Kenix lies to him by claiming that she sees the CIDs pushing her brother down with her own eyes. Her testimony is then proven false by the other lawyer due to the inconsistent timing and that she has been diagnosed with mental illness a few years back and thus, her words are not reliable. In the end, the court rules in favor of the CIDs and they walk out the court freely right under the blind-folded Statue of Justice. I guess it's because she's blind-folded ^__*. Overjoyed by the victory, the CID with the necklace walks over to Kenix and whispers in her ear that he did push her brother down and will do it again if given another chance. Enraged by the inequitable verdict, Kenix decides to take the law into her own hands. Taking advantage of the crowded and busy atmosphere, Kenix uses Kenny's car and aims to hit that CID at full speed. As the man is dying on the street with reporters snapping pictures, Kenix contentedly steps out of the car with Kenny running towards her. He asks her if she has gone mad and that she can go to prison for this, she calmly answers him, "Don't you worry. I will tell them that I'm mentally unsound."

NJFA is overall a good movie and Kenix's & Kenny's appearances only spice it up. Even though the cause that leads to all this mess is somewhat unreasonable, the court case and the evidences that follow it are properly presented. It does make sense that the police department would not want to lose reputation, that the school boy is too young to testify in court, that the necklace is claimed to have been lost long before the incident, etc... The best part about this movie, of course, is the collaboration of Kenix and Kenny. Both are beautiful actors and both are on my favorite list. Even though their love story is overshadowed by the court case, it still manages to shine. It is because of his feelings for Kenix that Kenny agrees to take on the case and continues with it to the end, even when he knows they will lose. They have many scenes together for the need to discuss the case and thus show sufficient chemistry. Too bad that they only worked together this one time and later went their very separate ways: Kenny in Taiwan and Kenix in Hong Kong, thus leaving no chance for another collaboration.

Poster image: www.kenixkwok.net

Tony Leung in the Mood for Marriage

2008-02-25T16:38:00.002-05:00

Tony Leung says marriage with longtime girlfriend Carina Lau in the works

HONG KONG - Cannes best-actor winner Tony Leung Chiu-wai said Monday he hopes to find time this year to wed his longtime girlfriend, Carina Lau, in between promoting his new film and preparing for his next role. Leung and Lau, both based in Hong Kong, are among the Chinese entertainment world's most closely watched couples.

"I'm getting up there in age. It's time to consider marriage . . . I'm in my 40s. I can't wait until I'm 60," Leung said as he joked with reporters on the sidelines of a news conference to promote Entertainment Expo Hong Kong, an event to promote the territory's film industry. Leung said that the wedding has been in the works for many years, but that the two have had a difficult time co-ordinating their busy schedules.

"Even though the Hong Kong movie industry has gone through a recession, it's still quite vibrant. I'm very busy," he said. "Let's see if we're luckier this year and can find a date."He said work commitments this year include promoting John Woo's Chinese historical epic "Red Cliff," which he just finished shooting. He'll also prepare for his next role as Bruce Lee's kung fu master, Ip Man, in famed Hong Kong art-house director Wong Kar-wai's planned biopic.

Leung is known for playing subdued characters like the melancholy writer who had a love affair with a married woman in "In the Mood for Love." That performance won him best-actor honours at France's Cannes Film Festival in 2000.

Credits: The Associated Press, Prince George Citizen

Kenix at Hacken Lee's New Year Concert

2008-02-25T13:12:00.011-05:00

Kenix is in a white shirt in the front row.

It's so nice to see Kenix almost always attending Hacken's concerts to support her good friend. Until this day, I still did not understand how and why the reporters started those rumors about Kenix and Hacken a few years ago. For those who haven't heard of these rumors, it was said that Kenix and Hacken had been secretly dating for about 2-3 years, ever since their last collaboration in the Legal Entanglement series. Allegedly, Hacken's wedding with his current wife Emily had to be postponed due to these speculations.

If I remember correctly, during this time, there was not much news about Kenix because she had stopped accepting series from TVB. Then suddenly, I went on the internet one day and read news about her so-called affair with Hacken. I was shocked, not because they were an "item" but because the news seemed to pop out of nowhere. I was talking to my sister that why didn't they start this rumor right after the filming of Legal Entanglement; why now? I also think this was the reason Kenix did not attend Hacken's wedding to avoid causing more speculations. What a pity! If it wasn't for this, I'm sure she would've attended.

Anyway, it's nice to see them still being friends after those absurd rumors. In the clip, it's obvious that Hacken was surprised to see Kenix, so I guess she didn't get free tickets from him this time ^___^.

Video clip: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/wingshan/?action=view&current=18_02_2008.flv

Credit: www.kwokhoying.com
Thanks to mtd for the information.

Kenix Kwok's Valentines Day: No Sign of Husband Frankie Lam

2008-02-17T14:27:00.003-05:00

Kenix Kwok and Frankie Lam usually appear in a pair. Earlier Kenix was photographed to be celebrating Frankie Lam's birthday in a beautiful atmosphere. But last night Valentines Day, there was no sign of husband Frankie with Kenix. In contrast,there were 2 other female good friends accompanying Kenix for a meal in Central District. Although her husband wasn't there, but Kenix was still in a good mood. When she noticed reporters taking pictures of her, even turned around and smiled for pictures, she wasn't mad at all that she was being followed. As Kenix was in Mainland and received a bush of beautiful blue flowers, she was asked if her husband send it to her? She immediately smiles and only said: "Happy New Year!" as she got into her car.

Source: Oriental Daily

Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianeu.net/forums/
News taken from AsianFanatics
Kenix was in mainland earlier without Frankie? I thought she went there with him, along with Cheng Ming Ming? I thought they were visiting some poor place there with the children. Or maybe that was another event.

Kenix at Wedding of Ada Choi and Zhang Jin

2008-01-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

I'm THRILLED that Kenix finally decided to show up at a friend's celebration. She just seems to disappear for the whole year and has not been hanging out with celebrity friends for like forever. I was waiting to see her at Raymond Cho's wedding but I was upset that she did not attend; only Frankie did. And Raymond was among the best men at Kenix-Frankie wedding. I was praying that she would attend Ada's wedding because they were very close friends in the past. I have not seen many pictures of them in the recent years so I don't know how their friendship has developed. The last close pictures of Kenix and Ada were during At the Threshold of an Era days. My point is: ever since her wedding with Frankie, I barely see her with a friend. I was so desperate to see just one picture of her with any old pal but that still didn't happen. Gone were the days that this group of friends hung out together at both private and public events: Kenix, Monica Chan, Anita Lee, Athena Chu, Frankie Lam, Francis Ng, Noel Leung, Ada Choi, Kitty Lai, Lee San San, Gary Chan, etc... As I see, Athena, Kitty, and Catherine Hung were more of Ada's friends.

Despites of being called "a simple wedding," many celebrities attended Ada-Zhang Jin wedding. I see the familiar old pal faces such as Kenix (Yay!), Gary (but where's Noel? She was at Kenix's wedding), Athena-Catherine-Monica (& also Ada's assistant) as bridesmaids, Carol Yeung Ling, and Kitty Lai. From the "friends" group, I notice the absence of Anita Lee, Francis Ng, Noel Leung, Lee San San, and Jacqueline Law. Perhaps they were busy. Another piece of news said Jacqueline Law was present. Maybe I just didn't see her picture.

Other celebrities in attendance were Jessica Hsuan, Gigi Lai, Virginia Lok, Wong Hei, Joe Ma, Hacken Lee & wife, Liu Kai Chi and wife Money Chan, Ha Yu, Moses Chan, Nick Cheung, Flora Chan, Eileen Yeow, Charmaine Sheh, Timmy Hung, Paul (forgot last name, Athena's boyfriend), Shirley Yeung, Lawrence Ng, etc...

Ada looked very beautiful as a bride. Her simple white dress and cute floral on the head made her look very elegant and happy. Congratulations to Ada and Zhang Jin!!!

Images: tungstar, on.cc, ent.163

Credits to kuangaitvb.com, TVBVN Fan Club

Sword Stained with Royal Blood

2008-01-06T16:01:00.000-05:00

This is not a series review but it contains some spoilers. Read at your own risk!

SSWRB was a 20 episode series adapted from Jing Yong’s novel in 1986. It stars Felix Wong, Patricia Chong, Michael Miu, Lawrence Ng, Mou Shun Kwan, and the cameo faces at the time: Michael Tao, Francis Ng, & Bobby Au Yeung. I’ve always wanted to watch this series because I found Michael Miu and his mustache go well together. This is odd because I generally do not like men with mustache. I can tolerate beard (Tony Leung in the Grand Canal) but not mustache. Ok, enough with the facial hair before I go off topic.

As much as I was anticipated to watch another series of Felix & Michael together, I was disappointed to learn that Michael’s character dies before Felix’s appears. Michael only appears in more or less two episodes but his presence is worth every minute. Throughout the series, we’ll see him again and again as flashbacks but he’s no more than a guest star, like in The Two Honorable Knights. Michael looks very charming as usual even though unlike his other series, his costumes in here are very simple. If I remember correctly, he only has two costumes and they are all black and white. I believe it is because playing a character who only has vengeance in mind, Michael finds no need to dress dashingly. Even though his appearance is worth every minute, it is also painful for me to have to watch him pairing with older actresses. Michael’s character dies early, but we still see his women in the later generation, so I guess that’s why TVB chose older actresses. It’s such a pity that TVB couldn’t choose a more matching partner for him. His love story with one woman is short but sweet. It is because of her that he gives up his plan of vengeance and goes to his doom.

The main story is, of course, about Felix and his other story of vengeance. Kenneth Tsang plays his father, a very loyal general but is killed off for treason by the villain and the brainless emperor. Felix’s goal throughout the series is to help the rebels overthrow the emperor and then kill him and the villain to get revenge for his wrongfully accused father. Also unlike his other series, Felix looks very gallant in here. He dresses similarly to The Wild Bunch with very nice costumes and manages to look so fine. It is also the first time I see Felix hold a fan like a noble gentleman even though he only has it in the early episodes. His character has no extraordinary quality that makes him distinguished so it is a forgettable role and therefore, Felix’s performance is only passable.

The life of the whole show, to me, is no other than the naughty but adorable Patricia Chong. Michael & Felix were the reason I started on the series, but Patricia was the sole reason I kept on with it. Patricia was one of the few actresses who looked beautiful and adorable at the same time (e.g. Margie Tsang). Her character is also the most interesting. She plays the daughter of Michael & his fiancée but grows up as fatherless. She lives with her grandfather and great-uncles but they are no more or less thieves. All they do is kill and steal so they teach her to do the same. The first time she appears, she steals. In the third scene or so, we see her fight and kill other thieves. She likes Felix very quickly because he helps her fight off other thieves the first time they meet. Patricia looks very nice in here with many beautiful costumes. She looks beautiful as a girl and very handsome as a man when she dresses up like one. Her elegance as a male reminds me of Idy Chan dressing up as a man in the Grand Canal. Both actresses manage to look dashing in both.

By chance, Felix finds Michael’s cave and learns the martial arts in a book that he writes before he dies so his techniques won’t be lost. Michael also has a treasure map that now belongs to Felix, but whoever finds the treasure has to give a share to Patricia’s mother. When she learns of his death, she commits suicide & begs Felix to take good care of Patricia because Michael is, in a way, Felix’s sifu now. Felix agrees and from now on starts the adventures of the two. On their way to find the treasure, Felix & Patricia encounter various types of people and their problems, and are able to make friends as well as foes. While watching, I couldn’t help but notice that their partnership resembles Kwok Jing & Wong Yung from Legend of the Condor Heroes. Patricia is smart, mischievous, and likes to meddle into other people’s business, while Felix is the opposite. The differences are that Felix only treats Patricia as a sister and that both of them aren’t as smart or simple-minded as WY & KJ.

The only thing I despise about this series is that Felix does not return Patricia’s affection. He finds himself falling for the princess whose father he must kill. Mou Shun Kwan doesn’t look attractive and in my opinion, she’s a far cry from Patricia’s charms. Contradicting to the princess position, she only has about two dresses that she wears through out the series that you’ll wonder if she’ll ever change. I began to like the series when Felix & Patricia start the adventures together and how caring and protective he is towards her. I then started to dread at his love-at-first-sight scene with the princess and how he can’t stop loving her. I was hopeful, however, that because her father kills his father, he’ll realize that he can’t be with her and have a change of heart. I was completely beaten down when very near the end, he still loves her. I screamed and really wanted to smack him at the ending when he’s standing on the mountain, reminiscing about her & his closest friend’s death (Lawrence), and then going away. Patricia runs all over the mountains screaming his name but he is no where in sight. The series just ends like that. TVB just love to play with the audience in many “cruel” ways.

The series ends with Patricia and ME screaming! I was like “what?" At least I hoped it would end with Felix and Patricia together even if he doesn’t love her, because he still has to take care of her. Their relationship has developed so much that I don’t believe he can just leave her behind like that. I wonder how it really ends in the novel. Nonetheless, Felix & Patricia make a great couple. I just know four series that they were in together: Heaven’s Retribution, Soldier of Fortune, the Young Wanderer, and this one. The Yang’s Saga doesn’t count. But in all of them, they don’t end up together. In HR, Felix pairs with Jamie Chik; in YW, he pairs with Carina Lau; in SoF, they are lovers but she dies. Plus, I didn’t enjoy SoF because Tony still had a minor role even though he looked absolutely adorable while Kent played the bad guy. I didn’t finish the series but I did watch the part that Patricia’s character died.

Watch it or forget it: well, hard to say. If you are a fan of the 80s & 90s like me, you’ll probably want to give it a try since it’s so nice to watch the real talents of the old days. Even though the plot is forgettable, watching Felix, Patricia, & Michael was well worth the time.

Images: credits to Felix Wong Ancient Series Homepage

Some captures done by me.

Tony Leung's Psychology

2008-01-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

Tony Leung: Lust actually

Tony Leung is best known for playing a repressed lover in 'In the Mood for Love'. But in Ang Lee's latest film he's finally unleashed his sexuality. And it feels great, he tells Stephen Applebaum.

Tony Leung is one of Asia's biggest and best-loved stars. He is also one of its most versatile. In his acclaimed body of work with the mercurial film-maker Wong Kar-wai, he is as at home in the martial-arts world of Ashes of Time as in the Sixties Hong Kong of their international breakthrough, the dreamily romantic In the Mood for Love.

Able to make silences speak volumes with just his melancholy eyes, Leung became the ideal avatar of Wong's impressionistic style. Now teamed with the Oscar-winning Taiwanese director Ang Lee, the actor gives one of his strongest performances in Lust, Caution, subverting the good-guy image that he cultivated with Kar-wai. However, it is probably not Leung's acting masterclass that has been pulling in the crowds in Asia. More than likely, it is the film's seven minutes of graphic sex (although not in mainland China, where the scenes have been excised by the censor), the fleshy frankness of which has been generating shock and surprise ever since Lust, Caution's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September.

This was Leung's first opportunity to view the finished film. "I think I did a great job," he said afterwards, apparently unfazed by the gobsmacked reactions on the Lido. "When I saw it the first time, I tried to focus on myself to see how I did as that character. The second time I watched it, I saw the whole movie, and I think it's great." Did he expect his fans back home to be as tolerant? "I'm curious about how they'll respond," he admits. "I think they expect me to change. They expect me to give them something different in every movie."
This may well be so. I am just not sure that the 45-year-old star appearing naked in highly charged scenes of explicit – though not pornographic – sex is the kind of "different" anyone had in mind.

Based on a short story by the respected Chinese author Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution offers a handsomely presented tale of patriotism, espionage, love, betrayal and revenge, set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the Second World War. Newcomer Tang Wei is a star-in-the-making as Wong Chia Chi, an idealistic student who becomes the lynchpin in a plot by radicals to assassinate Leung's traitorous secret-service chief, Mr Yee. As the honeytrap draws the pair closer together, brutal rape gives way to tenderness and love, creating a conflict between will and duty.

When I meet Leung to discuss the film, it appears that even he was astonished by how far Lee wanted to go with the sex. Speaking softly, in Chinese-accented English, he says that the director was coy when they first met. "He didn't mention much at all," Leung says, laughing. "I was quite curious about why he always said, 'There's a love scene.' I said, 'How come you always emphasise this love scene? I do a lot of movies that have love scenes.' Ang said, 'There's a love scene.' I said, 'OK, love scenes are fine for me.' "After three months, when we had to do some rehearsals before shooting, he told me that we were going to do love scenes this way." Leaving little to the imagination, that is. "I said, 'This way? Er, OK. Let's try'." The surprise is still evident in his voice.

Lee says that he found the scenes "extremely painful" to shoot because of the trust he commanded from the actors. Leung is more relaxed, however. "Doing love scenes is always difficult without a strong emotional background. But I think the love scenes in this movie are not just trying to show the bodies of the actors, they're trying to reflect the inner accents of the characters. So it's easier that way." Asked if he did anything to help the less experienced Wei get through them, Leung's reply seems cold. "I didn't have time to help her. I was just trying to help myself."

The hardest aspect of Lust, Caution for him, though, was trying to strip away his usual persona to find something darker and more masculine. Under Lee's guidance, Leung watched films starring Marlon Brando, Richard Burton and Humphrey Bogart, and pored over history books about the Japanese occupation and biographies of secret agents. "I learnt how they functioned and how they worked; I needed to see a lot of documentaries to see how they talked, their gestures, and how they walked.

"Ang wanted me to be a different Tony Leung because the audience is familiar with what I've done before, so I had to change everything. It was very tough. Ang taught me to walk like his father. So my character actually walks like his father."

Leung is well known for immersing himself in his roles. He will take a script home and read it until he has explored every nuance. He does not just act a character, he lives it. Inhabiting Yee's darkness for months on end was difficult, the actor admits. "It was exhausting. Sometimes you just lost your appetite. You're always down. You're always very unhappy. You carry this character. It's very tough. But this is a new experience for me, and I think I had a breakthrough in my career."

Acting has always been more than just a job to Leung. When he entered acting training at the Chinese television channel TVB, aged 19, following a spell selling household appliances, he was painfully shy and reserved. As a child, he had watched his parents bicker constantly, and between the ages of three and six, his father – a captain at a nightclub – had left home three times, finally for good. "Suddenly, one day, he'd just leave and then maybe he'd come back six months later without telling you why, and then he'd disappear again after a year," Leung recalls. "It's very difficult to understand when you're three or five years old, so you just don't know how to handle it." He never met his father again. "He passed away a few years ago. I know he tried to see me, but my mother didn't want me to see him."

No one in the family talked about what was happening, he says. "In the Sixties, it wasn't that common for people to divorce, so I felt very bad. My mother didn't know how to tell us. And she needed to work because we needed money to live." Leung withdrew into himself. "I shut down all my emotions, I wasn't talkative, I didn't know how to communicate; I just tried to separate myself from people."

Acting provided an outlet for his bottled-up emotions. "I could cry behind a character, I could shout behind a character, and that kind of relief was fun." Acting became an addiction, something he needed. Gradually, though, as he has found other ways of expressing himself, the therapeutic element became less important. "I've enjoyed it more and more in recent years," he says, "because it's more than just using it as an outlet for my emotions or what I suffer. I enjoy doing movies now. That's the only thing I'm really concerned about now, working with really great film-makers, great partners, great actors. It's fun. It's exciting."

It appears he can't get enough of that excitement. Instead of taking a break after Lust, Caution, he moved straight on to Red Cliff, John Woo's historical epic set during the Hang Dynasty, which is being touted as the most expensive film ever produced in China. "It's very tough because it's a war movie and there are lots of people every day," says Leung. "You need an hour for a take because we have a lot of costumes to wear. The weather is very hot and we wear winter costumes, because the war happens in wintertime, and we have to wear armour weighing 20lb."
Already a huge star in Asia, it is surely only a matter of time before the Hong Kong-based actor makes his English-language debut in the West. But despite offers from Hollywood, Leung says he is not in any hurry to head to America. He would like to make at least one film there, but is certainly not looking to increase his fame. "I don't have any privacy anymore and I hate that. And besides work, I just want to be an ordinary person, not to be recognised, not to look like a monkey on the street, with everyone staring at you."

Leung reveals that he and Kar-wai are likely to reunite in 2008 for a project about Bruce Lee's kung-fu master. "We planned to do it five years ago, but I felt quite bored with him," he admits. "We'd been working together for over 10 years, so we needed a break."

It will be interesting to see what emerges. Kar-wai's films are notorious for beginning as one thing and ending up as another. "Maybe it's not a kung-fu movie at all," says Leung, laughing. "Maybe it's another movie about walking on the streets and smoking cigarettes. No more kung fu."

News source: Belfast Telegraph
Images: credits to respective owners.

TVB Top Ten Highest Rated Serials

2007-12-28T22:03:00.000-05:00

TVB 2007 Top 10 Series (Based on average rating)

1) The Family Link - Average 32.4
2) Fathers and Sons - Average 32.3
3) Heart of Greed - Average 32
4) Ten Brothers - Average 31.3
5) On the First Beat - Average 31.2
6) The Green Grass of Home - Average 30.8
7) Steps - Average 30.4
8) The Drive of Life - Average 30.3
9) War and Destiny - Average 29.7
10) Men Don't Cry - Average 29.4

TVB 2007 Lowest 3 Series (Based on average rating)
1) Life Art - Average 26.6
2) Best Bet - Average 27.2
3) The Conquest - Average 27.3

Source: Ming Pao Daily
Credits: asianfanatics

Congrats to Kenix, Frankie, & Sunny for making it to the top ten list! From the list, I have only finished watching Ten Brothers & the Green Grass of Home. I started on Heart of Greed and War & Destiny but did not have time to finish. I watched WAD solely because of Sunny but i really dislike his mustache. Despites of the fact that Sunny is the lead, Ron Ng has way much more screen time so I gave up on the series. I like Ron as a new actor, but him appearing more often than Sunny, no way! I was attracted to the star-studded cast so I gave the Drive of Life a chance but it's so boring even at the first episode. Michael Miu was really charming and funny; Jessica had a different role instead of her usual strong character; Damian gave a strong performance as always. However, that's not enough to save the whole boring & draggy plot. I watched here and there and then totally gave up on the series.

I know everybody has been saying this for countless times, but I still want to say it again: TVB is going downhill. As of right now, I only look forward to Catch Me Now and Forensic Heroes II for the sake of Idy Chan and Frankie Lam.

Randomness on My Favorite Artists

2007-12-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

Kenix's recent appearance on Dec. 8. There is no news apparently. She just keeps appearing here & there but won't mention anything about coming back. *sign...* Her outfit is nice & she looks pretty overall. However, I still don't like outfits that have animal prints. I don't know if it's just me, but she doesn't look as horribly skinny as before, which is a good thing. Hope to see her back soon!

I was watching random videos on youtube last night and came across this picture. It was from Secrets of the Heart's Special. In the show, I guessed [for I had no clue what they were saying] Nick Cheung & Gallen Lo were going around interviewing fans and celebrities for their opinions about the series, and Kenix happened to be one of them. She was filming Till When Do Us Part with Lawrence Ng. What a pleasant surprise!!! I really love this picture because Kenix & Nick had only two pictures taken together and both have Ada Choi on them. I really like Nick as an actor and wish that Kenix can collaborate with him. I totally love his villainous role in SOH, especially the very last dying scene of his. Gosh, he was so wicked, even in death. I bought the series because of him being the villain and Sunny Chan, but I ended up loving only Nick's character instead. I wonder what Kenix said that gave him such a smile *___^.

Catch Me Now is my beloved Idy's first comeback to the small screen after 14 years. Besides Damian Lau, I'm quite disappointed with the casting but whatever. As long as I can see my Idy onscreen again, it's worth it. Joe Ma is a wonderful actor but too bad his villainous roles were too convincing that his "bad" image already sank into my mind. I just can't accept him as the good guy. Fala Chan, hm..., before I even know who she is, she already won Best Supporting Actress Award at 2007 TVB anniversary. TVB is going to get worse before it can get better.

Anyway, I really hope that this series will achieve satisfactory ratings to boost Idy's popularity. Many veterans had come back to the small screen recently and most of them were successful, namely Michelle Mei Suet in the Brink of Law, Lee Si Kei in Heart of Greed, and Michael Miu in the Academy. Hopefully luck will smile at Idy with open arms!

Mr. Leung Chiu Wai won another Golden Horse - Best Actor for his superb acting ability. I might be wrong but it looks like he did not attend the award ceremony since I couldn't find any picture of him. I guess he has won so many Best Actor awards that he gets tired of coming to the ceremony ^__^. I don't think I'll watch this movie because of "the scene." I get really uncomfortable watching my favorite artists performing such acts, so I rather avoid them. It was bad enough for me to watch him in a love scene with Leslie Cheung from Happy Together. By the way, both actors were amazing in this movie. No wonder Tony had won a Best Actor award for this role.

Image Sources:

kfc4ever.org
ronng.net

Alternative Film Guide

HK Artists Featured on Poker Cards

2007-12-08T21:15:00.000-05:00

ent.163 opened a poll for the audience to choose TVB/HK artists that they would support, and the top 54 artists with the highest votes were selected to appear in a deck of Poker Cards.

I totally love this idea. The illustrations of the artists are very pretty and unique in a cute way. I'm so glad most of my favorite actors & actresses made it to the list, including those who have been neglected/underpromoted by TVB for quite a number of years, such as Sunny Chan, Deric Wan, Frankie Lam, etc...

If Idy Chan was featured, it would be 100% perfect for me. I wonder if she was nominated on the list. Seeing all the four Tigers making it to the set, I'm sadden by the fact that Kent is never as popular. Regarding the Heavenly Kings, it's curious that Leon Lai made it to the list while Aaron Kwok didn't. I always thought they are about equal in popularity and talent.

Despites the drawbacks, I'm quite happy that Kenix made it to the 10th position, leading most other female fadans except for Esther Kwan. Congratulations to all the winners! I'm looking forward to buying this deck of cards ^__^

Ranking based on votes:

1. Liza Wang

2. Angie Chiu

3. Adam Cheng

4. Andy Lau

5. Hon Kuan Ting

6. Chow Yun Fatt

7. Esther Kuan

8. Chilam Cheung

9. Leon Lai

10. Kenix Kwok

11. Damien Lau

12. Roger Kwok

13. Nnadia Chan

14. Kwong Wah

15. Steven Ma

16. Frankie Lam

17. Deric Wan

18. Maggie Cheung

19. Maggie Siu

20. Bosco Wong

21. Eddie Cheung

22. Louis Koo

23. Tony Leung

24. Bobby Au Yeung

25. Stephen Chow

26. Barbara Yung

27. Jessica Hsuan

28. Kathy Chow

29. Maggie Cheung

30. Charmaine Sheh

31. Ho Bou Sang

32. Ada Choi

33. Gigi Lai

34. Sheren Tang

35. Michael Tse

etc.

Source: http://ent.163.com/special/00032G6R/tvb_poker.html

I Weekly Magazine Top 10 HK Actresses - Kenix in 7th Place

2007-11-21T19:46:00.000-05:00

Kenix wins 7th place among the Top Ten TVB Actresses conducted by the I Weekly Magazine in Singapore. i'm happy, & kinda surprised, that she still wins a place in this poll after a year hiatus. Anyway, congrats to our beloved Kenix for she's still loved by many.

It's refreshing to see Ada here, because it seems like she rarely wins any popular votes. Jessica tops the chart as usual. Here is the list of the female winners:

1st-Jessica Hsuan
2nd-Charmaine Sheh
3rd-Myolie Wu
4th-Lee Sze Kei
5th-Bernice Liu
6th-Ada Choi
7th-Kenix Kwok
8th-Sheren Tang
9th-Linda Chung
10th-Gigi Lai

Credits: http://asianfanatics.net & Jessica's Bravenet forum

Kenix Kwok at Vagheggi Promotion

2007-11-12T19:41:00.001-05:00

Stunning Kenix Kwok Wows The Crowd
Emma Lam

Kenix Kwok wore an elegant black dress to take part in the press conference for her sponsors Vagheggi slimming, showing off her shoulder and beautiful figure for the media.
To mark the brand's eighth anniversary, a cake was presented for Kenix and company executives to blow out the candles. She was so excited and happy, it seemed like it was actually her birthday. Kenix has been relaxing recently as she takes her time in selecting her next project.

credits to Em for the translation.
image: tungstar

Kenix's birthday is coming up, actually. She does look pretty, but not as gorgeous as the event from yesterday (below). She wore 2 black dresses 2 days in a row. They're elegant & classy though.

Kenix Kwok at Sina Awards Ceremony

2007-11-11T23:56:00.000-05:00

Nov. 11, 2007

The 5th South-East Music Chart Awards at Fuzhou's Fujian was held in grandeur on the night of 10th November 2007. Angela Zhang, Fish (Jasmine) Leung, Jeff Chang, Ah Du, Victor Wong, Penny Tai, Mayday, 183 Club, 5566, Peter Ho, Evan Yo and several more singers were present at this event.

Every celebrity in their glamorous attire strolled down the red carpet to enter the venue of the event, each with their unique makeover. Every celebrity autographed on the lucky charm (a soft toy) and also penned down their wishes.

The awards ceremony began at 7:30pm sharp, the event was segmented into five parts: the beginning, the maturing, the transformation, the gains, the touching. At each segment, after revealing the results for each award, popular singers will perform a song: Jeff Chang, Angela Zhang, Fish Leung, Penny Tai all entertained the crowd with their respective song. Mayday, 5566, 183 Club, Korean artist Lee Jung Hyun, Nam Hyun Joon, also performed dance and sang for the crowd. TVB fa dans Nadia Chan, Kenix Kwok, Sheren Tang, Michelle Ye, Monica Chan were also present to give away awards.

Ray Ma and Li Na both won Mainland's most popular male / female singers award respectively while best male / female singer awards went to Pang Lung and Jing Sha. Wu Ke Qun and Angela Zhang became Hong Kong's most popular male / female singers, while Jeff Chang and Fish Leung were the most explosive male / female singers. Vision was the year's most voted singer. The event will be re-played on 11th November at 19:35pm.

Kenix looks absolutely stunning in the pictures. i wonder if she has met up with old friend Monica Chan for a chat? it's been a long time since i last saw her with a friend.

Credits: Michelle Ye's Realm
Source: Tom Music
Image: Sina

Kenix Kwok Enjoys Her Leisurely Lifestyle

2007-10-18T19:13:00.001-04:00

18 October 2007
Emma Lam

Kenix Kwok was a guest at the Sisters Pictorial Beauty Pro awards 2007 on 15 October 2007. Other guests included Tracy Ip and Niki Chow.

Tracy received the award for the female artiste with the most perfect skin and she wore a low cut dress and about HK$600,000 worth of diamonds to receive her award. Asked how she keeps her skin looking so good, Tracy replied that she will drink a glass of warm water every morning and watch her diet. She will be taking on a spokesmodel job for a health food brand shortly, which she tried out for herself. She found that it reduced the size of her pores, so she is recommending it to her friends. Niki was one of the judges for the event and she said that she has been busy putting on weight recently, but has not been very successful and has had to resort to waking up at night to eat cup noodles.

Kenix was asked about the problems that she and husband Frankie Lam were having with their builders. She said that they have already issued a solicitor's letter to the company. She pointed out that they had wanted to handle the situation peacefully, but it was not possible in the end and their lawyer had pointed out that there had been too many mistakes. However, she added that they were not bad people and she was simply looking for fair treatment after paying for an incomplete job.

Asked if she felt that the builders were being difficult because they were celebrities, Kenix said she did not think this was the case and it was just down to their inability to complete the work. She complained about the inconvenience of living in a hotel: "We were not desperate to move out of the old house, but we never thought the work would take this long." She refuted rumours that they had to sell up to raise money for the new house, saying that the reason they did not rent out their old house was because they got a good price and did not want the hassle of dealing with tenants.

Asked about her work, Kenix said that she has a few scripts that she is reading, but has not accepted yet because she is still resting. She is enjoying the leisurely lifestyle, so she is in no rush and can wait for the right script to come along. She said that TVB have not sent her any scripts and she has not confirmed anything with ATV yet.

credits to http://www.batgwa.com/news.php
image: ON.CC

Frankie & Kenix sought legal action against interior design company

2007-10-16T23:26:00.001-04:00

Frankie Lam Shocks Linda Chung With A Kiss

16 October 2007

Emma Lam

Frankie Lam and Linda Chung were filming in a Tsimshatsui wedding studio for TVB series Forensic Heroes 2 today in a scene where they were trying on their wedding outfits. The scene told of how they suddenly feel very loving towards each other and share a kiss, but when Frankie kissed Linda, she looked a little shocked.

Frankie revealed that the storyline is quite tragic and even his wife Kenix Kwok was quite overwhelmed when she read his script. He said that this is the series in which he has to cry the most - even on the first day of filming, he had to cry for four hours with just an inanimate object as his co-star. However, he is not worried about becoming unable to detach himself from the character afterwards. Frankie and Linda have worked before on the first Forensic Heroes series and he still finds her to be quite an innocent young lady, just with a little more colour added now.

Having recently bought new home, Frankie is threatening legal action against his interior design company because they have missed the deadline for completion of the work on his house. He said that a lot of the original designs have changed and there is a third of the work that is not complete, but the firm seem to be pushing the responsibility back onto Kenix. He said that he plans to use another company to complete the work and in the meantime, he and Kenix have no choice but to stay in a hotel.

Linda responded her description of being innocent with a little colour, saying that she agreed with Frankie. She indicated that she lacked self-confidence in the past and when she filmed the first series, her acting was quite poor and she was not brave enough to chat to Frankie. It was only after she built up the courage to let herself go that she became more assertive and expressed her opinions if things were not right. As for why she looked shocked during this scene, Linda said that the script changed at the last minute and the kiss was originally planned to be on the face and not on the lips, but the director wanted it to be more intimate. She said that for a husband and wife to kiss each other on the lips is a natural thing, but she was too busy trying on the dress to check the script.

credits to http://www.batgwa.com/news.php

image: tungstar and Sudden Weekly

Sunny Chan's philosophies about why he likes acting

2007-10-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

Sunny Chan Kam Hung advocates going green and philosophises about why he likes acting.

"Hello, good morning!” chirped Sunny Chan Kam Hung as he strolled in for a recent interview in Kuala Lumpur. Dressed in a red shirt and white pants, the Hong Kong actor was in a very good mood. He had recently become the proud father of a healthy baby boy born on May 2. And lately, he’s been a stay-at-home dad like Kot Kok-kong in Just Love (Lou Poh Dai Yan).“

After Yuin Loi Zhi Yau Gei (The Green Grass of Home) in late April till now, I've been on a break from filming. My wife was about to give birth so, I took three months off to be with her and help care for my baby boy,” revealed the actor who was in town to promote TVB titles to be shown on NTV7. Happily married to Ada To, Chan refused kissing scenes with his co-stars, Christine Ng Wing Mei and Suki Chui Suk Man, during the filming of The Green Grass of Home to avoid upsetting his then-pregnant wife.

Following this, Chan will begin filming Dai Dong Gua (Big White Gourd) produced by Poon Ka Tak who did Sui Yuet Fung Wan (Driveof Life)and Sap Hing Dai (Ten Brothers). “Big White Gourd is like a prequel to Ten Brothers. It’s a fairytale, about how good begets good.” He has been cast as a farmer who unearths a big white gourd with a magical copper gong inside.“Just strike the gong and your wishes will be granted. It’s actually the Chinese version of Aladdin’s lamp,” he continued with a laugh.

Environmentally-conscious at heart and in practice, Chan portrayed the eco-friendly Choi Ka-sing in The Green Grass of Home, which revolved around environmental concerns and organic foods. The series, which reflected healthy lifestyles, achieved high ratings and was well received as it dealt with current issues close to people’s hearts.

In real life, the actor is probably even more dedicated to reducing his carbon footprint. The 1.77m-tall actor revealed that the character was modelled after him. “It’s a lifestyle, an attitude. He tries not to be wasteful. What this means is when a person does something, he expends effort. So, being wasteful means you’ve squandered another’s efforts. Similarly, wasting the earth’s resources means squandering the earth’s efforts.” The youthful-looking 40-year-old also tries his best to conserve energy and reduce chemical usage. “In Hong Kong, if I can reach somewhere in 30 minutes on foot, then I won’t drive. That’s why people always say that I walk. I treat it as exercise. It’s good for health. Also, I rarely go shopping. Because what I have is adequate. So, I’ve no need to shop. Except for work, when there is a need to purchase new garments or cosmetics. The most is I’ll go marketing. I buy fresh produce every day and cook my meals at home,’ laughed the new father. “I also try to avoid the use of chemicals; they’re bad for health. Even for washing, I try to use less detergent. I try not to rely on the air-conditioning either. If it’s hot day, I’ll take a cool shower.”

Love for acting

Chan graduated from The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts in 1990. Since then, he has filmed close to 40 TVB serials and over 20 movies. Although Chan has played a great variety of roles, he still maintains a healthy interest in acting.

“Acting is an occupation that makes me like myself more. Through acting, I improve myself, and change for the better. Before, the process involved modifying my technique and developing my skill. Now through acting, I improve myself as a human being.

“For The Green Grass of Home, I took some parts of myself and put them into Choi Ka-sing, with the hope of making a positive impact on the audience. Hence, I began to like myself more because of these good points, which others reacted positively to.”

Chan is mostly cast in good guy roles, in his own words “nine out of ten”, not that he’s complaining. But, there is a role he’d really look forward to? “I’d like to portray a military man. A soldier who would sacrifice anything for his country ... even his family. How heroic! Only in movies will I get to experience this, never in real life.”

The actor also tried his hand at running a business. Although it was profitable, he was not happy.“Three years ago, I opened a restaurant. But now, I’m no longer interested in such things. I want to focus on my family. To be an actor, to care for my family and run a business ... it’s not possible to do them all well at the same time.” So, why did he make that choice? He could have forgone acting and chosen the business instead.

“It wasn’t enjoyable. Doing business is no fun. It’s very boring. Many things happen every day, but they’re repetitive, unlike acting, where every day is different. As an actor, I have a status. I am an artiste. I am an artisan/craftsman. I can influence society. I can move the community to advance. But, doing business is different. It slowly distorted my perception of others. I began to measure others’ worth with money. The more they spent at my restaurant, the better I’d treat them. And, I didn’t bother with those who didn’t give me business. I began to dislike myself because of this. After a year, I wanted to stop. But I couldn’t since I promised my business partners, so I had to continue.”

At first, he thought if the business became profitable, he would open branch after branch, next in Shanghai, then in Beijing.“After one year, I didn’t think like that any more. I had to make sure there was profit, split the gains among shareholders, and ensure they didn’t make a loss.“When my wife became pregnant and I was to become a father, I felt it was time to tell them I wanted out. Finally, they all agreed to stop and we sold the business for more profit. So, if you ask me now whether I’d want to run a business, I’d say no. I want to continue being an actor.”

Source: StarTwoCredits

SETO KIT YAN @ The Star Online eCentral

News taken from http://asianfanatics.net

Kenix & Frankie went to dinner with family

2007-09-27T17:54:00.000-04:00

Source: www.tom.com, the Sun, Orientaldaily.
Pictures reposted by Miki at TVBVNFC

Tony Leung's interview with Comingsoon.net

2007-09-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

Exclusive: Chinese Superstar Tony Leung
Source: Edward Douglas
Credits to http://www.comingsoon.net/
Image credits to respective owners
September 24, 2007

Some day, everyone in the United States--particularly the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences--will recognize China's Tony Leung as one of the greatest dramatic actors of our times. He was amazing in Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love and 2046, originated Leonardo DiCaprio's role in Martin Scorsese's The Departed in the original Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs, and who can forget his romantic role opposite Maggie Cheung in Zhang Yimou's masterful epic Hero?

With his latest movie, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, Leung is one step closer to Hollywood, although it's another Chinese language period piece like the ones Leung has done so well in the past. Set in World War II Shanghai, Leung plays a Chinese politician collaborating with the invading Japanese, who has an affair with a pretty young woman (newcomer Tang Wei) who happens to be a mole for a group of young revolutionaries who plan to assassinate him.

It was thrilling that ComingSoon.net finally had a chance to meet and interview this amazing actor, especially to learn that he was such a pleasant and gracious person to talk to, and also that he spoke perfect English, which isn't always the case with Chinese filmmakers and actors we interview.

ComingSoon.net: Is the book on which "Lust, Caution" based very well known in China?

Tony Leung: I think Eileen Chang is a very well known writer in the 20th Century. In that period of time, she's very well known.

CS: When was it first published?

Leung: (To his manager) When was it published?

Leung's Manager: The book was not published until 30 years after (WWII). I think in the '70s or '80s. Ang would have more accurate information, but she wrote it some time earlier and kept revising it and published it thirty years later. It's only 28 pages.

CS: How was it received when it first came out? Was it controversial?

Leung's Manager: It was not known to be one of her best known books, because she has many very famous books. This is something that was published as a short story within a longer book.

Leung: And the most interesting thing is she's been writing this short story for ten years.

CS: So you'd read the story and were familiar with it?
Leung: Mmm. Ang gave me the book when we first met, so I read the book first before I read the script. I found the story very interesting, and I was very curious how and why she spent ten years writing the short story like this, only because it has a lot of space that you can create your own stories. What really attracted me was the character.

CS: Oddly, Ang's last movie was also based on a short story. They must have developed your character a lot more for the screenplay.
Leung: Yeah, they wrote a lot more.

CS: What were some of the things you noticed that were different or better about your character in the script?

Leung: It's more rich. I think in the script they add more context to the character. He added a lot about how before he moved to Shanghai, before he became chief of the secret agents, he was still human and after he moved to Shanghai, a lot more about the relationship between him and the girl and to his wife, too. That was not a lot in the short stories.

CS: When I talked to Tang Wei, I asked her about working with you, and she said that you were very generous about helping her since she'd never done a big movie like this. Can you talk about doing a movie with a first-time actress and whether your system was different because of it?
Leung: I think it's much easier to work with someone who is not experienced, because she doesn't have a specific style or way of acting, so it's much easier to work with and more interesting, because they're very unpredictable. (laughs) You never know how she'll react, so it's more interactive and it's more fun. I think what I can help her out with is to just make her relax, and make her feel more comfortable, and she's very talented. I think it'll just come out subconsciously, but you have to make her really comfortable.

CS: I assume as an experienced actor, you can do multiple takes the exact same way, but being less experienced, does she do each take different?

Leung: Ang Lee is very demanding, so actually, we had to do many, many takes. Ang always asks you to make more variations, different takes, yes.

CS: When you saw the final movie, were you surprised about any of the decisions he made, since you never know what might end up in the movie?
Leung: But somehow you know.

CS: Tang Wei mentioned that when Ang filmed your love scenes, it was just the four of you…

Leung: Ang, the DP and sometimes the camera assistant or the soundman.

CS: How was it going from having a big crew for all those epic scenes to something intimate like that? Had you ever done something like that before?

Leung: This is my first time. I think our love scenes were so intense so it makes us more relaxed to do it in a mini-group.

CS: Did you not even do that on the Wong Kar-wai movies like "2046" when you were working in smaller spaces?

Leung: Yeah, but not as small as this one.

CS: You are somewhat of a chameleon in your roles, in that it's not always easy to tell it's you. You definitely look very different in your role in this movie, so do you deliberately try to look different in your movies?

Leung: Yeah, I really made a lot of changes this time, because Ang really wanted me to be a different Tony Leung this time, so I changed a lot before the real shoot. I tried to change my body language, even my voice. I used a different voice, even my expression and it really helps me a lot. Ang taught me to walk like his father. He remembered the men from that period of time used to walk like this, especially the officers, and I studied the gestures from some documentary and also from books, psychologically. I read a lot of books about how the secret agents functioned at that time. I wasn't familiar with the history, so I had to study a lot of books.

CS: Was this the most research and preparation you've ever had to do for a role?

Leung: Yes, yes. You have to do as much detail as you can to bring more depth to the character, so actually, after I saw all the real characters in life, I tried to figure out how Mr. Yee grew up, and where he was born, and how he got into military school, so I made him very detailed.

CS: The romance in "In the Mood for Love" is never consummated on-screen, while this one we see the sex in full detail. Can you talk about the differences between your character in the two movies?

Leung: Oh, they're so different. The characters are so different, and it made it very difficult to play Mr. Yee, because I tried very hard to get out of that character, Mr. Chow from "In the Mood for Love," especially when I was working for this movie. Any time I wear that kind of costume with that hair, it reminds me of that character. It's two different kinds of characters. I think this one is more masculine, darker. It's very different.

CS: Did the period costume help get you into the character?

Leung: I think the costume didn't help me much this time. I think the make-up really helps. It made me look more pale, so that makes me--at least when I saw myself in the mirror--think, "This is Mr. Yee." Without the make-up and the other stuff, it's really difficult.

CS: Difficult in what way?

Leung: Somehow, I was in that character (Mr. Chow) for eight years, and it was also a period movie, especially after you put on those costumes and have very similar sets. It's very easy for me to jump back to that character. I remember one night when I was doing the scene where I walk Tang Wei back to her apartment. When I did the walking scene, I said, "I just cannot do it. I cannot find the right rhythm to walk. I just walk like Mr. Chow." He had this sound coming from his high heels, and that hair gel, and you just feel like you're walking in Mr. Chow's rhythm.

CS: You're also doing the "Red Cliff" movie with John Woo and that's a period piece like "Hero," so are you able to use some of the martial arts you learned for "Hero"?

Leung: It's a very different thing. In "Red Cliff", it's a real war happening in those times. It's very different.

CS: How was it working with John Woo again after so much time?

Leung: I worked with him twice, and he's still very energetic. (smiles) I think this is his dream, "Red Cliff," he always wanted to do this, but he never had the chance, and he told me he always wanted to do this. I think this is his 31st movie made in China, so I think it means a lot to him.

CS: There's been a resurgence in period pieces in the last few years. Do you think that the success of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is what's allowed so many Asian directors, both Chinese and Japanese, to make these types of epics?

Leung: No, I think every Chinese director wants to do some historical epic, and you can only do it in China, because you can't find that kind of landscape (anywhere else).

CS: Did you see "The Departed," Martin Scorsese's remake of "Infernal Affairs"?

Leung: Yes, yes, of course I saw it.

CS: What did you think about the changes they made to it?

Leung: I'm a big fan of Martin Scorsese, so I think it's very Scorsese and it's really hard to compare, because we have different culture and backgrounds. He's doing it in his own style and very different from ours, which is more stylish, and he's very solid on the script, also on the background of the character. I think he did a great job.

CS: And what did you think about Leo's portrayal of your character?

Leung: I think he portrayed it in a very different way. I don't mind very much because I like DiCaprio.

CS: They also built-up his back story a bit.

Leung: Right, right.

CS: You're one of China's top dramatic actors, you and Chow Yun-Fat. Where do you see yourself in the future? Do you see yourself doing Hollywood movies and has it been deliberate that you haven't done anything here?

Leung: No, I think I really interested in working with people from different countries. I did a little like I worked with Tran Anh Hung on a Vietnamese movie and I worked with Hou Hsiao-hsien or even Zhang Yimou. To me, that's foreign language, because I don't speak Mandarin. Actually, I would love to work in Hollywood, too. I think once in my lifetime, it would be a very good experience for me, but I haven't found the right script. I should find the right script or the right man in order to do that.

CS: Did you have a lot of people approaching you for their movies after "In the Mood for Love" and "Hero" or "Infernal Affairs," all of which were fairly high profile?

Leung: Yeah, I have some offers, but I'm not interested in the role they showed me, so not at the moment.

CS: There aren't that many strong Chinese characters in Hollywood movies either.
Leung: Right, not much so…

CS: Would you ever consider doing an independent movie, even if it's something like playing someone's father?

Leung: Yeah, I would love to, in the near future.

CS: We've mainly seen you playing a romantic lead, but never a father or a family man with kids. Is it hard in China to get away from the things people are used to you doing?

Leung: Of course. Once you're an icon of something, it's hard for you to change.

CS: That must be why Hollywood is always so intriguing to Asian actors, because there you can do something completely different, for better or worse.

Leung: Mmm-hm.

"Lust, Caution" opens in New York on Friday and in other cities on October 5.

Kenix attended a function in Guangzhou

2007-09-25T13:44:00.000-04:00

Sept. 22, 2007

there are only pictures and no news, apparently. i wonder what her upcoming plans are...

Source: www.kwokhoying.com

TVB Weekly - Frankie in Forensic Heroes

2007-09-15T13:51:00.000-04:00

Credits:

Magazine Scans - www.frankie-lam.com

Miki @ TVBVNFC for reposting the scans.

Quick updates on Frankie & Kenix

2007-09-14T23:36:00.000-04:00

Frankie wen to to Taiwan to take pictures for the TVB 2008 calendar. he will be featured in June with Yoyo Mung, Kenneth Ma, & Chris Lai Lok Yi. there are a few more newcomers too who i'm not familiar with. in the year of 2008, over 60 artists will be featured on the calendar. 60! that's A LOT of people! TVB is loosing their sense of decency in recent years. anybody can be on their calendar now...

info taken from TVBVNFC

Sept. 6, 2007

Kenix finally appeared in public on a shopping spree with her mother. while shopping, Kenix and Yumiko Cheng spotted each other. apparently, not much is going on with Kenix lately. i wonder if she's concentrating on starting a family or she's just enjoying the comforting break from work. hopefully she'll return to showbiz soon. i miss her performance.

Source: http://ent.qianlong.com

Forensic Heroes II Costumes Fitting Ceremony

2007-09-10T21:02:00.000-04:00

Frankie is finally back with TVB, again, for the filming of Forensic Heroes sequel after the success of the first part. however, this time, Kevin Cheng & Charmaine Sheh are added to the casts. with Bobby- the leading man, and Kevin - TVB's new favorite, i wonder how big Frankie's role will be. hopefully TVB will keep his character as important as in Part I and that he'll have a decent amount of screen time. i dont really look forward to watching this series because unlike many, i didnt enjoy the first part. i thought the pace in discovering the evidence and solving the crimes was way too fast. looking backward, i see that no matter how hard TVB try, they can never remake another detective plot like they did for Detective Investigation Files. however, i might still give it a chance for Frankie's sake, if his role is significant ^__^.

Jessica Hsuan's Future Plans

2007-09-09T12:38:00.001-04:00

Jessica starred as a simple girl who was stuck between her father and lover in the Drive of Life, which was very different from the Jessica who is very clear of her directions on her road of love in reality.

Jessica did not have any love encounters recently but she is going select her boyfriend carefully. Jessica mentioned, “Now, I would prefer to be lacking of love than have an excess of it. Actually, there is someone interested in me outside the entertainment industry. I will think of trying it previously but now I will only start dating if I had a strong feeling towards him. Although I have this change in mentality, I had always hoped that the person I am dating would be the choice on my marriage.”

Happy Things in Life

Most of Jessica’s friends were married and were parents, which caused a change in her attitude towards children. Jessica commented, “After getting along with children, I have found out that I am capable of looking after children. However, the responsibility of having a child is too heavy as I worry about the problems on environment and education. As for now, I will not ponder too much about it.”

Jessica did not want to think too deep into her love life and focused on her career. The Drive of Life is the first show Jessica filmed after she signed the ‘per series’ contract with TVB. The ratings of the show were average despite the high regards for the show, Jessica commented, “As an actor, I would certainly have some hopes on the Drive of Life. As this is collaboration with CCTV, I am more concerned about the feedback from viewers than the ratings. I disliked my character in the Drive of Life during filming as she was more stupid and different with my own characteristics.”

Jessica felt that the best reward from the filming of the Drive of Life was the opportunity to work with Damien Lau; Jessica stated, “The happiest thing in life was cooperating with Damien Lau. I liked him and felt that he is gaining charisma. I learnt many things on acting and life from him.”

Enjoying Life

Jessica also learnt the way of enjoying life from Jackie Lui, she commented, “I know how to balance my life now. This August, I filmed a show in China and went on to tour Japan with my friends. I am resting now and would fly to Singapore in October to work on an English sitcom. I planned to go skiing at the start of next year; and film another show in Feb and March. My work and break are alternative. I only knew how to slog for my career in the past and learnt to allocate my time to my family and friends now. I would no longer grab hold of all opportunities in front of me and will not force myself onto things.”

Source: Mingpao Weekly 2026

Scan: Mrs Luk - Jessica's Bravenet Forum

English translation: siaozhabor - Jessica's Bravenet Forum

i'm glad that she decides to cut down her work load and focuses more on her personal life. i'm worried for love life too as she's still looking for Mr. Right at this age. hopefully she'll be able to find him soon, settle down, and have a nice family. all the best wishes for Jessica!

'True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle’ made into a movie

2007-09-06T20:19:00.000-04:00

If you thought Johnny Depp was the world’s unlikeliest buccaneer, just wait’ll you get a load of Dakota Fanning in “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle,” enthused director Danny DeVito.
The movie, an adaptation of the book by author Edward Irving Wortis (better known by his pen name Avi), centers on the adventures of a 19th Century 13-year-old girl, who must forswear her ladylike upbringing when confronted by intrigue and danger on the high seas.

“[Dakota] is a very proper girl who is thrust into a situation where she has to take this ship and there’s a mutinous crew on board — all sorts of intricate loyalties, and storms, and gunfights,” DeVito excitedly revealed about the set-up for the upcoming flick, for which he is currently “working on storyboards,” he said. “It’s really cool stuff.”

Many daring escapades follow (which we wouldn’t dream of ruining for those not familiar with the book). DeVito says he plans on including all of them. “I’ll be pushing the envelope as usual,” he declared. “It’s a movie I’d love to take a kid to [but] it’s not just for a kid. It will probably be a PG movie - edge of your seat PG.”

Joining Dakota in her journey across the Atlantic will be an Oscar winner and a super-spy, DeVito revealed. “Morgan [Freeman] is the captain, captain Jaggery [and] Pierce Brosnan is Zachariah, the ship’s cook, surgeon, and carpeneter,” he said.

Published by Shawn Adler

this is such a wonderful news! i read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle years ago but i still remember loving the book. the climax near the end was so dramatic that i cried as i was reading it. i definitely look forward to seeing the movie ^__^

Frankie & Kenix make good investment selling their house

2007-09-06T19:39:00.000-04:00

09-05-07

Frankie and Kenix bought a house 5 years ago with the price of $700,000. last week, they were able to sell it with the price of $1,760,000. the couple will move into another house with the ocean view. Kenix commented that her house was sold with a great price compared to how much it was bought.

Source: http://tvbchinesenews.blogspot.com/

Translated into Vietnamese by: MichaelMiuFan4ever@tvbvnfc.net

News taken from TVB Vietnam Fanclub

Be My Guest: Hacken Lee's In-Depth Interview

2007-09-04T23:30:00.000-04:00

Hacken Lee in gratutide to Andy Lau for letting him win the competition

Chan (the host for the programme and TVB's General Manager) is one of TVB's senior executives while Hacken Lee is TVB's "godson" - the latter has a higher status. Though it seems like there's a gap between him and Chan, Hacken reveals that this is one of the rare times where he actually talks about Emily.

Hacken has such a close relationship with TVB that he even announced his marriage on JSG. The reason is simple: he performed as guest for Miss HK Pageant Competition back then and hence, got to know Emily. TVB played the role of a matchmaker and Hacken never did forget this. Hacken and Emily held their wedding banquet in November, 2006. The bridegroom was Andy Lau, his competitor. They competed for the Best Male Singer award in 2002 in which Hacken won, and will remember this friendship for a lifetime.

Caption on the side: About his first date with Emily, Hacken said "We agreed to have Japanese cuisine. After I ordered a table full of sushi, she ordered Sashimi. I had to eat all the rice from the sushi. That's why, women are hard to fanthom."

Hopes to give birth to a boy and a girl

Chan: How long have you been together with Emily?

Hacken: Since 1992.

Chan: When she competed for Miss HK, you guys starting dating?

Hacken: Right. Because of TVB, I was the guest performer for that year. I went for the photoshoot in England and France as well. The media back then wasn't as bad as today's. They did not follow us around. When the guest performers and contestants are done with work, we can have meals together which meant more chances being with each other.

Chan: When she was crowned, did you worry over if you two should still continue the relationship?

Hacken: We were only in our twenties and did not think much about this. But after we were together for several years and when both parents met, her mother was worried that this "singer kid" (me) was not serious about the relationship. Let me tell you guys a secret. In 2006 JSG when I announced my marriage, I bumped into Rosa (the caretaker for Miss HKs). She clutched my hand, grew teary and told me "I'm happy to hear that you two are getting married. Actually, I was worried that you were only playing around, dragging my girl (Emily) along."

Chan: After she started dating with you, she stopped working. Did you asked her to do that, or did she made that decision herself?

Hacken: I analyzed this with her. Back then, she had the chance as TVB wanted to sign a contract with her. And I said "You can decide to do it or not. I do not want to affect your decision and neither do I know how long will we be together or how our relationship will develop." I could only analyse the pros and cons for her and let her think for herself. Honestly, I was thinking more along the sides of her not taking up the job.

Felt disappointed after his drop out from the 4th Annual New Talent Singing Competition

Chan: After you and Emily marry, will you want children soon?

Hacken: Yes.

Chan: Is this the reason for getting married?

Hacken: Yes. We hope to have 2 children. The best would be giving birth to twins during the first pregnancy: 1 boy and 1 girl. But in life, things don't go according to how we want them to. I'm 38, it's an appropriate time. There'll be an age gap if the father and son's age are too far apart.

Chan: You entered the industry through a singing competition?

Hacken: I hoped to release an album. I joined the competition which was running it's 4th year, the year which Alex Toh won it. I was only 18, and after my exams I received champion in my school's competition before and I felt that I could sing very well. During my first interview at Wah Sing (for the 4th Annual New Talent Singing Competition), there were judges like Leslie Cheung. I sang Alan Tam's song and was worried whether I would be eliminated. After that, I got into the Top 30. I had high hopes and who knew that I couldn't make it to the top 15. It felt like being drenched with cold water. I was very unhappy. I felt that there was something undisclosed about the competition, and also felt that they judged the contestants according to looks. It was the saddest tragedy ever encountered by an 18 year old; it was like tarnishing his dreams of becoming a singer.

Half a year later, a friend whom I got to know through the competition, Vivian Chow, called me through the phone and asked me to join the "19 Territories Singing Competition". The champion for the first year was Jacky Cheung. That time, I was doing my Foundation Studies (not very sure if this meant Foudnation Studies though..but I think it's a course to prepare you for overseas studies). My family had plans to send me overseas to study and had already chosen the school. I joined the competition as a player. From the competitions held in the smaller territories, I went on stage to the finals. I remember the hosts were Lin Jia Hua and Mei Yun. In the end, I became the champion and had the chance to release an album.

When I returned home, I told my father and mother. Fortunately, they were both very open-minded. They let me make my choice and I decided to try it out for 2 years. I wasn't very successful in the first 2 years. I released an EP and album which only sold a few thousand copies. When I was feeling disappointed and looking through the information for further education and was thinking of going abroad, TVB invited me to film Teenagers No More. When the series was broadcast, my album sold well. That's why I always thank TVB, as it was this show that allowed the public to know this tanned and long-necked guy called Hacken Lee. The theme song of the show made me reach my first Platinum album, called Summer's Myth. This gave me a ticket to continue staying and work in Hong Kong.

Chan: Sidetracking for awhile. You got to know Vivian Chow during the competition?

Hacken: Yes. She was fatter back then, not like how she looks now...(can't find the word to describe her)

Chan: Pretty?Hacken: Both she and I did not reach Top 15. She sang Bo Yuan Fang's Zhui Ai and had a big butterfly ribbon on her head. A little plump girl, quite cute, but she wasn't as fat as Myolie Wu. There were many other friends too whom I got to know through the competition too.

Chan: Have you ever thought of wooing Vivian Chow?

Hacken: She always wanted to sleep and I did not think that she'd become so pretty after a few years. We both attended a DJ training course and were one of the champions.

Chan: Your career sailed at great heights during that time. Was it because of this that people thought you were haughty?

Hacken: If I thought that way, it wouldn't have been like this. Till when my friends told me, and they were friends with a certain status, like Joey Leung. He said "You are quite pro." It was around the time when I was filming A Life Of His Own. (Chan added: year 1990.) Firstly, I was young. Secondly, I felt that I was great. I was able to meet girls as I was a singer. I liked to drink back then and had a group of friends: Ekin, Li Jia Sheng and so on. We called ourselves Brothers and Sisters. Once, at a karaoke room, Anita Mui and I were a little drunk and she told me "Hey 'handsome' lad, do you know that you're haughty?" I wasn't very familiar with her back then, and yet she felt that I was arrogant too. It was as if lightning had struck me. A senior had such sentiments too. It was the first time that I felt that there's something wrong with me. After discussing for a long time, I became good friends with her since that night. After that, I tried to change. It took a long time for me to change people's impression of me. To make people feel that you're haughty, all you might have to do is to make one comment. However, to erase these comments and impression you've made, you need 10 years.

Like when fans asked for my signature, I used to just sign and walk off. But then I was worried that by acting like this, people would think that I'm proud. Now, I would have small conversations with them. At the beginning, I wasn't very used to it. My character wasn't like this in the first place. I'm not full of smiles and happy all the time. It was very hard at first. Slowly, I carried on and this made people feel happy. And I grew happy myself. Soon, my character changed too.

Felt embarrassed seeing empty seats

Chan: At which point of your career did the low tide set in?

Hacken: It has got to be the 1995 concert. It could possibly be one of the worst ticket sales ever in Hong Kong's concert history. I had my first concert in 1993, the sales were great. We had to increase the number. Two years later, it failed. In 1993 I had 8 concerts and having 10 concerts on the second time shoudn't be a problem. Who knew that something happened. There were various reasons.

There was a "moustache pattern" - the seats were only around 50% full, standing up on stage and looking at the empty seats, my tears were dropping in my stomach. Every night, I dare not ask how the ticket sales were. I just hoped that not too many of my relatives were there to watch, as it was very embarrassing.

I remembered one night when Alan Tam was the guest and I was singing Not Changing For A Lifetime. He suddenly appeared on the staircase of the stage, and said "Failure in one concert doesn't mean failure forever. In the future, what you must do is to tell those who didn't attend your concert that they've missed the treasure." This left a deep impression on me. I did not hold concerts for the next 7 years as I was very afraid. Till 2002 when I held a concert, and during the last day I asked about the ticket sales - even tickets for the single seats were sold out. I could not describe how elated I felt. The next year I held a concert with Alan Tam, I hugged him and cried. I rarely cry, I'm afraid of myself crying. That feeling wasn't just thanking him, it was gratitude from my heart.

Chan: Have you ever experienced bad album sales?

Hacken: Of course, I have even experienced not being able to release an album. The first time when I changed companies, I had unhappy experiences as I did not know how to deal with the contract. During the second time when I changed company, I signed an 'invincible' contract which has the thickness of a phonebook. I engaged the help of the most expensive lawyer in Hong Kong, and listed out things like food to eat when working overseas, the promotional fee for each album would be 2 hundred million and so on. I did not want to be cheated.

My album wasn't selling very well, so where would there be money for promotion? The only solution was not to release an album. I had no idea. This went on for a period of time, till the 1998 World Cup where I sang Get Up, Get Up, Get Up (Adventures of A Soccer Fan, first line of the song is Get Up, Get Up, Get Up...). The response wasn't bad and I released an album with new songs and classics. As my contract just ended, a senior executive wanted me to stay for 3 months and do free promotion. I asked him "Can you work for your company for 3 months and not take any salary?" And we did not speak to each other after that, even till now.

Actually, I quite enjoy hosting at TVB. Many people asked me, as a recognized singer with strength, how do I feel when I see new singers coming in to sing and I used a fire extinguisher to spray at them while hosting JSG? (either it means him literally using the extinguisher or they compare hacken to a fire extinguisher...) They asked if I felt unhappy. I don't think so. Hong Kong people are very good at adapting. Even when the horse died on them, it's still possible. If albums cannot do well, I can turn towards other avenues and shine. I don't think that being a host for the World Cup is a shame.

Chan: When I first approached you to host Minutes To Fame in 2005, you rejected at first. I asked, "Is it because you did not get best male singer award? (andy lau got it in 2005)" and you said, "Of course not. If someone else is to receive the award then probably, but if it's Andy then things are different." Why? Are you and him able to disregard any competition?

Hacken: Andy did one thing and I can tell it to everyone. The first time when I received the best male singer award was in 2002. That year, my popularity was quite good. Andy always enjoyed receiving awards, everyone knows this. And he knows that if I don't receive Best Male Singer award for that year, I might not have a chance in the future. He really hoped that I would get the award and let down his promotons near the end of the year. The deepest impression I had was during the day of the award ceremony, when we had to face the media for photoshoots with our awards. Both of us got an award - Andy received Asia's Most Popular Male Singer award and I received Best Male Singer Award. I thought, he is one of my competitors and yet he even pulled for me, the friendship was strong. Later on, he told me that the photo that was taken (in 2002) in the hotel during the celebration became the wallpaper on his computer. I was very touched.

Captions on the side:Chan asked if Hacken had already taken wedding pictures in England and Hacken refused to answer. Only later do we know that they've taken photos at the Manchester United homegrounds. Chan did not receive the wrong information.

Chan suggests to have TVB host his wedding, Hacken said "Couples who had their weddings broadcast by TVB in the past did not have very good endings. Thanks anyway."

Source: Be My Guest book by Stephan Chan

translated by Hianez, edited by Kate

interview taken from Hacken Lee ID

Vegan Outreach - Help End Animal Cruelty

2007-08-28T21:43:00.000-04:00

i was walking on campus today and a man handed me a pamphlet to read. handing out flyers or pamphlets is a common scene at school or colleges. most of the time, i just got flyers about religion and faith, which i always threw away afterwards. this might give you the impression that i am not a believer. no, i am a believer, but a Buddhist one. reading about Christian/Catholic teachings is not of my interest. anyway, back to the story. today, i got the pamphlet that earnestly asks people to help prevent animal cruelty. the pamphlet really touches my heart and i will definitely follow their advices and requests. i suggest you to take a few minutes of your precious time to read the following, & who knows, your perspective might change for the better ^__^

EVEN IF YOU LIKE MEAT
YOU CAN HELP END THIS CRUELTY

"If everyone just cut their meat consumption in half, billions of animals would be spared from suffering. As you read on, please bear in mind that opposing the cruelties of factory farming is not an all-or-nothing proposition: By simply eating less meat, you can help prevent farmed animals from suffering."

“In my opinion, if most urban meat eaters were to visit an industrial broiler house, to see how the birds are raised, and could see the birds being ‘harvested’ and then being ‘processed’ in a poultry processing plant, they would not be impressed and some, perhaps many of them would swear off eating chicken and perhaps all meat.
“For modern animal agriculture, the less the consumer knows about what’s happening before the meat hits the plate, the better. If true, is this an ethical situation? Should we be reluctant to let people know what really goes on, because we’re not really proud of it and concerned that it might turn them to vegetarianism?”
Peter Cheeke, PhD Oregon State University Professor of Animal Agriculture
Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, 2004 textbook

"In the past half-century, most Canadian livestock production has moved from small family farms to factory farms—huge warehouses where animals are confined in crowded cages or pens or in restrictive stalls. The competition to lower costs has led agribusiness to treat animals as mere objects, rather than individuals who can suffer. Hidden from public view, the cruelty that occurs on factory farms is easy to ignore. But more and more people are taking a look at how farmed animals are treated and deciding that it’s too cruel to support."

“[It is] more economically efficient to put a greater number of birds into each cage, accepting lower productivity per bird but greater productivity per cage.… [I]ndividual animals may ‘produce,’ for example gain weight, in part because they are immobile, yet suffer because of the inability to move.… Chickens are cheap, cages are expensive.”
Bernard E. Rollin, PhDFarm Animal Welfare, Iowa State University Press, 2003

Please click HERE to read the full pamphlet. i promise it wont be a waste of your time. credits to Vegan Outreach

Kenix and Chilam reunited after 12 years

2007-08-24T17:29:00.000-04:00

Kenix and Chilam first collaborated in a 1994 series called Remembrance. at the time, both were still newcomers in the showbiz. even though they only acted as lovers once, their chemistry left a lasting impression on fans. ever since, fans were anticipated for their second collaboration and it finally came in 2002: Take My Word For It. however, it pissed fans off, especially Kenix's fans, myself included, when they found out Kenix and Chilam would have no romance at all. Kenix was paired with Bobby and Chilam was paired with Annie Man. a big disappointment for those who love this couple. but fans were still hopeful...

in showbiz, there are always chances for artists to work together. fans were satisfied when Kenix and Chilam got back together in a mainland series titled Redtask, and this time, they played lovers. during the filming process, there were hundreds of pictures taken by both fans and reporters. many were anticipated for this reunion after so many years. the series took about 3 months to film and approximately 2 months to edit, and was finally aired in mainland in February, 2007. Redtask was aired several times in several places in China, Shanghai included. i'm not sure how well the ratings were because there seemed to be no report about it. however, when Sina conducted a poll to choose the best series for 2006 (or 2007), Redtask was able to make it to the top 5. as i remember, it was in the 3rd place. even though its votes were way far behind the top 2 series, it managed to beat Huang Xiaoming's Shang Hai Bund. as this was only Kenix's 2nd mainland series (her 1st one being A Matter of Life & Death Brothers in 2000), and she's still new to mainland audience, i'm happy with the viewership.

Chilam-Kenix Then and Now

Remembrance was Kenix's 2nd TVB series after a mini series with Michael Tao titled Glittering Moments. in this series, Kenix played a girl (Nanxing) who grew up in France and when she came back to Shanghai with her father, she began to lose everything she had. her father was accidentally shot by Chilam (Hong Fei) during an assassination (Chilam being an assassin) in a ball room, which led to his death and caused Kenix to become blind. feeling guilty, Chilam decided to take care of Kenix and gradually fell in love with her. when Kenix had surgery and could see again, she recognized that Chilam was the person who shot her father, she hated him so much but did not have the heart to kill him, she ran away. she wanted to forget everything and get revenge on life by joining a brothel and becoming a prostitute. she was lucky when her first customer was a good man who loved her truly. seeing Kenix ruining her life because of what he did, Chilam became depressed and unmotivated in life. all he wanted to do was to leave Shanghai to go back to his homeland. at the same time, Kenix started to realize that life at the prostitution was not what she wanted, she also left Shanghai and went back to her homeland. coincidentally, the lovers met again and Kenix told Chilam that she had forgiven him.

Kenix had a younger sister named Tong Yue Bai (played by Chow Jing) who was also in love with Chilam. she worried and followed Chilam to his hometown and Chilam made the mistake by sleeping with her. even though Kenix forgave him regarding her father's death, this still prevented him from getting back together with her. Chilam had to marrry Chow Jing and Kenix married the man who was her first customer and left for France. she came back 3 years later and the couple realized their hearts still had each other. the war between China and Japan came and went and after many obstacles, Kenix and Chilam were able to get back together. Chow Jing realized that her husband and the happiness she had were truly of her sister, so she left Chilam and found her true happiness by becoming a nun and helping war victims. Kenix's husband also realized that his wife's heart had someone else, so he let go of her and concentrated on his duty of fighting for China's freedom from Japan. Chilam and Kenix met again in Shanghai and the couple hugged in front of the house that Chilam bought for them years ago.

Redtask has not been released in Vietnamese yet, so i only watched it in Mandarin. of course, i had no clue what the characters were saying *__^. however, i could still guess that the series was about how Communism could bring happiness to people, a theme that i take no interest in whatsoever. the series took place during the Nationalism period, i believe. regarding Chilam's and Kenix's relationship, i could make good guesses. Kenix seemed to be raised in a brothel and eventually became a prostitute. Chilam came from a well educated family in which he was the only son. Kenix were able to go to school and it appeared that was where she met Chilam. he often rode his bike to school to pick her up. however, she did not tell him who she was and never allowed him to know where her house was. one day, he asked her why couldn't he walk her to her house, she reluctantly told him that she lived in a brothel. he was shocked and even dropped his bike while Kenix ran away full of shame. however, he was able to accept her and the two started to date. he often dressed up nicely and went to the brothel to see her, despites his mother's disapproval. on the same day that Chilam proposed to Kenix, the Communists came to take all the prostitutes away to camps where the girls would be reeducated. however, Kenix was able to escape the camp after a few months and she ran to Chilam's house. the Communist soldiers went to find her at his house because the chief knew they were lovers. Chilam's mother wanted to turn Kenix in, but Chilam held a knife on his neck and told her he would kill himself if she did that. Kenix was able to hide in Chilam's house for some time.

during her stay, Kenix found out that Chilam's mother were arranging for Chilam to marry another girl, who the family knew for quite some time, i think. while Chilam were trying to explain to Kenix, his mother said something about her not deserving him. she got mad and ran away. while running, she crossed the street without seeing that a car was approaching. Chilam ran out to get her and both were hit by the car. Kenix broke her ankle so Chilam took her home. the two were able to share some sweet moments for a few days before Chilam's mother thought of another trick to get rid of Kenix. she put some kind of medicine in Kenix's soup and so Kenix's face started to have blemishes. not wanting Chilam to see her like this, she left the house and came back when her face recovered. however, Chilam was not home and his mother called the soldiers to capture her back to the education camp. Chilam was depressed for not knowing why Kenix left and where she was right now. one day, he overheard his mother's conversation with the house maid, he knew his mother arranged for Kenix's recapture. he was angry he decided to move out.

after being at the education camp for a while, for some reason, Kenix was transferred to another place where she had to work so much harder by carrying rocks. i guess because she escaped, she was punished while her prostitute friends at this time were released for their good behaviors. Kenix's best friend (played by Luo Hai Qiong), who was also a prostitute, became the chielf's wife and was pregnant with his baby. however, after some arguments, she left him and met Chilam. they knew each other so Chilam took her home because she was fainting on the street. Luo, being very dependent and needy, started to see Chilam as a perfect man to take care of her and her baby. when Chilam was drunk, she had it set up so that he would think he had done something to her and so he'd take responsibility. Kenix knew that the two were living together but she trusted her friend and her boyfriend. after a few months, Luo and Chilam went to visit Kenix at the camp. seeing Luo's big belly, Kenix was shocked and looked at Chilam with questions. he didnt dare to look at her eyes and Luo explained that the baby was Chilam's. deeply hurt, Kenix left the room. the next day when Chilam visited her again, she refused to see him. feeling extremely guilty, Chilam decided to have his own plan. he waited until Luo delivered the baby safe and sound, helped Luo raise the baby boy for some time, then he left all his money and his house to her. he did something for the soldiers to capture him and sent him to the same camp Kenix was staying in. the couple's relationship was reconciled. after a few years, Chilam and Kenix were released and they were able to stay together until old age.

even though i do not fully understand the plot, i could still tell that all the politics and Communist teachings in here won't be liked by many viewers. nonetheless, Kenix's and Chilam's sweet moments are able to make up for the rest. this is a series that fans must not pass up. the couple was romantic in Remembrance, but they are even more intimate in Restask with all the kisses and hugs. Redtask is the first series after Kenix left TVB and is her last one at the moment. hopefully she'll film more for mainland and i'd love to watch another collaboration of her with Chilam. i just cannot get enough of them ^__^.

pictures credited to Sina and respective owners.

Idy Chan hosts an ATV's program

2007-08-16T18:25:00.000-04:00

Idy Chan and Athena Chu attended the press conference of ATV traveling programme "HK top ten natural landscapes" yesterday and announced they would be the guest-hosts in the show. They chatted unstop in the function and it seemed they clicked very well. Athena said she wanted to collaborate with Idy from long time ago and they exchanged phone number.

Idy smirked she is a freelance right now so she can work for TVB, ATV or RTHK without hindrance. She also revealed that she had refused the invitation from TVB for shooting "On the Road" in Nepal. But she did hope to visit some special places like Xin Jiang, Kashmir or North Korea. However, TVB rejected them all since they thought it is difficult to arrange shooting in N. Korea and Kashmir is in war now.

When asked if she will irritate TVB for filming a similar programme for ATV? Idy said, "I haven't thought about it. I will take any job which suits me. I'm discussing some other projects in different genres with TVB, just that nothing has confirmed. I'm also waiting for a drama from RTHK which the director told me he'd tailor write a script for me. I phoned him earlier but he said he was busy for the HK return anniversary. Now the event has already gone so I think he might meant the next return anni."

Idy will go shoot at Ng Tung Chai. Originally she's asked to go to Lantau Peak for the sunrise and she's excited. But later some family member reminded her that she would look ugly and half-dead when she reaches the peak after a good climbing, plus she'd need to go there at midnight so she changed the idea. She afraid she won't look good on screen and will scare the audience away.

**********************************

Thanks to Kit from Idy Forum for the English translation.

Source: Mingpao

Ex-Lovers: Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder

2007-08-09T18:08:00.000-04:00

WINONA Ryder was banned from marrying Johnny Depp by her father.
The actress - who met the heartthrob actor on the set of 1990 film Edward Scissorhands and was engaged to him for around three years - has revealed her dad Michael Horowitz forbid the pair from tying the knot because she was only 17 at the time.
In a joint interview with Vogue magazine, Horowitz recalled: "They were the hottest couple in the US at that time, like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are now. They were cool."
Ryder said: "But you stopped a wedding."
To which Horowitz replied: "We loved Johnny but you were 17."
Ryder, now 35, split from Depp in 1993.
During their relationship the Sweeney Todd actor had a tattoo etched onto his arm which read "Winona Forever".
However, after their separation he had the body art changed to read "Wino Forever".
Ryder - who was arrested for shoplifting in 2001 - has since dated Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner and actor Matt Damon.
Depp is now in a long-term relationship with French star Vanessa Paradis.
The couple have two children together, five-year-old son John Jack and eight-year-old daughter Lily-Rose.
Meanwhile, Ryder is the latest Hollywood fan of Aussie cosmetics king Napoleon Perdis.
"I love Napoleon Perdis make-up, the products are amazing!" she says in a note on her personal stationery.
Her favourite products are Lip Lacquer in Pink Patina, China Doll eyeliner, Ultra Pearl and Color Disc eyeshadows.

source: www.news.com.au
*********************************

it's a shame that Depp & Ryder were unable to tie the knot. i always love them together & wish that they could still be a couple. their chemistry in Edward Scissorhands were undeniable. Ryder is the most beautiful American actress in my opinion. if only they had collaborated more than once...

Idy was presented with Calligraphy from Andy Lau

2007-07-27T22:20:00.000-04:00

July 28, 2007

Idy Chan was interviewed by TVB paid TV programme, BE MY GUEST , (Zhi Yun Dining Time ) , yesterday. Manager Chen Zhi Yun presented her with a basket of foods, countdown timer funnel, & a calligraphy by Andy , Shan Xin Lian Lian ( being kind-hearted continuously) . Idy was delighted on seeing Andy�s calligraphy.
Chen invited Idy to shoot an outdoor programme in Nepal, she is still thinking about it, as the standard of hygiene is not as good over there. She is worried about her health, actually she has quite many places she yearns to visit, such as Qing Dao, Tibet, Vietnam & others.
Idy autographed on 2 sets of DVDS on Return of The Condor Heroes, one to give to Andy & one for Chen
Said Idy, "Many thanks to Master Lau for being so heartwarming, the calligraphy is good, I have not contacted him for a long time, I am so surprised that he readily wrote for me. (Andy feels that you always o charity thus wrote the 4 words for you.) Let me enjoy the pleasant surprise first!" When asked if Andy was involved with the shooting of the TV programme with her, will the draw be better? She quipped she wont answer any questions based only on assumption.

The Interview

Idy Chan was recorded for the TV programme Be my Guest yesterday. The host Stephen Chan gave her some gifts: a timer funnel (encourage everyone to use some time to do good deeds), a basket of food (for Idy pleasure since she doesn�t lack any materials thing) and a very special one was just sent out from Taiwan. It is a calligraphy 「善心蓮蓮」 (it means a kindhearted Idy) written by Andy Lau. It surprised Idy very much and in return, Stephen asked Idy to sign on the ROCH DVD to give to Andy. He also invited Idy come back filming so that she could collaborate with Andy on screen again.
Idy (chuckles): Thank you so much for this thoughtful gift from Mr. Lau. The meaning of the words is wonderful. In fact, I didn't contact Andy for a long time. I'm totally surprised of his act and kindness.

Reporter: does it prove that your good deeds are approved by Andy that why he agreed to write those words for you?

Idy: I need to contemplate it when I go home. Just don�t want the praise go to my head and blind me.

Reporter: Where do you want to hang it?

Idy: Let me think about it when my excitement goes away.

Reporter: (always asks Idy the same question) did TVB contact you for filming?

Idy: I'm in discussion with Leung Ka Shu for a modern drama but nothing has come out yet.

Reporter: What make you in consideration?

Idy: It must be fun of course! Even I play a role of mental disorder person; I want it to be inspiring. I hope the audience will be comfortable, happy and have fun to my character.

Reporter: Will it be more attractive to you if Andy takes part in it.

Idy: I won't answer any assuming question.

Stephen Chan also gave Idy a polo T-shirt and 2 books, as he wanted to invite Idy filming On the Road season 3 but she didn't agree.

Idy: TVB wants me film in Nepal but I'm worry about the hygiene issue. I must think about it carefully.

Reporter: Then any place you'll love to go?

Idy: Tibet and Qinghai are okay. But it seems that someone had already gone there. Maybe I can go to Vietnam. I heard the gals there are pretty.

Reporter: But the country is not clean either.

Idy: Vietnam was once a French colony. It can't be that dirty.

Reporter: Speaking about the interview in Be my Guest, are there any questions you won't answer?

Idy: Stephen can ask any question but I can choose not to answer.

Reporter: will you not answer relationship thing?

Idy: It depends on how to respond. I'd rather zip my lips than to give out a vague answer and confuse the audience.

Idy chuckled at the thought of those many complicated questions Stephen made in some previous episodes. She is afraid that she will stutter to his questions.
Idy: I have watched the episode with the HK chief executive Donald Tsang. Just that part where Stephen asked Mr.Tsang of the whistle thing took almost 15 mins. But it is funny to see Mr.Tsang being this childish.

News sources: ON.cc / Ta Kung Pao / MingPao OL - Weekly / Wen Wei Po / Oriental Daily / The Sun / Apple Daily

Thanks to Andy Town for the first translation and Kit from Idy Forum for the interview translation!

What's new at FK's blogs? ^__^

2007-07-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

July 2, 2007

Kenix visited Toronto for vacation with husband Frankie. even though the weather was very cold with the freezing rain, Kenix and Frankie still went outside to take pictures to share with fans.

Frankie's message

July 5, 2007

I've been in Shanghai for more than a week to film my new series. today, the filming wrapped up at 5pm and i went to eat dinner with my colleague Laura. after i got back to the hotel, i wanted to share my feelings with you all. the weather in Shanghai is very hot and humid right now, but i'm having fun because the crew treat me very nice. also, there are many fans who come to visit me. thank you very much! Okay, i have to go read my script to prepare for my scenes tomorrow. i will show you the filming pictures some other day.

Source:blog.sina.com.cn/guokeiyng

Source:blog.sina.com.cn/linwenlong

news taken from Frankie-Kenix VN forum

Vietnamese translation by MichaelMiufan4ever@tvbvnfc.net

Frankie Lam filming a new series in China

2007-06-28T16:19:00.000-04:00

Frankie has started filming a mainland series in Shanghai on June 27. i don't know the leading actress because i don't watch mainland series much at all, but she looks pretty. the series will focus on the competitive and stressful life of work and romance of a group of people in a company. Frankie will play a manager who has been transferred from Hong Kong to work in mainland China. Frankie commented that his biggest obstacle is the language but the crew hired an instructor to assist him.

not much information is known about the series as of yet. i'm just glad that Frankie has started working after a long break. he's supposed to be back to TVB this September for Forensic Heroes sequel.

Credits : Bao Anh Dat Mui for the Vietnamese translation, Sina.com for image.

Idy Chan making a comeback to TVB??

2007-06-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

June 26, 07

Idy Chan together with Sammo Hung & wife, & others were at a spa opening ceremony yesterday. Idy announced that she intends to make a comeback, said, "I have been away from this circle so long, of late I make some market survey, now that I am not too old, I can still do." Will she be back to TVB? She said she had contacted the senior officer of TVB Liang Jia Shu & they need further negotiation.

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Sources: ON.cc / Images@TungStar / HK-Image / MingPao OL - Weekly - US East NY - US West SF - CA East Toronto - CA West Vancouver / Wen Wei Po / Oriental Daily / More photos news: QQ / SINA / TOM / XHN /

Thanks to Andy Town for the translation.

News taken from Chan Yuk Lin Online

This is such a wonderful news. after so many years, she decides to make a come back. hopefully she'll shine again, and that TVB will appreciate her.

Idy Chan Appears in Public Again for Charity

2007-05-24T17:09:00.000-04:00

Idy Chan never say anything about retirement...

2007.05.25

Idy Chan shown up in a charity walk today and she spoke about the tango dance she had partnered with Nat Chan for fund raising many years ago. Actually she didn't like that kind of "closeness" and would rather perform other things instead. When asked if she wanted to return to the entertainment field since she had made several appearance in public lately, Idy emphasized that she'd never said any word as retirement. She also disclosed that TVB had contacted her for filming but nothing was confirmed yet at this moment.

additional details translated by Sakura

Susanna Kwan, Hacken Lee, Bosco Wong, Carol Cheng, Nat Chan, Fala Chen, Vincy Chan and Vinci Wong took part in the press conference to annouce the details of the forthcoming Community Chest Fundraising Show this Saturday [May 26] by TVB. The show's producer Ho Siu Wai indicates that they have invited Idy Chan, who lives reclusively, is back for this event to help raise money and she will be partnering Nat Chan to maybe re-enact their Tango performance to raise money. When Nat found out that he will be working with Idy, he laughed: "I'm not Yeung Gor. Did she not work with Andy Lau and Chow Yun Fat only? But I can dance with pretty Lin Mui, it is just dancing I don't mind, I'm very happy. We worked together in EYT [Enjoy Yourself Tonight] a long time ago and I played her elder brother."

News sources are courtesy of: ON.cc / MingPao OL - Weekly - US East NY - US West SF - CA East Toronto - CA West Vancouver / The Sun / Oriental Daily

thanks to Kit for the English translation. news taken from Idy English Forum and Chan Yuk Lin Online

http://geocities.com/chanyuklinonline/?200724

Idy really looks fresh and pretty in those pictures. i hope that TVB will offer her a meaty role to welcome her back. all the best to you, dearest Idy!

A Random Article on Idy Chan

2007-05-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

A regret

Going through the course of searching new faces for movies, Ann Hui do has a regret. She once met an actress who was good in acting and also charming in her own way. But before she could collaborate with her in a movie, the girl chose to live a carefree life and stay away from the spotlight of the stage.
"It was in the 70's when Tam Ka Ming still working in TVB as a scrip writer/director. One day a sound man told me there was a new actress Idy Chan, who acted very well in a TV series about young people; it seemed she could act from head to toes. I watched her in TV; a very pretty girl. She was about 5'2-3" but looked tall and in good proportion on screen. Before filming movie "The story of Woo Viet", Ann Hui already decided to take Chow Yun Fat and Idy Chan as the leading roles. "The two carried sort of blue feeling. When they were together, their faces and elements just gave people an impression of frustration."
When she told Chow she wanted Idy Chan, Chow looked reluctant and he told Hui speak to Idy directly.
"I met Idy Chan in a cafe when she'd just returned to HK for holiday from Canada. She said she was not suitable to the role since she had gotten some 10 pounds of fat. I stared at her. She did look a bit chubby in her worker trousers. But I told her I could wait until she silmed down. However, she insisted on her decision. I doubted she just didn't want to co-star with Fat Chai on screen and show their romance publicly."
When Yim Ho (movie director) planned filming "The Extras", Ann Hui recomended Idy to him as the female leading role but unfortunately it didn't hit the box office. Then when Ann Hui directed a RTHK TV series "The path", she took Idy, Dodo Cheng and Wong Suk Yee as the casts. After it, Idy Chan filmed severl movies but she didn't get famous.
"Perhaps she didn't know how to take initiative to get a role that fits her and it was not the trend for a newbie actor to get an agency manager back then," said Ann Hui.
Eventually, Cherie Chung played the leading role in "The story of Woo Viet" and got famous. "Of course she was stunning beautiful. She was pretty than Idy Chan. But Cherie's beauty was worldly and men would easily attract to her. But as a movie director, I'd rather prefer the one who was the best leading actress in my heart."
"To this date, I still think it was a regret that Idy Chan didn't play the female leading role in this film......nevertheless, I appreciate very much of her persistence. She was a good actor."

thanks to Sakura for finding the article and Kit for translating it into English.
Source: Mingpao Weekly

http://geocities.com/chanyuklinonline/forum.htm?200612?200717

Harry Potter book 8?

2007-05-16T23:45:00.000-04:00

London - British Author JK Rowling has revealed plans to write another ‘Harry Potter’ book.

The seventh novel – ‘The Deathly Hollows’, due out in the summer – will bring the young wizard’s adventures to an end, but Rowling has said she might write an eighth for charity.

The 41-year-old writer wrote on her website: “I might do an eighth book for charity – a kind of encyclopedia of the world, so that I could use all the extra material that’s not in the books.”

The book would allow fans a further insight into the world of Harry Potter and his friends, including details that were not included in the best-selling novels.

Rowling has already penned two Harry Potter reference books – ‘Quidditch Through The Ages’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’. The books raised more than £15 million for British charity Comic Relief.

The magical tales of Harry and his Hogwarts pals have made Rowling one of the highest earning writers ever, and one of the richest women in the world with an estimated fortune of £576 million according to Forbes magazine’s annual rich list.

As well as Comic Relief, the children’s author supports numerous charities including medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières.

credits: www.ecanadanow.com, www.news.cinematical.com

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The poster above is Movie 5 International poster. the movie is due to hit theaters on July 13.

Johnny Depp open to making 4th Pirates film

2007-05-16T23:13:00.000-04:00

If all goes right, Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp might soon be singing "Yo ho ho, give me a fourth bottle of rum."
The star of the upcoming film, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, told Entertainment Weekly magazine that he is open to making a fourth film in the blockbuster series, which has earned more than $1.7 billion at worldwide box offices.
"As long as you're doing it for the right reasons, why not?" Depp said. "If we came up with a story where we could explore something absurd or funny or totally insane."
In the movies, Depp plays buccaneer Captain Jack Sparrow, distinguished as much for his swishy hips and love of adventure as his pirating skills. At World's End debuts on May 24.

credits: www.nzherald.co.nz

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lol, this is going wild! a fourth Pirates? i think they better stop before things go too far. i mean, parts 1 & 2 were wonderful; no word about part 3 yet. even if there's a part 4, i'll watch for Depp's sake but they better have a good storyline.

there are some different sources regarding Pirates 3's debut. the piece of news above says May 24; Disney homepage says the same thing, but Disney trailer says May 25. there is also another piece of news which reports that they've decided to air it earlier, so i guess it's May 24 afterall. i'm so exciting!!! ^__^

Tony Leung: Villain With the Sad Eyes

2007-05-16T22:25:00.000-04:00

May 16, 2007

His eyes give him away. On the surface he may be smiling but his eyes speak of loneliness and desperation. Like a red light in a misty city, his dreaming face enchants moviegoers. He's Tony Leung Chiu Wai. In hit movies like "Infernal Affairs," "In The Mood For Love," and "Happy Together," he has played a gangster, a playboy, a homosexual and a detective. "I read the scripts thoroughly until I feel like I'm becoming my character," he once said. While he can utterly transform himself into any role, his eyes always remain lonely and uneasy.

So it can be said that his new movie "Confession of Pain" is a description of Tony Leung Chiu Wai himself. He's playing his first villain in 25 years but it's a sympathetic role. In the movie Tony is a cold-blooded detective who tries to cover up the truth about a murder case. Takeshi Kaneshiro stars opposite as a private investigator. Directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, who made "Infernal Affairs," -- the original version of the Academy-award winner "The Departed" -- also directed "Confession of Pain." Hollywood wants to remake this movie, too.

The Chosun Ilbo interviewed Tony at the premiere of the film in the Hong Kong Ritz Carlton Hotel on Sunday. A pink cardigan made his face appear pale. And while he smiled at me and the photographer, in person his eyes looked even sadder than on screen.

"I lived the life of Detective Lau Ching Hei while we were shooting the film. If I were a Korean, I could brainwash myself to feel the experiences of military service. By brainwashing myself, I can change my voice, the way I walk, even the sound of my breathing."

It seems as if he was in love with the role, and indeed, he confessed that after shooting a movie he becomes depressed, like breaking up with a girlfriend. "If it takes a year to build your muscles, then losing your muscles also takes a similar length of time. It takes a lot of time for me to erase the feelings and emotions of the character I played. This time, it was harder than ever." But relief is in sight, he said, with the shooting of John Woo's new Chinese epic, "Red Cliff."

For "Confession," Tony was originally offered the part of the private investigator that Takeshi Kaneshiro ended up playing. "I created the character of the private detective with Tony Leung Chiu Wai in mind, but I couldn't find an actor to play the villain," director Andrew Lau said. "I asked Tony to play him and he rejected it flat out. Two months later he called me and said he would do the part."

For Tony, immersing himself in another role was a very challenging task, but he knew exactly how it should be done. And how did it feel to play a villain? "I enjoyed it," he said briefly. Then he added, "But someday I'd like to play a cheerful role -- like sunshine." He ended the interview with a broad smile.

Credits: englishnews@chosun.com

Kenix - Michelle Ye rumors

2007-05-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

Kenix Kwok Turns Down i-Cable Series After Finding co-star is Michelle Ye

[The Sun 17/05/07]

i-Cable have been busy preparing to film their own 100 episode series that will be based around the story of a private tutor school king. They have spent a small fortune in attracting big names to the show including Eric Kot, Yu On On and Leung Si Ho. The female lead was always planned to belong to Kenix Kwok, who had verbally accepted the role, but there have been reports that she has suddenly withdrawn her agreement, supposedly after finding out that Michelle Ye has joined the cast and afraid that there is too much negative press around any project that she is involved in.

Kenix was interviewed on the phone regarding this yesterday and she says: "They did give me a script to look at and I had never agreed to do it. Frankie has also turned it down. I refused it for personal reasons. I have worked together with Michelle before in 'Reaching Out' and I made my decision based on the script and not on who my co-stars are." As for Michelle's manager, she made a statement saying: "i-Cable will have a press conference at the end of the month, let them talk about it! (Kenix left because of Michelle?) I don't know about that."

thanks to Em for the translation; www.tvbspace.net

Kenix's Latest Message to Fans

2007-04-30T21:56:00.000-04:00

Kenix left a message at her blog
April 28, 2007
Source:blog.sina.com.cn

"First of all, thanks everyone for supporting me and Redtask. it seems like many people enjoy this series so i am very happy. i remember when i first got the script, i read it thoroughly and the character Thu Nghi totally attracted me. in recent times, i've been thinking of the filming period, the beautiful qipao, the make-up artists and hairstylists. everyone was treating me very nicely and taking good care of me. during that time, my Mandarin really improved. however, being back to HK for quite a while now with everyone around me speaking Cantonese, my Mandarin is not as fluent as before."

thanks to Miki for posting the Viet translation at www.tvbvnfc.net
please pardon my rough translation if it is not as accurate to the original Chinese message.

additional info: KF's vacation in Japan with Raymond & his girlfriend. i think she is John Chiang's daughter.

Idy Chan followed by paparazzi

2007-04-30T21:39:00.000-04:00

Idy Chan dating a young guy

Idy Chan, who had collaborated with Andy Lau in the popular TV series ROCH, made the media suspect her sex orientation because of her close relationship with a tomboy film director Maisy Choi, after the divorce of 8-year marriage with her ex-hubby Peter Chan. Recently some reporter snapped photos of the 47-year old Idy Chan dated a 30-year old young man in Hong Kong, enjoying teatime together. She seemed very happy throughout the conversation with her hands swinging into the air whereas the young guy looked a little bit shy. Interestingly, the man resembled to Maisy Choi in some ways � both had short hair, wore thick black frame glasses and in black suit.

According to HK media, Idy Chan famed in bringing out the character of SLL in TV series ROCH 83'- an angelic girl as described in Jin Yong's fiction. And her love affairs in reality were just as low-key and mysterious. She ended her 8-year wedlock with an American businessman Peter Chan in 1992 and was found to be co-living with a tomboy film director Maisy Choi for 11 years. With much understanding between each other, they separated finally and it was no secret in the entertainment field.

In a bob hairstyle, wore rather casual and without makeup, Idy Chan who'd disappeared for a long time from the public, showed up in a RTHK activity on Apr 18. She met up a young guy after the function and droved away together, heading for teatime and shopping. She talked and laughed merrily during the dating as if she could not close her lips. On the contrary the young man seemed a little bit shy & quiet. It seemed he was in a hurry that he left earlier, leaving her there with a blank look.

thanks to Kit from Idy English Forum for the translation.

source: chinanews and Sina

lol, at least one good thing comes out of this piece of news: the paparazzi is still interested in following Idy around, even when she's no longer in the limelight. that's my lady! ^__^

ATV hopes to recruit TVB artists

2007-04-27T10:58:00.000-04:00

ATV is willing to pay high prices in order to recruit TVB's popular faces to join their company. apparently, here is the list of salary offered to each artist if they join ATV.

Kenix Kwok & Frankie Lam: 1.5 million HK dollars
Charmaine Sheh: 1.5 million
Sheren Tang: 1.5 million
Bobby Au Yeung: 1.2 million
Ada Choi: 1.2 million
Gigi Lai: 1 million
Jessica Hsuan: 900,000.00
Moses Chan: 800,000.00
Joe Ma: 600,000.00

Scan credit to Forever Joe Ma
Translate (into Viet) by:Lovememories@DAN
thanks to Miki from www.tvbvnfc.net for posting this news.

lol, this is a piece of interesting news to begin the day. i'm wondering something: 1.5 million is for both Frankie & Kenix or each of them? i assume it's for each of them, since with the success of Ten Brothers, the couple can't be that cheap to buy. before the success of Ten Brothers, Kenix's salary for mainland series Redtask was almost 2 million Yuan (equivalent to almost 2 million HK$). she was the highest paid artist of the series, even higher than Chilam. the Jessica part also takes me by surprise. it's amazing that she's under the million range, below Ada, Sheren & Gigi. this really makes me suspect this piece of information. oh well, at least it's fun to read ^__^

Kenix's latest movie Fearless

2007-04-23T20:13:00.000-04:00

after disappearing for about a year, Kenix returned to the screen & joined Roger Kwok in a Christian movie, Fearless. For those fans who are interested, Fearless is now available for sale at Yesasia in DVD/VCD formats. my opinions and reviews below contain SPOILERS, so don't read if you don't want to.

the movie's plot is only mediocre, a type of movie that i don't think i'll watch a 2nd time, or 3rd time even though it has my beloved Kenix. despites the dull religious theme, the movie has some interesting aspects to look at. Kenix plays a very refreshing role as the wife of a homosexual husband. she has no other purpose in life besides taking care of and supporting her dearest husband.

however, her ordinary life takes a 180 degree turn when she one night witnesses his infidelity not with another woman, but a man. her husband is arm in arm, dancing with another homosexual, and lost in their own world. when he finally looks up & sees the shock on his wife's face, he feels so shameful that he doesn't dare to look at her in the eyes. both Kenix & Roger of course deliver excellent performances in this scene. i really cried along with Kenix when she not only discovers that her husband's cheating, he's also a homosexual (or should i say, bi-sexual). she runs away and vows that she will abort their child she's carrying.

however, as the movie's theme centers around religious hope and life optimism, Kenix of course will still keep her child, and bring faith back into her life by providing happiness to other people. she starts doing charity work and helping the needy. her life is simple again, but this time, more meaningful.

Roger looks very handsome in this movie. Kenix looks very pretty as always, but too skinny. i wish she can gain more weight. she looks certainly better now as Fearless was filmed roughly half a year ago. the overall plot gets 1 star out of 5, but for Kenix's fans, she's worth both the time and money ^___^

pictures were taken from www.kwokhoying.com and www.tvbvnfc.net

Frankie & Kenix Joining ATV?

2007-04-21T11:34:00.000-04:00

[The Sun 16/04/07]
Kenix & Frankie Could be Joining the Opposition

With two of TVB's former high ranking executives Mr Ho Ding Kwan and Mr Louis Page joining the ATV board of late and reports that i-Cable will also be making their own drama productions, Kenix Kwok and Frankie Lam were spotted earlier in discussions at a hotel Coffee Shop with executives from i-Cable.
Suggestions indicate that after their success as an on-screen couple in "Ten Brothers", i-Cable are interested in inviting Frankie and Kenix to film a series together again for them. As ATV and i-Cable do not offer long restrictive contracts like TVB, they have become a very attractive proposition for many artistes. Asked about the invitation to film for i-Cable, Kenix and Frankie indicate that they are very sincere, but they have not decided yet, so they were able to discuss their position.
TVB Board Director Mrs Li attended a separate event and asked about Mr Ho joining ATV, she says: "It is a very normal thing. He resigned last year." As for whether she is worried about him taking staff away, she did not respond, but she added later that he had retired and not resigned.

translation credits to Em at www.tvbspace.net
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there have been rumors recently that TVB artists such as Ada, Jessica, & even the former TVB actor Gallen Lo are joining ATV. however, all of them have denied such speculations. i'm not sure if this is the same case for Frankie & Kenix, but i really hope they'll refuse ATV's offer. ATV seems to be doing pretty bad financially, & their series usually have very low ratings. Kenix really should learn Frankie's lessons 10 years ago so she will not make the same mistakes.

Idy Chan at a Press Conference

2007-04-21T11:07:00.000-04:00

Idy Chan Still Interested in Acting

translation credits to Jayne at www.jaynestars.com

Idy Chan Yuk Lin has not made an appearance at a public event for a long time. Yesterday, Idy, Law Lam and advertising executives Chung Wai Ming and Lee Gor attended a promotion, 《一人一個香港故事》to share past humorous incidents at the radio station.
Idy laughed that she does not have a busy lifestyle currently. After filming "Return of the Condor Heroes, she left the entertainment industry. Since learning about Taoism from her teacher, her life has taken a major turning point. She leads a much happier life than before. Idy's character, Siu Lung Nui, in "Return of the Condor Heroes" has been played by numerous actresses in remake versions. But Idy did not watch the remake versions and has only been following dramas, "Prince of Legend."
"It has been a long time since I have watched such an engrossing ancient drama! It even stimulated my interest in filming ancient dramas again!"
Although Idy retains an interest in acting despite retiring for 10 years, she is afraid of the strenous schedule required in filming ancient dramas.
Since entering the entertainment industry, Idy has been addressed as Lian Mui (Sister Lian). Although she is not accustomed to the nickname, she does not mind being addressed in such a manner.

another piece of news translated by Kit from Idy English Forum, source: takungpao, wenweipo & apple daily.

In many people's eye, Idy Chan in ROCH 83 version was the most representative gugu SLL.
Haven't showed up in public for a long time, Idy Chan appeared at the "one person one HK story" press conference in Causeway Bay yesterday. Without any make up, Idy's face got a natural red shade and seemed in good spirit. She still kept quite good. When asked what's her secret? She said it was possibly something to do with her happy mood since she had been learning conionfucianist & tao theory for some time.
The ROCH 83, which she collaborated with Andy Lau, was one of Idy's classic dramas and there were so many versions of SLL after it. Asked if she had watched them, she said no but she was attracted to"jumong" and "gods of honor". She thought they were the fewawesome series recently. She praised both of them were very good and they made her want to film again. So did she really want to return filming? She said nobody contacted her and she didn't refuse filming but it was just she didn't meet any good and ineresting story. She disclosed that she had met TVB producer Poon Ka Tak in Vancouver some time ago and he asked Idy if she had interested to return to TVB for filming. She told him to discuss about it when they were back to HK and if the terms were okay then she wouldn't mind acting again but it wouldn't be any ancient series. It's really hard for her.
Although Lin Mui had not been acting for more than ten years, her popularity was still there, esp. in the Guangdong province (China) becozher dramas were still aired in some TV channels, included ROCH 83'. Many people recongized her when she went to China. She thanked the mainland TV for the free promotion and also to her classic role in ROCH 83'. "However, they didn't invite me for filming but even they did, they couln't reach me hehe," Idy said. Since working in the showbiz, she was always called as Lin Mui. It made her felt warm and as if she didn't ever leave the showbiz. But she did feel embarrassed when she called up some friend and addressed herself as Lin Mui.

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the piece of news really made my day! it's been too long since we last heard of the lovely Idy Chan. it's very nice to know that she is now enjoying her life. even though series nowadays are crappy, it'd be great to see the talented Idy back onscreen again... ^__^

Idy Chan English Forum

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO IDY CHAN!!!

2007-03-25T00:16:00.000-04:00

Happy B-Day to my sweet Idy Chan Yuk Lin!!!

sometimes i wonder why we have to say b-day wishes to Idy every year in forums, scrapbook, & tonight at my blog, with a very little chance (if not impossible) that Idy will ever read. i wonder what she's doing right now; maybe celebrating a small party with her friends & family, or doesn't celebrate at all.

anyway, i still wish her a very fun-filled day, with all wishes granted!

March 25, 2007

12:24 a.m.