Sales Presentation and Actual Series

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

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!!!

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

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

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

"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

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

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

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

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