[Ta Kung Pao 23/08/06]

Steven Ma, Shirley Yeung, Mimi Lo and Yuen Wah attended the costume fitting for new series "Predicting Fate". Steven plays a kind-hearted layabout in the series and has a triangular affair with Shirley and Benny Chan, who was absent from yesterday's event. Steven laughs: "I have received scripts for two episodes so far, but I am tortured for one and a half episodes, such as being beaten up, thrown in the sea and then strung up to bake in the sun."

As the title suggests, this series is themed around predicting the future, but in real life, Steven does not like fortune-telling. He says: "The only thing I have done is to have a feng shui master check my home when I moved house. This is just a ritual custom more than about the future. I don't really want to know because if it is good then you will be happy, but if it is bad, then it will just make you feel terrible." It turns out that when he was working in Taiwan in 1996, Steven's company asked him to go and see a fortune teller, who said that he will fall from a plane when he is 48 and even if he avoids flying, he will still meet with an accident. Steven laughs: "If I am offered a job in America for a 20-show tour for a big fee, then I will find a way to get there. However, the words from this master has made me very uncomfortable and left a shadow on my life."

Although the master's words were a prediction, just yesterday, there was a news hoax on the internet that said that Steven was involved in the serious traffic accident and was in a coma, possibly dead. In response to this, Steven laughed: "I was working all day yesterday and many people called me telling me to make an appearance. Although these pranks are quite regular, they should not have used the breaking news as a tool because many people depend on this as a source for real news reports. This was a very serious accident and is no joking matter and should definitely not be irresponsibly posted on the internet. It is very tiresome and I wonder if they are breaking any laws. Luckily my father does not go on the internet, otherwise it would have frightened him to death!"

Shirley seemed very excited at the chance to appear in another ancient drama and this time she will be playing a Sitdan girl with braided hair, which is her favourite look. She says that she is more afraid of the cold than the heat, so it is not too bad filming ancient series in the summer. When she put her hand out to shake hands with the press, her hand was icy cold. She says: "The doctor says that I have poor circulation, so I have to do more exercise and not drink cold things."

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/06/08/23/UL-611652.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 23/08/06]

Joey Leung has kept a low profile since the 'shaking car incident', but there were fresh magazine reports yesterday that stated he was back for more 'shaking' as he dated an office lady from the MTR. The reporters printed photographs of him taking his new girl home to Sum Cheng and saying they had met on a game show and also how he and girlfriend Margaret Chung are looking after their own interests.

In order to clear his name, Joey held an impromptu press conference in the TVB canteen yesterday as he was filmed explaining himself for the TVB Pay Vision Entertainment News channel. Joey insists that the girl is just a friend and a tenant of his: "She is my tenant and we have known each other for two years and not from a quiz show. Fortunately she is understanding and she is not angry after I have explained the situation." She also reveals that he was photograhed with another female friend earlier, but she was an old schoolmate from the Academy for Performing Arts that he has known for twenty years and after a night out with some friends, he offered her a lift home because she lives near him and it was late. He says: "Maybe my EQ (Emotional Quotient) is low. I often frown when I am faced with a camera and I feel there is no point in saying too much, but my friends say that if I keep my silence, it will just give more reason for the magazines to keep writing, so I am standing out to clarify this today. Showbiz is like this, so just see this as my turn to entertain everyone. Although this is a consequence of the industry, it is still not easy to bear."

Asked if he has explained the situation to his girlfriend, he asks for his personal life to be left alone because he does not want to talk about it. Asked if Margaret was seeking her own happiness, he insisted that he had said everything he had wanted to so he does not want to get in any deeper.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/06/08/23/UL-611653.htm