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Thursday, September 21, 2006



[Wen Wei Po 22/09/06]

With the military coup breaking out in Thailand, TVB executive Virginia Lok and artiste Sonija Kwok were in Bangkok at the time. After arriving safely back in Hong Kong, they were interviewed about their experience on a radio show yesterday and Sonija became a special correspondant in what was a very memorable experience.

Ms Lok indicated that she and Linda Chung had headed out to Bangkok on Tuesday, but Linda had left on her own first as Ms Lok had to go to a meeting with the local television channels. This was cancelled and she was told to return to her hotel. Ms Lok says: "I had guessed that there was something happened and the locals were 500% certain that there would be a curfew. Originally I wanted to go to a spa, but they even blocked out the television broadcasts in the evening, just showing pictures of the King and playing Thai music. This made me realise that it was something serious. When I turned to other channels, I found out about the martial law and so I left the TV on all night and fell asleep."

As she knew there was not any trouble, Ms Lok continued with her plans to join Sonija for a photoshoot in Bangkok. Sonija indicates that at first she did not plan to travel, but after calling Ms Lok and finding out that everything was ok, she decided to make the trip. Sonija says: "Although it seemed quite serious on the television, my work had already been arranged and I did not want to cause any problems, so I flew out as planned on the 20th and returned in the evening. I even became a reporter for the day and it was a great experience." Sonija says that after arriving, there were many soldiers standing guard in the streets, looking expressionless. However she was not thinking about fear because the company had arranged for her to be the special correspondant, so she was just thinking about the best place to shoot the report for the Hong Kong viewers.

http://www.wenweipo.com/news.phtml?news_id=EN0609220005&cat=011EN



[Wen Wei Po 22/09/06]

Roger Kwok, Ada Choi, Halina Tam and Fiona Yuen had a whistlestop tour of several cities in Canada on a TVB promotional trip and as well as meeting the fans up close at their autograph events, they also performed three evening shows, where they played games with and sang for thousands of Canadian fans, thanking them for their support. In order to bring more fans closer to their idols, the organisers had arranged for them to visit Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver in a very fast paced tour, but the warmth and welcome from the fans left them all very touched and gave them the spirit to stay lively throughout the tour.

As Halina celebrates her birthday in September, the organisers had prepared a huge birthday cake for her. The several hundred fans at the show sung "Happy Birthday" to her in a heartwarming occasion. This warmth from the fans made them work even harder to please in the evening shows as Ada emerged to open proceedings, singing Kelly Chen's "Fa Fa Yu Jau" (Paisley Universe) and Miriam Yeung's song "Ho Sik Ngo Si Sui Ping Jor" (Shame I am an Aquarian), but despite not being a natural singer, she carried off the performance with her sweet voice. The other three artistes also joined to offer their songs, leaving the fans very satisfied. Afterwards, they welcomed some members of the audience onto the stage to play some games and sing together as Roger often lapsed into his 'Ah Wong' character and causing many laughs.

http://www.wenweipo.com/news.phtml?news_id=EN0609220002&cat=011EN



[Ta Kung Pao 22/09/06]

The studio blessing ceremony took place for TVB's new series "Predicting Fate", attended by cast members Steven Ma, Shirley Yeung, Brian Wong and producer Tsui Yu On. The other leading male Benny Chan called the producer just before the event to advise he would not be attending due to illness.

Reports suggest that since this series started filming, there have been incidents of people arriving late and leading to delays in shoots. When Steven was asked to verify this, he immediately said: "I am a very punctual person myself, but those who are late make it very unfair to those who arrive on time. Sometimes being 30 minutes late is acceptable, but you cannot be two or three hours late all the time. I know that some of the directors have reflected this back to the producer, who has taken steps to ensure that morale is maintained." Steven suggests that to encourage punctuality, they should introduce fines for those who arrive late. He says: "Even $1 a minute would be good, we can use the money to buy food for everyone else. (Are you not afraid this will spoil the relationship between artistes?)This is about attitude to work and have those who arrive late ever spared a thought for the other people? I am targeting the situation and not the person, so I am not afraid."

As for Shirley, she indicates that she has not been hindered by tardy colleagues and says: "I have never experienced waiting several hours for one person. Normally it happens when it is rainy and this can't be helped. However, if Steven launches the fine system, then I will support him." Producer Tsui indicated that Benny was absent due to illness, but he will be coming in to film at 8pm. He says: "Maybe he has been working too hard for the past few days, but I will find out what has happened. (Are there often people arriving late on this series?) It is not just him, there are many people who are late, men and women and not just him. I will address this with them individually."

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/06/09/22/UL-626030.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 22/09/06]

At a lifestyle party earlier, many artistes took part, including Claire Yiu and boyfriend Thomas Lam, Eunis Chan, Marsha Yuen, Sheila Chan and Amanda Li. For Claire who is due to wed on 11th November, she seemed very content with her sweetheart.

Claire indicated that the reason she had denied this earlier was because she was afraid of jinxing it. She says that now it has all been confirmed, she will be holding her wedding banquet at Tuen Mun's Gold Coast Resort. As for suggestions that their wedding was the result of the "Seven Year Itch", she points out that they have been dating for over seven years. Her boyfriend had proposed to her previously on several occasions and he even went down on one knee this time. Claire agreed this time because she felt that they have been through many ups and downs and she can truly depend on her fiance. The bridesmaid will be her cousin and the best man will be Cheng Kai Tai. The sisters troupe will consist of Yoyo Mung, Christine Ng, Tavia Yeung and Sharon Chan and the brothers will include Kasey Lin, Chan Shan Chung and a few friends from outside showbiz. Asked if Thomas will be inviting Ekin to accompany him, he laughed that Ekin is very busy playing badminton.

Sheila arrived at the event with her good friend Isabella Kau and she seemed quite perky. She says her luck has changed since she changed her name [Sheila has recently changed her Chinese name from Chan Suk Lan to Chan Do Yin] and she is not worried about the similarity in sound to a bladder condition. When the press noticed a scar on her right arm, she openly admitted that this was caused by a suicide attempt in 1991 after she was possessed by a spirit and developed depression.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/06/09/22/UL-626032.htm



[The Sun 22/09/06]

After winning Miss Hong Kong and being promoted by TVB earlier, Mandy Cho upset the executives at the beginning of the year, leaving her dumped in favour of up and coming star Linda Chung. Rumours suggest that as TVB had half given up with her progress, she was allowed to take 9 months off to study Gemology in America.

Reports indicate that Mandy's contract with TVB does not end until 2009, so she is faced with a rather unsure future ahead of her. She arrived back in Hong Kong on Wednesday evening with five cases of luggage and was quickly met by her parents. Some male fans gathered around her asking for her autograph and to take a photo with them. Asked if she has finished her studies, she says: "I have been in America for nine months now, studying Gemstone Identification. I have not had any new work yet, but I will be discussing this with TVB shortly." After saying this, Mandy quickly left with her parents in her father's work car.

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20060922/20060921233254_0000.html



[The Sun 22/09/06]

Bernice Liu recently shot an ad for a tea company and as the response to the ads has been very good, the sponsors have shown their appreciation to Bernice, they sent her a number of different types of tea to help her relax during her busy schedule. Newcomer Nicky Hung was also there to share his thoughts with her about health and he also recommended his own new song to her!

http://the-sun.orisun.com/channels/ent/20060922/20060921233046_0000.html


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