[Ta Kung Pao 08/05/07]

Blessing Ceremony for 'Background Master'

TVB's new series "Background Master" held its blessing ceremony yesterday at TKO TVB City and cast members in attendance included Kenneth Ma, Leila Tong, Kate Tsui, Matthew Ko and Fiona Yuen.

This is the first ancient drama for Matthew and Kate and Matthew feels that he will have to remember a lot of names and places so he is often forgetting his lines. This is the first time he will be wearing a hairpiece too, so asked if he is afraid this will lead his own hair to fall out, he says that originally they wanted to shave his hair off, but now he can settle for a wig. If he does lose his hair, then it will be big trouble.

As they have not filmed ancient series before, Matthew and Kate are worried about NG's and Kenneth laughs: "We'll all NG together then." He says that there are a lot of officious lines in this show, so it is like reciting passages at school. Kenneth and Kate will be playing husband and wife, meeting again after their encounters on "La Femme Desperado". Asked if he is no longer worried about rumours because he has Margie Tsang, Kenneth smiles: "There is nothing to fear." He adds that he and Kate will have bed scenes, but they are just fighting there.

Kate has a pair of twin sabres in the show and as they will be filming in High Definition, they have to use real weapons. She is not experienced, so she is afraid of being injured and as a result, she will be taking a few lessons before filming starts. She feels that location filming for ancient series is often in very tough surroundings and she is not used to wearing the flat shoes in these costumes.

Talking of the death of former TVB executive Wong Ka Leung, Kate was very shocked by this and said that she did not meet him during her pageant, but she did see him at the anniversary event. As they are colleagues, then she is still saddened by the news.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/08/UL-733001.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 08/05/07]

Artistes React to Death of Former TVB Executive

Michael Tao, Louisa So and Bernice Liu were filming yesterday for "Harmony, Taste & Passion" and were asked for their response to the recent news about former TVB executive Wong Ka Leung's death after committing suicide brought on by severe depression. Louisa felt that it was a great pity and so sudden, saying: "This illness is so fearsome, so painful that people choose to die. The condition is treatable though, you can go and see the doctor and take medication for it." Michael did not know Mr Wong very well, but he felt very sorry for him and hopes he will rest in peace. As he does not know much about the condition, he was not in a position to comment and as for the massive emotional ups and downs as an artiste, he says that he will release this by going to play badminton.

During his lifetime, Mr Wong was at one point responsible for the planning of the Miss Hong Kong pageant for many years and when Anne Heung, Heidi Chu and Fiona Yuen heard the news, they all felt very saddened. As for Miss Hong Kong minder Rosa Chan, who worked with Mr Wong closely, she says she did see him a few months ago and although she knew he was suffering from depression, she did suggest he should try to look at things from a different perspective. When asked about the memorable times that she had spent with Mr Wong, she could not hold back the tears. Anne says that when she had some problems with her family and career, she cried for two nights and this helped her to release the tension.

Alvina Kong was hand-picked by Mr Wong for her role of 'Maria' in the "Enjoy Yourself Tonight" programmes and she has known him for twenty years, but she did not know him very well. She hopes that his family will have a quiet time to accept the news. She feels that there are too many people with this illness now and she hopes that they will find a way to treat it. Winnie Young once took part in programmes that Mr Wong was responsible for and she feels that his death was very sudden. Mr Wong gave her the impression that he was very easy going and happy, so she feels that his departure is a great shame.

Mimi Lo was very shocked to hear the news and felt very uncomfortable. She has known him from when she first entered the industry and he was always smiling and was never angry, so you couldn't tell that he was ill, especially when he would go out with a big group of colleagues. She knows that after leaving TVB, Mr Wong worked as an executive at i-Cable, so she believes that it may be work stress that pushed him to the limit. She feels that in this industry, the pressure is very great and there are rapid changes between highs and lows, so you have to be able to put things into perspective. Sometimes city people don't know if they are suffering from depression and so you need to look out for any unusual behaviour.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/08/UL-733012.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 08/05/07]

Charmaine Sheh Presented with F-Cup Cake in Taiwan

Charmaine Sheh accepted an invitation from her Taiwan fans and flew over for an early birthday celebration. Several hundred fans were in attendance and they presented her with a special 'F-cup breasts' birthday cake, leaving her a little embarrassed.

Charmaine compared the cake to her own body and the fans explained that the cake represented beauty and wisdom combined into a goddess. Charmaine smiled at this and even lifted the cake up to her own chest for the fans to take a memorable photograph. Charmaine was then so playful that she put the candles in between the breasts on the cake, saying that she did not want to ruin such a perfect pair of breasts. To thank her fans for their support, she sung them the song 'The Moon Represents my Heart'.

This is the first time that Charmaine has met with her fans in Taiwan in this way and they took advantage of the chance to speak their hearts to their idol. Some of the lucky ones who were allowed onto the stage were very nervous and shaking, whilst others did not dare to look at Charmaine in the eye, just saying to the MC: "I love you!". The fans asked her whether she had any funny stories from when she was filming in the mainland and she said: "The funniest thing were the rumours between me and Raymond Lam." Among the Taiwanese fans, some mothers were so keen to meet Charmaine that they even brought their children and babies along with them. Charmaine's series "Maiden's Vow" is currently airing at its height in Taiwan, so she shared her thoughts about whether she was as good a cook as her character in the show. She says that when she was studying in Switzerland for catering management, she learned all about Western cuisine, but often cooked Chinese food in her student halls, but the smoke and grease caused protests from her fellow students and she never succeeded in cooking a meal. She says that when she was studying abroad, she missed her mother's home cooking the most.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/08/UL-733009.htm



[The Sun 08/05/07]

Selena Li joins Patrick Tang for Birthday Party Celebration

It was Patrick Tang's birthday on Sunday and his rumoured girlfriend Selena Li drove over to his Sai Kung home to celebrate with him. When they spotted the press following them, he quickly took her home and then sped away to lose the reporters.

Interviewed on a radio show yesterday, he revealed that he did invite Selena to his home for a barbecue birthday party: "I had invited a big group of friends to my home for a barbecue and Ms Li and I went out to buy a few things, but then we met the press, so I took her home first and cancelled the party because I didn't want my friends to think I was creating publicity for myself. it was my fault, I should not have asked her (Selena) to come with me to buy things." Asked if she had bought him a gift, he said: "No, after taking her home, I went home myself and spent a lonely birthday evening on my own. (You should have asked her to celebrate with you!) No, I didn't want to do that."

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070508/20070507231032_0000.html