[Ta Kung Pao & The Sun25/05/06]

Ron, Sammul & Tavia "On the First Beat"

New series "On the First Beat" will be airing after the finale of "Heart of Greed" and the cast members held a promotional event at a Ho Man Tin secondary school yesterday. However, some of the more senior members of the cast such as the heavily rumoured Michael Tao and Sonija Kwok and guest star Joey Yung were noticeably absent and it was left to the younger leads Ron Ng, Sammul Chan and Tavia Yeung to hold the fort, together with Yan Ng and Rocky Cheng. However, they were all unafraid of being affected by the earlier reports about Michael's divorce and were full of confident for the show.

With three of the leads missing from the event, producer Wong Wai Sing indicates that Sonija is on vacation until July, so she will not be taking part in any of the promotions and Michael is currently in Japan filming on location for "Harmony Taste & Passion" and will not be back in Hong Kong until 9th June, when he will take part in the later events. Joey is too busy at the moment, but she will be at the promotional event on Tuesday. Asked if he is worried that this will affect the ratings, he says that the audience is only interested in the show and not necessarily in whether the stars appear at events. He is currently producing another show "Cold Encounters of the Third Kind", but female lead Toby Leung was admitted to hospital with fever and vomiting. Wong says that Toby was discharged earlier and will be returning to work today and this has not affected progress because they had skipped ahead to scenes that did not include her.

Ron is not worried that "First" is following on from the hit series "Heart" and says: "I am confident in this series because last time it was about our training as a cadet and this time it tells of how the cadets are out on the job. There are also more scenes of training at the PTU and also rioting scenes, so the content is much more interesting than the first series." Ron will be heading out to Chengdu to film a joint production between a mainland and Taiwanese company, where he plays a wine producer. He plans to be there for two months before heading back to Hong Kong to film for "The Four Great Constables". As he does not want to affect the schedules for "Four", then he will be rushing his filming in China for the next two months and therefore he will not be able to attend any more promotions for "First".

Tavia has been busy promoting both "Heart" and "First" and she smiles that if she had a fee for these promotions she would be rich. With two series being aired back to back, she is pleased that this has brought her more stage performances and made her some extra money and she hopes to reward herself with a new car. Does she feel any pressure with "First" being released so soon after "Heart"? She says:"I am confident in the new series, because there are a lot of new cast members and after the hype of "Heart", then the ratings should continue to be good. (Are you not worried about the negative rumours surrounding Michael and Sonija?) No, rumours are not real and they will actually help bring focus on the series. The viewers want to watch the drama and not the gossip."

Sammul has just returned from Thailand and it has been two or three years since he last visited Bangkok, so he joined a few friends on a trip there. One night in a bar, when they were going to the toilet, they passed three girls and one of them turned round and pinched Sammul on the buttock. He was rather shocked, but by the time he had realised this, they had gone into the ladies and he was left helpless. Sammul says that he was not angry: "It's okay for a man to be pinched on the bum, it is only used for sitting on and is not an important area. (So what if they had pinched one of those areas?) Of course I would protect myself then! At the first opportunity!" On this trip, Sammul met with many Hong Kong tourists and was asked to be photographed by many 'aunties'.

Sammul was sporting a bit of stubble and a shaved head at the event and he explains that it is just for fun and for no real reason. Asked if he has any expectations for "First", he smiles: "I feel that this time it will be even better than last time because there are some evacuation and riot scenes in there. Also with new cast members such as Joey and Yan Ng, then I am confident in ratings and hope that we can have a 'cadet's blog'."

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/25/UL-741385.htm
http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/25/UL-741384.htm
http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070524234929_0000.html



[Ta Kung Pao 25/05/07]

Fala Chen Makes Money From Recent Popularity

Fala Chen and Lisa S were guest models for a shoe company earlier and they walked down the catwalk in the season's latest designs. Fala says that she has many pairs of shoes at home because every time she sees a pair that she likes, then she will buy them. Some she has only worn once or twice and then put them aside, so she then gives then away to her mother or her friends. At the moment she has about 50 pairs of shoes at home and although it is already too many, she still buys one or two pairs a month.

In choosing her footwear, Fala feels that comfort is the most important and she found a pair of 5 inch heels at the event that were extremely comfortable and did not make her feet as tired as other heels. When she was in America, she would often frequent this particular shoe shop, so she was very excited when she found that she could buy them in Hong Kong as well. Talking of the popularity of her series "Heart of Greed" spreading to each of the cast members and bringing them opporutunities to make some extra money, Fala admits that she has benefitted from the extra work of late and she will make the most of it before she has to start filming again for new series "Golden Destiny".

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/25/UL-741386.htm



[Ta Kung Pao 25/05/07]

Yoyo Mung Doesn't Mind being Mistress or Villain

The 'Home and Living Expo Room' at HITEC (Hong Kong International Trade & Exhibition Centre) at Kowloon Bay was opened yesterday by Hopewell Managing Director Mr Thomas Wu and a group of celebrity guests including Yoyo Mung, Eunis Chan, Isabella Kau, David Ki and Mr & Mrs Chau Kai Bong.

Yoyo indicated that she loves buying furniture and loves to select some favourite pieces at her leisure. She smiles that it has been four years since she moved into her current home, but has still not found a dinner table to her liking. She says she has found one during her travels abroad, but the import procedure was complicated and she is worried about ordering off the internet, so she would rather buy it directly from the manufacturer. Talking of recent rumours that she was originally cast to play Sheung Joi Sum in "Heart of Greed", but was then cast in the mistress character of Sui Mak Mak after the show started filming, Yoyo denies this saying that she had confirmed to play Sui Mak Mak before the show started filming. Asked if she was worried about being hated by the audience, she says she does not mind at all because she was clear about the moral background to the character when the producer first offered her the part. As an artiste, she feels she should try any role to truly understand the breadth of her talents. When her good friend Lai Lok Yi pointed out to her that she was being hated universally, she did not mind at all and hopes that she can play a villain in her next role. Has Ekin been watching the show? Yoyo says that she has not been in Hong Kong recently, so she does not know whether Ekin has been watching.

Eunis likes to give her old furniture to her sister and then buy new items for herself and she will spend the most money on beds. As she is tall, she has been used to sleeping in large beds since she was young and she had to order a special 7 foot bed that she sleeps in now. She smiles that she has to sleep 8 hours a day, so she feels that selecting a comfortable bed will help keep her beautiful and healthy.

Joey Meng was also at the event yesterday as an opening guest for one of the exhibitors and she idnicates that in the past two years, she has been a full time housewife and she is really enjoying life. When she feels like it, she has been taking on the odd stage show appearance and maybe she will return to film series if she has the opportunity.

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/news/07/05/25/UL-741392.htm



[The Sun 25/05/07]

Moses Chan says 'Knitting Bernice' is Cute

Moses Chan, Linda Chung and other cast members from "Jewel's Splendor" were spotted at Hong Kong airport earlier as they prepared to set off to France to film on location. As Moses is currently appearing in the hit series "Heart of Greed", many fans called out his character's nickname 'Dak Dak Dei' and pulled him over for photos. Some female fans even asked for a hug. He says that they will be in France for at least two weeks and hopes to try the local Bordeaux red wine.

As for the recent reports that rumoured girlfriend Bernice Liu will be knitting him a jumper, Moses smiles sweetly and says: "That cover is very sweet! Great promotion!" Asked if he will be building a love nest with Bernice, he says: "The news about my apartment broke ages ago. It is just an investment." Linda says that she will be rushing back for a "Heart" promotion, so she will only be in France for two days and she reveals that she will be taking the crew out to karaoke when she returns together with Raymond Lam.

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070524234719_0000.html



[The Sun 25/05/07]

Linda Chung had Secret Crush on her Senior for 5 Years

Linda Chung's character Sheung Joi Sum in "Heart of Greed" is actually very similar to her in real life because as well as being very careful with money, Linda is also very faithful with her love and she reveals that also had a secret crush on a senior at school for five years!

Linda is well known to be very careful with her money, so in "Heart", she is really playing herself in the role and she admits her personality and outlook on love is very similar to Sheung Joi Sum. Asked who is more careful, Linda says: "I feel that Sheung Joi Sum is more careful. I will spend when I need to and not at all like the reports that suggest I just spend $20 a day. I am not as bad as Sheung Joi Sum."

Linda reveals that she spend four or five years at school harbouring a crush on a boy in an upper year, in the same way that Sheung Joi Sum did on Ching Leung (Raymond Lam's character) in the show. However, although she is faithful, she can also be very carefree with love and will not put her heart and soul into it. If she finds a third party in the relationship, then she will definitely split up with him and will not keep harbouring feelings like her character does in the show.

In the series, she becomes entwined in relationships between Ching Leung and 'Dak Dak Dei' (Moses Chan) and Linda says that in real life, she would probably still choose Ching Leung: "Love is all about instinct and Ching Leung was love at first sight, whereas with Dak Dak Dei, it was a love that grew from sympathy."

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070525000210_0000.html



[The Sun 25/05/07]

Esther Kwan Back to Pre-Pregnancy Figure

Esther Kwan shot an ad for her slimming company sponsors yesterday and she reveals that her weight is back to 105 lbs, where she was before she became pregnant. "I have not been dieting and sometimes I will use the machines and have facials. At my peak, I was about 120 lbs, then I took slimming pills, but after a week I stopped because the side effects were affecting my heartbeat." She plans to take up yoga and Taichi soon to keep fit.

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070524234959_0000.html



[The Sun 25/05/07]

Idy Chan Turns Down Charity Tango Act

Idy Chan took part in a charity walk event at the Peak yesterday and asked whether she would be performing a tango for the fundraising show, she shook her head and said: "No! It's too close, I don't want there to be any physical contact." With her recent rise in appearances, she denies that she plans a comeback, explaining that she never retired from the industry in the first place! She says that TVB are negotiating with her to return and film a series, but nothing has been confirmed as yet.

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070524235020_0000.html



[The Sun 25/05/07]

Halina Tam Holds Back Tears Trying on Wedding Gown

Halina Tam and insurance hero fiance Eric dated for just a year before they announced their plans t marry and the happy couple were discovered trying on their wedding outfits at a studio yesterday. However, as Halina's beloved pet dog has just died, she was holding back the tears and her sadness.

Having revealed her marriage plans earlier, Halina and Eric attended a studio in Tsimshatsui to try on their wedding gowns. Treated as VIP's throughout, the bride-to-be tried on a number of outfits, whilst Eric tried on some tailed jackets. They showed off their loving as Eric often brushed his fiancee's hair and even asked the assistants to play the Miss Hong Kong theme tune when Halina tried on the tiaras.

Halina reveals that their wedding will take place on 11th September at the Intercontinental Hotel, with a 45 table banquet. She also says that they met a year ago at a friend's birthday party. Asked if she minded the nickname 'Miss Hong Kong Killer' that he has been given, Halina said she did not mind at all: "He has told me all about it and it is in the past."

However, Halina was a little upset yesterday because her beloved 'daughter' Lulu died of cancer yesterday morning. She says her pet had had an operation, but the wound did not heal and so she regretted putting her pet through two days of agony instead of letting her go peacefully. Halina feels that maybe Lulu knew she would be busy with her wedding preparations so she chose to depart a little earlier.

http://the-sun.on.cc/channels/ent/20070525/20070524234817_0000.html