As promised (to those whom I’ve been consistently chatting with about CTI and the whole free TV license thing), here is the latest article that ND Daily published (just last month) about the HK television industry’s upcoming free-to-air TV battle.
This is a VERY interesting read (not to mention extremely well-written) because it outlines in detail the process for obtaining a free-to-air TV license in HK and also attempts to understand why there has been such a huge delay in the 3 companies (CTI, NowTV,i-Cable) obtaining their licenses.
I will have to say though that the article is sort of written from CTI’s perspective (especially the second half of the article), but that’s actually not surprising given the fact that CTI has been the most vocal of the 3 stations up to this point. Not sure if this will have any effect on people reading this article….it doesn’t affect me personally, but since there are a lot of ‘CTI haters’ – for lack of a better term – out there, I figured I would make this point clear just in case.
Due to the length of the article (it is VERY long), I only translated and posted up Part 1 for now – I’ll get part 2 up within the next few days. Luckily, the two parts of the article are somewhat independent, so they don’t have to be read together. Part 1 outlines the free TV licensing process and touches upon why it’s taking close to 3 years (!!) for this process to take place while part 2 consists primarily of interviews with CTI’s management and artists regarding their thoughts on the issue.
Lastly, in case anyone is interested….
Here are a couple links to the press releases that the government issued in May 2012 related to the free-to-air licensing issue. Sure, there’s a lot of legal (and business) jargon in the press releases, but if you filter those out, they provide a pretty thorough outline of the process. I’ve also included the link to a news article from the government’s website (also published in May 2012) that provides a good summary of the 2 press releases.
News Article from May 2012: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/finance/html/2012/05/20120530_141435.shtml
Press Release 1:
http://www.cedb.gov.hk/ctb/eng/press/2012/pr30052012.htm
Press Release 2:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201201/11/P201201110369.htm
.****.
ND Daily Exclusive: When will the Free-to-air TV War Truly Begin?
Source: ND Daily News -- Part 1
Translation: llwy12
Article originally published 9/14/12
In March of this year ND Daily published a series of articles entitled “HK Television New Revolution” 《香港电视新风暴》that took an in-depth look at each of the ‘players’ in the upcoming HK free-to-air TV station war. Seven months later, this ‘war’ still has not officially begun.
With the new free-to-air TV licenses still not issued yet, there are rumors that one of the 3 contenders for the license – Ricky Wong’s City Telecom (CTI) – may be the most severely impacted. Recently, construction on CTI’s brand new multi-million dollar mega TV and Multimedia Production Center in Tseung Kwan O was halted, leading to panic and speculation that the company might be in financial trouble.
In this exclusive report, ND Daily’s reporters will attempt to ‘chase down’ the reason behind the delay in issuing the free-to-air licenses and also thr0ugh our interview, ask Ricky Wong to respond to the various rumors surrounding his company and the licensing issue.
Part 1: The reasons behind ‘holding’ of the free-to-air licenses
Based on our [ND Daily reporter]’s understanding, the process for obtaining a free-to-air television license consists of the following steps [TN: these steps are accurate, as they are also confirmed in various press releases from the government]:
.1) Interested parties submit their application for a license
.2) Await a 2 month Public Consultation period [in which comments and opinions from the HK general public are gathered] as well as a Communications Authority (formerly Broadcasting Authority) Assessment period [in which the CA determines if the applicants meet all the criteria outlined in the Broadcasting Ordinance]
.3) The Communications Authority submits its approval and recommendation to the Chief Executive in Council [aka the HK government] to grant the licenses.
.4) The CE in Council reviews the recommendations and issues the licenses.
Back in 2009, three companies – City Telecom Limited (CTI), Fantastic Television Limited (i-Cable), and HK Television Entertainment Company Limited (NowTV) – submitted their applications for free-to-air licenses to the Communications Authority (formerly known as the Broadcasting Authority). Subsequently, the Communications Authority conducted a public consultation period [from July to September 2010] in accordance with the requirements under the Broadcasting Ordinance. In May of 2011, the Communications Authority ‘approved’ the issuance of the licenses and submitted their ‘recommendation’ to the Chief Executive in Council to approve and issue the licenses. Based on this ‘news’ (back in May 2011) that the licenses had been ‘approved’ and will soon be issued, the 3 companies that applied (CTI, NowTV, i-Cable) started preparing to enter the free-to-air television market by recruiting artists / behind-the-scenes crew as well as financing various related projects [i.e. building studios, investing in filming locations, etc.]. Amongst the 3 companies, CTI – under Ricky Wong’s leadership – was the most aggressive, as they launched a massive ‘poaching’ mission that resulted in more than 100 artists and behind-the-scenes personnel joining their company.
Throughout this process, strong objections to the issuance of the free TV licenses from currently existing free TV broadcasters [TVB and ATV] never stopped – in fact, these ‘objections’ played a major role in the ‘delays’ that occurred in the license issuance process.
Ironically, with all the ‘drama’ and controversy surrounding the issuance of free-to-air TV licenses to the 3 new companies, it’s almost like watching a long serial TV drama, complete with climaxes and all. Every time there’s word from the government that the ‘issuance of the licenses is imminent’ and the TV industry prepares to ‘go to war’, it turns out to be a ‘false alarm’ – each time, the ‘war’ never makes it off the ground.
.--.
In February 2012, CTI held a grand ‘ground-breaking’ ceremony marking the start of construction for its planned 500,000 square feet TV and Multimedia Production Center in Tseung Kwan O. That day, CTI’s chairman Ricky Wong (who is known for his ‘high-profile’ ways) announced that he “already received official notification that the Broadcasting Authority [now known as the Communications Authority] has approved the issuance of their free TV license – it is anticipated that the official announcement to the public will be made in the next month or two!”
It has been 7 months since Ricky Wong made his ‘declaration’. Throughout those months, Mr. Wong has continued to hold various events every other month or so to ‘show off’ the artists and other personnel that he had recruited – his confidence that the government will ‘issue the licenses soon’ has been unwavering. On September 12, 2012, over 140 artists and behind-the-scenes personnel as well as CTI’s top management gathered at the W. Hotel in HK for a poolside party to celebrate CTI’s 20th anniversary. At the party, when Mr. Wong was once again asked: “When will CTI receive its free TV license?”, his response was markedly different from the strong ‘declaration’ of confidence that he had given in the past: “You’ll need to ask the HK government!”
It has already been more than 1000 days since CTI submitted their application for a free-to-air TV license (they submitted their application on New Year’s Eve of 2009). As CTI’s management, artists, crew, as well as audiences concerned with when the licenses will be issued still continue to wait….wait…wait, various ‘rumors’ related to CTI’s finances continue to surface. Earlier, there were rumors that CTI halted construction on its massive TV studio for 1 month and management was scrambling to implement numerous ‘expense control’ methods, leading to ‘hesitation’ from some artists who were planning to ‘jump ship’ to CTI – in addition, these ‘rumors’ led to widespread speculation that the government will not issue the licenses after all.
During CTI’s 20th Anniversary party, ND Daily’s reporter once again interviewed Ricky Wong as well as a bunch of CTI’s artists and behind-the-scenes crew to find out their thoughts on the free TV license issue and also understand how CTI plans to manage its quickly growing expenses during this ‘waiting’ period. In addition, based on research gathered from various sources, we [ND Daily reporters] will attempt to understand the reasoning behind the delay in the issuance of the 3 free TV licenses.
Obstacle #1: ATV files legal challenge against issuance of additional free-to-air licenses, resulting in a 6 month ‘tie-up’ in court
At the party, our reporter asked Mr. Wong: “Why is it taking so long for the licenses to be issued? Throughout the process, what is the biggest obstacle you have encountered?”, to which Mr. Wong replied: “Because ATV filed a legal challenge with the government, we ended up in a ‘court battle’ for 6 months!”
In reality, ATV has been opposed to the issuance of the 3 addition free TV licenses from the beginning. Fearing that they will lose out to the impending new ‘competition’, ATV had issued a written objection letter to the Broadcasting Authority back in September 2010 in which they stated that issuing additional free TV licenses is unfair to ATV and would have a negative impact on them – in their letter, ATV also requested that the BA delay their plans for issuing new licenses until 2015. In May 2011, when HK Media reported that the Broadcasting Authority already made the decision to recommend to the Chief Executive in Council that all criteria has been met for the licenses to be issued, ATV immediately launched a request to ‘appeal’ the decision, using the Broadcasting Ordinance as their basis. When their request to appeal was denied by the courts at the end of 2011, ATV then waited until the very last day of their appeal period to submit a request for ‘judicial review’ with the higher courts. In March 2012, HK’s higher court system issued a statement indicating that the Broadcasting Authority’s ‘recommendation’ for the CE in Council to issue the free TV licenses was merely a ‘suggestion’ that has no legal binding whatsoever; also, since the licenses have not been issued yet, ATV’s interests have not been directly harmed – therefore, the request for ‘judicial review’ of the BA’s recommendation is ‘unwarranted’ at this point in time. They suggested that ATV should instead wait until the CE in Council [aka the HK government] actually announces the decision to issue the licenses before considering further [legal] action. ATV responded that they are still discussing internally whether they will continue to appeal.
Ricky Wong candidly stated that ATV’s numerous ‘legal challenges’ played a huge part in delaying the process of issuing the licenses – luckily though, the government [via the courts] already ‘eliminated’ this obstacle earlier in the year [by rejecting ATV’s requests for appeal and judicial review].
Even though one obstacle was ‘eliminated’ (for now), another one was waiting in the woodwork – this time, the ‘obstacle’ came from the company that, up until this point, had been asserting to the public that they ‘welcome fair competition’: the HK television industry’s ‘Number 1 Brother’, TVB.
Obstacle #2: TVB criticizes the ‘lack of transparency’ in the [license issuing] process and ‘claims’ that the pie is not enough to share.
On May 17, 2012, TVB executives held a closed door investors meeting – not long afterwards, TVB’s General Manager Mark Lee (李宝安) ‘blasted’ the Broadcasting Authority, claiming that the free TV license review and approval process ‘lacked transparency’. TVB also indicated that for the past 15 years, the advertising market for free-to-air television in HK has remained at approximately 3 billion HKD – if the free-to-air TV stations were to increase from 2 to 4 or 5, there is a possibility that the current TV stations would be forced to close down. Mark Lee made it clear that he [on behalf of TVB] hopes the government will clearly consider the issue and that if TVB’s interests are ‘unfairly threatened’, they will not hesitate to take legal action.
Up to this point, TVB had taken an ‘unperturbed’ approach to the situation, but in reality, they could no longer just ‘sit back’ and observe. Just as it appeared that the issuance of the licenses was imminent, TVB decided to ‘join the battle’, even ‘teaming up’ with ATV’s management to criticize licensing process – both current stations adamantly expressed that the HK television market cannot handle 5 TV stations and requested that the government conduct another ‘public consultation’ exercise [to once again gather comments / opinions from the public]. In an unexpected and surprising ‘twist’, one of the 3 companies also waiting for a free TV license – i-Cable (Fantastic Television) – also jumped into the fray: i-Cable’s management also voiced their opinion that the government should indeed conduct another public consultation exercise in order to reduce the possibility of current stations requesting ‘judicial review’ of the process later on.
While all this was going on, Ricky Wong was in the middle of leading his company in another ‘grand display’ of his artists and series that already started filming. Asked about encountering yet another obstacle to the issuance of his free TV license, Mr. Wong could only helplessly reply: “Perhaps it’s a good thing for the licenses not to be issued so quickly – it allows us to accumulate another 200-300 hours of programming first!”
When he was interviewed at the 20th anniversary party, Ricky Wong once again emphasized: “For the issuance of the licenses, the final decision rests with the Chief Executive and his Council. To be honest, all of the legal procedures have already been completed and the Broadcasting Authority already recommended for the government to issue the 3 licenses. Recently, I have not heard the Communication Authority announcing any changes to their decision.”
Obstacle #3: Timing issue with the government changing hands (new Chief Executive and Council in government) leading to more cautious and thorough review of the licensing documents.
As for the 3rd obstacle in the license issuance process, Ricky Wong helplessly stated: “After a 6 month court battle, just as the government indicated that the issuance of the licenses would be imminent, we encountered yet another challenge – the government changing hands!”
Mr. Wong indicates that fighting this free TV license battle has pretty much been an ‘uphill’ one. In April of this year, Ricky Wong announced that he would be selling the telecommunications portion of his business (the ‘core’ of his company) for 5 billion HKD, which included the telecom and broadband segment of the business that he had personally ‘brought up’ for 20 years. Asked about his decision to sell, Mr. Wong indicated that with all the legal challenges overcome and ‘rumors’ from the government that granting of the licenses could become a reality very soon, he wanted to ‘prepare’ by making sure that he had enough cash onhand, since building a TV empire is a very expensive business. Unfortunately, just like in the previous instances, the ‘rumors’ were just that – rumors! Once again, CTI and its staff found themselves in another familiar position: indefinite waiting.
After that, the time came for the government to ‘change hands’. CTI’s television department head of directors (also formerly TVB’s labor union chairman) Lau Shun On (刘顺安) told ND Daily’s reporters: “Due to the Chief Executive and Council changing hands, then the legislative council elections, the new government didn’t have time to deal with the free TV licensing situation. Most of our communication up to this point was with the previous government officials, but timing-wise, things got delayed. In addition, due to the objections from TVB and ATV, the new government taking over now has to address their concerns – in order to do so, they have to study the documents all over again….we believe this is the primary reason for the issuance of the licenses to once again be delayed.”
Recently, the HK Media reported that it is rumored the government could issue the licenses as early as October – when ND Daily’s reporter asked Ricky Wong about this, he told them to go ask the government instead: “Hopefully the licenses can be issued within the next 2 to 3 months. I have confidence that the government won’t deny the licenses!”
LL's Musings 小賢角落
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Joining director Johnnie To’s management company, Wallace Chung makes his return to the HK entertainment industry
I was reading the latest issue of Mingpao Weekly over the weekend and came across the below article about singer/actor Wallace Chung. I was aware of Wallace when he first started out in HK (specifically as an actor at TVB) back in the 90s, however I never really paid attention to him back then because I never really watched any of the series he was in and by the time I learned of him, he had already left HK to pursue a career in Taiwan. Ironically, it was actually when he was in Taiwan that I become more familiar with him (though still not by much), since there was a period during the 90s and early 2000s when I was 'regularly' following Taiwan entertainment (obviously not anymore, since I pretty much don't know any of the Taiwan artists from the 'after 2000s' era) -- I remember he had that hit song (the dance song OREA) in Taiwan and was known as 'Xiao Tai Yang' (Little Sun) over there. Later on, after Wallace went to Mainland China to pursue his television acting career, I pretty much never heard anything else about him, since I don't follow Mainland entertainment at all. In a sense, I guess you could say that I pretty much "forgot" about Wallace and only knew that he was still active in the entertainment industry, though his focus was primarily in Mainland (and maybe still Taiwan to some extent).
It wasn't until a few months ago when the 1994 TVB drama Journey of Love was re-broadcast on TV and I watched it for the first time (yes, for the first time) that I started to "remember" Wallace once again, primarily because I was so impressed by his performance in that particular series. (Those who are interested can read my review of the series here: JOL Review). Coincidentally, around that same time, Wallace's name also came up during an online discussion I was having with a friend and after that, I started paying more attention to him for some reason. Though I'm not a fan of his by any means (which makes sense since I haven't been following his career these past 10 years), I do like his acting so far in the few series that I've seen of his -- plus he comes across to me as a very 'likable' person based on the interviews I've seen / read of his. To me, his personality (and looks) didn't seem to change at all over the past decade -- he still comes across as the same shy, quiet, cute, friendly young guy that he was back in the 90s (that's the impression I had of him back then) :o)
Anyway, this was a nice article about Wallace (Oriental Daily also did one a week or so ago -- I read it but didn't translate it), so I just felt like sharing it! Hope Wallace fans (and non-fans) enjoy it!
P.S.: To BOGAEfan (if you're still following my blog): I did this post primarily for you...LOL! You can thank me later! :o)
*****
Joining director Johnnie To’s management company, Wallace Chung makes his return to the HK entertainment industry
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2290
Translation: llwy12
One of Mainland China’s most ‘representative’ award shows – the 26th Annual Chinese Television Golden Eagle Awards + the 9th Annual Golden Eagle Television Arts Festival – took place earlier this month [September]. The ceremony included a newly established award for artists from the Hong Kong/ Taiwan / Macau region to participate in this year -- after the nominees were announced, HK actor Wallace Chung (鍾漢良) was widely viewed as the ‘hot favorite’ to win – in the end, Wallace did not disappoint, as he successfully took home the ‘Audience Favorite Hong Kong / Taiwan / Macau Actor’ award for his acclaimed performance in Mainland series Imminent Danger 《一觸擊發》. After a 19 year absence from the HK entertainment industry, Wallace recently signed with HK director Johnnie To’s (杜琪峯) management company and with his participation in the award-winning director’s latest film Drug War 《毒戰》, he makes his ‘official’ return to HK audience’s screens.
Hearing the name ‘Wallace Chung’, most HK audiences have probably already forgotten who he is – in fact, the younger generation HK audiences most likely don’t know who he is period! Wallace got his start in HK as a dancer and made his acting debut in the 1993 TVB drama series The Chord to Victory 《少年五虎》[TN: the series is a semi-biographical account based on the lives of legendary HK band members The Wynners] in which he portrayed the younger version of singer/actor Kenny Bee (鍾鎮濤). In 1995, Wallace’s singing talent was recognized by singer/songwriter/music producer Samuel Tai (邰正宵), who invited him to Taiwan to pursue a singing career -- his debut album OREA [in 1995] was a huge success in Taiwan and shot him to almost instant popularity. Looking back now, his ‘path to fame’ was very similar to that of HK ‘Heavenly King’ Aaron Kwok (郭富城), except that upon making a name for himself, Wallace decided to remain in Taiwan instead of returning to HK. Later on, he was invited to Mainland China to film TV series and was able to achieve tremendous success as an actor over there – not only does he currently have over 7 million fans ‘following’ his Sina Weibo account, he has also won quite a few awards [acting and music related] throughout his career. After recently winning the ‘Golden Eagle’ Favorite Male Actor Award, Wallace’s status in the Mainland is even more tightly established.
Doesn’t mind starting from the bottom again
Towards his ‘Golden Eagle’ win, Wallace states: “Actually, I was already very happy with being nominated for 3 awards, so winning that award was truly the icing on the cake -- I guess you could say it proved that my hard work all these years paid off. The Golden Eagle awards is an important event in Mainland and is pretty representative – plus this year was the first year that they opened it up for HK, Taiwan, Macau artists to participate, so it’s quite unprecedented. Being the first HK actor to win the award is a huge boost of encouragement for me.”
Recently, after signing with management company Hai-Run Productions (銀河海潤) – of which director Johnnie To (To Sir) is an investor – Wallace will be returning to the HK entertainment industry that he had left 19 years ago. During the first half of the year, he participated in the filming of To Sir’s latest crime drama Drug War , which stars HK actor Louis Koo (古天樂), Mainland actor Sun Hong Lei (孫紅雷), actress Huang Yi (黃奕), etc. Wallace hopes that through the film, he will get the chance to be ‘reacquainted’ with HK audiences: “Deciding to return to the HK market was really a matter of timing. It wasn’t an easy decision to make though, as I was in discussions about it for more than half a year – after all, I’m not a newcomer anymore. I already have a lot of ‘history’ behind me – even though Taiwan and Mainland audiences know me, HK audiences probably already forgot about me and many probably don’t even know me. In the discussions, we came to the consensus that there needed to be more of a balance in terms of my career, which meant bridging the gap within the Greater China region.
Wallace continues: “My feelings towards returning to the HK entertainment world are actually quite peaceful – after all, I’m not the 19 year old kid anymore who would get emotional at the thought of having the opportunity to become a singer in Taiwan. I don’t mind starting all over again from the bottom, as I’m going into it without any particular expectations. If I’m offered an opportunity that people feel I’m suited for and I’m able to do it, as long as there is room for development, I’m willing to give it a try. I didn’t sign with To Sir’s company because I wanted to film movies – there’s definitely no rush to carve out a movie career; in fact, I want to take it slow and be able to enjoy the process. The movie world is very different [from television], as getting a lead actor role doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best position – sometimes, getting a supporting actor role with a lot of opportunity for development could invoke an even bigger response from audiences.”
Over a year ago, Wallace ‘officially’ returned to the music world, recording and releasing a brand new album in Mainland China and holding 3 major concerts in Shanghai as well as Guangzhou: “Actually, throughout the time I was filming in Mainland, I did sing the theme songs for many series, but it wasn’t until 2 years ago that I officially went back to becoming a singer again. There are already plans to release another album – this time, I’ll probably add a few Cantonese songs to it.”
Zero rumors and scandals
People often tell Wallace that director Johnnie To is a very ‘hot-tempered’ person – however in the 6 months that they’ve worked together, Wallace has a different impression of To Sir.
“A lot of people told me that To Sir has a fiery temper– luckily, I met him during a time when his temper was already softened. In reality, To Sir is not as hot-tempered as he used to be – even if he does get upset occasionally, it’s usually within reason. He’s actually a very generous person – when we were filming in Mainland, To Sir would have his own tent and he would constantly invite us to visit and chat. He’s also a great person to learn from – for instance, hearing him in discussions with the cameramen, you can tell that he is very knowledgeable about how to utilize the camera lens and camera angles to get the best possible effect. If you have the heart for learning, you’ll definitely learn a thing or two from him. Even during meal time and breaks from filming, To Sir would chat with us and give us acting advice – I definitely learned a lot from him!”
For HK artists who work for long periods of time in the Mainland, it’s very easy for them to become involved in relationships and rumors with Mainland artists – however Wallace seems to be the ‘exception, as all these years, he has been able to maintain a ‘zero rumor/ scandal’ track record.
“Actually, I do have relationships and such, it’s just that I don’t talk about them in public -- it’s part of my personality. I don’t keep in touch much with people within the industry and my circle of friends is small and simple – I also rarely talk about my personal life in public settings and try to keep out of the limelight, so of course there won’t be much ‘news’ about me. I’ve never been one to care much about material things, plus I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, so it has helped me learn how to control desire. For HK artists who stay in Mainland for long periods of time due to their careers, it’s not surprising that they would choose a Mainlander as relationship partner. For me, well, I actually come back to HK quite often – every year, I only stay in Mainland to film 2 series.”
Wallace’s personality is still the same as it was 19 years ago – simple and unpretentious. In fact, all the money he earns he still gives to his mother for safekeeping: “I don’t own any properties in Mainland, but in HK, I already bought a house for my family. I give all the money that I make to my mom and she invests it for me – but I don’t know if she will return any of it to me in the future…haha!”
On the topic of marriage, Wallace revealed that his 2 older sisters are still not married and acknowledges that the ‘spinster’ issue is quite severe in society: “Guys are usually not in a rush to get married – I also have not thought about it.” When told that it’s precisely because of this type of ‘no rush’ thinking that contributes to the severity of the ‘spinster’ issue, Wallace half-jokingly replied: “Even if I do get married, it’s only going to help 1 person – the ratio is too small so it’s not going to change the trend in society anyway!”
It wasn't until a few months ago when the 1994 TVB drama Journey of Love was re-broadcast on TV and I watched it for the first time (yes, for the first time) that I started to "remember" Wallace once again, primarily because I was so impressed by his performance in that particular series. (Those who are interested can read my review of the series here: JOL Review). Coincidentally, around that same time, Wallace's name also came up during an online discussion I was having with a friend and after that, I started paying more attention to him for some reason. Though I'm not a fan of his by any means (which makes sense since I haven't been following his career these past 10 years), I do like his acting so far in the few series that I've seen of his -- plus he comes across to me as a very 'likable' person based on the interviews I've seen / read of his. To me, his personality (and looks) didn't seem to change at all over the past decade -- he still comes across as the same shy, quiet, cute, friendly young guy that he was back in the 90s (that's the impression I had of him back then) :o)
Anyway, this was a nice article about Wallace (Oriental Daily also did one a week or so ago -- I read it but didn't translate it), so I just felt like sharing it! Hope Wallace fans (and non-fans) enjoy it!
P.S.: To BOGAEfan (if you're still following my blog): I did this post primarily for you...LOL! You can thank me later! :o)
*****
Joining director Johnnie To’s management company, Wallace Chung makes his return to the HK entertainment industry
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2290
Translation: llwy12
Hearing the name ‘Wallace Chung’, most HK audiences have probably already forgotten who he is – in fact, the younger generation HK audiences most likely don’t know who he is period! Wallace got his start in HK as a dancer and made his acting debut in the 1993 TVB drama series The Chord to Victory 《少年五虎》[TN: the series is a semi-biographical account based on the lives of legendary HK band members The Wynners] in which he portrayed the younger version of singer/actor Kenny Bee (鍾鎮濤). In 1995, Wallace’s singing talent was recognized by singer/songwriter/music producer Samuel Tai (邰正宵), who invited him to Taiwan to pursue a singing career -- his debut album OREA [in 1995] was a huge success in Taiwan and shot him to almost instant popularity. Looking back now, his ‘path to fame’ was very similar to that of HK ‘Heavenly King’ Aaron Kwok (郭富城), except that upon making a name for himself, Wallace decided to remain in Taiwan instead of returning to HK. Later on, he was invited to Mainland China to film TV series and was able to achieve tremendous success as an actor over there – not only does he currently have over 7 million fans ‘following’ his Sina Weibo account, he has also won quite a few awards [acting and music related] throughout his career. After recently winning the ‘Golden Eagle’ Favorite Male Actor Award, Wallace’s status in the Mainland is even more tightly established.
Doesn’t mind starting from the bottom again
Towards his ‘Golden Eagle’ win, Wallace states: “Actually, I was already very happy with being nominated for 3 awards, so winning that award was truly the icing on the cake -- I guess you could say it proved that my hard work all these years paid off. The Golden Eagle awards is an important event in Mainland and is pretty representative – plus this year was the first year that they opened it up for HK, Taiwan, Macau artists to participate, so it’s quite unprecedented. Being the first HK actor to win the award is a huge boost of encouragement for me.”
Recently, after signing with management company Hai-Run Productions (銀河海潤) – of which director Johnnie To (To Sir) is an investor – Wallace will be returning to the HK entertainment industry that he had left 19 years ago. During the first half of the year, he participated in the filming of To Sir’s latest crime drama Drug War , which stars HK actor Louis Koo (古天樂), Mainland actor Sun Hong Lei (孫紅雷), actress Huang Yi (黃奕), etc. Wallace hopes that through the film, he will get the chance to be ‘reacquainted’ with HK audiences: “Deciding to return to the HK market was really a matter of timing. It wasn’t an easy decision to make though, as I was in discussions about it for more than half a year – after all, I’m not a newcomer anymore. I already have a lot of ‘history’ behind me – even though Taiwan and Mainland audiences know me, HK audiences probably already forgot about me and many probably don’t even know me. In the discussions, we came to the consensus that there needed to be more of a balance in terms of my career, which meant bridging the gap within the Greater China region.
Wallace continues: “My feelings towards returning to the HK entertainment world are actually quite peaceful – after all, I’m not the 19 year old kid anymore who would get emotional at the thought of having the opportunity to become a singer in Taiwan. I don’t mind starting all over again from the bottom, as I’m going into it without any particular expectations. If I’m offered an opportunity that people feel I’m suited for and I’m able to do it, as long as there is room for development, I’m willing to give it a try. I didn’t sign with To Sir’s company because I wanted to film movies – there’s definitely no rush to carve out a movie career; in fact, I want to take it slow and be able to enjoy the process. The movie world is very different [from television], as getting a lead actor role doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best position – sometimes, getting a supporting actor role with a lot of opportunity for development could invoke an even bigger response from audiences.”
Over a year ago, Wallace ‘officially’ returned to the music world, recording and releasing a brand new album in Mainland China and holding 3 major concerts in Shanghai as well as Guangzhou: “Actually, throughout the time I was filming in Mainland, I did sing the theme songs for many series, but it wasn’t until 2 years ago that I officially went back to becoming a singer again. There are already plans to release another album – this time, I’ll probably add a few Cantonese songs to it.”
Zero rumors and scandals
People often tell Wallace that director Johnnie To is a very ‘hot-tempered’ person – however in the 6 months that they’ve worked together, Wallace has a different impression of To Sir.
“A lot of people told me that To Sir has a fiery temper– luckily, I met him during a time when his temper was already softened. In reality, To Sir is not as hot-tempered as he used to be – even if he does get upset occasionally, it’s usually within reason. He’s actually a very generous person – when we were filming in Mainland, To Sir would have his own tent and he would constantly invite us to visit and chat. He’s also a great person to learn from – for instance, hearing him in discussions with the cameramen, you can tell that he is very knowledgeable about how to utilize the camera lens and camera angles to get the best possible effect. If you have the heart for learning, you’ll definitely learn a thing or two from him. Even during meal time and breaks from filming, To Sir would chat with us and give us acting advice – I definitely learned a lot from him!”
For HK artists who work for long periods of time in the Mainland, it’s very easy for them to become involved in relationships and rumors with Mainland artists – however Wallace seems to be the ‘exception, as all these years, he has been able to maintain a ‘zero rumor/ scandal’ track record.
“Actually, I do have relationships and such, it’s just that I don’t talk about them in public -- it’s part of my personality. I don’t keep in touch much with people within the industry and my circle of friends is small and simple – I also rarely talk about my personal life in public settings and try to keep out of the limelight, so of course there won’t be much ‘news’ about me. I’ve never been one to care much about material things, plus I’ve been a vegetarian for a long time, so it has helped me learn how to control desire. For HK artists who stay in Mainland for long periods of time due to their careers, it’s not surprising that they would choose a Mainlander as relationship partner. For me, well, I actually come back to HK quite often – every year, I only stay in Mainland to film 2 series.”
Wallace’s personality is still the same as it was 19 years ago – simple and unpretentious. In fact, all the money he earns he still gives to his mother for safekeeping: “I don’t own any properties in Mainland, but in HK, I already bought a house for my family. I give all the money that I make to my mom and she invests it for me – but I don’t know if she will return any of it to me in the future…haha!”
On the topic of marriage, Wallace revealed that his 2 older sisters are still not married and acknowledges that the ‘spinster’ issue is quite severe in society: “Guys are usually not in a rush to get married – I also have not thought about it.” When told that it’s precisely because of this type of ‘no rush’ thinking that contributes to the severity of the ‘spinster’ issue, Wallace half-jokingly replied: “Even if I do get married, it’s only going to help 1 person – the ratio is too small so it’s not going to change the trend in society anyway!”
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Weibo Fever # 18: Are You a Hong Kong TV Series Fanatic?
Just for fun….
I saw this post on Weibo yesterday and found it so amusing that I just had to translate it and share it!
The title of the original post is 那些年的港劇橋段 (‘The Hong Kong TV Series Story Ideas of Yesteryear’) and it consists of a bunch of cartoons that a netizen (someone named ‘Shin先生’) drew – each cartoon is captioned with a story idea / concept commonly found in HK television series. After reading through the ‘story ideas’, I couldn’t help but laugh because some of them are truly very funny – but at the same time, I was also nodding my head in agreement because when I think back to all the HK television series that I’ve watched over the past 20+ years, I can’t even begin to count how many of these ‘ideas’ (or variations of them) were used in so many of those series! Personally, I have actually seen every single ‘idea’ mentioned in the cartoons used in series…so I guess that ‘officially’ makes me an HK TV SERIES FANATIC?? LOL! No problem – guilty as charged!! HAHAHA!
How many of the below story ideas have you seen? Are you an HK TV Series Fanatic? :o)
P.S.: If you are able to read Chinese, I highly recommend reading the original cartoons in Chinese because the impact is a little different (plus the cartoons are much funnier in Chinese..LOL!).
I saw this post on Weibo yesterday and found it so amusing that I just had to translate it and share it!
The title of the original post is 那些年的港劇橋段 (‘The Hong Kong TV Series Story Ideas of Yesteryear’) and it consists of a bunch of cartoons that a netizen (someone named ‘Shin先生’) drew – each cartoon is captioned with a story idea / concept commonly found in HK television series. After reading through the ‘story ideas’, I couldn’t help but laugh because some of them are truly very funny – but at the same time, I was also nodding my head in agreement because when I think back to all the HK television series that I’ve watched over the past 20+ years, I can’t even begin to count how many of these ‘ideas’ (or variations of them) were used in so many of those series! Personally, I have actually seen every single ‘idea’ mentioned in the cartoons used in series…so I guess that ‘officially’ makes me an HK TV SERIES FANATIC?? LOL! No problem – guilty as charged!! HAHAHA!
How many of the below story ideas have you seen? Are you an HK TV Series Fanatic? :o)
P.S.: If you are able to read Chinese, I highly recommend reading the original cartoons in Chinese because the impact is a little different (plus the cartoons are much funnier in Chinese..LOL!).
.----.
Picture credits as listed
.**NOTE: The translated captions are in the same order as the cartoons below. I took the liberty of numbering each one for ease of reference (the original captions were not numbered).***
The HK TV Series Story Ideas of Yesteryear
The HK TV Series Story Ideas of Yesteryear
Costume (Ancient) Drama Series Story Ideas
.1) Mostly large families where there is a ‘master of the house’ who has several wives and children, especially sons.
.2) The eldest son is usually riotous, the second son is hypocritical, and the third is usually the one with the brightest future.
.3) The father (master of the house) starts off powerful and wealthy, but then is later angered to death (usually by his children) and his family is split apart, with his wealth being divided amongst his family members.
.4) The family business goes from being well-off to declining, but in the end, the business is saved and restored to its previous glory.
.5) Prior to the grand finale, when a main character is about to be executed, there will always be someone who steps out and says ’刀下留人’ (‘Save the person under the sword')!
.6) The ‘secret’ to the main hero not dying [after he is severely injured with a sword through the heart] is always that his heart is on the right side of his body [as opposed to the left side like most people].
.7) People who suffer memory loss [usually due to some accident or other situation] will get their memory back after being hit on the head.
.8) The most common method of proving someone’s identity is to use the ‘blood drop method’ (滴血認親) to prove that he/she is a long lost blood relative.
Modern Drama Series Story Ideas
.9) Wealthy parents will usually say: “How much money will it take for you to voluntarily leave [break up with] my son /daughter?”
.10) A doctor comes of the emergency room and says: “So sorry! We have tried our best [to save so and so]!”
.11) A girl is very obviously dressed up pretending to be a guy, but yet not a single person [in the series] is able to figure it out.
.12) Upon entering a restaurant, the server/waiter/waitress asks: “How many in your party?” to which the response is always: “I’m looking for someone!”
.13) Holding someone hostage [at knife point, gunpoint, etc.] is always the best way to flee a compromising situation.
.14) When a TV series films a sequel but characters from the original series are no longer part of the cast, 90% of the time those characters are dead.
.15) In a rich / wealthy family, there will be an illegitimately born child who ends up falling in love with their half-brother / half-sister.
.16) At the most ‘critical’ moment, there will always be a ‘back door’ through which one can escape.
.17) Different characters in the series all use the same model cell phone, usually with the exact same ringtones
.18) When a person is being followed, he/she will usually go in the direction where there is the least amount of people (bystanders).
.19) At the moment that one intends on jumping off the roof of a building, someone will always come out and successfully discourage him/her from jumping.
.20) In an office, colleagues are usually standing around gossiping – very little ‘actual work’ is done.
.21) When a woman feels nauseous (meaning feel like vomiting), there is only one possibility – she is pregnant.
.22) Upon coughing heavily, when wiping one’s mouth with a handkerchief, usually they will spit up blood.
.23) The ‘reason’ for helping someone out is usually: “For that person’s own good, you should….”
.24) When reading a letter/document, the words that are the least clear [i.e. blurred out, missing, etc.] are definitely the most critical.
.25) Running outside when upset or angry, there is usually thunder and lightning or heavy rain.
.26) Jumping off a cliff is always the best method for escaping [someone who is chasing you] without having to die.
.27) When someone falls or is slightly injured, there is always a bottle of homemade ‘bruise ointment’ (鐵打酒) in the home.
.28) When the main character finds out the truth, he/she usually says: “I would rather you had lied to me forever!”
.29) When the villain is about to shoot the main character, there will always be someone who yells out “Be Careful!” and then runs out and ‘takes the bullet’ for him/her.
.30) When trying to escape, there will always be someone who falls down on the ground and tells the other person: “Go quickly! Don’t worry about me!”
.31) Typical police dialogue: “You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can be used as testimony in court.”
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
CTI New Series Press Conference (9/25/2012) – 開腦儆探 (Brain Opening Detective)
Here's the information on the 7th CTI series that was announced today. Details are from the press release that came out along with the press conference event.
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Today, CTI held a press conference to announce the 7th series that the company is currently filming: 開腦儆探 Brain Opening Detective [TN: English name is direct translation of Chinese name]
Led by Creative Director (Scriptwriter) Lau Choi Wan [former TVB scriptwriter who brought us Ghetto Justice] and Main Director Lau Shun On [former TVB director who brought us A Step Into the Past], the cast and crew of the series will join together to create an unfathomable, supernatural detective series that will attempt to get to the bottom of various mysterious and unusual cases.
Brain Opening Detective stars Felix Wong, Sam Lee, Grace Huang, Adrian Wong, Kelvin Kwan, Kathy Yuen, etc. and filming already started at the beginning of September. Today, at the press conference, eac h of the artists went onstage and introduced their character in the series and also revealed their ‘costumes’ for the first time. Afterwards, CTI chairman Ricky Wong (王維基), Managing Director To Wai Bing (杜惠冰), creative director Lau Choi Wan, and director Lau Shun On led everyone present in a toast in the hopes that the filming process for the series will be smooth.
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Brain Opening Detective (開腦儆探)
Creative Director (Scriptwriter): Lau Choi Wan (劉彩雲)
Main Director: Lau Shun On (劉順安)
Filming Dates: September 2012
Length: 20 episodes
Cast: Felix Wong (黃日華), Grace Huang (黃芝琪), Sam Lee (李璨琛), Buzz Chung (鍾紹圖), Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀), Adrian Wong (黄芷晴), Crystal Leung (粱寶琪), Lo Hoi Pang (盧海鵬), Lo Hei Lai, Anita Chan (陳穎妍), Carlos Koo (古天祥), Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Fu Chor Yan, Kathy Yuen (湯怡), Lam Lei (林利), Bond Chan (陳少邦), Janice Ting (丁樂鍶), Bryant Mak (麥子樂), Cherry Pau (鮑康兒), etc.
Plot Summary:
Brain Opening Detective is a supernatural-themed detective series – however the ‘supernatural’ won’t be the traditional ghosts and spirits-theme that audiences are used to seeing. Rather, it will utilize ‘super’ scientific concepts as well as realistic methods to investigate a variety of mysterious, unusual cases. The series will revolve around the main character Hung Gei Yuen (Felix Wong) -- a former high-ranking police inspector who, after being traumatized by the mysterious death of his son, acquires the hidden ability to capture and enter other people’s subconscious, as he deeply believes that his son was actually murdered in the ‘inner confines of the subconscious’! At the same time, he starts to display signs of having a split personality and works hard to study about the ‘hidden subconscious’ in the hopes of one day finding his son’s killer.
Each main character in this series will have some sort of ‘hidden ability’ that makes them different from other people. Even though each of them will have a ‘regrettable flaw’ and perhaps even be viewed by society as being ‘abnormal’ or ‘weird’, this does not affect their self-esteem. In fact, they are able to turn this ‘regrettable flaw’ into a ‘hidden ability’ and use it to help them solve many mysterious cases.
****
Today, CTI held a press conference to announce the 7th series that the company is currently filming: 開腦儆探 Brain Opening Detective [TN: English name is direct translation of Chinese name]
Led by Creative Director (Scriptwriter) Lau Choi Wan [former TVB scriptwriter who brought us Ghetto Justice] and Main Director Lau Shun On [former TVB director who brought us A Step Into the Past], the cast and crew of the series will join together to create an unfathomable, supernatural detective series that will attempt to get to the bottom of various mysterious and unusual cases.
Brain Opening Detective stars Felix Wong, Sam Lee, Grace Huang, Adrian Wong, Kelvin Kwan, Kathy Yuen, etc. and filming already started at the beginning of September. Today, at the press conference, eac h of the artists went onstage and introduced their character in the series and also revealed their ‘costumes’ for the first time. Afterwards, CTI chairman Ricky Wong (王維基), Managing Director To Wai Bing (杜惠冰), creative director Lau Choi Wan, and director Lau Shun On led everyone present in a toast in the hopes that the filming process for the series will be smooth.
---
Brain Opening Detective (開腦儆探)
Creative Director (Scriptwriter): Lau Choi Wan (劉彩雲)
Main Director: Lau Shun On (劉順安)
Filming Dates: September 2012
Length: 20 episodes
Cast: Felix Wong (黃日華), Grace Huang (黃芝琪), Sam Lee (李璨琛), Buzz Chung (鍾紹圖), Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀), Adrian Wong (黄芷晴), Crystal Leung (粱寶琪), Lo Hoi Pang (盧海鵬), Lo Hei Lai, Anita Chan (陳穎妍), Carlos Koo (古天祥), Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Fu Chor Yan, Kathy Yuen (湯怡), Lam Lei (林利), Bond Chan (陳少邦), Janice Ting (丁樂鍶), Bryant Mak (麥子樂), Cherry Pau (鮑康兒), etc.
Plot Summary:
Brain Opening Detective is a supernatural-themed detective series – however the ‘supernatural’ won’t be the traditional ghosts and spirits-theme that audiences are used to seeing. Rather, it will utilize ‘super’ scientific concepts as well as realistic methods to investigate a variety of mysterious, unusual cases. The series will revolve around the main character Hung Gei Yuen (Felix Wong) -- a former high-ranking police inspector who, after being traumatized by the mysterious death of his son, acquires the hidden ability to capture and enter other people’s subconscious, as he deeply believes that his son was actually murdered in the ‘inner confines of the subconscious’! At the same time, he starts to display signs of having a split personality and works hard to study about the ‘hidden subconscious’ in the hopes of one day finding his son’s killer.
Each main character in this series will have some sort of ‘hidden ability’ that makes them different from other people. Even though each of them will have a ‘regrettable flaw’ and perhaps even be viewed by society as being ‘abnormal’ or ‘weird’, this does not affect their self-esteem. In fact, they are able to turn this ‘regrettable flaw’ into a ‘hidden ability’ and use it to help them solve many mysterious cases.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Felix Wong’s daughter Adrian first of the ‘Five Tiger’ offspring to join entertainment industry; Kent Tong’s 17-year-old twin sons to follow suit
This is an AWESOME article that one of the veteran reporters at Mingpao wrote and seeing that I'm an 80s girl and Five Tigers fan, I of course would not pass up the opportunity to share this with fellow Five Tigers fans. Though there is mention of the Four Heavenly Kings in this article, it's really mostly about the Five Tigers and their children -- just wanted to make that clear in case any one reading this was expecting the article to talk about the Heavenly Kings (to be honest, I'm not 100% sure why the reporter even mentioned the Heavenly Kings -- maybe because of the Andy Lau connection?).
At any rate, I'm pretty much excited to see any article about the Five Tigers because it brings back those feelings of nostalgia for me. It's nice that this article mentioned more about Kent Tong, since most audiences probably are not as familiar with him nowadays due to him no longer being part of the HK entertainment industry anymore. Though Five Tigers fans like me have continued to keep up with news related to them, I'm sure not everyone has, so it's nice to see updates like this every once in awhile. In the case of Kent Tong, I'm glad this article talked more about his relationship with his children, since in the past, most of the articles that mention Kent usually focus on his prior relationship with Barbara Yung.
Anyway, great article and great 'step back into time' for me (though it was very brief...LOL)!
Enjoy! :-)
******
「五虎」下一代 黃芷晴接第一棒
【明報專訊】「四大天王」與「無綫五虎」都是80年代演藝界的黃金代號，30年後的今天，這些封號已變「古董」，無論天王與五虎都已是5字頭的熟男，人生走到半百之齡，都各自有自己家庭與仔女，只有郭天王郭富城依然充滿活力，未肯成家立室延續下一代。
苗僑偉仔女遠離娛樂圈
當年的「五虎」與「天王」，個個都是萬人迷，大家期待他們的下一代都是靚得出色。最近黃日華的女兒黃芷晴，就成為五虎與天王的下一代之中，第一個繼承「父業」，加入娛樂圈做藝人。老實講，「父母眼裏的仔女都是最棒的」，更出於愛仔女之心，一定出盡力為仔女鋪路。雖然在大姐大眼中這個世侄女樣子未算突出，不過她勝在笑容甜，所以希望在父親的特訓下，可以在演技上取得觀眾緣。苗僑偉的一對仔女苗俊與苗彤亦都好有做明星條件，但父母早已將兩人送到外國，希望兩個仔女遠離娛樂圈，不會心郁郁想入行。
大家又估一估，下一個加入娛樂圈的五虎、天王第二代又會是誰？大姐大知道應是五虎中的多仔公湯鎮業一對17歲孖仔，二人名叫湯君慈與湯君耀，他們今年預科畢業，已積極部署進軍娛圈，相信一班叔伯又要為世侄發功了。
大女湯愛嘉靚女有星味
當年有型有款的湯鎮業，雖然中年發福，濃密頭髮都一去不返，不過他卻好有女人緣，與已故的無綫花旦翁美玲的感情故事之外，他的第一任老婆亦是出名美人姜坤。當年姜坤加入娛樂圈被形容為縮水林青霞，不過出道不久已被阿湯追求成功而結婚，然後就生了一女兩子；女兒湯愛嘉兼備了父母優點，非常靚女，樣子有如黎姿與清純版的張栢芝混合體。聽聞不少娛圈世叔伯都游說19歲的愛嘉入行，因香港娛樂圈已很少找到這類清純女星。
不過愛嘉喜歡讀書，所以準備完成大學，再考慮是否加入娛樂圈。反而阿湯一對孖仔卻好想以Twins姿態入行，17歲的孖仔、大寶叫君慈（Bruce）、小寶叫君耀（Chris），以後者性格較活潑。兩人今年一起上過內地節目《天天向上》初露頭角，原來內地觀眾對他們反應不錯，故應有觀眾緣。不過主持人問他們為何要加入娛樂圈？兩人坦率說﹕「想掙多啲錢！」可能孖仔了解到老竇擔子不輕，所以早點出身可幫輕家計。
大姐大看到在節目裏阿湯給一對孖仔的一番話，大致是說兒子明年就18歲成人，可以學揸車、交女朋友、去酒吧、睇成人電影，不再是兒童，也不能再依賴父母；要學會獨立，也不應互相依賴，要為自己將來定一個目標，努力奮鬥，不單要身體健康，還要有健康人生，對家庭、對朋友、對社會負責。父子雖不是一起生活，不過父子情卻濃。
兩段婚姻共6個仔女
阿湯雖已另有家室，展開了第二段婚姻，娶了個年輕他20多年的老婆，再生了一對孖女叫甜甜、圓圓，已經3歲半；在第二段婚姻之前，亦有一名紅顏知己為他生了一個兒子，所以他一個人要養6個仔女。阿湯說過﹕「雖然我沒有劉德華、梁朝偉般紅，不過我有一班仔女，見到他們健康成長就開心。」大姐大認為的阿湯雖然情多，但起碼也是個負責任的男人。
At any rate, I'm pretty much excited to see any article about the Five Tigers because it brings back those feelings of nostalgia for me. It's nice that this article mentioned more about Kent Tong, since most audiences probably are not as familiar with him nowadays due to him no longer being part of the HK entertainment industry anymore. Though Five Tigers fans like me have continued to keep up with news related to them, I'm sure not everyone has, so it's nice to see updates like this every once in awhile. In the case of Kent Tong, I'm glad this article talked more about his relationship with his children, since in the past, most of the articles that mention Kent usually focus on his prior relationship with Barbara Yung.
Anyway, great article and great 'step back into time' for me (though it was very brief...LOL)!
Enjoy! :-)
******
Felix Wong’s daughter Adrian first of the ‘Five Tiger’ offspring to join entertainment industry; Kent Tong’s 17-year-old twin sons to follow suit
Source: Mingpao
Translation: llwy12
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| Kent and his twin sons Bruce (left) and Chris (right) |
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| Isabella Tong (right) and her mother Jiang Kun |
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| Isabella (middle), Bruce (right), Chris (left) |
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| Kent Tong's twin daughters Tian Tian and Yuan Yuan |
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| Felix Wong and daughter Adrian |
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| Michael Miu and daughter Phoebe |
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| Michael Miu and son Murphy |
The HK entertainment industry’s ‘golden era’ of the 80s and 90s brought us TVB’s ‘Five Tigers’ [Tony Leung (梁朝偉), Andy Lau (劉德華), Michael Miu (苗僑偉), Felix Wong (黃日華), Kent Tong (湯鎮業)] as well as the music industry’s ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ [Jacky Cheung (張學友), Andy Lau (劉德華), Leon Lai (黎明), Aaron Kwok (郭富城)]. Today, almost 30 years later, the Five Tiger and Heavenly King titles may be considered a part of ‘history’ now, but the artists themselves are still very much a part of the HK entertainment world. These ‘Tigers’ and ‘Kings’ have all reached (or exceeded) the half century (50 year old) age milestone and all except for one (Aaron Kwok) have married and started families of their own.
Michael Miu’s children sent far away from industry
Back in the day, each of the ‘Five Tigers’ and ‘Heavenly Kings’ possessed their own charm and charisma that endeared them to fans and audiences around the world – therefore, it is not surprising that their offspring would possess a similar charm and interest toward the entertainment industry.
Recently, Felix Wong’s daughter Adrian Wong (黃芷晴) signed with fledgling [soon to be] TV station CTI and has already started filming a TV series for them, thereby becoming the first of the Tiger and King offspring to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the entertainment industry. As the saying goes, ‘all children are the best in the eyes of their parents’-- so when their children decide they want to pursue a career in the industry, it is natural for celebrity parents to try and help them out any way they can. Even though Adrian may not necessarily stand out in terms of looks, she does have a sweet smile and friendly personality, so hopefully, with ‘special training’ from her dad Felix, she will be able to gain the audience’s favor in her new acting career.
Actor Michael Miu and actress Jamie Chik (戚美珍)’s children – 20 year old daughter Phoebe (苗彤) and 18 year old son Murphy (苗俊) – inherited their parents’ good looks and definitely possess future ‘star’ potential. However Michael and Jamie decided to send them overseas to pursue their studies – far away from the ‘colorful’ HK entertainment industry.
With Felix’s daughter already starting in the industry and Michael’s children continuing with their educations, the next Tiger offspring likely to join the industry will undoubtedly be Kent Tong’s 17-year old twin boys Bruce (湯君慈) and Chris (湯君耀). The twins will be graduating this year and both are interested in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry – of course, Kent’s fellow ‘Tiger’ brothers have already voiced their support and encouragement.
Kent Tong’s eldest daughter has ‘star potential'
Back in the day, Kent Tong was considered the most handsome of the Five Tigers. Though that may no longer be the case now (as his mid-life weight gain and hair loss will tell you), one thing that hasn’t changed much is Kent’s affinity with females. After his well-known relationship with 80s TVB actress Barbara Yung (翁美玲) ended with her death in 1985, Kent has been in several subsequent relationships, two of which turned into marriages. His first wife was actress Jiang Kun (姜坤), who was a known beauty with looks resembling a younger version of veteran actress Brigitte Lin (林青霞). Not long after she joined the industry, Jiang Kun married Kent and together they had 3 children – eldest daughter Isabella (湯愛嘉) as well as the twins Chris and Bruce. Isabella is very much a beauty, as she inherited many of her parents’ handsome features -- in terms of looks, she resembles a ‘hybrid’ of Gigi Lai (黎姿) and Cecilia Cheung (張栢芝). It’s rumored that many of Kent’s friends in the industry hope to persuade 19 year old Isabella to join the HK entertainment industry, since it’s rare nowadays to find her type of young, fresh beauty in the industry.
Despite the invitations to join the entertainment industry, Isabella has expressed that she enjoys going to school more – therefore, she plans to finish college first, then decide at that time whether to join the industry. Instead, her brothers Bruce (the older twin) and Chris (younger twin) have actually expressed an interest in joining the industry. Earlier this year, the twins got the chance to introduce themselves on the Mainland variety program Tian Tian Xiang Shang《天天向上》—fortunately, the audience’s reaction was quite positive, so it looks like they may not have a problem gaining audience affinity. However, when the hosts asked the twins why they wanted to join the entertainment industry, they candidly replied: “To earn more money!” Perhaps the boys understand their father’s burden in taking care of their large family, so they hope to start working early to help him out.
During the program, Kent shared with his sons his personal experience being part of the entertainment industry and gave them some sound advice: next year, they will turn 18 and with the ‘official’ transition to adulthood, they will have the freedom to do things on their own, such as learn to drive, date girls, go to bars, etc. – though Kent encouraged them to be independent, he also reminded them to work hard, set goals for their futures, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and be responsible to their family, their friends, and to society in general . Even though his sons don’t live with him, Kent’s relationship with his sons is still very deep.
Two marriages, six children
Kent and his first wife divorced many years ago and he has since married second wife Alice, who is 20 years his junior – together, they have a pair of 3 ½ year old twin daughters, Tian Tian (甜甜) and Yuan Yuan (圓圓). Prior to his second marriage, he and his girlfriend at the time were together for a few years and they had a son – therefore, Kent has a total of 6 children to take care of. Towards his family responsibilities, Kent once said: “Even though I’m nowhere near as popular as Andy Lau or Tony Leung [in terms of career], I feel lucky to have my kids – seeing them grow up happy and healthy, that is my greatest happiness!” Kent may have had a lot of relationships in the past, but at the end of the day, he is a responsible man.
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Chinese version:
大姐大手記﹕多仔公湯鎮業 17歲孖仔攻娛圈
「五虎」下一代 黃芷晴接第一棒
【明報專訊】「四大天王」與「無綫五虎」都是80年代演藝界的黃金代號，30年後的今天，這些封號已變「古董」，無論天王與五虎都已是5字頭的熟男，人生走到半百之齡，都各自有自己家庭與仔女，只有郭天王郭富城依然充滿活力，未肯成家立室延續下一代。
苗僑偉仔女遠離娛樂圈
當年的「五虎」與「天王」，個個都是萬人迷，大家期待他們的下一代都是靚得出色。最近黃日華的女兒黃芷晴，就成為五虎與天王的下一代之中，第一個繼承「父業」，加入娛樂圈做藝人。老實講，「父母眼裏的仔女都是最棒的」，更出於愛仔女之心，一定出盡力為仔女鋪路。雖然在大姐大眼中這個世侄女樣子未算突出，不過她勝在笑容甜，所以希望在父親的特訓下，可以在演技上取得觀眾緣。苗僑偉的一對仔女苗俊與苗彤亦都好有做明星條件，但父母早已將兩人送到外國，希望兩個仔女遠離娛樂圈，不會心郁郁想入行。
大家又估一估，下一個加入娛樂圈的五虎、天王第二代又會是誰？大姐大知道應是五虎中的多仔公湯鎮業一對17歲孖仔，二人名叫湯君慈與湯君耀，他們今年預科畢業，已積極部署進軍娛圈，相信一班叔伯又要為世侄發功了。
大女湯愛嘉靚女有星味
當年有型有款的湯鎮業，雖然中年發福，濃密頭髮都一去不返，不過他卻好有女人緣，與已故的無綫花旦翁美玲的感情故事之外，他的第一任老婆亦是出名美人姜坤。當年姜坤加入娛樂圈被形容為縮水林青霞，不過出道不久已被阿湯追求成功而結婚，然後就生了一女兩子；女兒湯愛嘉兼備了父母優點，非常靚女，樣子有如黎姿與清純版的張栢芝混合體。聽聞不少娛圈世叔伯都游說19歲的愛嘉入行，因香港娛樂圈已很少找到這類清純女星。
不過愛嘉喜歡讀書，所以準備完成大學，再考慮是否加入娛樂圈。反而阿湯一對孖仔卻好想以Twins姿態入行，17歲的孖仔、大寶叫君慈（Bruce）、小寶叫君耀（Chris），以後者性格較活潑。兩人今年一起上過內地節目《天天向上》初露頭角，原來內地觀眾對他們反應不錯，故應有觀眾緣。不過主持人問他們為何要加入娛樂圈？兩人坦率說﹕「想掙多啲錢！」可能孖仔了解到老竇擔子不輕，所以早點出身可幫輕家計。
大姐大看到在節目裏阿湯給一對孖仔的一番話，大致是說兒子明年就18歲成人，可以學揸車、交女朋友、去酒吧、睇成人電影，不再是兒童，也不能再依賴父母；要學會獨立，也不應互相依賴，要為自己將來定一個目標，努力奮鬥，不單要身體健康，還要有健康人生，對家庭、對朋友、對社會負責。父子雖不是一起生活，不過父子情卻濃。
兩段婚姻共6個仔女
阿湯雖已另有家室，展開了第二段婚姻，娶了個年輕他20多年的老婆，再生了一對孖女叫甜甜、圓圓，已經3歲半；在第二段婚姻之前，亦有一名紅顏知己為他生了一個兒子，所以他一個人要養6個仔女。阿湯說過﹕「雖然我沒有劉德華、梁朝偉般紅，不過我有一班仔女，見到他們健康成長就開心。」大姐大認為的阿湯雖然情多，但起碼也是個負責任的男人。
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