HK Television War: Latest Updates

There has been quite a lot going on in the HK television industry as of late, so I felt it would be appropriate to give a quick update.  Note that this is just a quick summary and not meant to be all-inclusive, so please bear this in mind in case I may have missed anything in my post.

ATV shutdown:  To pull the plug or not to pull the plug….

The biggest news from today and yesterday is the shutdown of ATV.  Deloitte, the company tasked with liquidating ATV, was given orders to immediately shutdown ATV yesterday – in fact, they went as far as having a meeting with all of ATV’s remaining employees and handing them termination letters on the spot.  The last step was a scheduled press conference to announce the immediate shutdown to the public – but that was stopped by a last minute court order that ATV’s Mainland investor Si Rongbin was able to get whereby Deloitte must hold off on their actions until Thursday when the court will convene to determine ATV’s fate.  [This is the ‘in a nutshell’ version of what went down – for details, read this  article from SCMP].  

And so, ATV will continue to be in operations for another 2 days at least (maybe longer depending on which party the court sides with).  Honestly, this whole ATV thing has gotten so stupid that it defies the depths of logic.  I personally hope that the court sides with the Deloitte people and ATV gets shut down immediately – I would rather they put everyone (ATV’s workers as well as all us audiences) out of our misery than continue to let those bastard execs at ATV continue to play their stupid games.  I guess we will have to wait until Thursday at 10am HKT to see whether we’ll have to continue putting up with this sorry excuse for a TV station for another month!!

ViuTV launch:   TVB’s ‘non-competitor’….for now at least

Now that NowTV/PCCW finally has their free-to-air license, the plans to launch their new station ViuTV is underway.  The official launch date will be on April 6th (though there will be what they call a ‘soft launch’ on 3/31 where those who have NowTV set top boxes will be able to start receiving the service) and they’ve already held a press conference detailing their programming plans.  I’m going to save the details for another post, but just know that from day one, ViuTV is not going to be anywhere near a competitor for TVB, as their target audience and market will be completely different.  ViuTV will be targeting the younger audiences who have pretty much already stopped watching TVB and ATV – their programming will consist of primarily variety programs (or what they call “factual entertainment” programs).  The general manager of ViuTV said that their intention is to give HK audiences a different option and made it clear that their target audience is “the local Cantonese-speaking audience who read traditional Chinese instead of simplified” (LOL…obvious jab at TVB’s recent bonehead decision to use simplified characters for their newscasts instead of traditional ones, sparking a record 10,000+ complaints to the Communications Authority).    In addition to focusing on variety, news, and children’s programming, they will also air TV series from other countries (i.e. Thailand, Japan, Korea).  How about local Cantonese dramas, you might ask?  ViuTV says that they ARE going to begin producing dramas, but only selectively.  The first drama that will be part of the lineup (not sure if the drama has already been filmed or it is being filmed currently – will need to read up more on it) is called Margaret and David, which is a drama adapted from a famous novel.  The series will star Bowie Lam and Catherine Chau.

Reading through the details of their programs, the show that I found most interesting and I think will resonate with audiences (and kudos to ViuTV for daring to attempt this) is Travel With Rivals – a travelogue show that will pair up rivals from the political and entertainment worlds and have them go on outings together.  The ‘pairings’ that have been announced so far are:  Legco president Jasper Tsang paired with controversial legislator Leung Kwok-hung (better known as ‘Long Hair’); 100Most co-founder Roy Lam Yat Hei paired with legislator Ann Chiang Lai Wan (they represent opposite ends of the societal spectrum – the youths pushing for HK’s independence vs the pro-establishment camp advocating solidarity with China); singer Denise Ho is paired with actor/singer Zac Koo (this one is obvious – Denise is a lesbian who is also an outspoken proponent of gay rights while Zac is a devout Christian who is also a known homophobic and very vocal about his beliefs).   I am curious about this show, primarily because it is so different and controversial and it will be interesting to see how things play out – most importantly though, this is the type of show that TVB will never ever make even if you gave them a billion dollars (for this reason alone, the show is worth watching in my book!).

 
TVB ‘myTV Super’ launch:  same old crap from a soon-to-be 'legitimate' monopoly

TVB has confirmed that their new internet platform myTV Super (which sounds to me like nothing more than a glorified version of their current myTV channel) will officially launch on April 18th.  The platform will feature 20 channels with programs ranging from TV series, music shows, news casts, infotainment shows, variety shows, etc. and will be in high quality digital format with the ability for audiences to re-watch programs of their liking.  In terms of TV series, the plan so far is to air a few of their new series (that Season of Love series is already scheduled to premiere on day one) plus a long lineup of ‘outside’ series that TVB bought the airing rights to from Mainland China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.  What I’m most curious about is whether they will air ‘classics’ on this platform (i.e. old TVB series and variety programs from the 70s/80s/90s) – there have been rumors from the HK media that TVB will air ‘old’ shows, but since TVB has yet to confirm it, I won’t bank on that being true just yet.  Oh, one ‘caveat’ that is very important to mention – this will be a subscription-based platform, which means that those audiences who were looking for a free service are pretty much out of luck (I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who finds it ironic that TVB is now going to charge audiences for formerly ‘free’ content).

In my opinion, this myTV Super thing is a desperate ‘money-grab’ attempt by TVB – sorry if this sounds harsh, but I honestly don’t know how else to describe it.  Most of the stuff that TVB is planning to put on the platform is stuff that is currently already accessible to all audiences.  Sure, they claim that they are going to air some new, ‘innovative’ programming content (such as a show that will allow artists to put their own creative ideas into production and interact with audiences), but to be honest, given TVB’s track record and their ‘policy’ of avoiding controversy, I highly doubt anything will come of this.  At this moment in time, I will be interested in myTV Super ONLY if TVB does end up going the route of airing their classic series and variety programs on the platform, as that content is definitely worth paying for – otherwise, why should I pay to watch their current series, especially when majority of those series nowadays are crappy?

Concluding thoughts….

For those of you wondering, there is still no word from i-Cable on what their plans are for their free-TV launch – in fact, the  Communications Authority has said that the government already requested a detailed proposal from i-Cable and have given them a deadline to provide the information in order to ‘keep’ the license that was granted to them ‘in principle’.  Of course, given how badly the government mishandled the ATV thing (don’t even get me started on how poorly managed the whole ATV shutdown movement was, as I could probably complain for hours about it), I wouldn’t be surprised if i-Cable continues to remain in its ‘limbo’ status indefinitely.

Also still no decision on the new free-to-air license applications that were submitted (by David Chiu’s consortium and also the resubmitted application from HKTV).  Not sure if we will hear something next month, since the government has basically been using the ATV shutdown as an ‘excuse’ to not make a decision yet (the argument is that they need to wait until the April 1st license revocation deadline that they gave ATV – once the license is officially taken away and thereby ‘available’, then they can make the determination on who should get that license).  While I’m sure that once April 1st rolls around, people are going to start asking what will happen to the license, I highly doubt that the current administration is going to respond with anything specific…my guess is that they will try everything possible to continue stalling until next year so that if there is any backlash that results (which there undoubtedly will be), the incoming administration can deal with it instead of themselves.

Follow-up post: Heaven in the Dark production clip & some background info on the original stage play

As a follow up to my previous post, I wanted to share another post about my most anticipated movie of the year, Heaven in the Dark!   Emperor Motion Pictures (EMP) released a behind-the-scenes production clip for the making of the movie that features interviews with the cast and director.  OMG, the more I watch / read about the movie, the more I can’t wait for the movie to come out! 

I wanted to also take this opportunity to give a little bit more information on the movie as well as the stage play that it was based on (Candace Chong’s “The French Kiss”).  Before I do so though, I have to say that I have no clue at this point how faithful the movie’s script will be to the original stage play script – my understanding is that director Steve Yuen was the one who actually “wrote” the movie’s script (meaning that he was the one who adapted the stage play script to movie version).  The original stage play script was very reliant on the brilliantly-written dialogue to make it such the success it was, so hopefully Steve Yuen retained this aspect when adapting the script.   In the production clip, both Jacky and Karena stated that each person who read the script had a different perspective in terms of the story and what ‘truly happened’ between Pastor To (Jacky) and Michelle (Karena).  Hopefully this means that much of the powerful dialogue that Candace Chong originally wrote in the stage play version was retained.

Someone asked me what genre I would classify this movie into and my answer at the time (based on everything I had read about the movie and the stage play) was that I lean more toward this being a  “psychological thriller, but minus the action and with a heavy emphasis on the ‘psychological’ part”.  Well, turns out I wasn’t too much off the mark, as the writer of the original screenplay, Candace Chong, was actually a psychology major in college, but after graduating, she felt she wasn’t suitable to pursue the field of psychology as a career, since she found that she is unable to suppress her emotions in order to look at situations objectively.  So she decided to pursue an advanced degree in screenwriting – turned out to be the right decision given her success today as a highly acclaimed, award-winning playwright.  In all of Candace Chong’s works, she addresses serious issues that the public often faces (whether social, political, economic, etc.), but in a way that is brilliantly interwoven and incorporated into the stories via powerful dialogue.  And there is always a psychology-related angle to her works due to her background.

Obviously, because of this movie, I’ve been reading up on Candace Chong and her stage play “The French Kiss” in recent weeks.  In addition to the above background on Candace Chong, I found out that the story in The French Kiss is actually based on real-life events:  a pastor kissed his secretary and subsequently was sued for sexual harassment.  Listening to this pastor recount his experience, someone commented that he can be considered lucky, since he did not have to go to jail and only had to pay a fine as punishment.  To this, the pastor replied:  “But I compensated with my reputation, family, friends, and my soul.”  When Candace Chong heard this, her initial reaction was one of shock and it reinforced her belief that ‘real life is more dramatic than plays’ -- so it inspired her to write this play in order to explore the inner human psyche as well as address issues related to religion, law, and moral values.   A quote from a Chinese University interview with Candace Chong a couple years back does a great job summarizing the purpose of the story and its impact:  “[In The French Kiss], Chong provokes the audience to re-examine the verdict through the tense conversation between the pastor and the secretary and raises the problem of false memories brought about by self-deception and a selective memory.”  This is why, in the original stage play script, there is no real ‘ending’ to the story, as it is impossible to get to the ultimate truth due to the way human nature and the human mind work – throughout the story and even to the end, both the pastor and his secretary are unwavering in their ‘beliefs’ of what happened and their own versions of ‘the truth’.

I will definitely be posting up more stuff about Heaven in the Dark (as well as the stage play) in coming weeks, so those who are interested, please stay tuned.  For those who don’t like knowing too much info about a movie prior to watching it, I apologize if you already read this and it spoiled anything for you – if you haven’t read it though (or didn’t watch the clip),  I encourage you to come back after you watch the movie and see if these posts answer any lingering questions you might have in regards to the movie.

*****

Production clip -- “Scattered Memories”

My MOST ANTICIPATED Hong Kong movie of 2016: Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂) ** contains spoilers**

As mentioned in my previous post, one of the movies that I am most looking forward to this year is Heaven in the Dark, which stars my idol Jacky Cheung reuniting with his July Rhapsody co-star Karena Lam.  I was actually drawn to this movie from the beginning, prior to any filming even being done (so basically when the ‘concept’ for the movie as well as the leads were announced) – of course, a big reason was due to Jacky, since it has been 6 years since he’s starred in a ‘main lead’ role (last movie where he was officially lead was Crossing Hennessy in 2010…all the movies he’s been in since then have pretty much been either cameos or one of the leads amongst a large group of similar level A-listers).  But before I get labeled as a ‘crazy fan’ (probably too late for that, since I know some people have already labeled me as such, lol), let me explain the other reasons why I’ve been so ‘obsessed’ with this movie from the beginning (as well as why the movie is at the top of my ‘must-watch’ list this year).

Aside from Jacky, the second main reason is because July Rhapsody also happens to be one of my all-time favorite movies.  Even though this particular movie has nothing to do with July Rhapsody per se (different scriptwriter, director, cast, production team, etc.), the ‘pairing’ of Jacky and Karena, the dark, controversial theme, the ‘look and feel’ of the overall production, etc. are interestingly similar (though it’s obvious that Heaven’s script is much more complex – that is IF the script remained faithful to the original stage play script written by Candace Chong).  I actually quite agree with one of the points stated in the East Touch article I translated below:  that the story feels like a ‘continuation’ of Jacky and Karena’s distant romance in July Rhapsody. 

This leads me into yet another reason why I want to watch this movie:  the chemistry between Jacky and Karena.  Whether in July Rhapsody or in the music videos that they filmed together for Jacky’s songs (the most recent being the ones last year from Jacky’s latest Mandarin album released in December 2014), Jacky and Karena continue to have great chemistry on-screen.  I honestly feel that if it were any other pairing with the same story, I may not feel as excited about the movie as I am currently.

Another reason to watch is, not surprisingly, the supporting cast.  With the exception of perhaps 1 or 2 artists, the supporting cast is comprised of artists I enjoy watching, so that definitely makes it an easier sell for me.  Oh, by the way, I’ve been hearing nothing but praise for Anthony Wong’s performance in this movie, even though he only has a few scenes and can pretty much be considered a cameo appearance only.  The court scene in the movie (reference the article below to understand what I’m talking about) is a ‘must-watch’ – I was told that Anthony’s acting in that scene is beyond stellar (pretty much blows everyone out of the water, including the leads).  Of course, I absolutely believe it, since I have confidence in Anthony’s acting skills, but I am still going to wait and see for myself once the movie comes out.

Yet another reason I want to watch – and this is an important reason – is due to this movie being adapted from a famous stage play.  I’ve always had a liking for theater and stage plays, it’s just that here in the U.S., it’s a lot more difficult to watch stage plays unless you live in a place like New York where the theater business thrives.  I try to catch a few local productions whenever I can, but unfortunately, the ‘big name’ productions are seasonal (plus located in far away cities) and the lesser known productions only pop up once in awhile.  Even though I don’t live in HK, I do try to keep up with the theater scene as much as I can -- which shouldn’t be a surprise given my enjoyment of theater for one, but also the fact that many HK movie and television artists I follow also participate in theater.  If I ever get the chance to watch the original stage version of this production, I’m pretty sure I would enjoy it.  In the meantime though, I will settle for watching the movie version.  [Sidenote:  Candace Chong actually published 5 of her most famous stage play scripts into a book that was released last year -- I already ordered the book and am just waiting for it to get here.  I am definitely planning on reading the original stage play script in conjunction with watching the movie, I just haven’t decided whether I’m going to read first or watch first – I guess it depends on when the book actually gets here].

Since the movie is scheduled to premiere in Hong Kong on 3/24 and in Taiwan on 4/15, there will undoubtedly be more promotional events / material for the movie as the dates get closer.  I will continue to update my blog with more information on the movie as I see necessary.  For now though, I’ve included an article below from East Touch magazine that actually does a pretty good job of describing what the movie is about.  There are spoilers in the article though, so please read at your own risk.

On a related note, I do want to say a few things about the HKFA Best Actor and Best Actress nominations that Jacky and Karena received.  For those wondering how a movie that has not been officially released in HK yet can still garner nominations at HKFA -- well, there was actually a 'sneak preview' limited release of the movie in HK theaters back in December (I think there were only 5 showings of the movie over the span of a few days).  This was done in order to 'qualify' the movie for this year's HKFA -- some feel it's a bit of a rush and perhaps they should've waited until next year to participate in HKFA.  To be honest, I kind of have mixed feelings in regards to this.  On the one hand, I am of course tremendously happy for Jacky and there is no doubt that he would've gotten nominated for his performance in this movie anyway, regardless of whether it's this year or next year. This is Jacky's 6th HKFA Best Actor nomination -- previous nominations were for Bullet in the Head (1991), To Live and Die in Tsimshatsui (1995), July Rhapsody (2002), Golden Chicken 2 (2004), Crossing Hennessy (2011).  While I have full confidence in Jacky's performance, the competition for Best Actor this year is actually VERY strong (the other 4 nominees include Andy Lau, Tony Leung Kar Fai, Nick Cheung, and Aaron Kwok -- all reputable actors who have won the Best Actor award before).  Some people have said that HKFA should give the award to Jacky this year since he's the only one out of the 5 who has never gotten the award, but to be honest, as a fan, I definitely DON'T want that...what I want is for Jacky to be recognized for his acting merit and for him to win the award because he deserves it, NOT because of sympathy (plus I know for a fact that's what Jacky wants as well -- he has said in the past that acting is a secondary profession for him and if he hasn't gotten the Best Actor award yet, it's because he hasn't put enough effort and focus into his performance to deserve the award).  In any case, I will absolutely be rooting for Jacky come April 3rd, even though I know his chance of getting the award is not tremendously strong....

Lastly, a FUN FACT about the movie:  watch for a VERY BRIEF cameo appearance by Dayo Wong in the court scene -- he literally only appears for a few seconds so if you blink, you might miss him. He had visited the set due to being friends with some of the production team (plus he's one of Anthony  Wong's good friends) and decided to do an 'ad hoc' appearance as an 'extra' (basically, one of the no name audience members sitting at the back of the court listening to the proceedings).  If you watch the movie, pay attention to that scene and see if you can spot him (though of course, do it the second time around, since the first time you watch, you should be paying attention to the movie itself, LOL).

****

Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂)

Cast:  Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam, Anthony Wong, Helena Law, Wong Hei, Edmund So, Catherine Chau, Michelle Wai

Director:  Steve Yuen

Distributed by:  Emperor Motion Pictures

Premiere date:  3/24/2016 in Hong Kong, 4/15/2016 in Taiwan (not sure if this movie will be shown in Mainland or not)

Trailer (note that this is the first ‘official’ trailer for the movie – as premiere date gets closer, there will undoubtedly be more trailers released):

****

Article:

“A pair of lovers who overstep the boundaries of love”

Source: East Touch Magazine

Article originally published February 3, 2016

Translated by: llwy12

14 years ago, in the movie July Rhapsody (男人四十), the illicit love affair between teacher Lam Yiu Kwok (played by Jacky Cheung) and his student Wu Choi Nam (played by Karena Lam) was heart-wrenching to watch.  As a teacher and husband, Lam seemed to find himself slowly going down a path that he himself had once despised, while Choi Nam, as the student, had no burdens at all and freely sought after the excitement of loving the way she wanted to love.  With Lam in a position that did not allow for certain boundaries to be crossed, this teacher-student love relationship was destined to fail.

14 years later, Jacky Cheung (張學友) and Karena Lam (林嘉欣) reunite once again, but this time, one plays a pastor while the other is a believer in the faith he preaches.   Without the burden of a ‘taboo’ relationship like they had in July Rhapsody, Jacky and Karena are in the ideal position to openly and freely develop a love relationship.   Unfortunately, their steps are not aligned and both bear quite differing goals within their hearts.  A passionate kiss that they thought would help them break the ambiguity in their relationship turns into a regret that ultimately ends in a life-changing fall from grace.

“A pair of lovers who overstep the boundaries of love, at the same time it is easiest for them to become enemies.”  These lyrics from July Rhapsody’s theme song seem especially fitting at the moment.  Times have changed, our surroundings have changed, our positions in life have changed – the one thing that hasn’t changed:  after 14 years, Jacky and Karena continue to demonstrate [through their newest collaboration] that Love is Difficult (相愛很難).

Continuation of distant romance

In 2002, both Jacky Cheung and Karena Lam received HK Film Award nominations for their performances in July Rhapsody – in the end, Karena was successful in winning both the Best New Artist as well as Best Supporting Actress awards at HKFA.  After that, Jacky and Karena continued to pursue their separate paths [TN: Jacky continued with his music and movie career while Karena also continued to film movies, but also left the industry for a few years to get married and have children] and did not get the chance to ‘cross paths’ again in movies.  It wasn’t until last year (2015), when Karena’s husband Steve Yuen (袁劍偉) decided to try his hand at directing movies [TN:  prior to this, Steve Yuen was primarily a director of commercials and music videos], that the opportunity came up for the two of them to collaborate again in his directorial debut Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂).  Adapted from renown playwright Candace Chong’s (莊梅岩) award-winning stageplay The French Kiss (法吻), Heaven in the Dark actually has nothing to do with July Rhapsody in terms of story, characters, setting, plot, etc. – however, due to the chemistry between Jacky and Karena, their reunion in this movie gives off the feeling that they are continuing that distant romance from 14 years ago.  Even though the movie has not officially debuted in HK theaters yet [TN: the movie premieres on 3/24], both Jacky and Karena have already earned HK Film Awards Best Actor and Best Actress nominations once again for their performances. [TN: This year’s HKFA will take place on April 3^rd].

‘Re-trial’ of buried memories

In Heaven in the Dark, Jacky takes on the role of To Tin Ming, a pastor who is also the chief director of a major international charitable organization for the HK region.  With his eloquence in speaking as well as dynamic personality, Pastor To is popular with the masses and can even be considered a ‘celebrity’ of sorts.  Karena plays the role of Michelle, a young woman who takes up an assistant position in Pastor To’s charity and also becomes one of his congregants after being attracted to his charm and charisma.  Both eventually develop feelings for each other, though neither one pursues the relationship further.  Later on, Pastor To decides to accept the position of chief director for the entire Asian region, a position based in England.  On the night of the farewell dinner that Pastor To’s colleagues throw for him, he and Michelle go for a drive at the Peak and before they leave, they decide to finally give in to their feelings and share a passionate kiss together.  Unfortunately, this one kiss changes both of their lives forever.  The next morning, Michelle goes to the police station and files a sexual harassment complaint against Pastor To, who is completely shocked at the sudden turn of events.  The two end up arguing the case in court and after an intense, emotionally draining trial, Pastor To loses the case – with his reputation tarnished, he eventually leaves behind everything he has, including his position as a pastor.

5 years later, Pastor To and Michelle bump into each other again – this chance meeting rekindles long-buried memories of that fateful night where one kiss changed their lives.  After a tense verbal exchange, Pastor To and Michelle are eventually able to piece together the scattered memories from that night. Through a psychological ‘re-trial’ of those memories, the two of them discover the shocking truth of what actually happened that night – an ‘answer’ that no court would’ve been able to give them.

Truth revealed 5 years later

In essence, the entire premise of the movie centers around the question of what truly happened the night of that fateful kiss between Pastor To and Michelle.  How is it that the situation went from two potential lovers acting on their mutual feelings for each other to both parties becoming enemies overnight?  Both the original stage play and the movie begin in a similar manner:  the setting for the opening sequence is 5 years after the conclusion of the sexual harassment court case against Pastor To.  Michelle is married to another pastor and has a child, while Pastor To -- whose reputation was severely damaged by the guilty verdict handed down by the courts – is no longer able to serve in the clergy and has become a businessman instead.  The story is structured in a way that requires audiences to tear away one layer after another in order to find out what truly happened that night.  From Michelle’s point of view, she is unwavering in her belief that the kiss was forced upon her and she did not consent.  However, from Pastor To’s perspective, he remembers that there was consent from both sides, but the influence of alcohol that night caused his memory to be hazy and therefore he could not be 100% sure.  For both, the situation continued to be a thorn in their hearts for 5 years, despite the surface appearance of both having moved on with their lives.  A pair with the potential to become lovers, yet due to crossing the boundaries of love, they can only become enemies in the end.

****

Caption box:

Background on renowned playwright Candace Chong’s original stage play script

Heaven in the Dark is a film adaptation of stage play The French Kiss, an award-winning theater production written by one of HK’s most renowned playwrights, Candace Chong.  The stage play first debuted back in 2005, right before the start of the Cultural Arts Festival.  At that time, the play consisted of only 3 actors performing against a simple backdrop that remained the same throughout the production -- majority of the plot was brought forth through the dramatic confrontation scenes between the male and female leads.  Many theater critics have praised the ability of writer Candace Chong’s meticulous and well-written dialogue to give the story a tightly intertwined, layered effect.  In addition, the script’s vivid yet simultaneously tension-filled language successfully draws out the complexity of the sexual harassment case in the story, yet at the same time, does so in a subtle and unassuming manner. The production has won several awards over the years, including 2 of its most prestigious – awards for Best Script and Top Ten Most Popular Stage Plays at the 15^th annual Hong Kong Drama Awards back in 2006.

3 HK movies I plan on watching this year….

It has been awhile since I’ve watched a HK film.  Growing up in the 80s and 90s, I am grateful to have witnessed the ‘heyday’ of HK cinema back in those days (especially given what the HK movie industry has become today).  As an avid follower and huge supporter of the HK entertainment industry back then, I watched my fair share of HK movies and found most of them enjoyable, regardless of whether the story was good or not.  Of course it helped that there were so many big stars back then who possessed both charisma as well as acting skill, plus all the talent behind-the-scenes in terms of scriptwriters/directors/producers, etc., so it made it easier (in my opinion at least) to enjoy even the lowest quality of movies (i.e.: those raunchy slapstick ones where there is no coherent plot whatsoever yet still manage to be funny and enjoyable).

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about HK movies is the distinct ‘HK flavor’ that most HK movies – especially the CNY (Chinese New Year) ones – possessed back then (those of you who’ve been watching HK movies for a long time will probably understand what I mean).   Unfortunately, that distinct ‘HK flavor’ has greatly eroded over the years, to the point that nowadays, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a ‘purely HK flavor’ movie that is meant to cater to the HK market (I’m throwing completely bogus numbers out there right now, but as a means of comparison, if 8 out of 10 HK movies back in those days were ‘HK-centric’, then that number is only 1 out of 10 today – if that….).  Don’t get me wrong – I’m not trying to diss non-HK movies in any way, as I don’t feel it’s in my realm to do so…I’m merely lamenting the erosion and ‘slow death’ of the HK movie industry (actually, the entire HK entertainment industry as a whole if we think about it) due to various factors that cannot be explained in one blog post.

When the industry started going downhill in the mid to late 90s and most of the artists/production people I knew and loved became less active in movies, I also became less and less interested in watching HK movies.  In the past 2 decades or so, I would venture to say that the number of HK movies I’ve watched is less than a third of what I used to watch in the old days – while I do have a few favorites from recent decades that were absolute gems and that I would re-watch all day if I could, it’s not surprising that a huge majority of my favorite HK movies are actually from the 80s/early 90s eras. 

At this point, you’re probably wondering why I’ve been ranting on for 3 paragraphs about the demise of HK movies in a blog post that is supposed to be about movies that I intend on watching this year.  Well, considering how few HK movies I watch nowadays, the fact that there are 3 movies that I plan on (more like WANT TO) watch this year is quite significant (last year, I only watched 1 HK movie – mostly because my idol was in it…in a sense, I’m trying to put things in perspective).  I have specific reasons for wanting to watch these 3 movies, which I will attempt to explain below (in my usual ‘wordy’ way of course, lol) – though in the case of #1 and #3, I admit that I am also trying to ‘shamelessly plug’ both movies in the hopes that more people will go see them (#2 obviously doesn’t need any ‘plugging’ from me, since there is enough ‘hype’ with the movie already and it will do well in the box office based on cast alone). 

So here are the movies:

1)      Heaven in the Dark (暗色天堂)

Cast:  Jacky Cheung, Karena Lam, Anthony Wong, Helena Law, Wong Hei, Edmund So, Catherine Chau, Michelle Wai

Director:  Steve Yuen

Distributed by:  Emperor Motion Pictures

Premiere date:  3/24/2016 in Hong Kong, 4/15/2016 in Taiwan (not sure if this movie will be shown in Mainland or not)

Trailer (note that this is the first ‘official’ trailer for the movie – as premiere date gets closer, there will undoubtedly be more trailers released):

I’m actually working on a blog post dedicated to this movie that will have details on the plot, background on filming and production, etc., so I’m not going to say much here.  Just note that Heaven in the Dark is absolutely the MOST ANTICIPATED movie of the year for me, one that I am very much DYING to see (3/24, please get here quickly!!!) – to find out why, please stay tuned for my follow-up post (which should be posted up by this weekend)…

2)      From Vegas to Macau III (賭城風雲III)

Cast:  Chow Yun Fat, Nick Cheung, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau, Li YuChun, Charles Heung, Jacky Heung, Law Kar Ying, Sean Yue, etc.

Director:  Andrew Lau

Executive Producer:  Wong Jing

Distributed by:  Wong Jing’s production company, Shaw Brothers, plus a plethora of other HK and Mainland production companies

Premier date: 2/6/2016 in Hong Kong, 2/8/2016 in Mainland China

Trailer (one of many):

Sub-theme song MV trailer (incomplete version): "Frozen" (停格) by Jacky Cheung

I was actually already working on this post prior to the movie premiering in HK, but had to put it aside due to getting busy with stuff, which of course means I had to re-write some content, so please cut me some slack if my comments sound choppy or don’t flow as coherently as they should.

Ok, so before anyone gives me crap about why I’m ‘supporting’ a Wong Jing-produced movie, I’m going to come right out and say that I am watching this movie for 2 reasons only:  1) my idol Jacky Cheung and 2) the nostalgia factor (more specifically, 80S/90S HK film industry nostalgia).  I will explain more about both reasons in a minute.  First though, for the record, I did not watch the first 2 installments of From Vegas to Macau and I don’t intend to in the near future either (just to make it clear:  no, I’m not ‘boycotting’ either movie, I just have no desire to watch, whether from a cast perspective or story perspective).  I don’t normally watch Wong Jing’s movies (I’m referring mostly to his movies from the past 2 decades or so, not the older ones from the 80s/early 90s) because I find them cheap, vulgar, and raunchy with recycled plots and storylines, crappy scripts, and generally bad acting (mostly from the newbies and his ‘Jing ladies’) – besides, most of Wong Jing’s movies the past several decades have been low quality category III sex movies anyway, so of course I won’t bother to watch.

Before I elaborate on my 2 main reasons for watching, just wanted to give a quick shout-out to the ‘legitimate’ naysayers out there by saying that I totally GET why you guys don’t want to watch this movie. [Side note: I use the word ‘legitimate’ because nowadays, people boycott stuff left and right purely out of political reasons that have nothing to do with the work/program itself.  If people are not watching this movie purely because Wong Jing holds different political views than them – um, sorry, but your opinion doesn’t count in my book!)  With that said, I personally can’t stand Wong Jing, but not because of political reasons (I don’t give a crap what his political stance is to be honest, since politics should be completely separate from entertainment and therefore – in my opinion anyway – it’s dumb to refuse to watch a movie just because the producer’s political views differ from one’s own).  I dislike Wong Jing as a person mostly because of his aggressive attitude toward people as well as his forever childish behavior (the guy is like in his 60s I think, yet he always acts like he’s 10 or something with all the tantrums he throws, especially when people criticize him or disagree with him) – oh and of course, his ‘annoying as hell’ arrogance doesn’t help things either.  From a filmmaker perspective, I’ve actually always felt that Wong Jing is overrated – like I mentioned above, he’s actually one of the few directors/scriptwriters/producers in the industry whose formula has not changed one bit in the 40+ years he has been in the industry…he basically recycles and rehashes his stories/plots/gimmicks over and over again, to the point that there is no need to watch all of his works because they all end up looking similar anyway…if you’ve seen one of his movies/TV series, you’ve pretty much seen them all.  As with most of his movies, the script for Vegas III was penned by Wong Jing himself, so no doubt this will be more of the same (which, as of this writing, has been confirmed by those who’ve actually seen the movie – the basic sentiment is that the script is HORRIBLY written).

So why do I want to watch this movie then?  One reason (actually, the first and foremost reason) is because of Jacky – he rarely ever films movies nowadays so every opportunity I get to see him in a movie, I am absolutely taking advantage of it (call me a crazy fan if you want -- when it comes to Jacky, I have no qualms about being labeled as such!).  While it’s true that Jacky actually doesn’t have a whole lot of screen time in this movie (technically, his role is less than supporting but more than cameo), the time that he does have is well-used and his acting still manages to stand out amongst all the ‘greats’ in this movie.  Amidst all the criticism toward the movie itself (since the movie premiered, the feedback has been all over the place – some people like the movie and feels it lives up to CNY standards, some hate it and hugely criticize it for being nonsense and ridiculous, some are neutral and see it no better or worse than other run-of-the mill CNY movies), there have been 2 ‘elements’ of the movie that have been consistently praised in both positive as well as negative reviews of the movie:  the first is Jacky’s acting/performance and the second is the sub-theme song he sings at the end of the movie (people have commented that listening to the sub-theme song paired with watching the final scene of Jacky’s character’s demise in the  movie truly moved them to tears, which is unusual for a CNY film that is supposed to be comedic rather than tragic).  Those who have watched the movie have noted Jacky’s meticulous acting, with special mention of his on-the-spot facial expressions – despite the horribly written script, Jacky managed to make his crazy, schizophrenic character Yik Tin Hang amazingly convincing.  Of course, I am not surprised at the positive feedback toward Jacky’s performance, as he has always been a solid actor who is hugely underrated (mostly because everyone – including Jacky himself – focus more on his singing career rather than his acting).  The last few days I’ve actually read quite a few reviews as well as media reports on the movie (from various sources, both in HK and Mainland) and interestingly enough, there has been one particular common sentiment amongst all those reports:  ‘Jacky Cheung is the only actor amongst the star-studded main cast who actually took the acting piece seriously and it shows’ (basically meaning that everyone else still delivered the goods, but didn’t put as much emphasis on the acting since this is a CNY movie after all and most audiences won’t care as long as they are ‘entertained’).  In other words, Jacky’s performance is one of the ‘highlights’ in an otherwise forgettable movie.  Again, I am not surprised, as Jacky is a ‘perfectionist’ when it comes to his work and has high standards towards all his performances – whether it involves singing or acting – so of course he is going to take it seriously (one of the articles actually said that it’s obvious from the end result that Jacky put 120% effort into his performance).  As a fan, I am of course happy to see all the praise for Jacky’s performance, though too bad it was for such a lame movie overall.  However, it does make me proud know that my decision to watch the movie mainly because of him was definitely not in vain. 

Lastly, to touch on the second reason why I want to watch this movie – the nostalgia factor.  For someone like me who grew up watching HK movies in the 80s/90s, this movie will actually have a little more significance in that I will be able to recognize a lot of the ‘classic’ scenes / dialogues / songs, etc. incorporated into the movie.  Also, there are a BOATLOAD of veteran artists and other familiar faces (whom long-time HK movie-goers will for sure recognize) that make cameo appearances in the movie.  The nostalgia piece is actually a unique component of this particular installment of Vegas that was absent from the previous 2 installments – though to be honest, I’m pretty sure it’s not lost on anyone that the nostalgia piece is a ‘gimmick’ on Wong Jing’s part to get audiences who have fond memories of ‘the good old days’ to watch the movie. Ah well – it is what it is, I guess….

3)      Ten Years (十年)

Cast:  Liu Kai Chi, Leung Kin Ping, Courtney Wu Zerisawa, Peter Chan, Wong Ching, Lau Ho-Chi, Ng Siu Hin, Tanzela Qoser, etc.

Directors:  Kwok Zune, Wong Fei Pang, Jevons  Au, Chow Kwun Wai, Ng Ka Leung

Distributed by:  Ten Years Studio (low budget independent film)

Premier date:  12/17/2015 in Hong Kong

Trailer:

Since probably not many people have heard of this film, I will attempt to give a brief summary of it (though I also attached an article from SCMP that does a pretty good job of summing it up, plus there’s also Wikipedia for those who want more detail). 

Anyway, this is a low budget independent movie consisting of 5 short films directed by 5 newbie directors (from the younger generation obviously, given the movie’s theme).  Basically, the movie is a political satire that attempts to depict what Hong Kong might be like ten years from now, in 2025 (hence the very fitting title).  Though largely ‘fictional’ in nature, the very realistic portrayal of political and social issues that HK has been facing (with some of what has been depicted in the movie eerily ‘coming true’ already) has made this film a haunting reminder of Mainland China’s increasingly suffocating stronghold on HK. 

Initially, this film did not draw much attention, especially since all the directors are young newbies, plus the cast is largely unknown (except for a few veteran supporting artists such as Liu Kai Chi and Leung Kin Ping, though if you read up on the film, there are other familiar faces who do have cameos, it’s just not highly publicized).  Not long after its release though, ticket sales went through the roof, with sales surpassing the new Star Wars movie at one point in a few theaters.  That’s when mainstream media started reporting on the movie more, giving it much needed publicity.  In the short amount of time the movie has been in theaters, it managed to rake in $5 million HKD in ticket sales, which is virtually unheard of for an independent film helmed by unknowns (plus the film only cost $600,000 HKD to make, so the directors definitely got a return on their investment).  So far, this film has gotten wide critical acclaim (in HK of course) and has been touted as a film that all Hong Kongers must watch.  Those who’ve watched the film praise its daring yet relevant portrayal of HK’s political and social issues – the film is powerful on many fronts, but ‘disturbing’ and scary at the same time due to how closely it hits home with its candid commentary of the HK-Mainland conflict as well as the CCP’s ominous influence.

As a Hong Konger, I am definitely interested in watching this movie.  For the record, I have always taken a ‘neutral’ stance when it comes to politics and nothing will ever change that.  I refuse to involve myself with politics or associate myself with any party / political faction because to me, there is no party out there that will ever jive completely with my views and value system – therefore I prefer to remain ‘neutral’ so that I can both understand and appreciate both sides of the argument, so to speak.  Besides, as I mentioned above, I have always taken the position that politics should be separate from entertainment, so I don’t allow my entertainment choices (whether in television, movies, music, books, etc.) to be ‘influenced’ by any political leanings.  With all that said, I am interested in watching Ten Years mainly due to its artistic merit and critical acclaim – I want to see for myself whether this movie is as poignant and powerful as everyone has said it is.  Regardless of its heavy socio-political theme, if the movie is good, then it’s absolutely worthwhile to watch -- no amount of criticism, whether politically-laced or not, will discourage me from watching a worthy film!

HK entertainment industry recent updates

As I was posting in a some forums last night, I came to the realization that not everyone may be aware of all the ‘turmoil’ that has been going on in the HK entertainment industry (and in HK as a whole) lately, so I felt the urge to write the below ‘recap’ as a means of summarizing some of the main issues.

First, the obvious piece of news that I’m sure everyone knows about:  ATV having to close up shop by April of this year.  Despite the shameless (and delusional) management at ATV continuing to keep the station on life support for as long as possible and refusing to accept the fact that their license was actually taken away by the government, the reality is that ATV has an ‘end date’ – whether the management team likes it or not, well, too bad…they just have to deal with it!  Personally, I would like ATV to close up shop sooner rather than later, as I’m tired of hearing the nonsensical garbage that comes out of the mouths of their imbecilic management – I mean, ok fine, be in denial all you want, but do you really think, Mr. CEO, that you can continue to be late with paying your employees (which is an issue in and of itself, as it’s obvious despite all the lawsuits and the judge’s warning about what will happen if ATV continues to not pay employees, ATV doesn’t give a crap, since they once again delayed paying their employees in Decemer), do absolutely nothing to prove that you deserve a license, then submit an application for a license and brag to everyone and their mothers that they are “100% certain” that the government will approve and re-issue a license to them?  Do you even know how utterly RIDICULOUS you sound??  I’m actually surprised that the government hasn’t taken any ‘drastic’ action against ATV given all the laws they’ve violated this past year, plus the fact that ATV has been ‘implicating’ time and time again that the government is ‘corrupt’, as they keep claiming that the government will approve this and that and will side with them and give them a license due to all their ‘connections’. [Meanwhile, the government relentlessly goes after HKTV and looks under rocks to find whatever way possible to force them out of the HK television market, despite the fact that HKTV followed all the proper procedures and never said or did anything that could be construed as ‘anti-HK government’ (that is, until their license was denied, after which Ricky Wong publicly denounced CY Leung – and rightfully so in my opinion)].  Oh, and what about that ‘new investor’ from Mainland who supposedly bought ATV?  After ATV’s ‘high profile’ announcement a few months ago that they had a buyer and the repeated claims that ‘everything will be fine now’, news about the sale has died down in recent months.  When asked about the sale and the new investor, ATV’s management appear to be clueless, as all they would say is that they don’t know any details but assume that things are ‘in the works’.  Yeah, whatever…I think 99.9% of the HK population doesn’t even give a damn about ATV anymore….

So while ATV is still holding on for dear life, those shameless bastards at TVB (I’m referring to the management team here) are sitting back on their laurels and gloating about being victorious once again with defending their monopoly (with the help of the HK government of course).  Despite the endless exit of artists, ridiculously low ratings, and criticism galore, TVB management continue to walk around arrogantly claiming that nothing is wrong and that TVB ‘is, was, and always will be’ the number one television station in HK.  I don’t think it’s lost on anyone that TVB has become even more complacent the last 2 years (ever since the government denied HKTV a license) and their programs as well as overall operations have hit the lowest point possible.  The current management is absolute crap and the decisions they make are ridiculously stupid – yet no one calls them out on anything and as a result, they continue to feed HK audiences garbage month after month (sad thing is, most of those audiences have no problem with TVB feeding them garbage and ‘happily’ devour it as though it’s the best-tasting stuff in the world….go figure!). 

Of course, those of us who’ve been following what’s been going on in recent years know that TVB announced last year that they will be focusing more on the Mainland (China) market going forward (despite the denials by management, it’s obvious this has something to do with the new Mainland investor that TVB is collaborating with).  In addition to airing more Mainland dramas in their ‘golden’ timeslot, TVB’s CEO Mark Lee (anyone who follows my comments/blog know how much I hate that guy) recently revealed plans to build an additional studio in Guangdong, China (like that studio they built in Shanghai or wherever TVBC operations is wasn’t enough) so that they can use that location to film the HK/Mainland collaboration series that they have plans for.  Meanwhile, TVB’s internal operations continue to be a mess, the management team continues to be embroiled in political power struggles,  production quality is going down the toilet, people are leaving left and right, etc. etc. etc. – but of course, no one at TVB cares because, well, honestly, HK as a whole is going down in flames anyway so why should they invest more time and money to improve things there when they can just cater to Mainland and laugh all the way to the bank?  

As if it’s not enough that HK’s 2 main free-to-air TV stations are going through issues galore, the radio stations in HK are not faring any better.  There has been an unprecedented amount of ‘shakeup’ in the management ranks at all 3 of HK’s radio stations in recent months.  

At Commercial Radio (CRHK), their long-time chairman/CEO Winnie Yu announced 2 weeks ago that she will be ‘stepping down’ from her position and leaving CRHK (Winnie has been at CRHK for more than 30 years and is pretty much responsible for making that station the success that it has been, plus she’s a well-respected figure in the HK entertainment industry).  There have not been further announcements on who will take over for Winnie or what type of restructuring will take place at the station, but given her influence and the tremendous impact she had, it’s hard for people not to be concerned – especially given the fact that in the past 2 years or so when she has been ‘less involved’ in CRHK’s operations (probably started ‘stepping back’ in preparation for this moment), issues already started to crop up that have put CRHK in the spotlight, and not in a good way either.  I will definitely be staying tuned in to the last developments with the management ‘changing of the guard’ at CRHK, as I’m curious to see who (if anyone) will take over.  One thing’s for sure though – I hope Stephen Chan won’t be the ‘chosen’ one.  Of course, I don’t ‘hate’ him the way I do Mark Lee (and other current TVB management), but I definitely have reservations about his ability to ‘lead’ CRHK.

Meanwhile, at rival radio station Metro, long-time exec Daniel Chu (he oversees the entertainment division of the station) also announced his retirement earlier in the month and as of last week, he officially left the station (rumor has it that he was actually ‘forced’ to retire, though he refuses to talk about it).  There’s more though – Metro is also going through a massive ‘layoff movement’ whereby majority of the employees who worked in the entertainment department are either being laid off (aka fired), transferred to other departments, or their work hours are being reduced (i.e. change from full-time to part-time).  Several of the DJs / radio hosts who were close to Daniel Chu were ‘fired’ on the spot – veteran music personality Chan Siu Bo is one of those hosts who was instantly ‘fired’ and his radio program stopped (of course he is livid, especially given the way the whole situation went down according to him).  The latest issue of Mingpao Magazine (published last week) actually details the shakeup at the radio stations and according to that article, the reason for the changes at Metro goes back to finances.   Apparently, the revenue numbers were posted for last year and Metro did not do too well overall – in reviewing the numbers, management came to the conclusion that the entertainment department was the main culprit, as entertainment-related programs rarely bring in much money…so the decision was made to ‘cut’ the entertainment department.  All entertainment-related programs (i.e. music programs, entertainment news programs, etc.) will be significantly reduced and content of current programs will be ‘changed’ to focus more on non-entertainment related stuff (i.e. current events, societal issues, politics, etc.)  How this will impact the entertainment industry remains to be seen, but there are already reports that claim the management team has plans to get rid of Metro’s music charts, which also means the yearly Metro Hit Music Awards may cease to exist in the near future as well (for the record, one of the execs at Metro recently denied this report as being false – but let’s wait and see…).

HK’s government-owned/operated radio station RTHK is also undergoing massive restructuring.  Several veteran DJs who had been hosting programs at RTHK for years were suddenly ‘laid off’ or had their programs cancelled and were transferred to other departments.  When interviewed, those DJs said that they were not given any explanation for the sudden changes – management only told them that they plan on making the radio station more ‘youth-oriented’, so many of the programs that were targeted to an ‘older’ audience will be ‘revamped’ to meet this need.  Coincidentally, most of the programs that underwent changes were ‘politically-themed’ programs that involved discussions about the current state of HK, so of course, with the highly sensitive political atmosphere in HK currently, there is now the ‘controversy’ about these changes possibly being made to suppress free speech.  Also, according to those who were affected, the changes don’t make sense – most of the hosts that were “transferred” and the programs cut were amongst the station’s highest rated and most popular.   One of the radio show hosts whose program got cancelled said in that Mingpao interview that the reasoning they were given (making things more youth-oriented) doesn’t make sense – his program airs early morning hours each day, during which time most young people aren’t even awake yet and even if they are, most of them don’t listen to traditional radio programs covering those types of topics. 

For the record -- both Metro and RTHK management are claiming that the changes are not directed at anyone in particular and that it is ‘normal course of business’ given the state of the economy currently.  They also claim that all companies (not just radio) are being affected due to current societal trends and change is inevitable so people shouldn’t read so much into things.   Hmmm…well, I personally don’t think so but ok, whatever…I mostly listen to CRHK anyway, so not tremendously concerned about what happens with Metro and RTHK (unless the entertainment department at RTHK is affected, in which case I would be concerned, since I do follow a few a programs there).

So you thought that was it, huh?  Nope, unfortunately not!  Two more ‘issues’ that have been happening lately that I would like to point out, since both impact the entertainment industry in some way…

The ‘big news’ in the Media realm of late is the recent sale of HK newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) to Mainland tycoon Jack Ma (aka ‘that Alibaba guy’).  As one of the few English-language papers left in HK, of course there are concerns about the future direction of the paper and what will happen when sensitive topics come up concerning China.   In related news, there’s also the imminent transfer of ownership of One Media, which is the parent company of Ming Pao – rumor has it that Jack Ma is also one of the ‘potential buyers’ in discussions to purchase One Media/Ming Pao, but until it happens, we won’t know who the final buyer will be.  Both of these media outlets report heavily on entertainment news (in addition to regular news of course) and even though it’s too early to say how / if the sale of those 2 media outlets will impact things, no doubt it’s still something worth paying attention to.  For me especially, as a long-time avid reader of Ming Pao magazine and also general news from Ming Pao’s regular news site, I’m definitely interested in the developments surrounding One Media’s sale.

And last but not least – the political turmoil going on in HK currently is starting to have a severe impact on the entertainment industry.  Personally, I’ve always hated politics and have always tried as much as I could to stay away from politically-themed issues – well, the past few years, this has become harder and harder to do given how big a role politics plays nowadays in both society as well as my personal life.  From the HK entertainment industry side of things, I really started paying attention to politics a few years ago with the whole free-to-air license fiasco and all the ‘controversy’ surrounding HKTV’s failure to obtain a license.  Since then, I’ve been much more aware of the impact of politics on entertainment and even though I’m still of the sentiment that entertainment and politics should be separate and one shouldn’t affect the other, I’m not blind to the fact that reality dictates otherwise.  The political struggle and Mainland/HK conflict have always been ‘sensitive issues’ in HK, but in recent years, things have truly gotten out of control, especially ever since the whole Occupy Central thing occurred. 

Recently, there has been a particular political activist (most people who’ve been following events in HK probably know who I’m talking about) who has taken her so-called patriotism (I say ‘so-called’ because IMO, she’s simply using patriotism as an excuse to wreak havoc on society) overboard, utilizing social media platforms to “report” artists from the HK entertainment industry whom she feels is “anti-China” or whom she deems as ‘supporting’ Occupy Central in any way, shape, or form.  Basically she sends out mass messages claiming these artists are “disturbing society’s peace” and asks people to “boycott” them. [Sidenote:  For those who haven’t noticed, most of the people she ‘reports’ are actually not Occupy supporters – she basically takes surface information she reads and twists it to suit her whim]. Any reasonable person (like you and me for instance) would see this woman for what she is – a crazy lunatic who spews nonsense and should just be ignored.  The sad part is that there are enough people out there who actually believe the stuff this woman says and take action based on it, which of course is incredibly stupid -- though I guess HK should be ‘grateful’ that the activist person isn’t a celebrity so it’s easier for entertainment industry people and majority of the public to ignore her – unlike what they have in Taiwan where the crazy activist is actually a former (current?) celebrity who has a certain amount of influence with producers and such (and the stupid producers of those Mainland programs and shows actually listen to the guy too and ‘cancel’ the offending celebrities’ appearances – or take other drastic action – as a result).

In any case, with all the struggles that HK celebrities already have to go through given the dismal state of the entertainment industry currently, it’s a shame that they have to deal with these stupid activists too and worry about whether what they say or do will be somehow misconstrued and have their lives/careers turned upside down in the process. Unfortunately, I don’t see this issue improving any time in the near future (in fact, it’s only going to get worse)….such a bad time to be a ‘celebrity’ in HK (and Taiwan too)!

*****
Concluding thoughts….

Despite the length of my post (sorry!), the above is actually only a brief summary of a few main issues going on in HK as of late which I’ve read about lately and feel are interrelated in terms of impact to the HK entertainment industry.  By no means is this post meant to be all-inclusive or comprehensive, plus it’s all based on memory, so there might be some things unintentionally left out here and there. 

As always, I welcome you guys to share your thoughts, whether related to this particular post or not (if you feel like just ranting on something random in the comments section, feel free!).

2015 TVB Anniversary Awards -- My Thoughts

The awards ceremony this year was largely lackluster similar to previous years.  One thing I will applaud TVB for though (no, I don’t just criticize TVB – I will give praise where I feel it’s due) is the fact that this time around, they did not let the current political situation in HK influence them – not only did they agree to let Anthony Wong film one of their series (sure, he returned purely because of Amy Wong, but still, TVB had to agree to it), they also did the right thing by giving him the TV King award which he rightfully deserved.   Amid all the controversy with Occupy Central and the so-called Mainland China ‘boycott’ against Anthony, good to see that TVB forfeited kissing Mainland China’s butt for once and instead gave Anthony the recognition he deserved.

Ok, now for the criticisms (lol):

-          The awards ceremony left a sour taste in my mouth from the getgo with the Lifetime Achievement Award going to Nat Chan.  When my family and I were watching the awards presentation and Nat’s name was announced for this award, our jaws literally dropped – the only reaction I could muster was WTF???? Come on TVB, REALLY????  Of all the more deserving veteran artists out there, they choose to give this award to Nat, who, to be honest, didn’t really contribute to TVB as much as the ‘senior’ actors did?  I can actually rattle off at least 20 to 30 artists who deserve the award way more than Nat.  I mean, ok, fine, many of the ‘senior’ (what we call ‘gam cho’) artists have either retired, left TVB, or even passed away, but still, that shouldn’t stop TVB from giving the award to someone more deserving (unless the artist currently works for a rival TV station, which yes, in that case I definitely understand).   How about Kenneth Tsang or Lau Kong (can’t remember if Lau Kong received it before – I don’t think he did)?  Or Lau Dan?  John Chiang?  Chun Wong?  Elliot Ngok?  The list goes on and on.  I would’ve even preferred that they give this award posthumously to an artist who already passed away but had made huge contribution to TVB in terms of acting (i.e. the late So Hang Suen).  What a joke!   (Sidenote:  I thought this was the Lifetime Achievement in ACTING award???  Nat Chan only acted in a few TVB series and mostly early on in his career, like in the 70s – not nearly as many as the veteran artists have.  If it was for hosting, um, well, he’s even less qualified, as there are way more ‘senior’ hosts than him who’ve contributed more to TVB than him – like Ivan Ho, Lawrence Cheng, Eric Tsang, etc.).  I really want to know what TVB was thinking with this award….

-          Most Improved actor/actress – I guess I wasn’t as pissed off with this award category as others were, since I already expected TVB to play favorites and give this award to the least deserving of the nominees.  Nowadays, this is pretty much the only category where TVB can blatantly do their favoritism thing without getting as much as backlash from audiences as, say, the TV King and Queen categories, since it’s the one category where it’s obvious the artist who wins is usually the one TVB is trying to promote.  Personally, I didn’t think Tony Hung deserved to win, as a few of the others nominated were way better than him (i.e. Mat Yeung), but since his acting truly has improved from his earlier series, I can at least swallow the fact that he won.  Grace Chan on the other hand, did NOT deserve the award at all – there has been absolutely no improvement in her acting (in fact, her acting has actually gotten worse), so for TVB to still gave her that award, it’s obviously rigged.

-          As has been the case for many years already, the awards show was hugely disjointed and disorganized.  What the heck was up with the Best Supporting Actor/Actress segment?  One minute the hosts state that the next award to be presented is Best Supporting Actor and then they interview the 5 nominees for the award, but then right after that, they go into announcing the presenters of the Best Supporting Actress award – huh?  And I hate how they stopped doing the top 5 nominee thing for all the categories except TV King/Queen and Favorite Character -- putting myself in the artists’ shoes, even if they don’t win the award, I’m sure they would’ve wanted to know if they had at least gotten into top 5 because that’s still recognition to some extent.  Oh and on the topic of the awards show being disorganized – why does TVB have to rush things every year?  Why can’t they just have one year where they let everyone say what they want to say? Also, those interview snippets they did in between various categories were badly done – they were obviously time-fillers that had no meaningful purpose and instead make things come across awkward every year.

-          I was seriously disappointed at the lack of ‘decent’ presenters once again this year.  Gone are the days when TVB was able to invite big-name presenters to give out their awards – instead, in recent years, they’ve had to resort to their own artists or those who are affiliated with them in some way either by filming series or a variety program for them.  To me, that shows how irrelevant TVB is nowadays, as very few non-TVB artists are willing to give them the time of day (which of course I don’t blame the artists for, since I would do the same thing if I were them).  In the past, I would always look forward to the presenters and their speeches, even more than the award winners’ themselves, but this time around, such a huge disappointment.  Pretty much the only presenter speech I enjoyed was Benz Hui’s ‘humorous jab at TVB’ speech (love Benz – he’s basically one of the few artists who can say whatever he wants about TVB and still be highly valued by them).  And is it just me or did Nancy Wu present twice?  I wasn’t really paying a whole lot of attention but for some reason I felt that she had gone up there twice to present…

-          The hosting sucked again this year, though part of me feels I should blame TVB rather than the hosts because they’re merely going off a script and since the ceremony itself was so disorganized, they had to do the best with what they had.  With that said though, the hosting in general has been largely lackluster for most of TVB’s ‘big event’ shows the past couple years (that includes anniversary gala, anniversary awards, charity shows, etc.).  Really makes me miss those good old days (the 80s/90s) when TVB’s shows were truly grand events and the hosting was just as much a ‘highlight’ of the show as the performances themselves!

-          Acceptance speeches – again, nothing exciting with the speeches and definitely no ‘moved me to tears’ moments this year.  I basically had no feeling towards most of the speeches (probably because I didn’t really give a care about the awards this year, so couldn’t really muster up much emotion / feeling towards anyone winning, whether deserved or not).  The only 2 acceptance speeches that caught my attention were Ruco Chan’s (definitely liked his speech) and Anthony Wong’s (his speeches are always exciting to listen to though, whether he’s presenting or accepting awards).  In comparisons, last year’s speeches were much more heartfelt and emotional.  Oh and I swear, if I hear one more artist ‘thanks Sandy’ (Sandy Yu, TVB’s director of variety programs) in their acceptance speech, I think I’m going to start busting out the curse words!  Sure, I understand if those in the variety department thank Sandy (since she does oversee that department) or those who were singlehandedly pushed up by her (i.e. those artists who worked with her at i-Cable and jumped ship with her to TVB), but there were artists in the drama department thanking Sandy when she actually had nothing to do with them or their careers!  (this is one reason why I loved Benz’s jab at people’s acceptance speeches in general, lol).  I’ve always hated how most TVB award winners are kind of ‘forced’ to thank upper management – some feel it’s a PR move, others feel it’s necessary in order to stay on TVB’s good side….whatever the reason, it comes across as fake to me.  I prefer the acceptance speeches where the artists thank who they truly want to thank – i.e. those people who truly helped them in their career – rather than some management person out of fear of what might happen to them or their career if they don’t thank that person.  Argh – major pet peeve!

-          Classic series category – just wanted to add this part in, as I’ve seen some confusion in the forums about this category so felt I should clarify.  The classic series category was actually added due to all the hype surrounding TVB’s midnight timeslot this year.  All of those series nominated were ones that had aired in the midnight timeslot series in recent months.  When the nominees first came out, I thought it was very interesting that out of all the ‘classic’ series that aired in the midnight timeslot this year, TVB would choose to slide in some of their ‘non-classic’ series such as Lives of Omission and Brother’s Keeper for example – go figure!  Though I totally agree with the sentiment that TVB created this category just for the heck of it, I’m glad to see that at least they didn’t screw it up by giving the award to a series that didn’t deserve it.  As I said elsewhere in a different forum (prior to the award ceremony), the winner in this category hands-down should be The Greed of Man – this is a ‘no-brainer’ choice and any other series winning in this category would’ve been a travesty.  Reason being is that TGOM single-handedly ‘resurrected’ TVB’s midnight time slot and therefore is the main reason why TVB was even able to add this category in the first place!  When the series aired in that timeslot back in April/May (I think those are the right months – too lazy to go look it up), it broke all records in terms of ratings (for all series aired in that timeslot) and also brought about a deluge of hype and attention (due to all the nostalgia no doubt)  that no one expected and TVB absolutely benefited from.  During the months that the series aired, it was the ‘talk of the town’ and literally EVERY SINGLE WEEK there was some tidbit about the series in the newspapers, whether it was interviews with the cast (they managed to find and interview practically every single main cast member), resurrecting cut scenes from the series, rekindling the careers of largely forgotten artists (i.e.: David Siu).  Since the beginning, it made the most sense for TGOM to win and definitely glad that it did!

Overall, the awards ceremony was boring and if you didn’t watch, you didn’t miss out.  There was actually way more to criticize than what I listed but I figured I would just hit the highlights (well, I guess ‘lowlights’ is more appropriate in this case) in this post.  If I think of anything else more pressing (which I doubt, as I don’t intend to waste any more time on such a meaningless award ceremony), I’ll be sure to add.  Those who did watch the awards ceremony though, feel free to post your thoughts/comments.

Follow up to TVB’s midnight timeslot series and onTV poll

Those who’ve been following my blog are probably familiar with this whole midnight timeslot thing that I wrote several posts about the past few months.  As a refresher, here are the links to the posts related to this topic:

TVB’s midnight timeslot series

TVB’s midnight timeslot series – part 2 (follow up post)

TVB and OnTV collaboration: Midnight time slot seriespoll

This is my fourth post about this topic and unlike the previous posts, this one will be quite brief.

Basically, I AM PISSED!!!!! 

I just read the below article from on.cc which references back to the TVB/onTV poll that allowed audiences to choose which series they most wanted to watch in the midnight timeslot.  The poll had closed back in September and when the results were announced, the top 3 winners (in order of most votes) were: 1) War of the Genders, 2) Looking Back in Anger, and 3) A Step into the Past.  Back then, onTV claimed that TVB had agreed they would re-air series in their midnight timeslot based on the results of this poll – indeed, on 10/5, TVB started airing War of the Genders, which was the series that garnered the most votes…makes sense and I’m fine with that.  Logically speaking then – and if TVB was true to their word – the next series to air after War of the Genders ends on December 10^th would be the #2 highest voted series, Looking Back in Anger, right?  WRONG!!!!!!   According to the below article (keep in mind that onTV belongs to Oriental Daily, which is actually the one who did this poll in collaboration with TVB), the next series to air will be A Step into the Past, NOT Looking Back in Anger!!  WTH???  Why did they skip LBIA when that series is in the #2 spot and instead choose to air the series in the #3 spot, ASITP???  Does that make any ounce of sense at all?  What gives, TVB??  Why are you once again deliberately skipping LBIA and not allowing it to air in the midnight timeslot?  Especially now when audiences VOTED the series as their 2^nd most favorite series that they want to see re-broadcast in that timeslot? 

I don’t know about you guys, but to me, this is proof right here that the previous “rumor” about LBIA being blacklisted by TVB due to Felix Wong is absolutely TRUE !!  I mean, what other logical explanation is there for why TVB would choose to go back on their word (which was to air the series in order of what audiences chose) and air ASITP instead, completely bypassing LBIA?   In my previous posts, I mentioned the blacklist thing as a possible reason why TVB keeps skipping the series, but in efforts to be fair and give TVB the benefit of the doubt, I kept it as 'speculation only' on my part.  Well, now with this revelation, turns out that, once again, I was right after all (so next time people try to defend TVB whenever I criticize their stupidities, please remember this incident and spare me from the excuses -- because at this point, nothing is going to restore my trust in TVB, especially with the damn incompetent management they have in place right now!)

Another thing’s for sure – the next time those stupid, imbecilic, bastard execs at TVB try to REFUTE the claims of there being a blacklist (they have repeatedly denied the existence of a blacklist, even though some artists have proven there IS a blacklist because they've personally seen it), I am calling them out on this issue and want to see what they have to say (hey TVB, if there is no blacklist, then WHY DO YOU GUYS REPEATEDLY REFUSE TO AIR LBIA?????).  Stop treating your audiences like fools, TVB!!!  And FOR ONCE, have some respect for those whose support over the years helped make you into the powerhouse you are today – otherwise, sooner or later, even those die-hard fans who grew up watching your programs and therefore continue to blindly support you will end up abandoning you as well!

Source article from on.cc:

順應《重播你有Say》民意 《尋秦記》深宵重來

Deric Wan and Maggie Siu "Blood of Good and Evil" Reunion!!!

Sorry that this news is kind of ‘old’ now (it’s from last week) -- I’ve actually had this post in draft mode for a few days already but only got around to finishing it today.

All BOGAE (TVB series Blood of Good and Evil) fans need to read this post!!! 

Last week, classic 80s/90s TVB onscreen couple Deric Wan (溫兆倫) and Maggie Siu (邵美琪) got the chance to reunite on the premiere episode of the Mainland reality TV show It Was You (原來是你).  The premise of the show is that the invited celebrity guest undergoes various “transformations” using Hollywood-style makeup and special effects and then interacts with other celebrity friends to see if they are able to recognize him/her.  In this first episode, Deric was invited to undergo the transformation and pull a surprise on his close friends Maggie Siu, Benz Hui (許紹雄), and BOGAE’s scriptwriter Chan Po Wah (陳寶華).  The show invited the 3 unsuspecting friends to attend the show’s recording, telling them that they will be judges for a talent show competition -- Deric will interact with them in various situations, disguised as someone else.

My mom was actually the one who told me about this show, as she has taken to watching Mainland variety shows in recent years and, as a long-time HK entertainment as well as TVB fan, she is always on the look-out for any HK celebrities who appear on the shows.  When she told me about this one with Deric and Maggie (plus Po Wah Jie), I was undoubtedly SUPER-EXCITED because 1) they are one of my all-time favorite on-screen couples, and 2) BOGAE is one of my all-time favorite TVB series.  Even though Benz Hui wasn’t in BOGAE, he’s still one of my all-time favorite ‘green leaf’ actors, so I was excited to see him on the show too.

Watching this show brought back a lot of nostalgia and fond memories for me!  From the opening segment when Deric talks about his days working at TVB and series he filmed to the 3 friends who have a special place in his heart (Maggie, Benz, and Po Wah Jie) to the last segment where Maggie re-enacts the classic ending scene from BOGAE with a transformed Deric (Maggie didn’t know it was him until he revealed himself after the scene), I was absolutely ecstatic – at the same time though, I also had tears in my eyes, especially during that later segment, which was extremely touching, particularly for fans of the series like me. 

The first friend that Deric “surprised” was Benz.  To be honest, I also got teary-eyed at the end of Benz’s segment (ok, well I started off laughing until my stomach hurt) when Deric revealed himself and they hugged each other – Benz’s reaction was priceless, as he hadn’t seen Deric in more than a decade and so was genuinely surprised…Deric looked like he was about to cry, as he was so happy to see his ‘older brother’ again after all these years. 

The second friend was Chan Po Wah.  Po Wah Jie was one of TVB’s former scriptwriters who had left back in the early 2000s and currently writes for TV series in Mainland China.  Po Wah Jie is actually Deric’s mentor, as she was the scriptwriter for BOGAE and wrote the character of Chai Ho Nam, which was one of Deric’s most representative roles of his entire acting career.  Po Wah Jie’s segment was actually quite funny, as they did a ‘discussion’ session with a bunch of supposed contestants and she talked about the artists she most enjoyed working with as well as a few other ‘tid-bits’ about the series BOGAE.  It was obvious from what Po Wah Jie said that she’s very close with Deric and knows him very very well – by the same token, Deric obviously has a lot of respect for Po Wah Jie, which is heartwarming to see, especially since it’s rare for scriptwriters to have such a good relationship with artists who brought the characters they wrote to life.

The ultimate ‘target’ of the surprise was actually Maggie.  After Benz and Po Wah Jie found out Deric’s identity, they collaborated with him to prank Maggie.  Here I must applaud Jiangsu TV station’s seriousness in putting together the ‘fake’ talent show, complete with 'fake' contestants and 'fake' performances in order to make the surprise more impactful and poignant while still being able to tie in most of  Deric and Maggie's past collaborations such as BOGAE, Looking Back in Anger, Conscience….it was a dream come true for Deric/Maggie fans!  At the very end, when Deric revealed himself, Maggie was genuinely touched and so was everyone else – she kept asking Deric why he had to put himself through so much suffering (6 hours of makeup plus he could barely talk correctly or do much facial expression because of it), to which he replied that he is honored to have her as a friend and is willing to do anything for her.  Awww, such a sweet moment – oh and with BOGAE’s themesong playing in the background (one of my all-time favorite themesongs by the way)….everyone was crying, including those in the live audience as well as fans watching from home (I was definitely one of those fans crying my eyes out)!  Oh and great job to Benz and Po Wah Jie, who knew what was happening during that entire segment and played along really well (honestly, Po Wah Jie should be an actress – she was very natural in that segment!)

This was absolutely a fun episode to watch and chances are I will watch it again very soon (especially since I miss Deric and Maggie so much).  It also made me want to go re-watch BOGAE again (for like the hundredth time now)!

Thank you Jiangsu TV for such a great episode!  I’m not really into Mainland variety shows, but whenever there are HK celebrities invited on the shows, I will usually watch.  This episode is an absolute MUST-WATCH for all BOGAE as well as Deric/Maggie fans!

The link to the entire episode is below (courtesy of Jiangsu TV’s Youtube channel).  Enjoy!!