I must say that this series did not impress me as much as I had expected. I wouldn't necessarily use the word "disappointed" because there were quite a few good performances and overall the series is alot better than most....but it did not have the "wow" factor for me. To be more specific -- 1) I did not feel the urge to go pull the DVD version of the series (which I recently bought) to finish watching the series because I was so engrossed that I couldn't wait day after day to watch the next episode (unlike what I did with "At the Threshold of an Era" which I finished in three days) and 2) I was still able to "multi-task" (do other things) while watching the series -- which generally means that the series failed to capture my attention 100% (again, unlike ATE, which was so good that my eyes were glued to the TV set and I had no interest in doing other things while watching).
To be honest, I already wasn't impressed by the first 2 installments of this trilogy ("The Academy" and "On the First Beat"), but I was hoping that "E.U." would be different because I had heard that the storyline would focus more on the veteran actors this time around rather than Ron and Sammul. But that wasn't really the case (at least in my opinion).....true, the storyline revolved more around Michael Miu and the antics of the triad gang that he leads, but Ron and Sammul still had pretty big roles and some of the storyline involving them was very boring. I really didn't care for Sammul and Leung Kar Kei's pairing (probably because I didn't like either character and Leung's acting sucks just like her sister's) and the Ron / Elanne pairing didn't click with me either (I actually found Elanne's character quite annoying) -- there was zero chemistry in both pairings and I started feeling that the 2 women served more of a "filler" purpose in the series -- meaning they were put in there as "love interests" for Sammul and Ron just to add another "layer" to the plot/storyline.
I also got bored with Ron and Sammul's characters: Ron = the brazen cop who always acts before he thinks and Sammul = the 'righteous' cop who is annoyingly stubborn and 'by the book'. I mean, after the THIRD time, it was starting to get old and tiring -- doesn't seem like the writers were able to find any more creative stuff to write about these 2 in terms of storyline and so focused on their 'relationships' which were also very lackluster (or maybe it was the acting of Ron/Sammul/Elanne/Leung Kar Kei not being up to par for my tastes).....either way, I was not impressed with any of the storyline involving these 4 and instead felt bored....
As for the veteran actors....well, they fared better in my opinion because of their skilled acting, but the characters themselves still did not leave much of an impression on me. Kathy Chow's "Sum Jie" was sort of weak and Michael Miu's "Hau Gor" was too stereotypical. I don't think that they wrote Sum Jie's character well at all because I honestly don't see what her contribution is in the series -- it's not like she is involved with any of the triad stuff or anything and I can't think of anything else "major" that she does throughout most of the series. Kathy did a good job in terms of the acting (which is evident in the scenes where she "struggles" to decide whether she should accept Hau Gor, the crying scenes, etc.) -- but I just don't think the character was developed enough to do justice to her acting.
With regard to Michael's Hau Gor, I just felt the character was too sterotypical in that there's nothing "different" about him -- I mean, you would expect a triad gang leader to do the things he did and just like Sum Jie, Hau Gor's character was also a bit one-dimensional....Michael's acting is good, but I liked his performance in "The Academy" better than in this series -- mostly because his character in that series was much better developed and he could actually put his acting skills to work.
The only character that I found to be the most interesting and developed was -- you guessed it -- Laughing Gor. And no, I am not saying this because of all the hype over his character -- in fact, I was a bit surprised regarding all the "hype" because now that I've watched the series, I don't get why there should be that much commotion over his character. I mean, his character definitely stood out because the other characters in the series were less developed and pretty lackluster, but to the point of tens of thousands of netizens protesting his death? Plus his character got killed off pretty early in the series if I remember correctly.....Hmmm....
Anyway, I will admit that Laughing Gor was more developed than the other characters in the series in that we get a glimpse into his past, his struggles with being an undercover cop in the triad society, how he had to sacrifice love for his work, etc. And it was sort of tragic that he spent 9 years undercover in that triad gang only to die at the hands of a fellow cop (ironically) before he had the chance to bring the criminals to justice -- it's like all that hard work and sacrifice went down the drain. Maybe in that sense, the audience was able to feel more connected to him and so when the character died, it felt like such a loss. Also, Michael Tse did bring out the traits of the character quite well with his acting skills....
Overall, the series was decent and I would say it's one of the better ones released that particular year. But as a whole (speaking about the entire trilogy), it doesn't live up to the excellence that its predecessor (the "Police Cadet" trilogy starring Tony Leung) was able to achieve in the 80s. I could re-watch the "Police Cadet" trilogy over again and it would still interest me -- but I don't think I can sit through this particular trilogy (TA, OTFB, EU) again without getting bored....
LL's Musings 小賢角落
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
“Artistes 414 Fundraising Campaign” – Some Thoughts….
Just finishing watching the re-broadcast of the "Artistes 414 Fundraising Campaign" yesterday and also reading the various news reports on the event. As a fellow "Hong Kong-er", I am very proud of the HK entertainment industry for coming together to help their "tong bao" in China -- not only that, but also working together with artists from other countries to raise money and for once not "fighting" over who does what or who performs first, etc. One of the hosts of the event, Lawrence Cheng, put it best: everyone came together regardless of company, regardless of status, for one purpose – helping the Qinghai earthquake victims.
The fundraising event was no easy feat to put together, as there was less than 1 week to prepare for it and not only did the organizers have to contact all the artists (320 artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China), they also had to put together the rundown of the performances, who will be performing with who, which songs will they song, how long each performance can last due to time constraints, etc. etc. etc. Events of this nature (even ones on a much smaller scale with far fewer "big names") usually take weeks or even months of preparation, yet this one had to be done in only a few days....got to give credit to Eric Tsang, Gordon Chan, and Stephen Shum for being able to pull this off in such a short amount of time. In my opinion, the event was definitely a success, as they were able to raise over HKD$35 million for earthquake relief and also so many artists were able to unite efforts for a good cause.
The majority of the news reports that came out yesterday recapping the event were very positive, which is great, however there were also some "negative" reports about how there were alot of technical difficulties where the music didn't come on at the right time, microphones didn't work properly, the music was too loud at certain points, etc. etc. My reaction when I read these reports is: Who cares???? I mean, think about it -- organizing such a huge event with so many artists and having to gather all the equipment, cameras, etc. as well as having to find a venue that would accommodate everyone in such a short amount of time -- of course the event won't be "error-free"....that's expected! It's stupid for the HK reporters to take the focus away from relief efforts in order to make such a big deal out of these small non-issues and cause controversy by trying to make "mountains out of molehills"
It's sad that the "atmosphere" in society (especially in the entertainment world) is so "negative" where all HK reporters want to do is focus only on the things that "went wrong" or feed the "gossip" circles. Instead of focusing on the cause at hand, the reporters would focus more on things that were irrelevant or ask stupid questions to fan the rumor mills. No wonder so many people are disappointed in the HK media!
For example, when some of the TVB artists were interviewed, instead of focusing on what they were saying about encouraging people to donate, different ways people can help the cause, etc., the reporters were more concerned with who was standing / sitting next to who, who did or didn't gesture to who, etc. ("omg, Charmaine is sitting next to Kevin -- oh, they even shared the same chair, oh, the rumors about them must be true...oh wait, they both went the opposite direction right after the interview -- must be trying to 'avoid' each other").....or ("oh, Bernice looked sad during that interview -- she must be bitter at seeing Charmaine and thinking about her breakup with Moses")....GIVE ME A BREAK! I mean, the event is about earthquake relief and encouraging people to help out / donate money, NOT about who is rumored to be a couple with whom! Who really cares at that point in time? If the reporters want to talk about that kind of stuff, then do it at a more appropriate time, not when everyone is trying to bring awareness to earthquake relief! TALK ABOUT BEING DISRESPECTFUL!!!
The other instance that annoys me is when reporters try to "stir the pot" by asking contentious questions just so that they can "make a big deal" out of it (and possibly sell more papers). For example, when Jacky Cheung, Harlem Yu, Hacken Lee, and Sun Nan were being interviewed backstage, one of the reporters started asking about how much money each of them donated and what they thought about the situations that happened with the Sichuan earthquake fundraising 2 years ago when some organizations / people tried to cheat others out of their money by asking for false donations. Jacky got a bit upset over this because he felt that the focus of the reporters was wrong -- his response was: "The amount of money donated individually does not matter! In fact, since you [the reporters] are able to uncover information about artists' marriages, you can surely go investigate how much money was donated by each person if you want -- there is no way to lie about this kind of stuff!" Hacken also added: "Comparing how much money artists donated individually is very unfair -- would you go ask someone in the street how much they donated to charity? The important thing is donating from the heart, not the amount."* Very well stated by both Jacky and Hacken! And I so totally agree! I actually love Jacky's response because it is so true (and stated in such a polite yet clever way) – I mean, if you reporters have the ability to dig up the artists' marriage licenses and display them to the public, then you surely would be able to "dig up" the records of who donated what amount to charity! So why even ask the artists how much they donated? The fact that they are helping with earthquake relief is enough -- it's the thought that counts, not how much they donated!
It's just sad that the focus of the reporters would be on "which artist donated how much money in comparisons to another artist and why" rather than on the collective relief efforts of the entertainment industry as a whole. With these types of questions, it tells us that society (more specifically the media) as a whole is "unhealthy" -- not in terms of physical health, but rather in terms of "atmosphere" and "positivity" because all they can think about is the "negative, petty" stuff.....so stupid....
*Source of quotes: Oriental Daily news
The fundraising event was no easy feat to put together, as there was less than 1 week to prepare for it and not only did the organizers have to contact all the artists (320 artists from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China), they also had to put together the rundown of the performances, who will be performing with who, which songs will they song, how long each performance can last due to time constraints, etc. etc. etc. Events of this nature (even ones on a much smaller scale with far fewer "big names") usually take weeks or even months of preparation, yet this one had to be done in only a few days....got to give credit to Eric Tsang, Gordon Chan, and Stephen Shum for being able to pull this off in such a short amount of time. In my opinion, the event was definitely a success, as they were able to raise over HKD$35 million for earthquake relief and also so many artists were able to unite efforts for a good cause.
The majority of the news reports that came out yesterday recapping the event were very positive, which is great, however there were also some "negative" reports about how there were alot of technical difficulties where the music didn't come on at the right time, microphones didn't work properly, the music was too loud at certain points, etc. etc. My reaction when I read these reports is: Who cares???? I mean, think about it -- organizing such a huge event with so many artists and having to gather all the equipment, cameras, etc. as well as having to find a venue that would accommodate everyone in such a short amount of time -- of course the event won't be "error-free"....that's expected! It's stupid for the HK reporters to take the focus away from relief efforts in order to make such a big deal out of these small non-issues and cause controversy by trying to make "mountains out of molehills"
It's sad that the "atmosphere" in society (especially in the entertainment world) is so "negative" where all HK reporters want to do is focus only on the things that "went wrong" or feed the "gossip" circles. Instead of focusing on the cause at hand, the reporters would focus more on things that were irrelevant or ask stupid questions to fan the rumor mills. No wonder so many people are disappointed in the HK media!
For example, when some of the TVB artists were interviewed, instead of focusing on what they were saying about encouraging people to donate, different ways people can help the cause, etc., the reporters were more concerned with who was standing / sitting next to who, who did or didn't gesture to who, etc. ("omg, Charmaine is sitting next to Kevin -- oh, they even shared the same chair, oh, the rumors about them must be true...oh wait, they both went the opposite direction right after the interview -- must be trying to 'avoid' each other").....or ("oh, Bernice looked sad during that interview -- she must be bitter at seeing Charmaine and thinking about her breakup with Moses")....GIVE ME A BREAK! I mean, the event is about earthquake relief and encouraging people to help out / donate money, NOT about who is rumored to be a couple with whom! Who really cares at that point in time? If the reporters want to talk about that kind of stuff, then do it at a more appropriate time, not when everyone is trying to bring awareness to earthquake relief! TALK ABOUT BEING DISRESPECTFUL!!!
The other instance that annoys me is when reporters try to "stir the pot" by asking contentious questions just so that they can "make a big deal" out of it (and possibly sell more papers). For example, when Jacky Cheung, Harlem Yu, Hacken Lee, and Sun Nan were being interviewed backstage, one of the reporters started asking about how much money each of them donated and what they thought about the situations that happened with the Sichuan earthquake fundraising 2 years ago when some organizations / people tried to cheat others out of their money by asking for false donations. Jacky got a bit upset over this because he felt that the focus of the reporters was wrong -- his response was: "The amount of money donated individually does not matter! In fact, since you [the reporters] are able to uncover information about artists' marriages, you can surely go investigate how much money was donated by each person if you want -- there is no way to lie about this kind of stuff!" Hacken also added: "Comparing how much money artists donated individually is very unfair -- would you go ask someone in the street how much they donated to charity? The important thing is donating from the heart, not the amount."* Very well stated by both Jacky and Hacken! And I so totally agree! I actually love Jacky's response because it is so true (and stated in such a polite yet clever way) – I mean, if you reporters have the ability to dig up the artists' marriage licenses and display them to the public, then you surely would be able to "dig up" the records of who donated what amount to charity! So why even ask the artists how much they donated? The fact that they are helping with earthquake relief is enough -- it's the thought that counts, not how much they donated!
It's just sad that the focus of the reporters would be on "which artist donated how much money in comparisons to another artist and why" rather than on the collective relief efforts of the entertainment industry as a whole. With these types of questions, it tells us that society (more specifically the media) as a whole is "unhealthy" -- not in terms of physical health, but rather in terms of "atmosphere" and "positivity" because all they can think about is the "negative, petty" stuff.....so stupid....
*Source of quotes: Oriental Daily news
Sunday, April 25, 2010
My 'TVB Rant' #2: Why I Can’t Stand TVB’s Politics – Part 2
It is a truth universally acknowledged that no one is perfect and everyone has their faults / weaknesses. There is nothing "bad" about this, as it just proves that we are all human.
This same truth applies to businesses and organizations as well. It makes sense, since businesses and organizations are run by humans, whom we have already determined are imperfect and make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes, as long as we admit them, learn from them, and don't let the same mistakes happen again.
What is so difficult to grasp about the above concept? Well, plenty, it seems -- especially with a powerhouse organization like TVB. Maybe it's the "power" that they feel they have over the entire HK entertainment industry due to the virtual "monopoly" they possess in the television world (their closest competitor ATV is in shambles due to the revolving door in their management ranks) and the "usual" high ratings that all their series get due to lack of competition -- so basically, TVB can put out crappy series (like they have been doing the past 7 years at least, with a few exceptions) and still "own" majority of the market.
You would think that with a company that has been in "business" for so long (42 years), TVB should understand the above concept (admitting mistakes, learning from them, preventing them from repeating). Ironically, TVB has never been one to admit to their shortcomings.
With all the TVB-related "happenings" the last couple months (royalties dispute, favoritism in awards ceremonies, Stephen Chan's corruption scandal, etc.), it has really brought to light some of the inherent "issues" and "problems" that plague TVB -- though, in typical TVB fashion, they would never admit to any of this.
Below is my list of "untruths" that TVB has told (via its various spokes people) in the past few months. This is purely my opinion based on what I have read in various news articles / interviews / statements, etc.
13 "untruths" that TVB has told
**Note: This list is NOT all-inclusive – there are many other instances as well. The below are just a few examples**
1) There are no parties / cliques / groups at TVB
2) There is no favoritism at TVB
3) They always promote based on talent, not favoritism
4) They always promote those who are "most deserving"
5) Upper management has never accepted expensive gifts from its employees
6) They welcome differences in opinion
7) Artists from the Big 4 record companies (i.e.: Eason Chan, Hacken Lee, Hins Cheung, etc.) would not have won at last year's JSG awards even if they were in the running because their "points" would not be "high enough" to overtake Raymond Lam
8) Their Anniversary Awards are always fair and rewards the "most deserving"
9) Their awards shows (TV, music, etc.) are never rigged
10) Asked about whether their artists were being interrogated by ICAC when the Stephen Chan corruption scandal broke out, TVB's response was basically "no comment" and there has been "no effect" on their artists or production.
11) TVB did not “ban” Ekin when they refused to let him promote his movie on their network – it was all a “misunderstanding”
12) They did not purposefully “cut out” references to ATV in last year’s HK Film Awards broadcast – it was a “mistake” by the person doing the editing and he was acting on his own accord based on what he “assumed” was best for the company.
13) The reason why they changed the lineup to their programming last Sunday night was not because they wanted to compete against the HK Film Awards on ATV, but because they "wanted the audience to be able to watch the finale for the series 'Fistful of Stances' earlier in the night."
This same truth applies to businesses and organizations as well. It makes sense, since businesses and organizations are run by humans, whom we have already determined are imperfect and make mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes, as long as we admit them, learn from them, and don't let the same mistakes happen again.
What is so difficult to grasp about the above concept? Well, plenty, it seems -- especially with a powerhouse organization like TVB. Maybe it's the "power" that they feel they have over the entire HK entertainment industry due to the virtual "monopoly" they possess in the television world (their closest competitor ATV is in shambles due to the revolving door in their management ranks) and the "usual" high ratings that all their series get due to lack of competition -- so basically, TVB can put out crappy series (like they have been doing the past 7 years at least, with a few exceptions) and still "own" majority of the market.
You would think that with a company that has been in "business" for so long (42 years), TVB should understand the above concept (admitting mistakes, learning from them, preventing them from repeating). Ironically, TVB has never been one to admit to their shortcomings.
With all the TVB-related "happenings" the last couple months (royalties dispute, favoritism in awards ceremonies, Stephen Chan's corruption scandal, etc.), it has really brought to light some of the inherent "issues" and "problems" that plague TVB -- though, in typical TVB fashion, they would never admit to any of this.
Below is my list of "untruths" that TVB has told (via its various spokes people) in the past few months. This is purely my opinion based on what I have read in various news articles / interviews / statements, etc.
13 "untruths" that TVB has told
**Note: This list is NOT all-inclusive – there are many other instances as well. The below are just a few examples**
1) There are no parties / cliques / groups at TVB
2) There is no favoritism at TVB
3) They always promote based on talent, not favoritism
4) They always promote those who are "most deserving"
5) Upper management has never accepted expensive gifts from its employees
6) They welcome differences in opinion
7) Artists from the Big 4 record companies (i.e.: Eason Chan, Hacken Lee, Hins Cheung, etc.) would not have won at last year's JSG awards even if they were in the running because their "points" would not be "high enough" to overtake Raymond Lam
8) Their Anniversary Awards are always fair and rewards the "most deserving"
9) Their awards shows (TV, music, etc.) are never rigged
10) Asked about whether their artists were being interrogated by ICAC when the Stephen Chan corruption scandal broke out, TVB's response was basically "no comment" and there has been "no effect" on their artists or production.
11) TVB did not “ban” Ekin when they refused to let him promote his movie on their network – it was all a “misunderstanding”
12) They did not purposefully “cut out” references to ATV in last year’s HK Film Awards broadcast – it was a “mistake” by the person doing the editing and he was acting on his own accord based on what he “assumed” was best for the company.
13) The reason why they changed the lineup to their programming last Sunday night was not because they wanted to compete against the HK Film Awards on ATV, but because they "wanted the audience to be able to watch the finale for the series 'Fistful of Stances' earlier in the night."
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Jacky and Anita Memories...
I was just re-watching some videos and came across this one, which I had seen many times already...it's a clip from Anita Mui's last concert that took place a month or so before she died. This particular scene is from the opening show of her concert and Jacky was her first guest.
The beginning part of the clip was cut out, but basically Anita introduces Jacky by saying that her first guest is actually one of her relatives, but also a very close friend of hers. Not only that, he is her "teacher" because she has learned (and is still learning) from him how to be a good person. By this time, the audience of course knows who she is talking about and when the music to the song "Blessing" starts up, everyone starts screaming.
Ever the gentleman, Jacky holds Anita's hand as she starts off the first verse of the song. Then Jacky sings and they launch into a duet of the song. Anita's voice is a little weak because of her illness, but she still does an excellent job (of course, Jacky is great as always)...during the middle musical solo part, Anita and Jacky hug and Anita puts her arms around Jacky's neck for a minute, as if not wanting to let go. Jacky pats her on the back as if consoling her. This part makes me so sad because it's as if they are saying their goodbyes right now -- and it really touches me how great a relationship they have. Then, right before the start of the next verse, Anita gestures to Jacky and says to the audience: "My brother-in-law!" and "More applause please!"
They continue with the song (and it sounds just as beautiful as a duet as it does as a single). When they finish the song, there is alot of applause from the audience of course, but what moves me the most is what Jacky says after the song.
Anita says: "Mr. Cheung, since you're here, you know we won't let you leave that easily."
Jacky says (to Anita and audience): "Actually, what I want to say is I really agree with what the person said earlier: seeing Anita perform is already enough." (The audience screams)
Anita says: "Aww, don't be jealous...you're just saying that."
Jacky says: "No, no, no, I'm serious. I hope to finish my piece as soon as possible so I can go back down and watch the show."
The audience is cheering and Anita starts to say that she is going to turn the stage over to Jacky, but before she does so, he says one more thing -- "Our [the guests/himself] appearance on the show is so that Anita can come back out on stage even more beautiful." (Awww...as always, Jacky's first concern is for others, never himself....)
The clip ends here, but it is already enough to show the awesome relationship that Jacky and Anita have. Watching this clip is actually very emotional for me because 1) I grew up listening to Anita's music and she is like a household name for those of us born in HK, and 2) knowing her relationship with Jacky (his wife May is Anita's sworn sister -- not related by blood, but just as close as real sisters), 3) as a long time Jacky fan, I can tell that Jacky also feels a bit sad during this segment (though he tries not to show it for Anita's sake). Plus the song they chose was very sad (though the lyrics were extremely appropriate)-- I can feel the genuine love and emotion in the performance....the thought that kept running through my head was "what once was, can never be again....if only...."
The beginning part of the clip was cut out, but basically Anita introduces Jacky by saying that her first guest is actually one of her relatives, but also a very close friend of hers. Not only that, he is her "teacher" because she has learned (and is still learning) from him how to be a good person. By this time, the audience of course knows who she is talking about and when the music to the song "Blessing" starts up, everyone starts screaming.
Ever the gentleman, Jacky holds Anita's hand as she starts off the first verse of the song. Then Jacky sings and they launch into a duet of the song. Anita's voice is a little weak because of her illness, but she still does an excellent job (of course, Jacky is great as always)...during the middle musical solo part, Anita and Jacky hug and Anita puts her arms around Jacky's neck for a minute, as if not wanting to let go. Jacky pats her on the back as if consoling her. This part makes me so sad because it's as if they are saying their goodbyes right now -- and it really touches me how great a relationship they have. Then, right before the start of the next verse, Anita gestures to Jacky and says to the audience: "My brother-in-law!" and "More applause please!"
They continue with the song (and it sounds just as beautiful as a duet as it does as a single). When they finish the song, there is alot of applause from the audience of course, but what moves me the most is what Jacky says after the song.
Anita says: "Mr. Cheung, since you're here, you know we won't let you leave that easily."
Jacky says (to Anita and audience): "Actually, what I want to say is I really agree with what the person said earlier: seeing Anita perform is already enough." (The audience screams)
Anita says: "Aww, don't be jealous...you're just saying that."
Jacky says: "No, no, no, I'm serious. I hope to finish my piece as soon as possible so I can go back down and watch the show."
The audience is cheering and Anita starts to say that she is going to turn the stage over to Jacky, but before she does so, he says one more thing -- "Our [the guests/himself] appearance on the show is so that Anita can come back out on stage even more beautiful." (Awww...as always, Jacky's first concern is for others, never himself....)
The clip ends here, but it is already enough to show the awesome relationship that Jacky and Anita have. Watching this clip is actually very emotional for me because 1) I grew up listening to Anita's music and she is like a household name for those of us born in HK, and 2) knowing her relationship with Jacky (his wife May is Anita's sworn sister -- not related by blood, but just as close as real sisters), 3) as a long time Jacky fan, I can tell that Jacky also feels a bit sad during this segment (though he tries not to show it for Anita's sake). Plus the song they chose was very sad (though the lyrics were extremely appropriate)-- I can feel the genuine love and emotion in the performance....the thought that kept running through my head was "what once was, can never be again....if only...."
Monday, April 19, 2010
HK Film Awards 2010 -- My Thoughts
The 29th Annual HK Film Awards were held this weekend at the HK Cultural Center. After watching the awards ceremony broadcast, there were actually quite a few interesting things that I really wanted to blog about. So here goes....
First of all, the fact that the awards ceremony is being broadcast by ATV rather than TVB is already a small victory for me. Not that I had anything to do with this occurring, but I was one of the thousands of viewers who complained about the way TVB ripped the Film Awards broadcast to shreds last year. Basically, when TVB aired last year's broadcast, they did a VERY POOR editing job and as a result, alot of stuff was edited out that really should not have been -- namely, the acceptance speech by Best Actress Paw Hee Ching (because she is contracted with rival ATV on the television side) as well as other "mentions" of rival stations. Frankly, I'm not surprised that TVB would do this because they have a reputation for being PETTY and cannot bear even the slight mention of rival station's names (let alone allowing their actors/actresses to appear on their screens). And of course, they totally ignored the fact that this award ceremony is purely a FILM INDUSTRY event and has nothing to do with TV -- so it doesn't matter which station the winners are from -- they are being recognized for their work in film, NOT in television.
After TVB broadcast the ceremony last year, there was such a huge backlash over what they did -- people both within the industry as well as the general public complained about how disrespectful TVB was to the winners (and rightly so!!!). In response (primarily as a means of damage control), TVB decided to re-broadcoast the show IN ITS ENTIRETY on their HD TV station -- which in my opinion, shows a lack of sincerity because not everyone in HK has HDTV (or is able to afford it), so in a sense, the re-broadcast would have only been available to a small audience. But the thing that upset people most is TVB's lack of remorse for their poor editing job....when they were hounded by the media about the situation, the LAME excuse they gave was: "It was not our intention to edit out ATV related content. The person doing the editing acted on his own -- he did not clearly understand the company's intentions and thought he was doing what was best for the company." YEA, SURE -- BLAME IT ON THE EDITING GUY!! I mean, really -- who does TVB think they are fooling? Do they really expect us viewers to be that stupid and believe that the "editing guy" has THAT much power? And what does it tell us about TVB when they so readily push their employees out there to take the blame when bad things happen so that their stupid management can be absolved of all responsibility? No wonder people don't want to work for them and their turnover rate is so high! (but that's another topic, which I'll save for later)....
Several months ago, during the bidding process for the broadcast rights to this year's ceremony, TVB had the audacity to bid for the show again (probably to save face, since it would look bad for HK's primary TV station not to bid for the event -- plus it would be an admission of wrongdoing if they didn't bid, which is strictly forbidden with them). After reviewing the bids, the HK Film Awards Association decided to grant the broadcast rights to ATV -- primarily because ATV was willing to pay more money for the rights, but also because of what TVB did to the award ceremony broadcast last year (the reps from the Association actually stated this, so it's not an assumption on anyone's part). When ATV received the good news, they took the opportunity to promise that they would air a COMPLETELY UNCUT version of the awards ceremony, no matter what is said during the ceremony (a definite "put-down" of TVB).
So back to this year's awards ceremony.....ATV definitely kept their promise, as they aired the uncut version of the awards ceremony live IN ITS ENTIRETY. In fact, ATV definitely gained alot of points this time around with viewers, as there was mention of TVB almost throughout the entire broadcast (of course, many of the presenters took the chance to poke fun at the situation -- mostly at TVB's expense), and ATV did not edit out anything. The ironic (and funny) part was that one of TVB's top managers -- Virginia Lok -- was in the audience that night and throughout the event, the camera kept panning over to her (probably to see what her reaction would be to all the 'TVB talk') -- so in a sense, Lok was "forced" to appear on ATV throughout the night, thereby doing "free promos" for the rival station (I got such a kick out of this! Knowing how much TVB hates "supporting" rival stations -- Lok herself once pushed away the microphone from a rival station during an interview and "gave them her back")....yet, in this instance, she had to "indirectly" support ATV (LOL!)....
In terms of actual content, I feel that the awards ceremony was nicely done this year. There was alot of talk prior to the ceremony that this year's show lacked "big stars" but I think that was exaggerated because after watching the entire 3 hour broadcast, I saw plenty of "big stars" there -- if the media was referring to the big international stars like Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, etc., then they are just trying to be picky because honestly, how many awards shows do these stars even show up to nowadays? I mean, with their busy schedules, they're not expected to have time to show up to these shows.
I really liked how the HK Film Awards Association chose Lawrence Cheng Dan Shui to be the host. He was one of the best hosts of the late 80s/early 90s and I haven't seen him host for a long time. As a host, he is definitely more refined, yet still very funny -- the kind of high quality host you would expect at this type of event. To be honest, I was getting tired of Eric Tsang's rowdy, "wu nao" type of hosting, so it was refreshing to see Lawrence bring his signature style of hosting to the event -- at least I don't get the feeling that I'm watching baseless, slapstick-type comedy (which is the perception that I get with Eric's style of hosting) and instead am treated to a higher class of comedy that is more appropriate to the event.
Of course, the endless "references" to TVB was a unique factor to this particular award ceremony, as everyone (guests and winners alike) were taking advantage of the fact that ATV promised a completely UNEDITED broadcast, which meant that everyone could pretty much say anything they wanted. Since this "never happens" with TVB broadcasts, everyone wanted to "test the waters" and see if ATV was going to keep to their word. I personally found it quite humourous because the more they "referred" to TVB, the worse it made TVB look -- because it brings forth TVB's pettiness tenfold.
One of the "references" I especially liked was Dayo Wong's monologue, where at one point he goes: "ATV is so good....they let me talk as long as I want...so how much time do I have left?" This is an indirect "bash" on TVB because during last year's awards ceremony, not only did TVB cut out all references to ATV, they also chopped up people's acceptance speeches (even those who did not refer to ATV) to the point that what the people said did not end up making any sense. Plus they had people at the actual ceremony signaling to the winners to cut their speeches short, so some of the winners either didn't get to speak or had their speeches cut. This year, ATV proved to be very "dai fong" about the whole ceremony -- they let it overrun by 1 hour (and losing money in advertising in the process) because they wanted to honor their promise to viewers of not cutting anything out. TVB, on the other hand, would never do such a thing because they are so greedy that they wouldn't want to lose even a penny in advertising in order to satisfy the viewers -- so they would rather sacrifice the broadcast and screw the viewers rather than lose money (their typical mentality).
All the TVB versus ATV talk aside, one of the highlights of the show for me was the dialogue from the presenters. For me, one of the primary reasons I like to watch these shows is to see who the presenters are and what they will say -- if it was just about the results, there would be no need to watch, since I could just read about it in the papers the next day. My favorite presenters were definitely the duo of Sean Lau and Nick Cheung -- they were presenting the Best Actress Award (which was like the 2nd to last award of the night). I could tell from their banter back and forth that Sean and Nick have a great friendship, as they were able to make fun of each other so comfortably. And forever the actor, I loved how when Sean told his jokes, his face looked so serious, yet he was actually joking the whole time! And Nick had a smile on his face the entire time – even though he was being made fun of by Sean!
Here are some of the excerpts from their hilarious 5 minute dialogue (of course, my paraphrasing below pales in comparison to watching the actual video segment and seeing them in action).
1) Opening dialogue:
-- Sean (to Nick): I found out from the association that they were actually planning to have 4 people present this award: you, me, Anthony Wong, and Francis Ng.
-- Nick (to Sean): So why isn't Anthony here?
-- Sean: Well, the association felt that Anthony is too "old" and "passe", so they booted him out. So what about Francis? I think he's working, right?
-- Nick: Um, Francis is actually in a jailcell somewhere in Lai Chi Kok.
-- Sean: What? I thought they let him out already!
-- Nick: Oh, you didn't hear? This is a different case -- not that same one! (audience laughs)
-- Sean: Hmmm...let's talk about something else....
2) Sean blames Nick for making him lose the Best Actor award and Nick makes fun of Sean's dark skin tone
-- Sean: Actually, I already knew that I would not be able to win the award today.
-- Nick: Why's that?
-- Sean: Because of where I am seated. I noticed that in the past, all of the Best Actor winners were always seated right in the middle -- this year, I'm actually seated way over there on the end (points to the right side of the audience).
-- Nick: Oh.
-- Sean (to the audience): And the other thing I discovered -- if you want to win Best Actor, never sit near Nick Cheung!
-- Nick: (smiles and looks at the audience with quizzical expression on his face)
-- Sean (to Nick): I remember a couple years back, when I was nominated for Best Actor and you were nominated for Best Supporting Actor. You ending up losing the award to someone else -- which of course is expected! But then when you lost, you stayed in your seat for the rest of the show and didn't leave! You were sitting there in that horrific white suit and had this expression on your face -- (bows his head and looks down at the floor with a sad expression on his face). I remember turning around and telling you to leave because you're just going to make me lose.
-- Nick (smiles): Yes, I remember -- at first when I saw a "dark" hand reach over to me, I was moved thinking that someone was sympathizing with me. But then I see that it's you turning around and berrating me for causing you to lose the Best Actor award with my depressed looks. But hey, I was actually just doing you a favor by sitting there! The venue was so dark that if it weren't for MY bright white suit reflecting the lights onto you, no one would have noticed that you even came to the ceremony! (The whole audience laughs and the camera pans over to Sean's wife Amy Kwok, who is also giggling).
There are some more funny parts but it's hard to translate that dialogue (since I wouldn't be able to do justice to it), so just going to leave it at these highlights.
And lastly, I am extremely happy that Simon Yam finally got the Best Actor aaward -- he's been in the industry 34 years and has been nominated multiple times, but the award has always eluded him until now. He is one of the finest actors in the industry and very humble too! His acceptance speech was quite touching as well. Definitely well deserved!
First of all, the fact that the awards ceremony is being broadcast by ATV rather than TVB is already a small victory for me. Not that I had anything to do with this occurring, but I was one of the thousands of viewers who complained about the way TVB ripped the Film Awards broadcast to shreds last year. Basically, when TVB aired last year's broadcast, they did a VERY POOR editing job and as a result, alot of stuff was edited out that really should not have been -- namely, the acceptance speech by Best Actress Paw Hee Ching (because she is contracted with rival ATV on the television side) as well as other "mentions" of rival stations. Frankly, I'm not surprised that TVB would do this because they have a reputation for being PETTY and cannot bear even the slight mention of rival station's names (let alone allowing their actors/actresses to appear on their screens). And of course, they totally ignored the fact that this award ceremony is purely a FILM INDUSTRY event and has nothing to do with TV -- so it doesn't matter which station the winners are from -- they are being recognized for their work in film, NOT in television.
After TVB broadcast the ceremony last year, there was such a huge backlash over what they did -- people both within the industry as well as the general public complained about how disrespectful TVB was to the winners (and rightly so!!!). In response (primarily as a means of damage control), TVB decided to re-broadcoast the show IN ITS ENTIRETY on their HD TV station -- which in my opinion, shows a lack of sincerity because not everyone in HK has HDTV (or is able to afford it), so in a sense, the re-broadcast would have only been available to a small audience. But the thing that upset people most is TVB's lack of remorse for their poor editing job....when they were hounded by the media about the situation, the LAME excuse they gave was: "It was not our intention to edit out ATV related content. The person doing the editing acted on his own -- he did not clearly understand the company's intentions and thought he was doing what was best for the company." YEA, SURE -- BLAME IT ON THE EDITING GUY!! I mean, really -- who does TVB think they are fooling? Do they really expect us viewers to be that stupid and believe that the "editing guy" has THAT much power? And what does it tell us about TVB when they so readily push their employees out there to take the blame when bad things happen so that their stupid management can be absolved of all responsibility? No wonder people don't want to work for them and their turnover rate is so high! (but that's another topic, which I'll save for later)....
Several months ago, during the bidding process for the broadcast rights to this year's ceremony, TVB had the audacity to bid for the show again (probably to save face, since it would look bad for HK's primary TV station not to bid for the event -- plus it would be an admission of wrongdoing if they didn't bid, which is strictly forbidden with them). After reviewing the bids, the HK Film Awards Association decided to grant the broadcast rights to ATV -- primarily because ATV was willing to pay more money for the rights, but also because of what TVB did to the award ceremony broadcast last year (the reps from the Association actually stated this, so it's not an assumption on anyone's part). When ATV received the good news, they took the opportunity to promise that they would air a COMPLETELY UNCUT version of the awards ceremony, no matter what is said during the ceremony (a definite "put-down" of TVB).
So back to this year's awards ceremony.....ATV definitely kept their promise, as they aired the uncut version of the awards ceremony live IN ITS ENTIRETY. In fact, ATV definitely gained alot of points this time around with viewers, as there was mention of TVB almost throughout the entire broadcast (of course, many of the presenters took the chance to poke fun at the situation -- mostly at TVB's expense), and ATV did not edit out anything. The ironic (and funny) part was that one of TVB's top managers -- Virginia Lok -- was in the audience that night and throughout the event, the camera kept panning over to her (probably to see what her reaction would be to all the 'TVB talk') -- so in a sense, Lok was "forced" to appear on ATV throughout the night, thereby doing "free promos" for the rival station (I got such a kick out of this! Knowing how much TVB hates "supporting" rival stations -- Lok herself once pushed away the microphone from a rival station during an interview and "gave them her back")....yet, in this instance, she had to "indirectly" support ATV (LOL!)....
In terms of actual content, I feel that the awards ceremony was nicely done this year. There was alot of talk prior to the ceremony that this year's show lacked "big stars" but I think that was exaggerated because after watching the entire 3 hour broadcast, I saw plenty of "big stars" there -- if the media was referring to the big international stars like Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, etc., then they are just trying to be picky because honestly, how many awards shows do these stars even show up to nowadays? I mean, with their busy schedules, they're not expected to have time to show up to these shows.
I really liked how the HK Film Awards Association chose Lawrence Cheng Dan Shui to be the host. He was one of the best hosts of the late 80s/early 90s and I haven't seen him host for a long time. As a host, he is definitely more refined, yet still very funny -- the kind of high quality host you would expect at this type of event. To be honest, I was getting tired of Eric Tsang's rowdy, "wu nao" type of hosting, so it was refreshing to see Lawrence bring his signature style of hosting to the event -- at least I don't get the feeling that I'm watching baseless, slapstick-type comedy (which is the perception that I get with Eric's style of hosting) and instead am treated to a higher class of comedy that is more appropriate to the event.
Of course, the endless "references" to TVB was a unique factor to this particular award ceremony, as everyone (guests and winners alike) were taking advantage of the fact that ATV promised a completely UNEDITED broadcast, which meant that everyone could pretty much say anything they wanted. Since this "never happens" with TVB broadcasts, everyone wanted to "test the waters" and see if ATV was going to keep to their word. I personally found it quite humourous because the more they "referred" to TVB, the worse it made TVB look -- because it brings forth TVB's pettiness tenfold.
One of the "references" I especially liked was Dayo Wong's monologue, where at one point he goes: "ATV is so good....they let me talk as long as I want...so how much time do I have left?" This is an indirect "bash" on TVB because during last year's awards ceremony, not only did TVB cut out all references to ATV, they also chopped up people's acceptance speeches (even those who did not refer to ATV) to the point that what the people said did not end up making any sense. Plus they had people at the actual ceremony signaling to the winners to cut their speeches short, so some of the winners either didn't get to speak or had their speeches cut. This year, ATV proved to be very "dai fong" about the whole ceremony -- they let it overrun by 1 hour (and losing money in advertising in the process) because they wanted to honor their promise to viewers of not cutting anything out. TVB, on the other hand, would never do such a thing because they are so greedy that they wouldn't want to lose even a penny in advertising in order to satisfy the viewers -- so they would rather sacrifice the broadcast and screw the viewers rather than lose money (their typical mentality).
All the TVB versus ATV talk aside, one of the highlights of the show for me was the dialogue from the presenters. For me, one of the primary reasons I like to watch these shows is to see who the presenters are and what they will say -- if it was just about the results, there would be no need to watch, since I could just read about it in the papers the next day. My favorite presenters were definitely the duo of Sean Lau and Nick Cheung -- they were presenting the Best Actress Award (which was like the 2nd to last award of the night). I could tell from their banter back and forth that Sean and Nick have a great friendship, as they were able to make fun of each other so comfortably. And forever the actor, I loved how when Sean told his jokes, his face looked so serious, yet he was actually joking the whole time! And Nick had a smile on his face the entire time – even though he was being made fun of by Sean!
Here are some of the excerpts from their hilarious 5 minute dialogue (of course, my paraphrasing below pales in comparison to watching the actual video segment and seeing them in action).
1) Opening dialogue:
-- Sean (to Nick): I found out from the association that they were actually planning to have 4 people present this award: you, me, Anthony Wong, and Francis Ng.
-- Nick (to Sean): So why isn't Anthony here?
-- Sean: Well, the association felt that Anthony is too "old" and "passe", so they booted him out. So what about Francis? I think he's working, right?
-- Nick: Um, Francis is actually in a jailcell somewhere in Lai Chi Kok.
-- Sean: What? I thought they let him out already!
-- Nick: Oh, you didn't hear? This is a different case -- not that same one! (audience laughs)
-- Sean: Hmmm...let's talk about something else....
2) Sean blames Nick for making him lose the Best Actor award and Nick makes fun of Sean's dark skin tone
-- Sean: Actually, I already knew that I would not be able to win the award today.
-- Nick: Why's that?
-- Sean: Because of where I am seated. I noticed that in the past, all of the Best Actor winners were always seated right in the middle -- this year, I'm actually seated way over there on the end (points to the right side of the audience).
-- Nick: Oh.
-- Sean (to the audience): And the other thing I discovered -- if you want to win Best Actor, never sit near Nick Cheung!
-- Nick: (smiles and looks at the audience with quizzical expression on his face)
-- Sean (to Nick): I remember a couple years back, when I was nominated for Best Actor and you were nominated for Best Supporting Actor. You ending up losing the award to someone else -- which of course is expected! But then when you lost, you stayed in your seat for the rest of the show and didn't leave! You were sitting there in that horrific white suit and had this expression on your face -- (bows his head and looks down at the floor with a sad expression on his face). I remember turning around and telling you to leave because you're just going to make me lose.
-- Nick (smiles): Yes, I remember -- at first when I saw a "dark" hand reach over to me, I was moved thinking that someone was sympathizing with me. But then I see that it's you turning around and berrating me for causing you to lose the Best Actor award with my depressed looks. But hey, I was actually just doing you a favor by sitting there! The venue was so dark that if it weren't for MY bright white suit reflecting the lights onto you, no one would have noticed that you even came to the ceremony! (The whole audience laughs and the camera pans over to Sean's wife Amy Kwok, who is also giggling).
There are some more funny parts but it's hard to translate that dialogue (since I wouldn't be able to do justice to it), so just going to leave it at these highlights.
And lastly, I am extremely happy that Simon Yam finally got the Best Actor aaward -- he's been in the industry 34 years and has been nominated multiple times, but the award has always eluded him until now. He is one of the finest actors in the industry and very humble too! His acceptance speech was quite touching as well. Definitely well deserved!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
My 'TVB Rant' #1: Why I Can't Stand TVB's Politics -- Part 1
Those who know me know that I have an affinity for TVB series. Yes, it's true that I do (though it's more for the series from the 80s / 90s and not the current ones -- but that's a different topic). But as much as I like TVB series, I absolutely despise its management and the way they run their business. TVB is definitely an organization that people like me just love to hate...especially the past several years when the new management came to power.
What I can't stand about TVB (primarily its management team) is their "fakeness" when it comes to how they operate --- the classic example of "do as I say, not as I do".
Some people would argue that TVB as an organization is very shrewd and calculating but that there is nothing wrong with that because they do have a business to run after all. I'm not refuting the fact that they are a business and at the end of the day, need to do what they can to stay "at the top" of the industry -- but that doesn't make their actions right (I mean, even businesses have ethical committees that keep them in check...)
I especially hate how TVB always strives so hard to keep up a certain "image" and "reputation" in front of the media and their business associates, yet behind the scenes, it's a totally different story.
Take the unwritten rule of "not accepting interviews with competitors in Cantonese" concept. Analysis of this situation will give alot of insight into how petty and "fake" TVB really is.
Back when the whole royalty issue erupted between the Big 4 record companies and TVB, some artists (like Kay Tse and Hins Cheung for example) decided to interview with rival stations in Cantonese (whether contracted with TVB or not). The whole issue of contractual obligations was brought to the limelight because the media wanted to see what TVB's reaction would be (knowing how "petty" they are and how they would view these actions as a "slap in the face"). When asked about it, TVB publicly stated that there is no stipulation in the artists (singers) contracts about them not being allowed to interview with rival stations in Cantonese....of course, they try to make themselves "look good" (or perhaps save face) by saying that they (TVB) are very open and encourage artists to "expand" their resource base.
But that's what they SAY.....internally (behind closed doors), they actually "frown upon" artists interviewing with rival stations in Cantonese....but because they can't do anything about it legally (since it's not in the contracts and they can't stop the artists from doing it) and they need to maintain a certain image with the media (since they made themselves out to be so "accepting"), they resort to backhanded 'little actions' to show their discontent and retaliate against the artists who went "against their wishes" -- for example: cutting those artists out of scenes, not interviewing those artists but interviewing everyone around them, giving less screen time to that person while upping the screen time for other artists, putting the artists "in the freezer" by not giving them any opportunities to appear in series or on shows for a long period of time (and of course, when confronted they deny it and hide behind the excuse "there wasn't anything suitable for that artist at the time -- we would not 'freeze' an artist over such a small thing")....in Kay's case, not only did TVB ban her, they went so far as to ban her husband Louis as well (though once again, they say that he has other stuff to do and that's why he's no longer hosting certain shows)...
Another very recent example is Jacky Cheung. As everyone knows, Jacky spoke out against TVB several months ago because of their royalties dispute with the Big 4 record companies. Jacky has nothing against TVB – he’s just speaking out on behalf of everyone in the music industry, because he has been an integral part of the industry and really wants to see the industry get back to the “healthy” and prosperous time period that it experienced back in the 90s. However, with the way TVB treats singers (through boycotting, banning, “freezing”, cutting artists’ songs/appearances, etc.), it’s definitely not healthy. Jacky understands how much work goes into creating a song and it pains him to see singers “disrespected” by having their songs banned or cut just because of a dispute with their record companies.
After Jacky made his position known, TVB started “boycotting” him – not only because he is one of the Big 4 record companies’ artists (Universal), but more importantly, it’s because they are petty and don’t like people saying negative things about them (though it’s the truth). Though TVB has not come right out and said they are banning him (they would never do that, as they need to “save face”), they have proven that they are banning or “retaliating” against Jacky through their actions.
Here are a few examples that I’ve seen in the past couple months (there are more, but this post is already becoming very long):
Since Jacky spoke out prior to his film “72 Tenants” arriving in theaters, TVB could not really do anything obvious to jeopardize the film, since it’s their own film after all and they need to make money. So during all the promotional events for the movie, TVB would purposefully not “show” him in their news segments unless they absolutely had to (which was very few instances). Instead, they would focus the reports on Eric Tsang or their “favorite” artists such as Raymond Lam, Linda Chung, Bosco Wong, etc. etc. My reaction to this – who is the male lead in this series again? Last time I checked, the leads are Jacky and Eric, yet they only focus the promos on Eric and everyone else…
During the 1 “defining moment” when Jacky and Eric interviewed with both TVB and i-Cable at the same time during the “72 Tenants” premiere (only because Eric Tsang purposefully made it happen to save TVB some face), TVB kept making it look like they are very “dai fong” (open-minded, welcoming), but yet, when that news segment aired on TVB, all of the i-Cable parts (and majority of Jacky’s interview) were “conveniently” edited out….
When Jacky held his press conference for the release of his new album, he invited all the media organizations to attend – both i-Cable and ATV not only attended, they also sent news crews to cover the press conference. TVB, on the other hand, sent someone to attend the press conference (again to save face, since it would look too obvious that they were boycotting if they didn’t send anyone), but did not (more like would not) send a news crew to cover the event.
Ok, this next one really pisses me off – when Harlem Yu (Jacky’s best friend) had a promo event for his HK concert, Jacky of course attended the event to support his friend (plus he’s the main musical guest, so of course it makes sense for him to be there). TVB sent a news crew to the event (because they don’t want to miss out and plus Harlem is a Taiwan artist, so I guess he is “exempt” from this royalties fiasco) – after covering the event, TVB’s news crew / reporters left the event, BUT THEN they went back to the event AFTER Jacky left so that they could interview Harlem. They obviously didn’t want to interview Harlem when Jacky was present because that means they would be forced to interview Jacky as well, so they instead went back after he left. I mean, HOW PETTY IS THAT???? Plus it is VERY DISRESPECTFUL AND RUDE!!!! And I don’t even want to go into the LAME excuse that TVB gave when the situation was all over the papers the next day – needless to say, the response they gave was a typical, lame, TVB lie.
With the premiere of Jacky’s new romantic comedy “Crossing Hennessy” on 4/1 (way after he spoke out against TVB), there have been a lot of promotional events for the film. TVB did send news crews to cover some of the “big” events related to the movie (like the premiere), however their “backhanded actions” during their coverage makes it very obvious that they are still “boycotting” Jacky. For example, there was one segment on TVB entertainment news where TVB was on set during one of the events and Jacky was there – they showed shots of him “with the group” (because they had to, since they can’t “cut” him out of the group picture – haha!) but when it came to interviews, they refused to include him – in fact, this is where it gets interesting because during one of the events, TVB’s reporters interviewed almost everyone involved with the film EXCEPT Jacky and Paw Hee Ching (and Jacky is the MALE LEAD in the film) – the sad thing is that when they interviewed Andy On, they even interviewed Jennifer Tse (his girlfriend) and she’s NOT EVEN IN THE MOVIE!!! To me, it does not make any sense to interview everyone – even those who are not in the movie – yet, they don’t interview the MALE LEAD….if that’s not boycotting, I don’t know what is!
Another recent example (this one is fresh off the press from several days ago): Eric Tsang celebrated his birthday several days ago by inviting a bunch of his friends and having a big party. Being one of his best friends, Jacky of course attended the event. In fact, he made an “exemption” for his friend by staying out late and drinking some alcohol with him (which he rarely does nowadays since his daughters were born). All of the newspapers that reported on Eric’s birthday party talked about many of the “guests” that attended and Jacky was always the first one mentioned (since he was one of the “biggest names” at the event). Yet, on TVB’s entertainment news, even though they covered the event and had an entire 10 minute segment dedicated to it, there was NO MENTION of Jacky at all in the coverage – in fact, they didn’t even show him at all in any of the clips that they showed of the guests. I mean, if you were to watch TVB’s biased coverage, you would think that Jacky wasn’t even there – but yet he was one of the biggest guest there! Is that screwed up or what??? I mean, isn’t it obvious that TVB is boycotting him when there is such a HUGE disparity between what every single non-TVB media organization reported /showed and what they showed? Am I the only one who sees this??
At the end of the day, it all boils down to politics -- plain and simple. And perhaps TVB is able to get away with it time and time again because they are such a huge powerhouse and practically monopolize the TV industry in Hong Kong -- it's unfair, frustrating, and annoying....and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it because majority of the people choose to ignore it….
What I can't stand about TVB (primarily its management team) is their "fakeness" when it comes to how they operate --- the classic example of "do as I say, not as I do".
Some people would argue that TVB as an organization is very shrewd and calculating but that there is nothing wrong with that because they do have a business to run after all. I'm not refuting the fact that they are a business and at the end of the day, need to do what they can to stay "at the top" of the industry -- but that doesn't make their actions right (I mean, even businesses have ethical committees that keep them in check...)
I especially hate how TVB always strives so hard to keep up a certain "image" and "reputation" in front of the media and their business associates, yet behind the scenes, it's a totally different story.
Take the unwritten rule of "not accepting interviews with competitors in Cantonese" concept. Analysis of this situation will give alot of insight into how petty and "fake" TVB really is.
Back when the whole royalty issue erupted between the Big 4 record companies and TVB, some artists (like Kay Tse and Hins Cheung for example) decided to interview with rival stations in Cantonese (whether contracted with TVB or not). The whole issue of contractual obligations was brought to the limelight because the media wanted to see what TVB's reaction would be (knowing how "petty" they are and how they would view these actions as a "slap in the face"). When asked about it, TVB publicly stated that there is no stipulation in the artists (singers) contracts about them not being allowed to interview with rival stations in Cantonese....of course, they try to make themselves "look good" (or perhaps save face) by saying that they (TVB) are very open and encourage artists to "expand" their resource base.
But that's what they SAY.....internally (behind closed doors), they actually "frown upon" artists interviewing with rival stations in Cantonese....but because they can't do anything about it legally (since it's not in the contracts and they can't stop the artists from doing it) and they need to maintain a certain image with the media (since they made themselves out to be so "accepting"), they resort to backhanded 'little actions' to show their discontent and retaliate against the artists who went "against their wishes" -- for example: cutting those artists out of scenes, not interviewing those artists but interviewing everyone around them, giving less screen time to that person while upping the screen time for other artists, putting the artists "in the freezer" by not giving them any opportunities to appear in series or on shows for a long period of time (and of course, when confronted they deny it and hide behind the excuse "there wasn't anything suitable for that artist at the time -- we would not 'freeze' an artist over such a small thing")....in Kay's case, not only did TVB ban her, they went so far as to ban her husband Louis as well (though once again, they say that he has other stuff to do and that's why he's no longer hosting certain shows)...
Another very recent example is Jacky Cheung. As everyone knows, Jacky spoke out against TVB several months ago because of their royalties dispute with the Big 4 record companies. Jacky has nothing against TVB – he’s just speaking out on behalf of everyone in the music industry, because he has been an integral part of the industry and really wants to see the industry get back to the “healthy” and prosperous time period that it experienced back in the 90s. However, with the way TVB treats singers (through boycotting, banning, “freezing”, cutting artists’ songs/appearances, etc.), it’s definitely not healthy. Jacky understands how much work goes into creating a song and it pains him to see singers “disrespected” by having their songs banned or cut just because of a dispute with their record companies.
After Jacky made his position known, TVB started “boycotting” him – not only because he is one of the Big 4 record companies’ artists (Universal), but more importantly, it’s because they are petty and don’t like people saying negative things about them (though it’s the truth). Though TVB has not come right out and said they are banning him (they would never do that, as they need to “save face”), they have proven that they are banning or “retaliating” against Jacky through their actions.
Here are a few examples that I’ve seen in the past couple months (there are more, but this post is already becoming very long):
Since Jacky spoke out prior to his film “72 Tenants” arriving in theaters, TVB could not really do anything obvious to jeopardize the film, since it’s their own film after all and they need to make money. So during all the promotional events for the movie, TVB would purposefully not “show” him in their news segments unless they absolutely had to (which was very few instances). Instead, they would focus the reports on Eric Tsang or their “favorite” artists such as Raymond Lam, Linda Chung, Bosco Wong, etc. etc. My reaction to this – who is the male lead in this series again? Last time I checked, the leads are Jacky and Eric, yet they only focus the promos on Eric and everyone else…
During the 1 “defining moment” when Jacky and Eric interviewed with both TVB and i-Cable at the same time during the “72 Tenants” premiere (only because Eric Tsang purposefully made it happen to save TVB some face), TVB kept making it look like they are very “dai fong” (open-minded, welcoming), but yet, when that news segment aired on TVB, all of the i-Cable parts (and majority of Jacky’s interview) were “conveniently” edited out….
When Jacky held his press conference for the release of his new album, he invited all the media organizations to attend – both i-Cable and ATV not only attended, they also sent news crews to cover the press conference. TVB, on the other hand, sent someone to attend the press conference (again to save face, since it would look too obvious that they were boycotting if they didn’t send anyone), but did not (more like would not) send a news crew to cover the event.
Ok, this next one really pisses me off – when Harlem Yu (Jacky’s best friend) had a promo event for his HK concert, Jacky of course attended the event to support his friend (plus he’s the main musical guest, so of course it makes sense for him to be there). TVB sent a news crew to the event (because they don’t want to miss out and plus Harlem is a Taiwan artist, so I guess he is “exempt” from this royalties fiasco) – after covering the event, TVB’s news crew / reporters left the event, BUT THEN they went back to the event AFTER Jacky left so that they could interview Harlem. They obviously didn’t want to interview Harlem when Jacky was present because that means they would be forced to interview Jacky as well, so they instead went back after he left. I mean, HOW PETTY IS THAT???? Plus it is VERY DISRESPECTFUL AND RUDE!!!! And I don’t even want to go into the LAME excuse that TVB gave when the situation was all over the papers the next day – needless to say, the response they gave was a typical, lame, TVB lie.
With the premiere of Jacky’s new romantic comedy “Crossing Hennessy” on 4/1 (way after he spoke out against TVB), there have been a lot of promotional events for the film. TVB did send news crews to cover some of the “big” events related to the movie (like the premiere), however their “backhanded actions” during their coverage makes it very obvious that they are still “boycotting” Jacky. For example, there was one segment on TVB entertainment news where TVB was on set during one of the events and Jacky was there – they showed shots of him “with the group” (because they had to, since they can’t “cut” him out of the group picture – haha!) but when it came to interviews, they refused to include him – in fact, this is where it gets interesting because during one of the events, TVB’s reporters interviewed almost everyone involved with the film EXCEPT Jacky and Paw Hee Ching (and Jacky is the MALE LEAD in the film) – the sad thing is that when they interviewed Andy On, they even interviewed Jennifer Tse (his girlfriend) and she’s NOT EVEN IN THE MOVIE!!! To me, it does not make any sense to interview everyone – even those who are not in the movie – yet, they don’t interview the MALE LEAD….if that’s not boycotting, I don’t know what is!
Another recent example (this one is fresh off the press from several days ago): Eric Tsang celebrated his birthday several days ago by inviting a bunch of his friends and having a big party. Being one of his best friends, Jacky of course attended the event. In fact, he made an “exemption” for his friend by staying out late and drinking some alcohol with him (which he rarely does nowadays since his daughters were born). All of the newspapers that reported on Eric’s birthday party talked about many of the “guests” that attended and Jacky was always the first one mentioned (since he was one of the “biggest names” at the event). Yet, on TVB’s entertainment news, even though they covered the event and had an entire 10 minute segment dedicated to it, there was NO MENTION of Jacky at all in the coverage – in fact, they didn’t even show him at all in any of the clips that they showed of the guests. I mean, if you were to watch TVB’s biased coverage, you would think that Jacky wasn’t even there – but yet he was one of the biggest guest there! Is that screwed up or what??? I mean, isn’t it obvious that TVB is boycotting him when there is such a HUGE disparity between what every single non-TVB media organization reported /showed and what they showed? Am I the only one who sees this??
At the end of the day, it all boils down to politics -- plain and simple. And perhaps TVB is able to get away with it time and time again because they are such a huge powerhouse and practically monopolize the TV industry in Hong Kong -- it's unfair, frustrating, and annoying....and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it because majority of the people choose to ignore it….
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Random Memories of my "Taiwan Entertainment" Days....
I saw this video when I was on YT searching for the latest Jacky news and just had to blog about it. The video is a short 8 minute segment about some of Taiwan's previous generation 實力派 male singers. It starts by talking a little about Jacky's appearance at Harlem's concert, then segues into a few of the hit Mandarin songs that Jacky did (loved the video segments!). There is some commentary about Jacky's career (his peak was in the 90s) and how he was dubbed the "God of Song". After that, it goes on to some other Taiwan male singers of the 90s who were truly talented and had quite a few hit songs in their careers -- the 2 that the video talked about in particular were Phil Chang and Jeff Chang (it's funny how all 3 of them happen to have the surname "張"...lol!)....
Anyway, watching the video (although it was very short and only showed snippets of the videos/songs) brought back memories of that time years ago when I was really into Taiwan entertainment. It was during the late 90s / early 00s when I started losing interest in TVB because I was so disappointed with them, so I turned to other countries (still keeping somewhat in tune with HK entertainment, but not as closely as before). Since I do not like to "follow" entertainment from countries where I don't understand the language, my only choices at that point where to follow Taiwan entertainment, mainland China entertainment, or Hollywood...the obvious choice for me was Taiwan entertainment, since I was already familiar with alot of the people -- plus I had taken Chinese classes in college for the purposes of learning Mandarin (so I can read Chinese newspapers, books, and understand the language completely). So I started watching more Taiwan series and also listening to songs from Taiwan artists -- that's sort of how I amassed my collection of Mandarin songs that I like (outside of Jacky's Mando songs of course).
I liked a few of Jeff's songs (like 2 to 3) and he's not bad as a singer. But I liked Phil Chang more though -- probably because the way he sings is very unique (he has that deep voice that is perfect for love ballads) and very hard to imitate -- some have tried, but failed miserably in my opinion because they over-exaggerated (like they would "slur" their words really heavily in order to imitate his singing...I personally don't feel that Phil slurs his words, as I am able to understand everything he sings...I think his method is just unique and not everyone understands it). Not only are his songs good (most are written by his wife and himself), he's also one of the few Taiwanese artists to truly become popular and make a name for himself in HK (illustrated by the fact that he won a few awards at the HK music award ceremonies, which are known for being rigged in favor of their own artists). In my opinion, it's well deserved because not only can he sing well with alot of emotion, he also is a 'creative' artist who composes and writes his own songs.
Watching this short video makes me want to go back and listen to all my Mandarin songs again (plus the Jacky ones)...true, it's only 8 minutes, but it sure brought back memories!
Source: 完全娛樂
20100410哈林庾澄慶-無底深愛巡迴演唱會-台灣站張學友助陣完娛超夯Elog
人魚王子哈林征服小巨蛋 庾式情歌超動聽每一首都是經典；哈林小巨蛋開唱 歌神張學友獻聲相挺；歌倆好耍寶搞笑 大秀樂器口技；歌神跳豔舞；二胡伸號合奏 展現超好默契；兩人一搭一唱鬥嘴 歌迷笑翻天；哈林音樂教室開課 歌神來踢館；超爆笑對唱 歌神忘詞哈林落拍。
實力派唱將什麼都是焦點？？歌神張學友經典歌曲唱不完；每一首情歌 都是暢銷K歌金曲；只要跟歌神合唱歌紅人也紅（鄭中基高慧君）；1990年代歌手 會唱才會紅？！張信哲的情歌 情感深刻好動人；張宇獨特嗓音 唱出男人的痛。
Anyway, watching the video (although it was very short and only showed snippets of the videos/songs) brought back memories of that time years ago when I was really into Taiwan entertainment. It was during the late 90s / early 00s when I started losing interest in TVB because I was so disappointed with them, so I turned to other countries (still keeping somewhat in tune with HK entertainment, but not as closely as before). Since I do not like to "follow" entertainment from countries where I don't understand the language, my only choices at that point where to follow Taiwan entertainment, mainland China entertainment, or Hollywood...the obvious choice for me was Taiwan entertainment, since I was already familiar with alot of the people -- plus I had taken Chinese classes in college for the purposes of learning Mandarin (so I can read Chinese newspapers, books, and understand the language completely). So I started watching more Taiwan series and also listening to songs from Taiwan artists -- that's sort of how I amassed my collection of Mandarin songs that I like (outside of Jacky's Mando songs of course).
I liked a few of Jeff's songs (like 2 to 3) and he's not bad as a singer. But I liked Phil Chang more though -- probably because the way he sings is very unique (he has that deep voice that is perfect for love ballads) and very hard to imitate -- some have tried, but failed miserably in my opinion because they over-exaggerated (like they would "slur" their words really heavily in order to imitate his singing...I personally don't feel that Phil slurs his words, as I am able to understand everything he sings...I think his method is just unique and not everyone understands it). Not only are his songs good (most are written by his wife and himself), he's also one of the few Taiwanese artists to truly become popular and make a name for himself in HK (illustrated by the fact that he won a few awards at the HK music award ceremonies, which are known for being rigged in favor of their own artists). In my opinion, it's well deserved because not only can he sing well with alot of emotion, he also is a 'creative' artist who composes and writes his own songs.
Watching this short video makes me want to go back and listen to all my Mandarin songs again (plus the Jacky ones)...true, it's only 8 minutes, but it sure brought back memories!
Source: 完全娛樂
20100410哈林庾澄慶-無底深愛巡迴演唱會-台灣站張學友助陣完娛超夯Elog
人魚王子哈林征服小巨蛋 庾式情歌超動聽每一首都是經典；哈林小巨蛋開唱 歌神張學友獻聲相挺；歌倆好耍寶搞笑 大秀樂器口技；歌神跳豔舞；二胡伸號合奏 展現超好默契；兩人一搭一唱鬥嘴 歌迷笑翻天；哈林音樂教室開課 歌神來踢館；超爆笑對唱 歌神忘詞哈林落拍。
實力派唱將什麼都是焦點？？歌神張學友經典歌曲唱不完；每一首情歌 都是暢銷K歌金曲；只要跟歌神合唱歌紅人也紅（鄭中基高慧君）；1990年代歌手 會唱才會紅？！張信哲的情歌 情感深刻好動人；張宇獨特嗓音 唱出男人的痛。
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Jacky's Trip to Taiwan....
Jacky was in Taiwan recently to appear as a musical guest for his best friend Harlem Yu's concert at the Taipei Arena. While he was there, he also took the opportunity to do a mini news segment for Taiwan's TTV evening news.
I just love Jacky's awesome chemistry with Harlem! They've been best friends for close to 20 years and when they get together for any type of performance, they get really crazy -- it's so cute! These 2 have alot in common -- not only were they born in the same year and month (July 1961), they also share alot of other similar traits....it's no wonder that they are such good friends and have such great chemistry!
Harlem said that whenever he has a concert, Jacky is always the 'usual' guest -- and whenever Jacky has his concert in Taiwan, Harlem 'guests' for him....I love watching them together because they are so comfortable with one another and have so much fun together.
I am also looking forward to the news segment for TTV that Jacky does -- this is his very first try at actually anchoring the evening news (though of course he only does a small segment). The funny thing is that he is asked to anchor the news segment that talks about himself -- it was so cute how in the beginning he kept messing up (one time, he said "them" instead of "him" when referring to himself -- LOL!!!!), but then after that, he got it perfect (the anchor praised him for doing so well). Love it!!!
For further details, see complete posting in my "Jacky Corner" page
Harlem's concert - news footage:
Source: Era News
Promo for Jacky anchoring news segment on TTV:
Source: Youtube / TTV News
I just love Jacky's awesome chemistry with Harlem! They've been best friends for close to 20 years and when they get together for any type of performance, they get really crazy -- it's so cute! These 2 have alot in common -- not only were they born in the same year and month (July 1961), they also share alot of other similar traits....it's no wonder that they are such good friends and have such great chemistry!
Harlem said that whenever he has a concert, Jacky is always the 'usual' guest -- and whenever Jacky has his concert in Taiwan, Harlem 'guests' for him....I love watching them together because they are so comfortable with one another and have so much fun together.
I am also looking forward to the news segment for TTV that Jacky does -- this is his very first try at actually anchoring the evening news (though of course he only does a small segment). The funny thing is that he is asked to anchor the news segment that talks about himself -- it was so cute how in the beginning he kept messing up (one time, he said "them" instead of "him" when referring to himself -- LOL!!!!), but then after that, he got it perfect (the anchor praised him for doing so well). Love it!!!
For further details, see complete posting in my "Jacky Corner" page
Harlem's concert - news footage:
Source: Era News
Promo for Jacky anchoring news segment on TTV:
Source: Youtube / TTV News
Friday, April 9, 2010
Jacky Cheung: Jazz Version of 李香蘭
I saw this as I was checking Jacky's Friend Club FB page and it just brought back great memories!
There's a reason why Jacky is and will always be the God of Songs! His impromptu rendition of 李香蘭 (a song he has not sung in a long time) plus turning it into a jazz version was absolutely MARVELOUS. I've actually fallen in love with this version of the song now!
------
Below comments by Kelvin Lam -- as posted on Jacky's Friend Club FB page:
最近每晚從收音機聽到宣傳學友4/30日演唱會之聲帶，主題為『經典變爵士』，並訪問一些歌手選出自己心目中希望學友將經典歌以Jazz演繹之作品。蘇永康選「寂寞的男人」，孫耀威選「Smile Again 瑪利亞」，Rubber Band @六號選「想和妳去吹吹風」，Eason 選「逃亡」。妳/你的心水選擇又是........
我的選擇是『李香蘭』，試看看學友演繹Jazz version 李香蘭一曲->
Source: Youtube - iCable interview w/Jacky
There's a reason why Jacky is and will always be the God of Songs! His impromptu rendition of 李香蘭 (a song he has not sung in a long time) plus turning it into a jazz version was absolutely MARVELOUS. I've actually fallen in love with this version of the song now!
------
Below comments by Kelvin Lam -- as posted on Jacky's Friend Club FB page:
最近每晚從收音機聽到宣傳學友4/30日演唱會之聲帶，主題為『經典變爵士』，並訪問一些歌手選出自己心目中希望學友將經典歌以Jazz演繹之作品。蘇永康選「寂寞的男人」，孫耀威選「Smile Again 瑪利亞」，Rubber Band @六號選「想和妳去吹吹風」，Eason 選「逃亡」。妳/你的心水選擇又是........
我的選擇是『李香蘭』，試看看學友演繹Jazz version 李香蘭一曲->
Source: Youtube - iCable interview w/Jacky
Thursday, April 8, 2010
"E.U.": My Thoughts So Far....
I'm currently watching the TVB series "E.U." on DirecTV. I also purchased the DVD for the series (yes, it came out already -- see my previous post about the release of new series DVDs), which I will probably end up switching to when I start to grow impatient with waiting day after day to watch.
To be honest, I'm actually a tad bit disappointed that this series has not "engaged" me as much as anticipated (so far). What I mean by this is that I have not really been able to "get into" watching this series like I have with other "really good" series. Usually, I can tell when a series really "engages" me (my definition of a "really good series") when I get so engrossed with watching the series that I am not able to do anything else. This is significant for me because I am a chronic multi-tasker (i.e.: doing stuff on my computer, talking, reading, eating, watching TV -- all at the same time, etc.) -- if the series is not as "good" (not saying it's a bad series, just doesn't engage me), I will usually do something else while I'm watching it because I don't want to waste time...the logic behind this is that the series isn't extremely engaging, so even if I miss some stuff here and there, it's no big deal (I won't feel "lost"). Of course, there have been a few series that I've watched recently that fell into the "good" category (more to come in later posts), but so far, "E.U." is not turning out to be one of them.
Maybe it's because I already had a little bit of bias going into it, since this is the 3rd installment in "The Academy" series and I wasn't a fan of the 1st or 2nd one (well, to be more specific, I'm not a fan of Ron Ng or Sammul Chan, so the "draw" to watch any series with them in it is the rest of the supporting cast). With regard to "E.U.", there were 2 primary reasons why I was looking forward to watching it: 1) it's a cop series, which usually are interesting because of the "mystery" aspect, and 2) the Veterans who returned to make the series -- Kathy Chow, Michael Miu, Lam Lei, etc.
To address the first point -- there actually was no "mystery" aspect to this series. One thing I failed to remember going into this is that "The Academy" trilogy is really different from other TVB "cop series" in that it does not consist of individual cases like the others do (for example DIF or UE, which is what made these 2 series so extremely popular). Instead, it's 1 big storyline that focuses more on talking about the various relationships among the characters than trying to solve individual cases. Of course, "E.U." (being part of the trilogy) follows the same model -- except its storyline focuses on the battle between 'good' (the cops) and 'evil' (the triads and gangs). No mysteries, no cases, just constant fighting for power.
So with the "mystery" / "investigation" aspect virtually non-existent (which makes reason #1 above a moot point), the only other "pull" to the series (for me) would be reason #2: the Veterans
In promoting this series, one of TVB's "selling points" was the comeback of veteran actress Kathy Chow (she is no longer active in the HK entertainment industry and has instead focused her career in mainland China). Since Kathy was one of my favorite actresses in the late 80s/early 90s and I hadn't seen a series of hers in a long time, this was definitely a sticking point for me in deciding to watch the series. From what I've seen so far (up to episode 8 or so), her acting is still excellent (no doubt aboutthat), but maybe because of the storyline or the way her character is written, I just don't really feel the "pull" or "excitement" from seeing her character...with the death of Lam Lei's character and the subsequent storyline of her getting together with Michael Miu's character, I am hoping that things will change....
There will definitely be more to come on this, since I am barely a 3rd of the way through the series....let's see if the "reason #2" that drew me to this series will continue to hold up....
To be honest, I'm actually a tad bit disappointed that this series has not "engaged" me as much as anticipated (so far). What I mean by this is that I have not really been able to "get into" watching this series like I have with other "really good" series. Usually, I can tell when a series really "engages" me (my definition of a "really good series") when I get so engrossed with watching the series that I am not able to do anything else. This is significant for me because I am a chronic multi-tasker (i.e.: doing stuff on my computer, talking, reading, eating, watching TV -- all at the same time, etc.) -- if the series is not as "good" (not saying it's a bad series, just doesn't engage me), I will usually do something else while I'm watching it because I don't want to waste time...the logic behind this is that the series isn't extremely engaging, so even if I miss some stuff here and there, it's no big deal (I won't feel "lost"). Of course, there have been a few series that I've watched recently that fell into the "good" category (more to come in later posts), but so far, "E.U." is not turning out to be one of them.
Maybe it's because I already had a little bit of bias going into it, since this is the 3rd installment in "The Academy" series and I wasn't a fan of the 1st or 2nd one (well, to be more specific, I'm not a fan of Ron Ng or Sammul Chan, so the "draw" to watch any series with them in it is the rest of the supporting cast). With regard to "E.U.", there were 2 primary reasons why I was looking forward to watching it: 1) it's a cop series, which usually are interesting because of the "mystery" aspect, and 2) the Veterans who returned to make the series -- Kathy Chow, Michael Miu, Lam Lei, etc.
To address the first point -- there actually was no "mystery" aspect to this series. One thing I failed to remember going into this is that "The Academy" trilogy is really different from other TVB "cop series" in that it does not consist of individual cases like the others do (for example DIF or UE, which is what made these 2 series so extremely popular). Instead, it's 1 big storyline that focuses more on talking about the various relationships among the characters than trying to solve individual cases. Of course, "E.U." (being part of the trilogy) follows the same model -- except its storyline focuses on the battle between 'good' (the cops) and 'evil' (the triads and gangs). No mysteries, no cases, just constant fighting for power.
So with the "mystery" / "investigation" aspect virtually non-existent (which makes reason #1 above a moot point), the only other "pull" to the series (for me) would be reason #2: the Veterans
In promoting this series, one of TVB's "selling points" was the comeback of veteran actress Kathy Chow (she is no longer active in the HK entertainment industry and has instead focused her career in mainland China). Since Kathy was one of my favorite actresses in the late 80s/early 90s and I hadn't seen a series of hers in a long time, this was definitely a sticking point for me in deciding to watch the series. From what I've seen so far (up to episode 8 or so), her acting is still excellent (no doubt aboutthat), but maybe because of the storyline or the way her character is written, I just don't really feel the "pull" or "excitement" from seeing her character...with the death of Lam Lei's character and the subsequent storyline of her getting together with Michael Miu's character, I am hoping that things will change....
There will definitely be more to come on this, since I am barely a 3rd of the way through the series....let's see if the "reason #2" that drew me to this series will continue to hold up....
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Feeling Nostalgic....
Last weekend, I went for my monthly trip down to Chinatown to purchase the newest TVB series that have come out on DVD. As I was organizing my shelves when I got home, I realized that the majority of the series that have come out on DVD the last year or so have been "recent" -- meaning series from year 2004 and on...the older series from the 80's and 90's only come out a few times a year (if I had to put a number to it, I would say 2 out of 10 released each time are from the 80's/90's)...this means that many of my favorite series from that time period have not come out on DVD yet and probably won't for a long time....needless to say, I started feeling nostalgic and wishing the series from that generation would be released quicker.
To be honest, I don't really understand the way TVB determines which series it is going to release internationally on DVD each year. I noticed that most of the series released this year were very new (some from 2009 even came out already)...I read somewhere that TVB releases the newer series on DVD as quickly as possible primarily because of the huge DVD bootleg business that is very much active nowadays. Because their series are so popular and technology is so advanced nowadays, they are afraid that people who finish watching their series on TV in HK may somehow illegally record the series and pass them along to friends and relatives overseas for them to watch -- which could potentially affect the sale of their DVDs overseas. TVB probably figures that with the older series from the 80's and 90's, there is less potential for this to happen because these were made so long ago and may not be as "popular" as many of the newer series (or probably because the market is greater for the newer series, since many people -- especially the technology savvy younger generation -- only started watching their series in the last 5-6 years or so, which means they probably would only be interested in the newer series).
Not sure how true this is, but it sure does become a disadvantage for old-schoolers like me who grew up in the 80's/90's watching the great series from that generation (TVB's Golden Age). I end up waiting forever for my favorite series to come out, which is a bummer. Ah well -- I guess there is nothing I can do at this point except wait....
To be honest, I don't really understand the way TVB determines which series it is going to release internationally on DVD each year. I noticed that most of the series released this year were very new (some from 2009 even came out already)...I read somewhere that TVB releases the newer series on DVD as quickly as possible primarily because of the huge DVD bootleg business that is very much active nowadays. Because their series are so popular and technology is so advanced nowadays, they are afraid that people who finish watching their series on TV in HK may somehow illegally record the series and pass them along to friends and relatives overseas for them to watch -- which could potentially affect the sale of their DVDs overseas. TVB probably figures that with the older series from the 80's and 90's, there is less potential for this to happen because these were made so long ago and may not be as "popular" as many of the newer series (or probably because the market is greater for the newer series, since many people -- especially the technology savvy younger generation -- only started watching their series in the last 5-6 years or so, which means they probably would only be interested in the newer series).
Not sure how true this is, but it sure does become a disadvantage for old-schoolers like me who grew up in the 80's/90's watching the great series from that generation (TVB's Golden Age). I end up waiting forever for my favorite series to come out, which is a bummer. Ah well -- I guess there is nothing I can do at this point except wait....
Monday, April 5, 2010
Inaugural Post
Welcome to LL's Musings (my blog)!
Yes, after much thought, I have decided to start a blog....mostly because I like to write and need a place to house my thoughts...not sure how well I will do in terms of keeping up with posting stuff, as sometimes I get busy and forget...
The purpose of this blog is basically to talk about random things -- whether it's TV, movies, music, books, or just whatever...and of course there will be plenty of information about Jacky in this blog, since I'm such a huge fan...
Ok, I guess this is it for a first post...more to come soon (hopefully)....
Yes, after much thought, I have decided to start a blog....mostly because I like to write and need a place to house my thoughts...not sure how well I will do in terms of keeping up with posting stuff, as sometimes I get busy and forget...
The purpose of this blog is basically to talk about random things -- whether it's TV, movies, music, books, or just whatever...and of course there will be plenty of information about Jacky in this blog, since I'm such a huge fan...
Ok, I guess this is it for a first post...more to come soon (hopefully)....
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