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Thursday, May 10, 2012

CTI Press Conference: Details on 3 new series being filmed

This is somewhat of a follow up post to my earlier one about CTI’s upcoming series (read the original post here).

As new information continues to emerge (almost daily it seems) about CTI and Ricky Wong’s overall strategy once his license is issued, it will be very interesting to see how things are going to work out for all parties impacted (basically all the TV stations in HK).

Here are a few additional ‘tidbits’ about CTI that I gathered from ‘following’ the behind-the-scenes people and others on Weibo (these are the same comments that I posted on Asianfanatics as well):

.—Regarding Ricky Wong’s comment about currently having 500 staff on board with his company (200 artists and 300 behind-the-scenes people):

Up until this point, we have heard tidbits here and there about who was rumored to have been contacted by Ricky Wong versus who has actually joined, etc. As I mentioned in one of my other comments, the articles that have come out so far only ‘scratch the surface’ in terms of giving us an indication of who has joined CTI and who hasn’t – there are actually quite a few who joined CTI but were not mentioned in any of the recent articles, primarily because their series will not be filmed until later in the year (i.e. Maggie Cheung, Felix Wong, Frankie Lam, Yu Mo Lian, Rain Lau, etc.)

From what I understand based on what has come out via Weibo and such so far, there isn't a full list [of the artists that have joined CTI] out there because the names of some artists who joined can't be revealed yet (meaning their contracts with another TV station have not ended yet)....and with a few others, there are discussions going on but they have not signed yet. (When Felix Wong attended CTI's welcome dinner a couple weeks back, he had even said he saw alot of familiar faces there, some whom he didn't even know joined -- but he couldn't reveal who those people were because they were still tied down by contracts.)

I'm sure that in the next couple months, we will continue to hear information about artists (and BTS people) who have joined CTI -- though I would probably wait for the 'official word' from either CTI or the artists themselves, since there has been alot of 'speculation' and false information out there these past few months about who has joined and who has not....


.-- The other interesting thing too is that Ricky Wong is taking a whole different approach to filming TV series in terms of behind-the-scenes structure – in other words, there are distinct differences between the ‘CTI model’ of filming series versus the ‘TVB model’.

You’ll probably notice when you read the article that none of the new CTI series have 'producers' -- unlike traditional HK TV series, which usually have a producer overseeing everything, the director who shoots the series, and the scriptwriting team (aka the 'creative' team), CTI's series will only have a 'creative director' (aka the scriptwriter) and the 'main director' (the title speaks for itself)....both the creative director and the main director will work together to produce the series and will basically share in the responsibilities that a traditional 'producer' would have.

This is actually one of the biggest reasons why Ricky Wong was able to get so many scriptwriters and directors to join his company -- especially with the ages old complaint from TVB's scriptwriters that their creative talent is often stifled by the production team (aka the producers)....in the TVB model, the production team is more important than the creative team, so whatever the production team says trumps whatever the scriptwriters say (which is why all those complaints surfaced about producers interfering with scripts and such). It's also a reason why when a TVB series has a bad script, I'm usually reluctant to blame the scriptwriter(s) completely because there's no way of knowing whether the idea came from the scriptwriter or if it was a result of a producer doing his/her own thing (or possibly a result of TVB's politics)....

With the CTI model, both the scriptwriter and director share in the responsibility and get to be involved in making important decisions that affect production, such as casting (which was another big complaint from the TVB BTS people).


.—Another interesting thing to note about CTI’s strategy is that it looks like they are not afraid of being innovative and utilizing the newest technology as well as trends to their advantage. It’s obvious from the details of the 3 series that have been released so far that CTI wants to do things differently and are therefore experimenting with different genres (romance, sci-fi, horror, musical, etc.), which is not necessarily a bad thing given the ‘stagnancy’ that HK television is known for. Also, filming the series similar to a movie as well as using ‘real locations’ as much as possible will definitely give audiences a different, fresher feeling from what they have been used to seeing for decades.

Personally, I feel that CTI is heading in the right direction with some of the things it has been doing related to the production / artistic side of things (i.e. exploring different genres, waiting until the script is completed before filming, giving each artist a chance to voice their opinion about their roles, etc.). Of course, that’s not to say that I agree with everything they’re doing so far because honestly speaking, there are some things that don’t necessarily sit well with me (i.e. the whole poaching thing). With that said though, I’m willing to give CTI a chance to see what they are able to come up with and whether they will follow through with everything they had talked about earlier.

Whether CTI is going to be successful in the long run really remains to be seen (especially given how ‘sentimental’ the HK audiences can be)…it will definitely be very interesting to see how things turn out in the coming months as each of the TV stations reveal more and more of their strategy and structure in the face of the TV wars.

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CTI Press Conference: Details on 3 new series being filmed

Source: ND Daily News

Translation:  llwy12




Even though HK’s new free-to-air television licenses have not been issued yet, that has not stopped City Telecom Ltd (CTI) – led by chairman Ricky Wong – from moving forward with its grand plans for creating a television empire!

Yesterday, CTI held a press conference to announce the details of the 3 TV series that are either in the process of filming or will start filming soon. Based on the details revealed so far, the 3 series cover 3 different genres: youth-oriented romance series “There’s Still Time to Love You Again” 《还来得及再爱你》[TN: this is the sci-fi / vampire-themed series] , horror / suspense –themed series “Frightful Century”《驚異世纪》, and musical song/dance series “Fairytale Love Song 201314”《童話戀曲201314》.

During the press conference, the cast and crew for all 3 series were led on stage by Ricky Wong and were asked to introduce their characters as well as pose for group photos. Out of the 40+ cast and crew present, many of them were ‘familiar faces’ – artists who formerly worked for TVB, such as Bernice Liu, Dominic Lam, Shek Sau, Felix Lok, etc. as well as behind-the-scenes creative personnel [scriptwriters & directors] such as Lam Siu Zi, Leung Man Wah, Ben Fong, etc. These ‘former TVB’ veterans all refer to CTI as ‘a new world’ and during our [ND Daily] coverage of the press conference, they shared with us some of the differences filming at the ‘new’ [CTI] versus ‘old’ [TVB] television stations.


Ricky Wong: License not issued yet, still continue with series

Amongst the more than 40 artists and behind the scenes crew who participated in the press conference, many ‘faces’ that most of us are familiar with from TVB series were present – it looks like the more than 6 months that Ricky Wong spent ‘recruiting’ artists and behind the scenes talents turned out to be a successful venture.

Even though CTI has an unwavering determination to break into the HK television industry and its leader Ricky Wong has taken swift action in starting up the production process for its first batch of series, the fact still remains that the government has not yet issued the additional free-to-air television licenses that have long been talked about. With filming already starting on his first 3 series, Ricky Wong was asked whether he is worried that the issue with the licenses will affect the anticipated airing of these series, to which he replied: “I have a lot of confidence in the government! Since the policy has already been set that the HK television market will be opened up and expanded, I believe that issuing the licenses won’t be a problem -- currently, the ‘hold up’ is mainly due to discussion of a few minor details. Our [CTI] goal is to make sure that when the licenses are issued, we have enough ‘inventory’ [series] in the warehouse to hit the floor running – we’re looking at having 8 to 10 series ready for release.”

Mr. Wong also revealed that currently, CTI has approximately 500 employees, with 200 of those being artists and 300 behind the scenes personnel – the plan is to increase the staffing to 700 by the end of the year: “We recently hired 100 additional people, many of them newcomers -- all of them are currently going through some type of training, whether it’s acting classes or scriptwriting and directing classes.”


Former TVB artists: “There’s a difference filming for a new TV station.”

At yesterday’s press conference, the cast and crew for each of the 3 series took turns going up on stage to introduce their series and characters. Each person in the cast and crew got the chance to speak, introducing their character and also sharing their feelings about filming in a new environment. Since many of the artists (and behind the scenes personnel) who attended the press conference were former TVB employees, it was inevitable that comparisons would be made to their ‘former employer’ -- some of the most common ‘sentiments’ expressed by most of those present include: “Finally, we no longer have worry about ‘flying papers’(飛纸仔)” [TN: this refers to the practice of having to film scenes ‘on the fly’ due to the lack of a complete script at the time of filming]; “First time using movie filming methods to film a TV series”; “The degree of freedom is greater than before”….

Veteran actor Shek Sau (who had worked for TVB since the 1970s) summarized for our reporters the 3 biggest differences he saw filming for his new employer CTI: “First, there is a lot more ‘real location’ filming [TN: meaning that the filming is done on location with real scenery rather than fake studio sets]; second, the filming style is very similar to that of a movie, so the standards when it comes to lighting, equipment, etc. are very high; and third, filming does not start until a complete script has been written, which gives us artists more time to prepare for our roles. In addition, the work hours for the entire cast and crew will not exceed 14 hours in a day.”

Another veteran actor, Dominic Lam, used to play supporting roles at TVB, however in his first series with CTI (horror / suspense series “Frightful Century”), he will take on the male lead role. Since the series will be comprised of 8 individual stories, he will portray 9 different characters in the series -- Dominic expressed that in his more than 30 years as an actor, he has never experience such a challenging role: “There’s a lot of opportunity for development with this role, so I am really looking forward to trying it.”

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Details of the 3 series:

Youth-oriented romance series -- “There’s Still Time to Love You Again” 《还来得及再爱你》

.-- Creative Director [aka scriptwriter]: Lam Siu Zi (林少枝)

.-- Main Director: Ben Fong (方俊華)

.—Cast: Danson Tang, Michelle Wai, Terence Yin, Sherming Yiu, Charles Ying, Kathy Yuen, Chan On Ying, Carlos Chan, Sin Ho Ying, Bond Chan, Rachel Lam, Alex Wong

.—Former TVB scriptwriter Lam Siu Zi (whose works included “Armed Reaction”, “War of the Genders”, “My Family”) expressed: “In HK, there has not been a TV series that purely talks about romance – in this particular series, that is exactly what we will do! Also, with the cast, we’ve done something that hasn’t been done before either – having a Taiwan actor (Danson Tang) take on the role of first male lead in a HK series. The main focus [of the series] will be completely on young idols.”

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Horror / suspense –themed series -- “Frightful Century”《驚異世纪》

.-- Creative Director [aka scriptwriter]: Yip Sai Hong (葉世康)

.-- Main Director: Au Yiu Hing (歐耀興)

.—Cast: Dominic Lam, Leila Tong, Lawrence Chau, Felix Lok, Samuel Kwok, Noelle Leung, Eddie Lee, Luk Chun Kwong, Emily Wong, Chow Chi Lung

.—Description: The series will be made up of 8 individual story arcs that will revolve around a hospital, a luxurious mansion, a college professor, a psychologist versus hypnotist, a mysterious elderly senior, a serial murder case, an old camera lense, and the opening of a new luxurious hotel. The series will be filmed in the style of a movie using ARRI equipment / technology.

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Musical song/dance series -- “Fairytale Love Song 201314”《童話戀曲201314》

.-- Creative Director [aka scriptwriter]: Leung Man Wah (梁敏華)

.-- Main Director: Wong Kwok Keung (黄国强)

.—Cast: William So, Bernice Liu, Kelvin Kwan, Jason Chan, Kate Yeung, Evelyn Choi, Shek Sau, Lisa Lui, Mimi Kung, Wilson Tsui, Savio Tsang, Benji Chiang, Leslie Chiang, Zac Koo

.—Description: As the HK television industry’s very first musical, the series will include many singing and dancing sequences. The story will revolve around a young CEO played by Kelvin Kwan and his love relationship with the characters played by Evelyn Choi and Kate Yeung.

12 comments:

  1. I didn't read your entire post thoroughly, but I do have a little comment.

    Most tv dramas, like TVB's, have one (or two for grand productions) executive producers, who comes up with the entire idea of the plot and other stuffs. This producer is also the one who cast people and takes care of the budget.

    There's not one (!) director, but multiple directors who will direct the different scenes, mostly following the scripts, they hardly have any input in the story, but have influence in the way it is filmed (cinematography, mise-en-scene and editing). What I sometimes notice, is that certain scenes of dramas are cinematographically (and also the mise-en-scene) is done pretty well, even better than what actually happends in the scene itself. This is probably because of some director's good skills, whereas others aren't that good.

    TVB dramas also have one main scriptwriter who works out the entire plot which came from the ideas of the producer. They have several scriptwriters (20 episodes is usually five, 30 episodes is 6 or 7) under this main scriptwriter writing all the episodes detailed with dialogues etc.

    Compared, I find CTI's model very daring, because a producer is the crucial key to a tv drama production. Having the scriptwriter and director involved in important decisions will certainly make the dramas different from TVB dramas as there's not one person (the producer) or some executives controlling the direction of the drama (and sometimes ruining the drama this way), but may turn out very messed up as well. We'll see if it works out well.

    As for the upcoming dramas, “Frightful Century” sounds interesting to me. Especially the idea of Noel Leung playing a woman from 18-80 years old, with all the male leads playing her husband at different stage of her life. And I want to watch horror/suspense dramas.

    Btw, great to see small supporting actors playing bigger supporting roles in these dramas, like Chan On Ying, Sin Ho Ying and Bond Chan.

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    1. @Lizzy: Thanks for breaking it down like that, as it definitely helps to paint a clearer picture of what each behind-the-scene person (the main ones anyway) are responsible for (I think my 'condensed' one-sentence version confused people more than it helped them...LOL).

      Anyway...CTI's model is definitely more daring in comparisons to the 'traditional' producer/director/scriptwriter model and there's truly no way of knowing how this 'new' model is going to work out in the long run...but in a way, I don't see CTI's model as being too bold in the sense that if we look at it from an 'experience' perspective, it's not too different from promoting someone who was formerly a director into the producer role and then having someone else with less experience take on the director role (which is actually what TVB has been doing lately due to alot of their BTS staff leaving). Since the director is primarily responsible for the 'aesthetics' of a series and how it is filmed but traditionally doesn't get involved with the storyline and other aspects, to me, they would still lack the experience necessary to 'handle' the producer role and would therefore still need to be brought up to speed on what exactly is expected of them. But then again, once everyone is up to speed, not having that additional position of 'producer' in there could very well have a huge impact. Ah well...since it's such a new concept, I guess we'll have to wait and see how it works out for CTI....

      The horror/suspense series definitely sounds interesting, but since I don't like horror flicks, whether I would watch it or not depends on whether the series will lean more heavily on the 'horror' side or on the 'suspense' side....I have a feeling though that it will lean more towards suspense than horror due to Broadcasting Authority limitations (with television, they can only push the envelope so far...). I highly doubt that the series will go as far as some of the shows here in the U.S. do though...

      Yea, I agree about having the supporting artists play bigger supporting roles....one thing I noticed with Ricky Wong's strategy is his focus on really making people feel important and valued -- this definitely goes a long way with supporting artists like Chan On Ying or Savio Tsang, etc who have been toiling on the sidelines for decades without receiving even a word of appreciation, let alone recognition. During CTI's press conference, not only did EACH ARTIST participating in the series get to go up on stage and talk about the character that they will be playing, each of them also had an individual, massive poster of themselves adorning the walls (each artist got one, no matter if they're lead or supporting or even if they only have a small part). I mean, when was the last time that a supporting actor/actress got their own '15 minutes of fame' like that? For some of them --especially the 3rd/4th/5th line actors / actresses (like Chan On Ying for example) -- probably never!

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  2. well, it is about time the quality of the HK TV rise up to level of series shown TVB-Pearl (non-TVB produced)

    Looking forward to see what CTI comes up with...however, I am not sure how intelligent most of the audience in HK and China to grasp the new CTI shows and their plotlines. I generally found TVB series very predictable. I hope CTI can start stealing market share from TVBI in the overseas market. However, ATV are screwed since TVB are poaching key actors/actresses.

    Last, can you provide a master list (English and chinese names) of those who are under CTI (confirmed joined, probable, rumored) I know Maggie Cheung and Kenix Kwok probably joined CTI already as well as Joe Ma and Paul Chun and the Chiang family. Rachel Kan and Catherine Chau also confirmed to join CTI as well. Lelia Tong and Catherine Chau will be shine in CTI if given the acting chances.

    People like Yoyo Mung, Ella Koon, Ada Choi, Gallen Lo, Sammuel Chan, Steven Ma could be convinced to join if given generous packages and custom written scripts tailored to each of them...

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    1. @nulle: Thanks for the comment!

      You actually bring up a very interesting point -- since it looks like CTI is going the 'Western' route in terms of production and style of their series (at least based on all the info released so far), there is a possibility the plan might backfire given the conservative tastes of the mainstream HK audiences....CTI might be better off catering to an overseas audience more, since they will likely have stronger supporters in that arena....though on the other hand, if enough of the HK audience is sick of TVB's repetitive style, they might very well embrace the new style just because it's different (though I must say that the HK audience's reaction to When Heaven Burns -- which is as 'different' as we'll get from TVB -- doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence that they will be receptive to some of the stuff that CTI has planned).

      As for a list of people who joined CTI (whether confirmed or rumored)....hmmm, well, I think it's going to be hard to come up with the 'likely/rumored' list because Ricky Wong met with so many artists in his 'poaching' mission (even some who have already confirmed to have joined another station -- i.e.: NowTV)....plus there has been enough speculation in the Media already about who is 'rumored' to join and I'm sort of against adding to that 'rumor mill'. However, I'll see what I can do to put together a list of 'confirmed' artists (since you're not the first one who asked about it, so I figured might as well...LOL) so that at least we have something that's all in one place (though of course it wouldn't be a complete list since it would only be based on the artists I know)....

      Btw....Maggie Cheung is already confirmed to have joined CTI, but Kenix Kwok is not confirmed yet. During CTI's groundbreaking ceremony, Kenix's husband Frankie Lam (who HAS joined CTI) said that Kenix has not decided yet and since her priority right now is taking care of their daughter, she's not likely to make a decision anytime soon. Also, Joe Ma isn't with CTI, I don't think -- if I remember correctly, I think he signed to a Mainland management company instead..I'll have to go back and look up the news from a few weeks back that talked about who he had signed to....

      Oh, is Rachel Kan confirmed to join CTI? I actually wasn't aware of that...is it confirmed already? I just thought that was weird considering she is Jonathan Chik's girlfriend and therefore has pretty much been a 'staple' in almost all of his series at TVB....hmmm, perhaps it's planting the seed for Jonathan to leave too?

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  3. I think you all are underestimating HK's audience taste. Many of them watch American and foreign dramas so they are intelligent enough to grasp what CTI has instored. Well at least the younger genereation. I remember a relative's son in HK loved watching Prison Break and the mom even said it was good!

    Not every drama has to be liked by all age groups. All along TVB lacked not only variety but younger aged topics! That's why I'm so excited for the Vampire series (yes it's Copying "based on" Vampire Diaries) but an real idol drama from HK is unheard of! So it'd be a great break through. I'm not sure if you ever watch My Date With A Vampire 1-3(2 was the best amazing cast and best storyline with Tse Kwan Ho, Simon Yam, Belinda Hamlette(her best role by the way). Truthfully many actors had better roles in ATV than at TVB where it's more superficial. Belinda's love story with Tse Kwan Ho was only for one case yet her acting was very convincing and the story was captivating and emotional. Also for a Vamp series Chan13 and ATV were able to make it mature enough to not be "lame" yet subtle enough to not be scary.

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    1. @sport3888: Thanks for commenting.

      Though I agree with you about some HK audience's having different tastes and their willingness to accept series that depart from the 'TVB norm', I still feel that in HK, these types of audiences comprise the minority (I'm talking about those audiences who actually go home and sit in front of the TV to watch series, not the ones who watch via Internet and such -- which pretty much rules out practically the entire younger generation). True, the younger generation would definitely be more accepting of what CTI has to offer, but how about the traditional 'housewives' who make up majority of the HK television audience? Judging from the mainstream HK audience's reaction to series like "When Heaven Burns" (and most of Jonathan Chik / Chow Yuk Ming's more 'creative' works for that matter) -- and also judging from many of the ridiculous 'complaints' that come out from HK audiences about such 'normal' things in TVB's series such as murder, rape, etc. -- it just doesn't give me much confidence that CTI's 'different' (read 'outside of what the audiences are used to') themes would sit well with a conservative 'mainstream' HK audience.

      With all that said though, I'm personally excited about the changes too merely because as a long time HK entertainment fan, I would love nothing more than to see the industry grow and prosper instead of remain stagnant as it has for the past 15 years or so. No matter how CTI's series turn out or whether they will be successful in the future or not, at least they made a decent attempt to inject some 'life' back into the HK television industry -- no matter what my opinion of Ricky Wong is (which really isn't that great to be honest), I at least do applaud him for trying hard to make things work.

      I actually haven't seen the "Date with A Vampire" trilogy yet (I know, it's hard to believe) -- but that's primarily because living in the U.S., most of the places I frequented to get my daily 'fix' of HK dramas growing up only had TVB-related shows and very few ATV ones....it wasn't until about 10 years ago that I slowly started getting into ATV series more so it's taking some time to 'catch up' so to speak....LOL. But based on the ATV series that I've watched so far (as well as judging from the performances of former ATV actors who 'jumped ship' to TVB), I definitely agree with your comment about ATV actors having better roles (and being overall better actors/actresses)....most of the recent (and not so recent -- meaning dating back to the 90s) artists that I like are actually not 'home-grown' TVB artists: most are either from ATV or graduates of the HK Acting Academy....

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  4. I seriously think if CTI were SMART they would've hired Chan13 although he's probably preoccupied with other work. I know Ricky Wong is following both Chan13 (Joey Meng's husband) cause I follow both on weibo.

    since Joey is joining TVB for per series it'd be a huge threat for Chan joins TVB! He made huge classics such as Good Old Days, I Have A Date With Spring, My Date With A Vampire, Project Ji Xiang, Love in A Miracle etc

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    1. @sport3888: Definitely agree with you about Chan13....it absolutely would have been better for Ricky Wong to try and recruit Chan13 instead of some of the scriptwriters / directors / producers that he recruited from TVB. I'm not sure if it was you or someone else who commented on AF about Ricky Wong's strategies, but one part I do agree with is that it definitely appears he is focusing too much on targetting TVB's 'pain points' in the hopes of 'bringing down the monster' when he should really be focused on pursuing the methods that will bring him the best chances of success (i.e. doing an in-depth analysis of the HK television market and catering specifically to that, irregardless of what TVB currently does or doesn't do) -- of course, that isn't to say that he's not doing these things behind-the-scenes (since none of us know for sure), but just based on what has been made public so far, it just doesn't seem like it....

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  5. opps I'v mistacken actually it's the other way around Chan13 is following Ricky Wong's weibo =P Do you know what Chan13 is doing after leaving ATV?

    I agree I feel Ricky Wong is too focused on what TVB is doing and not doing rather than doing research on the HK television market. Maybe he has and we don't know. But then I feel marketing research would be too much of a business strategy that will hinder creativity. Once you start looking at what the "market wants" like TVB you'll just do certain shows for an average rating to make the most money.

    The best is start fresh and not look at what's already out there starting thinking ideas then going for market research. Besides the copycat Vampire Diaries drama the other two does seem very original and something new. I love Occult Detective animes and have been waiting so long for HK to have a series like Ghost Hunt(amazing story and relationship between characters). So I'm really hoping the Felix,Dominic,Kelvin drama is good. Although I'd much prefer the supernatural investigation leader(s) to be someone younger (ex Supernatural). The only thing new about MR. V would be it's an idol drama that HK never has.

    All these drama looks appealing for the younger market which is great cause all along if you watch RTHK's documentary earlier regarding hk television they interview a younger audience and she's like I don't even watch HK tv, only watch it with my mom when she is. Dont' know why it's always about professionals, fighting over family assets. Nothing that teaches you how to face the world.
    True there's really nothing in HK that tells a student/young people how to face the world as after school life. Even the so called school dramas are focused on the teachers(how boring)

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    1. @sport3888: Haha...I see...I actually follow Ricky Wong's weibo as well, but never really noticed who he follows or who follows him (I follow alot of people on Weibo, but never pay attention to their followers or who they follow -- I rarely even read the comments either cuz to me, it's a total waste of time...reading the content that the artists post is enough for me...LOL).

      I'm actually not sure about what Chan13 has been doing after leaving ATV, since I wasn't as big a follower of ATV as I was of TVB....but I would imagine that someone like him who has such talent and passion for his craft would probably still continue to work in that field somehow (especially if he's behind-the-scenes and not in front of the camera, which makes it easier).

      You definitely have a good point about starting fresh and not even doing market research -- however from a business perspective (and knowing that Ricky Wong has keen business acumen -- at least that's how he comes across), it wouldn't make too much sense for him to go completely creative without some sort of plausible business strategy (since he does have to make a living after all). But I agree that it would be a good idea.

      Yup, that's why TVB always recycle the same themes and such -- cuz they know that's what the HK audiences want. To be honest, I probably would have cut TVB some slack about the recycled themes thing if they were able to do the recycled themes right (meaning utilize good scripts and good actors/actresses) -- but when they recycle the theme plus do a lousy job of it, then that's really unacceptable!

      Btw...CTI's horror/suspense series has already started filming (I believe it started yesterday) -- I saw posts from the artists' Weibos stating that they were starting their first day of filming and their friends were all wishing them good luck...

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  6. OMG really?! any filming photos? Keep us posted on this new series! It's the only I'm most looking forward. I'm assuming it'll be more suspense than horror. Something like TVB's Mystery Files that starred Gallen Lo, Maggie Cheung, Nick Cheung would be awesome. Although MF actually copied or based on X Files that was popular in US at the time.

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    1. @sport3888: There have been a few filming photos published in the news as well as on the various artists' weibos (though of course they are not going to reveal a whole lot).

      From what I've been able to gather, the director said that basically, every artist in the series (lead and supporting) will be playing 9 different characters....also, based on the MP interview with Dominic Lam, the series is slated to be 10 episodes comprised of 8 different stories (I'm assuming 1 episode per story? Not 100% sure though...)

      I will definitely continue to post updates on the series as I find out (and as I have time...).

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