News Article: Yuen Wah misses the days when Run Run Shaw oversaw TVB; saddened at TVB’s lack of progress, ends 16 year relationship

Here's a very interesting article that I read yesterday and wanted to share -- it's an 'interview' of sorts that veteran actor Yuen Wah (元華) did recently with a Hong Kong newspaper. 

Before he joined TVB, I always used to think of Yuen Wah as a martial arts guy, since I knew his background growing up in the Beijing Opera troupe with other renown martial artists (his apprentice brothers at the Opera school) such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, etc.  After he joined TVB and I got the chance to see how his acting was through the many series that he participated in, I started to develop a certain respect for him over the years as a skilled, versatile actor.  I've enjoyed many of his performances in TVB series, especially his comedic roles (though he also does the serious as well as villain roles quite well too) and he absolutely brought a certain 'charm' to most of his roles, no matter how big or small they were.  This is why when I found out last year that Yuen Wah decided to leave TVB and join CTI because TVB pretty much 'neglected' him by not even bothering to renew his contract, I got pretty ticked off initially (though of course, I wasn't the least bit surprised since I already knew full well how TVB operates).  But now that I think about it, no need for me to get ticked off, since it's TVB's loss, not mine....sure, I won't get to see Yuen Wah in any more TVB series, but hey, if they are going to treat him like that (plus with their restrictive policies and notorious politics), I would rather he leave than continue to stay at a company that doesn't give a crap about him. 

Yuen Wah actually gave an interview to a HK newspaper recently (I'm assuming he was sought out for an interview because CTI has been announcing series more frequently in the past few months and he most likely will be in one of the upcoming series that will be announced soon).  In the interview, he talks very candidly about his decision to leave TVB and in the process, also reveals some of the 'politics' that went on behind closed doors (though to be very honest, for people like me who have been 'following' TVB for decades, none of this stuff is surprising in the least).   

The article is actually quite interesting to read, especially for those who may not be familiar with TVB's politics or, for some reason or another, refuse to believe how messed up TVB really is internally (in terms of politics and management conflicts).  I've actually had someone tell me in the past that they think all the stuff about TVB having such lame policies and all the other 'politics' that I always complain about is actually false and was 'made up' by so-called 'conspiracy theorists' like me (yea, whatever, call me what you want, doesn't matter to me...) -- well, for those 'naysayers', here's yet ANOTHER example of a former TVB artist revealing what 'really' goes on internally at TVB....personally, for me -- well, all I'm going to say is that it's kind of hard to continue denying the existence of TVB's pervasive politics when pretty much we keep hearing the same kind of stuff revealed by former artists over and over again....butof course, as I always say, it's up to each individual whether they choose to believe this stuff or not....

Anyway, happy reading!

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Yuen Wah misses the days when Run Run Shaw oversaw TVB;  saddened at TVB’s lack of progress, ends 16
year relationship

Source:  HKChannel (iHKtv)

Translation:  llwy12

“I’m not fond of you because you’re not my cup of tea!”  These words are generally used to describe a romantic relationship between a man and woman, however it can also be used to describe the relationship between employer and employee.   Earlier, veteran actor Yuen Wah (元華) ended his 16 year ‘relationship’ with TVB and decided to join Ricky Wong’s (王維基) newly established company CTI.  In addition to admiring his new boss Ricky Wong’s sincerity and resolute, Yuen Wah explains that one of the reasons he decided to leave TVB [for CTI] is because in the past few years, he felt there was no longer a sense of belonging or loyalty with the company anymore – he candidly states:  “I really miss the days when Uncle Six [Run Run Shaw] ran things!”


Last year, telecommunications giant Ricky Wong decided to try his hand in the television industry – in preparation for his company City Telecom (CTI)’s entrance into the free-to-air television market, he started a massive recruitment mission last September that involved the ‘poaching’ of a large group of TVB’s artists.  As a result, many veteran ‘green leaf’ artists ended up joining  CTI, including experienced artists such as Yu Mo Lian (余慕蓮), John Chiang (姜大衞), Felix Lok (駱應鈞), Sin Ho Ying (冼灝英), etc.  Yuen Wah was also part of this group.

Asked what attracted him to join Ricky Wong’s company, Yuen Wah (Wah Gor) explained:  “Mr. Wong was very sincere when he sought me out to talk about joining his company.  He invited me to have tea at the Peninsula Hotel  and told me that his television station was starting and he wanted me to join – I told him that I would have to think about it, as I was still waiting for the other company (TVB) to contact me to discuss contract renewal.  In the end, I waited a long period of time and no one from TVB approached me, so I decided to go with CTI.  With my career being an actor, it’s impossible for me to just stop and do nothing  -- if I’m offered job opportunities, of course I’m going to do it!”  In the 16 years that he had worked for TVB, Wah Gor always had a ‘per series’ contract with them – his contract would get renewed every 2 years and usually TVB would seek him out 3 to 6 months prior to his contract expiration date to discuss renewal.  But this time around, things were different -- Wah Gor’s contract expired, yet no one seemed to even notice. 

Wah Gor admits that he felt disappointed:  “Was I unhappy about it?  I actually never really thought about it, as I felt that these type of work relationships will come to an end eventually.   In reality, they [TVB] are not obligated to seek you out – unless they feel there’s a need and you’re able to help them – otherwise, they do not have to sign you, since, after all, the company has tons of artists….in terms of whether ‘value’ or not -- if they feel it’s worth it, then they’ll value you.  The company’s attitude has always been one of ‘indifference’ – whether you’re worth ‘valuing’ or not depends on who you are:  if you’re of monetary benefit, then of course you’ll be ‘valued’, but if you’re the ‘dispensable’ type, then there’s no need to value.”

Due to the government possibly issuing 3 additional free-to-air television licenses in the near future, an impending TV ‘war’ has been looming on the horizon -- with ATV’s drastic decline over the years, TVB has pretty much been the ‘sole’ TV station in HK for a number of years already.    Wah Gor agrees that with 3 new stations coming into the picture, the outlook for the industry will very likely change.

He states:  “Every country or dynasty is bound to experience periods of prosperity and decline – this year might decline but next year things might be well again.  With the government issuing 3 licenses, this will bring competition to the television industry, which isn’t a bad thing – in addition to artists, there were also singers who decided to join NowTV and in the variety show department, some behind-the-scenes crew also left.  Here at CTI, there’s a lot more freedom, as we are allowed to appear on other stations if we want to…TVB never allowed that – even artists who went to film series in the Mainland were not allowed to use their original voices – there was nothing you could do, since TVB was pretty much the only game in town due to the lack of competition.   As for whether the era of ‘one station ruling the TV industry’ is over – well, that’s too harsh too say, as ups and downs are inevitable with any company – it happens everywhere.  Remember in ancient times there was the kingdom of Babylon that was very powerful and prosperous, but later it became a huge mess.”


Beautiful memories of the ‘Uncle Six era’

Thinking back to the old days, Wah Gor expressed that it was actually [TVB’s head of production] Catherine Tsang (曾勵珍) who brought him into TVB by inviting him to film series for them – just like that, his collaboration with them lasted 16 years.  Towards his days at TVB, Wah Gor admits:  “During the Uncle Six era was when I felt the biggest sense of belonging – in recent times, it was definitely lacking.”  This ‘lack of belonging’ was one of the factors that caused him to leave.

Wah Gor provided some insight into some of the ‘changes’ that occurred within TVB over the past decade:  “In the beginning, there was definitely a sense of belonging, but later on, not anymore because of the constant change in personnel [TN: specifically in management ranks] – under the new ‘team’, the company’s framework actually changed entirely.   Who oversaw things in the past is very different from who oversees things now and the environment is different – as the saying goes, ‘when a dynasty changes, so does its subjects’.  When I first entered TVB, the management hadn’t changed yet – it was still the ‘Uncle Six era’ and everything was good – everyone was very happy working there and we didn’t have to worry about personnel [management] conflicts.”

Wah Gor continued:  “Within a company, each executive’s policies and direction when it comes to handling matters are bound to be different – if you can’t agree or accept it, then it’s best to find a company that better suits you.  Uncle Six’s way of doing things is different from Ms. Fong’s [TN: Run Run Shaw’s wife Mona Fong] – if they decide to change direction and policy, whether the results are good or bad, they need to take responsibility for it.”  So with the recent trend of artists and behind-the-scenes crew leaving TVB, then should the person at the top [Mona Fong] be held mostly accountable?   Wah Gor replied:  “It shouldn’t be that person alone, as he/she has people reporting to them – just like the different departments in government, they function as a team.”

Asked to describe TVB’s current situation, Yuen Wah states: “Stuck in the same place, not moving forward.”  Towards the company’s non-proactive attitude, he states that its employees are helpless to do anything:  “The only thing we can do is sigh helplessly – after all, with the company getting to this point, what else can be done?   The ‘helpless’ part is because the company itself doesn’t care enough to make things better – take the Big 5 record company dispute for example, look at how long that situation dragged out?  Same with the Ricky Wong situation as well [the poaching of artists and crew] – add to that the ‘attitude’ that the company takes towards certain employees….that’s why nowadays whenever TVB is mentioned, most of us just sigh and don’t want to talk about it.  As for what type of ‘attitude’ the company takes towards its employees, well, you’ll have to go ask them – for me, it doesn’t really matter as much because I’ve always had only a ‘per series’ contract.  Some employees are ‘long-term’ workers who signed long contracts with the company – if their contract terms are based on ‘shows’ and they don’t meet those terms by the time the contract ends [TN: meaning they don’t have enough ‘shows’ to fulfill the terms of their contract], they not only don’t get paid, they also have to pay a fine to the company.  Can’t really say if it’s a ‘miserable’ plight or not – after all, it comes with the territory and the terms are agreed upon by both parties.”


Return to TVB some day?

As people always say, ‘the world is round’ – this is true in the entertainment industry especially, where the chance of coming full circle is especially high.  Wah Gor himself expressed that he will not rule out the possibility of collaborating with TVB again in the future:  “It’s definitely possible, but it depends on who is calling the shots – those people who don’t like you, why would they seek you out again?  If new people [management] enter TVB and they feel ‘hey, Yuen Wah is pretty good, why don’t we invite him back?’, I don’t have a problem with it at all.  The name ‘TVB’ may not change, but the interior [personnel] generally will – if they invite you back to film series for them, it’s usually based on personal relationship.”   Asked if there were people  in the company who didn’t like him and so didn’t ‘value’ him, Wah Gor replied:  “There will be people like that in every company – people who will feel: ‘I don’t like you because you are not my cup of tea, so I’m not going to bother discussing contract renewal with you’.  It’s inevitable in any organization – even our current government is not exempt from such issues, let alone  a company such as TVB!”


Retire to go till land

Even though he is approaching 60 years old, Yuen Wah has not only signed with Ricky Wong’s CTI, he also continues to go up North [Mainland] to film series when he has time.  Asked if he has considered retiring, Wah Gor expressed:  “I guess you could consider me ‘retired’ now – retired but not resting.  Working right now is pretty much a pastime for me – it keeps me alert and vigorous -- if I don’t work, I’ll get bored.  I rented a plot of land in the New Territories area recently where I actually grow vegetables and such – it’s almost like going back to the countryside to till land.  With all the talk about the environment and eating organic nowadays, growing my own vegetables to eat is a pretty good thing.  My children are all grown now, so I don’t have any more burdens.  If in the past, when my children were still young and TVB didn’t seek me out to discuss contract renewal, the situation would have definitely been disastrous!”

Yuen Wah used to be one of the ‘Seven Little Fortunes’ (七小福). [TN:  The Seven Little Fortunes were a Beijing Opera School troupe under Master Yu Jim Yuen who were trained in martial arts and various other disciplines at a young age.  Other ‘famous’ members of the Seven Little Fortunes include Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao…].   Back during those days of training, Wah Gor was one of the more mischievous ones, constantly ‘fighting’ with his fellow apprentice brothers and when things went wrong, all of them would point at each other.  Wah Gor states:  “Thinking back now, those days were actually the happiest – we had no burdens and could be as carefree as we wanted.  Now as grownups, we have to worry about so many things – paying rent, buying a car, our children’s educations, etc."

My ‘TVB Rant’ # 17: The 2012 HK Television Wars -- Felix Wong’s Response to Being Called a ‘Traitor’ by the HK Media

Obviously, I’m in another one of my ‘ranting’ moods again! I’ve been reading a lot of the stuff out there recently about former TVB artists joining CTI and not surprisingly, I got ticked off by some of the reports – hence I felt the urge to write this post.

Just as a means of background…a few days ago, Ricky Wong’s City Telecom (CTI) held a Groundbreaking Ceremony for its Television and Multi-media Production Center in Tseung Kwan O (for more information about this, refer to my earlier TVB Rant about the HK Television Wars). In attendance at the ceremony were artists (most of whom formerly worked for TVB) who will be joining CTI once the company obtains its free-to-air television license in the next two months (though technically, pretty much all of them have already signed contracts with CTI). The artists who attended the ceremony include: Maggie Cheung (張可頤), Felix Wong (黃日華), Frankie Lam (林文龍), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), John Chiang (姜大衛), Yuen Wah (元華), Leila Tong (唐寧), Lisa Lui (呂有慧), Felix Lok (駱應鈞), Rain Lau (劉玉翠), Maria Chen (陳霽平), Prudence Liew (劉美君), Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀), Catherine Chow (周家怡), and Benji Chiang (姜文杰) [Catherine and Benji were the emcees for the event].

Note: The above listed artists aren’t the only former TVB artists joining CTI – there are a few others as well who will be joining but did not attend the ceremony (for example: Wilson Tsui, Yu Mo Lian, Feng So Bor, etc.)

Anyway, in the past few months, there have been literally ‘tons’ of reports out there surrounding CTI and its ‘recruitment’ of TVB artists. All this time, I’ve been pretty much treating these reports as I do with most HK entertainment news – read the information with a grain of salt, but don’t take too seriously. Well, unfortunately, some of the recent reports about CTI’s groundbreaking ceremony went a bit too overboard and in my opinion, really ‘crossed the line’ – to the point that I once again cannot help feeling disappointed with the HK Media.

The issue at hand: many of the recent 'reports' about the CTI groundbreaking ceremony used the term "traitors" to describe the artists who left TVB in favor of CTI. Personally, I have a problem with such irresponsible reporting and my only 'advice' to those reporters who keep using this term is for them to look up the word "traitor" in the dictionary and see what the hell it actually means before using it!!

As one of the artists joining CTI, Felix Wong is of course among those being called a ‘traitor’ by the Media. True to his ‘flame-shooting’ nickname, Felix decided to ‘speak out’ against the reports via his Weibo. Just today, he posted an excellent response on his Weibo with regard to these recent "reports" that I'm sure echoes the sentiments of many of us who have been long time supporters of the HK television industry (as well as the sentiments of those artists who have decided to follow a career path that is a better fit for their needs). His response was "re-tweeted" by many artists, who all expressed their support and encouragement...

Here's Felix's post (the original in Chinese as well as the translated version) from his Weibo:

看完今天報章有感而發，現今香港的電視業，真的需要[新血]加入，有著[百花齊放]的感覺，才能帶來衝擊，把電視業推向高峰！藝人不單止有[發揮]机會，還有更多發展空間。各電視台在良性勁爭下，充分發揮自擁資源、實力、通力合作，便能達到[互贏]局面。在此祝願香港電視業再次踏上癲峯之期！大家互勉奮鬥


Translation: After reading today’s news reports, I feel the need to speak out. Today’s HK television industry is truly in need of ‘new blood’ to join so as to bring about free expression of the arts – this is the only way to ‘shock’ the industry and push it to its peak! In this environment, not only will artists have more opportunities to bring out the best in themselves, but also gives them more space to develop. Through healthy competition, each of the TV stations can more fully develop their resources and strengths and ‘join forces’ to create a win-win situation. Here is wishing that the HK television industry will be able to once again reach the heights of its ‘glory days’! Let’s all work hard and encourage one another!

As a decades-long supporter of the HK entertainment industry, I absolutely agree with Felix because, in all honesty, it pains me to see how horribly the industry has deteriorated. Therefore, if healthy competition and change will bring about a much needed revival of the HK television industry to what it was at its peak, I am all for it!

In conclusion, here’s some ‘food for thought’ for those who keep referring to the artists joining CTI as “traitors” who should feel ashamed of themselves for “betraying” TVB:

It's unfair to say that these artists "betrayed" TVB, as artists are regular people just like everyone else -- they need to make a living and some even have family to support, so of course they are going to choose the path that fits them best. How is it wrong for an artist to go with the company that best fits their needs? Should they forever be indebted to TVB and never ever leave the company just because that company had a hand in launching their career, even if the company mistreats them and doesn't pay them enough to support their families? Should they sacrifice their families and their livelihoods just so that they won't be seen as 'betraying' a company that they've been loyal to for so long but no longer fits their needs? What about all the efforts that these artists put in for many years (in some cases, more than 20-30 years!) and all the money that THEY earned for the company – is that not supposed to count for anything?? Keep in mind that part of the reason why TVB has been able to stand so solidly as the #1 TV station in HK for the past 40+ years is precisely because of the EFFORTS of THESE ARTISTS – without them, TVB would be nothing!

So for you stupid reporters out there who don’t think twice about using the words “traitor” and “betrayal” to describe artists who are simply trying to do what’s best for their families and themselves – PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK NEXT TIME BEFORE PUBLISHING THOSE (DESPICABLE) REPORTS OF YOURS!

My ‘TVB Rant’ # 15: The Impact of TVB’s Continuously Shrinking Talent Pool

I haven't done a rant about TVB in awhile, so figured it was time for another update...LOL!

Not sure how many of you have been keeping up with HK entertainment news lately -- despite my busy schedule, I've been trying to keep up the best I can (though not as 'religiously' as before)....those who have been paying attention to the news probably know that there have been alot of personnel changes at TVB lately. Normally, this might not be 'big news', but to long-time, die-hard HK TV fans (aka TVB fans), the recent changes could have a significant impact on the direction of the TV industry in the years to come.

For those only interested in the short version -- well, basically, tons of people are leaving (or have left) TVB in recent years (recent meaning the last 2-3 years or so) for various reasons, but mostly because they were being mistreated or neglected (or because those who left finally 'woke up' and realized that their careers will continue to remain stale if they stay with TVB).

For those interested in the long version -- READ ON!

Let's start with the 'big gun' himself, TVB's founder and Chairman, Sir Run Run Shaw. It was recently announced (like last month) that Sir Run Run (aka Uncle Six) will be stepping down from his position as TVB Chairman and current vice-Chairman Norman Leung will take over. To be very honest, this news means nothing to me because 1) it was already anticipated, since Uncle Six is already over 100 years old – people seriously don’t expect him to still be actively running TVB, do they?? 2) Uncle Six hasn't been involved in running TVB for at least a decade already -- his wife Mona Fong has pretty much been running the company on his behalf for many years (and doing a lousy job, in my opinion)....with the announcement of him stepping down, they were pretty much just making things 'official' (yea, tell me something I didn’t already know would happen). So basically, my reaction to this news is…..whatever…

The other 'big news' in terms of management is that TVB's charismatic (and popular) GM Stephen Chan has resigned in favor of 'fulfilling his dream of studying abroad' (hmmm, that's an interesting excuse). To be honest, I'm actually not surprised that SC would take this step, given everything he went through with the corruption case earlier on and basically being left out to dry by none other than his employer TVB (not to mention having his name dragged through the mud by pretty much everyone in HK in the process). Also, with the way TVB treated him during those months when he was suspended from his duties pending investigation, I was actually surprised that he agreed to go back and work for them again in the first place (I'm pretty sure there was some political thing going on there). So I guess you could say that SC resigning doesn't have any impact on me either (as long as that dreaded witch Virginia Lok doesn't take his place -- now if she were to get promoted to fill that position, then that would be a different story!).

Oh, by the way – another key management person who left TVB earlier this year (or was it last year? Can’t remember exactly….) was long-time director of variety / non-drama programs Ho Lai Chuen. He left to work for nowTV (one of the 3 companies granted free-to-air TV licenses) and is now one of the big executives over there. Supposedly, he left TVB on good terms (at least that’s what the public was told), but after working at TVB for 30 years, it’s sort of hard for me to believe that he would decide to leave and go to a competitor just like that if there weren’t issues between him and the company (TVB) in the first place. Anyway, he’s better off at nowTV in my opinion because I honestly feel that out of the 3 ‘new’ stations that will come into play next year, nowTV has the most potential (they already have some great programs being produced currently).

As most of you know, there was an aggressive ‘poaching’ movement by City Telecom’s (CTI) Ricky Wong earlier in the year – his company is one of the 3 that have been granted licenses to operate free-to-air TV stations next year. Personally, I don’t have much respect for the guy because after seeing the tactics he employed in trying to poach a rival station’s employees, he just doesn’t come across as a very honorable person to me (plus I had heard bad things about him back when he was an executive at ATV). Anyway, I mention Ricky Wong and CTI because he will be one of the major players next year and there are actually a few former TVB artists who will be jumping ship to his company (more on that later).

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Now that we’ve looked at the significant changes in management, let’s look next at the behind-the-scenes people: the producers and scriptwriters.

I’m sure we all know that TVB lost one of its best scriptwriters, Cheung Wah Biu, last year – he was responsible for writing the scripts for many of the highly rated and highly acclaimed series over the past few years, with the award-winning “Rosy Business” and “No Regrets” being amongst his last works. After leaving TVB, Cheung Wah Biu went to Taiwan to work for entertainment mogul Jimmy Lai’s Next Media empire. There were rumors of CWB possibly returning to TVB earlier in the year, but those rumors turned out to be false (which is perfectly fine with me, since they were wasting his talent anyway).

My understanding is that TVB also lost other scriptwriters as well, but I can’t remember the names at this moment. However, my assumption is that the number of behind-the-scenes scriptwriters and copy editors who left must have been significant because it caused TVB to change their policy to allow scriptwriters to sign ‘per series’ contracts rather than long term ones (this was a ‘privilege’ normally reserved for artists) – plus many of the behind-the-scenes personnel ended up getting pay raises along with early contract renewals.

In terms of producers, that’s actually one area where TVB will be suffering a tremendous loss next year with the departure of 3 ‘golden’ producers – the husband and wife couple of Lau Kar Ho and Mui Siu Ching (who are heading to nowTV in early 2012) and also Lee Tim Sing (who will most likely be retiring).

First, let’s talk about Lau Kar Ho and Mui Siu Ching. LKH and MSC said that they are leaving because they want to expand their opportunities (especially in the Mainland market) – I’m sure that’s true, but part of me thinks that there is also more to it than that. The couple has been with TVB since the 1980s and throughout the past 3 decades, have produced many hit series (in fact, most of the grand productions and anniversary series from the past few years were produced by them). With their status as ‘golden’ producers, they are 2 of the most well-known producers at TVB, so for them to leave suddenly after so many years, there has to be something that triggered it. We probably will never know the truth, but as far as I’m concerned, their departure is definitely TVB’s loss.

As for Tim Gor – well, let’s just say that I’ve always been fond of Tim Gor’s series and he’s one of the reasons why I’ve still been watching some TVB series in recent years. Tim Gor has been with TVB since the late 60s and was pretty much there when the company itself started – throughout the past 4 decades, he has worked in various positions at TVB, even becoming the Head of Production at one point. Since he also used to be a scriptwriter himself, he is very much involved when it comes to writing the scripts for the series he produces (he has a scriptwriting team that writes for him, but he personally does a lot of review and editing of the script). In addition to his numerous contributions to TVB the past 40 years (he produced and wrote many great series), he was also responsible for bringing us some of the past 3-4 years’ most acclaimed series (for example – “A Fistful of Stances”, “Rosy Business, “No Regrets”, etc.).

Tim Gor’s latest series “Bottled Passion” (which is currently in its finale week) is a great series. I won’t go into detail about the series itself, since I will be doing a review on it some time next week – I will say though that BP is actually one of the few TVB series from this entire DECADE that I actually like. The most recent article that came out today stated that BP’s ratings are suffering badly because it was placed in the dreaded December ‘cannon fodder’ timeslot instead of the original October ‘golden’ timeslot as previously planned (it was pulled from the October timeslot and replaced with “Super Snoops” last minute). For TVB to push the series aside in favor of that dumb anniversary series "Super Snoops" (which was so stupid, I felt like I lost brain cells just watching the first episode) is truly pathetic!! If they would have kept BP in the original October timeslot instead of in the cannon fodder December timeslot, its ratings would probably not have suffered so badly (though to be honest, I really don't care anymore at this point because everyone knows that HK TV ratings mean absolutely nothing!). If I were Tim Gor, I would be pissed as well! When Tim Gor retires next year, I am truly going to miss him!

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Lastly, let’s look at the artists who have left TVB recently (in the last 2 years alone)…some of the more significant ones include Bowie Lam, Wong Hei, Steven Ma, Joe Ma, Charmaine Sheh, Bernice Liu (just to name a few). Bowie and Wong Hei have both signed with a management company affiliated with nowTV, so that means their chance of appearing on a TVB program again is pretty much none (since I’m sure TVB won’t take them back given they didn’t leave on good terms). Steven is terminating his management contract with TVB early and will most likely be switching to a per series contract with them once the dust settles (though he will most likely continue to be ‘mistreated’ by them as long as VL is still there). Joe is still under management contract currently, but he has already expressed that he won’t be renewing his contract with TVB once it expires this year. Charmaine already switched to a per series contract with TVB last year and Bernice terminated her contract completely out of disappointment over the way she was treated. Add to this the fact that there are A LOT of non-contracted and/or per series contracted artists who have already stated that they will only film 1 series a year for TVB (or none at all if they don’t have time), which means that there will be even fewer artists in the picture.

Oh, and let’s not forget Ricky Wong’s company CTI (which I mentioned earlier): it was just announced that 20 or so former TVB artists will be joining his company -- these include: Frankie Lam, John Chiang, Wilson Tsui, Jerry Lamb (currently with ATV, since he left TVB a few years ago), Yu Mo Lian, Catherine Chow, Benji and Lesley Chiang (well, they aren't exactly TVB artists, but their father Paul Chun is), etc.

Of course, my list is probably incomplete and there are probably other artists leaving TVB whom I may have missed – sadly though, the few that I already listed is enough to illustrate the dire situation that TVB will be in next year.

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Concluding Thoughts…

With so many key players leaving TVB, you would think that they would finally 'wake up' and start doing something to change their stupid politics. I know that if I were Mona Fong and saw how badly the company was deteriorating (it’s hard to believe she does not see a problem with so many artists and behind the scenes people leaving), I would step in immediately to rectify the situation (with the first step being firing a certain someone). Unfortunately though, it doesn’t look like TVB is going to make changes any time soon – especially since up to this point, they are still ‘officially’ in denial that anything is wrong (it doesn’t take a genius to understand the concept that if you are not able to recognize what is wrong in the first place, how in the world are you going to fix it?)

To be honest, my guess is that TVB probably doesn’t even care as long as they continue to post those big revenue numbers year after year – plus I’m willing to bet that even with the addition of 3 TV stations next year, TVB won’t view them as a threat because of the ‘loyalty factor’ in terms of the audiences (they are banking on the fact that almost all of HK is already ‘used to’ watching TVB, so it won’t be easy for the audiences to switch to other stations – which, theoretically speaking, means that TVB would continue to dominate the TV industry). That’s actually what happened with ATV back in the 70s -- their predecessor RTV was in the business long before TVB even existed, but because they were not free-to-air, people naturally turned to TVB instead – by the time RTV/ATV figured things out and became free-to-air in the 70s, audiences had already been watching TVB programs for close to a decade and didn’t want to switch (though a huge part of this was also due to the 70s being a ‘golden age’ of sorts for TVB, which is definitely not the case right now). Based on the responses from some of the TVB management (back when the whole ‘3 additional free-to-air TV stations’ thing came up), it looks like they are putting their money on history repeating itself.

With 2011 coming to an end and all the TVB-related ‘drama’ that has played out over the past year, it will be interesting to see what happens in 2012!

News Article: Producer Lee Tim Sing blasts TVB for airing “Bottled Passion” in ‘cannon fodder’ timeslot

Article originally published 12/27/2011

Source: Oriental Daily

Translated by: llwy12

** Note: Only the part of the article related to Lee Tim Sing was translated**

With all the changes that TVB has been going through recently, the internal politics have been a mess and now, even elders who’ve always been ‘ratings guarantees’ are falling victim to the internal unrest.

Golden producer Lee Tim Sing (Tim Gor), who contributed greatly to TVB’s success for several decades, invited singer/actress Niki Chow to return to TVB last year to film the series “Bottled Passion” with actor Raymond Wong. Around the time of last year’s Sales Presentation, the plan was to arrange for the series to air during October’s ‘golden’ timeslot. Unfortunately, due to internal politics, “Bottled Passion” was moved to the December ‘cannon fodder’ timeslot and replaced instead with Liza Wang and the three gods’ anniversary series “Super Snoops”.

Currently in its finale week, the storyline for “Bottled Passion” revolves around a love story, which seems to be the perfect fit for TVB’s housewife audience’s tastes compared with the cannibalism-themed series “When Heaven Burns”, which is also in its finale week. However, TVB has arranged for the finale of “When Heaven Burns” to air on Sunday (January 1st), pushing “Bottled Passion”s finale to Monday, Jan 2nd (the first time that a TVB series has aired its finale on a Monday). This further added fuel to an already burning fire. It is rumored that because Tim Gor is planning to retire next year, someone is seizing upon the opportunity to give him the ‘cold shoulder’. Despite his previous accomplishments, including last year’s highly rated anniversary series “No Regrets”, Tim Gor was not given any face, causing his newest series to become ‘high quality cannon fodder’!

Our reporter contacted Tim Gor for clarification. When the issue of his series being placed in a cannon fodder timeslot was brought up, a usually mellow Tim Gor became upset, angrily blasting TVB: “Of course there will be someone sacrificed in the PK timeslot! [TN: 'PK' in this context represents a Cantonese curse word]. Several years ago, my series “A Fistful of Stances” was the same way – whether there is a particular motive to it, I really don’t know! It’s not worth getting upset over anymore – besides, I’m not the first one treated this way – cannon fodder or not, doesn’t matter anymore!” Tim Gor expressed that TVB’s action of moving “Bottled Passion” to such a timeslot was hugely discouraging to the cast and crew and he has been trying his best to bring the morale back up. He stated: “I can’t lie – the ratings truly aren’t that great. The worst part is that the series has good word of mouth….the screenwriting team is definitely upset. Aiye! During the holidays, there are at least 600,000 to 700,000 people who leave town for travel, so of course they won’t be sitting in front of their TVs watching the series. If the series was placed in the October timeslot as originally planned, the ratings would be at least 2 points higher, if not more! But I’m used to it already!”

When the series was originally taken out of the October timeslot, Tim Gor had angrily gone up to the drama department to inquire as to the reason: “I admit that the series [Bottled Passion] is not a ‘star-studded’ production, as the main leads are Niki and Raymond. But Niki has truly shown great improvement in her acting, Raymond is a perfect fit for the role, and Joel [Chan] did a good job as anticipated. I put a lot of heart into coming up with this story and the plot was carefully arranged. When I first heard about the series airing in the October timeslot, I thought to myself that it would surely succeed. Unexpectedly though, the drama department pulled the series out of that timeslot last minute – when I asked why, they said it was because of a ‘particular reason’ and even apologized to me!”

Asked about plans to retire, Tim Gor replied that the final decision will be made at the end of next year: “At the end of next year, I will be 65 years old. The company’s retirement age is 60 years, so I have already exceeded by 5 years – it is enough! I still have the heart for it, but not the strength. My colleagues sometimes see me limping when I’m walking, so I already know that health-wise, it’s taking a toll on me!”

.***.

Chinese Version:

李添勝怒插無綫 周麗淇愁爆

無綫易主，內亂紛紛，任你是公司有收視保證的老臣子亦一樣冇面畀！曾為無綫立下不少汗馬功勞的金牌監製李添勝，去年躊躇滿志邀周麗淇（Niki）夥拍首次擔正的黃浩然合作劇集《我的如意狼君》，年初節目巡禮亦打算安排該劇在十月黃金檔首播，可惜因為政治因素，《我》劇被燉落聖誕炮灰檔期，由汪明荃主演的《荃加福祿壽探案》頂上。

明年退休被冷待
因《我》劇劇情夠老土，迎合師奶口味，本周進入結局周，無綫卻安排周日（一月一日）播比較重口味的《天與地》大結局，《我》劇大結局則安排下周一（一月二日）播出，被節目部高層一燉再燉。據知因添哥打算明年退休，有人借勢冷待他，故這位收視爆燈的《巾幗梟雄》監製亦冇例外，《我》劇慘成極品炮灰！

本報致電添哥，提到嘔心瀝血之作變炮灰劇，一向待人接物不慍不火的添哥亦扯火，怒轟無綫：「實有人食PK檔！我以前套《鐵馬尋橋》都食過，係咪用人唯親真係唔知！都嬲唔到咁多，況且我又唔係第一個，都冇話炮唔炮灰囉！」添哥表示，無綫此舉令《我》劇台前幕後意興闌珊，他早已安撫幕後人員。他說：「唔可以講大話，收視真係普通，最慘係口碑好，搞到啲編劇仲唔開心！唉！假期有六、七十萬人離港，如果擺黃金檔起碼高兩點收視啦！不過我都慣喇！」

讚Niki進步神速
添哥更怒氣沖沖踩上節目部質問《我》劇被抽起原因：「我認《我》劇唔係大堆頭粒粒星，孭飛都係Niki同浩然。不過Niki真係進步得好快，浩然又好適合個角色，山聰做得好一早係意料之內。我好畀心機度呢個故事，成件事都有計算，當安排十月檔仲以為一定得。點知畀節目部臨時抽起，話有某啲原因喎，仲同我講對唔住。」

提到退休問題，添哥打算明年底自有決定，他說：「明年年尾滿六十五歲，公司要六十歲退休，做多五年都夠皮啦！我有心無力喇！同事見我行路拐吓拐吓，就知自己體能唔得！」

My 'TVB Rant' # 13: My Thoughts About Veteran Artists Returning to TVB

I must be in my 'TVB rampage' mood recently because I felt the urge to write yet another rant on TVB (the 3rd one in just 2 weeks)...hopefully I won't have to write another one for awhile (hear that TVB? Stop ticking me off please! ) LOL....

Anyway....

I've been reading recently about how some veteran artists return to TVB to film a series or two after being away for a long time. The reason they usually give for why they return is because TVB helped launch their careers back in the day and helped them become popular, so they are 'repaying' the favor out of gratitude (in Chinese, we call it "飲水思源").

First of all, I must applaud the veteran artists who think this way because to be honest, the younger generation nowadays don't have those types of morals. Nowadays, many artists don't have such 'traditional' way of thinking and pretty much could care less about who helped them get to where they are now (hence the stories I hear constantly about the lack of respect for seniors / elders in the industry).

With that said though, I will very frankly admit that I'm not too keen on the veteran artists returning to film series for TVB. Now don't get me wrong -- the reason I think this way isn't because I have anything against the veteran artists or feel that their skills aren't up to par. In fact, it's quite the opposite -- I don't want them to return to TVB because I care alot about those artists (since I grew up watching TVB shows and therefore grew up with many of these veteran artists) and therefore don't want to see them mistreated.

As most people know, TVB has severely deteriorated over the years -- in the past 8 to 9 years especially (since the current management took over), TVB's blatant favoritism of their own contracted artists (alot of whom aren't talented and can't act/sing to save their lives) as well as them allowing their rampant politics to run amok, have severely crippled the management team's ability to run the company properly. The recent surge in artists 'leaving the nest' as well as the increase in 'complaints' against TVB (plus a bunch of other things that have happened the past few years) are proof that things are not as "peachy" as the company would like us to believe.

In TVB's view, all artists are 'dispensable' and can be quickly replaced with a snap of the fingers -- after all, the artists need TVB more than TVB needs them, right? Right -- so that's why the artists must adhere to alot of 'unwritten rules' (and yes, there are unwritten rules -- many artists and industry veterans have confirmed it), such as being 'obedient', always portraying the company in a good light, not complaining about anything bad that goes on, don't be vocal even if an injustice has been done, etc. Oh, and did I mention that they also have to be good-looking (based on the standards of a certain female executive that is) and 'kiss-up' to the right people? (Also, don't forget the 'designer handbag' requirement -- that's an important one! LOL!) If you don't follow these 'rules', don't even THINK about getting promoted!

To clarify, these are the 'rules' that apply to contracted artists -- as much as TVB may try, it is very rare that they are able to get the veteran non-contracted artists to adhere to such ridiculous 'rules'. But, being the greedy company that they are, they don't want to give up on the lucrative opportunity to have these artists in their series.....So what is the best solution? Simple! Put all of the veteran artists in a poorly scripted series and even give them pathetic characters to portray -- after all, the storyline and character don't matter, since the audiences will tune in anyway due to the artists' "star-power". Better yet, put them in series with heavily promoted younger generation contracted artists so that their "star-power" can rub off on them too!....I can just imagine the 'conversations' that go on during the management team's weekly Tuesday meetings: "Ooooh, so and so is coming back to film XYZ series! Since he/she is such a popular artist and well-liked by audiences, let's take advantage of the situation and use them to promote our own contracted artists! After all, this 'opportunity' doesn't come often...besides, they [the veteran artists] won't mind -- they're loyal to TVB -- after all, we gave them their success so they are eternally indebted to us! We definitely have the upper hand here!" [hypothetical dialogue]

Ok, in all seriousness....with all the inherent "issues" that TVB has (and all the complaints), you would think that the logical thing to do is take steps to improve the situation and make changes for the better (as well as to protect the company's future). Yet, for some reason, TVB can't seem to grasp that concept and even now, continues to be in denial that any problems exist (which means that no action will be taken any time in the near future). Instead, they continue to take the 'arrogant' approach, thinking that they can do anything they want because they are essentially 'the only game in town'.

So given this type of environment, why should the veteran artists return and 'help out' TVB by filming series for them again? I mean, most of these artists have been in the industry a long time and have already paid their dues -- why should they subject themselves to mistreatment from a company that is 'arrogant' and doesn't appreciate them? It's almost like these artists are getting 'punished' for being loyal -- which is REALLY messed up!

In a sense, I can understand the 'loyalty' reasoning, but the truth is -- most of the people who had helped these veteran artists get to where they are at now are NO LONGER AT TVB! With the exception of (head of production department) Catherine Tsang and Tommy Leung -- both of whom have been at TVB like forever -- everyone else has pretty much moved on. Ok, granted that some veteran artists may feel a sense of 'loyalty' to TVB's big bosses Run Run Shaw and Mona Fong (aka Uncle and Aunt Six), but really, is it "worth it" to subject yourself to such treatment just to 'give face' to 2 people who are no longer involved as much in day to day operations and probably don't really care anymore anyways? If the veteran artists want to show their loyalty, they can do so in other ways -- they shouldn't need to sacrifice their careers, reputation, money, and most importantly, their personal dignity in order to fulfill or prove their loyalty!

One last point that I've been thinking more and more about over the past few years....

True, TVB may have helped 'launch' many of the veteran artists' careers and so, in a sense, contributed to their current success (though technically, I could argue that it's really certain individuals and not really the company who were responsible for the success) -- BUT, by the same token, where would TVB be if it weren't for these same veteran artists who worked day and night to build up the company's reputation and image to what it is today? Do you think that TVB was able to become such an internationally renown institution over the past 4 decades entirely on their own? Do audiences tune in to watch TVB shows because they want to see the faces of the management team? Of course not! (and in the case of a certain female executive, I'm already annoyed that she keeps showing up at events, so please don't put her on TV too!) The veteran actors and actresses (and many of the behind-the-scenes people such as producers and scriptwriters) were a HUGE reason why TVB became so successful and why they were able to become the 'powerhouse' that they are today!

So my question to TVB is: Where's the APPRECIATION for all of the blood, sweat, and tears that the veteran artists put in to build your company up? I don't see you guys being GRATEFUL to them for their efforts all these years! A healthy relationship is one where there is mutual support and genuine concern for each other -- after all, it's supposed to be a 'two way street', not a one-sided road! The day will come when these veteran artists will finally realize that they've had enough and won't want to work for you -- and when it does, I hope that all the untalented "eyecandy" you've invested in will be able to carry you through!