TVB Celebrity News

Its the 5th day since Bobby Au-Yeung been admitted to the hospital. He is doing better and has been transferred out of the ICU. Yesterday his manager (Lydia) and his wife (Rosanne) brought beef and ginger soup lunch boxes with them to visit Bobby at the hospital. They revealed Bobby is now able to get out of bed to brush his teech and take a shower. He's getting his blood pressure checked and doing physical therapy now, but Bobby just had pneumonia, asked why he has to do physical therapy? Rosanne expressed: "It's something to do with medial, I'm not too sure."

TVB producers Chan Ka Shu and Chong Wai Kin, and Bobby's good friend Nick Cheung visited him yesterday afternoon. Nick stayed with Bobby several hours, he expressed Bobby is doing well: "I told him, he just escaped from calamity and should feel the blessing. His body gave him a warning, so he cannot drink for the rest of he year. Bobby frowned and said he feels like he's in jail." He expressed his wife, Esther Kwan, was initially going to visit Bobby with him, but unfortunately she had to work and couldn't make it.

Nick Cheung took his wife Esther Kwan along with him shoot new film Night Fall last night by the water. Eventually Esther was touched by Nick's acting and left the scene in tears. When speaking of nice trend of the film, Nick exposed his anxiety: "I feel like we scared away a lot of female audience because on the night of the premiere, I discovered Sandra Ng had to cover up her face while watching. Later, she even had to bury her head on Peter Chan's shoulder. She's so useless."

Nick expressed he only hopes the film achieve standards. As for the most difficult part of filming, he frankly said the most memorable is the 'meaty' scene with Kenneth Lo. Then the director asked him to jump into the Victoria Harbour: "At the time, I just thought to myself oh just do it and then I just jumped in. Luckily it was successful in one take."

In Director Roy Chow's new film Nightfall (大追捕), Nick Cheung plays a most wanted criminal. Recently, his 'Wanted Poster' (the movie poster) has flooded the Yau Tsim Mong District streets and attracted a lot of passerbyers stopping to take a look. Some residents thought Nick's life was at risk! Although it appears they have over done it this time, the film has been getting a lot publicity and attention. Nick is currently in Mainland working on a new film, and does not know about the reactions yet. In fact, aside from Nick's 'damaged reputation' because of this film, it was suspected he got seriously ill due to having to suddenly lose a lot of weight.

Rose Chan (陳嘉桓) was unfortunately sexually harassed by Benny Chan (陳浩民) and Joe Ma (馬德鐘) while in Hengdian, China several days ago. Sunday Magazine’s publication of the photos chronicling the harassment incident ignited angry reactions among Hong Kong celebrities, with Nick Cheung (張家輝) and Simon Yam (任達華) blasting the men’s unscrupulous behavior. Nick Cheung even cursed angrily, “If someone violated my daughter in this manner, I will [expletive] kill him!”

Nick Cheung noted, “My wife, Esther Kwan (關詠荷), and I are artists and also the parents of our daughter. If the harassment did in fact occur, I support the police to step in to handle the situation. If you consider the situation from Rose’s family’s perspective, they must be very hurt.” (If someone violated your daughter in such a manner, what will you do?) “I will [expletive] kill him! Even if you are drunk, you have to be responsible for your behavior!”

Condemned for Lewd Behavior
Nick professed that he did not know Rose Chan, Joe Ma, or Benny Chan well, but felt that Rose was only a young girl. Since she was working in China alone, veteran actors should take care of her. The reporter pointed out that life in Hengdian was dull and there was not much entertainment; thus, actors were easily prompted to “commit wrongdoings.” Nick strongly disagreed, “I also filmed in Hengdian in the past. As to whether you commit wrongdoings or not depend on the person. Please remember to tell everyone that the entertainment industry is not like this!”

Upon learning of Rose being sexually harassed, Simon Yam said, “They acted in such a horrendous manner? If this were true, they need to reflect upon their actions! Drinking can lead to problems! The Monkey King (Benny Chan’s) powers cannot match Wing Chun martial arts. Why don’t you ask Dennis To (杜宇航) to take a few sips and have a few rounds with him!” Simon urged Benny Chan and Joe Ma to issue public apologies to Rose Chan.

After seeing the harassment photos, Eric Tsang (曾志偉) angrily blasted, “That should not have happened! That’s too much! Let me go back and use my Wing Chun powers to knock those guys down!” (You will teach them a lesson?) “When I go to Hengdian next month, I will be sure to do so! Benny Chan often plays wildy, but Joe Ma is not like that! Perhaps he drank some fake wine? Last month, there was a chauffer who drank some fake white wine and he turned violent.”

Eric often got into trouble after drinking too much. Due to his experience, Eric said, “The worst thing is that you do not recall what happened even after you have gained mental clarity. Perhaps now they are immensely regretting their actions.” (But when you are drunk, you do not commit such lewd actions?) “That’s because my health is in a poor condition!”
Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) commented that it was inevitable that artists had to go drinking for networking purposes. He will be careful in avoiding getting drunk. “If I wish to drink, I will stay home to do so. If there are any problems, this will not impact other people.”

When asked to comment on Rose’s harassment incident, Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) indicated that she was unclear about the situation and did not wish to interject. Myolie indicated that she has only encountered gentlemen since entering the industry. Asked whether she was taken advantage of while drunk, Myolie replied, “No!” (How would you react if it happened to you?) “I do not know, but I hope it does not happen to any woman!”

Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) hoped that Rose’s emotions will return to normal soon. “I have filmed in mainland, China too and there were celebratory banquets. Each time, I have to work early in the morning, thus I did not stay too long at the dinners. Although my alcohol tolerance is not high, no one forced me to drink with them.”

Supporters of Benny Chan and Joe Ma

Benny Chan’s good friend, Evergreen Mak (麥長青), trusted that Benny possessed a good character. “I do not understand why the photos were taken at such a close distance! There were so many people present. If the harassment had indeed occurred, someone should have stopped it.” (Will you urge Benny Chan to drink less?) “He has been drinking less. Last time I saw him, he did not even drink.”

Aimee Chan (陳茵媺) supported that Joe Ma was a gentleman. “Since entering the industry, I have been very lucky. The senior actors have taken good care of me. Joe Ma is a good ‘si hing’ [senior brother]. The actors at TVB are very gentleman and take care of junior artists.” (If Moses Chan (陳豪) acted in such a manner, what would you do?) “Ha ha! It depends on whom he kisses!”

Michael Tse Tin Wa yesterday expressed that originally in September he had a chance to work with Best Actor Nick Cheung Ka Fai on a movie, but he heard that Ka Fai was burnt in his new film NIGHTFALL (DAI JUI BO). He did not know how serious his injury was and so far he had no idea whether he could make time for the film. Would he feel any regret that the collaboration would end up in smoke? Tin Wa said, "Actually it doesn't matter who I work with. If I have a choice of course I would choose Ka Fai. We have only worked together on television and never in a film. Ka Fai is a Best Actor and someone so talented and fit, of course I really want to work with him. If this time really goes up in smoke, I hope that we will have another chance next time."

Spending half a year to drop to 117 pounds of steel, Nick Cheung Ka Fai earlier joined the new film production NIGHTFALL (DAI JUI BO). Because on the first day he already had a major fight scene, Ka Fai in order to replenish his physical needs not only prepared healthy beverages but also had his first mouthful of rice. Then he worked for ten hours straight to complete a series of action sequences and fully demonstrated his steel might.

Joking about having forgotten when he had rice last, Ka Fai thought that mouthful of white rice was very fragrant. In addition after half a year of hellish training, he for the official production no matter what had to have some rice to cheer himself on. Although as soon as he started work he already had a series of fight scenes and also had to ram his head into a stone wall, Ka Fai cooperated fully. During the shoot, he got dizzy several times and had to rest before continuing on. Ka Fai said, "I told himself, no matter what I had to be a butterfly once. Since I made the decision, I had to work and give. During the entire process a nutritionist calculated my diet so I didn't have to worry about my health. However many friends saw how thin, tan and dry I was they were worried for me and thought I was seriously ill. However they didn't dare to ask. Now everyone finally knew what was going on."

Because he quit eating starch and carbohydrates, Ka fai could easily falter. During action scenes he took breaks to catch his breath. He said, "The director truly grasped the opportunity. As soon as the cameras rolled he asked me to keep ramming my head into a stone wall. Luckily I had enough sleep, otherwise I really would have fainted. Actually all the major scenes had to be shot sooner or later, of course they should be shot when I am in my best condition. The hellish training was for today's scene!" In order to stay in shape, Ka Fai did not relax at all as he carried light work out gear with him. During the shoot he would exercise during his break with push ups and sit ups to stay at his best.

As soon as the production started Ka Fai had to fight for his life. Director Roy Chow Hin Yeung admitted that he was trying to kill Ka Fai. He said, "He trained so hard for the Bruce Lee physique, of course I have to properly utilize it. Ka Fai's determination was easier said than done. The sweet comes after the bitter, I shot the major scenes first because I wanted Ka Fai to relax sooner and have an easier time with the later shoot. I am truly lucky to have this group of professional actors' eager performance and support."

Murderer's director Roy Chow invited two time Film King Nick Cheung and Alan Tam to be in his new suspenseful action film The Great Hunt (大追捕) (Unofficial Title). Kay Tse and Janice Man are also part of the cast for a battle of wits and strength. First time playing an extreme criminal, Nick actively gained 10 pounds in 5 months and becomes a 'Steel Nick'. Nick said: "I'm eating chicken and steamed vegetables every day, so dry and bland!" Nick laughed and said he refuses to watch food programs on TV otherwise he'll start drooling, he said: "Just thinking about going to the gym every day, I feel like dying!"

Nick frankly said watching himself physically train into a triangular shape, he can't help but recall: "Back then when I was in the police training school, it was just as difficult, but this time I passed out 3 times at the gym." He exposed because of excessive hunger, he pigged out on raw fish: "One time I was so hungry, I ran over to the Japanese shop in the gym, although there was just an earthquake in Japan, I still told the chef to cut me two slices of every type of fish!"

Eight time Best Actor winner Nick Cheung enjoys going on Weibo and sharing his thoughts on his film career as well as occasional tidbits about his personal life with his fans. Unfortunately, he recently encountered someone from mainland China with an ‘ulterior motive’ on Weibo who spent 4 months leaving various negative comments on his Weibo attacking him and his family. The ‘attacks’ actually started last year, but recently escalated to the point of being slanderous and excessive – some of the false comments that were left were personal attacks on Nick and his wife Esther Kwan, including ‘claims’ that Nick had sexually transmitted diseases, that Esther was unfaithful to him, and even going so far as to say that Nick was not the father of their daughter Brittany. At first, Nick did not plan on getting upset over these false accusations, however the last few days, the attacks have become threats, causing Nick to feel deeply that there is a need to make the matter public and possibly even take legal action.

According to reports, about a month ago, a female fan of Nick’s saw the horrific comments on Weibo and decided to leave comments in support of Nick – almost immediately, the ‘attacker’ left a message threatening the fan, hurling another false accusation that the fan had an adulterous affair with Nick and that’s why she was defending him. The ‘attacker’ even went a step further to locate the female fan’s home address and threatened to go to her home to ‘harass’ her.

In hopes of ending the issue and protecting her family, the female fan decided to publicly apologize on Weibo (though she didn’t do anything wrong), however the ‘attacker’ still would not let it go. This was upsetting to Nick because innocent people are being pulled into the situation, so he personally went to Shanghai (since the ‘attacker’ is from mainland China) to consult with a lawyer and get some legal advice. On his Weibo yesterday, Nick posted: “In this world, there are no free lunches; abusing someone for so long and not having to take responsibility for so long, it is time to pay the price!” – hinting that the ‘attacker’ will soon have to take responsibility for his/her actions.

Yesterday, our reporter (Oriental Daily) contacted Nick Cheung regarding the situation. He stated that if the female fan decides to call the police, he will personally fly to Shanghai to be a witness in court and give her any support he can: “This type of abuse toward innocent people is what upsets me the most, plus now, it’s gotten to the point where a fan’s safety is being threatened! I don’t care if the ‘attacker’ hates me, but don’t pull innocent people into it! I welcome the ‘attacker’ to come to Hong Kong anytime and if need be, we can arrange for a meeting through EEG.”

Nick also emphasized that he does not feel threatened and is not afraid that the ‘attacker’ may follow him or physically assault him: “I am completely in the right, so what is there to be afraid of? If I get scared of every little thing, how can I possibly live and work in this industry?” [They (those involved in the verbal attacks) refer to your wife as a ‘goddess’?] “My wife does have a group of fans in the mainland and when they came to HK, I’ve met them all – they are very polite and good-mannered people, so most likely not them.” [How does your wife feel about all this?] “She was a little unhappy at first, but I didn’t want her to worry about the situation anymore – after all, my wife and daughter should not be pulled into this.”

In the end, Nick sighed and lamented the state of society today: “Actually, in recent years, I’ve done a lot of charity work related to kids who drop out of school – I really don’t understand why some kids have the opportunity to attend school and instead of spending their time working hard in their studies, they go around doing things that hurt other people! Aren’t they ashamed of facing their parents?”

Last year, when the verbal attacks started, Nick did not want to cause an on-line feud, so at one point, had erased all of the posts on his Weibo and even stopped going on Weibo completely for 2 months. However, the situation seemed to have gotten worse rather than better – it’s no wonder that Nick is deciding on possibly closing his Weibo account: “The cyber world is very frightening because people can make all sorts of statements and not take any ownership whatsoever…right now, I’m really thinking that it’s necessary to close my Weibo account.”

Nick Cheung stars in EEG's film The Stool Pigeon (綫人) . In one of the scenes, he has to film a intense bed scene. Nick frankly said that he really had to risk everything for filming. Rarely shooting bed scenes, Nick is sacrificing a lot of this movie, he laughed and said that there really wasn't such scene in the past, rather he often did funny stuff. He joked that this time the director really "benefited" him, but he actually had no luck to bear, he likes to act in movies that require the inner heart.
He recalls filming the scene, admitting that he currently still sweating! He said: "Because I was not familiar with that actress, so to complete the scene faster, we communicated with each other before filming and tried to avoid too much body contact. Fortunately the director accepted the first take." He is thankful of his wife Esther Kwan for giving him the support and absolute trust. Before filming, he told her about it and she was extremely understanding. Director Dante Lam praised that Nick was able to go forward and make it natural.

Yesterday the 15 Miss Hong Kong (MHK) contestants met the MHK panel judges. This Sunday, the 2010 Miss Hong Kong Pagaent will be held at the Hong Kong Coliseum. The 15 contestants will compete with the winning, first and second-runner up titles as well as the Miss Photogenic and Miss International Goodwill awards. Yesteday the organizers arranged the contestants to meet the panel judges which included Nick, Lynn and Yu Chu Tik. The MCs Eric Tsang, Nat Chan and Louis Yuen were testing the contestants' intelligence live at the scene. There was also International boyband Metro Vocal Group sang and greeted everyone in Cantonese.

Nick was asked about his criteria, he said that for beauty contest, he won't choose his wife. The event organizers having a perfect criteria for judges, he won't have to worry. He said: "Will look at the person's inside. Today's judge scoring will count for 30% of the total score, we will observe words and actions. I haven't paid attention to their gossips, to avoid affecting my impression on them, so after giving the scores, I will see what comments the staff have. (Not afraid the contestants will pretend?) Facing me is a bit of a challenging, how do they know what side I'm on? If they pretend, I can easily see through them. Actually don't even talk about acting, these contestants need to be the best before we judge." Nick questions the contestants' training, that it's the same as filming, hope in the future the beauty contest will be a bit more comfortble for the contestants.

Eric felt that this year's contestants are very sexy, talks about cats, dogs and would cry just carrying their luggage. The qualities are also pretty average, it's hard to choose. He only felt that #8 Phoebe Pang has a good body figure and many people like #1 Alice Wong, but based on past records #1 usually doesn't make it out.

After being in a film together years ago, Anita Yuen and Nick Cheung became friends. In the recent years them and their families were often photographed meeting up together. Yesterday the two attended the event for skincare brand LANCOME, their chats created laughter among the audience. Being regarded as a "mean woman", not only was Anita not upset, but she laughed and agreed with Nick's comment: "It's not a bad thing being mean, at least you can scare away those who have no manners or someone who wants to borrow money from you. (You're mean to your husband Chilam Cheung too?) My husband has his own principles, sometimes he can really insist on his views, so I would change into a more pleasant tone to talk to him, it works most of the time."

When asked if she succeeded in pushing away the "flying grasshoppers" surrounding her husband? Anita frankly said: "If there was a problem, I would just make arrangements for a quiet environment for him to think clearly on the current situation and what he wants, always using hands and feet, it will get exhausting for myself." It was said that when she's with her husband, she becomes a little bird, Anita said: "Well when you love someone, of course you have to cherish him!" Looks like she just expressed her love and commitment to him.

When speaking of Anita, Nick laughed: "She has a really straightforward personality. Saying it in a rude way, she is pretty bad tempered and has bad behavior ("chau dong")." As Anita teased him saying that he is trapped in between his wife and daughter, he frankly said that the women around him are all "mean women". Asked if he plans to have a boy to help him out, Nick did not dare to answer: "Although this is a good idea, but I'm always not at home, he could easily become an 'undercover'!" Although he does feel his wife Esther Kwan has a strong personality, but Nick still has no regret on his decision in the past: "If I found someone who is like a little bird, a generous kind girl, I may not want that. The most important communication in relationships is respect."

2009 had been a good year for the Hong Kong actor who won multiple awards for his role in the 2008 film "Beast Stalker".

Cheung had previously commented on his recent wins and said that he could "die without regrets", adding that "heaven has given me everything I needed so I have no complaints".

After his wins in 2009, Cheung's popularity and acting fees skyrocketed. Despite having both fame and fortune, the 44-year-old veteran had a lingering regret: He has no male heir to continue his bloodline. The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Brittany.

When filming for "Beast Stalker" began late last year, Hong Kong media reported that co-star Nicholas Tse's wife, actress Cecelia Cheung, was pregnant.

At the time, Cheung told reporters that he envied Tse and expressed his yearning for a second child.

"I am so envious. I really want to have a lot of kids, but it is not something I can achieve simply by desiring it, I would still need Heaven's blessing. I hope to have four children because my daughter will be lonely when both I and my wife pass away," he said.

Following that candid remark, the actor also said laughingly that he would ask Tse for the "secret recipe" if Cecilia turned out to be pregnant with twins, adding that he would gladly "pay for it".

Months later, Hong Kong media reported that Cheung had been buying all sorts of Chinese herbal medicine to boost his virility and get his 45-year-old wife pregnant.

More recently, Cheung had reportedly turned to a celebrity fertility specialist for help. He underwent tests and heeded the specialist's suggestion to send his wife for artificial insemination.

Kwan had reportedly announced she will retire to support her husband's efforts.

Francis Ng was arrested for allegedly wounding a bakery worker on New Year's day. It was thought that he was trying to protect his wife. Following the incidence, his wife's waist was hurt and he was allowed out on bail. Michael Tse and Nick Cheung expressed that Francis is not a violent type of guy and both offer their support. Francis's other friends such as Anthony Wong, Dayo Wong, and Sean Lau have all maintained their silence and would not make any comment.

Michael Tse said "I have seen the media report, the Francis I know is not the type of guy who uses violence. I don't know exactly what had happened, as 2010 has just started, I hope he is OK and stay away from any trouble involving the law". Michael was asked if he had ever got into trouble with the law trying to protect his wife? Michael replied "As a man, it is our job to protect the ladies, I am sure there is a very good reason for what he did."

Nick is very concerned about Francis, but he wasn't able to contact him. He supports Francis by saying "Francis knows what he is doing, his EQ is higher than mine." Asked if he knows Francis loves his wife very much? Nick replied "Everybody wants to protect their family, I don't know what had happened, I can't comment."

However, Johnnie To told reporter that Francis had an "explosive" character, but he has changed since he got married. He believed that the whole saga is a misunderstanding and hoped that the incidence would blow over very soon.