On 10/18, TVB’s anniversary series "No Regrets" starring Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang officially started airing. On the same day, TVB held its 43rd annual Light Switching Ceremony, formally announcing to the world that the competition for TV King and Queen has officially begun.Under the leadership of Mona Fong (Mrs. Six), TVB’s upper management was ‘unofficially’ separated into 4 main parties – these parties have been battling openly as well as behind the scenes for years, to the point where it has become a normal part of entertainment industry life. Some of the artists themselves have voluntary ‘gotten in line’ behind certain leaders.
With the corruption charges against TVB’s GM Stephen Chan and Virginia Lok’s subsequent increase in power, the fate of TVB’s various artists seem to have followed along with their leaders’ ups and downs.
Hints of this can already be seen in the group photo taken during TVB’s annual Light Switching ceremony on 10/18. To the right of TVB’s Chairman Run Run Shaw stood Wayne Lai and Sheren Tang; to his left stood Moses Chan and Charmaine Sheh. As for TVB’s former ‘first sister’ Jessica Hsuan – well, she has already been relegated to ‘second row’ status.
Who gets promoted, who gets demoted, who leaves, who joins, who sits atop the ‘number one’ throne – even from the beginning, it’s never had anything to do with acting talent.
Promoted Artist: Charmaine Sheh
Practicing the ‘Lau Sam Ho’ way of living and handling issues
Promotion background: In 1974, producer Catherine Tsang joined TVB and was responsible for launching the careers of many famous stars such as Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Tony Leung, etc. She experienced both the ‘Run Run Shaw era' as well as the ‘Mona Fong era’ and even now, continues to stand strong. In 2003, Virginia Lok came to power, becoming the Head of the production and resources department, with her main emphasis in Artist Management. At that time, Charmaine Sheh – who used to be under Catherine Tsang’s party – switched over to Virginia Lok’s party, thereby ensuring that she would be successfully promoted.
Though Charmaine did not have Gigi Lai’s good looks or Jessica Hsuan’s handsomeness, and to some, she seemed to always have a ‘bitter melon’ face, but yet, almost without much fanfare, she became hugely popular.
Originally, Catherine Tsang was the one who pretty much was single-handedly responsible for elevating Charmaine to her position. However, due to the presence of fa-dan Gigi Lai, Charmaine had to settle for ‘Number 2’ for many years. It wasn’t until Virginia Lok arrived on the scene that Charmaine was able to see the ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, she “jumped ship” to Virginia Lok’s party.
Virginia Lok is known to like obedient, ‘good’ artists who listen to what she says, so Charmaine would always heed her arrangements, while at the same time continuing to elevate her own acting. Coincidentally, a lot of rumors also surfaced in recent years between Charmaine and Virginia Lok’s ‘god-son’ Kevin Cheng.
In TVB, it’s not hard to find people who dislike Charmaine – older generation artists such as Sheren Tang feel that her acting is not quite up to par and newer generation artists such as Sharon Chan feel that she is not ‘pretty’ enough. Nonetheless, whether it’s malicious intent behind her back or blatant dislike in her face, Charmaine always takes it all in stride and uses Lau Sam Ho’s [her character in "Beyond the Realm of Conscience"] tenants to handle the situations – either laughing it off or not saying anything, but absolutely never giving others any pretext for gossiping about her. This kind of harmonious nature on the part of Charmaine deeply endures her to Virginia Lok.
Not only is Charmaine good at gaining Virginia Lok’s favor, she also understands how to ‘play along’ according to the situation. Back when Stephen Chan was arrested, there were reports that circulated claiming the reason he got into trouble was due to long time embezzlement of artists’ performance fees, especially those of popular fa dans such as Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, etc. Some HK media also claimed that Stephen Chan was arrested due to someone snitching on him internally – rumor has it that the person is his biggest enemy, Virginia Lok. With regard to this rumor, not only did Charmaine outright deny it, she also invited both Stephen Chan and Virginia Lok to have Japanese sushi dinner together and was ‘conveniently’ photographed doing so by the media, which gained her the appreciation of both managers. It is impossible for such a ‘considerate’ artist to not be promoted.
Promoted Artists: Moses Chan, Wayne Lai
Following the right boss, then will successfully get to the top
Promotion background: Catherine Tsang and Tommy Leung are TVB’s 2 head producers and have been battling intensely for years. Tsang once forced Leung’s wife out of the company, which at the same time also caused his biggest asset – number one siu sang Louis Koo – to leave TVB. This action deepened the rivalry between the two – one that is still ongoing today – and as a result, Leung’s party has not been able to recover from it.
The departure of Leung party artists Louis Koo and Gallen Lo gave Moses Chan the huge opportunity he needed to be heavily promoted and not long after, become TVB’s ‘number one brother’.
From last year’s grand production "Beyond the Realm of Conscience" to this year’s grand production "Can’t Buy Me Love", success rested on the shoulders of the 2 main leads Moses and Charmaine. Moses may not be the best looking nor does he possess the most charm, however he does have a big role in almost all of the important grand productions.
When Moses first came to TVB, not only was he thin and lanky with a sharp face, he also had polyp as well as a scratchy voice – his looks would not be appealing to audiences and therefore no upper management would even give him the time of day. However Catherine Tsang always had a very ‘accurate’ eye and she saw potential in Moses from the start – she was highly supportive of him and helped him build up his image in various ways, including helping him rid the polyp through surgery and having him focus on getting exercise / fitness. The transformation was significant.
Since Moses came from the ‘big screen’ (film industry), of course he possessed a certain amount of acting skill already. And in order to adapt to his new role in the TV industry, he was smart to make some personal sacrifices, letting the company make arrangements for him completely. The ‘obedience’ factor also comes up again: almost every series that Moses films, ‘rumors’ develop between him and his female co-star – whether it’s being spotted shopping together outside of work or going karaoke together...and of course, the HK Media would ‘accidentally’ catch them each time. Even though Moses is technically under the Tsang party, he also has an excellent relationship with the other 3 managers as well, so it’s no wonder that he is one of TVB’s most heavily promoted ‘biological sons’.
Despite the party struggle, there is no doubt that Catherine Tsang has an accurate eye when it comes to choosing artists and series – the hugely popular ‘palace-scheming and struggles’ themed series "War and Beauty" and "Beyond the Realm of Conscience" were both produced by her group, as was last year’s award-winning hit "Rosy Business", in which she personally chose Wayne Lai to lead the series.
Wayne was in the supporting actor role for 20 plus years before finally becoming male lead for the first time last year at the age of 45. He was lucky to encounter a good script, good producer, and an audience that backed him, so naturally his career and success soared last year.
Based on the positive feedback and results from the premiere episode of “No Regrets”, the series definitely has potential to garner good ratings.
Promoted Artist: Sheren Tang
The newest ‘number one sister’—posses both talent and strong backing
Promotion background: Ever since Stephen Chan became TVB’s General Manager, his power and influence has been quite vast. It is rumored that he loves to support and promote those artists whom others don’t want – for example, he single-handedly promoted artist Fala Chen, who is known for being daring and open, to the top of the ‘supporting actress’ ladder. In addition, Sheren Tang – who is known for constantly being at odds with Virginia Lok – is also heavily promoted by Stephen Chan.
20 years ago, before Charmaine Sheh even entered the industry, Sheren Tang was already a household name for TV audiences. After leaving the industry for a number of years, she came back strong in the late-90s, completely changing her image from a young, fresh martial arts heroine to a middle-aged (yet still pretty) strong woman. Though her excellent acting skills were still there, the industry had already changed and she was pretty much all but forgotten already.
Worse yet, Sheren – not wanting to be managed by TVB -- refused their invitation to sign with them, and in so doing, dashed her chances to become ‘one of their own’. Of course, this means that TVB management would pay even less attention to her.
However, it’s precisely this aspect that attracted Stephen Chan’s attention – Chan is very different from his nemesis Virginia Lok in that he loves to support / promote those artists (especially the female artists) whom others reject or give up on. Actually, it can be said that Sheren receiving the opportunity to participate in the series "Rosy Business" was partly because of Stephen Chan’s support. Talking about connections, Sheren also has another potential ‘ace’ up her sleeve – respected mainland actress Liu XiaoQing, who is one of her best friends.
In the 2006 battle for TV Queen, Sheren’s attitude was a more aggressive one, openly battling for the award with Gigi Lai and Charmaine Sheh, however in the end, she lost the battle due to the fact that she was not TVB’s ‘biological daughter.’ During last year’s TV Queen battle, Sheren learned her lesson and took a less aggressive stance, allowing others such as good friend Liu XiaoQing do the talking for her – during an event, Liu XiaoQing openly declared her support for Sheren in her pursuit of the TV Queen award. It so happens that Liu XiaoQing is also long-time friends with TVB Chairman Mona Fong, so naturally, Ms Fong would give Ms Liu some ‘face’. Sure enough, Sheren was able to successfully ascend the TV Queen throne last year.
TVB’s 4 Parties
Lok Party:
Male artists include Kevin Cheng, Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Bosco Wong, Kenneth Ma, Raymond Wong, etc. Female artists include Charmaine Sheh, Myolie Wu, Linda Chung, Kate Tsui, etc.
Virginia Lok – TVB production and resources department Head, primary focus on Artist Management, official spokesperson for issues related to TVB-managed artists. The fate of all TVB-managed artists rests in her hands. Lok has been responsible for launching the careers of many newer artists, with Kevin Cheng being the ultimate example. Back then, Kevin had been in the industry for a long time, but was virtually unknown – it wasn’t until he became Virginia Lok’s ‘god-son’ that he became the male lead in many of TVB’s grand productions and won the TV King award in 2006.
Tsang Party:
Male artists include Bobby AuYeung, Steven Ma, Wayne Lai, Moses Chan, Wong Cho Lam, etc. Female artists include Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung Hor Yee, Shirley Yeung, etc.
Catherine Tsang – Head of TVB’s drama production department, known to artists as “Jen Jie”. Most of the Tsang party artists are known for their acting skill, however due to most of Catherine Tsang’s energy being put into directing and producing series plus the huge power that Virginia Lok has (Lok is Tsang’s direct boss), most of Tsang’s artists are not heavily promoted.
Leung Party:
Male artists include Gallen Lo, Louis Koo, Roger Kwok, etc. Female artists include Sonjia Kwok, Jessica Hsuan, Flora Chan, etc.
Tommy Leung – the other Head of TVB’s drama production department. He joined TVB in 1973 and is considered an ‘elder’ of the company; his strength is in producing big commercial dramas. In 2001, Leung party was at its peak, as almost all of his siu sangs and fa dans were immensely popular – Louis Koo, Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, Flora Chan, etc. – all were first-rate artists and absolutely ratings guarantees. In subsequent years, after a fierce battle with the Tsang party, the Leung party was significantly weakened – then, when Virginia Lok came to power in 2003, Leung party continued to trail far behind. Today, most of Leung’s artists have already left TVB.
Chan Party:
Artists include Sheren Tang, Patrick Tang, Amigo Chui, Fala Chen, Sharon Chan, etc.
Stephen Chan – TVB’s General Manager, was once a DJ for a major radio station. One of TVB’s most flamboyant and well-known managers due to his on-screen presence hosting shows such as "Be My Guest". Specializes in supporting / promoting artists who are considered ‘troublesome’ – for example, both Patrick Tang and Amigo Chui were able to win hosting awards at the anniversary awards ceremony because of him, however the wins were not without some contention.
Artists with NO party affiliation:
Artists include Tavia Yeung, Bernice Liu, Michelle Yim, Kara Hui, Susan Tse, Susanna Kwan, Mary Hon, etc.
Both Tavia and Bernice are considered to not have any party affiliation, which is why they do not ‘appear’ as much on-screen as compared to other artists. Tavia especially – with no party affiliation and practically ‘zero’ rumors – to be able to star in "Beyond the Realm of Conscience" as second female lead was certainly no easy feat. As for Bernice – even though she is Moses Chan’s rumored girlfriend, she does not belong to any of the parties, so therefore, is not promoted much.
Michelle, Kara, Susan, Susanna, etc. are all older generation veteran actresses who already have the skill and have been in the industry long enough to know how things work – after seeing all the ups and downs that the industry goes through, they already know that their generation artists will always only be ‘background scenery’ for others. Therefore, they don’t even bother trying to ‘get in line’ to follow a leader.
Artists who have left or will soon leave TVB:
Artists include Ha Yu, Wong Hei, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung, Steven Ma, Louis Koo, etc.
The departures of artists such as Wong Hei, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung, Steven Ma, Louis Koo, etc. are the result of TVB’s internal strife and problems. Rumor has it that 2008’s TV King Ha Yu – who is already tired of witnessing the endless infighting within TVB – has decided to pursue a film career and will most likely not renew his contract when it expires.
Source: ifeng.com
Translation: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics
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