Fala Chen May Not Renew TVB Contract; to Take Hiatus in New York
Fala Chen’s (陳法拉) contract with TVB is deemed to expire in May. As one of the top fadans at the moment, TVB reportedly offered her an 8-digit sum in order to have her renew her management contract. Asked whether she has set her sights outside of TVB once her contract expires, Fala declined to elaborate. However, she will be taking an acting class in New York.
Presenting a good image towards the audience and being one of the few fadans who are able to communicate in English and Mandarin fluently, producers from mainland China are interested in collaborating with Fala. In recent years, Fala has been filming drama after drama for TVB, missing out on chances to work in mainland. Fala’s abilities also attracted western producers. When Hollywood’s James Bond movie chose its cast in Hong Kong, Fala was the only fadan from TVB who was invited to audition.
For the rest of this year, Fala revealed plans of heading to the United States to study. She has already registered for an acting course in New York. In regards to whether or not Fala will renew her contract with TVB, she said, “At this stage, nothing is settled yet. I’ve been at TVB for 8 years, and I hope we will maintain a good relationship. There were no unhappy circumstances. It’s just that I’ve filmed for so many dramas, and I want to use this time for a break.”
Fala recalled the time when she was a newcomer. “My first career after graduating from university is at TVB. Their dramas have their own style and rhythm. At first, I didn’t understand anything, and the company gave me many chances. Now that I’ve been filming for a while, I realized that there are many different ways to act out one scene. Sometimes I get the hold of it, but sometimes not. When I go home, I regretted not acting it out using a different method, and I started to feel that there was something insufficient inside [me].”
Fala hopes to see a new perspective in the field of acting. “Especially in recent years, I discussed acting with seniors and co-workers and read many books. However, reading and actually filming are very different. I’ve always wanted to leave the film set and watch different performance platforms to improve myself. I’ve mentioned this to the company before. I’ve planned this for several years and have mentioned this to the company before, so I want to take this chance to refresh myself.”
Source: Ming Pao Weekly #2317 via ihktv.com
This article is written by Shirley for JayneStars.com.
Fala has spoken of her ambitions before, which was aiming to win an Oscar award. Working at TVB, she has to navigate management’s whim as to who to promote for that year.
From Fala’s answer, she is looking for a change. Taking an acting class in New York is the short term answer, but I suspect she is tired of being a work machine at TVB. It is unlikely that she will renew her contract again, to go back to a place which made her feel restless.
”Fala has live up to my viwers expectations unlike many other female actresses, dislike Kates acting completely and Eliiza can’t act but smile.”
Neither of Fala, Kate or Eliza has talents but Fala sounds like an intelligent individual and she’s beautiful. I won’t miss her but this means less actress on TVB’s rosters. I do not wish to watch Kate or Eliza all the time.
What?? An Oscar?! To be honest, it’s an uphill task to realize her dream comes true. Cannes Film Festival is realistic target but Academy Awards, such a tremendous wishing;)
I’m shocked since I thought Fala is doing quite well in TVB despite having bad relationship with HK press. I support her decision.TVB is just a place for exposures, but not a place for actors and actresses to grow. That’s why many siu sangs and fadans left for China for new experience besides the monetary reward.
RayLeilaFan,
I’m not surprised by Fala’s decision. She seems to have strong ambitions and staying at TVB would not help her advance closer to them.
In an earlier interview, she hinted that she was work weary and that didn’t whether she was making any progress and hoped to do something different.
TVB is really not suitable for her then or it could be HK entertainment in general.In recent years I keep hearing rumours about Fala having bad attitudes again and again. It must be tiring and painful to have ignorant outsiders thinking you’re what the HK tabloids presented.
As an artist, of course hearing rumours about yourself over and over again would be frustrating, tiring not to mention depressing. But it’s not just HK tabloids-if she remains in the entertinment circle, rumours and the noisy media will always be part of the whole career package. I don’t think it’s a matter of whether tvb i ‘suitable’ for her or not, it’s just that she has gained a reasonable amount of experience in drama series acting since she debuted at tvb she’s probably wanting to excel further. Perhaps tvb is not providing her the platform for her desires to excel in acting, hence wanting to change environment. Everyone would like to excel at what they do best, that’s the biggest motivation.
Plus Fala has always given me the image of a particularly ambitious,determined female. Hong Kong market/entertainment industry can be considered quite limiting at certain levels, and being educated in New York, I wasn’t surprised to hear her bigger aspirations to break through into the western market-especially when language is her forte.
@ Clementine
Agree 100% on your take on Fala. She does strike me as particularly ambitious, so I am also not surprised that she is weary of TVB and its limitation.
Furthermore, I do feel a stagnation in her acting so I think it’s a very good idea to take a break away from TVB dramas and even taking an acting class in NY.
Fala does have the advantage of speaking fluent English, however, she is considered “old” now for Hollywood, especially because her acting is not really great. But it’s possible that her acting would be better outside of TVB because TVB productions seem very stressful and unforgiving, very like American soaps where you only get one take and has to memorise a lot.
She speaks fluent English?? really?? Even if she does, not sure if that can help her much in Hollywood. Kate studied in California but hard her English is not so great.
yeah-I agree
Actually I will miss Fala. I find her to be a very likeable actress, due to her megawatt smile and elegance.
I agree with you Jayne. It’s good that Fala’s thinking about her future (:
I quite like Fala too, and I wish her goodluck with her future paths. But tvb would be another one short of a fadan sooner or later…look at them go one by one. Even though their series are getting quite below the standards nowadays, i’m actually kind of concerned and sad for tvb really. They could very much just slowly fade away and disappear at this rate of leaving artists’.
@Clementine: I agree with you. If TVB wants to maintain a steady amount of audience, they need to have a good and original script with the right-balance of actors. They also need to improve how they treat their actors and actresses. Instead of promoting the “new” generation of actresses/actors, they need to promote those people that actually deserve it.
@Juanita: I will be blunt. For Fala, her acting is quite good. She can portray both bad and good characters. And compared to other actresses (eg. Christine Kuo, Aimee Chan), her acting is considered pretty good.
Fala Chan is way better than Aimee Chan and definitely Christine Kuo. She is one of the top five fadans in TVB, and has been acting for a longer time. Of course, Fala is way better. Personally I think Fala acts better than Myolie Wu, Linda Chung and Kate Tsui. She is only after Tavia Yeung. Fala is very versatile in different roles.
I agree that Fala has a great megawatt smile, but it’s best that she learns more about acting since for now she doesn’t show any talents in acting and her singing sucks.
I will miss her too. I’m watching Queen of Diamonds and Hearts right now, and really enjoying the show. Have usually enjoyed Fala’s characters.
But if she doesn’t want to work for TVB, then I wonder where she can go? Wouldn’t most TV stations in Asia be about the same? Is she thinking about trying to break into the NA market?
That is a good thing for her. This hiatus will probably mean more learning time for her since she is going to New York. If all goes well, she will probably come back better than ever. Good luck to her. She’s going to be one of the few fadans to dethrone the TV queens.
I feel that Fala should take a rest, she looks very tired in the photo. And it won’t be a bad idea for her to take the time off, because she likes acquiring knowledge.
Many young actresses completed short courses in New York, including Ariel and Qiao En.
Well, she is serious in her ambition.
Which Bond movie? Skyfall?
Yea, in sky fall, there are numerous scenes with a Chinese chick, but that part is boring, and doesn’t require much acting >_> I think the requirement to pick the actress for that role would be a traditional looking Chinese girl that is deem ‘attractive to westerner’? Don’t think much of her, but I guess she’s ok looking?!
All Asian actresses in Western movies are like that. They will never have any major roles, not even Zhang Ziyi or Maggie Q. Sad!
@Sandcherry: It may be true. However, Asian American actresses (eg. Lucy Liu)tend to have a bigger role.
Fala Chen seems to be a very smart girl. I don’t blame her for being ambitious because she has the qualifications and dedications to be ambitious. She is very much like Michelle Ye, another smart girl, who started her own production business. Both of them were graduated from business schools in the States, and have good business minds.
Among the top 5 fadans, I like Fala Chen the best. She is also the prettiest one among them. She is very versatile in acting different characters. Her only drawback is her slightly accented Chinese, but she is the only actress who could overcome this obstacle in a very short period of time.
Perhaps it is good for her to leave TVB as she was not highly promoted by TVB in the last two years.
I wish Fala Chen the best in her future endeavours.
I like Fala too and I also think she is a smart girl. Her acting may need improvement but I personally think she has the best appearance amongst the current fadans. Why didn’t Fala get invited to do movies with the looks that she has? Does she has no connection inside HK movie industry which relies heavily on connections with producers and directors? She will look great in big screen.
While her acting can be borig in some dramas, I’ve never feel bothered by her accent. When will her mainland drama come out? She looks good in ancient costumes.
I think she really does have the hollywood Asian actress look tbh. Put her in a James Bond movie, and I could see her fit in very well without looking out of place. Though her English is slightly broken, she is very fluent when she speaks. I don’t think she’d have any major barriers in adjusting to a different performing environment.
Fala is not invited for movies because she’s not talented. If Fala is talented the movie companies will come looking for her. She went to the audition for Bond for failed maybe because they only picked her based on her looks but later got disappointed at her acting skills. For example look at how successful Sammy Shum is in movies and how many offers he got because he’s extremely talented.
Beautiful looks may get you to auditions, but without acting skills and talents to back her up, that’s as far as she can go. It’s good that she realize that she needs to study acting more.
@ Juanita
Considering the Bond role was minor (to be generous), I very much doubt it was acting that was found lacking.
I believe the word talent is being thrown around way too much. When someone cant act, its auto to say there he/she has no talent. Well thats fine but are people really expecting everyone to be talented? Thats where I am completely baffled by…is there no such thing as skill?
Skills can be obtained, whereas I believe, talent is sort of like a gift, it is innate.
Yes, Fala is the prettiest among the 5 fadans of TVB :D. For acting, I dun find she is too bad nor too good, but in the standard of current top 5 of Txb, she is ok.
And one similarity of Fala and Michelle is that both are Hangzhou original girls.
Different to most, I also like Fala to leave Txb.
Here is what I found about her in Wikipedia:
“Fala Chen was born and raised in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. She migrated to the United States with her parents at the age of 14. Graduating with Top 10 in high school, she then moved on to attend Emory University in Georgia, where she majored in Marketing and International business and minored in Japanese. During her first year in college, she started entering beauty pageants which helped kick start her path to stardom. She eventually graduated from Goizueta Business School of Emory University with a BBA degree in May, 2005.”
Therefore, Fala Chen was not from Hengzhou originally.
Origins. Fala’s grandfather is from Hangzhou as she said in one interview. He was the person who named her Fala as 2 notes in music sheet.
Oh, so that’s where her name comes from! I always thought it sounded so unique.
I am glad she is thinking about her future. The truth is, in any profession, you need to find ways to improve yourself whether the skills involved or becoming an even better human being. All are equally important.
Best wishes to her and hope she finds happiness in whatever she does in the future.
And of course, I have to say this, she is really really pretty. Lol.
I really think Fala is a good actress. It’s just her accent that throws people off. Her role as the youngest daughter in Moonlight Resonance was my favorite!
With her rich boyfriend/husband, Fala Chen does not really have to work so hard to improve her acting skills. I think acting has become her passion and she wants to excel in it.
Though she still has a slight accent in her Cantonese, I think she is already the best actress in learning how to speak Cantonese despite her rather short stay in Hong Kong.
Carina Lau has lived in Hong Kong for over 30 years, her Cantonese is still accented, so is Su Kee’s and many others’.
I have to agree with you- her cantonese is almost flawless! If I didn’t know her background, I would’ve thought she was raised and born in HK. It’s insane how quickly her Cantonese has improved (though when she sings you can easily pick up her mandarin accent-but still, I dont think you can compare any current artist who is equally or better the improvement that fala has achieved so far.
i think it’s a good idea to fly away from the nest for a while. come back later with a good perspective and broader mind. better than being stuck at the same routine again and again.
Plus her current status is way behind Myolie Wu, Tavia Yeung, Kate Tsui and Linda Chung. Fala was never as highly promoted as the other four. It is good for Fala to broaden her mind and learning more about acting by taking an acting course in New York.
TVB is a good company to start out until anyone makes a name for themselves. But once they do, they go to China or venture out elsewhere. Also, who can stand how TVB treats their employess plus the low pay???
I won’t miss Fala much since she is just like any other actress of today. However, good luck to her… Maybe she may go to China to act after she comes back from New York.
Agree. Fala Chen has an advantage – speaking Mandarin – over other TVB actresses if she films in Mainland China.
I have a good feeling that is what she may do since I think she already has connections from already participating in some dramas in China already. Yea, and she can speak fluent Mandarin as well. However, it may not make much difference since they all get dubbed anyways.
@HTS: Chinese series is changing to use real voices partly.
I know that but they still dubb like crazy!!!
dislike fala’s acting and i think she looks arrogant most of the time so won’t miss her much. fala can’t carry a series and lacks charisma so her departure won’t hurt tvb much. admit that this news is a little surprise however.
out of everyone here…i agree with you !
everyone seems to love her (mostly because of her looks)
the thing is this girl doesn’t need the money which is why she isn’t worried about jobs or getting more money like myolie, tavia and etc. fala is someone who can just put down her work whenever to seek education just because she can. and forreal she needs to work on her acting…she always gives off an arrogant like i’m too good for this attitude.
in the beginning everyone loved fala (like eliza sum & christine kuo) but i noticed that lately she isnt as popular anymore.
Well well well, I agree with both of you!! At one time she was highly promoted by TVB and so she thought she can act well but hell no. She’s improved but her acting is just above average. Fala and Kate Tsui should be thankful that they have pretty face and a nice body because both of them cant act decently. I’m definitely not going to miss her if she’s really leaving. Oh one more thing, Fala is also lucky having a rich boyfriend~
Fala is very beautiful, but Kate is pretty?? She’s average at best.
It’s just a surprise to me because Fala is said to be a shareholder of Txb. So maybe even without the contract and flying out of the nest, she still can come back anytime she wants.
Who’s next? Txb is losing ppl.
oh my goodness, imagine if she passed the 007 audition, she would be acting in a James Bond movie along with DANIEL CRAIG!!!!!!!!!!
Like Edison acting “along” Christian Bale in Batman? Or Fan Bingbing in Iron Man 3?
Not really a big deal
it’s a pretty big deal when you are a big fan of james bond, a big fan of daniel craig but not a fan of fala chen
So you are saying it’s a big deal TO YOU.
Spot on, a big deal to me if she gets to work in a james bond movie. then again, why am i so fussy it’s not like she can sail through the audition anyways
One piece of advice to all aspiring actors and actresses – never enrol in acting classes!
And why is that?? An experience of yours? lol
TVB is starting to become Titanic! I bet more fadans are going to leave.
Not just fadans- everyone on every level of leaving…’green leaves’, ‘Sew Sungs’, scriptwriters…tbb, what on earth is happening? lol
*is leaving
good timing, because TeeVeeBee will promote imposter Fala II in place.
Fala reminds me of Michelle Ye. They both have big ambitions and TVB won’t be enough for their egos.
I have a feeling Fala will make it big outside of TVB and she probably wants to be the next Maggie Cheung.
True they are very alike in terms and ambitions. But the thing is, both don’t have enough talent to satisfy their ambitions.
Never found this girl attractive or beautiful, good looking – sure, but not pretty. And she annoys me when she act >_< honesty I don't think she can't make it in hollywood, most of the actresses made it to hollywood had quite a number of movies in hk under their belt before they got recognition there? And her look isn't exotic enough to help her case :s
Which HK actress has “made it” in Hollywood?
Answer: none. Bernice is the best with a supporting role in Street fighters.
I think u misunderstood, I never said hk actress, I said actresses, like Maggie cheung, Maggie Q, they have made quite a few movie in hk market, before going to hollywood, whereas fala hasn’t really done any movie? My point is if u can’t do it in the Asian market first, how can you get good credit in hollywood
@ Little Fishy
I don’t think I misunderstood at all. I think YOU were unclear on what you meant.
If you didn’t mean HK actresses, then why did you say most actresses who made it to Hollywood had quite a number of movies in HK under their belt? And then mentions actresses like Maggie Cheung and Maggie Q who both worked in HK? And sorry, neither Maggies can be considered “made it” to Hollywood. Maggie Cheung is less known than Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Q is the lead actress on a CW show.
No, the only Asian actress I can think that has “made it” i.e. has been the lead actresses in a movie and whose name, a lot of people who recognise is Lucy Liu. Someone who has never had movies in any of the Asian markets. Because she’s Asian American. The only reason for why actresses need to have recognition in their home (Asian) market first, is because they don’t speak English! Why would an American studio hire a foreigner who doesn’t even speak the language?!! Therefore, Asian Americans like Lucy Liu don’t need to do movies in Asian markets first, and Fala doesn’t either.
I said that because 5-10 years ago, most Asian movie are produced in hk, not in mainland. We get to see a lot more hk movies, than Chinese movies. For the other Asian countries, our movies selection are hk movies, than expand to korean movies. Not really Chinese movies. So any Asian actor and actress back then, to get international frame, they need to be in hk movies.
Fala and Lucy case are not the same. Fala went to hk, and start as an actress there for a tv network. Lucy on the other hand start straight from the American market. So for fala to get to the American market, or hollywood as a later better stage, she needs a few movie under her belt.
Btw, Maggie cheung might be less known in term of popularity, but the producers and directors knows her.
I think having a few movie under your belt obviously make your resume look a lot better than having none. So in either case, fala didn’t have a movie in English like Lucy, or a hk movie like others, therefore I highly doubt she make it.
Given that Fala is would be a newcomer to the American market, I don’t think it makes any difference at all whether she has HK movies under her belt. You are presuming that she would take a similar career path as Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li etc. but it is far more likely that she would pursue a career path a la Lucy Liu because Fala is in no way comparable to Maggie, Ziyi, Gong Li etc. And it is absolutely possible for Fala to walk in Lucy’s foot steps because Fala speaks English and was raised in the Western world.
Now as for if she will be successful or not, I also speculated earlier in the thread that it was unlikely. Not because of her lack of movie resume – people like Maggie Cheung etc. are proof that an Asian movie resume will get you no where in Hollywood – but because of her age. Also, Maggie might know a lot of movie producers but is she being cast in a lot of American productions? If not, it’s pretty irrelevant, no?
Fun fact: One of Lucy Liu’s first movies was “Rhythm of Destiny” with Aaron Kwok. She played his girlfriend.
Just curious, can zhang ziyi speak English? From what I remember zzy got famous in Hollywood because of the crouching tiger film, not because she was hired to film a movie straight from Hollywood. Same with gong Li, she filmed movies in Asia first then they got the attention from Hollywood. So having some movies under your belt does help.
She can’t then she learn and now passable.
@anon
Wow. I really had no idea about that! So did Lucy try out for the Asian market or what? There’s nothing about it on her wiki page.
@ Tess
No, Zhang Ziyi did not speak English. Which is why she needed name recognition attached to her name before Hollywood would even look at you. As I have already said, if you don’t speak English then of course you will never break into Hollywood without having already filmed in the Asian market. Not only that, your movies should have performed well! It’s a different matter for English speaking actresses.
@advo: Zhang Zi Yi’s English is actually not all that bad, considering.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzgwNTI0MTk2.html
An already established actress taking acting lessons….somehow that dosent seem right. Unless its a really prestigious course or something? Well, I will miss Fala too 🙁
An established actress can always upgrade her acting skills by taking acting courses. Not every established actress is good in acting, Myolie Wu is one of them.
Many well-established singers in Hong Kong went to New York or England to take short courses on vocal. Eliza Chan, Teresa Carpio, Deanne Ip, etc. are just a few of them.
It doesn’t matter which field you are in or how senior you are, it’s always good to learn new skills and improve.
Well said advo- I totally agree. Also, putting yourself in a new and differnt environment will always allow you to gain new perspective and experience which is always beneficial, not just as an artist, but to be enriched as a person..
I’ll definitely miss Fala. Hopefully she’ll achieve what she went out looking for and come back soon stronger than ever before on screen!
Not sure what she intends:
Is it a negotiation tactic for the BA award?
Is she aiming for Hollywood/the Western market?
Or is she just taking a break, then coming back to the HK or Mainland market?
Hopefully, it’s not just a tactic for the rather meaningless award, because if so, she will probably need to sign over a lot more years or her life. If she is aiming for Hollywood, I applaud her ambition and courage but remains doubtful. Haven’t seen her work outside of the slave conditions in TVB, so it could be better than I feel, but I don’t really see her breaking out considering her age/current acting skills. I think Fala has potential – however, it takes time to develop and she’s already “old” for Hollywood standards. I think, her best option is coming back to Mainland after taking time off/gaining other experiences. The thing about Mainland though, the leading actresses are also really, really young there. Can Fala compete? It’s OK if you’re man, since they have no expiry dates, but as a woman, you quickly get auntie and mother roles and soon you’re typecast in that category.
advo,
It was mentioned that Fala has several offers to film in mainland China. I suspect China will be her next target market after she completes her New York acting course. Perhaps she has sights to first star in mainland TV productions and then make a leap to mainland movies.
The New York acting class may only take a few months. Wonder where Fala would be studying at? Maybe New York University?
When Sheren Tang and Louisa So studied acting in New York, I believe they were at New York University.
@Jayne: Reportedly, Ms. Lok said Fala’s NY acting course is just for 3 months only.
Maybe, you can contact Fala for a personal interview for Jaynestar.
Clamine,
A good suggestion! 🙂
@Jayne
Can you snip me a lock of her hair?
Or possibly used tissues that she’s discarded into a trashcan. For uh…..research…
dd,
You have a close chance to see Fala, if you attend the mall promotional events that TVB artists participate in. Should be opportunity with upcoming “Triumph in the Skies 2”.
Oh yeah.
If I get arrested I’ll give you the exclusive. I might even cover my own arrest in an article.
@dd
You may have better luck by hanging around the laundromat where she has her clothes cleaned. LOL!!
@ Jayne
I believe you are correct in that the Mainland is probably her target market. Truthfully told, if she wanted to break out in Hollywood, she should/could have aimed for that much earlier when she was younger. She speaks English so she might even have been better positioned than in HK where she needed to learn Cantonese first.
@Terminator
Implying she doesn’t burn her clothes after wearing them once because she’s rich as fk
Is she rich or she is living off her “rumored bf, or husband or whatever”?
By transitive property, pretty sure his money is her money.
Advo,
If Fala has reluctance doing kissing scenes, then Hollywood is not a fitting place for her. A female lead’s appeal often falls on her willingness to reveal her body. Otherwise, there’s the Asian action heroine route, but that doesn’t seem fitting for Fala either.
Mainland is a better fit and with domestic box office rising, there are many opportunities there.
@ Jayne
The whole Fala is reluctant to do kissing scenes is overblown. There was one interview when she said it was rather unhygienic or something. But she is an actress and supposedly has plenty kissing scenes in TITS2, so I do not put much stock in that rumour. Besides, it’s not like there’s never any kissing in Mainland productions. Actually, I think there’s more than TVB nowadays, because there was a period where TVB had practically none.
Her look is not unique enough to break through to Hollywood. Lucy liu has a very unique look. Fala is pretty but her look is not unique enough to make it to hollywood. That’s why Zhang zi yi, Maggie Q or Fan bing bing not really successful so far.
Sorry but with Hollywood it is more than just looks. Most Asian artists cannot make it big because they are Asian not because they are pretty or not. Maggie Q is Eurasian but I consider her successful compared to many other Asian artists.
Fala cannot be in the same league as Maggie Q or Zhang ZiYi.
and zhang ziyi can not even compared to Maggie Q.
I like Maggie Cheung Man Yuk a lot too.
Sophia, are you saying Maggie Q is better than Zhang Ziyi? If yes, I am sorry to say I disagree. Maggie Q is at best right now a TV actress. Zhang Ziyi, for all her scandals and loss of fame these days, were one Hollywood’s golden girl starring in quite a few movies that were either award winning or box office smashing.
Zhang Ziyi is an amazing actress. Maggie Q got famous for being Daniel Wu’s girlfriend.
It’s funny how showbiz works. You can slave for years doing support roles and never leaving TV, but if you’re a Eurasian who can’t speak Cantonese and you’re the girlfriend of a (then) rising actor, then hey, Hollywood in 5 years!
Because she can speak American accented English which is an advantage. I saw an episode of Nikita being a fan of the older Nikita series and half the time she is in skimpy clothings.
I quite like the not so original but more original than this Nikita starring Peta Wilson who looked like she could actually kick some a** and hold a gun. Maggie is too.. skinny. But she looks mournful enough to play a sad looking Nikita but way too glamorous.
Haha, it’s the first time I’ve heard people say Maggie Q is bigger than Zhang Ziyi.
Up to now, Maggie’s biggest movie role was a supporting character in Mission Impossible III. Otherwise, she’s the lead actress on a very, very small network show that gets less than 2 million viewers per episode. 2 mill might sound like a lot for HK, but if it was on any other network than CW, the show would have been cancelled ages ago. 2 mill is very, very little for an American network show.
OTOH, Zhang Ziyi has been the lead actress in several movies that were successful in Hollywood and was even the lead actress in that horrible Memoirs of a Geisha. Now the movie might not be a big deal to the Asian (esp Chinese) audience, but it was an American production. Not Chinese. Produced by Steven Spielberg and released by Dreamwork/Columbia. It’s a huge deal.
And sorry to disappoint, but I think if your look is unique you have an even lesser chance of breakthrough in Hollywood. Lucy is the exception because she’s really American. Hollywood is as racist as ever. Frankly, the more Western you look, the better are your chances.
I don’t think zhang zi yi has much of a unique look either. And I agree with HeTieShou, Maggie is quite successful, her Nikita role is strong and well loved by fans. Zhang zi yi is successful as well due to having numerous movie with her as main characters, and they are generally high budget, so she has quite a big exposure.
Fan bing bing isn’t the same league as those two. She is in high budget movie, but her roles always supporting or like a pretty vase, always small role or role that might be important but doesn’t really contribute much but 5mins of the overall movie time. I always found her so pointless in most of the movie.
Well said Little Fishy and I totally agree with you. For some odd reason, I just cannot imagine Fala ever reaching even Fan Bing Bing’s level, but Maggie and Zhang Ziyi’s??? No way…
Am I correct to say Fan Bing Bing is famous for being… famous?
Maggie Q quite successful? I think she’s a mediocre small screen actress. Maggie Cheung on the other hand is a big screen goddess.
Funn, I agree that Fan Bing Bin is famous for being famous. She even get the limelight on Fashion Police, but they have no clue about her works.
@ Funn
Fan Bingbing isn’t famous for being famous. She’s famous for her style.
(but I don’t agree)
And for all of you guys who don’t know this:
movie actor > TV actor
Maggie Q’s Nikita might be beloved, but considering the show is watched by a very, very little fraction of the audience and is considered a mediocre “hit” for a failed network, I would be hesitant to claim she’s a big star. To put it in context, Nikita is no where as famous as Gossip Girl or Vampire Diaries. Those are two CW shows that are considered hits. And we are still just talking about CW…
That way of thinking gotta go. Nowadays, tv actors are quite big, many movie actors and actresses are getting into the small screen, and vice versus. What you are seeing is how the actors and actresses becoming more versatile. A lots of actresses and actor can’t find good movie roles, but could find nice decent one in tv series. You can’t say the skill is different in acting in a movie to a tv series, in a sense, it’s slower in tv, however, you get to portrait a lot more emotions and hence acting range.
At the same time, movie directors generally choose actors and actresses that are currently in trend or young ppls. So you get all theses good actors and actress can’t get role when they are 40ish. If your ‘movie actor > tv actor’ in term of making money, then yea, that’s true.
It’s true that Nikita isn’t well perceived, however, to the fans, it’s still well loved. Be it small or large, ppls know Maggie is the current Nikita, whereas if u say fan bing bing, they might not even know who she is.
And Maggie is like the only Asian chick that is the main lead for a tv series, even Lucy liu is only 2nd lead in Sherlock (love her as Watson thougg :p)
@ Little Fishy
What on earth are you talking about? Lucy is sharing lead with Johny Lee Miller in Elementary. But she is THE female lead. As for Maggie Q, she might be the title character, but she also share lead with Lyndsy.
In any case, it’s better to be co-lead on a show that is watched by over 10 million people than one watched by 1-2 million.
I don’t question whether Maggie/Nikita is beloved. But we are talking about fame and breaking out in Hollywood so of course numbers matter.
And it might be archaic and the line is getting more blurred, but TV actors are still seen inferior to movie actors. Think about it. A movie actor stars in a 100-200 mill productions and is seen by thousands of millions all over the world. You go on worldwide promotional tours. It’s huge publicity. Of course it’s more prestigious to be a movie actor. Which is why you see the more successful TV actors go to movies the moment their contract is up and only comes back if they fail in that market.
Zhang ZiYi’s only Hollywood hit was Crouching Tiger. Can anyone name some that were “award winning” or “box office smashing”?
Maggie Q’s Hollywood career right now is just a TV series on cable that has an average audience of a few hundred thousands.
In summary, breaking big in Hollywood remains elusive for Asian actors.
And she is still a TV actress so to speak who has never set foot on Oscar’s red carpet.
Zhang Ziyi, not sure about box office over the world but box office enough but more on award recognition whether you like her performance or not…
House of Flying Daggers
Hero
Rush Hour 2
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Road Home
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Banquet
Actually, Nikita is on CW and that’s a network, not cable. And the average viewing audience is between 1 to 2 mill. Certainly still not a big deal, but a little more than you claim.
I’ve said it earlier in the thread, the only Asian actress I consider successful is Lucy Liu. She’s been the (co-)lead in the Charlie’s Angels franchise and she had a big role on Ally McBeal and she is lead on Elementary. Both shows’ average viewing audience is 10 million+. But of course, Lucy is really more American than she is Chinese to me. So I concur that breaking out in Hollywood remains elusive for Asian (esp. Asian born) actresses.
Of actors though, I would point out that both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan should be considered as pretty successful. I know they are both still typecast, but fame is fame.
“In summary, breaking big in Hollywood remains elusive for Asian actors.”
Bruce Lee? Jet Li? Jackie Chan? Chow Yun Fat? Gong Li? Lucy Liu? James Hong? Joan Chen? Ming Na Wen? John Lone? Victor Wong?
I’m not sure if it is elusive per se, it’s probably just as hard for an Asian actor to crack the market as it is any one aspiring to be an actor. Language is probably going to be the biggest barrier, which many posters here can attest (thinking of all the complaints against the “new” TVB fadans).
@Funn
Also:
2046
The Grandmasters
and last but not least: Sophie’s Revenge
(Well I liked it, so sue me. SUE ME.)
I was referring to Zhang Ziyi’s Hollywood productions, excluding her Chinese films.
Memoirs of a Geisha was neither award winning nor box office smashing. And certainly, Rush Hours 2, in which she only had a cameo, was not award winning material.
Terminator: do Zhang Ziyi and Tony Leung owe you money or something?
@DD
What made you think I dislike Zhang Ziyi? LOL!!
I was merely trying to set the record straight in case it got blurred by some extreme fangirling. I am sure you’d appreciate that.
Oh I appreciated it as much as Cecilia appreciates that guy for ruining her career and marriage.
@ TVBFanatic
Bruce Lee? Jet Li? Jackie Chan? Chow Yun Fat? Gong Li? Lucy Liu?
Indeed
James Hong? Joan Chen? Ming Na Wen? John Lone? Victor Wong?
Who???
However, most importantly, aside from Lucy Liu the people who made it are still in typecast roles.
“Joan Chen? Ming Na Wen? John Lone?”
Shows how young you are. John Lone (is the name spelling correct?) is a fantastic actor that took on different roles. I wonder where he is now?
Surely you must know Joan Chen who was Hollywood’s golden girl from China before Zhang Ziyi?
Ming Na Wen admittedly wasn’t a good actress but she was on ER and she was in The Joy Luck Club.
I AM OLD!
Wasn’t Memoirs of a Geisha nominated for Oscars?
“However, most importantly, aside from Lucy Liu the people who made it are still in typecast roles.”
John Lone was not typecast. I still remember him in madame butterfly with… now I can’t remember the western counterpart… was it Jeremy irons? I think it was! Fantastic performance.
Memoir of a Geisha = Oscar Nomination?
This is very funny.
Joan Chen? Ming Na Wen? John Lone
Thank goodness for my local public library in providing me with such a big and wide array of dvds to borrow.
Have not watched John Lone in M.Butterfly but have watched him and Joan Chen in The Last Emperor. (owned the DVD)
For Joan Chen, I accidentally came across the movie she directed: “Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (天浴)”. At the time of watching, I was horrified by the movie content – had no idea before watching. The movie moved me greatly and the plight of the heroine made me cried for the lost innocence of the Chinese youths and for a lost society during the Cultural Revolution. I have such admiration for Joan Chen to risk imprisonment to film the movie on location in China.
I remember thinking Ming Na Wen was quite pretty in Joy Luck Club but not that much in ER. Anway, JLC movie can’t compete with the book, which I love.
Terminator,
Check the list here.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/awards?ref_=tt_awd
Maybe not for acting awards but still awards nonetheless.
Jee, how did I miss the Best Costume Design and Sound Effect award nominations? My bad!
LOL!!
But seriously, for the record, I do find Zhang ZiYi to be good actress; however, I think her “accomplishment” in Hollywood is a bit overblown here so couldn’t resist to pull back the envelope.
Actually, in a recent interview, she was rather down on Hollywood and thought this whole notion of making into Hollywood is the standard by which the actors’degree of success is measured is silly and misguided.
Yes sorry, I guess my age does show. However, does it not prove my point? Look at Bruce Lee. He’s been dead for many years, but people still remember him. True, part of his lasting legacy could be because of his untimely death, but I really doubt if you ask a stranger about Joan Chen, they will know who you are talking about. I only recognised The Last Emperor on her resume.
Bruce Lee was not only known for his acting, but his martial arts and many other things. He was just very special and it is hard if not impossible to find another one like him.
Anyway we still do not know what Fala’s intention is but time will tell us and I wish all the best what ever she chooses her pathway..
Correct. We are only guessing. I don’t think she can film Hollywood movies either. There is very little room for Asian artistes, especially females. They only cast Asian artistes for action movies, such as Jacky Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat because little English dialogues are required.
Forget Hollywood. Do you guys ever read gossip websites? They all have to do the casting couch (ie sleep with directors etc) to get the role. So unless she doesn’t mind……
no doubt zhang ziyi did that to get her roles. Have you guys seen her photo wearing red bathing suit but took off her top exposed her chest and he exboyfriend rubbing her butt at the beach. gross!!!!
Come on! She was in a private place with her boyfriend. She can do whatever she wants. All these casting couch thing is insulting to say the least. I understand the hate for Zhang Ziyi but surely you can’t just throw such insults at her.
@ Sophia
I’ve confused. So because you are intimate with your boyfriend on a private beach, that means you don’t mind whoring yourself out for film roles?
That english guy just take zzy as a chinese prostitue for fun yeah whites like to treat chinese girls this way.
@ Sushiroll
And you think that only happens in Hollywood?
C’mon, folks! If you wanted to talk about gossips, at least get the “facts” straight.
I think Zhang Ziyi’s casting couch foray did not occur in Hollywood but back in China when she first started. It has been reported that she had replaced Gong Li as the mistress of famed director Zhou Yimou and that’s how she broke into films.
Correct ! Hollywood is all about sleeping with directors coz this is the whites’ tradition what to do.
the only two chinese/hongkong talented actresses and also international recognized to me are Maggie Cheung Man Yuk and Gong Li.
For Maggie Q, I consider herself as an American actress.
And I consider Maggie Cheung a poorer actress who isn’t doing much these days.
I wonder her sad love life had anything to do with it??
Why on earth is Maggie Cheung considered as having international fame? The only movies she has been in that reached international fame is In the Mood for Love, Hero and 2046 and none of them had the lasting impression as Crouching Tiger. I’m also hesitant to claim Gong Li has that much international name recognition. While both Maggie Cheung and Gong Li have participated in numerous award ceremonies like Cannes and Berlin, it is not equal to commercial recognition. Only Zhang Ziyi for Crouching Tiger mostly and Michelle Yeoh for James Bond are what I would consider commercially, internationally recognisable. And then most people probably only remember their face and not their names anyway.
you have your idol. i have my idol. Dont have to be all fire up!! Everyone has her/his own idea. I respect yours. Please do the same to mine.
but i must say she make the right decision having her eyes done..she picked the right surgeon too. she looks good. a few actresses looked so much better after having their eyes done..sharon,myolie looks natural..
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but nothing here mentions anything about plastic surgery. don’t just throw **** like this in here. STOP TROLLING.
Fala is pretty and have nice smile but never liked watching her in TVB series. Good that she leave tvb and find thing she like to do.
never liked her too. she had a few likeable breaks in moonlight resonance and ghost writer but afterwards her acting regressed until now. glad she decided to take a break!
what about her hubby? he’ll staying alone in hongkong? plenty of time to fool around?
When Fala goes to classes, people think she is their age. More power to Fala for trying to improve, or enhance her acting, or trying to break into Hollywood. We don’t need anymore Harold and Kumar movies.
Maybe its code for “i am going to get married and be a tai tai..”
yep that was i thinking. my bets are that she’s gonna have kids and become a gigi lai/cathy tsui.
Maybe it is a code for “I am sick of TVB and I want to venture out of TVB because I can never win an internationally recognised award with TVB”?
best wishes to fala.
Making one Hollywood movie would be ten dramas of TVB in term of $$ and popularity plus endosement fee is high. I do see it is right path that Fala should invest in. Worth for her rather than staying at TVB for old stuff
I really can’t stand Fala- both her looks and acting are overrated.