Tavia Yeung Eager to Dig Gold in China
Tavia Yeung Yi appeared in a traditional Miao costume at a promotional event. Her headpiece was made of silver and extremely heavy. Asked how she will be spending the Lunar New Year, Tavia said that she will be spending theholiday in China .
Tomorrow, Tavia will be flying to Hengdian to film an ancient series. “I have been awaiting this opportunity for a long time! Since entering the industry, I have never filmed a China series. This time, I can truly go ‘dig gold’! Since filming will take place during the Lunar New Year timeframe, it’s an auspicious sign! I am able to go beyond Hong Kong to ‘dig gold’!”
Source: Orientaldaily
Jayne: The “younger” generation of TVB artists, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Ron Ng, and Tavia Yeung are now filming more China series. It increases these artists’ exposure but hopefully also allow them to learn acting from some seasoned mainland actors, without the non-stop filming schedule TVB is known for.
TVB’s tactic of cross-marketing their artists is also an attempt to increase exposure of their artists in mainland, thus ensuring more positive reception of TVB series when aired in China .
Tavia has gotten quite pretty since her debut. I wonder when Kenneth Ma will get an opportunity to go film in China…lol
Congrats to Tavia. Finally able to film in China. For TVB to send her to China, it measn TVB is actively promoting her now.
Can’t wait to see Tavia in a China series. She especially looks pretty in ancient costumes!
Many artists have been wanting this for a long time so congrats to Tavia! It is good but I think also a big challenge to film in CHina since there are already many many really talented actors/actresses in China. Therefore, the competition is a lot higher. But they still get a lot more exposure and more opportunities to make money and improve their acting skills. Good luck to Tavia!
I disagree. Going to China does not increase exposure, but decreases it because frankly how many in the world has access and watched China’s production which mostly are substandard since casting is always debatable? And always dubbed?
TVB is where exposure is, which is why they always go back to TVB for exposure in terms of publicity but has crappy pay.
Competition is not technically higher in China, but the actors are competetive in the sense they can do and are expected to do everything. Actors who went to China and back, frankly i don’t see much changes in acting style.
Ron went to China and was praised for his amazing improvement in TA3 and Rosy Business. You don’t watch this 2 series?
Ron also has won a TV King award recently for HK cable TV for a mainland series. That shows that China series does give something
If he was praised for TA3, he must have been god awful because I thought he was awful in TA3.
Rosy Business, yes, he improved, a but. Amazing improvement would mean he was so terrible, the improvement to me was slight but significant. Sorry, but I still see him doing the duck dance with his head in his recent performance. I see his improvement from awful to bad to ok. People’s expectations are so low these days.
To add more recently Ron is also praised by crew for his breakthrough character in Dwelling man and Woman choosing Homes where he’ll partner with your favourite Linda Chung.
I have to agree with Vivian, I think competition in Mainland China is definitely greater because you have notable actors from China, Taiwan, HK, and sometimes Korean and Japan competing for leading roles.
Michelle Ye left TVB to film in Mainland China. Her acting has noticeably gotten better since leaving TVB. I also thought Ron did a lot better in a Chip of the old block in comparison to his previous series. I just think that many TVB actors don’t want to take the risk to leave TVB for China unless they already have a pretty good fan base in Mainland China.
Many actors have stated in interviews that filming in China is a lot less stressful… therefore they have the time and energy to reflect on their performances in the dramas they’ve completed and learn from the veteran actors. TVB’s filming schedule is so back-to-back that they simply don’t have the time to evaluate what they could have done better.
Ron is being a notable actor now and consistently getting praises after he went to film a few mainland series and now is up to the TV King level in i-Cable. Going to mainland has made him a great actor and won him better roles in TVB series now which means no more rich angry brat roles for him. His acting in A Chip off the Old Block was amazing! It was a great series too.
Myolie Wu was once praised for her great acting in Golden Faith. After filming so many TVB series she was exhausted and she also filmed a few series continously for mainland and becomes one of Yu Zheng(a mainland scriptwriter) favourite actress. Let’s see if she improves and get rid of her exaggerated actings after she gets back.
TVB actors who only get confined to TVB and film TVB series back to back 18 hours a day with crappy scriptwriters don’t get to improve because they have no time to reflect on themeselves and no good crew to learn from. Not everyone is Lee Tim Sheng who have the actors wishing to act under him and learn.
Ron’s TV King award also contained absolutely no rigging because it’s totally voted by audience! The mainland series Pretty Maid was a great series too unlike TVB series. Too bad it was dubbed.
Its unlike TVB’s award which voted by executives and that’s why we are seeing crappy actors like Moses and Charmaine winning many awards.
I don’t really agree since I think it varies.. I am guessing that you don’t watch that many China series. China series are now a lot more popular than ever while TVB series are going downhill.Not all China series are dubbed but it is true that a lot of them are. China productions have a way bigger budget than TVB productions so I don’t understand why you are saying they are substandard??
I think that competition is way higher in China since as I have said, there are many many other very young and talented actors/actresses that continue debut all the time.A lot of them are well educated and well trained in acting and everything else. Therefore, a TVB artist going to China is actually a bit scary. However, since they are already somewhat famous or is pretty famous already which is why China invited them to come over and be in their productions. The actors from HK always get to play the leading roles.
“If he was praised for TA3, he must have been god awful because I thought he was awful in TA3.
Rosy Business, yes, he improved, a but. Amazing improvement would mean he was so terrible, the improvement to me was slight but significant. Sorry, but I still see him doing the duck dance with his head in his recent performance. I see his improvement from awful to bad to ok. People’s expectations are so low these days.”
I forgot one important thing. Ron is the most praised in A Chip off the Old Block. I’m sure you haven’t seen this one since you’re so critical of Ron. Everyone who watched this series all agreed that Ron is great in this series. I’m sure he will be even better and show everyone that he has improved a lot in his upcoming Reunion and Dwelling Homes.
I am actually watching that, yes improvement but again what improvement if from D to a C? Why celebrate mediocrity when the good ones are not given opportunity?
Ron improved in A Chip off the Old Block but from very bad to not very bad. His movement and acting is still wooden but less wooden than before. He was a very bad actor, after 10 years he is a bad actor now. Sending him the congratulation.
I’m happy that Tavia has a chance to go to China to gain more exposure and hopefully improve her acting as well as earn more money. Hopefully she will be produce even better performances after this. She is one of a handful of TVB actresses that I feel looks good and can act pretty well.
I think in terms of looks, Tavia is just like any typical actress. Her acting is also typical to me, but it is not bad either…
I think that in terms of modern looks, Tavia doesn’t stand out much, but compared to ancient beauty, not much current young TVB actresses can measure up to her. They may be pretty but they don’t have the ancient aura that exude from them.
Jessica, Soniya and Gigi Lai look more beautiful in ancient. Young tbb actresses don’t have ancient prettiness.
@ Jessica
I disagree about Jessica. She does not fit into ancient series. She has a modern look. The few ancient series I’ve watch her in, she’s unconvincing as an ancient woman. Not only her look, the way she talks is also too hard and not fit the gentle ancient woman type.
Tavia looks so pretty! She always comes out well in ancient series x]
And why are all of you guys criticizing Ron? Can YOU guys do any better than him? Can YOU guys get the fame that he earned for himself?
I highly doubt it. So shut up about him. There’s always room for improvement, and that’s what he’s working towards. Calm your nerves, sheesh.
woah .. so who exactly can criticize Ron?
“And why are all of you guys criticizing Ron? Can YOU guys do any better than him? Can YOU guys get the fame that he earned for himself?”
He’s the actor, not us.
Can he give birth? If he can’t, I can do this better than him.
Well Ron is the actor, not all of us so why can’t we criticize him??? Even if I was a big fan of his, I still have the right to critique him. We are not the actor/artist, he is!!
@Pearl,
You really think she stands out in ancient costume?? That’s your opinion and I respect that. However, I think in my opinion that she is more typical in her ancient beauty. I have seen many many other actresses from China and other countries that really stand out in terms of ancient beauty. For some odd reason, I don’t see that in Tavia. SHe is just too typical to me, but that is my opinion.
She is typical like all tbb actors and actresses. Can’t compare her with China ancient beauty.
@Pearl
Tavia does have a face for modern and olden days series but not quite Man Chor issit? To say she exudes the aura of ancient beauty is not quite appropriate.
Jess is too modern looking. and I don’t see her as ancient beauty as well.
Sonija yes but now that he acting is a tad better, I rarely see her being offered such roles. Selena Li is pretty costume drama. But however much I criticise her acting, to me Charmaine Sheh exudes that ancient beauty in appropriate costumes.
I think a lot of the 80s actresses and some of the 70s actresses really looked beautiful in ancient costume. One that pops up in my mind is Angie Chiu. She is a classic ancient beauty and looks beautiful in ancient costume. She looks nice in modern too. Mai Shuet also looks nice in ancient costume. For some odd reason, I don’t see that in the many of the TVB actresses of today. But a lot of the actresses from China look really really nice in ancient costume.
Hot 80s Ancient Beauties (looks better ancient than any other genre)
kitty lai
margie tsang
money chan
angie chiu
chik mei chan
Gigi Lai is a natural ancient beauty but her acting needs a lot to work on.
Actually, Mainland series are gotten more groundbreaking and youth-friendly. Chinese Paladin 3 in 2009 is currently the most rated series in the mainland. It’s a video game adaptation series. Not many video games are adapted to tv/movies very successfully. So, for a series like Chinese Paladin to achieve universial acclaim and popularity is commendable. Mainland series are getting more publicity. I found out about Chinese Paladin 3 on an english site: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1971133_1971222_1971233,00.html.
Investors are investing more and more money on Mainland series/movies than before. Notice that recent HK movies also try to have one or two famous mainland star casted. The HK entertainment are losing popularity while the Mainland is.
Hu Ge is awesome. Liu Yie Fei is awesome. Teng Yin is awesome. So that Chinese Paladin 3 is awesome. Who in TVB is awesome? None now.
You’re thinking of the original.
Chinese Paladin 3 had Hu Ge, Yang Mi, Wallace Huo, Tang Yan and Liu Shi Shi. Liu Yie Fei is more famous for her looks than acting.
Liu Yi Fei is not in CHinese paladin 3. I really enjoyed Chinese Paladin 3 but heard it was not that accurate to the game, so the game players were not happy at all. Part 1 was more accurate from what I heard. However, I still enjoyed Chinese Paladin 1 and 3 a lot. I love Hu Ge too. Who is Teng Yin?? You mean Tang Yan right??
I personally don’t find Liu Yi Fei that great in terms of looks either. Her looks are also typical compared to a lot of actresses in China.
Well, there has to be some deviations from the game and the drama. I would find it boring if there’s absolutely no difference from the original source and the adaptation.
Of course I know that there has to be some deviations just like with any of the novel adaptions. I understand that but it’s just that sometimes changes can be really ridiculous. I heard that Jing Tian(Hu Ge’s character)’s character is nothing like it is in the series. They changed him into a completely different person from what I heard.
Liu Yi Fei, my def of ancient beauty amongst the younger stars today. Her acting is CHina-ish which isn’t bad, just need to change your perspective a bit. I can still remember how stunning she looked in The Return of The Condor Heroes.
She actually looks more stunning in costume series than in her actual modern day look which just gives me an impression her hair is forever wet.
TVB does not have that sort of stunning look amongst their young stars.
I agree with you Funn except that I think she looked the best in Demi Gods Semi Devils. She looked ok in ROCH, but not the best to me. In her modern everyday look, she looks just like any typical person. In fact, I had a student that looked similar to her.
For the younger stars of today, I think Ma Su, Sun Fei Fei, Hu Jing and Eva Huang look nice in ancient costume. But that is just my opinion. However, I don’t see anyone from TVB today that looks stunning in ancient costume or stands out at all.
I found mainland series are always better made than TVB series. Better shooting locations and for ancient dynasty series better costume arrangements. Anyone else found out how funny it is when the location and costumes in ancient TVB series always being recycled most of the time? This doesn’t happen in China series where every series have different sets and creations of costumes.
China series also have much wider range of leading actors and actresses and younger ones keep having their debut. In TVB we’ll only see Wayne Lai and Moses Chan.
Not really. Most of China ancient series film in Hengdian. Some films in Beijing or Shanghai filming field. As China is larger than HK, it’s possible for them to change places.
I don’t comment on the creation of costumes because sometimes it’ll get over.
If you are talking about the costumes than it really varies from series to series. Some series have really ugly costumes while some have really nice ones.Same thing with HK series. However, I don’t think any of the costumes of today can match up with the costumes of the 70s and 80s. They had really really nice costumes back then…Too bad they all got burned down in a fire in the late 80s.
@ HTS
I actually prefer the less blinky costume of the 90’s. I like their understated and simple style. I like the 80’s fancy costume when I was little, but, as I grow older, I prefer the 90s.
Haha, I just dun like the colorful and multi-layer clothes in China series. Such as ROCH of Crystal Liu :).
I like the outfits of the 90s of TVB. Simple and good color.
[…] TVB Artiste eager to work in China: http://www.jaynestars.com/news/tavia-yeung-eager-to-dig-gold-in-china/ […]
@Kidd,
I think I know what you mean. My brother was telling me that even though the 80s costumes are pretty and good looking, they are not really accurate. He said that the costumes from CHina may look more dark and simple, but are more accurate to the wu xia and historical time periods. I still love and enjoy the costumes of the 80s as well as the 90s though. THe 2000 series has some series with really nice clothes too. It just varies from series to series.
i have a question…
When actors/actresses from hong kong film mainland dramas, do they speak in cantonese and then get their voice translated? Or their own voice?
It depends. Actors who can speak mandarin will speak mandarin when acting. Those who can’t will speak cantonese. But, whether they speak cantonese or mandarin, their voices will still be dubbed.
This not only happen to HK actors. Even some mainland actors and taiwanese actors have their voices dubbed. I think it’s because the producers want standardised accent.
I was just about to answer what Kidd just said..hahaha. I noticed too that even though some actors use mandarin for filming they’ll still end up being dubbed.
So does this mean that all mainland productions are in a sense dubbed regardless of whether it is a fully mainland, Mandarin speaking cast or if it has a few non-native Mandarin speaking stars in it?
How about TVB/Mainland collaborations like Drive of Life and Growing Through Life? What language do the mainland actors use?
Mando in case of DOL/GTL.
Actually I said in an article that TVB keeps the copyright of speaking Mandarin of their contractual artists. Without permission, even if they can speak perfect Mandarin, they still have to speak Cantonese (as their voices will be used when this series is aired in TVB)
It is true that a lot of CHina series are dubbed, but there are times that their real voices are used too. The actors from Taiwan also get dubbed since the crew claims that they have an accent. I think they just want everyone to be speaking in the same mainland “accent” so everyone gets dubbed. But luckily, there are times that the actor/actress dubbs their own voice,therefore, we still get to hear their real voice.
Oh, i see.. Thanks for clearing this up guys! I just personally find it weird to watch dubbed series and can’t fully enjoy it because i don’t even know how the cast really sounds like. It just seems like a lot of extra effort to dub especially in the case of an all Mandarin speaking cast.
Thanks ! I was always curious about what language they actually speak in while filming. It’s funny to imagine if one person speaks in mandarin, and the other responds in cantonese. hehe.
Love Tavia!!!!!!!!!
I am so glad that Tavia finally gets the opportunity to expand her acting into China. I hope that she will take this experience, learn it, and apply it when she comes back to TVB. Also, hope that this will open the door for her in the mainland, where the gold is there to dig.:)
Apparently, Tavia is getting more and more popular each day but I really believe her acting is terrible and she isn’t even pretty, but her personality is something I like.
I find that strange that mention personality since you don’t even know her personally. I am guessing you mean image instead of personality. I also think that Tavia’s acting is just normal as well as her looks. I don’t find her spectacular at all, but I think it is also luck, timing and maybe even fate that has gotten her to where she is today, not her acting skills.
I think that Tavia’s really pretty 🙂
It’s normal. Imagine korean actress in a chinese production. She speaks korean, he speaks Mandarin. I understand why the chinese actors are dubbed; the producers probably want a neutral accent and also lessen the hassle of live sound recording. But still annoying.
Out of all young actresses in TVB now, I think Elaine Yiu (at this moment) is the one who looks the best in ancient costume.
I think Tavia looks great in both ancient and modern series… she has a very versatile look about her. I wish they would promote Leila Tong more, I think shes a pretty good actress that looks pretty in both ancient and modern series.
Leila Tong looks tiny cute so she doesn’t have the mature look or OL girl. Moreover, she decided not to sign with TVB, can’t request them to promote her.
I agree with HeTieShou that Tavia looks typical. Now she looks too mature. Don’t see her go with the word “pretty”. Maybe “elegant” in her old ancient series.
THanks for the info Fox! I didn’t know that Leila did not sign with TVB??? If so, then she can’t expect or request them to promote her.
I thought that I was the only one that thought that Tavia is typical. I totally agree with you that she looks really mature. She is my age but looks way older than me. I think she also looks older than her older sister too. At first I thought that her older sister was her younger sister. But then again, looking older than your age can be a good thing too..
Giselle Yeung? I think she is pretty. Prettier than her sister.
Yeah, Leila does look very cute and young. I think Tavia only looks too mature when she has her hair cut short in a boy-cut, which I think looks really horrible on her, but when she has it at least chin-length, I do think she looks her age – she is 31 years old.
Seems nowadays, TVB finds it hard to have actresses that are both good-looking and good actors. Like Kate Tsui and Sonija Kwok who are both prettier tvb actresses but can’t act if their life depended on it.
TVB have actresses with both good looking and good acting, but that doesn’t mean they are highly promoted.
Example is Koni Lui or Elaine Yiu (now, not before).
I don’t think Koni or Elaine is very pretty. Elaine always looks like she has way to much eye makeup on nowadays.
I don’t think Koni can act very well either
@ Judy: Same to when I think Tavia isn’t pretty and acting is so-so. It’s opinion.
Yes, Leila looks good in ancient and modern, but, like Jessica, her speech ruined it. Her speech also kinda has a hard edge in it. She will be fine if she’s dubbed. Or she didn’t play elegant gentle character like Si Fei Huin (TOB).
But, she’s better than Jessica. At least, she look the part. Jessica has both modern look and modern speech.
I think Leila’s voice is kinda chipmunk
I think Leila’s voice matches her looks. There are some people that have a baby face but have a deep voice that doesn’t match them at all… I guess people think that who ever has a baby face has to have a high pitch voice to match it.
I said her speech not her voice. You rewatch TOB in cantonese and see how she ruined the character. The character is supposed to be gentle, graceful, fairylike. Her look match that, but, the way she speaks ruined it.
I was her fan back and have good faith in her acting. In fact, she was one of the reasons I watch the series. But, I was disappointed and it was because of this series that I started seeing her limitations.
Tavia doesn’t have a cute girlish voice either. In fact her voice is quite deep. But, she was able to potray gentle ancient character well and she was great as Lee Sau Ning.
@Fox,
Yea,I was referring Giselle Yeung. I think she is prettier than Tavia too.
Her sister’s name is Griselda Yeung.
Oh yea, thanks for reminding me. It is only her English name anyways.
But, it’s still her name. Just because it’s her english name doesn’t mean it’s unimportant and can be spelled wrongly.
I don’t put a big importance on the English name unless they were born with it. However, most if any of them weren’t. They just took any name that they felt like it. The next thing you know, the next day she changes her English name to something else and then everyone has to try to get used to it again…
@ HTS
Just because they choose their own english name instead of parents giving it to them doesn’t mean it’s unimportant to them and deserves your flippant disrespect of it (“It is only her English name anyways.”)
“They just took any name that they felt like it. The next thing you know, the next day she changes her English name to something else and then everyone has to try to get used to it again…”
This is still no excuse to disrespect her name. Plus, facts has proven that she has used this name for at least 9 years (she already has this name in 2001 when she participated in Miss HK).
Thanks Kidd. You said what I wanted to say.
And it doesn’t even matter whether a name is in English, Chinese, or whatever, it deserves the least to be spelled correctly and not brushed aside with impudence and disregard.
Bad enough, I don’t find the names Giselle and Griselda that similar either. >_<
@Kidd,
Whatever you want to say. I did NOT mean to disrespect her name, but I am still going to say that it is not truly official so you don’t have to blow up over it… Like I have said, the next thing you know she changes it and we all have to get used to it again…. I have seen that so much both in the circle and real life…
Even if the name is given by birth, people will still change it. It’s annoying when you have used a name for 21 years and it’s in your IC and you consider it your name, but some people still don’t consider it your official name.
I don’t if we are seeing the same entertainment circle, i.e. the HK entertainment circle. From what I see, most actors/singers stick with the same english name for life. There are alot of actors who used a stage name, but, they also stick to that same name for life and some like Andy Lau changed his name legally to make it officially his name. Leung Siu Bing is a minority.
A rose by any other name is still a rose. Just don’t make it difficult for fans like Prince did. Other than that english name can be changed, any name can be changed, but he is still he or she is still she.
Kay guys, whatever about all this name issue. As long as we all know their correct names, it’s all good. 🙂
China televison productions only sit well with me when it’s set in the ancient period. There have been instances where I have watched Mainland comedy shows or even a detective or hospital drama and it’s cringe-inducing. Don’t ask me why maybe it’s the production design or the actors or the accents it grates on your nerves. I really find the Beijing accent very very very nauseating. I think Shanghai accent is more palatable.
I find very few China actors pleasing to the eye when they are in contemporary settings. And seriously, there’s only so much ancient drama you can watch. If I watch another Jin Yong, Gu Long adaptation, I think I might cry.
I know there’s always the impression that China market is big but hey TVB breeds a star. You start off in HK, you make it big then you go to China. Don’t underestimate the popularity and market reach of TVB. China entertainment do not do as well in overseas markets. But then again, one might argue, why is there a need for that when the domestic market is huge? If you are huge in China, you are going to make a lot of money. It’s a case of a big fish in a small pond and a small fish in a big pond. Which would you rather have? TVB is hugely popular in overseas Chinese communities – Australia, Canada, US, UK where there are sizeable Cantonese- speaking migrants.You will probably see TVB rental outlets sprouting out from some Chinatown or Asian grocery store near you in any of these countries. Conversely, the exposure and publicity given to Mainland artises still remain small. Of course this would start to change in time no doubt with more Mainland-HK-Taiwan collaborations.