Wong Hei Rudely Kicked Out of TVB After 16 Years
Since TVB executive, Stephen Chan <陳志雲>, became embroiled in a corruption scandal in March 2010, 17 months have elapsed with the case still undergoing trial. During the days when many artists retained their distance from Stephen due to political reasons, only Wong Hei (王喜) proved his loyalty by standing firmly by his friend’s side.
Although Wong Hei’s management contract will be expiring next month, TVB did not ask to renew his contract. At the same time, the Artist Department suggested that Wong Hei pay a fee to end his contract early in advance! Wong Hei commented, “Considered abandoned and worthless, of course I accept it!”
Since Stephen Chan was faced with corruption allegations, his cronies, Amigo Chui (崔建邦), Patrick Tang (鄧健泓), and Louis Cheung (張繼聰) disappeared from his side and docked by other allies. Only Wong Hei, who had known Stephen for 19 years, continued to accompany Stephen in court and prayed for his fortune. Wong Hei even declared that he would sell his own house to pay for Stephen’s legal fees!
In July, Stephen celebrated Wong Hei’s 44th birthday with him. It was obvious that the men shared a deep friendship. Wong Hei’s loyalty in friendship was highly praised by netizens. Unexpectedly, his loyalty resulted in being kicked out by TVB!
For many years, it was rumored that Wong Hei received the strong backing of Stephen Chan. Since Stephen’s corruption investigation occurred, Wong Hei’s star status disappeared. When Stephen resumed his position at TVB in November 2010, it was stipulated that he will no longer oversee artist management matters. Considered to be Stephen’s rival, Virginia Lok (樂易玲) took over control of the Artist Management department. Wong Hei’s work continued to decline. Due to reasons that Wong Hei did not have enough “shows,” the stipulated amount of work in his contract will not be allocated.
From Lead Actor to Cameo Roles
At one point in his career, Wong Hei filmed three installments of Burning Flame <烈火雄心>. This year, he has not filmed any TVB series. He was only offered a cameo role in Some Day <天天天晴>, documentary program Three Gorges <大三峽>, and the 10-episode variety program Hong Kong Back Then <香港演義>. Wong Hei’s work load was even less than a third-line actor.
Kicked Out of TVB
With his contract expiring next month, Wong Hei had a schedule conflict with other colleagues while filming Hong Kong Back Then. Thus he suggested that he will film 7 episodes of the program and promised to complete the remaining 3 episodes before his contract expired. Unexpectedly, the Artist Management department suggested that Wong Hei could pay a monetary fee to end his contract early. In other words, Wong Hei was being kicked out of TVB!
Allegedly, Wong Hei was extremely saddened by the conversation with TVB. Despite working at TVB for 16 years, he received such treatment from the company. In a telephone interview, Wong Hei stated, “Since I am busy this month, I told TVB that I will not be able to film all the episodes of Hong Kong Back Then. Although my contract is not over yet, the Artist Department said that I can pay a fee and leave. I never imagined they would say that! Afterwards, I did not know how to react. I said I will think about the matter. The Artist Department has not called back; we have reached a stalemate now.”
Sealing His Own Fate By Attacking Virginia Lok
Asked whether he felt that Virginia Lok was “knifing” him, Wong Hei sounded helpless. He attacked Virginia Lok indirectly, “She has professional judgment. Whoever she cultivates or disposes, I respect her professional decisions. Since I have been considered worthless and abandoned, of course I accept it!
“Ms. Lok is only concerned about TVB’s vantage point and will even calculate every show’s fees. She is indispensable. In such a turbulent economy, many companies need the same type of employee as Ms. Lok!” Asked whether his friendship with Stephen Chan had resulted in his predicament, Wong Hei noted, “I let everyone make the judgment! Since I am involved in the incident, I’m afraid what I say will not be neutral.”
Wong Hei’s acting career was marked by high peaks and deep falls. For many years, Wong Hei has often been entangled in negative rumors. “Since I entered TVB, I have been filming one series per year. I am not the type of artist to film multiple series each year. As a result, each time I cherish the opportunity and will work very hard. Perhaps other people do not understand my feelings. Despite many odd rumors, I did not mind.”
Asked what his plans for the future were, Wong Hei replied, “Although this place is not for me, there will be another place suitable for me!” The press tried to contact Virginia Lok for comment without any success.
Excerpt from Appledaily
Jayne: I was saddened and angered to hear that Wong Hei was treated so disrespectfully by the Artist Department. I wish him success in his future endeavors. He is truly a multi-talented individual and hopefully his feng shui practice blossoms!
Are there any rumors of them having an underground romantic relationship? I just find it odd that Wong Hei will hold an umbrella for him..
AC,
Both Wong Hei and Stephen Chan are rumored to be gay, but not with each other. I do think their friendship runs very deep. Wong Hei is an extremely principled person and believed strongly that friends stand by each other in need.
Stephen Chan allegedly was living together with Edthancy Cong, who founded the Public Relations firm and secured TVB artist appearance fees at discount prices or for free, thus sparking the corruption investigation.
@Jayne:
I did read about speculations that they were gays too! Plus all these years, there was no news about Wong Hei dating any woman in particular so he is most likely gay? Anyway, what ever it is, I will still wish him luck in whatever he does and hopes he comes back to TVB to act leading roles in some dramas (yeah despite TVB burning all the bridges between them now)
But @Jayne, like what you stated in your thoughts, I too feel terribly angered at the Artist Management Department for asking Wong Hei to pay up a monetary fee for his remaining episodes! What ever happened to his severance pay manx? Hello, he has worked for you for so long, can’t TVB just close one eye and forget about the remaining episodes?
Can’t believe TVB is treating their employee like this! Such an ingrate! Yeah, I’m going as far as to say that they are a bunch of ingrates cause honestly, Wong Hei was the one who hyped up this entire “Burning Flame” franchise in the first place before you guys decided to bring in Kevin Cheng into the franchise and ruin the whole damn thing (and yes, although I’m a Kevin Cheng’s fan, I think it’s terribly mean for them to push Kevin to be first line actor while Wong Hei dropped to second line)
I think it’s honestly inhumane for them to treat Wong Hei this way because Wong Hei dedicated his youth to them manx, I mean in “Burning Flame” when he was young and fresh out of radio to “Net Deception” where he was a charismatic and handsome young lad acting as an intelligent and high-profile criminal to (sorry but) fat and pudgy in “Twilight Investigation”
Arghh, whatever, maybe it is a good thing to leave TVB since he was even demoted to being calefares in “Some Day” and etc. If he isn’t appreciated for his talents there maybe it’s good to end the working relationship and seek better, higher grounds out there.
He’s a great friend to stick by Stephen when Amigo and Patrick all running away to save their own lives. Wong Hei is very talented. I’m sure he can find success and happiness elsewhere.
Amigo did stick by Stephen, just in a more low profile way. He visited Stephen during Stephen’s down time.
Amigo better not flee. Stephen promoted him heavily and still support him when he got into trouble. I never found this Amigo guy good anyway.
I thought he already ended his contract after fight with 620 over Kevin’s promotion in BF3?? Feel sorry for him. 620 is bad!!
What would you do if you were Wong Hei?
Pay or not pay?
Kidd,
Course not, only 1 month left for his contract and freedom from TVB clutches anyway.
I think another question we should ponder: Is Wong Hei’s friendship with Stephen Chan worth the price of his career? Your choice between career (money) versus a deep friendship? What would you have done in Wong Hei’s shoes?
Meh, TVB wasn’t really giving him much of a career in recent years. In fact he was never a main ‘lead’ in TVB; more of a casual lead like Chilam Cheung. Makes no difference if he offends Virginia Lok either way. TVB has lost many good promising male leads over the years (too bloody many to name: Gordom Lam, Wan Yeung Ming, Jackie Lui, Wayne Lai (for a while), Louis Koo, Nick Cheung… list goes on and on if I bother digging), probably due to their management politics and partly because those actors are less willing to play ball or introverted.
I think the same. I won’t pay.
As for the second question. I really don’t know. I don’t think I will distant myself from Stephen. For Wong Hei to be so loyal to Stephen, he must be a great friend and a worthy friend. Distancing myself from such a friend when he’s down will be such a betrayal. But, would I be as high profile as Wong Hei in my support? I don’t know.
Wong hei was definitely 1 of tvb’s male leads for a while, just not recently. the actors u mentioned left to make movies which is more appealing, regardless of how tvb treated them.
it’s terrible how tvb is treating Wong hei but I don’t think he cares that much anymore. I think in his last “the green room (today VIP)” interview, it seemed like he didn’t care much about acting or his career anymore. like he has a greater cause in life.
Jayne, I am a coward. I worked too hard to be where I am to just throw it all a way in the name of blind loyalty. I for one thinks Stephen is guilty as charged, just no evidence. So what I would have done would be to play dumb. I will be the best actor there is; I would support but not openly and yet not criticise.
@Jayne: If I’m in Wong Hei’s shoes….. It’s difficult to say…. but I have to see first if that friend is worth for me to do so….If he worth it, I’m willing to support and spend my money to get him out of troubles. However, I won’t act as extreme as Wong Hei… like holding umbrella in front of reporters, telling them he will sale his house…. I still can help my friend like this without anyone know. Because I need my job, I need to earn money, because only money can help my friend out of troubles 🙂
Anyway, I Hope the best for Wong Hei
@Anya @Funn @Kidd
Agree with your responses that while helping a friend in need, there is no need to entirely sacrifice one’s own career in the process as well. It is necessary to leave some room for self-preservation as well.
However, Wong Hei’s manner of handling things seems to be overly principled. He may have felt the need to make a strong statement during Stephen Chan’s lowest point in his career. Since Wong Hei took political sides so publicly, he must be prepared that following Stephen Chan’s reduced influence in artist management affairs, Wong Hei’s own downfall was inevitable. If pursuing such a public strategy, Wong Hei put all his eggs on the table and must be prepared should he sacrifice himself in the own process. Know the stakes of the game well before you pursue a certain strategy and be prepared to deal with the consequences. Principles are a good guiding light, but actions and words need to be well-thought out in light of their future impact.
However, in this article, Wong Hei professed that he never expected the Artist Management department to ask him to pay fees to end his contract early. He sounded as he if were surprised by such rude treatment. Was he just a bit naive? Since Wong Hei pushed the stakes so high, to the point that he was rumored to have criticized Mona Fong in an earlier post regarding feng shui, and open criticism of Virginia Lok, did he truly expect TVB to still leave face for him?
I like Wong Hei and respect his loyalty towards Stephen Chan. Wong Hei was unafraid to stand up for his beliefs, however his bold actions and words did not leave himself any space to stand anymore in TVB. His actions grabbed everyone’s notice, however do you have to fight a war by choosing to kill yourself in the process?
WOW, I am so sad and shocked to hear this… I think it is so sad that TVB is continuing to mistreat their artist like this. Haven’t they learned from their past mistakes?? I guess not and I find it sad that people are still working for TVB even when they treat their artists so badly. Virginia Lok doesn’t seem like that nice of a person either. Even if she was at odds with Stephen, I don’t think she should hold it against Wong Hei or anyone that supported him.
I honestly don’t know what I would do if I were in Wong Hei’s shoes…. It is hard to say unless we are in that situation ourselves. I think I would support him, but I am not sure if I would let the whole world know about it and be so high profile about it. I find it admirable that Wong Hei stuck by his friend. That shows what a great and true friend that he is. It is rare and hard to find a friend like that. Hm.. Or maybe since Wong Hei was thinking of doing something else so he doesn’t care if his contract with TVB was ending??? I guess if Wong Hei has built up a good resume and all, he can work for China or other companies. He doesn’t need to be with TVB anymore if they are treating him badly…
About whether he is gay or not, who knows?? Just because he isn’t dating a girl or has any rumours with them means that he is gay…
This really sadden me, he is one of my favorite artist at TVB , I do wish him the best of luck!
This really sadden me, he is one of my favorite artist at TVB , I do wish him the best of luck!
We should all write to TVB we want Wong Hei Back! Love his acting and he’s so handsome
I have always like Wong Hei’s acting. Even though last year I learned that he might be gay but this didn’t change my view about him. It’s not even important. I was always wondering why he only has been filming one series per year but now I learned he likes it that way. But I have always anticipated his series every year. I think he is a great actor who takes his job seriously. This Stephen’s incident, it shows he is a great friend and a good person. TVB should be ashamed of themselves for treating someone like him this way. TVB always expect artistes to not bash them, then they shouldn’t treat people like this. Wong Hei is nice already to TVB and understands that he is no longer value at TVB and move on. But I know good people like him will have good things happen to them. Don’t give up. Add oil.
I don’t think it should matter if he is gay or not. He seems like a great friend and a good person as well as a good actor. Who said that he had to act for TVB?? He can act for China, Taiwan, Singapore,etc… A lot of TVB series today aren’t that great anyways.
wong hei, handsome? id on’t think so he has small eyes and he is not tall
althouhgt im not particulary fond of this acting and don’t consider myself a fan. it’s sad how he is being treated, just because of his friendship with exec. that have lost power.
how can tvb consider him worthless i mean they don’t even have many good actors.
exoidus, you add the wrong MSN ID, my ID in MSN is “leilafan1984”
leilafan was taken by someone else, it not me, mine have the year 1984 after it.
Can you add me again, [email protected]
Thanks!
really sad and disappointed
TVB management is so rudeee…….treating their long time employee like this.
I wish Wong Hei a lot of luck and will be more successful in another company than TVB.
Don’t care if he left. Don’t like him anyway.
O/T: why is Virginia lok’s nickname 620?
Lok = 6, Yi – 2, Ling = 0
Ahh her Chinese name?
Heb can find his fortune elsewhere. He is a good actor and I am sure he will be appreciated elsewhere. And wait till Stephen chan regains power… who knows what might happen. Wong Hei is loyal, unfortunately not terribly calculative in his career. TVB is a political place, I find it such a shame Wong Hei got such a treatment. All the good ones are leaving or being kicked out, and what is left in TVB are wooden, unachievers. No wonder they had to revive a dead character like Laughing Gor. Poor Wayne Lai, he will have to work doubly hard to cover for other actors. But looking at the bright side, wasn’t Steven Ma as outspoken or scandal ridden? Look at him now, he’s better than ever. Wong Hei just need another backing. I am beginning to like 620 less and less. Tasteless, no PR tact and no foresight, TVB should realise she is the reason for talent-drain. No wonder more and more is watching K-drama even with all their sappiness.
620 is more intent to keep horrible acting Moses than great acting Wong Hei and who could forget what the management did to Wong Hei in BF3 just to push Kevin to top?
I agree and I am starting to feel that 620 is not such a nice person afterall. She also seems to lie to her teeth as well…
From everything we’ve heard over the years, 620 is a terrible person! Only artists who like to “kiss a**” will get far. She definitely plays favorites, and it’s a little too obvious. I seriously hope TVB will fire her in the near future, because she’s bringing them down. I’d rather have corrupted Stephen Chan than 620. At least he seems to do a better job (less bias).
@HTS @Lily
TVB is also hateable for only caring about making revenue and not about the welfare of their artists!
Vivien,
“TVB is also hateable for only caring about making revenue and not about the welfare of their artists!”
Until TVB’s ratings start falling to 20 points or lower, they will not change their corporate practices. They will continue to promote “likable” artists with higher commercial value rather than just acting talent alone. Each artist they heavily promote becomes a spokesperson for TVB, to generate additional future revenue and partnerships for the company. Will TVB pick a disobedient, strong-willed artist who does not have the company’s interests at heart?
TVB is known for its low wages, yet ability to generate high recognition levels for its artists in Hong Kong, China, and the international market. Due to the high recognition, artists can make side money through promo events, concerts, etc.
Ambitious artists who are in the industry foremost for the promise of fame and money will see TVB a good fit, until they can move on to bigger docks.
Artists who care more about acting and hold strong principles, such as Wong Hei, Jessica Hsuan, Steven Ma, are not a good fit under TVB’s current vision.
The welfare of a specific artist will only be regarded if that artist provides current and future commercial value to TVB. This would be the same treatment of any regular employee in the work world. In the end, if there is no longer a mutually beneficial work relationship, it is time for dissatisfied artists to move on. As fans, we are disappointed by the talent drain.
@Jayne
I don’t think Jessica is that talented. She my least favourite of the 90’s fadans. She’s wooden and act the same way in many different series. Steven Ma is also someone who I found to lack charismatic appeal. He has been given plenty of lead roles but I found that his acting is skill lacking. Just what I think.
Wong Hei is great and I do think he’s better off without TVB becuase he’s too vocal for them. You’re right about TVB only valuing obedient artists. Charmaine and Linda are very obedient and so they are promoted heavily. I’ve read that Wong Hei always change scripts when he thinks the scripts aren’t good enough and make some scriptwriters angry. There are rumours that this script issue also contribute to Kevin and Wong Hei cold war.
TVB is a business, and a big corporate. When does corporate ever cares for individuals except for top executives? Moreover, Wong Hei is not that huge anymore. Look at Felix Wong. His criticisms were even more critical than Wong Hei, but he is still with TVB. It is about fame game. If you intend to shoot your mouth and rally your support for the pariahs or those not in power, you darn well make sure you have other alternatives or avenues, that you don’t really need that corporate anymore. When you have that power, you can shoot your mouth, until then you can’t expect for leniency or understanding from a corporation which main objective is profit.
@Funn
Felix is NOT with TVB. He only took GMG because of Michael Miu which I’m glad because Michael Miu can’t act by himself ROFL
Funn,
“I am beginning to like 620 less and less. Tasteless, no PR tact and no foresight, TVB should realise she is the reason for talent-drain.”
My impression is that Virginia Lok is more skilled as a business professional rather than a talent manager. After she took over control of the Artist Management department, I believe she found more revenue streams for artists outside of TVB, such as establishing more frequent artist appearances with vendors and helping artists sign recording contracts, hooking up Ron Ng and Bosco Wong with their respective companies. When Bosco signed with Media Asia, I remember reading an article that noted that Ms. Lok had good ties with Peter Lam of Media Asia and thus sold Bosco’s talents to the company and convinced them to sign Bosco.
In addition, it is not an accident that more TVB artists are beginning to appear in films outside of Shaw Brothers’ productions, such as Myolie Wu having the ability to work with Johnnie To. Some executive within TVB must have pulled personal connections. Could it have been Ms. Lok again trying to raise the profile of its TVB artists and generate cross-industry revenue?
Ms. Lok’s network contacts and ability to cross-sell artists to outside partnerships to generate lucrative income for artists as well as TVB commissions may be the reason why she continues to hold such power at TVB and valued by the company. My impression is that her status continues to grow within TVB and despite negative publicity, her status has not been threatened.
In the 1980s and 1990s, when Catherine Tsang was still overseeing the Artist Department on a more involved level, she was credited with having a good eye for talent, even developing dark horse veterans such as Bobby Au Yeung and Michael Tao into “housewife killers.” From my recollection, artists from this era, even at their peak of popularity, did not have as many income-generating opportunities (in advertising, vendor promotional events, music albums, films, etc) as the artists in 2000’s since Ms. Lok rose to prominence. Artists under Ms. Tsang’s care in the 1990s were more focused in acting in TVB series and the highest income stream was likely overseas concerts at the time.
However, Ms. Tsang had a good eye for talent, while Ms. Lok has a less keen eye for acting talent but more business savy skills. Ms. Lok seems to prefer artists that have attractive physical appearances, good people skills, and perhaps artists with more commercial appeal, especially idol qualities such as Raymond, Ron, Linda, Bosco, etc. Over the last 10 years, TVB have put a lot of investment into such artists and in turn, these artists generated much revenue for TVB. Some fans may profess that these artists have acting potential and deserve to be promoted, however at the same time, Ms. Lok seems to neglect older artists with less “commercial value” such as Wong Hei, Jessica Hsuan, Bowie Lam, Steven Ma etc. While these artists are undoubtedly talented, Ms. Lok seems more interested in focusing on younger artists who can generate more incremental revenue for TVB.
From TVB’s business standpoint, they likely value Ms. Lok very much. Fans do not like Ms. Lok because of obvious favoritism and promotion of certain artists with still shaky acting skills.
In this regard, TVB executive management seems to be assured that as long as ratings stay within the 30s range, they are content that they are churning out the right television dramas. In its history, TVB have exercised a push marketing strategy in promoting specific artists heavily to the point where they just become accepted and eventually popular. Due to their dominance in Hong Kong ratings, perhaps TVB is arrogant in its belief that despite its questionable talent in leading artists these days, they can continue to push market any artist they want as long as revenue continues to grow.
Growing from a small production studio in the 1980s to an increasing corporate atmosphere in the 21st century, it is understandable that TVB will value Ms. Lok’s business savy in generating revenue across different industries and establishing multi-level partnerships. You do not necessarily have to produce the best dramas or develop the most talented artists to reign at the top and control the Hong Kong market. The HK music industry seems to have adopted the same beliefs in the current generation of karaoke singers.
TVB appears to value an artists commercial value more than their acting talent these days and once the tide has been turned, there is no going back. Do consumers necessarily demand the best acting/singing talent out there or is a likable talent enough to sustain our interest?
620 latest fav is Tavia. Ironically when 620 finally promote her is when her acting fell down. See how she’s beginning to be more sexy and glamorous because 620 ask her to take care of appearance to stay famous.
I wonder if Tavia got those nose injections due to 620’s influence??
@Jayne
I agree 620 is business minded. Moses and Kevin are her most fac of her favs but all these years they only showed horrible acting. Kevin luckily redeemed by Law Ba but before this it’s clear that 620 only want to get revenues from the couple of Moses/Bernice and Kevin/Niki and both couples don’t stay long!
Vivien,
My theory is that Ms. Lok promotes artists based on their commercial appeal more than their true talents, unlike Catherine Tsang. Ms. Lok likely had the following reasons to promote Kevin and Moses so heavily:
Kevin: extremely good looks, docile personality with clean past, and gentleman image. At the peak of TVB’s promotional backing (by giving Kevin the Best Actor Award for Under the Canopy of Love), Kevin was in mid 30s and TVB likely calculated that he had 10 years of commercial value to TVB, which is an investment yielding profitable return.
Moses: gentleman image, good sense of humor and well-spoken when interacting with the media (ideal artist spokesperson for TVB), mature image that appeals to older women capturing a necessary housewife market. Moses is also very popular among fashion designers and luxury watch vendors due to his classy image.
In addition, Ms. Lok seems to “approve” of celebrity couples as long as they are deemed “equal in popularity and career status” such as Kevin and Niki Chow, Moses and Bernice, Bosco and Myolie. The commercial value of these couples helped TVB earn a lot of money. However, she did not approve of Shirley Yeung dating Gregory Lee at the time.
In the recent decade, Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International winners and contestants have earned ideal incomes, even purchasing properties, under Ms. Lok’s commercial eye. Many TVB actresses have taken a sexy “but healthy” route, as per their own words. Cleavage is everywhere and artists even appear in lingerie fashion shows. Society’s attitudes toward skin exposure are now more open, at the same time, it is a sign of the times that TVB’s vision is as commercially driven as ever.
@HTS
It could be possible. Tavia was unpopular when she’s being all tomboy. I’ve read an article before about 620 changing Steven Ma’s style to more pleasabt and praise Jessica’s style.
lol yes Tavia might change her nose because of advice from 620 to make herself look ‘prettier’. It’s too bad that her acting dwindling instead when her nose grows.
In term of business, 620 is doing very well. Her favourite gives back to TVB a lot of money. Look at the list of best TVB earners in a year, all are 620’s fave. It has some meanings.
She promoted Charmaine and Linda, I dun find it’s wrong decision. Their acting started with bad and negative comments, but now they have praises and of course, money money and fans. She promoted Moses, Kevin, Ron, Bosco and LF, also not wrong decisions. They also can help TVB to have a lot of money.
Now her fave runs to Kate, TY, and their popularity isn’t bad.
Whenever being 620’s fave, the artists will be exposed and even overexposed. Gave them fame and antis, but more antis also means a lot of attention on them.
So in business aspect, she is successful. For her job as a management, I think it’s her good job.
The complaints and hatred toward 620 mostly come from the fans. They dun wanna see the commercial value of the artists. Honesty, in this modern world, money is important. That’s why I dun have anything against 620’s view.
@Jayne
Because of 620 we get all these MHK and MCI that can’t act such as Kate, Linda, Myolie, Aimee who are all 620’s favs. Myolie and Linda are improving but only now after how many years and still not good enough to be Best actress and none of them can carry a series!!
How can I forgot Charmaine who was 620’s BFF when she was in TVB? 620 keep promoting her when her acting never considered good even until her last series MSOEF.
@Fox – 620 also promoted Raymond heavily, I think even more than Kevin, Moses 😛
I don’t like it when she promoted those who I don’t find talented or never grow in their acting such as Kate, Moses, Tavia but she’s successful in making her artistes popular and gain many fans.
Raymond, Myolie, Bosco, Kevin have all showed their improvement and strength in acting too besides gaining multiple endorsements and scouted by mainland agencies. Charmaine is very successful now.
By what you said about Moses and Kevin simply said 620 just care about image and looks and don’t sell talents. This is why when Bernice’s image flopped by the media, she choose to protect Moses who brings home larger revenue and has the victim card.
TVB must be trending this cleavage and revealing clothings to compete with lengmos who dominate HK modelling and movie industry now.
The best years of TVB must be the 90’s. I recall at that time I like the faces in TVB especially in the reigning years of Ada, Marianne, Flora, Kenix, Esther Kwan, and Jessica who I like the least.
@lol: You mistaken me to Vivien? I mentioned of LF in my post. It’s obvious that LF is one of the heaviest promoted by TVB now.
@Fox – sorry Fox. I didn’t notice you put LF in your comment :D.
@Jayne – I beg to differ about Michael Tao. I don’t find him attractive neither I found his acting as good as a ‘housewife killer’.
I agree very much that Miss Lok is business savvy and well connected. Whoever she choose to promoted will be successful. So, artists who catch her eyes can consider themselves lucky.
But, I don’t know if working under her will be suffocation. She dictates the artists even down to their clothing choice.
Lastly, just want to mention this. People always say Catherine has a great eye for talent and Virginia doesn’t and then go on to bash Kevin as one of Virginia’s fave that is without talent. But, whenever Kevin has to thank someone in TVB, he always thanks Catherine first because it’s Catherine who asked him to join TVB when he was struggling in Taiwan. So, Catherine also saw something in Kevin back then.
@Kidd: Being 620’s fave can automatically become untalented. It’s the thinking of some ppl.
Jayne I have a belief. In TVB, you’re what they make you to be. Some see talent and nurture it. Some see a blanksheet and create an image out of it, talent is secondary, PR and image is primary. 620 is the latter. She may look like business savvy but her method is short term. A business can’t survive without brain. You say she emphasise on commercial appeal, my reply is the commercial appeal part is what she dish out to you. You’re what TVB wants you to be. Pure and simple, and that is 620’s approach.
“620 latest fav is Tavia. Ironically when 620 finally promote her is when her acting fell down. See how she’s beginning to be more sexy and glamorous because 620 ask her to take care of appearance to stay famous.”
Tavia is a good actress but not a charismatic one. Which is why she falters in leading roles, unless amongst other charismatic actors quite simply because she is good to watch but not enough to sustain attention. Nothing to do with 620 promotion, etc, it is what it is. And she is as sexy as the wooden pinnochio. I find it painful for her to act sexy. BUT image can be built, I feel she should go for glamour, then move to sexy. Give her a glamarous role, maybe I will change my mind.
@Funn: She is given such role in King’s shadow. There, the King (Marco Ng) is crazy for her glamour beauty.
And some of her roles like in Dicey Business or HOG are tailored made for her to be sexy/hot/ect.
It’s ironic that she once said that she hates how some TVB actresses have to dress less, reveal body for a photoshot.
@Kidd – not only to clothing choice but also romantic partner. I’m talking about Shirley who’s told to date secretly with Gregory but she refused and go public and later not promoted anymore. I don’t miss her though because she was never talented in the first place, she’s just a Miss HK.
@Fox
Its not ironic. It’s to know how to go with the flow and change according to circumstances to benefit oneself. Tavia didn’t start off with the sexy route or wore revealing clothing to begin with. She was quite ‘closed’ when she first entered the industry. However, she realised to succeed, celebs had to be a bit more ‘open’ and willing to take risks because other people were doing it. She’s opened up a lot now but has a certain limit. She wouldn’t wear a bikini or do some hot sexy bed scene or dance provocatively. She wouldn’t be able to do it anyway and it doesn’t suit her (though it would be something interesting for us to see), the most she’ll do is prolly wear a dress & heels and maybe a little low cut. What she’s wearing these days are hardly revealing anyway where compared to other actresses really.
I think the biggest difference was that Tavia didn’t enter the industry through a pageant so she was more conservative to begin with.
Her sister entered the pageant though but didn’t succeed.
@Fox – “It’s ironic that she once said that she hates how some TVB actresses have to dress less, reveal body for a photoshot.”
Wow I didn’t know she once said this. Now she herself willingly reveal her career line and bare back in functions and events 😀
@lol – oh and she actually said that about 1-2 months ago recently in Fam and Kam interview. She mentioned that she “used to think that way but realised that’s not the way to go so now her views have changed.” How is it ironic? It’s a statement she made acknowledging her change in views over time. It’s not like she said that’s her current view yet she goes out and bares her chest. THAT would be considered ironic.
@lara: It’s ironic because now she is doing such thing. Now she often shows his bra or underwear in function. Is it called “closed” and “limit”?
@Kidd – Many people associate Kevin with Lok because Kevin is often seen being close to Lok in pictures and his Best Actor win was historically undeserving given his state of acting at that time. Tsang may invited Kevin but Lok who’s in charge of artiste department played her part in promoting Kevin highly.
@ lol
My point is people always say Catherine has an eye for talent while Virginia doesn’t, and always use Kevin as one of the examples of Virginia’s untalented choice. But, it’s Catherine who bring him into TVB. If Catherine didn’t see something in Kevin, why did she recruit him all the way from Taiwan?
So, what does it shows? Catherine doesn’t always see the right talent or Virginia actually has some eyes for talent?
@Fox @lara
“It’s ironic because now she is doing such thing. Now she often shows his bra or underwear in function. Is it called “closed” and “limit”?”
She just got enlightened that she also need to reveal more to get more popular Lol
Funn,
“In TVB, you’re what they make you to be. Some see talent and nurture it. Some see a blanksheet and create an image out of it, talent is secondary, PR and image is primary. 620 is the latter.”
Ms. Lok’s favored artists are largely dependent upon image and talent is indeed secondary. However, these are the younger camp of artists that no doubt have generated huge revenue opportunities for TVB.
“She may look like business savvy but her method is short term. A business can’t survive without brain.”
TVB’s current strategy is to promote “likable” artists and not necessariy the most talented artists. This is the same strategy as pursued by the current Hong Kong music companies. These artists are milked to the max and cross-marketed in film, tv, music, ads, etc. to generate the most revenue.
A TVB artist’s work is no longer restricted to only acting in TV series, thus TVB is not looking to promote an individual necessarily with the best acting. They are looking overall for a “likable” performer to do everything. A pleasing physical package helps cross-sell the artist; a good social personality makes it easier for fans and the media to accept.
In the 1980s, TVB focused on producing high-quality dramas and spending a lot of time and resources to develop in-house talent, as indicated by the focused acting classes and career development of the artists. Since the 1990s, TVB artists have trickled over to the music and film industries. In the 2000s, artists now are moving to mainland. It is getting more difficult for TVB to have exclusivity over its artists and no longer tries to do so. In fact, they seem eager to cross-promote their artists in as many markets as possible, to increase their profile, and generate additional revenue for the company.
As fans, we are disappointed that TVB artists of this generation dabble in so many projects other than focusing on acting well in series. Their multi-performer and ad-spokesperson status really detracts them from focusing on acting well. The acting quality of their artists have slipped and will continue to slip, especially since the goals of such artists continue to be more commercially driven rather than devoted than true devotion to acting as a craft.
Is TVB’s strategy short-term based or just evolving with the times and meeting the demands of the Hong Kong market? The decline in the quality of singers coincides with the decline in the quality of television artists.
As long as TVB continues to dominate the ratings in the Hong Kong market, they will not have competition and will not change their revenue-driven profits.
Blame it on ATV for being useless. TVB has dominated, since 90s?
I’m so saddened by the news, just because you’re loyal you don’t deserve to be treated fairly. Oh well if TVB doesn’t appreciate him than he should make his money elsewhere. It’s TVB’s loss!
I hope Wong Hei can venture into films or something, I would love to see him continue acting.
Problem is movies in HK is not easy to penetrate. he can try China which is a bigger market and less competetive but being outspoken won’t help him.
Agree he can try the bigger mainland market. Most who left TVB went there
Hes going to China or Taiwan for a while.
Or maybe show up at ATV or RTHK dramas that might air on TVB
Go to mainland China. They pay big money and give multi millions deals management contract. I’m sure he got offers. Steven Ma got and might accept. Raymond got but choose to sign with TVB and EEG. Bosco got but choose to stay in TVB.
Look at Charmaine she accept multi million contract and become happier after leaving TVB although she was one of 620’s favourite before
HK movies now are bad and dying. The lengmos took over in most movies.
He has already established himself as an actor so he can go to China or anywhere else. I just think it is sooo sad that TVB still plays favorites and mistreats some artists but favors others like this…
TVB also doesn’t pay well anyways…
Future Burning Flame series will never be the same without him.
Burning Flame IV…. in your dreams. The last one was a disaster.
Agree. Watching Amy Wong prop up Kevin over Wong Hei and having the worst scripted series ever made me want to vomit.
I disagree on only Wong Hei’s performance who was fantastic as the possessive boyfriend. I thought in all 3 BF series he gave 3 very different performances to 3 very different characters. BF 1 is still the best. Myolie looked too glamarous and Kevin…oh Kevin…
@Funn
My brothers also disagree with me. They love to watch Aimee and Bosco story in that series because they love Aimee’s body. Boys are boys! They think Wong Hei was annoying and I gave them a piece of my mind for having said that ROFL
@BF3
BF3 is one of Myolie’s worst performance ROFL She look unnatural in this series!
@Funn
BF3 is one of Myolie’s worst performance ROFL She look unnatural in this series!
not to mention the really bad wig she had on.
Oh no, no more Burning Flames please… They have already milked enough milk out of that cow…
I actually fell in love with wong hei after watching BF 1. he was very convincing…
Like most of you my sympathies also are with Wong He. Whether he is or not a good actor is beside the point. It is the unfair and undeserved treatment that he received from TVB that is most hurtful and unfair to Wong He. He really should not have paid the money asked by the above mentioned department. Why should TVB gain from it? I do hope that Wong He is tough enough to get through this rough period and show his worth elsewhere. Good luck to him!
I assume the above is true, and i think that’s really disgusting of tvb, to be specific a certain female exec in the company 😛 Never liked her much anyway, I mean the people she (over)promotes, are as suggested, not deserving of the promotion anyway. She has largely bad taste in my opinion x.x
I must say that i’m not surprised that tvb would do this to a loyal Stephen Chan friend. Again, loss to tvb. I don’t remember how many times I’ve said this for the past few months, with them losing their first line (even second line) actors like nobody’s business. This one is a loss. Unlike some others 😛
Personally I believe the allegations against Stephen Chan are true, so I don’t really want him back with tvb given that its’ already so screwed up. One might see him as a countervailing force, but i don’t so. Hopefully Wong Hei will find somewhere which will treat him better!!
Definitely sad to hear this, although I’m not surprised that this would happen based on how TVB politics work. I think Wong He was not happy at TVB anyways so I do think leaving might not be a bad thing for him. He can probably go to develop in the mainland. Will definitely miss him though! His works has always been about quality and not quantity. I will always remember BF series for him until they ruined it with the 3rd installment! Good luck to him and maybe we will see him return if Stephen Chan regains his power and kicks that 620 out.
Im not surprised at all because of idiotic Stephen Chan corruption…. Wong He chances in TVB is very slim.
Has TVB ever learn their lesson on Wong Yat Wah outburst…TeeVeeBee????
I think TVB is really TOTALLY VERY BAD as Felix said. They never seem to learn from their mistakes…
TVB don’t learn. Felix outburst got turn into dust. Poor him
It’s sad to see TVB do this to their artists … 16 years, and this is how they treat them? You wonder why everyone is leaving … but it’s all good, Wong Hei is too good of an actor and his talent won’t be wasted. If not here, it’ll be on display elsewhere … best of luck to him!
It’s TVB’s loss. Many actors are leaving now because of TVB little pay and stupid policies and TVB will get into trouble. The artist management are doing a bad job!
I would not support him let him rot especially if he really is guilty. But if tvb did do this to him then it’s pretty messed up.
Now I suspect that he is gay. Especially from that stinky oil commercial. That was so disgusting. No real man would make such sounds.
lol – 620 in charge of the Artist Management Department of TVB, talk about appointing the wrong person for the job. Her favoritism is so blatant to the point of where many artists leaving under unhappy circumstances. Wong He is a terrific actor, he demonstrates loyalty to his friend, and there are not many people like him standing by Stephen Chan throughout his trial. Wong He’s loyalty is admirable. TVB is sending messages to their artists and fans that they do not value their employees and that if you are not on board with 620 then you are out!
I have a feeling they have a realtionship….
Feel so bad for him, been following his career since Food of Love, and instantly thought, “he’s got a career in TVB, for sure.” Sad to see it go down this way, hopefully he’ll come back at a later date.
As for his relationships, I’m actually kinda glad he kept it private, I prefer it that way- professionalism first, everything else second 🙂
Why is 620 still in TVB?? I don’t want to see too much Kevin, Moses, Kate, Linda who are her ultimate favourites on my face for the years to come since many good artists left!!!
Well, there isn’t that many others for her to promote anyways.. Therefore, it is the same old people over and over again.. I guess TVB fans should enjoy it while it lasts because one day everyone may/will leave as well…
Its because of Mona Fong Yat Wah; they get along so nicely.
TeeVeeBee, we treat artist fairly by giving low pay wages!
I heard Mona Fong hired Stephen Chan back again but why kick Wong Hei away?
I personally prefer Catherine Tsang over Virginia Lok. I think it Tsang took over her position, there would be more talented people and better series (better scriptwriters/producers) on our screens.
But i don’t think she specialises in Artist Management?
she did the job back in the 80s and 90s.
620 took over the position, and you know the story.
Tsang must be the one who produced talented original 90’s fadans and the classic series such as DIFs, FOJs, Greed of Man, Looking Back in Anger etc
When 620 took over we only get half baked fadans of today and series that sucks such as MSOEF
ctnd: MSOEF, CBML, BTROC and a lot more
Didn’t Wong Hei have some close relations to one of the executives in TVB? Godson to one of the lady’s? Either Mona Fong or Mrs Li?
Such sad news to hear him go! 🙁 Wong Hei is one of my favorite actors, and for a ‘mong ju an’ i find him quite attractive, and definitely one of the manliest actors around! 😉
It doesn’t matter what his relationship is with Stephen Chan, i just get the impression that Wong Hei is a guy who is very supportive and loyal and has ‘ching yee’ to his friends. I’m sure he is a person who will go up knife mountain and dive into oil wok for his friends!
As for his acting, the most memorable characters/scenes for me will be BF 1&2 – Wong Hei was the essence of the whole series! Needless to say i didn’t like BF3 so i didn’t follow it much. The ending of A Matter Of Customs also sticks in my mind, when he fell into the sea after getting shot(?) and Jessica Hsuan wearing a wedding dress dived in to look for him.. 🙁
He’s such a talented actor, yet recently TVB only gave him minor roles in silly sitcoms! Of all the recent dramas in the past few years, i think maybe he could have been cast in Last One Standing in either male leads, Hiu sifu – Rippling Blossom, or Dai Fung Sau – Wax & Wane. Im not saying these actors didnt do well, but i think Wong Hei could have been a suitable choice too. 🙂
Best of luck to him in the future! I’ll miss seeing him onscreen.
I feel really bad for him. He doesn’t deserve this kind of nastiness, how can they treat like that? He’s actually one of the good actors they have, I’m gonna miss watching his series. On a side note; if he’s really gay then that just goes to show what a great actor he is because I never once suspect that in any of the character he played. He’s more masculine than any of the michael, Raymond, Kevin, bosco combine.
The point is who cares if he’s gay or not, the fact is he’s a good actor and a loyal friend. Tvb is ridiculous for treating him so badly. Good luck, Wong Hei!!!
Usually you’ll be able to see a person’s true colour when you’re in trouble. Good ones will stay put with you and offer you help but those so called friends etc will flee when you’re in trouble. It’s very sad but these days that’s what we call lives. People are very “yin sat”…. What to do. It’s not surprising that TVB treats him like that, TVB is known to be ruthless anyway. If I were Wong Hei, I will leave. Why stay put when people already opened their mouth asking you to leave? I’m sure there are other things that he could do, TVB is not indispensable.
TVB denied kick Wong Hei out.
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/756564-tvb-denies-chasing-wong-hei-out-of-the-company/
Kidd,
Tsang Sing Ming’s response in denying TVB kicking out is a standard PR answer, in which the company denied maltreating a veteran actor, when his value may be in decline. Mr. Tsang’s answer that there was a communication misunderstanding is quite weak and that he will further clarify with Wong Hei. Shouldn’t Mr. Tsang or someone from the Artist Management department have already done this before Mr. Tsang’s statement with Ming Pao? It seems that they are diverting in circles and need to clarify with Wong Hei first, when he should be the one spoken to already.
I believe Wong Hei’s statement, especially in light of how veteran actors such as Bowie Lam were not well respected recently. No need for him to distort the conversation that had transpired.
I think I saw Wong Hei’s comments after Tsang and 620 stated comments somewhere. Look like they had a deal and Wong Hei stopped complaining.
Fox, I just read in Mingpao today that Wong Hei is still complaining about Lok, whom he called Mrs Chan – albeit in a more sarcastic way. Wong Hei reminded his fans who scolded Virginia Lok to tone it down so that he won’t get in trouble. He has also wrote in weibo that this matter made him sleepless.
http://www.mingpaoweekly.com/news/details.php?date=20110815&id=mca1
I hope this issue can be resolved soon and Wong Hei can gain his peace. Good luck to him. I used to like watching him when I was a small kid and before I left TBB for a while.
Oh I’m reading it. Lol, some ppl in the forum I’m reading mistaken that Mrs Chan in the article is Wong Hei (Stephen Chan :P). They must read too fast.
The advise to the fans is directly for 620.
why he call her ‘Mrs Chan’??
Her husband’s surname is Chan, then she is Mrs. Chan.
620 is getting into trouble by her own bad deeds!!! HAHAHA! Now she have incurred the wrath of many Wong Hei and veterans fans!
Wong Hei’s taking the punishment for speaking truth and daring to take a stand for justice and friendship.
Hope all his future endeavours work out for him!
He stands for friendship, it’s obvious. But justice? What justice? Stephen Chan dun corrupt?
I think its so unfair of TVB to treat Wong Hei the way they did. He seems a very loyal friend and how many of those around are there these days – not many I can tell you!!! I hope that things work out ok for him in the end. As an actor I think he is definitely one of the best and I wish him lots of luck for the future.