Mainland China Media Criticize Hong Kong Actors as Caring Only About Money
In the past few years, many popular Hong Kong artistes have been filming less local television dramas while pursuing higher-paid television dramas from Mainland China. While these artistes may be seeing larger numbers in higher paychecks, how much longer can they maintain the momentum before Mainland viewers grow tired of them?
Recently, a Mainland Chinese media outlet reported that many Hong Kong television artistes tend to film disappointing, low-quality Chinese dramas, criticizing the actors for only seeing China as a pot of gold and without a care for quality. The article specifically chastised high-paid TVB artistes Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), and Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) for choosing poor dramas to film, implying that they are “worthless” actors.
Kevin Cheng, who shot to fame in Mainland China after starring in the popular period drama series Bu Bu Jing Xin <步步惊心>, is reportedly paid 250,000 RMB per episode in China, and is currently the highest-paid TVB actor in the country. After his success with Bu Bu Jing Xin in 2011, Kevin switched his career focus on Mainland China and filmed period dramas such as Mystery in the Palace <深宫谍影>, Ip Man <叶问>, and Red Dust <滚滚红尘>, all which were critically panned by critics and fans alike. Mystery in the Place was voted as the first worst drama of 2012, and viewers complained about the drama’s inaccuracies, plot holes, and “illogical scenarios that even primary school kids could notice”.
Since leaving TVB’s management in 2011, Charmaine Sheh, one of Hong Kong’s highest-paid actresses in China, filmed a string of underwhelming Chinese dramas in the last two years, which included The Female Constable <带刀女捕快>, Marry into the Purple <嫁入豪门>, and The Legend of Kublai Khan <忽必烈传奇>. Charmaine’s acting was also criticized to be “insufferable, always using the Lau Sam Ho-style”.
Myolie Wu was chided for her poor taste in choosing dramas. “She chose to do the cheesy Yu Zheng (于正) drama Happy Mother-in-law, Pretty Daughter-in-law <欢喜婆婆俏媳妇>, the old-fashioned dramatic family soap opera Jin Yu Man Tang <金玉满堂>, and corny idol dramas.”
Even Hawick Lau (劉愷威), a former TVB star who did not score leading roles until after starting his career in Mainland China, was criticized for being typecasted into portraying handsome but tragic “wealthy prince” roles. A majority of his dramas also have predictable endings.
Patrick Tam (譚耀文), who once used to be a leading TVB actor, has not filmed a single memorable Chinese drama since leaving Hong Kong for Mainland. His villainous eunuch role in The Emperor’s Harem <后宫> has left an impressionable mark on Mainland Chinese TV goers, but the drama itself was poorly received critically.
Former TVB actor Benny Chan (陳浩民) has earned the nickname “Best Actor for Worst Dramas”.
With their questionable projects from from China, Hong Kong television actors are beginning to receive poor responses from the general Chinese public, leaving viewers to feel exasperated whenever they see a Hong Kong actor headline a drama. The report also expressed that Hong Kong actors do not care about quality, have little value, and are only in China “for the money”.
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
At least Jessica Hsuan’s rating in her two Mainland series is both good ;)))
They are Love Amongst War (薛平贵与王宝钏) and The War of Beauties (愛情悠悠藥草香), even her nano TV series, 刷新3+7 is good in rating, too ;))
if only The War Of Beauties had English subs I’d be able to watch it T_T
love amongst war was such a bad series!
Lol, I managed to finish love amongst war. And yes, it’s bad, but somehow I can manage to finish it, unlike a lot of other annoying one >_> maybe because I have basically lower my expectation to the ground, and treat it as a comedy lol ~_~
how’d everyone find War Of Beauties though o_o
Can’t blame them when TVB’s pay is low.
Some are just happy that there are opportunities to earn extra income. For them it’s better to be in demand than none at all.
at least their pay is higher than an entry level jobs pay or min. wage.
Strike while the Iron is Hot and that is what they are doing because eventually the audience in China will grow tired of them.
At least they constantly got huge bucks offers from mainland dramas. There are some more unfortunate HK celebs that never got mainland offers such as Tavia Yeung and Wayne Lai maybe due to their more mature appearances.
Wayne is not interested in the Mainland market. He’s loyal to TVB. As for Tavia, it seems like TVB doesn’t let her film outside since she’s filming their series one after another.
Oh so that’s why Wayne keep filming series after series with TVB. I’m beginning to think that TVB is lacking actors when Wayne is having around 3 series per year on TVB.
Wayne also received many opportunities from mainland China, but he rejected them because he has a hectic schedule in tvb and because he prefer to film hk dramas. Wayne is a person that cares about quality than money
Both wayne and tavia as well as kenneth have all been invited to film mainland dramas but have not been able to because of their obligations with tvb.
They are constantly taking on tvb series one after another.
I’ve read about Kenneth wishing to film mainland dramas to get better remuneration. See, it’s very common for these artistes to film when they are offered great remuneration. Is this reporter or media trying to create animosity at HK/TVB artistes?
Perhaps the fault lies in the fact that there are so many poorly written scripts willing to pay big bucks for these stars rather than HK stars being greedy?
do you watch these dramas that are poorly written?
if not, how would you know they are poorly written?
what is funny is why would writers or producers produce sequel to hou gong if hou gong was indeed not successful.. not to mention hou gong 2 & princess return pearl is being translated for the mainstream amercian channels.
Exactly! It’s not Kevin, Myolie or Charmaine, Benny’s fault for being offered big bucks to act in rotten dramas! Ask the dramas itself why the script is bad, it’s not the celebrities fault.
Well, the actors and actresses do have the option of turning down the roles. I don’t think they are only in it for the money, but even if they were, what is the big deal?? Who does not want to earn big bucks??? But I feel they should also care about quality as well instead of just the monetary reward that comes with whatever they do.
They’re simply paid their worth in the market, so to speak. And these are popular actors. If Taiwanese and China actors in China earn big bucks according to their market value, why not these Hk actors? Whether it is a hit or not is dependent on script, acting and marketing. Sole blame can’t be on the actors. Moreover, let’s face it, China productions are almost always ensemble pieces where HK actors are co-leads most of the time. And these actors they’ve chosen are usually not incredibly gifted actors anyway and with a lame script, not even Chow Yun Fatt can do magic.
But these actors should also choose their next project very very carefully. They may earn big buck due to their current value if each show is a flop and the next is a flop, their market value will nose dive as well as their reputation as actors.
By the way China is a HUGE market able to sustain itself much like Japan and America. They also churn out many many movies and series per year and out of 10, perhaps 3 or 4 are considered mega hit and the rest probably mild hit to flop. One hit can equal to 5 flops. It could be that way.
Well, I have seen a bit of mystery in the palace, and it is god awful. Kevin literally disappointed me ever since he started filming for mainland. It is just like what the article say. Most of these drama are so badly written. The costume is horrible, the cliche is terrible, long winded, no originality whatsoever.
Benny, as much as I like him, don’t ask me why >_> I know I shouldn’t, all of his drama is bleh :/ didn’t bother with Charmaine due to her series look bad.
But it’s what funn have said, plus maybe greedy on some of their part, lol
I saw The Mystery in the palace from beginning to end and it was not so bad at all. I think some are just exaggerating that it is awful or bad,especially when you have only seen bits and pieces here and there.
That just means mainland dramas are bad. Why blame Kevin, Myolie and Charmaine for mainland rotten dramas?
Not all mainland dramas are bad and even though some of them that are not good, they are still better than a majority of TVB’s series.
I disagree with what was said about Hawick. I think Hawick’s dramas have all be consistent in terms of production quality. It’s true he’s been typecast to some extent but he’s been trying break out of this stereotype with one of his recent comedy – the tang bo hu’s role.
I am surprised there was no mention of wallace chung? not that he would fit into the category but i thought he would definitely go into this bag of names as he’s also one of the more successful hk actors in mainland
The article stated that he was criticized for playing similar roles, not about the quality of his series. I believe his series did well, but it is also true that he has played very similar roles over and over.
Perhaps, Wallace Chung has nothing bad for the writer to pick on? Ada Choi was also left out and some others TVB artists.
how many of you actually watch most of mainland china series? if you dont watch most of mainland china drams, you shouldnt say anything since you know nothing of mainland chian series. you hear the big names but if you dont watch mainland china drams, why be so defensive?
uh oh. an error.
it was mean to be this;
how many of you actually watch most of mainland china series? if you dont watch most of mainland china drams, you shouldnt say anything since you know nothing of mainland chian series. you hear the big names but if you dont watch mainland china drams, why be so defensive?
didn’t really get what Tia below was trying to put across.
honestly i haven’t come across any negative report on wallace ever. i think he has very good PR relations with the media and netizens generally.
supporting tia
if these commenters on this article dont watchmost mainland drama series, why are some commenters so worked up about this reports?
@Tia
Reading comprehension much? I have yet to comment on the quality of Mainland dramas. You’re the one who is being defensive here.
@Emma
Yeah, it seems like it.
I agree with Tia since from what I have seen with some of the posters here, they have not or do not really watch mainland series but yet keep on commenting saying that they are all bad. I have seen many of them and there are some that are really good. However, just like with any company/country, there are some that are bad. But of course that applies to HK, Korean, Japanese or any country and NOT just China series. There are good and bad series from every country.
It seems that Sheren Tang could be the only picky Hong Kong artiste in Mainland China. She will not film any drama series with incomplete scripts. Ada Choi is not that picky, but she was lucky to film 後宮甄嬛傳 “Empresses in the Palace”, and that drama series was well received and popular in China and even in the world.
The truth could be: Mainland Chinese producers will not cast Hong Kong artistes in their big productions. They like to cast their own popular artistes, such as Cecilia Liu, 孫儷, etc., in big productions with quality storyline. Another reason could be: after they spend so much money in recruiting Hong Kong artistes, they cannot afford to make their productions bigger and better.
betty sun wasnt superior in hou gong 2. hated her character.
Sheren tang is usually a supporting character in mainland drama and not the lead. If the drama sucks, it points to the lead not the supporting characters. Only in HK, sheren wants to film that has a complete script, as to mainland dramas, it doesn’t need to since she has small roles
Not all HK artistes especially actresses can get lead roles in mainland moreover if they are older actresses. Not surprising Sheren is only a supporting actress. Not even the younger looking Fala can get it. They are more lenient however towards good looking HK actors.
Not all HK artistes especially actresses can get lead roles in mainland moreover if they are older actresses.
—————————————————
Most of the popular Hong Kong artistes in Mainland China are older vs. Mainland Chinese ones such as Cecilia Liu, Liu Yifei, Betty Sun, etc. It is harder for them to get 1st lead roles.
No matter Sheren Tang is cast in supporting roles or not in Mainland China, I think she still wants to see the complete scripts. I just read some articles in Hong Kong entertainment magazines that she turned down a few offers due to incomplete scripts. It can be true as she does not want to film another “Beauty at War”.
Beauty at War was a disaster, but it’s true that Sheren is drowned now in mainland among the sea of young and pretty mainland actresses like Cecilia Liu, Liu Yi Fei, and Betty Sun and tonnes others. Haven’t heard of Sheren since Beauty of War.
I read some Hong Kong magazines today saying that Sheren Tang has been sick with thyroid problems (nodules or cysts), so she decided to take time off and turned down some offers from Mainland China. Sheren’s health has not been good since filming “Beauty at War”.
I didn’t know Sheren was sick.
@sandcherry: Don’t rely too much on those gossip mags, as alot of what they print is exaggerated and/or sensationalized. Sheren already clarified on her Weibo that those reports about her illness are false and that the Media is making up stories again. She said that she hasn’t been filming much lately because she hasn’t come across a script she liked and since she’s been busy doing other things (i.e. speaking engagements and other evangelistic events related to her faith), there has been no need to rush into work. She’s pretty much doing what Jessica Hsuan, Maggie Cheung Hor Yee, etc. are doing — taking the time to enjoy life!
Thanks for your info on Sheren Tang.
You can’t be more right. All the grand and big productions will go to mainland artistes first and sometimes a HK actor is lucky to enough to get a second lead of supporting role. Now why are they bashing HK/TVB artistes for their choice of poor dramas when everything is controlled by mainland producers and TV stations?
Can’t blame them, life span is short in this industry so make hay while the sun shines. As long as the $$$’s in the pocket, they don’t care if the drama’s crappy.
It is very true. Popularity will not last forever, plus the life span of an artiste in 1st lead roles is rather short.
It’s true. There is nothing wrong if these artistes are going to mainland for money. Kevin is in his 40’s and Myolie also in her mid 30’s, they are better off gathering all the money now before their value drops when they grow older. TVB pays too little. Besides the mainland artistes are demanding much higher pay than these TVB artistes, what a convenience for the mainland newspaper to leave them out!
I’m a huge fan of Benny Chan and have watched all his TVB series but ever since he shifted his focus to mainland China, I started stop watching his dramas as I found they’re cheese, uninteresting, and most importantly it ruins his TVB image in my heart.
@Nori,
I can see that you have not seen any of Benny’s mainland productions based on what you just said. Therefore, I do not think you should say that China series are not good and uninteresting. I have been watching quite a few mainland series and Benny is in many of them. I enjoyed most of them and suggest you give them a try if you are a big fan of Benny. You are really missing out if you only watch his old TVB series. He has matured as an actor a lot since his TVB days. But if you choose to restrict yourself then that is your choice. But you are truly missing out…
It’s not that I haven’t seen his mainland production but because of that I started stop watching his mainland drama. I’ve watched Yan Hua Sam Yue, Hi-fly, Qian Long He Jiang Nan, Carry me fly (also with Charmaine Sheh), Chu Liu Xiang and Ji Gong and first few episodes of Qin Xiang Lin and then stopped. I would say so far I think Hi-fly (actually Taiwanese production) is the his only oversea production that I finished watching from the beginning till the end.
Hum, I like benny. And I have watched love amongst war. It’s terrible, but somehow I enjoyed it >_> maybe because I love both jess and benny, so I’m like ok all your expectation out! If you count enjoyment as qualify for good drama, I guess it pass. If you count other, I’m sure it will fail lol. Then there is thunder angel, with Gillian Chung. Ok, I love her, too. Don’t judge me lol! And that series is kinda bad, too. Haven’t finished it lol (only about 7-8 epi to finish it). Tried watching the fairy one, but couldn’t stand it, so I stopped/not bother after a few epi. Saw the trailer for the justice bao’s one short story get turn into a 30ep drama? And I gave up due to bad experience with benny lol
I have seen many of Benny’s mainland dramas and I do agree that some are not great, but some are good too. Therefore, to say they are all bad is not accurate either. But then again, whether a series is good or not is down to a matter of opinion. However, I do not think we should stereotype all mainland series as being bad. There are many of them and you just have to see the right ones. TVB series are really going downhill too. I remember back in the days most of the TVB series and ATV series that I watched were mostly good. But now only about 1-2 series are decent at most. I can say that more China series are good now compared to the TVB ones. I think that shows how the quality of TVB series has degraded so much.
yeah why blame the actors?? they should blame china for those crappy dramas LOL
I wonder how the producers of those drama listed in the article felt, their series being tagged as low-quality.
Beside Charmaine Sheh, ‘The Legend of Kublai Khan’ also starred Hu Jun and Wu Yue. They are both respectable actors in Mainland, right? Are they also worthless?
I was very disappointed at Charmaine Sheh’s role in ‘The Legend of Kublai Khan’. Her role was quite minor compared to other lead Chinese actresses. Her screen time was little, and there wasn’t much room for her to showcase her acting. She was just a nice, good and smart wife of Kublai Shen, hid behind her husband. It was a waste of her acting.
I meant a wife of “Kublai Khan”
Funny… Horrible script, just blame the actors. Great script, praises how great the actor are. Mainland offers the amount, tvb actors accept it. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Mainland writers are full of themselves.
Yeap the mainland media now chastizing HK celebs to only care for money rather than production quality? Uh hello, of course the artistes will demand high pay if they can, the mainland people should just point back at their rotten scripts!
Yeah how was Kevin treated in HK before he went to make big money in mainland how is everyone else treated that can’t go anywhere else they get low money
It just shows that no matter how people criticize TVB dramas, Mainland TV dramas are even worst!
Anyway to link a poorly script mainland dramas and put the focus on HK artists is so tipical of how narrow minded some people are. A good script drama can be ruin from poor acting but a bad script can not be saved by good artists!
Is free market. supply vs demand.
Say that HK artists are demanding top$$$. Well if mainland artists can do the same AND producers are willing to pay them, what does that make them???
The worst TVB dramas I’ve seen are those in Collaboration with mainland artists!
Agree totally. I don’t see what’s wrong with TVB artistes picking projects which pay them high amount when the mainland artistes are doing the same too. If the drama is rotten, it’s the script’s fault first and foremost, why blame TVB artistes?
agree,a good written story is the responsibility of the director and scriptwriters.actors are responsible for the acting work,so it dont make sense that mainland ppl criticize hk actors to choose bad dramas to play,it says more about the many bad quality drama from the mainland. but you see what happened if an actor choose the wrong drama to play,like kevin chen he have to go back to tvb with a ten time less paid of salary.
True but the actors and actresses are also responsible for acting well and who said that they had to take what is given? They have the right to say no. Maybe it is true to some extent that they truly are after the money only?? But then again, who can blame them? They need to make a living and the pay in TVB is so little while the standard of living in HK is so high.
totallt agree!
So mainland media wanted to put down HK actors for their paychecks by pointing out that mainland produce poor quality movies? Lol!!
as if benny chan worst actor thats cos his good and successful but not doing tvb dramas no more worse actor no way
Benny Chan is actually very good actor. It’s just that he was given rotten scripts ever since he remains his focus in mainland China. His TVB series Demi Gods & Semi Devil 1996, Dragon Love, Dark Tales 2, Gods of Honour, Whatever it takes, etc. are all good series which I would watch over again w/o getting bored. As for ish mainland dramas…urr… thanks but no thanks
I personally don’t find Benny Chan’s acting that good even when he was with TVB, but he does have some good and enjoyable series that he leads. Too bad now his mainland China series mostly are very bad with horrible storyline and writings.
I never liked Benny Chan even when he was with TVB, but I must admit that he is one of the best actors in speaking dialogues with articulation.
Benny is a very usable actor for ancient series
In all of his horrible mainland drama, his acting is still the same as before, a bit more mature, but overall, it’s good. But yea, that guy need to pick better scripts for me to try his drama again >_<
which person does not care about the money before becoming a actor… its all about the money… chow yun fat wouldnt film a hk film if it wasnt for 64 m hkd
they can complain about hk actor caring about the money but doesnt china hire hk artist to film in china
yeah they do lol they asked tvb artists to be in their productions LOL
And it was hk artist that created a spotlight for mainland show business
Which artistes don’t film for money? I feel sorry for TVB artistes ie Myolie, KC, Ah sheh to be accused of gold digging in China and low quality. Dear China media, you just admit there that your drama serials are horrible. Don’t blame TVB artistes.
I concur and calling the artistes “worthless” are rude and overdoing it! I hope Kevin Cheng, Myolie Wu and other don’t feel hurt by this.
Agree it was pretty much Kevin the one that got people to pay attention to mainland media.. Since Kevin went back to mainland .. Mainland has had a lot of attention
Bianca,
You should not accuse all China series as being bad and horrible. Based on that comment, I bet you have not even seen any of them or the right ones. If not, then you would not say that. I do agree with you that which artists do not film for money?? It is their job and they need to make a living just like the rest of us.
I strongly believe most pf chinese drama are bad. What are you gonna do?
You can think or believe what you like. But I remind you to be constructive about it. Also,if they are so bad then just do not watch.It is that simple.
Also, is there a need to feel sorry for them?? They are lucky to be invited to China to make so much more money. They also have a choice so it is not like they are forced to go.They can choose to stay in HK and work for TVB.
I heard that many in China are jealous since a lot of the HK artists that get invited to China usually get leading roles over their own actors so they are not happy about that. Maybe that is why this report came out??
Biased article! So Mainland artistes don’t care about money? Biggest lie ever.
Totally agree and we all should not care about what this article says because they are just jealous and bias against the HK actors and actresses. Mainland actors often do not get the leading roles in series while the HK, Taiwan and even Korean actors do in some cases. I wonder if that is why are not happy about it so published this article???
Yup you hit the right note. This biased article might’ve been started from mainland reporters and second grade mainland artistes who might be jealous that HK artistes got to play lead roles in mainland and these mainland artistes need to be their second fiddle.
Yea, but I have nothing against the mainland artists and crew because many of them are really talented and are hardworking. Most if not all of them were trained in universities unlike a lot of the new HK actors and actresses of today.
Not all. Many of them are unprofessional and might be full of jealousy. Where else would the rumour of Kevin’s bad attitude while filming in mainland come from? I think some of the mainlanders just have a bias attitude and jealousy at HK artistes who got paid high wages to act in their China productions.
Also maybe because they’re jealous that even the most popular China actors still can’t get HK people hearts. No matter how big Huang Bo and Huang Xiao Ming in China, HK people don’t like them but we always see that even TVB actors got surrounded by hungry China females in China!
Do they think that HK artistes and Korean/TW artistes want to film in China under all the smogs and pollution and dirty toilets if not for the money? Instead of being jealous they should be thankful that these artistes are willing to work in their place.
You should not stereotype that many of them are like that. There are many that are humble and nice too. I think you have seen many HK actors and actresses becoming close friends and even marrying mainland actors and actresses so that shows something.
It’s true, it’s a biased piece of opinion from mainland. Also noted that they purposely left out other actors who also film mainland series and maybe paid better than Charmaine and Myolie. Why not pick on Ada, Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong, Bowie Lam? They all mist have their share of bad series too other than Ada’s one time hit series where she’s only supporting to Betty Sun.
I mean, why pick on the HK actors/actresses when a lot of their own China actors/actresses needs to self-reflect as well
Hk actors won’t be in mainland if it wasn’t for the big pay checks so if mainland wants to complain just don’t invite hk tvb actors and Patrick tam is a golden horse movie award winner which means a good actor
I do not think it is just money only but of course money is just a part of it. I am sure many of them want to expand their horizons, work with new people, experience new things,etc… Therefore, it is not all about money only.
Agree the actor always said it wasn’t about the money they wanted to try new things
It definitely not about money only, this piece of accusation is exaggerating and purposely attacking TVB actors.
Stupid article indeed. Why would china media offer so much money to have all these HK actors and actresses to work in china in the first place. Of course it’s all about money. Being someone who is not from china, I will tell you that the anti china sentiment is quite high nowadays. No one wants to be from china. It’s an insult if you tell someone are you from china. Only the gullible and naive people don’t know what’s going on in this world.
most businesses in china are a laughing stock in this world with their toxic milk formulas, foods, medicines, and etc. I actually think most non china actors are just money hungry to even work in china. Only if they know how high the anti china sentiment around world feel about people or government of china. Why do you think japan is really to go to war with china. They probably have enough nukes to take out all 1.2 billions chinese from china in the next world war. It will make the nanjing massacre a joke. Just google yourself world war 3, china against japan and the US. All you idiots think china is so great, China will not exist after world war 3 and that’s a fact.
You are a very angry man/woman. If I m you I should seek psychological help.
wow………….these tvb actors are very incredible
and they owned a lot of money when they film a tv show
in the mainland of china!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEHEHE………….>.<
I don’t understand why Mainland China Media are complaining about Hongkong Actors or Actresses have bad acting in Mainland drama and tell that they acting in mainland drama only for money. For me they acting are just great and nothing wrong. If the drama are bad we must blame the director who make the movie not the actors and actresses that only playing their role.
excately
yeah i think so tooooo
You should not blame the director because they just tell the actors and actresses how to act. The scriptwriter is the one that should be blamed for the bad script and story. Also, the producer is responsible for the overall production so why blame the director???
” so why blame the director???”
Because usually the end result is the director’s vision hence we have director’s cut. But sometimes studio executives intervene and destroys the vision.
I thought that was the producer’s responsibility???
Generally producer finds financial backing. You can watch those Lord Of The Rings extensive Behind the scenes to know who does what. But in the end if a producer who happens to be a studio owner is powerful enough (sayyyy like Miramax), they can screw the director over.
Oh ok, thanks for the info Funn! I used to think that the main purpose of the producer was to provide the funds, but then he/she does some other stuff too. However, I do not think they do as much as the directors do.
well not a surprise there why else would they act in the mainland if they weren’t getting paid loads. Tam china really good la?
Actors care about money – so…. what is new? Many people care about money. There are equally many mainland chinese actors/actresses that are type-casted or over hyped.
Guess the papers are just saying that if these supposedly TOP HK TV actors and actresses (mind you, these are HK’s TV Kings and Queens we’re talking about here) have standards, they’d choose to act in dramas with good scripts instead of just accepting any drama that comes their way (for the sake of earning money).
I can understand where they’re coming from, after watching (and didn’t finishing) Kevin’s absolutely abysmal Ip Man drama…
Never understood why Patrick Tam picked such bad series in the mainland. He is an amazing actor if given a good script.
He should be focusing on movies imo. TV just doesnt bring out his best acting abilities.
the article is not fault, i saw some interview, even them said that the take china series because of high paid… event anthony wong, in his show, he said that china drama is suck
Maybe TVB had something to do with this article?
TVB is behind everything that is bad and evil in this world.
Why “target” only HK artists when they are not the only ones heading to mainland China to expand their horizons? TVB stands to gain the most if the demand for HK artists in mainland China decreases due to negative media reports.
TVB also makes a cut from each artist who is under contract with TVB. They are more than happy to see TVB artists in mainland productions. So the more money the artists make, TVB gets to pocket a bigger chunk of the money. That is how the cookie crumbles! It’s all about the almighty dollar$$$
thats not possible. not with that joint venture between mainland China and HK, which Charmaine sheh is signed to.
I read the English translation of the original article and actually prone to agree with what it says.
The crux of the article is really about the shortsightedness of these HK celebs who after having gained their 15 min in Mainland, they would follow up with any project they could find and most of them are just bad. The long term impact of such lack of selectiveness, which is the article’s focal point, is that they begin to leave the Mainland audience with a negative impression that is similar to that of someone like Wong Jing whenever whose name is mentioned low-quality cat3 sexploitation stuff immediately come to mind.
So, as the result, for the sake of a few quick and easy bucks, these guys essentially have recreated that old time derogatory label “MADE IN HONG HONG” to denote anything that is of low quality.
I understand the meaning of the article, more so after your explanation. But rather than blame the stars for choosing money over quality, what about the producers for choosing crappy material and package it with famous stars and then sell the crap as some high end product? A crappy show is not just about the stars.
Rightly or wrongly, most do not associate bad products with “behind the scene” people as most would not even know who they are. Therefore, when something goes bad, fingers are point to the most visible people, the actors. It is just the law of human nature. Besides, they are the one who gets the big bucks anyway.
Just like when something turn out to be a hit, it is the actors who gets the visible credible as most would not know who the heck the script writers are.
The focus of the article is on the actors, and not the producers or directors or the crappy drama script. Basically, it’s saying “Just coz someone’s offering you a high paying but shitty job, it does not mean you have to take it. But since you are, it means you are all gold diggers and do not care about your reputations down the gurgler.”
Comparatively, just coz you’re beautiful, there’s no need for you to be a mistress to one rich man after another. But since you are, you must be in it for the money (aka Michele Reis).
I know you what mean terminator. The people that we see on screen are the ones that get the most blame. However, I think people who look beyond the screen, they would blame the director, producer, scriptwriter,etc…
Buy out things from HK and force up prices then complain when HK stars are paid to entertain you… shameless media.
mayb blame TVB for raising their price way too high.
I wish the rumor is not true. It could be nonsense. They can’t blame Hong Kong Artists for this situation. Not only HK & also Taiwanese Artists did film in Mainland China.
Even Korean artists film in China as well so yes, it is not only HK and Taiwan.
Right! There are also Singaporean & Malaysian artists did film in Mainland China.
Instead of calling them greedy, what about themselves who produced stupid scripts and offered them more than they should? Who are the stupid ones here?
Who does not want more money? Who wish to be underpaid and stuck in TVB when they are attracting them w/money?
They should also blame themselves for their stupid scripts and getting ill fated ratings i/o of blaming the actors themselves. IF scripts are bad, who can shine? Who will watch?
Exactly!
Just because they are offered those scripts, who said that they had to take them????
Actually, blame the advertisers who are willing to pay for ad time during the showing of those “poorly” scripted, acted or produced shows. So there should be chastising all the way around. Media should also blame those mainland artists for not being proactive and getting on the money train to act in those “poorly” scripted and produced shows.
honestly … besides “Love Story in Shanghai 像雾像雨又像风”, “Wu Ze Tian 1995 – acted by LiuXiaoQing”, “Kang Xi Wang Chao – acted by ChenDaoMing”, “Genghis Khan – acted by China actors” and little bit of “Qianlong Xia Jiangnan – acted by Benny Chan & Charmaine Sheh” … ive never been able to watch through any China dramas although the local tv airs them almost the entire day… in fact the quality of China dramas are very good, just that the script and dialogue is very monotonous and boring especially if the drama is dragged too long up to 30 – 50 episodes, the story is just too slow to follow.
It really depends on the series. If is a historical series, then those must be long or else it would not be meaningful. BUt if is a series that has no good storyline and a bad script, then yes those do get boring and draggy. However, we should not say all series are like that.
maybe it is a matter of personal taste, i use to love watching the China historical dramas in the 1990s and Taiwanese love and historical dramas … but nowadays i really dont like watching mandarin shows … sometimes i will watch a few episodes of China or Taiwan dramas nowadays, but i totally dont like Malaysia and Singapore mandarin dramas … in fact the slang of mandarin has changed drastically over the past 10 to 20 years … but i still agree that China dramas mostr of the time are better among the mandarin dramas.
mandarin is not my first language, i totally learn it from Taiwanese dramas in the past when “Taiwanese Mandarin” or “Peking Mandarin” was the best and most accurate mandarin … however nowadays, i really dont like the way mandarin is spoken, and China drama even like to dub the voices that it sound so unnatural.
I know what you but it is still ok. What I do not like are the cast being dubbed. I always hope to hear their real voices just to find out later that they are dubbed. One of the things I like about watching taiwanese drama is that they always use their real voices. However,at times the Chinese cast use their real voice to dubb as well.
And how many Mainland artistes participate in these crappy series? I don’t see the paper criticizing them for being money-hungry!
The fact is, the percentage of quality series in Mainland China is getting less and less as each year passes. Most of the series out now are loud or have clichéd plots. How many series in a year are there that resembles the quality of Zhen Huan Zhuan?
And China actually limits the number of foreign artists used in each series to make sure their own people are fed.
I think it is unfair that HK artistes get blasted for only acting in crappy idol series. They can only pick the best from what they get offered. You what they pick gets criticized, think of how horrible are the ones they rejected.
And in all fairness, HK artistes go to film in Mainland China for money. They have to eat as well.
Maybe they are just biased against foreigners?
I don’t know why so many here are under the impression that this article attributes the plethora of bad Chinese drama to HK actors. This is absolutely ludicrous and even the China’s media, as nutty as they are, would not make such asinine claim.
All the article said was that many top HK actors kept picking crummy projects for the sake of a quick buck; and after awhile, they would develop a crummy resume that ultimately shape their image with the audience, rightly or wrongly. Case in point, Kevin Cheng was totally unsuited to play Ip Man; but he did anyway because they paid many times more than TVB would in a typical drama. The end result is that among the BBJX cast, Cheng is the only one (from the lead cast) who cannot follow up with another hit drama.
BTW, among all the “foreign” actors in China, the one from HK are the lowest paid. Hence many Chinese producers like to use them because they represent “cheap labor”. I believe a couple of years ago Sheren Tang had alluded to this in an interview.
Are you serious about HK being paid the least?? If that were the case, then the Korean, Malaysian, Taiwanese, Singaporeans,etc.. are paid even more???
Don’t know about Malaysians/Singaporeans for there aren’t many of them; but it would be true for the others.
were HK artists offered any “better” dramas than the ones they acted in? So is it saying that these HK artist turned down well-scripted productions for the big $$$ that was offered by crappy productions?
I’m confused. I mean, did they have a choice to pick “good” dramas?
I always thought the ones that are more popular would get more of a choice. However, the lesser known ones have to take what they get.
That’s the point – the actors get a choice. If there aren’t any good dramas to pick from, should they risk jeopardizing their reputation for the money. Apparently they are willing to again and again and in droves. All for the money.
Uh…then why would HK stars would want to film in Mainland China?
Besides money,they would want to venture out of their comfort zone,meet new people which includes a possible mate,experience new things, etc.. Therefore,it is not just all about money.
I don’t think you should speculate any noble intentions from these guys.
Even they themselves often spew out their singular focus.
I know that money is definitely a part of it,but whether it is all they care about is another thing.
I don’t see what is the problem here since the China producers are also cashing out from the HK artistes popularity. It is only fair that both parties got what they want, isn’t it?
To criticize these actors for heading for China to work only for the money is unfair, I think. After all they are top actors and would want to keep up with their reputation besides earning much more money there. It is not fair also to say that they choose crappy stories to act in. Maybe a few are bad. That happens a lot of times anywhere too. I have more faith in and respect for the TVB actors than how they are reported to be.
Money I’d definately one of the motivators,but is that all they go for? Only they would know that and also whether a series is good or not is down to a matter of opinion.
Meant to say money is definitely… Gosh I need the edit button.
Money talks! Which artist would turn away from a lucrative paycheck. The problem is the script. Don’t blame the artists, they can only do so much with a crappy storyline!
it’s not about the actors’ acting but the scripts that totally suck ! Charmsine’s acting is nearly perfect for every role, it’s the scripts that make the whole drama boring an lame. Chinese audience only care if actors are young and pretty, and the drama’s types are kind of Korean, they don’t know what good acting is anymore.