Fala Chen Admits Her Acting Needs Improvement
With a love for traveling, Fala Chen (陳法拉) developed an interest in aviation after shooting Triumph in the Skies 2 <衝上雲宵II> last year. A new addition to the sequel, Fala portrays Holly, a hopeful and sunny co-pilot in training.
The Triumph in the Skies 2 crew carefully scouted for locations around the world to shoot the blockbuster production. Locations include London, Paris, Hainan, and various cities in Taiwan.
“Shooting at an overseas location is very laborious,” said Fala. “Time was very tight, but Hong Kong people are very good at adapting to difficult situations. They know how to take care of themselves and deal with emergencies. We have great team spirit and we’re close. Although shooting had been laborious, the team got along happily. We saw each other every day, so we formed family bonds. Both Chilam and Francis say that I like taking care of other people – they say it’s in my blood – so they gave me a nickname, godmother.”
In the series, Fala’s “Holly” will be involved in a love triangle with Francis Ng’s (吳鎮宇) “Sam” and Chilam Cheung’s (張智霖) “Jayden.” What was it like to work with these two seniors? “They’re both very good actors. Chilam is a free spirit, so I don’t feel like I’m working with a senior at all. There was no barrier between us. I was more tense working with Francis though. Maybe it’s because of his solemn appearance, but still, Francis takes care of me very well. He would teach me the ways of acting and the principles of life.”
According to the spoilers released, Fala will engage in an intense love scene with Chilam. Fala explained, “It’s not what everyone thinks it is. That day, right before filming in Paris, we all came together to eat pizza and to select some songs for the background music. In the end, we chose to shoot the scene in a garden. It’s very romantic, and not as erotic as people were making it sound.”
The Significance of Traveling
“Traveling is a very important part of my life,” admitted Fala. “Whether it was with just a backpack when I was still a student, or now when I am flying business class, the feeling I have when I travel has never changed. In my opinion, traveling is not a time to relax and enjoy life, but a time to escape my regular lifestyle and experience other lives. It allows me to let myself go and break the limits I have in my own life. We all lead very busy lives, but when we’re out on trips, I would be able to spend more time with my family, so we can learn more from each other.
“When I am traveling, I like to go to beautiful locations that are relaxing, such as mountaintops or beaches. Sometimes, I like to stay in my hotel to read a book or watch a movie. It’s true that I can easily do these things back at home, but when I am in a different location, I am able to relax myself even more. My favorite traveling destination is New Zealand. It has very unique scenery, and it gives me a feeling of absolute freedom. If I am going on trips with my family, I will choose Japan. We are all food lovers, and Japan has great food. I would plan the schedule for the family trip myself.”
Studying in New York
Learning is a never ending process. Fala’s plans to study acting in the United States was not a sudden decision. She waited for this opportunity for years.
“It has been on my mind for many years. After my debut, I was given many opportunities to develop my career, so I had to postpone my plans to study the acting course. Coincidentally, my contract with TVB is ending, which is why I didn’t leave for the United States until now.”
Fala was not a professionally trained actress. She entered the industry as a beauty pageant contender, in which she finished the race as first runner-up in the 2005 Miss Chinese International Pageant.
“After joining the industry, acting became my number one job. I had to learn it as I go. My acting reached a bottleneck afterwards. When I was acting, I felt like I would use all of my emotional, mental, and even physical energy. I would feel nothing afterwards. When I am portraying a difficult role, my acting would turn thin and lack depth. I think now is finally the time to improve my acting through traditional means.
“I actually don’t even know what I’m lacking. I hope to be able to clear my mind and find out what is really missing when I study in the United States. I also hope to know my own personality more. I studied commerce when I was in college. Everything was about rationalization and logic. I am also a very straightforward person, and that is not a good trait for an actress. Hopefully, by the time I return, I can get rid of these flaws!”
Source: Fashion and Beauty #499 via ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Fala acting definitely need improvement.
“Needs improvement” is an understatement………..she should get out of the industry and do something else. Can’t sing or act!
Fala’s acting is weak for her to be a female lead. Her acting definitely need improvement!
I think everyone at TVB has room for improvement, not just Fala.
But she has more 🙂
Agree. Many actresses (including the current top 5 fadans) have tons of room for improvements, not just Fala.
I agree with Linda.
Everyone at TVB has room for improvement.
but like lkv said, fala needs more, maybe the most among the 5 fadans.
Yes, everyone does including your dearest Myolie…
Yeh, gone are the days when tvb could actually be a devlopment ground for real talent.
I mean, how many current actors can you see having any kind of international career like Tony Leung, Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung 20, 30 years from now where they are recongised critically for their artistic talent. At best they will become career actors doing the HK/China rounds and then move behind the scenes. Like what many of the stars are doing now owning their production companies.
Thats what happens when you mine pageants for ‘talent’ and when we live in a culture with an obsession for celebrity where anybody with 3rd rate ability dreams of stardom
@Akira
well, if you say it that way, might as well just say that everyone in this world needs improvement no matter what they do. & it think it’s true because what is the meaning of “perfect” ? So the way you people are saying blahblahblah at TVB needs improvement makes it sound like TVB is super bad or something…
I don’t think there’s ever ‘perfect acting’.
No perfection but there is those that is close to perfection.
That depends on one’s preferences.
at least she is doing something about it.
after getting two best supporting roles from tvb and how many lead roles that she can’t acted well?
don’t know why the translaters here avoid translating news of netizens criticize fala’s no tears crying scene and praises scene where francis flashback over zoe.
Maybe because netizens don’t really mean much? These are the same people that go into a frothing fit should someone show a brastrap during a show… or should somebody “touch” someone else’s chest during a CPR scene….
these are raw and unfiltered feedback since netizens are also audiences and yes that criticism of fala got into hk newspapers, so it does mean something. these netizens are also those who made legit noises when triumph2 themesong sucks.
Sorry… netizens have proven they have strong biases… alot of the criticism levels by netizens is unwarranted, and just a reaction from the “i hate this person” syndrome.
It is not fair for Fala. Some people here are fans of other idol fadans, and hate Fala. Some of the criticisms are not justified. Personally I don’think Myolie Wu, Linda Chung, Kate Tsui and Tavia Yeung are any better than Fala Chen. They are more or less the same, and every actress is good in her own way. They just pick their favourites and attack the other ones.
the netizens are not from here and they’re criticizing her based on her crying.
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/785900-fala-chen-breaks-down-but-had-no-tears-at-all/
At least Fala Chen is very honest and sincere, and she admits that she needs improvements. I am sure that she will learn something from her acting course in New York.
In terms of crying scenes, I believe Linda Chung is the best. She is known for best crying scenes. Myolie Wu and Kate Tsui are not good either. Tavia Yeung is okay in some scenes.
Personally I could not tell whether Myolie Wu was crying in her scenes or not. She looked the same when she cried or smiled.
@Sel_fi_wu: I see you everywhere to raise your Myolie and step on Fala. Sorry LMAO
That is exactly what I meant in my message above. It is okay for us to have favourite artistes, and we all do. But we should be open minded and be reasonable in judging other artiste’s acting. Try to see the good side of an artiste’s acting and not just step on her weak side. No one is perfect.
I thought the cray cray there was going to whip out 100s of netizens’ comments, turned out to be only four or five…….I overestimated her again. Darn it.
Crystal:
“I overestimated her again.” …….. What do you mean by this statement? Just curious.
@Moon
each for their own. just comment based on what i saw from the series.
@Crystal
what are you talking about? how would you know how many netizens are discussing the crying scene and complain that there was no tears? do you ask mingpao news?
“Fala Chen Breaks Down, But Had No Tears At All
Thursday July 18, 2013 Hong Kong
Source: Mingpao
Translated by: aZnangel @ http://asianuniverse.net”
“However, Netizens said she covered her face and had a chain of breaking down expressions, but there was still no tears. Was she crying without tears? Netizens wondered why Fala had no tears? “
every actress is good in her own way
^ I strongly agree with this point. Myolie, Linda, Kate, Tavia, Fala all have their strengths and weaknesses.
As for me, I won’t be able to tell who’s better because some of the fadans mentioned here have been in this industry longer than some of them.
And because of that, they have more experience, which also affects their performance.
Sandcherry,
It was just sarcasm.
Cray cray,
What I am talking about is how you present yourself in every comment, overexaggerating. You made it sound like a global issue where every netizen was talking about how poorly Fala crying scenes are that the world might explode. Maybe yours.
In anycase, in the end… you only managed to prove your point with the back up of about five users? And i believe one of them didnt even say anything about her poor crying. Girl, Fala does need to work on a lot of things but the way you make her sound with all the boasted negativity… its almost similar to an angry ex girlfriend waiting to axe her..
Crystal:
Thanks for your explanations. Agree with you absolutely.
Bubblez
In that case, Myolie Wu should definitely be the “best” as she has been with TVB for over 14 years. Is she really the best actress among the top 5 fadans? There is a super big ? to me.
Ty for your support. 😀
I thought Tavia been there before Myolie, no?
In that case, Myolie Wu should definitely be the “best” as she has been with TVB for over 14 years. Is she really the best actress among the top 5 fadans? There is a super big ? to me.
^
No, that’s not what I meant. I wouldn’t say she is the best among the top five.. All I am saying is that the current five fadans all have their own strengths and weaknesses and that, it’s difficult to say who’s better (at least for me)..
Crystal:
Your memory is better than mine. Tavia Yeung’s 1st drama series was filmed in 1999 and Myolie Wu’s was in 2001.
However, in terms of acting, personally I think Tavia is better. Probably I did not take Tavia Yeung into consideration when I thought about senior actress with poor acting skills. Tavia is more well-rounded in acting.
Bubblez:
Don’t worry. We all have different points of view and expectations, and every actress has her own strengths and weaknesses. Some are just better than others in some ways. I just don’t think it is fair to attack Fala Chen for her poor acting all the time.
Yes I agree. Tavia is much more well rounded, thus better than myolie. Lol….I am scared to make any comparisons to myolie on this website ….
This is just a simple example of my personal opinion:
No matter how well Linda Chung acts, she always gives me the same image (due to her same hair style) as a next-door girl. The only time I found her different was when she was in an ancient drama series.
Yep, I agree with you. 🙂
I am not scared no matter how many fans of Myolie are here. I don’t attack artistes. I just state the facts. If they are good, I give them compliments. If they are not good, I give them criticisms. Of course, I also have my favourites and I may tend to be less critical if the artiste happens to be my favourite (e.g. Sheren Tang).
Is it just me that thinks that Fala’s face/jawline looks a little wider than usual in the picture above?
If she admitted that she does not know what she is lacking in her acting, then I think she is full of dung or plain ignorance…I am sure that her seniors or directors have given her advice on what need to be done to make a specific scene a “good take”. But based on previous negative press about her, her tardiness or inability to work with other artists will affect the total scene’s chemistry which in turn affects people’s perception of her acting ability.
based on the repetitive negative news about her filming attitude, quite possible that this might affect her teamplay with others and in return affect her chemistry and performance. sorry but still can’t see any chemistry between her and any of the cast yet, and her crying is weird.
in fact, i love the scenes where she is with Francis Ng.
Perhaps it is Holiday Ho’s personality not to cry so sadly. Holiday seems to be a tough, stubborn and playful girl in TITS 2. Not every person cries with tons of tears, like Linda Chung.
That statement about how she does not know what she is lacking, I interpreted as that ever since joining TVB all she did was act role after role. When you do something so often, it becomes tedious and tiresome. It sounds funny and probably doesnt make much sense at first thought, but when you think about, doing something over and over again, it does become robotic. Youre doing it because it became some sort of routine but you have no idea what you’re doing right or what you’re doing wrong.
Correct, especially if an artiste is filming more than one drama series at the same time. There is no depth in his/her acting then.
Exactly so its def a good thing she decided to stop and evaluate what she needs to work on.
Even though she had no tears during her crying scene, I think she did a great job showing the reaction *spoilers* when she found the ring in the telescope(?). I was touched by it. I could’ve been better, but it was seriously not as bad.
IT could’ve been better*
The tears part is a valid criticism. After all her Holly was emotionally breaking down and yet not a single tear is unbelievable.
Perhaps Fala Chan has learned from this “valid” criticism, and she will load tons of tears in her future cry scenes. Artistes will surely learn from their mistakes!!
I thought for once that scene could have done more with the “Flora Chan” approach to crying. That hysterical type, tears and mumbling and all. Like a complete meltdown. Because it was supposed to be a meltdown.
If Fala did not shed tears in that particular scene, the director/producer should have asked her to do it again and again (until she shed tears). If it was accepted by the director, it means that it was okay to cry without tears.
Funn:
I hope Fala Chen will read about your comment/suggestion – Flora Chan’s approach – and will learn it from there. Good suggestion!
” If it was accepted by the director, it means that it was okay to cry without tears.”
Exactly. I read it from another article that the director said that how Fala did the scene was fine/okay. If it wasn’t okay, she would have gotten another take!!
And it’s also based on perspective and how the scene was taken.
Even if the director okay-ed it, some of the audience did not. While there certainly is a-not-so-hidden-agenda behind some posters, it’s up to the actress to accept the criticism and evaluate if there’s a valid point of not.
I agree with the poster who said some people are not the type to cry a waterfall. However, given that Holiday is a very emotional type of person, I feel it’s most in character for her to have an excessive breakdown. And so Fala did feel lacking in that scene.
Is this the scene where she suppose to met her boyfriend to watch liu xing and Francis following her?. I actually cringe in that part..her crying is like..err…especially put together with Francis flawless acting…
I think the emotional scenes she’s ok, not everyone must cry so hard right? In fact too much crying is ugly…haha…
It’s during the 1st episode when we first see her, that’s a little odd. But she seem to warm up more as the show progresses. Anyway I feel they focus too much on her.. at least for the first 4 episodes.
Agree ……. “not everyone must cry so hard”. Sometimes we cannot hear an actress’ dialogues if she cries too hard. Every character is different …… some are weaker and softer than others, and they cry easily with tons of tears. Some are very stubborn and strong, and they never cry with tears. This happens to both men and women, but more women cry with tears.
I don’t think she was that bad in that crying scene, I enjoy watching the more less emotional types not those heavy crying types because that’s just obnoxious to see on screen and in reality.
At least she knows she’s not a strong actress and is willing to make improvements, better than those who are not doing anything about it. Shouldn’t really compare her to the other lead actresses since she’s one of the ones that started out later. Every artiste have their own techniques and flaws when it comes to performing, it’s difficult to say who’s a paradigm of flexibility and excellence. In Fala’s case she realize she needs improvement and she is willing to change. Most of her roles weren’t diverse enough for her to make any changes or development to her acting ability it’s no wonder she’s jaded and therefore moved on from that company.
I do think Fala’s acting is pretty weak as a lead actress and she’s better as a supporting actress instead. However, I do think a part of that problem was when she got together with her boyfriend/husband. Maybe it was due to all the pressure from dating him and his family, but a lot of her performances seem really restrictive and never fully able to let go, especially in emotional scenes. Now that they broke up and nothing is holding her back, she’ll finally have a breakthrough.
You are talking about intimate scenes and kissing scenes. I am sure she will do better in the above scenes from now on.
Not just intimate and kissing scenes. In Fala’s words, she basically “lacks depth” in a lot of her roles.
Not always. It happens to all actresses though.
But this article is talking about Fala, so my opinion is going to be about Fala.
Fala is indeed as you say restrictive in her acting – and it may very well be due to her ex-BF/husband’s family/pressure, who knows. I agree that it’s been a hinderance esp. in emotional and romantic scenes. Her chemistry with male costars has been rather spotty, likely for this reason.
All this we can agree upon. However, I don’t think her acting is weakest of the fadans. If she is better off as supporting, the same applies for the others. Fala is too restrictive – but some of the others are too over-the-top. In supporting roles, there’s a natural restraint due to limited screentime. But it’s blatantly obvious in leading roles. They ALL have their weaknesses and strengths and who is weakest simply depends on if you prefer an actress who holds back or one that over-acts.
As for Fala, she’s been in the industry shortest and has never had professional training so even if she is the weakest, that would make sense purely for the lack of experience. That’s why it’s refreshing to see her admit to her weaknesses – and do something about it! While I don’t think it’s entirely fair to compare her acting to people who have been in the industry much longer, I also understand why people do compare. Because it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the industry, there are certain expectations to the lead actress. Since she accepted the roles (don’t know if you can actually reject roles in TVB) then you must also bear the responsibility that comes with them.
I didn’t even compare her to any actresses in my above statement. I am not criticizing her acting just because I want to push up other people. I actually like Fala- she has star quality, but I just don’t think her acting is that great right now.
I was responding to your statement that she works better as supporting. NONE of the leading fadans can carry a show imo. They all worked better when they were in supporting roles because then their limitations weren’t as obvious. Alas, they are what TVB has atm so one more or less “unqualified” leading actress doesn’t make a big difference, and we all see the same faces too much as it is. Now that Fala is gone, it could be Linda/Myolie/Tavia/Kate for every show. Clearly TVB knows that won’t cut it, hence their attempts at bringing “fresh meat” e.g. Joey Meng, Niki Chow etc.
I’m going to disagree about the other 4.
It’s interesting how Fala is so open about her flaws. Hopefully, there will be improvement when she makes a comeback.
I have a feeling if her career does not get anywhere after leaving TVB, she will have to come back to TVB… Many artists have done that in the past.
I think Fala Chen has to give her some time to “pick up” her acting career in film industries. Most artistes had to do it, such as Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau, Francis Ng. They all had to wait for their opportunities. Unfortunately, it is easier for actors to wait than for actresses. Once an actress waits for some time, she gets aged and cannot “sell” herself. Moreover, most of the current movies put the focus on male characters instead of the female ones.
Unless Fala Chen is willing to enter Mainland Chinese markets, she may be able to “sell” herself quickly due to her language (Mandarin) skills.
To be honest, falas acting seems so fake… Something about her just irks me….She’s really pretty though with the cute dimples !
But I was so disappointed when I heard she was in TITS2 !!! I had the urge to even skip some of her parts in episode 3 when she was crying… I sound really harsh but it’s because I really don’t like her. Since she’s leaving tvb , then it’s a fact she’s moving towards the mainland market to make some more money Lols…but I hope she makes it big in mainland
So what if there were no tears. Better than actresses who cry floods and have snot flying everywhere.
^lol. crying involves tears, thats why its termed that way. fala’s scene itself shows she lacks “soul” in her acting and rightfully criticized.
floods and snots are at least more genuine than a curled up lip, absurd expression, and scrunched face with no tears.