Steven Ma Becomes “Blue Chip Stock” for TVB
Steven Ma Chun Wai and Sonija Kwok Sin Lei’s TVB series, 7 Days in Life <隔離七日情> will be broadcast at the end of January in Hong Kong. In the series, Steven will share bed scenes with Sonija and Koni Lui Wai Yee will be seducing him. The women will often become jealous of each other due to their interest in Steven. In real life, Steven noted that he did not have a colorful fate with women and did not desire one.
Due to the broadcast of Steven’s series’ Links to Temptation and 7 Days in Life during the Christmas and Lunar New Year holidays, Steven has been nicknamed “Blue Chip Stock.” The moniker refers to Steven’s solid value and reliable performance used to boost the holidays’ normally sluggish ratings performance.
Source: the Sun
Jayne: This article had a positive spin on the broadcast of Steven’s series in the December/ January timeframe. In another tabloid, Steven was allegedly angered by having his series airing during this time of the year. Not only do the series get lower seasonal ratings, the series aired during this timeframe tend to be forgotten during the TVB Anniversary Awards as well.
steven ma has plenty of good series to come to get in the limelight for tvb anniversary.
i feel this is his year, potentially because of stephen chan’s return.
@ pandamao
But, according to Steven fans, it has been years already that all Steven series are either warehoused or aired in bad slot. Steven fans also feel that despite all the news about Steven Ma being one of Stephen Chan’s favourites, Stephen Chan has not actually help Steven much. Steven get no benefit from Stephen C.
Hope this year will be a change. Steven Ma does not lack good series. He has filmed plenty of good series. But, his series somehow was always aired in either beginning of the year, right after Anniversary, holiday season or pitted against big events like World Cup. This resulted in the series not being able to reach its full potential in ratings and this affect Steven Ma’s chance inn getting the TVB Award.
the award means nothing.
a series don’t have to be slotted the best timing for steven. he can get crap and turn it into diamonds. hence, i’m not worried about him at all.
that’s what i was trying to say.
@ pandamao
Steven has no more series to be aired after 7 Days in Life, unless “Thunder” which he is currently shooting somehow made it this year.
As for Mr. Chan’s return, he himself is 自身難保 being on shaky ground right now, so nevermind of his watching over Steven in TVB.
**********
To add to above article:
In the same interview Steven said that he has adapted from not understanding to accepting. (note: more like resigning) “I’ve already unburdened myself of the timeslot issue. Don’t make the situation so negative. It maybe because the company thinks highly of me thus such arrangement. If the audience support me, they will tune in no matter what timeslot. Why not you all watch how I enjoy having a peach blossom fate,and be happy for me instead!
Asked Steven if he would enjoy (a peach blossom fate)? He laughs and says: “If it’s peach blossom luck, then it’s good; if it’s peach blossom raid then, no thanks. I’m a person who is quite discipline, won’t see one, love one.” *
p/s: Despite what was previously reported in the tabloids, I honestly don’t think Steven was railing against the timeslot issue in that particular reported weibo entry of his; imo, he was upset over a different matter.
*問馬仔享不享受？他笑言﹕「如果行桃花運就好，遇到桃花劫就無必要了，我份人都好自律，完全唔會見一個愛一個。」
u may be right about that .. maybe steven was talking about something else.
steven does not seem like a person that cares about the tvb politics anymore. he’s just out there to perform his best, which he has!!!!
@ pandamao: “u may be right about that .. maybe steven was talking about something else.”
To elaborate why I think so: In his weibo Nov 16 Steven said he has good news to impart which is: 7 Days will be coming out soon following Links, and that there is also another good news which he will keep for now until such time to share. Judging from his words, he was elated not upset. Soon after around Nov 23, Katy Kung confirmed 7 Days would air 1 week before CNY.
晚上再拍＂誘情轉駁＂宣傳片，累死，但開心，因為又有一個好消息，大家＂也許＂不用等太久，就能看到神偷易早安了！也許矣！哈哈！另外還有……還是稍後再說吧！steven ma 2010-11-16 22:50
When I first read his Dec 8th explosive weibo entry, I thought for sure 7 Days must be like how SITS was in 2008 after being rumored to air during CNY, was to be released overseas, after all. But now that its airing timeslot is confirmed, that wasn’t it, either. It may be that one good news that he had wanted to share didn’t pan out that got him upset.
But anyway, I just don’t think constant bad timeslots was what prompted his atypical outburst in weibo. Steven must have been extremely disillusioned with TVB at that time for him to pen such an out of character entry.
The reporters reading netizens presumptuous posts just assumed he was. Why would Steven take so long to explode when he had known about 7 Days timeslot weeks ahead?
whatever la. I like to see his acting. I never miss his show.Keep acting
Whatever it is for this current time Steven is the ‘face of TVB’ now by having 2 of his series aired back to back. This will help him getting jobs and functions.
I heard some people said that producer Leung Choi Yuen custom made a breakthrough thief role for Steven in this new series and give him many pretty girls to pair with. This article confirmed about the pretty girls.
Steven is lucky too being able to have bed scenes with sexy and pretty beauty queens of Sonija and Koni Lui Lol
I really like Steven Ma’s acting! Although I guess it is kind of a compliment to be called ‘Blue Chip Stock’, I don’t think TVB appreciates him enough. TVB should really be more appreciative towards other great actors and actresses instead of only their ‘biological sons and daughters’.
That’s why Steven Ma burst on his weibo earlier because TVB treated him badly.
TVB will be more appreciative if it’s ‘biological son’ Moses Chan who always get the best treatment in TVB and getting the awards year after year despite his disappointing acting.
Steven I heard only had the backup of Catherine Tsang and the producer of Ghost Writer while Moses for example has the backup of TVB higher management.
I can’t see how Catherine Tsang supports Steven beside getting Stephen Chan involved in his renewal contract negotiation. Do you see Steven starring in any of her grand productions? I don’t! Just because it is reported so doesn’t mean it is true. Action speaks louder than words.
What did Steven wrote?
But the thing is, Steven IS a tvb biological son since July 2005.
Aside from not getting Best Actor Award and his series being aired in ‘bad timeslot’, Steven Ma is not that badly treated. He has series after series to act in and most of them, he’s the first lead. That’s better than a lot of other TVB actors.
@Kidd “Aside from not getting Best Actor Award and his series being aired in ‘bad timeslot’, Steven Ma is not that badly treated. He has series after series to act in and most of them, he’s the first lead. That’s better than a lot of other TVB actors.”
well if you put his acting skills and treatment together on a scale .. there’s a mistake.
Versatile actor, mediocre/sub-par treatment <– steven ma
mediocre/sub-par actor, excellent treatment <— moses chan
i believe this is the issue. putting in the "mediocre actors, normal treatment" pretty much says nothing.
thank you, pandamao, well said.
@Kidd “Aside from not getting Best Actor Award and his series being aired in ‘bad timeslot’, Steven Ma is not that badly treated. He has series after series to act in and most of them, he’s the first lead. That’s better than a lot of other TVB actors.”
Yes, Steven is billed as the main male lead in most of his series, but his characters’ screen time and importance in these series belied that fact and did not get the due importance accorded a male lead status in a series. Even in Links, baidu netizens griped that Lau Dan seems more like the main male lead, based on his character’s significance. It is only during the last 5 episodes that Steven’s Wilson becomes more central to the story line.
Those titles of main male leads, blue chip stock or rating guarantee heaped upon Steven are all empty and meaningless when viewed against Steven’s actual situation.
Steven does get unfair treatment compared to Moses who’s worse in acting but I actually agree with Kidd that Steven consistently got the first lead in his series.
Links to Temptation might be the only exception but in all his other series he’s the most prominent male and paired up with leading girl.
For this to be aired series you can also see that Steven is being highlighted by TVB and the media although the downside is just the airing timeslot. Other than that I keep seeing that news are highlighting Steven’s playboy characteristics in this series and many netizens are seeing this as a breakthrough for him.
@Vivien
“Steven does get unfair treatment compared to Moses who’s worse in acting but I actually agree with Kidd that Steven consistently got the first lead in his series.”
I guess you guys are having a hard time seeing my point. Let’s take, a person is constantly placed on good projects and produces excellent results, however, the credit is not given to him/her.
This is my uproar with TVB and Steven. He’s got the ratings, the approval, and clean gossip image yet he never gets the reward for his hard work. Yeah, so he gets to take on leading roles and etc. but that’s not really treating him right. People act like Steven should be grateful because he’s in leading role and neglecting how much hard work he has put in to be in that position.
Maybe because I’m a fan of many second line actors that didn’t even get that break. So, I don’t see Steven Ma’s treatment as that bad.
I don’t think Steven is treated that badly as such because in comparison to someone like Sunny Chan, at least he still gets to film quite often. But there certainly is a trend with his series: he’s always paired up with upcoming actresses – not first line, they air over low ratings’ periods and/or are warehoused.
@Funn Lim
Steven wrote this:
其實我做人的底線很底，真的很底，能受能原諒的，我願。也許太早出來打工，我早已學會盡量把每一步都先讓，但，愈讓，愈被欺負，愈接受，得回的愈過份！夠了，我不是怒，但也不傻！明白，我很明白！但，難道給我一點點公平都不行嗎？哈哈，放心，我依舊會做好我的本份，只是一時感觸矣，別擔心！ dec 8 2010 http://t.sina.com.cn/1724423673
For those who can’t read Chinese, here’s the English translation by Tamaya @ Asianfanatics.
Actually, my personal bottom line is very low, truly very low. I can readily endure and forgive. I’m willing to do that. Maybe because I started work early so I have long learned to take a step back as compromise. But the more I yield, the more I am being bullied; the more I endure, the more unreasonble the paybacks are. Enough! I am not furious, but neither am I stupid! Understand, I understand very well indeed! But, is it too much to even give me a modicum of fairness? Haha! Don’t worry, I will continue doing my part well. Tis’ only a moment of emotional stirring. Don’t worry!
Vivien & kidd,
My silence hereafter on Steven’s situation is acquiescence, just that I see no point in discussing it, especially if the discussion evolves to involve other artistes. So to each his/her own. I’ll maintain mine.
these discussions are an opportunity to learn about other artist and understand what others see.
sucks that u opt out since i find all of you guys being quite reasonable with the situation.
@ pandamao: The point is we are seemingly immutable in our stance given that the our povs starting points are obviously different, even diverging from the very start, so subsequent discussions seem pointless and will be going in circles.
oops! Correction: My silence hereafter on Steven’s situation is NOT acquiescence.
Uh, when has this discussion become a competition where winning and losing is involved?
The above statement sounds like “I won’t talk about this anymore, but, that doesn’t mean you win!”
No one is forcing you to agree. Any discussion will end sooner or later when all the participants run out of points to discuss. So, it would be silly to assume that silence means acquiescence. But, you deem it neccessary to point that out.
I also sense a bit of annoyance with me and Vivien for not seeing and agreeing with your point.
Anyway, that’s just my impression.
Best wishes to Steven in his upcoming series.
I don’t enter discussion to win or lose. What I meant by my above statement is that I’m going to disengage myself from this topic hereafter, for the reason stated.
And why should I get annoyed when I can simply ignore. And no, I’m not annoyed at all, in fact I was not anything at all when I posted that because, well, whatever you said was nothing new to me. But yeah, sorry to get up you all riled up. Would be more careful with my choice of words next time.
@pandamao
As Kidd says that’s the only areas that he doesn’t get which is the Best Actor awards and maybe leading countless grand production unlike another certain mediocre/worse actor mentioned earlier but compare to other second liners or first liners who don’t get to be first male lead in their series Steven’s situation is better and he did won the Best Character award a few years ago.
Of course some will want him to win the awards but to these actors gaining more fans may also be gratifying and by getting to be first lead = lots of screentime and focus = means there’s more chance to score more fans. For latest example coupled with Steven’s breakthrough ‘thief’ character and love story with Sonija in the upcoming 7D of Life Steven might score more fans when the series aired as the male lead.
@vivien: “but compare to other second liners or first liners who don’t get to be first male lead in their series Steven’s situation is better and he did won the Best Character award a few years ago.”
Which is why like I said we are seeing things differently because our povs starting points are different. Here I was talking about Steven’s treatment(from all appearance, a tvb first line actor)who is not accorded the due respect and recognition that his counterparts first line actors of the same generation get. I am comparing his situation to his same generation, first line actors, not to 2nd line or to younger generation 1st line actors. Do compare apples to apples not to oranges. My pov is that TVB is not treating Steven like how it treats its other same generation first line actors. Steven is not a 2nd line actor nor is he a younger generation 1st line actor, for heaven’s sake.
If he is a 2nd line actor, then your dissension is valid, but he is not, is he? And most would agree that Steven is multi talented in singing and acting, and has the looks too plus work ethics. So what’s holding him back, tvb promotions like those accorded his counterparts of same generation 1st line actors. Compare his treatment to those on the same 1st line, same generation, who joined TVB about the same time as he. See from that pov, what first liners of his generation, except Sunny Chan, is as unfavorably treated. But like I said, our povs originated from a different, even diverging departure point, and so be it.
I’m not annoyed by other povs nor am I forcing anyone to see my pov, just tired of sounding like a broken record myself, that’s all.
As to the best tv male character, truly a juicy carrot rewarded him for re-joining tvb. I bet Steven got to be the only artiste (male or female) who won that award without even getting into the top 5 best actor/actress nomination. Notice how it all went downhill for Steven after that high note. Except for GW, he didn’t get to sing the themesong solo anymore, worst, in the last two series he didn’t get to sing, period. Except for Sonija, he didn’t get to pair with 1st line, same generation actresses. Moreover, most of his series were produced to promote his co-stars, down to the recently finished airing Links. Let’s not go into unfavorable timeslots, small budget productions, and few outside and advertisement jobs and functions.
To reiterate, I am talking about TVB treatment of Steven compared to his 1st line, same generation peers, not 2nd line or younger generation 1st line actors because Steven signed up, twice, as a first line actor not a 2nd line or supporting actor.
@Vivien
Lol – I guess the mentality of “something is better than nothing” doesn’t work quite well with me. Regardless – I believe we all agree Steven doesn’t get “everything” and that’s what’s important. He’s a recognized actor and if he ever leaves TVB, it will be a great lost.
@Clamine – Let’s hope for the best for all actors and actresses that are well deserved but under appreciated.
I love Steven Ma and Raymond Lam. I do adore his acting skills over raymond’s. I can’t wait to see more of his acting. Don’t forget he knows how to sing as well. I like raymond’s singing skills more. I hope to see better storylines though. I like a lot of Stevens series!!!!!!!
Ray’s got a better singing style that fits today more. Steven can sing, but he’s not unique or good enough to have a very good album that people, other than his fans, are willing to buy.
I like Steven’s voice. He has a good singing voice. Love his rendition of the themesong of DOMD. But, I agree with you. His style is more 80’s. Straight out singing, no soft whisper, breathy sound etc.
Raymond also need to change his singing style when he became pop singer. His singing style before and after he joined EEG is different.
Steven does really well with in a serious role in period dramas… like perish in the name of love, safe guards, where the legend begins… i wish they would give him more meaty roles in these types of dramas.. play to his strengths.
Steven is one of those aging lead stars in tvb who still has it going, unlike people like benny chan who is nowhere to be seen anymore.
From skimming Baidu tvb, Benny Chan seems to be doing really well in China, where the real dough is.
And by “nowhere to be seen anymore”, you mean HK? A rather limited perspective imo, but to each their own.
Is he like around 40 bout now?
Yes, he’s going to be 40 this October.
Wow, if you have not mention his age, I wouldn’t realise that many currently leading actors in TVB are already pushing 40s or in their 40s. I always thought Moses is still in his mid 30s. Turns out he’s the same age as Steven. But, Steven Ma looks young. He has still pass for early 30s.
No lar. Mid 30s lar. You can see he aged. How old is Kevin? That man looks young but his acting.. what the hell happened?
@ Funn
Kevin Cheng is 42 now.
I’m still amazed at Raymond Cho looking as young as he does at 47.
I understand how Steven feels but it’s ok, not like TVB will give him an award anyways unless it is a breakthrough role. Not a bad move by TVB but TVB is airing “A Great Way to Care/仁心解碼” which to be is a bad move.
The series has been release overseas already, it’s online, many ppl probably watched it already. I don’t get why that waste the slot!? I know that they beat ATV in ratings no matter what but seriously I’m really hoping for improvements internally in TVB
You forgot Ten Brothers which is warehoused 2 times before airing in TVB Jade but still have good rating?