TVB Producers Fight Over Fala Chen

While TVB executives are hard at work to nurture the next batch of rising stars, current fadans, Fala Chen (陳法拉), Kate Tsui (徐子珊), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Tavia Yeung (楊怡) and Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) are working extra hard in their leading roles for the new series being produced.

With just a handful of actresses who can take on leading roles, their schedules have been extremely packed, many times filming multiple series back-to-back.

TVB executive, Catherine Tsang (曾勵珍) is currently in works to produce new drama, The Love Firm <傳愛事務所> featuring Wayne Lai (黎耀祥)  and Moses Chan (陳豪). However, the lead actress has not been confirmed yet. According to reports, Catherine is pushing to cast Fala Chen as the lead actress, however the filming coincides with Fala’s current filming schedule for Triumph in the Skies 2 <衝上雲宵II>.

In the end, both producers compromised with Fala’s early release from Triumph in the Skies, while delaying the production of The Love Firm.

When asked about the “fight” over Fala Chen, Triumph in the Skies’ producer, Tommy Leung (梁家樹) said, “It wasn’t a fight. We will do our best to accommodate everyone’s schedule because we all work for TVB. Fala just needs to finish her scenes for Triumph in the Skies in Great Britain, France and Taiwan. She should be done by early December and will be able to start filming for the new series.”

Tsui Ching Hong, the series producer of The Love Firm, explained that he could not imagine anyone else besides Fala for this role. “Her character is very cool, arrogant and strong. We need to find an actress who is of the same caliber as Wayne and Moses. We’re able to accommodate Fala’s schedule after filming Triumph in the Skies 2, so we should be able to start production in late November and start shooting the scenes with just Wayne and Moses first until Fala joins us in early December.”

Responding to reports that TVB producers are fighting over her, Fala said, “I’m just concerned about my lack of time to dedicate to studying the scripts since I’ll be travelling quite a bit for Triumph in the Skies 2, so I’ll need to be diligent about checking email to receive the scripts. I love being involved in Triumph in the Skies 2; I’m also really excited about the new series, especially because I get work with the two TV Kings!”

Source: Ming Pao Weekly # 2293 via kuangaitvb.com

This article is written by Natalie for JayneStars.com.

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Responses

  1. “Her character is very cool, arrogant and strong.”
    —————————————–
    The above characteristics fit very well into Fala Chen’s personality.

    Good choice!

    1. Really, that sounds more like Kate Tsui to me. Fala is more like the bright sunshine type.

      1. Its opposite. Kate is sunshine type, like to smile, neing friendly to ppl while Fala is kinda cool and feminine.

      2. well, fala couldn’t nail the cool & strong part in lives of omission. Kate tends to play these characters better. not sure about them in real life.

      3. Fala and kate just have opposite personalities when they’re on and off the screen.

        Fala is good at potraying sunshine roles while Kate is good at being cop, undercover and etc.

        but in real, Fala has a rather arrogant and cool attitude while kate is friendly in person.

      4. Actually when I think of cool, arrogant and strong, Myolie pops up in my mind because of her character in GJ1. I think she would fit the role well.

      5. Eeks, too many cool, arrogant lawyer roles for Myolie then, as she just did it in GJ1. Let Fala attempt them!

      6. lol. Fala’s not at all the sunshine of the bunch. But when the producer said that Fala’s “of the same caliber as Wayne and Moses”, but i think that she has a LOOOONG way to go

      7. Oh really. Like some of the people here, my impression of Fala was that she was the bright sunshine type and Kate the cool femme fatale type of girl like the roles she played. But turns out they are the opposite.

      1. Funny isn’t it? Tavia fans like to drag in their idol by themselves into topics that has nothing to do with tavia, but anything good, tavia must have it. Anything bad? OMG WHY YOU BRING IN TAVIA?

      2. Hmm… but Kate is also not mentioned in this article but was brought up. You were silent about it. So why double standard?

      3. The difference – Did any Kate fans complain we always bring up Kate? Please look at the topic that I linked to where
        Tavia fans were the ones who complain we bring up tavia. but when it’s good, they want it for tavia themselves, and they bring her in?
        So it’s ok for them to bring her in unrelated topics when it’s good, but when others bring her into other unrelated topics and it’s bad, they complain about dragging her name into some topic?

        Do note, in Rebecca’s topic, commenters also brought in fala. No Fala fans complained.

      4. Hahaha. Commenting about silly TVB actors’ lives mean serious business, clearly.

      5. I see this as balancing out. It seems there are alot of Tavia haters on here bashing her in every article for no reason.

      6. It seems that one simple sentence can throw you off, Nicole. I think someone just troll you lol. I know you don’t like tavia, but constantly target her fans will just put you in worse light

      7. @Nicole I think the context matters here: In the Rebecca Zhu article, the comparisons of Rebecca to Fala were relevant, as the article talked about how Rebecca was cast in a role originally intended for Fala Chen. On the other hand, the first mention of Tavia in the comments was an out-of-nowhere derogatory comment about her nose. I’m not sure what the point of it was; it was basically bringing up Tavia for the sake of bashing her. I’d also note that the Tavia nose comment was made by one of the fake Funn Lims, who was likely up to no good.

        “So it’s ok for them to bring her in unrelated topics when it’s good, but when others bring her into other unrelated topics and it’s bad, they complain about dragging her name into some topic?”

        I don’t think it’s double standards to consider mean-spirited comments less acceptable than other types of comments. I don’t generally take issue with negative/critical comments (indeed, every celeb has their haters, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I think critical comments are essential to any meaningful conversation) but there are some comments that cross the line into OTT hatefulness and I feel are uncalled-for.

        Plenty of other TVB actresses have been mentioned in the comments here — going by timestamps, Kate Tsui, Nancy Wu, Mandy Wong, Elanie Yiu were all mentioned by commenters before anyone uttered the name “Tavia”, and more importantly, no one was bringing up these actresses solely for the sake of bashing them. And I don’t think the mentions of these other actresses are completely out of point here, as they are being suggested as alternatives for the “cool, arrogant” role that’s described in this article, or for promotion to TVB first-line status (the article talks about TVB’s current shortage of female leads). Hence I don’t feel the situation here is comparable to what happened in the Rebecca Zhu article.

      8. @Little Fishy

        That’s where you are wrong hun, I don’t get butthurt whenever anyone criticise about my favourites, but instead, I myself, make harsh comments on them, when they deserve it etc. To me, commenting on artistes is just fun. It’s just entertainment. I just find it funny. But I ask for the same treatment for all.

        Now, I’d direct you to two threads:
        One called “Artists you don’t really like because of their fans”
        http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/402137-artists-you-dont-really-like-because-of-their-fans/page__view__getlastpost
        The other “点评五小花粉” http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1846865007
        Nope, I didn’t post on any of these threads, but it’s interesting to see how badly tavia fans act, and how disliked they are, regardless of where they are from.

      9. @Brie

        As you said that comments about fala are relevant, as the article talks about how Rebecca is casted in a role for Rebecca, then do note that the article, also mention Tavia. Is it wrong for someone to comment on tavia, since they are also reminded of tavia when they read the article? And the most striking thing about tavia is her nose, so it’s not surprising that people will bring it up.

        “I don’t generally take issue with negative/critical comments (indeed, every celeb has their haters, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I think critical comments are essential to any meaningful conversation) but there are some comments that cross the line into OTT hatefulness and I feel are uncalled-for.”

        Like you said, I do not take issue with critical or negative comments. But where’s the line? Everyone has a different threshold. And it seems like tavia fans have a very different threshold for tavia? I’ve seen really bad comments about Aimee Chan or Christine Kuo, and I don’t see you or anyone rushing to protect them?

        And regarding the frequent comments on Tavia’s nose.
        I understand that her fans think that tavia’s nose does not relate to her acting, and it shouldn’t be criticised, but do note. We are looking at her face whenever we watch her act. Are we supposed to cover her nose on screen, when it is really distracting? The criticism isn’t uncalled for.
        And what’s the best way to get her to change it back? If everyone just praise her the way tavia fans do, all of us saying she’s beautiful, stunning, best of the 5 fadans, you think that will get her attention? She would just continue thinking her new nose is perfect. The ridicules are here for a reason, that’s what most people think about tavia’s nose. All over TVB forum, all over HK forums. If you think the insults here are bad, go on those.
        Frankly, I want to watch good acting, I don’t really care who they are from. But Tavia looks ridiculous so I can’t watch her act. I want to watch Tavia pre-2009, not this weird looking pinocchio. If because of the ridicules, Tavia actually changes her nose back so that she’s no longer Pinocchio, what’s so bad about that? It seems that her fans do not want her to get better. Every insult, they see it as an insult, but do not see it as a motivation for her to change.
        People bashed Charmaine for her voice, or Linda for her voice, they are working hard to improve it.
        People ridiculed Myolie to death about being gwing, she’s working to improve it. Look at the praise she got for her crying in GJ2 on HK discussion boards. From Gwing to that. The criticism on Myolie was just as bad as Tavia’s. If we all just praised Myolie’s gwingness when she was doing that in Taichi, where would she be now?
        So what’s wrong with criticising Tavia about her nose so she stops with her injections? However, I know she definitely would not, if we all sing happy songs and make daisy chains.

      10. Oops, the first line should be
        as the article talks about how Rebecca is casted in a role for Fala,

      11. Just read 点评五小花粉 linked here by Nicole.

        Wow, Tavia fans really has rubbed many people the wrong way.

        Poor Tavia. The action of the fans really can affect the celeb.

      12. nicole- problem is everyone kept on insulting tavia and seldom praising her but for others like kate or myolie or linda ppl here just insult them for a while then praise them back but for tavia i don’t see praising at all ONLY insults. Fans of tavia can stand insults but not continuously. For example a person kept on insulting you or bullying you continuously ,… don’t you get furious and tired of it.

      13. @ Nicole

        Thanks for the link. No, I have not read this. Interesting article on Myolie. I’ve not watch her pageant moment. So, interesting to read what she did at the pageant.

      14. @Kidd
        It’s not only on Myolie though, there’s critique on Tavia and the others among the other pages. I think it’s very well-written.

      15. @loop
        Darling, have you ever thought why there are so many insults on Tavia nowadays? In the past you hardly hear anything bad about tavia. Because in the past she was honestly GOOD. Good acting, natural, especially as a supporting actress. Looks – not the most beautiful, but pretty and elegant. These are my own honest thoughts about the Tavia then in 2009 and before.

        Then what happened?

        When she became a lead actress
        1. Tavia is not charismatic enough to hold a series on her own, due to her natural acting. She becomes a bore. Her characteristics as a good supporting actress, natural and understated acting, makes her very boring to watch as a lead actress with her low voice, her serious face, drone drone drone… I can’t count the number of times I fell asleep while watching her series when she’s leading. Then when she tries exaggerated, it becomes so OTT, because usually she’s like half-dead acting, and suddenly WAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL like a shrieking banshee.
        2. Her looks from good, become this long nose weird pinocchio. I know you fans think she still looks great, but many people, who were neutral with tavia before, thinks she looks funny now. Even if you can’t accept it, it’s the truth.

        So why are there so many insults on tavia? Because more and more people dislike her because of those reasons, unless she improve on them.
        Look, when Myolie was at her gwingness period of her acting, many people disliked her too. And MANY people made bashing comments on her. But she improved, and so many people’s opinions changed. So there’s not as many insults on myolie now. There still are of course, but there are some insults and some praises. Likewise for linda. Remember when she was pushed to lead actress with her chicken voice and bad acting. SO much bad comments about her. But linda improved, so now there are fewer insults and some praises. Same for Kate.

        So why are you complaining there are only insulting comments on tavia, when it’s the same for Christine Kuo, Aimee Chan and others? Who knows, maybe in the future, we will be heaping compliments on Christine and Aimee and bashing someone else?

        If tavia gets better, and fix her nose, don’t worry, the insults will lessen and stop. If not, what are you gonna do? That’s the opinion of the general public. Sad fact, but audience are fickle because most of us aren’t goddess worshipping cults. If you can’t accept it, then just go on a fans site?

      16. @Nicole: I finally read the two topics you given and find out that many ppl think similar to me :D.

      17. Yup. I’m reading it and found out some more interesting topics in tvb bar. Hâh, next time I should go here more.

      18. Uhm, 14 pages forum, lol, I only read the first page, but my impression was the more fans an actors/actress has, the more chance you get obsessive nut job. But that doesn’t mean any comment from a “fan” should be treated in the most hated/worst point of view.
        If someone just say something out of the blue, and you are not agree, talk reason about it or simply ignore. I know you find replying these messages are fun, but no need to be so work up about it.

    2. I agree, Fala does seem kinda of arrogant from her interviews. She seems very confident and thinks very highly of herself. (Too highly sometimes in my opinion…)

  2. Time for her to make a ton of money and plenty a lot of hype to get 2013 TVB Queen…

  3. I still think Fala Chen looks prettier than Rebecca Zhu. She has more personality than Rebecca Zhu.

    1. I also think fala chen looks prettier. She look sweet too. But Rebecca also not that bad.

    2. In the looks dept, Fala triumphs. But personality wise, i thought Rebecca has a more outstanding one?

  4. Still not liking for some reason, yes she’s pretty but her acting ain’t good. Hope she improve in her new series.

    1. She’s ok, I don’t think she’s that pretty, also I lol at fala has the same caliber in acting as Wayne, that’s so insulting -.-

  5. It’s time TVB move the 2nd line fadans up – Nancy Wu, Mandy Wong, Elanie Yiu – these actresses’ performance far surpass some of the fadans mentioned in this article.

    1. Very surprised, especially for Nancy Wu. Her screen time has been decreased a lot in 2012. She is the first good support actress to be moved up. Her acting is better than many of the top 5 fadans’ in any drama series.

    2. I feel sorry for Nancy Wu who has been with TVB since 2003 (Triumph in the Skies) and she has worked very hard on her acting skills.

      1. Yeah, Nancy is talented, but lacking in luck! Poor judgement by TVB in my opinion!!!

      1. I love Mandy Wong but I don’t think she can be lead yet – they let her share lead in Diva in Distress and she didn’t deliver. Even they pair her with Him Law and they are good in Tiger Cubs.

      2. I agree that there’s room for improvement but IMHO she shines in the currently miserable pool of female actresses in tvb. Thought she did ok as Kwai Yee Hei other than being restricted by the character itself.

    3. It’s all about looks Nancy is a great actress, but not the best looker. But then she’s got a rich boyfriend now….maybe she will just get married and find something else than let TVB drag her around.

    4. Bc life isn’t fair. Some have strong backings (rich/influential family). Some attend meeting with TVB executives and businessmen in order to get promoted/leading roles in return. And lastly you have those that are just lucky i.e. timing.

      Go Elaine Yiu!

      1. Yup, it baffles me why people like Nancy Wu is not promoted more. We’ve all seen her acting skill – it’s way better than those highly hyped newcomers with slangs, who don’t have any experience. She is a lead actress material, TVB is really dumb sometimes. I’m not a fan of hers, so it’s a neutral one from me.

  6. Fala still hasn’t grown onto me. I don’t like her, even if she is pretty.

    1. Agree with you 100%! She is pretty not beauty in my opinion. I like her acting when she was 2nd lead or supporting role. When she lead – blahhhh!!! I don’t see her chemistry with any of her male co-star.

      1. The reason why she has no chemistry with any of her male leading co-stars is because she restricts herself too much. She won’t even do kissing scenes so how can she expect the audience to really feel for their characters and the love between them?

      2. I agree, even Francis couldn’t help point out to Fala that he doesn’t think she “gets” what acting is about at all, she’s not apt at it, and is creating pretension instead of genuine feelings and spontaneity, good actors like him can spot bad ones like her and he usually doesn’t really want to say it to the world but can’t help be annoyed by Fala’s stone-faced horrid acting.

  7. “Her character is very cool, arrogant and strong. We need to find an actress who is of the same caliber as Wayne and Moses. “

    Cool, arrogant and strong perfectly describe the characters that is Nancy Wu’s forte. Why not cast Nancy Wu? She looks more cool, arrogant and strong than Fala.

    As for being same calibre as Wayne and Moses. Fala used to be not in the same calibre as Moses and Wayne too. But, TVB gave her chances to lead and brought her up to that status and calibre. So, why not do the same for Nancy?

    TVB still has many actresses under their stable. They can take the chance to promote these actresses instead of fighting over the 5 fadans.

    1. TVB still has many actresses under their stable. They can take the chance to promote these actresses instead of fighting over the 5 fadans.
      —————————————-
      Good question!

    2. when i read the “same caliber” as Wayne and Moses? that is in joke in itself, who is TVB kidding? Fala is no where near their acting status or lead match. Why dont they search for better quality actresses than overuse this mediocre one? she’s so stiff faced in her dramas.

    3. Maybe it’s because Nancy’s still not as well accepted compared to Fala. That’s why they decided not to take the risk of the drama doing poorly in ratings and decided to opt for the more ‘popular’ one instead.

    4. Personally i don’t find any of the top TVB actress that great
      looking at the moment, attractive but not that pretty.

      I wonder if TBV realizes some people still watch them because
      of the good acting from the older guys and not the 5 fadans.

  8. “According to reports, Catherine is pushing to cast Fala Chen as the lead actress”

    Do they never audition?! Everything’s handed on a platter for them. Perhaps TVB should rethink their tactics in order to elevate the level of competition (and in turn, the performance of their artists).

    1. too much time would be wasted on auditions then. tvb cannot waste any time as we all know

      1. better than having an actress waste their time during the ACTUAL filming when they find the actress does not fit the role and is wooden faced. its like carving a rock at that pt.

    2. thats whats wrong with this company, alot of cronyism and elbow rubbing, the actresses that coy up to executives get more push the way Fala is getting now without relying much on their acting or actual popularity n name with the audience. what they should do is audition for the role and maybe actually have an actress that creates a breakthrough since they will fit the role better due to the screentest.

      these actresses get complacent cuz they’ll get roles whether their acting is good or bad, no wonder they still look and act the same in every drama, cough cough FALA CHEN, they only rely on social skills with the higher ups.

  9. Should cast Elena Kong! She’d be great in that “very cool, arrogant and strong” role. Anyone watch “Beauty Knows No Pain”???

      1. That would’ve been an amazing choice! I loved her character Angela Auntie!! I wish she got another role like that!

    1. No offense but the casting is clearly girly arrogance and not mature woman arrogance. Elena Kong can do arrogance but the producer is looking for age appropriate for the role, not for the 2 men.

      1. I believe they have casted Christine Ng for the older role. Not too sure what the role is, but probably a lawyer too? It was supposed to be Maggie Siu’s, but she refused, Sonija refused next, and 3rd choice was Christine Ng. Should have considered Elena Kong!

      2. Christine Ng is good, too! I wouldn’t have minded anyone of them.

      3. Elena Kong is another very good actress neglected by TVB. Though she is older in age, but she can easily be paired up with older actors, such as Wayne Lai, Bobby Au Yeung, Bowie Lam, Roger Kwok, Michael Miu, etc., and etc.

    2. yeah she was amazing as Angela auntie! she’s another actress which has been overlooked by tvb.

    3. Presently, re-watching “Beauty knows no Pain” for the 2nd time; Elena Kong as Angela Auntie was great. She’d be perfect in a “very cool, arrogant and strong” mature woman role.

  10. Fala always looks so fresh face in all her pictures, photoshoot or otherwise. Never knew she was in so much demand. Cool, yes, arrogant, well some testifies that’s her in real life and strong, definitely.

    I feel she is one of the most outspokenly ambitious actress in TVB today. I am still excited about her role in Da Mo Yao which is taking forever to finish.

      1. @Hannah,
        Has DMY finally been approved for broadcasting??? It took a long while..

    1. My friend was dancing for one of the star on the tvb awards in Singapore, and he told me that Myolie, Tavia, Linda and Kate was really really nice, smiled all the time and was really friendly, while Fala was really arrogant, didn’t even wanted to look at them at all.

      1. Disappointing to know that. I thought she was aloof, cold maybe but not wanting to look at any of them? I never thought she has any social anxiety thing so it is disappointing to learn that.

        Yes Little Fishy, there is nothing fishy here, I am Funn, the real deal.

      2. My mum read an account from a reporter who said that when Fala saw him/her, Fala just ignored her presence but when the reporter introduced herself, Fala’s attitude changed 180 degrees. It’s from a reporter though, may not be totally true.

      3. For me, unless I’ve personally interacted with the person, I tend to take hearsay, esp of netizens, with a grain of salt. What we see or hear may not even be the truth, what’s more hearsay.

        Linh: Did yr friend say why Fala did not deign to even look at them?

        To counteract what Linh’s friend and the reporter said/wrote, here’s what Steven Ma said in verbatim of Fala. Yes, Steven’s opinion on Fala maybe biased but so is the others’.

        CSY: Describe Fala.

        S: Fala is very straightforward …her personality is that way…so much so she may even offend people unwittingly.

        CSY: yes, Fala is that.

        S: Her determination is very strong. She’s scared of no heaven or earth (She is audacious). She like “I’ve no problem (ngo mo so wai) let’s do it first or whatever.” Her thinking is very insouciant(sa tiut 灑脫)[..]

        [..]I can say in all honesty that she is a very genuine and kind person.[..]

        Fala: I feel that if Steven thinks that person is easy to get along with and is a friend he likes, usually I get along with them too. Because our personalities are quite alike. So Tavia and Linda are among my good friends in the entertainment circle, too. Linda when she has concerns she can discuss them with me.[..]

        And Fala says she herself will seek out Tavia’s advice on personal issues like bf gf problems.

        From news and interview, I do think Fala has a “sa tiut” (灑脫) personality, an ambitious go-getter but her straightforwardness may unwittingly rub other people the wrong way, esp, in the entertainment industry.

      4. Well I just say what he told me, is not that I’m against her, I find her acting pretty ok in Loo, well the only reason he came with was she must have Pms or a really bad day. But she didn’t look at them so he wasen’t sure.

      5. Being straight forward and does not being friendly are 2 different things. Like she can totally being a straight forward person AND being totally unfriendly. Saying Steven talked nice about her straight forward character doesn’t mean he saying she’s a warm hearted, friendly person.
        Someone did say she’s from mainland, right? Generally, mainland people are quite cold and arrogant. This is more to do with the status, traditions and upbringing. Not completely true, of course, however, it doesn’t surprise me that she’s cold, and arrogant

  11. Fala is very pretty and her acting has definitely improved over the years but there is still room for improvement. All the best to her!

  12. In what world is Fala the same caliber as Wayne and Moses? If the producer really wanted to find someone of the same caliber he should look elsewhere.

  13. they shaft other actresses at TVB and go clamor to get one that doesn’t really act better than the “extra” actors onset at all.

    sad for those other supporting actresses, can’t ever show their ability cause there is no true tryout to let them. some of the good actresses are the humble ones that might not bootlick to stardom but get ignored at the company that just promotes by social favoritism.

  14. “We need to find an actress who is of the same caliber as Wayne and Moses. ” I almost fell off my chair with that one. Cool. Maybe. Arrogant. Check. Strong. Check. Let’s leave it at that for now.

  15. I’ve not seen a drama where she can be arrogant on screen…unless I’m wrong, of course.

    She need to toughen herself up a bit though 🙂 If after her drama with Triumph, and she polish her acting skill then she will have her real fans who sees acting skill regardless of the person …

  16. In terms of acting, Fala Chen is not yet up to the caliber as Wayne and Moses, but Fala seems to have a strong and arrogant personality. She is okay for modern drama series, but she needs to improve her Cantonese more in ancient ones (especailly the dialogues in old Chinese).

  17. But if I was the producer of that new drama I will cast Myolie Wu and Nancy Wu or Mandy wong to be in the new drama. You all guys could imagine that drama, with these 2 or 3 girls in the same drama as a arrogant lawyer. It will be a excellent and amazing drama that I will want to see if air next year or something like that.

    Thanks.

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