Sheren Tang and Chow Yuk Ming’s Fiery Exchange Over “Beauty at War”
As ratings for Beauty at War <金枝慾孽(貳)> plunged to a new low of 18 points, many began pointing fingers over the failure of this once highly anticipated series. Earlier, Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯) made a strong stand against poor practices on set. Sheren criticized the lack of a timely, completed script. This week, mainland reporters caught up with Beauty at War script editor Chow Yuk Ming (周旭明) regarding Sheren’s complaints. The former TVB scriptwriter described his frequent script changes as a “bad habit”, and revealed his regrets over filming the ailing sequel.
During the interview, reporters asked Chow about his late and incomplete scripts. Chow summed it up as a bad habit. “Writers usually have this habit. Journalists, novelists, TV scriptwriters all have this bad habit. Mine is particularly bad. I couldn’t change [the habit] before I turned 30, so I will probably carry it to my grave.”
Chow Yuk Ming: “The Ship is About to Sink”
Regarding Sheren’s frustrations, Chow commented: “Typically I would have the script ready for [Sheren] only two days prior to a shoot. Sometimes only one day before. The situation was worse while we were shooting War and Beauty <金枝慾孽>…. Sheren was mistaken, let me freshen up her memory. I have been editing my scripts on the fly since filming The Criminal Investigator <O記實錄>. Felix Wong (黃日華) really hated me because of it. Of course I know this is very frustrating for the cast and crew, but I haven’t changed in all of these years. In the past two years however I have done this less frequently, or at least do it earlier. Sometimes I feel pessimistic and think, the ship is about to sink, some people would rather play mouse and be the first to escape….”
Chow then defended himself, assuring that the cast had sufficient information to do their jobs. “It is true that I was unable to provide the cast with a completed script. However everyone has a copy of the completed scene synopsis and a completed rough draft of the script. The rough draft was not put together by some newly hired scriptwriter. We [seriously] edited and processed it.”
When reporters mentioned that Sheren seemed to be the only actor who spoke out against his tardy habit, Chow took responsibility and seemed apologetic. “I definitely have some issues. I was really wasting [the actors’] time.” Chow shared that while he did not expect Beauty at War to do as well as its predecessor, he was truly surprised by such low ratings. He feels that the audience is more bored than confused, and admitted that he had once regretted writing this sequel.
Sheren’s Angry Response
Sheren seemed upset about Chow’s implications with his sinking ship analogy. The actress returned fire via Weibo on today. “I am nothing special and I have nothing to lose, so I am not worried if the ship will sink. You are mistaken. Human nature is not as bad as you think. We must take responsibility once we board the ship. I became ill in the middle of filming, but I persevered to avoid damaging morale. If you want to behave immaturely, not giving a care to the cast and crew’s need for time to prepare, then you must also be responsible for the consequences! We all want to do a good job, not just you! We simply need to admit to our failures together!”
Sources: Apple Daily, Apple Daily
This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.
I’d be annoyed too. I wouldn’t be able to remember the script in one day! Good on her for speaking out though.
Agreed!!!
And also with all the needed expressions!!!
For Chow, if Sheren didn’t speak up, I wouldn’t have know about the bad writers habits. What about the new artist from abroad? How do they cope with it? I would be troubled with having the script only 1 or 2 days before shooting. But then I would think whatever, do my best and see what happens.
Sheren seems to be the only brave one to voice her complaints and the others should speak up too. To me the scriptwriter has been very irresponsible and insensitive towards the actors by not delivering his scripts early enough for them to look through. I feel really sorry for the whole cast.
I agree…but the sad thing is, the rest of the cast either AREN’T speaking up at all, or if they do, they are pretty much either taking Chow’s side or giving some PC response (or, like in the case of Kenny Wong, giving some ‘cryptic’ response on Weibo), which of course, gives the HK Media the “ammo” they need to spin this to make it appear that Sheren is the one being “difficult” and complaining. I feel sorry for Sheren, but I’m also happy that she wasn’t afraid to speak out….
What a waste of a talented group of actors. I’d rather have seen them in a completely different drama with new and fresh ideas. I don’t think we will be seeing sheren or ada in anymore tvb dramas soon!
Totally agree, especially after this drama series “Beauty at War”. I don’t think Sheren Tang will film any more drama series for TVB for a while. At the same time, I don’t think TVB wants to hire Sheren again in the near future (due to her honest comments).
Yaya..HONESTY is the WORST POLICY in TVB XD
this real life war outside the series got more interesting when kenny wong chip in to defend his friend chow yuk ming. kenny didn’t put any names in his weibo but everyone know he was bashing sheren. this now isn’t made up by media but based in real actions of the celebs instead. seems like everyone has attitude here
I think Kenny Wong was very rude in his comments. He should not insult other artistes especially if they were in the same drama series. If he did not agree with Sheren’s comments, he could have said “I don’t quite agree with the criticisms. Everyone has a different point of view and I totally respect Chow’s scripts”. There was no need for him to make his own assumptions.
you should read all the comments in kenny’s weibo. interesting reality show. he got a lot of bashings from sheren’s fans who are angry at his harsh words.
Can someone post in here?!!
I don’t have a weibo account >.<||
And can't read mandarin!!
Thanks in advanced xD
Kenny Wong would obviously support Chik Kee Yee and Chow Yuk Ming as he got most of her roles from Producer Chik. He could surely support and respect them, but he had no right to bash Sheren Tang in any case. He could have disagreed with Sheren if he wished.
should put kenny’s response here for people who don’t weibo
kenny said “偽人拋下一句講真心話而抺殺他人嘅努力付出不尊重他人此種包裝自己之自我宣傳手法實在低智卑劣同珍禽異獸般罕有”
Yeah, I read them. It was a shame for him, as a professional artiste, to make that kind of comments on another good artiste.
Why is it alright for Sheren to voice her opinion but not Kenny?
Yes, Kenny does have the right to express his opinion, but the problem is, he doesn’t even understand the situation, nor does he know the whole story (which is obvious from what he said during today’s radio interview with CRHK) – if that’s the case, then for him to ‘imply’ that Sheren’s complaints are unwarranted and that she is just trying to ‘seek attention’ is wrong, in my opinion….all he’s doing is ‘adding fuel to the fire’ and giving the tabloids more ‘fodder’ to sensationalize and exaggerate their reports. If he doesn’t know what’s going on and only relying on what the reporters are telling him (which we all know can be ‘misinformation’), then it probably would have been better to just take a neutral position rather than bash Sheren in such a way.
Perhaps look at it this way: Sheren is basing her ‘criticisms’ on hard facts (which Chow Yuk Ming already admitted to) and logic and is bringing up the issue with the intention of improving the overall process (whether it be scriptwriting, respect for actors/actresses, etc.) whereas Kenny is speaking what’s on his mind “in the heat of the moment” without any evidence or facts to back him up (he’s pretty much basing it on the ‘rumors’ and such that he’s heard in the Media). That’s why to me, there is a HUGE difference with the way Sheren is voicing her opinion versus Kenny…
Kenny’s voicing of the opinion had no faults except on the word choices.
I also think he’s very bias in his opinion as well but who isn’t? As a person on the outs looking in, I’m leaning towards Sheren. Chow should not give himself the excuse of, “others do it too” to justify his own work.
However, I do dislike how Sheren is so opinionated about this. They are a team, she shouldn’t point fingers and make these complaints. It’s the company that is making the situation bad, lack of writers and the high turnovers. There was nothing Chow Yuk Ming can do .. he was also trying to do a good job!
This is becoming quite a public spat. In a way I am happy because it is you know, cat fight and all and someone dared to speak up against giant TVB. But I am also sad for Sheren because she can’t win.
I am also sad for Sheren because she can’t win.
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Agree. I don’t think Sheren will win against a giant TVB. It is good for her to speak out the truth, but I am sure it will do her some damages in future. People would hesitate to cast her in future drama series; they worry that she will voice too many criticisms.
it get worse now for sheren since fellow cast kenny wong also blasted her harshly. although kenny got reprimanded by netizens for this, there must also be a handful of people who start to question if sheren is someone who love to complain or make trouble with colleagues
At least the reporters would make a big issue of Sheren’s complaints. It seemed that all lead cast members supported Chik and Chow except Sheren Tang. Very sad and it was hard to justify Sheren’s comments as she was the only one complaining about Chow’s zero script while others did not think so.
” It seemed that all lead cast members supported Chik and Chow except Sheren Tang. ”
I am thinking, whenever someone speaks out against TVB (save for Felix Wong who is immune and strangely TVB still love him), they got burn. Wong Hei is perfect example but he is an idiot. For me Sheren did not criticise but merely pointing out what the script or scriptwriter lack. All these support by fellow cast mates, are those genuine? Or they are just protecting their rice bowl? Or some, like how Tavia was in the past, always on the fence, not a word pro or against? I feel Sheren has a right to point out the problems if she sees any. She didn’t make it personal nor did she made it too general. And perhaps she was merely commenting but the media chose to make it into one huge catfight. Point is I don’t think Sheren is unreasonable. She is outspoken, she is frustrated and I feel like Felix, her criticisms is for the good of TVB.
“her criticisms is for the good of TVB”
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TVB do not seem to be that “generous” in accepting bad criticisms anyway. They would always “red circle” those artistes if they filed any complaints about TVB. Moreover, I agree that those reporters just wanted to make it a big issue (news) for everyone to “enjoy”. They always liked to exaggerate everything in their reporting.
It seems that Sheren Tang will be another Felix Wong. She will probably be “red circled” by TVB for a while. Sheren was saying the truth, but unfortunately her comments were not supported by other cast members in the drama series.
maybe we’ll hear felix response about this sheren issue shortly
@sel_fi_wu: Haha…no, Felix probably doesn’t give a crap anymore now that he’s with HKTV.
@Funn: You hit it right on the spot! Alot of times, artists (especially experienced ones like Sheren and Felix) give constructive criticism not because they are trying to be ‘mean’, but rather because they really care about the company and want them to change for the better (haven’t people heard of the term “愛之深,恨之切”??). But unfortunately, many people aren’t able to see it this way (ignorance perhaps? or people just don’t get this concept?) and instead, whenever an artist says anything construed as ‘criticism’ of TVB, they are labeled as ‘traitors’ bashing TVB and are (oftentimes harshly) to “remember who gave them the success they have today”. It’s almost like people willingly give TVB an easy excuse to hide behind (i.e.: I helped shape your career so you aren’t allowed to say anything bad about me and instead, need to always bow down to me and obey me).
Ah well….just like Felix Wong and Michael Tao, Sheren isn’t going to win this argument no matter how hard she tries. After this, she will probably go down the same path they did and stop filming for TVB completely….
“All these support by fellow cast mates, are those genuine? Or they are just protecting their rice bowl?”
As Moses and Kenny are frequent collaborators with Chow and Chik, I believe their support is genuine. Can’t say about the rest of the cast, though. Possibly they are just being diplomatic.
Anyway, I feel that the issue is with the timing of the remarks. Sheren’s criticisms of Chow and the drama are legitimate, but they come at a time when the drama is still on air and battling for ratings, so it comes across as breaking rank. If she voiced her criticisms after BAW has finished its run then I think it would cause less of a hoo-ha.
If memory serves, Sheren has criticised TVB before but it wasn’t while her own series was on air.
Sheren’s a pretty responsible team player, I respect her frank and honest opinions and when she talked about how they should face their failures together and how they should be responsible once they boarded the ship, it says a lot about her as a person.
If they were really going to red circle her, it would truly be a shame because such good employees are gems.
Support Sheren! That Chow Yuk Ming does flying paper as though it doesn’t affect others. I would never want to work with such selfish people.
I feel so disappointed that Beauty At War is not doing well. But Sheren’s performance is still brilliant. She does not need TVB to validate her, I’m sure mainland china has much better use for her talents.
Even reading Chow’s response makes me frustrated and angry for the cast…support Sheren. Glad she spoke up!
This is not the first time Sheren is working with Chow. She would have known about the last minute scripts. If she had a problem with that, she could have rejected filming the drama. And the late scripts/filming happened some time ago. Why didn’t she complained then but only now when the ratings for WAB are low? For most people, when they are angry, they will kick up a fuss there and then instead of waiting till the dust has settled then create another storm.
I agree. Plus Kenny did not simply bash Sheren for nothing. That was actually his reply to Sheren comment that “WAB success was due to luck, while blaming BAW performance due to flying script.”
If Sheren can comment, surely Kenny also can. Plus the other main cast also commented, not taking Sheren side doesn’t mean they are afraid of TVB (which btw, Jonathan Chik and Chow has already left TVB). They agree that script flying is not good and quite serious with Chow, but they have worked many times with the duo and still picked the script despite all these.
Sheren should have lambasted Chow while she was popular and high flying during WAB popularity and condemned never to take his series again.
This is not the first time sheren complained. A few years ago she accepted an interview and she said tvb’s props were horrible. She was talking about rosy business 2 and the quality of tvb is no where near china. She also complained years ago about losing BA to Gigi Lai. Sheren speaks her mind, fans love her for that.
I think many people complained about Gigi winning in 2004. Her character was annoying and her acting was certainly not BA worthy. For me, she was the weakest actress of the main cast of WAB.
Yeah, I remember the interview in which she criticised TVB’s cheap production values in No Regrets and how they simply topple some chairs and sprinkle some dust around the set to pretend it’s war-torn Guangzhou (but for what it’s worth, I recall she did that interview only after No Regrets had finished airing):
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/750228-tvb-versus-mainland-interview-with-sheren-tang-on-location-in-hengdian-part-2/
I was just re-reading the interview and she also talks about the “flying papers” issue and mentions that she also encountered it in mainland productions. Besides WAB, she also cites La Femme Desperado, The Family Link, Rosy Business and No Regrets as series that she accepted without seeing a script.
The last minute scripts have been a longtime issue with TVB and not unique to Chow Yuk Ming, although he does take it to an extreme. I think some other artistes (Bowie?) have griped about it as well.
Yup…it’s definitely not unique to Chow Yuk Ming…it’s just that he takes it to more extreme than other TVB scriptwriters do, so it has more of an impact.
In fact, this whole ‘flying papers’ thing isn’t unique to TVB or the TV industry either — it happens all the time in the movie industry. Eric Tsang is notorious for doing the ‘flying paper’ thing in the movies that he produces / writes — Teresa Mo talked about this in an interview with MP a couple months back…if you all think Chow Yuk Ming is ‘bad’ with the flying paper thing, Eric is 10x worse — at least with Chow, he gives a day or 2 advance notice…with Eric, he changes things last minute right before the artists are to film the scene, so in his case, sometimes the artists get no prior notification at all.
@Primrose: This is why I had to point out that this article doesn’t give the whole story. In the original version of the interview (you should read the one that ND Daily printed), Sheren explains very clearly her reason for bringing up the issue now…she also addresses the ‘question’ that many people had brought up about the first WAB being the same flying paper situation and why she didn’t complain then (actually, she had complained back then too) as well as why she decided to accept the series…
For those who are able to read Chinese, I recommend reading the original interview from ND Daily….it actually presents in detail both sides of the argument (Sheren’s as well as Chow Yuk Ming’s) and answers quite a few of the questions that people have been bringing up.
Thanks for clarifying llwy12. But I am not well versed in Chinese and depend on sites like Jayne for entertainment news. Perhaps you could do us a favour by telling us what the article said about why Sheren only brought up the issue now, why she accepted the sequel despite knowing it will be the same flying paper situation, and the answers to the questions that people have been asking. Thanks!
@Primrose: Sure, I could paraphrase what she said, but I don’t think I’ll be able to do justice to the message she wants to convey (and I don’t want to do what the Media outlets do and only give part of the picture). I’m actually working on translating the article, but due to how long it is, it will take some time. I’m sure once you guys get a chance to read it though, you’ll probably find that it’s a fascinating read…in the interview, Sheren also responds directly to each of the rumors that have been out there in recent weeks (i.e. rumors of being at odds with the cast, refusing to participate in promo events, regretting accepting the series, etc. etc.). Chow Yuk Ming also goes into great detail about his original intentions for writing BAW and what he hoped to achieve versus what actually happened (at the same time also revealing quite a bit about how TVB and the TV industry as a whole operates)….and of course, he also responds to the ‘rumors’ out there about him too.
@llwy12: While you are translating (ND) there is an even lengthier personal interview with Sheren. She has become the woman of the hour.
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2329872449
@clamine: LOL…thanks…sheesh, Sheren sure is the ‘woman of the hour’…everyone is clamoring to get an interview with her it seems.
I haven’t read the Tencent one yet (probably get to it later), but so far, I still like the ND Daily interview the best though because unlike the HK interviews (majority of which are from tabloids, so the credibility is already ‘suspect’), the ND one makes the effort to let the interviewee voice their side of the story – plus the layout is more logical and touches on some of the more pressing issues. Also, the ND Daily interview presents BOTH sides of the story – Sheren’s as well as Chow Yuk Ming’s – and presents their responses side by side so we can understand what their thoughts are on the same issue (to me, this is more fair, as it gives us more of a ‘complete’ picture rather than just one-sided slanting…)
clamine:
Thanks for your link on Sheren’s lengthy interview. It is very detailed and interesting.
Oh by the way…just to clarify…this particular article only scratches the surface, as it’s only a summary of Chow’s interview with ND Daily (Mainland newspaper) and doesn’t give the whole story. Sheren also did a face to face interview with the same ND Daily reporter, but yet none of that was included in this article (the interview with both was quite long actually…takes some time and patience to sit down and read through it).
There are always 2 sides to a story and in this case, I think ND Daily did a pretty good job of having both sides present their case (though unfortunately, looks like when the other Media outlets picked up on it, some of the message was lost)…not surprised of course, but definitely unfortunate…
This is why I did not care when Chow left for China. Good riddance.
weibo/twitter is kinda magic honest mirror to these artistes.
Imo, if anybody should take the blame for the whole fiasco of BAW including ‘on-the-fly script, it should be the leader of the production, namely Producer Chik. He was in charge, no?
Yes, Chow’s tardy script habit is a serious problem but understand that Chik himself permitted that situation to continue under his watch so why blame only Chow when Chik should take total responsibility for BAW’s failure in HK. (it might do well in mainland).
Totally agreed. People higher up in the hierarchy like Jonathan Chik need to share the blame for BAW being such a disaster. Not sure why Chow seems to be taking most of the heat.
And frankly the practice of last minute scripts will likely continue, barring some major revamp of TVB’s work processes or unless TVB starts to pursue a less aggressive filming schedule; Chow is/was particularly extreme with the “flying papers” but it is/was quite common for series to commence filming with an incomplete script.
Totally agree. It was Producer Chik Kee Yee’s fault for spoiling Chow Yuk Ming. He should not have allowed Chow to have this terrible work habit. If he does not do anything, Chow will become worse and worse.
It is a total waste of the good acting of the cast. If the cast had a complete (or most of the) script, they would all have done better in their characters. Besides, Chow would have noticed the super slow pace of his storyline and could have made some good changes – adding more plots and developments and having a smoother flow.
Shame on Chik Kee Yee and Chow Yuk Ming for ruining the sequel of a classic “War & Beauty”. If they could not come up with a good script, they should NOT have filmed the sequel. Let people have a good memory of “War & Beauty”.
I wonder if Chik and Chow were enthusiastic about the idea of making a WAB sequel. My sense is that the slew of sequels TVB is pushing out this year (BAW, TITS2, RB3, etc.) are the result of the decisions of higher-level TVB executives (trying to ride on the past glory of previous TVB successes) rather than the producers and writers.
BAW sounded like a potential trainwreck from the moment it was greenlit in 2011, IMO. Not sure why TVB decided after so many years that WAB needed a sequel, and at a time when many of its original castmembers had left. I kinda doubt Chik and Chow were really dying to make a sequel in the first place.
In the recent interviews made by Chik and Chow, they both indicated that they did not want to make a sequel because most of the lead characters died in the prequel. It was TVB (probably senior management) who wanted them to film a sequel due to forthcoming competitions (2 new free TV stations) and low viewership ratings of their drama series. However, if Chik and Chow agreed to do it, Chow should have done a better job and created a more interesting storyline.
I love how when a series have poor reception, the script writer gets all the blame for writing a bad script. When a series succeed, the actors get the most credit for there performances even though the scriptwriters should get a lot of the recognition. BAW is a good series in my opinion but it is boring for most HK viewers. Everyone should take equal blame and also equal credit for doing good or bad
aww mann dis is disturbing news!
If not for d strong combination of Sheren+Ada+Christine Id boycot BAW! They were d ones to bring life into a “dead” script!!!!!!
One party(Sheren) is a whiny complainer, one party(Chow) is an inefficent scriptwriter, another party(Kenny) is a busybody half baked supporting actor jumping in cursing a woman without knowing entire story and the others all provide generic PR safe answers to save themselves. The boss(Chik) hides himself away and not saying anything.
That’s the summary I can produce from this mess resulted from a craptastic series which recorded the lowest prime time ratings at TVB for reaching 18 points.
You mean lower than Bullet Brain?!
Didn’t Sheren also have the same problems when they were filming War and Beauty? She should’ve taken the high road and not film the sequel knowing that this was going to happen again. She definitely doesn’t need this series to boost her popularity in mainland China. I’m guessing she wanted to pay the fans for supporting WaB.
Sheren mentioned that she wanted to thank Chik and Chow for giving her a fantastic and popular character, Yu Fei, in “War & Beauty”. Her popularity soared in Hong Kong and Mainland China after the airing of “War & Beauty” and more people recognized her good acting. She wanted to give something back to them and people of Hong Kong. However, she did not realize that scripts would only be given to her one or two days before filming. Since she did not have any proper directions of her new Yu Fei character, she worried a lot and, as a result, she had problems with her health.
Shame on tvb for being so defensive.
If their artists are NOT thrilled with the filming process and whatnot, the executives, scriptwriters and producers should be willing to accept the criticism. Rather they decide to act on the criticism, that’s a different matter. They should not discourage people to step up and talk about the negatives about TVB.
But in order to grow prosperously in today’s world, one needs to be willing to act on the consequences and act accordingly.
What did tvb do that was so defensive to Sheren’s criticisms?
Clamine
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I am talking about people criticizing tvb and then the aftermath…
Every time someone speaks up on the working conditions or something, the artiste always get ‘penalized’ by tvb. Some examples include: refusing job offers, cancel job offers, etc.
I may have used the wrong word, but the meaning is similar.
@Georgina: I thought we were talking about Sheren not tvb artists in general cos’ Sheren did criticize TVB quite a bit before she accepted BAW.
Oh sorry. I was talking about whenver an artiste tries to be honest and give honest feedback, stuff happens.
To bad, there are lots of disappointment toward Sheren
Here’s the link to the translated version of Sheren and Chow Yuk Ming’s interview with ND Daily: http://www.llsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/05/nd-daily-interview-sheren-tang-and-chow.html
You can also read it on AF’s forum: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/783318-nd-daily-interview-serious-actress-vs-serious-scriptwriter-beauty-at-wars-serious-showdown/page__fromsearch__1
what a good day
i like the post
The production values for this sequel is completely hideous! The Emperor and Empress is completely missing and instead they choose to focus on the servants. Worst is instead filming important scenes they dictate what happened which only adds to the confusion.
If you can’t take constructive criticism, good luck to you honey. Cos at the end of the day, it’s YOUR loss and NOT anybody else.
Haa and this is WHY I love Sheren. Her honesty, her professionalism and the way she carries herself makes me proud to be a sherenite 🙂 you go girl! Just be yourself and don’t bother about what others think of you! You will be fine okay!!