Tavia Yeung Replaces Charmaine Sheh in “Legend of Empress Lu”
TVB’s Legend of Empress Lu <呂后傳奇>, produced by Lee Tim Sing (李添勝), is going through yet another casting reshuffle. According to the latest reports, Tavia Yeung (楊怡) and Ron Ng (吳卓羲) will now lead in the Han Dynasty drama revolving around the life of Empress Lu Zhi.
The historical drama has been in pre-production since 2011, was originally scheduled to be part of TVB’s 2012 television drama lineup with Maggie Cheung Ho Yee (張可頤) in the titular role. After failing to assemble the cast together—and with Maggie’s exit from TVB in late 2011—the production was put on hold.
In 2014, TVB announced that it would bring back Legend of Empress Lü, starring TV Queen Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) in the lead. At the TVB Sales Presentation event last November, Charmaine, Raymond Wong (黃浩然) and Steven Cheung (張致恆) promoted for the drama, which would begin production in March 2015.
According to rumors, Charmaine was not satisfied with the casting in the series. It was also rumored that Charmaine felt uncomfortable working with Lee Tim Sing, whose recent dramas Bullet Brain <神探高倫布> and Noblesse Oblige <宦海奇官> did poorly in viewership ratings. Filming only one TVB drama per year, it was said that Charmaine wanted to film a series that would be a guaranteed hit.
Tavia Yeung Steps in as Empress Lu
TVB has replaced Charmaine with her Beyond the Realm of Conscience <宮心計> costar Tavia Yeung (楊怡), who starred in Lee Tim Sing’s Noblesse Oblige. Tavia was not the first choice to replace Charmaine. Lee Tim Sing originally wanted Myolie Wu (胡杏兒) to star as the Han Dynasty empress, but because Myolie’s contract with TVB is set to expire soon, it was a safer choice to cast Tavia instead, who renewed her TVB contract in 2014.
Ron Ng (吳卓羲) has also replaced Steven Cheung as Liu Ruyi, the Prince of Zhao. Raymond Wong remains on-board as Emperor Gao, Lu’s husband.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Can’t blame Charmaine for being selective. 🙂
I don’t think that Charmaine Sheh is being selective since it’s just rumors, maybe time conflicts, who knows? However, I do believe that Tavia will play a better Empress Lu (given her past role in Beyond the Realm of Conscience, 宮心計). Who knows, this drama may be a big hit if they end up really investing in this series.
I just feel bad for Tavia, she is constantly filming drama after drama. I don’t think it’s healthy for her either. She should rest and she should be more selective in accepting dramas because she is at the fadan level already and her past few characters have been meh.
Yeah I actually enjoyed watching Tavia as Lai妃 in Beyond the Realm of Conscience (宮心計) despite many people saying that it was over-exaggerated lol. And since when did Steven Cheung take part in dramas? thought he was only singing
I don’t know why TVB is casting young for Liu Bang and Lu Zhi. They should be older. It’s going to look odd having Ron portray Raymond’s son.
Come on now, getting tire of these dynasty drama, bring back the gang movies, or some modern shaolin drama, man, I should be the director, can tvb come up with better ideas.NO MORE DYNASTY DRAMAS. ENOUGH ENOUGH
good idea,revive the wuxia theme and no more dirty dynasty palace scheme things please.
Sorry but China does period dramas better- mainly clothing but HK artists do have talent. Thank god Ron replaced that Steven guy :/ Excited about reunion of Tavia and Ron though 😀
If Ron is going to be Liu Ruyi, there wouldn’t much of a reunion. Certainly there wouldn’t be romance. Liu Ruyi was Empress Lu’s stepson who was much younger than Empress Lu, and it was Empress Lu who ordered his murder because Empress Lu hated his mother.
So Ron Ng and Tavia won’t pair up again? Is Ron Ng still the first main male lead in the drama or is it Raymond Wong?
My bet is Ron Ng won’t be playing Liu Ruyi but another more important character closer to Empress Lu’s age.
The original chinese article didn’t say which character Ron or Steven will play.
What r u talking about, people in china makes the worst kind of dramas, they dont even know how to act, they act so fake, no acting skill at all, let fala, or eliza teach them how to act.
Eliza Sam is horrible at acting LOL
ken:fala and Eliza are bad. Eliza is terrible lol What are you even talking about lol.did you try to watch some Chinese dramas because many of them are good lol. fala always have the same facial expressions . She plays the same role all the time. She’s dull. Many mainland actors and actresses actually went to acting schools. not like tvb actresses. They got to act through tvb pageant lol
you clearly have not seen any of the recent mainland dramas
the acting, costume, scenery, stories are all so much better than tvb
i am pretty sure you have never tried watching any of the period drama from China…
FALA? ELIZA???
lol. This person clearly is biased against mainland chinese people. Like bruh, Fala? Eliza? Mainland chinese dramas are worst? Mainland chinese actors/actresses are bad at acting? You obviously never watched any high quality period drama. Mainland chinese period dramas are seriously the best of the best. Unlike others, they look like they’re really in a certain dynasty with all those fancy clothes and beautiful scenery. And i’ve seen tons of mainland actresses who are really good. No offense but these tvb actresses dont really act well except for like one or two? maybe Charmaine? There are lots of young actresses who act better than them in China. Lol.
You gotta stop being biased man. If HK period dramas are so good than lets see if they can get higher viewer ratings than FBB’s The Empress Of China. Lol
Well, let’s compare like this: The TVB series with the highest online viewer ever is Line Walker with 2.1 mil viewers, the second is Forensic Heroes 3 with 1.2 mil viewers. FBB’s Chinese Empress get 3.8 mil viewers which is more than both of Line Walker and Forensis Heroes 3 combined.
On the other hand, TVB series is now restricted to air on China (even online in tudou). They will need a special approval and pass a content check before being aired. So the Chinese will see less of TVB series and TVB is losing a market.
“So the Chinese will see less of TVB series and TVB is losing a market.”
LOL
Now TVB knows how it feels to “be excluded by China” (like HKTV). Karma!!
China doesn’t want a monopoly (TBB) either. 🙂
Better than HKTV. Chinese department of film denies to buy and air HKTV in China.
I do believe Charmaine is being selective with her roles. She just revived her popularity with LW, so she wouldn’t want to risk that.
Probably nobody else other than Tavia could take on the role at TVB right now. There’s also Kate and Linda, but ancient is not their forte. Tavia suits ancient dramas. No to Myolie since she seems to be leaving.
Charmaine has earned her stripes now that she is TV Queen. So she has to be careful when choosing scripts.
But isn’t Tavia supposed to film a drama with Roger? Or would the filming schedule not clash? I was really looking forward to seeing them together…
That’s exactly what I thught, she even said in an interview she is scheduled to film a series with Roger in April (although it wasn’t fully confirmed). I’m hoping these rumours are false, because I would rather see her star opposite Roger instead since theyve never actually worked together before.
However much I love Tavia now, I am afraid she will start rolling her OTT evil eyes. Sorry but she does not have the aura of an empress. A working girl yes, empress, no. I was hoping Charmaine will challenge herself and act in this interesting role, well it seems she doesn’t feel like she is up to the challenge then.
As for her being selective, that’s great. But I don’t see how beneficial it would be for her career to be in a movie as a wallpaper and basically a long MV and another role she has done and finished with. THis role if done well will establish her as an actress with serious credentials since the focus is on her and the character is one that is a balance between feminine guiles and authority. Whoever advises her on what roles to take clearly did not do a good job. She is at a stage in her career where money wise, she is secured, popularity wise, she is secured, so what is she afraid of?
“Sorry but she does not have the aura of an empress.”
I disagree. I think Tavia’s look can be quite authoritative. So, she can certainly play an Empress Lu. Between Myolie (LTS’s first choice) and her, I would choose her base on suitability of look and aura.
I agree, she definitely can pull off an empress imo, looks and acting. However, I’m not looking forward to another dynasty drama.
agree,she can look with authority if she want,she has more authority than charmaine in my opinion.
Tavia was OTT in BTROC, so I’m hoping to see a new and improved Tavia. It’s been years, so perhaps she has something to offer this time around.
1. ROTC movie filming (latter half) was postponed to March because of schedule clash. This drama is rumored to start production around the same time, so thats probably why Charmaine won’t be around in this one.
2. Steven Cheung mentioned in an interview that he is preparing for his role so I don’t think he was replaced by Ron.
3. Tavia was said to be in another TVB drama project around the same date.
4. There’s no sales presentation synopsis etc, that’s why Charmaine have no dialogue onstage. She appeared for the sake of giving face and of course, lend her name for publicity.
5. She will be filming another movie (possibly romcom) with Louis this year. Hence her schedule was more than enough to fulfil her obligation to TVB.
I really look forward to watching her in this drama series. I love her in ancient and glamorous ancient costumes. However, I am also glad for her if she is busy and popular with her movie filming.
I don’t look forward to watching Tavia Yeung as Empress Lu. I agree that she does not have the aura of an empress. She is okay for country folks’ roles, but not as an Empress. She does not have the beautiful look of an empress either.
i dont agree,i remember in Beyond the Realm of Conscience tavia did it pretty well.im looking forward if she plays as an emprees.
Tavia has more than enough acting chops to take on a lead role…but I sense she’s not the most comfortable when the screen is only on her. She likes to share her screen with others. In that aspect, she’s more like supporting lead material. But I feel if she only relaxes while taking on a lead role, she’ll do really well.
6. I have never seen Ron’s confirmation to join. He is offered a new Chinese series after Mistress come back 2.
@sandcherry: I doubt if all empresses had beautiful faces. The last empress of the Qing Dynasty certainly didn’t.
she’s not the most comfortable when the screen is only on her. She likes to share her screen with others
——————————————————————-
She NEEDS to share her screen with others, not likes.
I agree with sandcherry. I notice that too about Tavia sharing the screen with her co-stars…she does not have dominance on camera…a great example for an actress with excellent stage presence is Sheren Tang in No Regrets. She just commands everyone’s attention. She brings/links all the characters into one unified plot. I find exactly that in Charmaine’s recent drama, Line Walker and another one..Wheb Heaven Burns. She has the ability and charisma to link all characters coherently together. I think Charmaine has what it takes to take on the role Empress Lu. I can already imagine her dominance as the cunning empress.
@sandcherry & Candace
To each their own. Personally Tavia stands out to me, but only when she’s in her zone, I.e., being supporting lead. She stands out that way. You cant turn a good actress bad unless she’s not comfortable acting and that’s what happens when she leads. If she can relax and gets a good role, she’d do great.
Oh gosh, not Tavia again! I really don’t find her acting capable enough of handling this drama… and very sick of seeing her face again
I really wonder why Charmaine has passed up this interesting role. It would be a great contrast to her goody goody role in Realms of Conscience and could further prove her actiong prowess.Well, now it may be a breakthrough role for Tavia and that’s wonderful too.
I don’t believe in the reason this news gave. I think the reporter is just making it up. Which actress would pass up this juicy role if offered? Most probably just scheduling conflict.
for once i want to see her take on an authoritative role. not damsel-in-distress nor polished professional, but a true power-grubber.
thank god they replaced steven!
Just hope Ron gets good screen time and a good role lee Tim probably only added Ron at add star power to the series
Its funny how Ron was doing pretty well until him film lee Tim rosy business all the other cast popularity went up but Ron went the other way
No one notices him anymore =( I loved the theme song though!
Well Ron doesn’t even care bout tvb just like raymond Bosco
Who will get noticed filming for tvb it’s so small people make it big after leaving especially money like the hk male winner getting 250k an ep for his first mainland drama and that dude can’t even act Ron probably up to 400k an ep filming in mainland
Ron is paid 150k per eps in China.
i am SOOOOOO glad it is not myolie
Agree!! Never understand why she is promoted. Always try to act cute.
agreed! myolie really doesn’t suit ancient dramas. she’s more of a modern drama type of girl.
Why Charmaine rejected this? Tavia was OTT in ROC! I don’t think Tavia can do this
Agreed! Tavia cannot portray this role well
I think Charmaine rejected this drama due to the main actor she was starring with. Probably she dun feel comfortable with working with Raymond Wong and perhaps she thinks he is not at that level yet as her. Just personal thoughts only cos Charmaine has reached another level and its very common….
Not true. Charmaine never looked down on her co-stars and newbies, she worked with Raymond Wong before and he said she’s a nice person to work with.
It’s schedule clash and the script factor might be an issue.
if she knew that it would be schedule class why did she accepted this role in the first place? and isnt it that you are able to read the the script before you decide to take the role or not? it seems there are other reasons i think. if chow yun fat was in there would you think she will accept this role?
To kolo,
Well first of all just because charm was in the promotion doesn’t mean she had accepted to film the serie from the very first. I don’t think she even have read the script.
Well she never knew it would be a schedule clash since ROTC filming have been postponed if it was according to the time schedule the filming should have wraped up already.
I think Charmaine’s movie “Return of the Cockoo” with Chilam Cheung was postponed to have conflicts with this drama series “Empress Lu”, and that could be her reason of rejecting to film this series.
it doesnt make sense if she didnt accept this drama while she appaered in the promotional event,if any actor did the same as her then it would a chaos.
and if it is an schedule clash then she have to quite rotc and not loel because rotc has caused this problem.
“it doesnt make sense if she didnt accept this drama while she appaered in the promotional event,”
This has always been the case. More than 60% of the series produced turn out totally different from the promotional clip, with cast change and storyline change. I’ve already come to expect that since being mislead by TVB sales presentation a decade ago.
Artists appearing in sales presentation does not mean he/she will be in the series. There is no black and white agreement to appear in the actual series.
Charmaine appear at the promotional event, but, she didn’t sign black and white contract to appear in the series. She might have signed the contract for Return of the Cuckoo. So, of course ROTC takes precedent.
“Charmaine appear at the promotional event, but, she didn’t sign black and white contract to appear in the series. She might have signed the contract for Return of the Cuckoo. So, of course ROTC takes precedent.”
this is the only acceptable reason why she quite loel,but if this is the reason why didnt she say that? it would clear many negative suspicion on her name.
“this is the only acceptable reason why she quite loel,but if this is the reason why didnt she say that?”
This is actually an article published by tabloid quoting ‘insider news’. No one was actually interviewed ie Charmaine, Tavia and Producer Lee Tim Sing. Why would they suddenly need to come out and address this type of rumor anyway?
And like Kidd said, appearing on the sales promotion is not indication of agreeing to appear in the drama. If you pay attention to previous years behind the scene interview, some actor/actress will say they ‘hope’ this drama get filmed or ‘I will film if schedule allows’.
In this case, Charmaine wouldn’t be able to film Empress Lu if it indeed start production around March-April.
TVB headache now is to find an actress who can attract investors/sponsors. That’s probably why they haven’t officially announce the final cast yet.
if raymond lam didn’t leave tvb, it would have been so perfect to have ron, raymond, and tavia again…
Maybe 2R can reunite in Chinese series which is way better with a new pairing. Prefer to see them with an A-list Chinese actress.
Good to know I’m not the only one dreaming o a series with them 3 casted. Miss the old days when they were so close.
It is quite true that TVB does not have many suitable actors to pair up with Charmaine Sheh at her level now. Perhaps Moses Chan might be a possible one. All the good ones have left TVB.
ok this is the second time she won tv queen but does this mean that she has to be that selective? look at wayne and roger who has won more titles than her they are not that arrogant and selective as she is.if any actor,actress will only take a role when it is sure that will become a hit then im afraid that we only can watch one or less drama’s a year coming from tvb.
Wayne Lai is on management contract. He does not have too much a choice.
Roger Kwok is not in big demand in drama series now. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind that much. Every artiste is different and has his/own expectations. I don’t blame Charmaine for rejecting to film this series even though I love watching her as Empress Lu.
ok she doesnt has a management contract with tvb so she is in a position that she can reject a drama.but the point is if she already admitted a to take part on this drama then she have to keep her word unless she has a good reason to reject it,untill now the reason is unclear.and due to her move she could cause huge problem for the director to find another suitable actress.
Cheung Ho Yee was also in the sales promotion for “Empress Lu” two or three years ago, and she never had to film this drama series. Tavia Yeung was also in a similar promotion for “Empress Lu” in the same year. Did she film “Empress Lu” in that year?
Did Charmaine Sheh agree to film “Empress Lu” in writing? Or was it only a similar sales promotion for TVB end of last year?
Every non-management artiste can be selective no matter she is a TV Queen or not. This is the whole point for an artiist not to sign a management contract with TVB because she can have the freedom to choose her role and script.
The above post has no offensive words. I don’t understand why it requires moderation. It is getting too much on this site now.
How would you know that Charmaine had agreed to film “Empress of Lu” in writing? She might have been persuaded by TVB just to film a scene or two with costumes for sales presentation.
cheung ho yee already left tvb thus she hadnt have the chance to join. i dont think tavia was in the promotion of empress lu,do you have a link? even when she was in it i cant imagine it was her decision to quite the drama,because she is not that selective. i think charmaine already has a verbal agreement on the drama and not just only for the sales promotion.
” i think charmaine already has a verbal agreement on the drama and not just only for the sales promotion.”
What makes you think so?
I don’t have link to the sales presentations. But, there are two threads made in 2010 about the 2 sales presentation in Asianfanatics.
Maggie Cheung’s version
http://afspot.net/forum/topic/758972-unconfirmedtvb-empress-lu-chuan-%E5%91%82%E5%90%8E%E5%82%B3/
Tavia Yeung’s versiom
http://afspot.net/forum/topic/759307-unconfirmedtvb-lu-for-king-%E5%91%82%E6%B0%8F%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B/
Kidd:
You are absolutely right. I saw similar photos of 2 TVB sales presentations 2 or 3 years ago on “Empress Lu”. One was done by Maggie Cheung Ho Yee and Kevin Cheng, and one was done by Tavia Yeung and someone else. Will try to locate those photos.
@kidd,because she is not a contracted artist of tvb,with her status now she wouldnt appear so easily on a tvb sale presentation if there is not some kind of agreement.and a verbal agreement is the least what i expect,and the link from you about tavia,i can only say the story is the same about empress lu but not the same drama because there are totally other cast in there,so i cant agree with you on this link.
I think what Kidd tried to say is: filming a sale presentation does not mean that the artiste will be filming the drama series. There could be a lot of changes …….. from artistes, producers, TVB Senior Management, market demand, budget, etc. An artiste wouldn’t have signed a written agreement when a sales presentation was filmed. It should be a verbal and temporary arrangement only.
You are right. The two drama series on “Empress Lu” should not be exactly the same. However, it would make TVB look super stupid to film two similar drama series about “Empress Lu” in the same year.
Even though Charmaine Sheh was not a contract management artiste, TVB valued her a lot and would have persuaded her to film a sales presentation to boost their future viewership ratings. Charmaine always had a super good work relationship with TVB in the past before she left. Therefore, she agreed to do TVB a favour by filming a sales presentation. It should be a verbal agreement and temporary arrangement.
Maggie Cheung Ho Yee’s “Empress of Lu” sales presentation:
http://www.ihktv.com/%E5%BC%B5%E5%8F%AF%E9%A0%A4%E3%80%81%E9%BB%83%E5%BE%B7%E6%96%8C%E3%80%8A%E5%90%95%E5%90%8E%E4%BC%A0%E3%80%8B%E5%B7%A1%E7%A6%AE.html
Tavia Yeung’s “Empress of Lu” sales presentation:
http://news.singtao.ca/toronto/2011-10-19/entertainment1319003125d3489103.html
Have a look at the above 2 links.
Try it again – Maggie Cheung’s version:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/%E6%9D%A8%E6%80%A1/%E7%84%A1%E7%B6%AB%E7%AF%80%E7%9B%AE%E5%B7%A1%E7%A6%AE2012-%E5%8A%87%E9%9B%86%E9%83%A8%E5%88%86-%E7%84%A1%E7%B6%AB%E7%AF%80%E7%9B%AE%E5%B7%A1%E7%A6%AE%E9%AC%A7%E9%9B%99%E8%83%9E-%E6%A5%8A%E6%80%A1%E5%BC%B5%E5%8F%AF%E9%A0%A4%E5%88%86%E6%BC%94%E5%91%82%E5%90%8E/199663836773658
@sandcherry: Ah Sheh has management contract with TVBC – an alliance of TVB. All her series filmed after coming are under her contract with TVB. So she has never filmed anything for TVB without being a management contract.
Thanks! I heard about it but forgot. Anyway, I hope she will do well again in TVB or TVBC. I think she has more flexibility in choosing her roles and scripts.
I want to see more of her drama series in Hong Kong ………. in Cantonese.
@Sandcherry: After signing with TVBC, I dont see her in any Chinese series. So I guess she decides to come back to TVB series and doesnt make Chinese series anymore (except the ones TVB/TVBC think is good for her). Or her contract has the conditions that TVB will give her Shaw Brothers movies to extend her path in the biz so she doesnt waste her time to film Chinese series. Actually, I think in Chinese series, it is hard for her to have lead roles in grand series now. Her age is the problem. So better to be in movie.
Agree. There are too many well-trained pretty and YOUNG actresses in Mainland China. Even in “Legend of Yuan Dynasty”, Charmaine’s role was not very heavy compared to those Mainland Chinese actresses.
I just hope TVB or TVBC will do the best for Charmaine, and I can watch more of her movies/drama series in Cantonese.
Actually I think she is smart to refuse this Lu series.
Raymond Wong looks better in modern drama series. Also he does not have a good voice for ancient dialogues………….. to bland and boring, same tone all the time.
TVB should bring back Cheung Wah Biu as the scriptwriter. Lee Tim Shing and him were the perfect pair. All of their series together were big hits.
I’m glad charmaine is not taking this drama anymore. I’m tired of these period-dramas, TVB production sucks. And if charmaine doesn’t feel like working or is not confident in the production team then It’s a wise decision from her to reject it.
She’s at a level where money or fame doesn’t come first anymore, taking time to find good script and such is a good sign of someone who wants to do well in her job.
if she doesnt care about the money then she have to accept it because everybody knows tvb pays lower than mainland and not talking about a movie. and fame,yes she knows the ratings of tvb is low lately and doesnt want to risk her fame in a lee tim sing production.
I wonder if you really have read what Phonyy wrote.
if she thinks that the production or the script is bad written it’s wise if she doens’t take the job right?
If she just accept what ever is given to her then it’s not about quality which is what she is aiming for right now.
She want to challange her acting and she will take up any role that is good written and suits her schedule.
She can’t be filming movie and TVB drama in the same time cause it will take too much time and she will probably have no time to rest or read through the script really well
and i wonder if you know what you are saying,in your post above you said you dont think she have read the script,and now you assume that she has read the script? and think the script is bad and therefore withdraw from it? lol
Kolo i think u should read what I wrote once more. The first question was an open question which means it was not specified for this script it’s goes for all scripts and production that’s she gets offered.
jupi i think you should read what you wrote once more,if you said it is for all script then it means it is including the script of the legend of empress wu,or is the script of legend of wu not a script?
There are a lot more inappropriate arguments accepted on this topic, while mine is just an opinion and is awaiting moderation. Very very unfair!!!
It’s just rumours so can’t be sure if Tav will take up this role or not.
But I really hoped that charm could take this role since it seems to be really interesting
yes, i will definitely watch with tavia and ron in the drama =D !!!
Same here! Taro!
I don’t blame Charm for turning the role down. Her co-stars are no body comparing to her status. She’s a BA; even if it’s small potato award, she still has the status. And if she can be selective, then why not? Ancient drama seems to be a lot of work, ie make up, hair, so forth. Besides, if she can milk mainland for more money while she’s young-ish and able to, why not?
This will be another palace scheme with love triangle and good girl turns bad because of circumstance. Woopadedoo. It’s nothing new for her. I hope Tavia does well. She needs good memorable role. Her last ones were boring and forgettable. GL!
Idk why my last comment is waiting for approval. It contains no swear word or anything inappropriate. Jayne’s keyword ban needs a relook….annoying…
I really hope the thing about Charmaine being so picky is just rumors because the way the article is written makes her sounds a little air-headed. She should be thankful and remember where she came from.
Thank god no more Charmaine can’t stand her acting. Support Tavia anytime
Ditto-ditto-ditto.
You must be kidding! Tavia cannot be compared to Charmaine at all! Tavia is way bad in BTROC and all other dramas, she is best suited for supporting roles like MR.
I support Tavia too cause I feel sorry that she’s the only Fadan who actually came out of TVB acting class and not Pageant. She did not get into industry for her looks, so she works so hard!
Agree. Never like her. Prefer Tavia to Charmaine anytime.
So unfair to say that. Just because tav get through tvb acting class doesn’t mean she works way harder than actress that came from pageant.
@ Jupi
What I meant is Tavia already doesn’t have the looks compared to pageants, so she’s working very hard to keep herself in good shape and presentable so that other pretty fadan’s don’t overshadow her.
@yanyankong, why would you feel sorry for her given her background different from the other fadans? I am soooooo glad and admire the fact that she worked her way from acting class to the position she is now all by her own efforts. Yeah, she may have worked a lot harder because she started off without the promotions of a pageant, but that would only prove she actually has talent and audiences approval over the years for her fadan position. Plus I think she no doubt gained more experience working from the bottom up and taking it one step at a time, don’t you think? Lol
@candy, well imo, Charmaine was actually the most boring character to watch in BTROC out of all the cast.
I am just the opposite. I love watching Charmaine acting as “Empress Lu”, and wouldn’t never go for Tavia as a replacement.
Aww I love Charmaine in ancient dramas, too bad! If her and louis are really going to collaborate in another film together that would be goooood!
Oh man! I was quite looking forward to this drama because of Charmaine :/
I love modern dramas…those police detective ones.
Is this article even confirm yet??? What about tavia’s serie with roger. I’m pretty sure tavia would want to film with roger more then this serie I do want tavia to take part in this serie but the serie with roger I want more of heheh
Yes! Ron and Tavia / Taro in the same series. Have been waiting for these two to film together again since they are such good friends and should have lots of chemistry.
I support Tavia!!!!!!! Cant wait to see her in this series.
Why bother making this series without Maggie Cheung Ho Yee. She already played this role to perfection in Chor Hon Giu Hung.
I don’t understand why everyone believe that Charmaine will be in Empress Lu, just because she was in Sales Promotion. Take 2014 series as an example, how many casts that were in the sales promotion finally ended up in the series?
another tavia’s drama
She’s not a contract tvb artiste, she has a choice to reject this drama. She’s more suitable to make movies. Armed with good acting skill, Best Asian TV Queen award and fame, she can win acting movie award easily. Some movie actresses win awards w/o any acting experience..Lol TITS movie is ranking No. 1 in H K currently, all eyes on her n Louis:)
Honestly, I watched TITS movie and Ah Sheh is more suitable for TV drama. Her acting style in TITS movie is very drama style, especially the way she looks at the camera. TITS movie is ranked second, after Doraemon Stand by me. It isnt that easy to win a movie award for a newbie, especially she is only filming TVB (Shaw Brother) movie now.
Moreover, she is a contracted TVB artist. TVBC in particular.
I think it just takes time for an artiste to switch from filming drama series to movies. Just give them more time. Besides, people have already “red circled” them as drama artistes. Everyone of them had gone through it, including Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chi Wai, Lau Ching Wan, etc.
I am sure Charmaine will do better next time.
Well, I will like to ask you: what is your definition of drama style v. Movie style? Is there some sort of criteria/standard??? I think it is just people being prejudiced towards actors coming from TV industry….this same question was also asked in the latest episode of BIG BOYS CLUB with TITS cast. You should watch it because Matt Yip answers the question for us.
@alluka has tvbc the same owner as tvb? i mean is charles chan also the boss of tvbc? if not then they are different company,so tvb have no say in tvbc. you can highly say its a “franchise” formula like ikea,and hence charmaine has no obligations to tvb.
@Sandcherry: Yes, I dont say that she doesnt need time. Just that Lilian said that she can win acting movie award easily and I say it wont be that easy, especially when she only films for Shaw Brothers so far. This is the second time she was in a movie but her acting doesnt change much since her first one (the one with Hacken Lee that I dont rmb name). She is still have that drama style (refer to my next reply to Kylie). She will have to act in more movies, at least 10 more ones to get rid of that style. Of course, not Shaw Brothers movie because the current Shaw Brothers productions are still similar to TVB series.
Actually Tony Leung Chiu Wai dun have drama style even in his very first movie :). Reason was the filming style was pretty the same for drama and movie in the past with only 1 camera, max at 2. During that period, TVB has turned drama maker from a movie studio (Shaw Brothers) so the filming style is pretty similar. You can see the movie style in the acting of Ti Lung for all of his drama after that moment.
@Kylie: The drama style is the way she talks the dialogue and looks at the camera. Her talk is still slow like a drama artist. And she still dun focus her look on the camera but looks around more.You can differ the feeling pretty well when watching how Sammi and Ah Sheh act in the same movie. Moreover, we all can see that a movie isnt a 90 mins series but as TITS movie is a remake of a series therefore the sentiment of series is very strong in it. I feel like watched a 90 mins series although it has movie stars.
Im not saying she is bad in TITS movie, but she needs to learn more to act in a movie. If she wanna go with movie, should her stay out of Shaw Brothers series, particularly the TVB series turn movie. if not, she will continue her best to be a drama artist which I find more suitable for her. In other word, she seems to be more comfortable when acting in series.
@chan: TVBC is a subsidiary company of TVB, collaborate with SMG but TVB hold the control. Therefore Charles Chan, as TVB owner, is the ultimate owner of TVBC.
Franchise is very different to subsidiary. Franchise means a company sells the franchisee his format, style, method of making productions, etc. but the franchiser does not hold any share/capital in the franchisee. TVBC isnt the franchisee, it is established by TVB.
TVB has the voice in TVBC for sure. You can see the fact that Ah Sheh’s current manager Candy Ma is TVB’s employee. Ah Sheh is listed in TVB contracted artists. However, her contract is for sure kinda flexible which give her permission to film 1 series per year and the right to choose series, which is offered to few TVB’s top stars.
Alluka
I haven’t seen many Hong Kong movies so I don’t know the difference between the acting in movies vs. drama series. I would like to find out more from the movie “TITS” …… between the acting of Sammi Cheng and Charmaine Sheh. Did you see that movie in a cinema or online? If you watched it online, would you mind to post me the link? I want to learn the difference based on your above post.
Thanks in advance.
“Ah Sheh is listed in TVB contracted artists. However, her contract is for sure kinda flexible which give her permission to film 1 series per year and the right to choose series, which is offered to few TVB’s top stars.”
ok,thats why she can decline on a drama so easily without any consequenses.
@Chan
All sales presentations are temporary arrangements (just to boost TVB viewership ratings) and not done officially in writing. Either TVB, producers, or artistes can change their minds after sales presentations are done. It is an “understood” arrangement only.
@Sandcherry: I watched it in cinema :). Maybe you should wait until it is uploaded.
Ron Ng??? realllyyy??? yay
Didn’t china do a drama on this character recently? What was tvb thinking? And the cast is so disappointing