劉三好/宮心計 “Palace Schemes”

Pictures fromYule.baidu.com

Genre – Ancient series revolving around the palace

Rumored Cast – Moses Chan, Kevin Cheng, Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, Fala Chen, Michelle Yim (Mai Suet), Selena Li, Susanna Kwan, Christine Ng, Nancy Sit, etc.

Plot – Its going to be about revolving around the fights and struggles within the Sheung Goong (which from my understanding seems to be a group of court ladies and servants that prepare the extravagant clothing and fashion accessories for the imperial family) during the Tang Dynasty. Wiki Source* shows that Charmaine would be playing the character, Lau Sam Ho, whom is the main character of the serie. Moses Chan would be playing the emperor, and he will have a crush on Lau Sam Ho. Kevin Cheng would be a guard, who pursues Lau Sam Ho romantically. Tavia Yeung would play a concubine who would harm Lau Sam Ho. Susanna Kwan’s character killed Lau Sam Ho’s mom. Fala Chen would be the palace maid. Michelle Mai, Susanna Kwan, Kara Hui, and Christine Ng are all listed as part of Sheung Gung.
*Wikipedia information are tentative and may not be accurate.

My thoughts: I am very excited about this serie, and I hope most of the cast can stay the same! I love series revolving around the imperial palace. There’s so much drama, mystery, and romance that can be stirred up into a great serie as seen with War & Beauty! I think the cast is just simply TOO grand, and it’s definitely going to be a flexing of muscles for the ladies if the above rumored cast holds. I extremely love the whole cast although I wouldn’t mind if Moses and Charmaine are not included. I like them as actors and actresses respectively, and I think they are capable in most of their scenes, but as they were involved before in War & Beauty, I kinda want the whole cast to be fresh. I think it would be interesting to replace Moses and put Raymond as emperor instead. Anyhow, I am very excited that Tavia would be playing a villain role. It would definitely be a new role for her to try. I have a lot of hope that she would excel in her role as a villain, and I can’t wait to see her shine again! Also glad to see Selena in here as she would get a lot of experience from the veterans. With such a big female cast, I'm guessing the focus would be on the gals, but I hope it would give the guys some good stuff to work with also.

For more information:
Wiki Source
Spcnet thread for this serie

Similarities with Price of Greed & Moonlight Resonance

A few similarities with The Price of Greed and Moonlight Resonance can be seen! Wonder if the producer of MR took some inspiration from The Price of Greed eh??

-Bosco, Shirley, and Kate are casted in both series
(Lui To, Mui Mui, Lam Ping; Dr. Ling, young Hor Ma, Ka Mei)

-Adopted Children
(Louise Li and Tavia; Kingdom Yuen and Bosco & Shirley)

-Adopted sister crushing on adopted brother
(Shirley crushing on Bosco; Tavia crushing on Moses)

-A mute sister
(Shirley; Fala)

-“Goon Ga Jai”
(Kingdom Yuen refers to Bosco’s character in TPOG as that nickname; Raymond’s nickname is that)

-Deception
(Sammul & his brotherhood of con artists; To a lesser extent, Kate being conniving and lying about her past and intentions)

-Guy really likes the girl, but girl really likes another guy
(Bosco likes Kate who really likes Sammul ; Raymond likes Linda who really likes Bosco)

-One foot stepping on two boats (Sammul with Kate, Vivien, other women lol; to lesser extent, Bosco with Linda and Claire)

What do you think? Of course it could be inspiration or it could just be coincidence, but nonetheless, it's a little fun trivia.

TVB 41st Lighting Ceremony

*Above picture from TVB Weekly, pg 32, found from lovebosco.net

Another year seems to be coming to an end, but before it does, it's another controversial, although still the-talk-of-the-town, TVB 41st anniversary coming up! Actors and actresses in glamorous outfits will be paired up, awards will be passed out, and lots of stage performances by various TVB actors and actresses, not to mention the new presentation clips for new series that are in store for us in 2009.

However, it all starts with the lighting ceremony. Joyce Cheng starts the show singing the themesong of 畢打自己人, which is a new drama sitcom that she will also star in. Joyce is a decent singer, and her themesong for TVB serie, Speech of Silence, was a very pleasant song. However, her performance for this themesong is a little off, like she has something stuck in her throat. She is still able to reach those higher notes ok, but I felt like she couldn’t sing the song very smoothly.

Then there is a drama skit with the cast of 畢打自己人, which gave out a couple of jokes and chuckles. I like Teresa Mo, so I’m glad to see her acting for TVB again. I think she is a great comedian- actress. I feel bad for the people that has to drink the milk. With the given milk conditions in China, they are indeed very brave lol.

Then we have the cast of The Gem of Life talking about their characters. I haven’t paid attention to the news of this serie, so it’s actually pretty interesting to hear the older veterans talking about their characters. The clips they showed of the serie is very dramatic and exciting, not to mention very, very beautiful with the scenery. Still having a bit of gripe that Linda Chung is in the serie, but oh well, hopefully she will make something out of it. The younger cast from TGOL goes on a catwalk with their diamonds. I think the cast looks very cool and dazzling in black accompanied by their diamonds, and the themesong by Shirley Kwan playing in the background is very catchy and fitting for the serie.

We move on to Lisa, Charmaine, Joe Ma, and Raymond Wong’s serie “Turbulence of East and West”. I didn’t know much about this serie before, but seeing the clips and Lisa talking about her character, it seems like a pretty interesting serie. Lisa’s character in this serie is different and complex, being an unwed pregnant woman who went ahead and got married to another man. Charmaine’s character seems a little like her character in Point of No Return, while Lisa’s character seems a little like a serious version of her character in the War of In Law series lol.

The nominations are then revealed. Various actors and actresses were asked who they support or think would win. I listed who each of them support below. A lot of people are rooting for Michelle Yim, Ha Yu, and Moonlight Resonance!

-Dodo thinks Michelle Yim because she did a good job and is still so beautiful after many years.
-Roger supports Moonlight Resonance, but also supports Lisa Wang since her character is fresh and is able to display different acting. Somehow Roger seems a little bit down? It seems like he is forcing the smiles and excitement.
-Christine Ng thinks Louise Li because she portrayed different characters for both MR and HOG and still did a great job.
-Kevin supports Susanna Guk and Michelle Yim from MR
-Ron says he would support Michelle because he likes watching her act, and they cooperated a few times, and she also adores him, so with business or personal, with “tung ching fun” (sympathetic points) or “gum ching fun” (feelings points), he’s got to vote for her.
-Bowie for Michelle Yim
-Louise Li favors Susanna, Michelle and of course, herself
-Nancy sit supports herself because one she always have confidence
-Lisa Wang is confident of War of In Laws II despite tough competition.
-Lau Dan thinks Ha Yu and two, Kevin Cheng
-Dodo, Carol Cheng, hopes Ha Yu or jokes that he’ll have a temper
-Charmaine favors Jo Bau and felt it’s unfair that he didn’t get it last year
-Sharon votes for Raymond because she knew him for a while and says he worked hard and he did a good job with Goon Ga Jai.
-Kiki Sheung votes for her "son" in Last One Standing, Kevin cheng and Bobby Au
-A girl votes for Bobby (I don't know her name)
-Bobby is for Ha Yu
-Nancy for Ha Yu and Raymond Lam
-Wong Jo Lam for Ha Yu
-Lisa votes for Ha Yu because his character is able to let him demonstrate his acting and is a hot serie
-Micheal Tse says literally says HOG’s Chinese title (while everyone else says Ga Ho Yuet Yuen), World's Twister Adventure, and D.I.E
-Ron likes MR and places his bet on this
-Kevin thinks MR and reminds audience about Last One Standing too
-Kate Tsui for MR and feels proud to be part of the serie that is the talk of town
-Roger mentions MR and reminds audience about Last One Standing also.

If you don’t want to get spoiled, don’t watch the part where it shows the clips of the finale for The Four and Last Man Standing. I’m so looking forward to the ending of both series, very exciting! But also, they kinda ruined it for me, but still, very exciting!!

Then Kelly performs two of her songs for the concluding performance of the show.

The clips of the upcoming anniversary series and TGOL Catwalk are the best highlights in the ceremony! Of course for me, I’m also happy Shirley was behind Bosco and Ron in the group picture haha!

43rd Taiwan Golden Bell Nomination for Best Actress

Read news on AF

The nominations for the 43rd Taiwan Golden Bell Best Actress Awards includes 4 major popular Taiwanese idol actresses: Angela Chang, Ariel Lin, Chen Qiao En, and Rainie Yang.

Personally, I am rooting for Chen Qiao En although I have not seen the other three’s works in the running. I think she did a great job in Fated to Love You, and her character in the serie has experienced a lot of events which gave her the opportunity to display different acting throughout the serie. I’ve seen Ariel Lin and Rainie Yang’s previous works before though, and Ariel Lin is a stronger contender between the two in my opinion. As for Chen Qiao En and Ariel Lin, it’s hard to say. Both of them are my favorite Taiwanese idol actresses, so I hope the best for both of them.

Kelly Chen becomes Mrs. Lau

Above Pic found from: Apple

Miss. Kelly Chen becomes Mrs. Kelly Lau on October 3, 2008. Her marriage announcement was made during her last concert earlier this year. I actually do not know much about Alex Lau, but I knew that Kelly dated him for many, many years. However, they look like a very matching couple! I especially love the above picture of him just touching Kelly’s chin…a very touching moment!

When I first saw her wedding dress in the pics , I thought it was kind of simple since Kelly’s outfits usually stand out more, but of course Kelly still looks very beautiful. Possibly with all the wedding attire she has worn for modeling and acting, simple is considered sweet. Congrats to Kelly and Alex for becoming officially husband and wife!

Niki-Kevin-Charmaine Rumored Triangle

The recent rumor that is most interesting is the Niki-Kevin-Charmaine triangle! It seems to come out of nowhere for me, but then the HK media seems to get these things right at times. If it were true, I think Niki and Kevin are cute, but then I think Charmaine and Kevin seems to match more with TVB as a common background, which brings same interests, events, in career and same friends also. The rumors seem to die down now probably due the TVB anniversary coming up.

To read more:
Kevin Cheng admits break up, Charmaine Sheh expressed her view

Kevin Cheng Becomes Charmaine Sheh's Tenth Boyfriend

Speculation and Gossip

I wonder how many believe this rumors, so please take the poll!

What a September!

It turns out I didn't get to go on vacation because a hurricane came into town the same weekend I planned to go. So I stayed home and survived my first hurricane! About three weeks ago, Houston was hit by Hurricane Ike!. I didn't imagine it would be so bad. A lot of people didn't have any electricity and water for weeks. I was lucky because I only have to endured no electricity for one week. Lots of trees on houses, and roofs leaking for many others. Of course, with no traffic lights, people have to stop and go, and there are some crazy drivers. I went to a supermarket that was open because they running on generators, and it's kind of like mass hysteria when people are getting ice. You would think it's like the end of the world when you see people run to get the ice and grabbing it, and of course, LONG lines to the cashier. Gas stations were pretty crazy too because only a few opened at a time, so cars would be lining up for streets. I have to say the worst experience is not having real "hot" food to eat afterwards. Can't really cook at home, and going out, no restaurants would be opened because there is no electricity and water. It was a very difficult and different experience, and really makes me appreciate the things that I take for granted like food, electricity, and water. I mean without electricity, I spent two days either sleeping or staring out the window (no, i'm not joking). I was bored out of my mind. Anyhow, that's my little rant and update for anyone interested. I think next time, I'm not staying when another one comes. Then now, there are worries about the US economy with bank failures and stock market falling. It's a very busy and interesting 2008 for people in the US, I know it is for me.

So back to Asian entertainment, so many entertainment news! What is the hot topic now?? If you're still reading, look forward to more of my thoughts on various old news and Moonlight Resonance in the upcoming days.