Francis Ng says TVB Actors & Series gone downhill

Read news here: Asian Fanatics: Francis Ng states TVB Actors & Series have gone downhill

In the news article, it has says that Francis Ng has mentioned that a young female actress used to complain to him during filming of Triumph in the Skies that acting in television series is not about talent, but about connections. It is rumored that this is Myolie Wu. Raymond responded saying that he does not believe Myolie would say that and comments that is is more about grasping the opportunities.

//My thoughts: I give props to Francis for stating his opinion. Like Raymond, I do not think Myolie would say that as she was being heavily promoted during Triumph in the Skies time. Heck, she gets to pair with a veteran on his first come-back serie to TVB! It is more probable that it was Michelle Yip since TVB didn't really promote her after Triumph (she went from female lead to mostly supporting for the series she did before she left TVB) and her inevitable break from TVB makes her the most likely to complain about that situation.

I believe the audience can see that actors & actresses who are favored by the top execs are highly promoted, but that is reality. There are people who make it with connections in every field. It really sucks, but there's nothing that can be done. There's no rule that says you can't play the favoritism card. So I think if the actor or actress have potential and can prove it to the audience, then it doesn't matter if they are heavily promoted. To those who can not prove their potential but are vastly promoted, then they only draw criticisms upon themselves. Thus, they can be over-promoted at one point but gain nothing at the end.

As for the quality of series and actors & actresses' talent going down, I half-agree. Compared with actors & actresses in the 90s and earlier, I do feel that actors & actresses back then had more passion and charisma with acting, and series were more intriguing and addictive. However, it is a different era and while series in the past were more dramatic and characters were more complex and deep, ever since post- SARs, HK audience has been favoring family series moreso than drama.

Is it about TVB not taking the risks? TVB does try to have different plots and be creative here and there, but these series just do not do as well with ratings as compared to the familiar type of family series that HK audience seems to favor. It would be so as to say "throwing away the rice" if TVB does not produce series that are of the HK audience's taste.

And with the acting, with very few series that write complex characters, how would actors & actresses be able to demonstrate their abilities to act different characters, especially when actors & actresses often stay in the comfort zone too?

Anyhow, at the end of the day, TVB's job is to entertain and through complaints or applauses, their series as well as actors & actresses still manages to entertain TVB fans around the world. Until one day when there are no more discussions about their new series, then their series & actors and actresses have truly gone downhill.

On a side note, I have read a rumor that there would be a sequel to Triumph in the Skies. Anyone heard about it??



*Edit: part of the news from 星島日報 2008-07-12 that I have translated:
Credits to lovebosco.net

To expose Siu Sung, Fa Dan's Bad Attitude

Other than talking about TVB dramas' quality, Francis also expressed that he does not understand why TVB holds the TVB Anniversary Awards every year, and feels that this would only divide the Siu Sung and Fa Dans. He and Sandra Ng Kwan Yu both pointed out that TVB's system of promotion is to put them on news headlines, but do not train their acting skills. This is not a good image.

Regarding the repeat of the serie at night, having taken part in the TV series Triumph in the Skies, Francis exposed that during filming back then, there was a Fa Dan, whose acting was very disappointing. There was a phrase that could not be done well, and NG about 30 times. He wanted to comfort her, but she cried and said "Acting in series [do they not] nowadays rely on relationships? Still need acting skills?"

He also commented on one of the four top Siu Sungs during that time [consisting of]: Bosco, Ron, Sammul, and Kenneth. He remembered in one scene, one of the Siu Sungs said the wrong phrase, and Francis wanted to advise him, but the Siu Sung questioned him "What does it have to do with you?". Francis laughingly remarked that back then when he has acted in dramas, he does not dare to go against veterans.


//My thoughts: Interesting....wonder which Siu Sung it was?