WAB promotion: Charmaine beat Gigi in crying competition

Note: Below is the summary of their 2 day visit in Hunan and Chang Sha. I'm trying my best to add interesting tidbits out of my memory so if I accidentally left out anything, please excuse me. I'll try to add more info later. Please give proper credits if re-posted.

*Updated 3rd March 2006* I have added some new translation, they're in purple.



First snow greets WAB cast

The celebrate the high ratings of WAB in Mainland China, the cast members Charmaine Sheh, Gigi Lai, Bowie Lam and Moses Chan went to Hunan and Chang Sha to meet their fans. Upon their arrival in Chang Sha, it immediately snows, symbolising good luck. At the airport, Bowie and Charmaine has the most fans.

Charmaine Sheh impressive crying skills

Last night they appeared on Hunan TV shows 《快樂大本營》as special guests. Apart from playing games on the show, the host also requested for Gigi and Charmaine to compete acting skills by seeing who can cry the fastest. Charmaine managed to cry in 10 seconds, defeating Gigi. Gigi who stood next to her couldn't cry and looked a little embarassed. Later, when asked why she could shed tears so fast, Charmaine smiled and said that she was touched by so many fans' support.



On the other hand, Bowie and Moses did a mini catwalk, causing screams from fans. Bowie was even being forcibly kissed by one of the host!

Executive producer Chik Kei Yi embarrased Gigi



During the interview session, Gigi was once more embarrassed by WAB producer Chik Kei Yi. When the host asked him who was the cast member he like least, Chik Kei Yi answered that he dislikes Gigi, because she often creates NG and also 'idiotic'. Gigi's face immediately turn 'black' and Bowie saved the situation by claming that he himself constantly NG, too. CKY repairs the damage by saying that he was just referring to Gigi's role in WAB, very naive and idiotic.

Moses have a girlfriend?

The host also asked CKY which cast member was most sentimental. Bowie suddenly says that it should be Moses and disclosed that during DOP (Dance of Passion) filming, Moses was always seen chatting on the phone. The host became curious and asked who was Moses' girlfriend and Bowie said that he kept his girlfriend pictures in his PDA. Upon hearing this, Moses blushed awkwardly. Charmaine came to his rescue by jesting that she's the one on the phone with Moses.



Later, the four of them sang some songs. Charmaine's rendition of Kelly Chen's "Fa Fa Yu Zhao" received the most enthuastic response from the audiences. Fans are delighted to know that she will be singing a song for the soon-to-be released "Nui Yee Hong" (Girlfriend; the female version of All About Men) album.



Lousy Mandarin

Chik Kei Yi, Gigi and Moses was a little embarassed during the interview because of their weak mandarin. The host tried to correct their pronounciation and at one point, he gave up, teasing: "Why don't you guys just speak in Cantonese then?" Charmaine also jested with Moses that his mandarin was like a mixture of japanese and english. When asked why she could speak mandarin fluently, Charmaine explained that she started learning them from her assistant while filming in Sichuan a long time ago.

NG champion

During the interview, the cast get to discuss about their roles. Bowie, who declares himself of having the most NG, mentioned a scene where there was more than 40 lines of dialogue with Gigi. There was one scene where he stood behind Charmaine, therefore he sticked his script onto her back!

Charmaine and Gigi also have an unforgettable experience with the long dialogue. In the scene where they played the chess with emperor, they secretly hid the scripts next to the chess board so they could 'cheat' by sneaking glances at the dialogue! Charmaine says, "We managed to avoid NG by cheating!" Lol...



Bowie and Moses said it was extremely cold while filming in Beijing. Not only they shaved their heads bald, they also have to drink iced water before speaking their dialogues. Charmaine said that she often cried in a corner while filming WAB, because she was too deep into Yee Shun's role.

Near the end of the interview, CKY introduced their new grand production series; Dance of Passion which was filmed in YinChuan. The cast hope this series will be well received by mainland audiences as well.

What are Chik Kei Yi's opinion on the cast

Moses is a daring person who is willing to try a lot of new stuff. He doesn't mind doing dangerous stunts by himself.

Charmaine is the kind of girl that is a little difficult to grasp. Sometimes when you discuss with her, hoping to get some feedback, but she will never respond straight away. In truth, she clearly knows what you actually need early on.

Gigi is different, she is very straight forward. You tell her what is your worries and she will follow your directions 100%, even more.

You will feel reassured with Bowie as an actor, because he understands how to act in the series thoroughly. Therefore, he is like the backbone performer in a series.

Added comment: Did you notice from the clip below that when CKY said Charmaine was 'difficult to grasp', Moses teased Charmaine by mimicking the 'grasping' action near her shoulder? Haha... so cute! Now I feel a bit assured of their interaction in DOP, maybe it won't be so (imagined) bad after all.

Unidentified item falling out from Gigi?

Yesterday, during fans meeting session, the fans response was very passionate. However, Gigi disclosed that she almost make a fool of herself. As the weather was cold, Gigi stick 6 heat packs to her body. However, one of them suddenly fell out and luckily Bowie caught it before anyone noticed. Mentioning, Gigi couldn't suppress laughing.

Charmaine - Most Popular

Among the four, Charmaine was the most popular among Mainland fans. Her series like PITNOL, PONR and ROTC has been broadcasted several times and her gentle image has left a deep image in audience's mind. Fans from Beijing and Shanghai purposely went to Hunan to see her, carrying the slogan "Charmaine, we only care about you!", and even though there were some distance between the stage and fans area, her every frown and smile makes the crowd goes wild. Charmaine, whose mandarin was most fluent among the four, captured the fans heart with her smiles.



Gigi - Most Beautiful

Though her mandarin was not fluent, fans are attracted to her warm and beautiful appearance. Opposite of Charmaine's youthful and simple image, Gigi has specially chosen her outfits for different occasions. She almost caused the two host to verbally fight over her.

Bowie - Most Talented

Among the four of them, Bowie was the most experienced and he clearly knows what the media and fans need. On stage, Bowie constantly display his talents and sang hand in hand with fans, making the atmosphere 'high'. His fans' age group is quite broad, ranging from high school students to ladies in their forties. One lady sitting next to the reporter came with her daughter and have specially woven a scarf for Bowie, as a protection from the cold weather.



Moses - Silence is Gold

Moses' mandarin was the weakest among the four, therefore he appeared a little shy. Standing aside, he constantly flashed a shy smile, which is different from his usual macho image. Tall and handsome, Moses received most attention from female reporters and fans. He was very compliant and attentive to fans when signing autographs. Moses, who did not spoke much, showed off his tall frame during a catwalk session, making the ladies below scream.

Some clips mms link, courtesy of Sina.com and shehsheh.com. A big thanks to Qingwa for informing me:
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/vl/2006/02/27605285.wmv
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/vl/2006/02/27209594.wmv
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/vl/2006/02/27813812.wmv
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/vl/2006/02/28494689.wmv
mms://nv.sina.com.cn/ent/2006/02/28962219.wmv
http://61.135.151.164:8090/20050928/movie/200602/11411231075f44l.rmvb
*The last one is funny where Charmaine 'bullies' the host. Must watch*

In case anyone want to read the chinese article before screaming: "Sehseh freakingly making this up!" (Also for those who claims to read chinese news daily *cough* but yet never saw these article. Funny, huh?)
HK news compilation *note: Shehsheh.com news section is under renovation process, will repost the new link later*
Mainland news 1
Mainland news 2
Mainland news 3
There's much more, just key in 《金枝欲孽》in any sina, tom or 163 news site. And yeah, I have so many leisure time *sarcastic*. The truth is, during the visit, Charmaine is more popular than you-know-who in Mainland China. Did I ever mention that you-know-who was not well received at all? For all I know, who's the more bias fans here? There, I said it, those with bruised ego can send me hate mails now... Been some time since I last manifest Simon Cowell mode. Lol...

Pics:


Meantime, I have translated Charmaine's recent interview. Read it if you want to know her current insight, especially on relationships. Go here.