At a pre-event for TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2014, Loong Wai Ting speaks to a few hopeful artistes from Hong Kong.
THIS year’s TVB Star Awards Malaysia, to be held in Genting Highlands, will see the presentation of 27 awards from 13 categories. Do expect a large entourage of TVB stars, who will be gracing the red carpet event as well as the awards show.
Organised by Television Broadcasts Limited, the TVB Awards is held to honour the talents in the Hong Kong television industry.
Two “kick-off” events were recently held at Paradigm Mall in Kelana Jaya and Ipoh Parade, with a huge turnout of fans of Hong Kong television series. Gracing the event were the Canadian-born, Hong Kong-based actress Linda Chung, Kristal Tin and Roger Kwok. At the event, fans were also encouraged to cast their votes for their favourite stars.
Linda was last year’s winner for category My Favourite Actress In A Leading Role, and she will be vying for the same spot for her exceptional performance in the just-ended series, All That Is Bitter Is Sweet.
SWEET HOPES
Linda will be up against Tavia Yeung (Storm In A Cocoon), Aimee Chan (Outbound Love), Priscilla Wong (Swipe Tap Love), Carman Lee (Never Dance Alone), Nancy Wu (The Ultimate Addiction), Selena Li (Ghost Dragon Of Cold Mountain), Kristal Tin (Black Heart White Soul), Louisa So (Rear Mirror), Charmaine Sheh (Line Walker), Kate Tsui (Tomorrow Is Another Day) and Joey Meng (Come On, Cousin).
Linda is also nominated for two more categories: The My Favourite Top 15 TVB Drama Characters and My Favourite TVB On-Screen Couple (with Joe Ma in Tiger Cubs 2). “I feel blessed and thankful for the undying support shown by my Malaysian fans. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that people love my character in All That Is Bitter Is Sweet. It has been one of the hardest characters for me to play to date,” she said.
She was all smiles at the event, and announced that she has just finished filming a new series in Taiwan with co-stars Liza Wang, Damian Lau and Alex Fong. Titled Limelight Years, the producer of the series is said to have allocated a big budget for filming abroad as well on the cast’s wardrobe.
In All That Is Bitter Is Sweet, she plays a medical practitioner in the post-Republican era in China. Linda’s character, though inspiring with a hint of feminism, was tough to take on, particularly when Linda is not a native Cantonese speaker. The former Miss Chinese Vancouver winner explained that “it has been so long since I last played a feminine character. In All That Is Bitter Is Sweet, I had to memorise lots of medical terms on top of the usual script. I remember losing confidence the moment I read the script.”
Also winner of the Most Improved Female Actress winner at the 2006 TVB Anniversary Awards she added that she wants her dialogues to be as natural as possible. “Language has always been a barrier for me. I constantly tell myself that I either make it or break it. So far, I am happy with the overall results,” she adds.
“For me, the anticipation is the same every year. I’ve given my best in every TV series that I am in and I have no regrets. It is all up to fate now and what the fans love to see. I don’t have that overwhelming feeling where I need to win but I am just as confident,” she responded, when asked if she’s confident of winning this year’s TV Queen title.
A TIME TO MEET AND TALK
For Kristal Tin who managed to take home one of the My Favourite Top 15 TVB Drama Characters for her memorable performance in Brother’s Keeper, this year’s (awards) do is nothing but a reunion of sorts for everyone. “This year will be my second time participating in the awards show. I’ve always watched awards shows as they are a reunion of sorts, where everyone catches up with one another. A lot of time when we (colleagues) bump into each other at the office, we don’t even have time to say hi. We’re always rushing to get to our film sets,” she says.
On what she thinks about her nominations this year, Kristal says she is thankful that the audience loves what she does. “As an actress, my constant fear is being recognised for that one particular role and nothing else. After Brother’s Keeper, I became afraid that the audience will only see Yiu Man Ying (her character in the series) in me. But when Black Heart White Soul came out, I never expected the results to be very good. Wherever I go, I have people telling me how they love my acting and my character in the series. For that, I am thankful. It means that I have successfully broken out from my previous role,” she says.
The temperature is definitely rising in My Favourite TVB On-Screen Couple category, where actor Roger Kwok has two nominations: with Kristal in Black Heart White Soul and Joey Meng in Come On, Cousin. Roger is hoping the award will be given to his pairing with Kristal.
“Kristal and I share great chemistry on and off-screen. I think it is understandable that we should be the winner,” he says, half-jokingly. He adds, “For me, the awards itself is an exciting game. What the audience in Malaysia like will not necessarily be something that the audience in Singapore (for example) may like. Just like Linda says, I prefer to let the matter rest in fate’s hands.”
CALL FOR VOTES
From now till Nov 16, fans can cast their votes for their favourites at www.tvbstarawards.com.my. Other categories include My Favourite Drama Theme Song, My Favourite TVB Variety Programme, My Favourite TVB Enrichment Programme and My Favourite TVB Host in a Variety Programme.
The awards show is organised by TVB Entertainment News in partnership with Astro, MY FM and Melody FM as media partners. It will be broadcast live on TVB Entertainment News (Astro channel 313), Astro Wah Lai Toi and Astro Wah Lai Toi HD (channel 311 and 310, respectively).
TVB Star Awards Malaysia 2014
Venue: Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands
Date: Nov 23
Time: 8pm