曾勵珍 vs. 梁家樹
曾勵珍 Catherine Tsang Artistes:
(製作部戲劇製作總監 Drama Department)
Louise Lee, Susanna Kwan, Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Charmaine Sheh, Kevin Cheng, Steven Ma, Tavia Yeung (used to be on Tommy's side), Yoyo Mung, Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Kate Tsui, Kenny Wong, Gigi Lai, Sonija Kwok, Kristal Tin, Wong Cho Lam, Johnson Lee, Shirley Yeung, Aimee Chan, Natalie Tong, Tsui Wing, Elaine Yiu, Ruco Chan, etc.
Non-TVB management artistes: Bobby Au Yeung, Sheren Tang, Wayne Lai, Julian Cheung, Lawrence Ng, Ada Choi, Maggie Cheung, Esther Kwan, Wong He, Alex Fong Chung Sun, Maggie Shiu, Ekin Cheng, Raymond Wong, Niki Chow, etc.
Catherine Tsang Producers:
Jonathan Chik Kei Yi, Lau Ka Ho, Lee Tim Sing, Amy Wong Sam Wai, Mui Siu Ching, Tsui Yue On, Leung Choi Yuen, Marco Law Wing Yin, and Law Chun Ngok.
梁家樹 Tommy Leung Artistes:
(製作部戲劇製作總監 Drama Department)
Roger Kwok, Michael Miu, Ron Ng, Raymond Lam, Myolie Wu, Kenneth Ma, Joe Ma, Nancy Wu, Selena Li, Michael Tse, Sunny Chan, Melissa Ng, Derek Kwok, Joel Chan, Sire Ma, Mandy Wong, Vincent Wong, Grace Wong, Oscar Leung, etc.
Non-TVB management artistes: Damian Lau, Adam Cheng, Liza Wang, Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, Kenix Kwok, Flora Chan, Louis Koo, Michael Tao, Louisa So, Joyce Tang, Gigi Wong, Nancy Sit (used to be on Catherine's side), Sammul Chan, Leila Tong, Toby Leung, Elanne Kong, JJ Jia, Him Law, etc.
Tommy Leung Producers:
Poon Ka Tak, Nelson Cheung Kin Man, Kwan Wing Chung, Wong Wai Sing, Lam Chi Wah, Chong Wai Kin, and Terry Tong Kei Ming.
[Stephen Chan (General Manager of TVB) artistes: Fala Chen, Sharon Chan, Amigo Choi, Patrick Tang, etc.]
Catherine series = enlightenment/sitcom
Tommy series = comedy/cop
Usually, when a producer has a new series, you can predict who is going to be in it because of the side that producer is on.
It is very hard for certain artistes to be in the same series because they are on different sides. However, there are artistes who do film for both sides.
Bernice Liu is a special case, as she does not have a side.
Selena films for both sides, but she is usually a guest star (except for "A Change of Destiny", where she was the second female lead, but her role was not very prominent) in Catherine series.
Steven mostly films series produced by Leung Choi Yuen or Tsui Yue On.
Because Tommy does not have enough artistes on his side, he tends to use artistes from Catherine's side or non-TVB-ers (e.g., singers). The difference between Catherine and Tommy is that Catherine actually 'used' Raymond to promote Linda in "Moonlight".
During TVB anniversary time, it is usually Catherine side artistes who win big awards. Tommy side artistes usually win awards outside of TVB [Bobby was nominated for an Emmy for Cheung Kin Man's "Dicey Business", Myolie won 'Best Actress' in a Comedy at the 12th Asian Television Awards (2007), and Raymond just won 'Best Actor' in a Drama at the 13th Asian Television Awards (2008)].
In the beginning of 2008, Tommy was promoted two ranks, so he is now the same status as Catherine.
On February 28, 2014, Tommy officially leaves his TVB position, and Assistant General Manager Peter Au temporarily takes over his duties.
*Asian Television Awards
Personal Note: I am a Tommy side fan. His side produces series that are more fitted for my taste. Ha ha....
Side Note: Recent reports are saying that Virginia Lok (製作資源部副總監 Resources Department) lost some power because of only helping Kevin Cheng resolve his rumours and neglecting to renew contracts with Steven Ma and Miriam Yeung (singer contract). Mona Fong (Sir Run Run Shaw's wife) instructed other TVB executives to renew contracts with Steven and Miriam. Catherine renewed contract terms with Steven (because she was the one who signed Steven as a TVB-contracted artiste), while Ho Lai Chuen (TVB executive of variety programmes, and also Carlo Ng's brother-in-law) renewed contract terms with Miriam.
oo that's quite interesting :D i never knew there were sides for catherine and tommy...
ReplyDelete..i thought it was just viriginia lok vs stephen chan..lol
hahah and now that you've pointed it out..i actually notice it..i find alot of catherine's people seem to target housewives....like Lee Si Kei, Susanna Kwan recently hot favourites cause of Moonlight Resonance & Heart of Greed >> both are housewives favourite sort of things...Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Kevin Cheng, Steven Ma, Bosco Wong,Kenny Wong, Julian Cheung, Lawrence Ng, Ekin Cheng, etc. i find them quite popular with the moms...cause of their family oriented shows or like good guy charms :D
while Tommy's people..i see them alot in grand productions i guess...or like multi-viewer stuff: Michael Miu> Drive Of Life or Love Exchange, Ron Ng > Revolving Doors of Vengeance, Drive of Life, Raymond Lam > Drive of Life, Moonlight Resonance & HOG (even though not Tommy's), Myolie Wu> WOIL 1 &2, Drive of Life, Fei Tin's Happy Affair, Joe Ma> Grand Entrepreneurs, Drive of Life, WESFOTSW, Bernice Liu > Grand Entrepreneurs
Non-TVB contracted artistes: Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, Kenix Kwok, Flora Chan, Louis Koo, Louisa So, Michael Tao, Nancy Sit etc > all hot favourites for their grand productions...
so its my first time actually noticing that..
hahah i really enjoyed your post!! keep updating!!
ive always wanted to comment ..but noticed you didnt have cbox..so leaving a msg here :D
btw...i always read someone named "Sit Ka Wah" who is that?? he or she participates in the making of many series...
Wow, Hyn5! Thanks so much, this posting is so useful, now I know what producers and artistes is on which side. And how come you know so much about things "behind"?
ReplyDeleteSo the artistes who films for the other side, gets "bad" and/or small roles there... Why they film for the other side then?
Actually, Catherine has more power (as you said), her artistes win TVB awards, while Tommy's artistes win only outside TVB..
So Tommy Leung and Catherine Tsang are TVB's high executives, but Stephen Chan and Virginia Lok are ranked higher or not?
Wow Hyn5, this post is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, as you analyzed, Charmaine Sheh now is under Tommy but she will film Palace Scheme next year and maybe Heaven and Earth as well, both are Catherine's productions, right? so, will she be back Catherine? Plus Catherine side does have cop series like Forensic Heroes
That is exactly what I'm talking about, Lavendar_Bluez!
ReplyDeleteSit Ka Wah is a writer. He co-wrote "Heart of Greed," "Moonlight Resonance," "Man in Charge," etc.
My TVB knowledge is gained from years of experience by observing producers and what artistes films.
Artistes film for the opposite because many of them don't have a say in what they are cast in. Only very "big" artistes have the "option" to pick and choose/reject roles or series.
Out of these four TVB executives, the ranking is as follows:
Stephen Chan
Virgina Lok
(same rank) Catherine Tsang and Tommy Leung
Charmaine Sheh is now under Tommy, but she was "raised" by Catherine. So, she films for both sides.
Thanks for your list. Its nice to see how the layout is in TVB.
ReplyDeleteSucks that Raymond and Tavia are now in two different lists. Now my chances of seeing them together are going to be so slim...sigh...
I think that though Catherine and Tommy are the same rank, Catherine still has more seniority over Tommy. Not only because she's been in that position much longer, but wasn't it rumored, that during the time when TVB had an "earthquake" of executive changes (the addition of Virgina and Stephen and the firing of others), Catherine fought to keep Tommy from the "to-be-fired" list. In return, she had to give up a handful of other producers from her list (such as the producer of Armed Reaction, etc).
Oh...and Tommy's wife is Barbara (AKA Ba Jie). It's said that because she left TVB, Louis Koo and his asst Ronnie (whom used to be in TVB's management dept - managing artists such as Bernie Liu, Sonija Kwok, etc) followed.
There was a rumour saying when Ba Jeh thing.
ReplyDeleteIt actually makes sense how she 'used' Raymond, since he was only meant to be a cameo in HOG anyway, they just gradually gave him more scenes... (I'm sora glad of that...)
ReplyDeleteTo Vaneffle:
ReplyDeleteYeah, Raymond does not get good roles when he is filming for the other side.
Hey Hyn5, sorry about bombing the chat-box with all those questions - I didn't know you had this article as I'm actually a new reader to your blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat article and it really provides a new perspective into the behind-the-scenes dynamics in TVB. There are always so many conflicting stories and rumours, so it's nice that you took time to analyse and write it for us who doesn't know as much, and can't read Chinese.
Have you read these two articles?
http://www.88news.net/2010/03/20/four-tvb-heads’-compete-for-power-–-stephen-chan-first-to-be-ousted/
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/716067-analysis-of-tvbs-parties-and-cliques-real-life-beyond-the-realm-of-conscience-part-2-final/
I'm surprised that you wrote in your other article - the one about Steven, that Virgenia does not like Raymond since everyone else categorise him as one of her favourites. But I definitely see your point about her (/and Catherine) using Ray to promote Linda! I always suspected as much.
You mentioned in the chatbox that it would be hard for Fala and Ray to film together since they are under different managers, but who is Fala under now that Stephen Chan is out? Also, in your article, you categorise Tavia as under Catherine Tsang and Ray under Tommy Leung, but they recently had MOL together and just filmed "An Uninvited Date"?
To Advo:
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of false information in those articles (e.g., "The Drive of Life" released in 2007, not 2006).
Fala has always been under Catherine Tsang; it's just that she was one of Stephen Chan's favourites.
As for Tavia, she started out under Tommy Leung. His producers, mainly Poon Ka Tak and Chong Wai Kin, were the first ones to give her bigger roles. However, Tommy's side decided to heavily promote Myolie, so other actresses on Tommy's side were neglected. Then Tavia started to film only Catherine series, which began with "Heart of Greed". After Tavia gained more popularity from "Moonlight Resonance" and received more recognition from the hype of "Beyond the Realm of Conscience", she filmed Chong's "Flying Fish" and Poon's "Date" to basically show her gratitude toward them, as they were the first ones to give her chances.
As for Raymond, he has mostly filmed for Lau Ka Ho because Lau Ka Ho is the head of all the producers; therefore, it is more difficult to turn him down. Raymond mentioned that he had previously turned down a Lau Ka Ho series, so he didn't turn down "Heart of Greed".
Woah! I hope 88News has permission from llwy12 to publish her translations on its website.
ReplyDelete@ Hyn5, thanks for clearing it up for me. It's no wonder that people complain about seeing the same pairings over and over again, since there really are limited ways for them to pair up. It's honestly a shame. Has it always been like this? I don't recall the old TVB series (1990s) to be quite as restrictive? I definitely think it's a mistake because it is exactly restrictions like these that also limits the creative processes. It's no wonder that TVB shows have been very unoriginal and they seem to only either film sequels or rip-off other dramas. There is so little true original content on TVB nowadays.
ReplyDeleteBtw, have you changed your mind regarding miss Lok and Raymond? don't dispute what you have said, but to me it seems like miss Lok changes her mind about who her favourites are. I recently read and article that she followed Ray to some place to do promotion for his new movie "The Jade and the Peal" , and it just seems unnecessary for her to follow him, imo. Surely, she has other things to do in TVB?
To Advo:
ReplyDeleteIt has always been like this; it's just that it has become much more apparent in recent years.
Any major events with TVB artistes involved (e.g., movie premieres, contract signings, awards ceremonies), Miss Lok always attends as well, since she is in charge of the Artistes Department.
If you have seen Miss Lok in interviews, it is quite evident that she does not favour Raymond. It's just that Raymond is currently the most bankable TVB artiste. Since he makes the most money for TVB, it makes sense for her to look out for him.
That's exactly what I mean. I never noticed these things before, but it's getting more and more apparent.
ReplyDeleteMore reasons to hate Miss Lok.
wow I never thought Virginia Lok didn't like Raymond Lam, I always thought he was one of her favorites! Guess this is a good thing for me since I don't like Raymond.
ReplyDeleteKevin Cheng is obviously her favorite and I hated how she told scriptwriters to write Wong Hei's role in such negative light just so Kevin would look perfect/great. =/ Usually don't like Virgina cause she seems to base her favorites on looks rather than on acting skills where as Stephen Chan is the opposite.
I hate a question what were series like DIF1-4 Healing Hands, etc filmed by? Tommy or Catherine's side?
HYN5 do you know what side Ruco is on? I would guess Catherine's side cause I think The Truth is. And Raymond Wong is on Catherine's side and both have been appearing in so many series together
To sport3888:
ReplyDeleteThe DIF franchise (produced by Poon Ka Tak) is under Tommy's side, while the "Healing Hands" franchise(produced by Gary Tang and Jonathan Chik) is under Catherine's side.
Yes, both Ruco and Raymond Wong are on Catherine's side.
hey Hyn5,
ReplyDeletedo you know why miss Lok hate Tavia so must?
I also have always wondered why Ms.Lok dislikes Tavia. I think tavia is an amazing actress and deserves more recognition but it seems as if the other rising stars with less experience and not as great acting gets better roles and much more recognition.
ReplyDelete