Reactions To This Year’s Golden Bell Nominations

The 45th Golden Bell Awards nominations were finally announced on Monday after much anticipation. It dominated entertainment pages on the following day as expected, and quickly became a hot topic amongst netizens (specifically on PTT.) Now that we’ve had some time to let them sink in, let’s take a look at the hits & mostly misses of this year’s GBA nominations. 

Many were disappointed that Ady An was not nominated for her performance in “Autumn’s Concerto”. Despite being a huge hit, the drama only received one nod for marketing. “Down With Love” shared a similar fate as its lone nomination came from the same category. Netizens mocked the Golden Bell saying Van Ness Wu and Jerry Yan were recognized for their valuable marketability after all. 

Although director Chen Hui Ling (陳慧翎) received multiple nods for her other drama “Year of the Rain(那年，雨不停國)”, she couldn't help but felt disappointed with the outcome for “Autumn’s Concerto”. Van Ness Wu’s manager said the actor indeed had a “slight hope” towards the Golden Bell, so he is feeling a “slight regret” now. His costar Ady An wrote,

“Maybe our filming and ratings were too full of happiness, so our award will have to wait till the *Next Stop!”

Actor Lin Yo Wei (林佑威) is not getting any love from the Golden Bell either. Netizens were quick to point out that the Endless Love star has been snubbed for two years in a row. He was expected to be a contender for Best Actor in 2009 with strong performances from Police et vous (波麗士大人) andJustice for Love (天平上的馬爾濟斯). Some suspected he might have canceled himself out with a double-dose of fine-acting. Lin Yo Wei came back with dual roles in Letter 1949 (我在1949，等你) earlier this year, but was still without any nomination in the end. One frustrated netizen commented,

“What does Lin Yo Wei have to do in order to get nominated!”

From the left: Lin Yo Wei, James Wen and Amber Kuo, Morni Chang

James Wen and Amber Kuo had much better luck as the on-screen siblings were nominated for “The Year of Happiness and Love (那一年的幸福時光)”. Unfortunately the same can't be said for their TV dad Wu Nien Jen (吳念真) nor costar Sonia Sui. Some netizens even called this year’s Golden Bell the “Frighten Bell (驚鐘獎)” for its shock factor. The most shocking of all was certainly Bianca Bai -- Her Best Actress nomination puzzled many considering the early favorites didn't even make it on the list. 

Other surprises included veteran hosts Jacky Wu (吳宗憲), Chang Hsiao Yen (張小燕) and Jennifer Shen (沈春華) in the hosting categories. Jacky Wu is currently going through one of those miserable cycles (case in point: He recently went to court to testify as a witness and left as a defendant), so it only makes sense that his bad luck carries over to the Golden Bell.

As for the two ladies, their names were intentionally not submitted to the Golden Bell. They hope their shows can receive recognition rather than themselves personally. Chang’s “Million Primary School (百萬小學堂)” was nominated for Best Variety, while Shen’s “Shen Chun Hua Life Show (沈春華 Life Show)” failed to garner any. Don’t feel too bad for Jennifer Shen, she has 13 Golden Bell statues sitting at home already.

Not all nominations were met with dissatisfaction. Netizens were thrilled with Morni Chang (張晨光)’s double nominations for Best Actor and Supporting Actor. They look forward to seeing him winning another Golden Bell this year. At 54, he is the oldest in the Best Actor category which includes James Wen (32),Show Luo (31), Matt Wu 吳中天 (29) and Wu Cheng Di 吳政迪 (16). The veteran actor said, “I’m nominated for (roles in) both Mandarin and Taiwanese (dialect). If (I) win, it would make history.”

*Referring to the Chinese title of Autumn's Concerto, "Next Stop, Happiness".

Source: Appledaily, Chinatimes, CNA, UDN & CpopAccess

* Both my fav. drama not listed?! I'm questioning it and yeah I really sound mad!