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!”

Read More

Weekly Ratings Recap And a Quick Look at The 2010 Golden Bell Nominations

Just a brief ratings recap before highlights from the Golden Bell Nominations: “Zhong Wu Yen” improved to 2.82% (from 2.36% for the previous week) and easily held onto first place. Korean drama “Personal Taste” was second with 1.27%, followed by the new entry “4 Gifts” with a solid debut at 1.14%. “Endless Love” is the only drama that saw a decrease with 0.75% (from 0.81%).

And now, highlights from the 45th Golden Bell Awards nominations announced earlier today: The big surprise was “Autumn’s Concerto (下一站，幸福)” as the hit drama only garnered one nomination in the marketing category. The PTS network continued its domination with nods in 26 out of 32 categories. Their mini-drama “Seeing Heaven (看見天堂)” led the way with 8 nominations in total. “Year of the Rain (那年，雨不停國)”, also from PTS, was nominated in 6 categories including Best Drama and Best Director. The drama was directed by Autumn’s Concerto’s Chen Hui Ling (陳慧翎) and co-produced by Van Ness Wu. 

Read More

Xiao-Xiao Bin Sells Himself To Bury Jiro Wang

Xiao Xiao Bin, the most adorable and popular child-star in Taiwan, outshined the adults once again. In the brand new “performance class” segment on Jacky Wu’s latest variety show, Super King (綜藝大國民), Xiao Xiao Bin showed off his acting skills and stole everyone’s spotlight even when he was only acting as a passerby. 

In one of the skits, Jiro Wang was supposed to act as a son who had just lost his father, but the role was snatched away by Xiao Xiao Bin. Jiro, who celebrated his birthday on the set that day, was reduced to acting as Xiao Xiao Bin’s father. Xiao Xiao Bin, who did not have enough money to bury his idol father, wore the tag, “賣身葬父” (which means to sell yourself for money to bury your father). Jiro made the most out of his role and lay across the floor like a model on a foldout page, pretending to be Xiao Xiao Bin’s deceased father. 

Jacky Wu made fun of Xiao Xiao Bin, “You even dare to take on the role of ‘selling yourself to bury father’? When you go home, (your father) Xiao Bin Bin will definitely give you a good spanking!” Xiao Xiao Bin, realizing the seriousness, replied, “I don’t want to play this role anymore.” But the moment they shouted, “Camera!” Xiao Xiao Bin got into his character right away and his tears flowed non-stop as he mourned for his deceased idol father Jiro.

Source: UDN 

Read More

Ella’s On-Screen Kiss with Jerry Has Most “Feel"

CTV and GTV’s idol drama – [Down With Love] will be telecast this evening at 10 pm. Accordingly to [Shi Bao Magazine Vol 1667], Ella is most proud of her on-screen kiss with Jerry Yan, despite having kissed many male idols in her past serials and joked, “To have kissed such a big handsome idol, I’ve really gotten a big advantage!” Since starring in idol drama serials, she has on-screen kisses with Blue Lan, Jerry Huang, Wu Chun etc. However it was the on-screen kiss with Jerry that she felt was the most real, with emotions, natural and at ease.

Funny-Effect Kiss with Wu Chun, Nerve-Racking Kiss with Blue Lan

She shared on her past kissing scenes, “The kiss with Wu Chun in [Hana Kimi] was one for funny effects. The kiss with Jerry (Huang) in [The Rose] felt dreamy and unreal. My first on-screen kiss was in [Magical Love] with Blue Lan. During then, I was a pack of nerves.” She was also in the disguise of a boy in her on-screen kiss with Wu Chun, hence it was like a “boy-boy-kiss”.

Having filmed in a few drama serials and been through a few love relationships respectively, Ella has derived her very own “Love Evolution Theory”. She said, “In my past love relationships, I was indulged in the feeling of romance. And when this feeling has faded gradually, I ended up breaking off, thus, hurting the other parties in my younger days. Now, I’ve learnt for a love relationship to foster, both parties have to understand each other well. If you feel that the person is the right one for you after being together for some time, then you need not set requirements upon him such as occupation, appearances etc. What is most important is for both parties to really love each other.”

Hardships or Ugly Duckling, She Does it in a Breeze to Successfully Own Her Stage in Idol Drama Arena.

In her drama serials over the years, Ella had attempts to disguise as a boy, braved the rain for kissing scenes, and carried a prop fridge of over ten kilograms along a bustling street. Given her high endurance and resilience, not minding less than pretty disguises, and good health condition, everyone has given her the tile of “Oshin”. Relative to Selina and Hebe, Ella is better able to adapt to exposure of harsh weather conditions while filming outdoors, hence, Ella is the most successful amongst S.H.E members to have developed her career beyond singing, and into the acting arena.

Ferrying First Love Girlfriend on Bicycle, Ended Up with Sore Leg Muscles.

Jerry and Ella are acting as bickering couple who turned into lovers eventually in [DWL]. Off-screen Jerry and Ella are great Machi and Ella shared, “He would even take my shoe off to do foot massage for me.” Meanwhile Jerry shared, “In the past, I assumed I was being thoughtful when I was riding a bicycle with my ex-girlfriend sitting behind me, and singing for her. But in the end, I ended up with very sore muscles for my legs.” As to what songs did he sing then, he joked, “It’s [Meteor Rain]!” Meanwhile Judy Zhou Ding Wei is acting as the boyfriend who has forsaken Ella in the debut episode and she has a scene whereby she was drowning her sorrows in drinks and cried very bitterly. Ella shared that she had looked very ugly in that particular crying scene. 

Credit Source: China Times

Translation: shyun_y @ asianfanatics

* Argh!!! seriously can't wait to watch this drama... been following their updates but still can't watch the drama...

Read More

Ady An heartbroken over exhausted Xiao Xiao Bin

Xiao Xiao Bin's schedule has been packed lately. Yesterday he accidentally yawned in front of the camera, showing sign of his tiredness. Many are wondering if this child star is being overworked. In Autumn's Concerto, Ady An plays Xiao Xiao Bin's mother. When she found out about this, she also felt the pain. She said, "How can a father not love his children. Please don't give them too much pressure."

In fact, Xiao Xiao Bin's stardom happened because of Any's behind the scene helping hands. The child star was actually going to be someone else, but Ady felt that this is a very important role and needed to be handled by a very flexible child. She realized that Xiao Xiao Bin's performance in Down With Love was excellent and claimed Xiao Xiao Bin to act as her son in Autumn's Concerto. Unexpectedly, that was Xiao Xiao Bin's road to stardom. Ady explained, "Ah, if I knew this would happen earlier, I wouldn't have signed him.

In last week's episode, Ady had to help Xiao Xiao Bin shower and put on clothes. The sharp-eyed netizens noticed that Xiao Xiao Bin's underwear was inside out. To this, Ady revealed a secret, "Xiao Xiao Bin was not willing to let me see him naked. He kept crying so I pulled him aside and said 'if you don't do this, Mu Cheng will be very embarassed'. Then I promised that I won't peep at him changing clothes so that's why he put on the underwear himself!"

Ady tans very easily and due to the many outside filming for the drama, she became very tan. When compared to the "white" Vanness Wu, there seems to be a very big color difference. She said, "When I touch Vanness' face with my hands, I'm also shocked at whose hand it is. I even asked the director if we can exchange for a whiter hand."

Credit: Translations: xbunnylicious @ http://www.asianfanatics.net/

* I just watch BTS of Autumn Concerto episode 17. While watching that... there is many time I come up with a question... what will happened to this kid? I mean... he is too young to handle pressures. But I can see how people around him being concern about him, his father, friends, the crew... just hope they didn't overwork him. He might not understand now but psychologically that might be a burden.

Read More

Public fears for overworked Xiao Xiao Bin

The quickest rising child star sparked controversy with the amount of work he has been doing recently. Local news reported that Xiao Xiao Bin made 7 public appearances in various events over the past two weeks. The latest took place a few days ago, when the 5 year-old was a guest at a diabetes awareness event. He was seen yawning on stage and told the press himself that he felt tired.

His dad Xiao Bin Bin has been heavily criticized by the public for overworking his son, even calling him "Devilish-Money-Loving-Daddy". Xiao Bin Bin was distraught over the accusation and said he has considered stopping Xiao Xiao Bin from acting at one point. He asked the public to refrain from putting his family under the microscope. Xiao Bin Bin said his son enjoys acting and is more mature than children of his own age. Although he hasn’t enrolled Xiao Xiao Bin in school yet despite he is already at school age, he plans to hire private tutors to teach him English and dance.

The public seems to think the contrary as some even complained to the Taipei municipality that the child has been overworked. They were also outraged when Xiao Bin Bin and his son made an appearance on a variety show in which the youngster was asked to pick a new mom. Many thought it was inappropriate for Xiao Xiao Bin to be put on the spot or even to be on the show in the first place. Professionals of children psychology also voiced their concerns of the child star. In addition to academic knowledge, they stressed the reason for a child to be in school is so that they can learn to socialize with people of their own age. In response, Xiao Bin Bin said he has canceled all variety show appearances to lighten his son's workload. Xiao Xiao Bin's work schedule now mainly consists of promoting Down with Love and filming P.S. Man two days a week, all event appearances will be in the afternoon or later.

Source: ChinaTimes

Read More

Xiao Xiao Bin makes 700k a week and gets 4 personal assistants

Super cute and witty Xiao Xiao Bin is easily the top rising star in Taiwan over the past few months. Taking a look back at 2009, some stars stood out in mind as the media gave us full coverage on them with weekly, or even daily, updates. Remember homeboy goddess Yao Yao , the super-hyped return of variety host Zhu Ge Liang after being in hiding for 10 years, and Mark Chao whenever he goes to the gym or blogs about bubble wrap? Maybe these stars can get some breathing room now that the new prince of media coverage is 5 year-old Xiao Xiao Bin.

Xiao Xiao Bin attended SETTV's Entertainer Awards press conference with an entourage that consisted of his dad Xiao Bin Bin, younger brother Mini Bin, his uncle and his manager. The young star has been nominated for Most Notable B-Ka (second fiddle) along side other rising stars like the Virgin Prince Jing Wong.

When asked about his chances of wining, Xiao Xiao Bin assured his fans by saying, "I will win!" When reporters asked why, he responded, "Because I'm very good at acting." In addition to answering questions directed to him, he also showed his professionalism by helping out with the microphones for other interviewees.

Xiao Xiao Bin the professional!!

Although Autumn's Concerto is still airing, fans will be able to see Xiao Xiao Bin in the competing drama Down with Love on January 24th. After Autumn's Concerto finishes, he will be seen again on the follow-up drama P.S. Man with Blue Lan. Xiao Xiao Bin has just completed filming a CF for a dairy product and another for electronics. The media estimated his earnings at NT$ 700,000 for last week alone.



Source: UDN, Chinatimes
Written by PA

* So cute, working hard at the early age wasn't that bad... He is so lucky... I wonder what he going to do with that money

Read More

Vanness Wu vs. Jerry Yan

Taiwanese idol drama series Down With Love which stars two mega idols, Jerry Yan from F4 and Ella Chen from S.H.E will be making its debut on television screens this weekend. To instill some hype amongst viewers, the production team aired a special episode which consisted of trailers and exclusive interviews with the cast last Sunday.

The ratings for the special trailer episode raked in a meager 0.59% as compared to Jerry’s fellow F4 band member Van Ness Wu’s ongoing drama series, Next Stop Happiness, which pulled in a healthy number of 7.15% in ratings.

The four members of F4 have been separately participating in various drama productions lately with Vic Zhou starring in Black & White and The Late Night of Madam Chin, Ken Zhu in the recently-concluded Momo Love, Van Ness Wu in the ongoing Next Stop Happiness and Jerry Yan’s soon-to-debut Down With Love.

Due to its similar time slot, the drama series starring both Vanness and Jerry are expected to compete head-on with each other. Next Stop Happiness is currently the leader of the pack with its strong ratings of 7.15%.

The television station broadcasting Down With Love defended themselves and explained that the special episode cannot be considered as the show’s debut episode. They remain confident that their drama series will perform well when it airs this coming Sunday.

Source: MediaCorp TV 

* Wargh!!! ex-F4 is now competing each other... that sound great. Since I'm still watching Autumn's Concerto and been following the latest news about Down With Love... I can see that both will make a hit.

It was hard to choose between an actors... but it was easy to decide which drama will be the best. I guess I won't be bias about this. I am for sure watching both of them. The reason that attract me to watch Down With Love is Ella. Sorry I'm not Jerry's fan hehehe but Ella has always been in my favourite list.

Read More

Joe Chen has no spark with Ming Dao, still waiting for "the one"

Chen Qiao En is not tired of Ming Dao after three collaborations but she said that there is no sparks between them. Even though she was rumored to be dating Roy Qiu recently, Chen Qiao En declared that she is still available and her beloved has not yet appeared.

In 'Let's Dance', Chen Qiao En played an optimistic and talented dancer Ding Xiao Han who, together with her sister, fell in love with the son of a wealthy family (Ming Dao). For this role, Chen Qiao En has to train under a Korean dance coach and try to grasp the character's emotions when she slowly goes blind.

After 2003's highly popular 'Prince Turn To Frog' and 2007's 'Ying Ye 3+1', this is the third time that Chen Qiao En and Ming Dao are paired as lovers on screen. They look compatible together and many fans view them as "dream couple". They were even rumored to be going out for real when they were acting in 'Prince Turn To Frog'. However, the two of them denied the news.

The reporter conducted an overseas interview with Chen Qiao En yesterday and asked her if there are really no sparks between her and Ming Dao. Chen Qiao En agreed and again clarified that they are only good friends. But she said that they always have good chemistry and will not get tired of Ming Dao. She is willing to work with him again if there are opportunities in future.

She said that news of them dating are ridiculous. Their reactions when they first heard it was "Impossible!". After that, they can't be bothered to respond.

No time to date, her fated one has not yet appeared.

When talking about her other two onscreen partners, Ethan Ruan in 'Fated To Love You' and Roy Qiu in 'Easy Fortune Happy Life' and 'Lan Se Jia Qi' , Chen Qiao En said: "Ethan Ruan is very easy to get along with. He is a jovial person; working with Roy Qiu in China, because we are both from Taiwan, we can take care of each other and chat on many topics."

Ever since Chen Qiao En broke up with her foreigner boyfriend, the Taiwanese media exposed her visiting Roy Qiu's place at night and their ambiguous relationship. But Chen Qiao En ernestly clarified that she is still single.

Chen Qiao En said that she understands that all these news are part of life of artistes. She does not mind and won't get upset over them.

If she gets involved into a love triangle, she will give up as she is afraid that it will be troublesome

In 'Let's Dance', Chen Qiao En and her sister was involved in a love triangle. When asked how she will react if this happens in real life, Chen Qiao En replied: "This will not happen to me. Because I will not get involved in this kind of situations."

Chen Qiao En also said that if she really gets involved in a love triangle, she will see if that man is really worth her fighting for him. But as she is afraid that it will be troublesome, why not give up if they are not yet married.

Currently independent, said that she does not have the ability to set up her own company

After her contract with J-Stars terminated last year, Chen Qiao En regains her freedom and people are curious about her future plans. Even though some media reports that Chen Qiao En will be setting up her own company, she said laughingly that they think too highly of her.

"I am stupid and does not know how to socialize. I don't have the ability to set up a company. Now I am just trying to choose a good script and does not think about money."

Chen Qiao En said that she need not act as the female lead nor dressed prettily in dramas. The most important thing is that the role must be challenging. She revealed that all along there are movie offers and she will consider them.

However, the busy Chen Qiao En intends to take a vacation after she finishes her current work load and takes the opportunity to think over her future plans.

Credit Source: Xing.sg
Translated by meosles @ http://asianfanatics.net/

* Love her on 'Prince Turn To Frog'.

Read More

Da S stripping slowly for "Hot Summer Days"

Barbie Xu (Da S) portrays a kind-hearted motorcycle girl in her latest film "Hot Summer Days" and has a very eye-catching new look. This look is completely different from anything else she has ever acted as before, complete with tattoos, smoky eye makeup, short skirt and a sexy top. "I had to cut my hair short to match the look for the movie, and it was a hard decision. I've never had my hair this short before!"

Director Chan Kwok Fai further revealed that on the day Da S was to reveal her explosive look, she hid in the washroom for 20 minutes and refused to come out. Why? She explained that she had never been dressed so revealingly outside of her own home, and having to face the camera while stripping off her clothes piece by piece, leaving only her bra, she was extremely nervous and stressed out. However, the introvert Da S broke through the psychological barrier and managed to film other scenes, including revealing an exposed back, showing her professionalism.

Credit Source: 88news.net

* can't wait to see her again... I've always thought how does she look if her hair cut off? ... well it's about time she change her hair style. & I'm eager to see what she's offering in this new movie.

Read More