@orchid123 Same thing really.Exposure can mean awards and money. Endorsements and brands only come calling to hot trending celebrities. They won’t come as much for a celebrity who has shown no breakthrough in last few series. If I was an endorser, would I choose the upcoming the hot trending younger and energetic Carlos Chan or the older, traditional Ruco who has not had a hit for a while. It’s a no brainer, Carlos. But if Ruco is suddenly all over the Big Big Channel for a few weeks with his high profile wedding then as an endorser, I’ll target Ruco instead. That’s how it works....

@passingby It is normal in the west for famous power couples to sell exclusive wedding photo coverage to magazines such as ‘ok’. It is a representation of their status. However, the Asia situation is different. Most couples will keep their weddings private as respect for the wife and the elderly. Maybe the really powerful celebrities cannot avoid a bit of coverage but a couple as lowly as Ruco and Phoebe in the entertainment industry are only looking for exposure and opportunities to boost their short term paychecks. Ruco is only known in the ATV and TVB circle and Phoebe is not recognised anywhere. Nearly every Hong Kong celebrity couple who have married recently have kept a low profile. Ruco though demonstrated his supposed protectiveness for his girlfriend for the past year suddenly goes 360 degrees full on Big Big Channel announcement and wedding coverage. There is only one motive for this and that is to keep his name relevant and congratulations he has succeeded. If it wasn’t for the big wedding then the Ruco of 2018 would have been less popular of the one of 2017 but he has managed to tactically change this. The last person to make such a big deal of a wedding was Wong Cho Lam who proposed during TVB anniversary but at least he is less of a hypocrite since he kept a high profile during their whole dating process and after marriage too.

@kidd It will be exciting but it will be so inaccurate with history that after watching, the younger generation would believe that Dowager Zhao was a power hungry, Wu Zetian type of figure when in reality she was probably a prostitute used as a chess piece for the men in their quest for power. Imagine bringing Lao Ai into the series. They would need to audition for an actor who is well endowed and willing to perform a explixit acts fully naked in front of the imperial audience. There are plenty of rules to prevent time travel and history inaccuracies when filming series in the mainland but it seems it is the Chinese who have fictionalised real characters to make them totally different to what they were in history...

@jimmyszeto I guess you are right. It wouldn't look good on the title character too, having an affair with a fake eunuch. The series most probably will end shortly after Ying Yiren died if they are going to focus on the love triangle.

@jimmyszeto I am in agreement with you. Ruco is a fraud. He obviously craved the media attention that followed his announcement and was more than happy to give interviews after interviews. Same goes for his wife who is riding on his coattails. As u pointed out, much bigger stars have opted for low profile weddings though the media would have happily given them the coverage if they had wanted it. His extensive wedding coverage was really unprecedented for a celebrity wedding and was of cos done with his full approval.

@jimmyszeto Agreed. Weddings are very personal to the newly weds. Why did Ruco choose to make his wedding as a reality show???!!! For money or for awards?? Definitely not only for exposure. Will find out soon.

@mike That’s what the reporters want to hear. All the private bedroom details.

@jimmyszeto I misread it and thought they asked if she helped him shave another private part

@passingby Ruco timed it all and announced his wedding on Big Big Channel and they pretty much gave them full coverage on the day. His talk about being himself being very traditional, protective of his girlfriend and low profile is a load of rubbish. He obviously chooses whatever is advantageous to himself. There are plenty of bigger stars with weddings but they didn’t turn their weddings into reality shows. Kevin’s and Grace are much bigger stars but kept it low profile. I guess most wives would be pissed off if the husband used the wedding to promote himself but Phoebe seems an obedient passive non decision maker plus she may welcome the exposure since her biggest exposure is clapping on Cooking Beauties. She wasn’t even good enough to be a contestant.

That ‘does the wife help you shave the facial hair? is ridiculous...

Gregory had his chance when he got a big role in ‘Blade Heart’ mainly because of his dad who was also acting and sorting the horse scenes. His performance was very average and the series was a flop. Not that he will rewatch it since most scenes were with Shirley Yeung...

@kidd I doubt they will go as far as Lao Ai since that means the series will be centred around Emperor Qin Shi Huang period. There isn’t much historical data on Dowager Zhao so like the majority of ancient series these days it will be largely fictional.

Well Ruco is trying to buy the award by announcing his wedding and allowing coverage of his wedding by TVB’s Big Big Channel. Also Shaun Tam is dark horse since he has signed a very long contract and it would the correct business decision to promote its own ‘current and future’ lead. If based on acting alone then Vincent should win...

@llwy12 I remember him mainly as Raymond’s enemy in an early couple of episodes of A Step in the Past. Only had tiny screen time at TVB really..

@jimmyszeto He’s a pretty decent actor actually. I remember him from a few HKTV series that he was in (of course the irony isn’t lost on me that I’ve been watching TVB series for decades and never noticed him, but the moment he goes to a different station, he gets better roles and finally some recognition – so many former TVB artists fall into this category, it’s not even funny). Though I also dislike the fact that a movie is being made with a serial rapist as central focus rather than the victims, that’s not Bond’s fault at all so I’m happy for him getting a chance to make a name for himself and hope that this will lead to more opportunities for him.

Bond Chan. Another one from Raymond/Tavia TVB acting class. Last time I heard, he was working as a fitness trainer and body building. A very rare opportunity for an unknown actor to lead a movie but I like rooting for an underdog...

I don't think anyone listens to Huang Xiaoming anymore, especially after all the superlatives he hurls on Angelababy and also being linked to the stock manipulation scandal....

@jimmyszeto None of the characters are perfect so you should not hold Zhang Wu Ji’s flaws against him. He was wishy washy in love but he did choose in the end. I actually like him the most as he is the most kind hearted one out of most of those characters. He forgave the ones that indirectly killed his parents and even saved them. Guo Jing wanted revenge no matter what. Yang Guo is stubborn and hurt others around him too. You should read the novels as there are fan translations and official translations if you cannot read Chinese.

@jimmyszeto Yes but it depends on the person and their motives. People generally believe that if you care for any person enough then you need to be at their funeral. I agree with that but it is true that some come just for the sake of coming. I remember my aunt being a bit mad at one of my cousins because she did not come to my mom’s funeral. There are also some who are just too devastated to come as it is too painful for them too. I remember when Leslie Cheung passed away and many were wondering why Maggie Cheung did not come as she was close to Leslie. She said it was because she was too devastated to come as she would be too sad. I agree that you should visit and take care of anyone when they are alive. If you suddenly show up at their funeral just to be there then it is meaningless. However, at least they made the effort to come. I do not think you need to be religious to send anyone off. You send someone off because you want to see them one last time because you will never get to see them again in this lifetime. One of my mom’s friends was so mad that no one told her about my mom’s passing since she could not send my mom off for one last time. Generally people believe that if you were close to anyone then you need to be there which is true. I was at my grandma, my uncle, my parents and my 6th older brother’s funerals because I had to be there and I wanted to see them one last time since I knew that I will never see them again in this lifetime. But yes their memories, love and everything will live in our hearts always.

@jimmyszeto @coralie Benz is from a prominent family (with connections to the Qing dynasty imperial family and also one of China’s most famous literary figures Lu Xun), but not necessarily a rich one (though his parents did own a jade and jewelry shop back in the day, but doesn’t necessarily mean the family was wealthy — they probably made enough to be comfortable but not rich to the point where he would be set for life). Benz himself has said in previous interviews that all the prominence in his family was from back in his great-grandfather’s day and pretty much the family’s fortunes went downhill from there. The Mercedes Benz that he bought in the 1970s was actually the result of him saving up his hard-earned money. It’s true though that he didn’t join the entertainment industry because of the money — he joined because he got bored working in his dad’s shop, lol. I remember I had translated an interview he had done with Mingpao a few years back where he talked about his family life and also the Singapore thing so I went back and dug it up for those who might be interested (this interview is actually from 2012). Aside from his acting, it’s interviews like this one that make me love Benz so much as a person too, lol: https://llsmusings.blogspot.com/2013/01/mingpao-interview-with-veteran-tvb.html?m=0