In anticipation of the impending television 'war', the first challenge that TVB must face is how to handle the promotional events for upcoming series where the main leads have already left the company. The series Tiger Cubs《飛虎》will be premiering on June 24th, however its main leads Joe Ma (馬德鐘) and Jessica Hsuan (宣萱) already left TVB after their contracts expired earlier in the year – in addition, much of the main supporting cast such as Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Wilson Tsui (艾威), Jason Lau (白彪), etc. have not only left TVB, they've also already joined a rival TV station (Ricky Wong's CTI) and have already started filming series for them. It is rumored that due to the circumstances, arranging the promotional events for the series has become a huge headache for TVB – if they stand firm and not allow artists who have left to participate in promotion for the series, it would only be detrimental to themselves. Therefore, in the end, TVB decided to 'give in' and invite artists who have left to participate in the promotion, which includes the series' leads Jessica Hsuan and Joe Ma.
Earlier, when TVB finally aired warehoused series The Greatness of a Hero《盛世仁傑》, one of the series' female leads, Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), was not invited to the promotion for the series because she had already left TVB. However the impact was not as significant because the other leads in the series – TVB Best Actor Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), HKFA Best Actor Kent Cheng (鄭則士), as well as new mother Sonjia Kwok (郭羡妮) – were all present for the promotional events and so the 'lack of artists' was not as obvious. With the upcoming Tiger Cubs however, the situation is completely different, as both leads as well as majority of the experienced veteran artists have already left and some have even signed with another TV station. Joe Ma has signed to the same management company as Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼) [Creative Arts Production Company (創藝製作發行有限公司), which is based in Mainland]; Jessica Hsuan has become the number one 'poaching' target on Ricky Wong's list and earlier she appeared on both i-Cable as well as ATV's interview programs; Dominic Lam, Savio Tsang, and Wilson Tsui have all confirmed joining Ricky Wong's CTI and even attended various events arranged by the company. Given this 'predicament', if TVB continued to insist that non-TVB artists cannot be invited to promotional events, then the scene would definitely not look good for the series.
Asked whether arranging promotion for the series is a huge headache right now, Tiger Cubs producer Lam Chi Wah (林志華) expressed: "Ok la, handling it normally. Both Joe Ma and Jessica Hsuan were contacted and if their schedules permit, they have agreed to attend, so for now it's not too big of a problem." It's obvious that in order to push the series, TVB has already made some concessions. However, artists such as Dominic Lam, Savio Tsang, etc. are not on the list of invitees – towards this, the producer responded: "I believe that is being handled normally as well."
Joe Ma insists that attending the promotional event for Tiger Cubs does not conflict with his current work: "Currently, I have not signed with any TV stations in HK. Contrary to rumors, I have NOT signed with Ricky Wong – rather, I signed to the same management company as Charmaine [Sheh]. In addition, I did not attend their [Ricky Wong / CTI] press conference or any other events of theirs. As far as the series (Tiger Cubs), it is of great importance to me for several reasons: first, filming the series was hard work and very exhausting; second, since I used to be a cop and the series is about the police force, it has special significance for me – plus I'm responsible for singing the series' theme song. Therefore, if TVB asks me to attend the promotion, I am definitely willing to do it." (You're still responsible for the theme song?) "I don't think they're going to pull that back?"
Asked when he will be filming series again, Joe replied: "I will be heading to Shanghai next month to film a Mainland series – once the series wraps filming in September, then I'll decide on subsequent work." (Any contact with TVB?) "Yes! At this moment I continue to have a good relationship with them."
As for the series' female lead Jessica Hsuan, she also expressed that she is currently a free artist and has not signed with any other TV station. Asked about Ricky Wong trying to recruit her, Jessica expressed: "We did have discussion, but in addition to salary, there are other things I need to consider, such as good production and good role – if it's going to be the same 'professional' type role (i.e. lawyer, judge, etc.), not only would the audiences be bored, I would be bored too! Even now with filming in the Mainland, I've been very selective in terms of script and characters I'd be portraying. For example, after leaving TVB, the first Mainland series I filmed was Xue Ping Gui and Wang Bao Chuan《薛平貴與王寶釧》 – I play a tragic, miserable character, a role that I've never done before, so it's a good challenge for me. Also, I just received word from the production team that the finale episode ratings already surpassed that of popular Mainland series Startling with Each Step《步步驚心》as well as Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan《甄嬛傳》 ! The production team was excellent and I definitely feel lucky that I got to film this series." (Will you attend the promotion for Tiger Cubs?) "The producer already called me and I already told him that if my schedule permits, I will attend. I will fulfill my responsibility to promote the series I participated in."
Source: Mingpao Weekly, Issue 2272
Translated by: llwy12 @ AsianFanatics
