Sentinel episode 3

Episode 3:

Highlights:

1) Absolutely love the scene on Dor Bo’s drunkenly belting out Peking opera, and the flag show.Steven and Kenneth were both very dexterous with the flags and very entertaining to watch.

Here’s an old reports about them having only half an hour to learn how to sing Peking opera. old report But I guess in this scene only Dor Bo sang? Or did I hear wrong? Guess these two are boisterous drunks.

2) Steven was very nimble and graceful in his kung fu moves during the entrance exam. The fighting scenes could have been taken out of a wuxia series.

3) Grace and Christine’s performance were totally bad. No eye see. Plus they were not genteel or graceful at all in their posturing or movement and no subtlety in their speech. They were just modern women playacting in an ancient drama series. During production, to improve their Chinese, whoever spoke English at the set would be fined. What can viewers expect from this group of Gwai mui zai as concubines? Haiz!

Still think Power is miscast as Hong Hei.

4) The birds in the poster are not eagles, they are鹏 (rocs)

Steven said Catherine Tsang complains he tends to be overly talkative and loud when tipsy.  But he says he never get so drunk as to be inebriated. 

Posted 29 November 2010 - 09:08 PM

Steven Ma and Kenneth Ma Learned Peking Opera, and Received Praises for it.
Source: ent.qq.com @ 11/30/2010
Translation: Tamaya @ http://asianfanatics.net




Steven Ma and Kenneth Ma shot a Peking Opera scene for The Alarming Thunder of the Forbidden City. These two Hong Kong artistes who had no prior knowledge of Peking Opera whatsoever were like two frenzied Peking ducks for half an hour attempting to memorize by rote a portion of aria demonstrated by their Peking Opera teacher.

Steven practices his Cantonese opera singing regularly, so although there was pressure he was not overly flustered. But to poor Kenneth, Peking Opera was all Greek to him. Seeing his furrowed brow as he sang, it brought home that this bowl of instant noodles was truly not easy to ingest. But, regardless, the assignment must be accomplished; so under the expectant and watchful eyes of the whole videocamera crew, the two Mas belted out the song: one sang as Guan Gong*, the other, Zhao Zi Long*. These two brothers put into practice the idiom of “live together, die together”. (TN: float or sink together in the same boat) When the director yelled “roll”, they immediately opened up their mouths and began to sing no stop. Who could have thought that their singing was delivered with both clear diction and precise intonation? One take and their scene passed muster. The Peking Opera teacher and the whole camera crew broke into instant applause to show their approval. Thus a pair of “smart horses” (Ma) successfully passed the hurdle; they were so elated they yelled exuberantly!

The Peking Opera teacher praised the two Mas: “Peking Opera is a national treasure, and you both got the hang of it just like that. Very smart ya! You two are also a pair of national treasures!”

Steven enjoys Cantonese Opera, but after this stint with Peking Opera, Steven feels that it is not only pleasant to his ears but that it is also suitable for him to perform on stage; hence, it kindled an interest in him to learn Peking Opera himself. He says: “I intend to learn Peking Opera from the Peking Opera teacher. When I'm proficient, it will be another artistic skill. When performing on stage, it will provide an alternative choice.”

*Guan Yu & Zhao Zi Long ( Three Kingdoms characters)