2013 News Shun De - A ball of fire (Property Protector)

Eastweek Magazine
Tsui yong yong column
September 10 2013

Once, for ten years consecutively, I spent my days everyday alternating between the filming studios and the stage performance sites; if not, then travelling to the US and/or Canada, or roaming mainland China, or hurrying to South-East Asia. All this rushing around was so that I could be with him – my comrade-in-arms of ten years, Steven Ma —to combat different targets in different parts of the world. However, recently, our work relationship has changed and I no longer rushing around, if not for my visit to Property Protector filming site in Foshan, I would have already forgotten that I too once worked in such an arduous working condition. To call it arduous, arduous it truly was.

Hengdian: a place where heat so hot people die; its cold so cold people die from it too. I had endured both its summer and winter; I had also experienced eating on the run and the horror of going to a washroom without a toilet inside. Recalling, I truly don’t know how I got through that period. This time going to Foshan was in the afternoon of August 28th 2013 right smack in the middle of a heat wave of 38 C (100.4F); the land so hot it was suffused in haze. A group of Property Protector’s cast - the men attired in coarse, thick cloth costumes; the women dressed in layers of pre-modern costumes; all sealed from head to toes in their clothing. When the director gave the command, Steven Ma immediately did his scene, fighting from the top of a 10 feet+ elevated platform all the way down to the ground. He was on wire; he had to climb a tall hanging ladder. I saw sweat pouring incessantly from his forehead down his neck; no need to wipe the sweat off as more would pour anyway.

Aside, there was Ching Hor Wai all dressed up in 'qi pao' sitting inside a tent. Outside, the scorching sun rays beat down on the tent top. Sitting inside the tent, Ching Hor Wai persevered to finish her scene, and as soon as she was done she immediately fainted and had to be taken to the hospital. Producer Uncle Choi (Leung Choi Yuen) told me that Ching Hor Wai had bronchitis. Since arriving at Foshan she was constantly in and out of the hospital, and so far she had been administered three bags of saline IV at different times in all. On the day of my visit, she was once again taken to the hospital for her 4th saline IV.

However, despite its filming process being inadvertently affected by the flood catastrophe and the cast’s illnesses, Property Protector surprisinly finished its filming on schedule. At the filming production wrap-up celebratory dinner, I had a serious talk with Uncle Choi about these very issues. Incidentally, rarely do I see Uncle Choi looking so cheerful; after all, with a 30+ episode series, plus led a team to Foshan and filmed on-location in Shun De as well as TVB’s huge investment on this series, his responsibility as the producer was undoubtedly heavy, the pressure extra high; unless one is seasoned and experienced like Uncle Choi, the undertaking is not easy to handle.

“I’d put together a team of highly professional members, both cast and crew. There’s this ball of fire inside them. It is this fire in the belly that enabled us all to exude a team spirit despite the hardships along the way.”

The directing group gave their 100% efforts; the cameraman-videographer crew were all highly skilled and experienced, and the cast all willing to put in their utmost. The ‘team leader’ as Uncle Choi dubbed Steven; everybody knows his (Steven) character is indomitable; his person, strong-willed. To work him, one must tolerate his tenacity and perseverance.

“Ma Jai? He’s not just troublesome (煩)but very, very, very troublesome. But, why did I continue to collaborate with him series after series? Because we have the same ideals. I insist –the series must be shot well, those doing the shooting and those doing the acting in the series must have the feel, their skills be well-honed, every scene must have life, only then can it move people, and attract audience to watch.”

Steven is a person who will not hesitate to give suggestions on a scene. Thus, some people may find him troublesome; others may resent his intrusion.  But Uncle Choi greatly appreciates Steven’s attitude towards his work.

“He has his own personal viewpoint and creativity. One day, when filming this series, the director, Ma Jai and I were watching the surging waters in the river, just within three minutes we conceived a seeking-refuge-in-a-raging-river vision. These shots, whether filming or acting, were extremely difficulty to do but Ma Jai without so much as a word jumped into the river. He and I were already on the same wavelength, as soon as we said it we could immediately visualize the scene. I like thespians who take their work seriously. I like that Ma Jai has fire in his belly; only then will there be a fighting spirit, only then will there be creativity.”  Indeed, Steven encountering Uncle Choi, this Bak Lok, is truly blessed.

Uncle Choi is originally from Shun De. He has been filming tv series for over a decade, yet the fire inside him still burns strong.

“I want to film bucolic tv series. After filming in my hometown, Shun De, there is Zhong Shan, and  there's also Chao Shan; they all have many stories worth filming. This time filming Property Protector, looking at the shots – truly the scenic beauty of Guangdong water villages is no less inferior to Jiang Nan’s beautiful landscapes. Property Protector is very good.  I'm confident of its excellent quality; it's a tv series infused with a movie drama flavor.”

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related news on PP

Ai! Previous rant notwithstanding, this is exactly why I still remain a (dedicated) SM fan, and why Tsui Yong Yong still loves him lots (despite at one time she was so mad at him she un-friended him on weibo -- haha!)  Ai!  Looking forward to "Property Protector"

--- Chinese---

Producer Leung's on SIAC's Poon Ka Yeung

材叔 2013-6-2 15:12

In pre-modern China there were many businesses. In  the 1930s, there's this Poon Ka Yeung in Shunde, Guangdong. He was a doctor.  He was once an army medic doctor, and had saved many lives. Because he hated war he went home and took over his family business. After much tribulations, Poon Ka Yeung and his wife, Tong Bing Bing, finally hand-in-hand developed their silk production into a flourishing business..the photo is Mr. Poon as a young man.

近代中國有很多實業家 廣東順德就在三十年代出了一個潘家楊 潘翁原是一個醫生 曾經從軍做軍醫 救人無數 因為嫌戦回鄉 執掌家業永泰隆 與夫人唐冰冰幾經波折離亂 終於攜手將順德絲綢這產業發揚光大...照片是潘翁年輕時所拍。

CRHK Steven's relationship with TVB Producer Leung Choi Yuen.

Monologue Aired October 16th 2012

Reminiscing my years in TVB, it has been 18 years going into 19. I was foremost a singer in the earlier years but it was not until I filmed “Duke of Mt. Deer (1998)”, an ancient drama by Producer Tim Gor (Lee Tim Sing), whereby I played the Emperor, and Jordan Chan was Wai Siu Bo that I truly forayed into the acting path. (“Finally miss you” song played) Now that I look back I realize that one particular producer that I collaborated the most is Uncle Choi, Leung Choi Yuen. I first collaborated with him back in a very old tvb telemovie, Cul De Sac ( 亲子大绑架) . At that time there were still telemovies being filmed but not now; usually the movie was around one and half hours to two hours. And their drama format is very similar to regular movies’. Usually they were aired on Saturday or Monday on the tv. They were actually pretty good. That was our first collaboration, and thereafter, wah, Uncle Choi and I collaborated many, many times. Such as: Steps, A Journey called Life, A Watchdog’s Tale, Ghost Writer, 7 Days in a Life, The Life and Times of a Sentinel, and yeah, also, Land of Wealth. (7) We all called him Choi Shuk or Uncle Choi. But I often called him “Foster Father”. Haha! Because in TVB many people feel that he sees me as a son. Indeed our tacit understanding of each other is very strong. His trust in me, and the freedom he gives me is truly enormous. Nah, it’s not that other producers won’t, in fact I’ve pretty good relationships with other producers too, such as: Siu Ching Jeh (Miu Siu Ching), or Tim Gor (Lee Tim Sing) or Mr. Tsui Yu On and Amy Wong, whom I’ve not collaborated for a long time. But of course the more we collaborated the deeper our interacted fate and the stronger our mutual understanding of each other. So I can’t deny that all these years the person who has the best relationship with me and knows me best has to be Uncle Choi. (song played)

There ‘s one thing I'm most grateful to him is that he always said these words to me: Ta-ke-la (It’ll be fine), you’re here I don’t have to worry. Because he knows that I’m.. frankly speaking.. I’m a person with high standards. When I join a series I won’t just see myself as actor but will see this (series) as my child. So when I’m part of a production I wish it to be good. So for my own part I’ll give it my best, and Uncle Choi understands my character so he gives me lots of freedom, and plenty of space, and also enormous trust - we have this give and take interaction. So whenever I shot Uncle Choi’s series, we were really like a big family. In Uncle Choi’s production, I collaborated the most with Linda Chung. In almost all our collaborations there were also Linda, and Fala, too. So these two understand more my relationship with Uncle Choi – I admit - a father-son relationship. I truly cherish it – of the people I encounter in my career life who have similar philosophy, similar ideals as mine, and also mutually tolerant and supportive of each other.

CRHK (Circles): Steven Ma on Leung Choi Yuen

2012-Dec-16

Uncle Choi's weibo post - Steven's birthday

十月二十六號 天晴 出席養子浚偉生日會 實在我都不知他幾多歲 愈來愈靚仔 養媳婦鍾嘉欣到賀 是日與多年不見的曹眾伉儷見面 風彩依然 還有大老倌蓋明輝 當然 戲肉是馬仔親生父母嘉豪哥和小青姐兄嫂 亞仔今日名成利就 我地歷史任務接近完成了.....飲埋杯新抱茶都好
2012-10-29 11:02

Uncle Choi attended Steven's birthday dinner. Attendees included Linda Chung, 曹眾 (JoJo Cho), Joyce Koi, Lau Ka Ho and Mui Siu Ching.

weibo: Steven why so thin?

Haha! Steven feels pressured because lately everybody who has seen him recently, whether in person or his uploaded pix or videos, all asked him or commented online why he has gotten so thin lately.  As protest, he uploaded a pix to show off his biceps on his muscular left arm.

2012-6-14 21:05    Actually I'm truly not as thin as everybody thinks. Maybe too much exercises, but at least the arms still maintained not bad ba. heehee












6/14/2012 20:27 Lately has been more rushing around; many things to take care of; many meetings to attend; everyday shooting series ah; play ball ah; gym ah; missing home; missing family; missing friends; missing "elder sister (ka jie)"; missing "foster father" (tn:uncle choi); plus have quit eating instant noodles; quit eating chicken skin; so become thinner but super invincibly happy.

6/14 19:58 @材叔 @馬浚偉 Why so thin? (tn: Producer Leung Choi Yuen)

6/14 14:33 Everyday hearing friends and colleagues alike exclaiming "How come you have lost so much weight"?  actually can cause pressure. (on him) I play ball and do fitness exercises everyday, food intake did not reduce, just face has less flesh, but the body still has muscles. I belong to the steel rod model, ok?   Ok, here's my signature smile, doesn't look too thin. Everybody, don't worry!

(tn: A weiboan asks Steven if lately his mouth has been sewed together since he has taken to smiling with pursed lips? Haha! Steven just can't win, can he?)

--more in Chinese---

weibo Uncle choi urges steven to return home soonest

Steven 1/3 01:57 Ha ha, I'm so blessed @bobo吳寶玲: I'm the nanny steven 3/1 01:27 I know I know, I didn't get lost. Godfather, don't worry @材叔 今天01:13: @馬浚偉  Your mother is urgently calling you to come home as soon as possible.

A reader commented Uncle Choi for being both father and mother to Steven:
材叔：回复@怡怡333: No lah. Mother will appear soon.


Is Uncle Choi's use of chan leung a hint that Steven may sign a per series contract with TVB?

@bobo吳寶玲:我是奶媽媽
Steven: 知道知道，我沒迷路，養父放心
Uncle choi: 親娘急Call 早點歸家
Uncle Choi 不是呀 親娘就快現身了

Uncle Choi missing Steven

Aww! Uncle Choi is so close to Steven. Made me so touched to read this weibo post of his.

uncle @馬浚偉: Enthusiastically celebrating the upcoming Daddy's Good Deed! To high ratings！

Steven: Thank you, I miss you, godfather!

uncle choi@ 馬浚偉: Seeing the recent work, and realizing no Old Ma's share, so not used to it. It's like the son's not home from outside so can't sleep,understand?看看近作 發現沒有老馬的份 這麼不習慣 有如兒子出夜街未歸 睡不著 明嗎？

5/21/2011 10:35 @材叔 Since wrapping up Thunder I haven't seen Steven. Feeling a bit dejected so can only watch him on Book of Words and Apprentice Chef. He was great. His kind of scholarly look is so hard to find nowadays in 2011. Refinement is inborn. Especially in ancient drama series, muscular men or overseas Chinese men are limited to only performing comedy.

AJCL

Just this afternoon read Producer Leung Choi Yuen’s comment on AJCL posted on weibo.
Seems AJCL is also a favorite series for both its producer, Leung Choi Yuen, and scriptwriter, 賈偉南.
Uncle Choi’s comment:
Q:(to Uncle Choi) AJCL is also a low budget series but both its review and ratings are extremely good.
Choi: The strength of AJCL’s script is very strong, the subject matter to communicate is also especially broad; it’s about problems faced in life; a very serious issue. Initially, I was filled with trepidation because I felt this would be a very dark story. Worried viewers while having dinner might be turned off by all this funeral stuff. So I communicated to the scriptwriter, 賈偉南, that he must make this series ‘sunshine’. Coincidentally at that very moment, we saw this wall painting inscribed with this writing: “Today though stormy, tomorrow will see sunshine.” (今朝雖風雨明日見陽光) So, we immediately found the answer. (smile) I encouraged Mr.Gu to incorporate this maxim into the story; it’s zen like. So we came up with the marathon as an allegory. Even though we are writing a tombstone story, about confronting live and death separation. But life still goes on, life must go forward, and to give everybody a hope.

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related item: Gu Wai Nam’s comment on how AJCL came into being. link

scriptwriter 賈偉南 -- updated with AJCL portion

UPDATED:  11/20/2012 11:49

賈偉南HK: I admit I favor these tvb artists. (The Fistful of Stances) 3 brothers, (Land of Wealth) 2 female leads, (A Journey of Life) brother and sister. 

 我承認我偏心某幾位TVB藝人，《鐵》劇的三兄弟、《滙》劇兩位女主角、《金》劇的兩兄妹。

))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
From their weibo interactions, Steven seems to have a good relationship with LOW scriptwriter, Koo Wai Nam (賈偉南) . Posting the below entries from Mr. Ka's weibo as tidbits.

From weibo 2011 Nov exchanges on AJCL: 

賈偉南HK:  Linda Chung almost did not become Ka Ka but in the end Catherine Tsang decided on Linda. Myolie was the first choice.

馬浚偉 : Sing Yat On's life philosophy is very similar to mine, even my family felt that way too. Thank you, Mr. Ka

賈偉南HK:  Steven, his character was written with you in mind.  


賈偉南HK:I still recall I was inside Uncle Choi's room watching AJCL scene whereby Steven was up on the patio offering different flavored ice creams to his deceased sister, Zhang jeh just happened to pass by and come into the room to watch that scene, and became teary eyed and coyly scolded me for making her cried. 

馬浚偉 : I couldn't stop crying in that scene because On Boy was so pitiful. Also I remembered my own mother... thank you, Mr. Ka for merging On Boy and me into one. 

 賈偉南HK:回覆@幕后军师shirly: AJCL this kind of subject matter because of its topic being too plain and simple usually is very difficult to sell its story.  Luckily Zhan jeh insisted on doing a solid story that does not deliberately seek out audience's favors with sensationalism, and also suggested using tombstone as the occupation storyline.  As so AJCL was born. 

 

賈偉南HK:回复 @一厘米微蓝的blog : Hopefully in the future will have an opportunity. Actually there is one remake subject matter. Pre-modern series, two siu sangs and two fadns. Steven Ma+李學慶**+Fala Chen+Tavia. The characters very right for them to portray. If ask me to write I would truly recommend them. weibo link

賈偉南HK: The story is quite extremem. Steven because of love deliberately break up Tavia's happy family with 李學慶 (?)  thus creating next generation bad karma, thus squandered Fala's deep love for him.  

陈法拉:  "Squandered Fala's deep love"? Want to reprise Pu Chung Ling and Siu Chui's tragedy?  

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For those who can read Chinese, may be interested to read what 贾伟南 said in his interview. FYI, he is the co-writer of “Beyond The Realm Of Conscience” and more recently 《ATF反恐》. Excerpts are reposted in his weibo 2011 nov

When asked what series he is most satisfied with. He said although there is no one particular series that he is completely satisfied with, of those he is partially satisfied with are Land of Wealth, A Journey called Life and The Breaking Point. weibo link

Q: Which TVB artistes did you enjoy collaborating with?
賈偉南HK：TVB artistes that I would like to collaborate again include: Fala Chen, Tavia Yueng, Sonija Kowk, Linda Chung, Natalie Tong, Steven Ma, Kevin Cheng, Ron Ng, Kenneth Ma, Stephen Wong Ka Lok, and a group of veterans.  Have never collaborated but would like to include: Bosco Wong, Raymond Lam and Myolie Hu.


Q: The themes for TVB series are usually directives from above, if your assignment was on some theme that you are not interested in, how do you handle it?

Every year we have a special conference. Every script editor will propose two ‘ideas’. Everybody will then discuss which one would have a higher possibility of being produced. And afterwards report to the higher up with our decision.  It is not always the person who came up with the original idea would be the one to write it, though it might be, so now can’t remember if the original idea is mine or not.

And the rest is parachuted from above telling you to do it. Even though it (subject) is not my request but can make it into something I like. After all, it is just a topic; it has no detailed story or mission. So I can take the topic and create it into some characters or things I like. Like the series: A Journey Called Life. At that time Zhan jeh (Catherine Tsang) &  Uncle Choi (Leung Choi Yuen) were brainstorming on what series to produce. At one point, Zhang Jeh looking up, saw a rock. And so she suggested we should use engraving tombstone as a storyline. When Uncle Choi and I heard that we were both shocked. (smile) because didn’t know how to write a story around a tombstone. So we just took the suggested topic and slept on it. At first I wanted to make AJCL a comedy and moreover, Uncle Choi was worried that tombstone, such a weighty topic, may make story background too somber, so we both thought to make it a comedy but Zhan jeh disagreed and vetoed that idea. After discussing we decided to center the story on real life people and make it a family oriented drama, a story totally without embellishment. During the creative process, we did not even think of the issue as to whether the story would attract the audience or not, so it was done rather relaxingly. And I was very happy writing this script because I did not have to especially write to please the audience. There were not much constraints put on it. I myself like this series very much. Of course, not completely satisfied because there is still some wrinkle in it. Initially there was this one scene that was created for the lead but on second thoughts, worried the lead could not comfortably perform it so changed that scene onto another character, but in the end still felt that this scene handled by the lead would be much more effective, and so all this changing around caused some abruptness in between scenes. (tn: the stillbirth scene)

original Chinese interview report on

TV Series Weekly 261 - The Times and Life of a Sentinel

steven-ma.org
not Steven related article.

Exclusive Interview of Leung Choi Yuen: Continue to harvest; Continue to grow

Just like his name: a ‘choi’ (talent, material) and a ‘yuen’(far, long distance), as producer, Leung Choi Yuen’s handling of the creative aspect of a series possesses a strong keenness as well as a sense of responsibility. First of all, towards the use of “original material” in a series, from the onset he adheres firmly to the principle of creativity and innovation. He does not like to produce sequels or to replicate his work, but continues to challenge new boundary. Also, in another aspect, besides fulfilling tv’s entertainment requisite, he hopes that in each and every one of his series to examine certain aspects of life, thereby leaving a deeper effect on its audience.

Creativity
As a producer, the use of subject matter must be innovative. I feel that audience needs a constant injection of freshness and originality, so customarily I don’t like to shoot sequels. Like how it is with a martial arts move, if you repetitively only use one move, if continues, other people will detect your series path. Therefore, I like to continually experience new things, moreover, it will also be a learning process for me. This year, for the whole year, I have two series broadcasted. One is “7 Days in Life”; the other, “The Times and Life of a Sentinel”. Between modern drama series and ancient drama series, I prefer modern, its subject matter is broader because most of the stuff happen around us; more real life. As for ancient drama, we need to gather more information. Unlike the ancient drama productions in Mainland where history experts or specialists are invited to participate, we can only depend on ourselves to do our best for the series. 7DIL involves more modern elements. Its inspiration came from 2003 SARS incident. At the time, I thought if use this event to shoot a comedic series, to have a story about all the people quarantined inside a hotel, this series will be very different and interesting.

Difficulty
I feel that Qing Forbidden City is filled with materials suitable for dramas. There is a plethora of subject matters that can ignite the imaginations, and lots to write about. But producing this kind of series is extremely difficult because Hong Kong itself is extremely restrictive to filming, not like filming in Mainland where there are many choices of scene sites to choose from. Also Hong Kong has a more city feel to it which will affect the actual shooting. Furthermore, our scene sites are limited to only some woods and rivers etc, of course, TVB has its own ancient drama scene sites, hence for post production we incorporated some special effects into the series. Undoubtedly, it is definitely more difficult to shoot an ancient drama series than a modern one. Also another reason is that in this series, many of the actresses are originally from overseas, so their education and culture backgrounds are different, hence, making it more difficulty for them to absorb their lines. So before the production commenced, they were given some special training. Also, the HK audience’s knowledge on Chinese history is comparatively limited, as they did not have a comprehensive education (on it) so what they know of it may be superficial.  Scripting this kind of more indepth Qing Dynasty story may not appeal to the general audience. So to film this kind of historical drama series, we have to consider many things beforehand, will the audience accept it or not? Are the thespians up to it? How much work can the behind-the-scenes colleague handle? Thus, comparatively, the whole shooting process can be extremely arduous. Nevertheless, though exceptionally arduous I still want to experience so as to find a balance in my produced series repertoire. Furthermore, there is a bigger market for ancient drama series in Mainland China.

(What is the most difficult scene to shoot?) The most difficult scene to shoot is the usurpation court scene, also my longest ever shooting of a scene, in all, the shooting took 7 days and 7 nights to complete. The cast members were all totally immersed in their characters; felt a kind of anguish of being unable to extricate themselves.

TBC

weibo 7/ 9 Uncle Choi's praise for Steven

Uncle Choi weibo  7/8 10:33 So actually there are many friends who also like AJCL, unfortunately this platform (weibo) did not exist at the time for fans to gather. The passing of time has witnessed Steven's growth. In Sentinel, see Chow Yun Fat, Simon Yam and Ray Lui kind of acting skills. If you comprehend what is called acting skill then come along. Watch his sparring with Kenneth Ma. The strength of a great TVB traditional leading man is back!

Steven 7/9 11:01: Wah Uncle Choi, too over the top ba? 不敢當啊！(I don't dare to receive the honor/I don't deserve your praise / you flatter me)

秋夜静独思 7/9 14:45 Curious, what's the definition of a traditional leading man?

Uncle Choi @秋夜静独思: 7/9 18:27 A traditional leading man is very professional, works diligently alongside the crew members. The most important being that he puts in his all, never arrogant. We all eat off the same lunch box. When completed a scene, mutually shared the excitement, that was a kind of 'love' , the love of your scenes/series you filmed.

My comment posted asianfanatics.net

I have earlier posted Uncle Choi's high praise for Steven's acting (see entry below) but fearing netizens' backlash or antipathy against Steven that Uncle Choi's politically incorrect though heartfelt comment may incur, I later deleted it but since Steven has now belatedly acknowledged Uncle Choi's post and since that comment is now ubiquitous on weibo, I hereby repost it again. Understand that this is only Uncle Choi's personal opinion not Steven's.

My earlier deleted comment:
Woah! Uncle Choi heaped such a high praise on Steven's performance in Sentinel. But some Steven fans and I cringed to read his effusive comparison of Steven to the three famous actors. Given this is the entertainment world where every word evokes consequences, Uncle Choi's comment is definitely not pc. It is not prudent of Uncle Choi to compare Steven to other actors, what's more to famous actors such as the trio. Uncle Choi, remember Leon Lai comparison? 

related weibo:  uncle choi weibo

Uncle Choi's praises Steven's acting skill

Uncle Choi 7/8 10:33  So actually there are many friends who also like AJCL, unfortunately this platform (weibo)  did not exist at the time for fans to gather. The passing of time has witnessed Steven's growth. In Sentinel, see Chow Yun Fat, Simon Yam and Ray Lui kind of acting skills. If you comprehend what is called acting skill then come along.  Watch his sparring with Kenneth Ma. The strength of great TVB traditional leading man is back!

Woah! Uncle Choi heaping such high praise on Steven's performance in Sentinel.  Can hardly wait to watch the series.  To be pc in the entertainment world, Uncle Choi should not have compared Steven to other renowned actors, putting Steven in a difficult predicament.

weibo 6/21 Operation FTITC

6/21  13:44Operation name: Frightening Thunder in the Forbidden City
Commander: Leung Choi Yuen
Date & time: 2011/7/25, 8:30 pm
Place: TVB Jade Channel and HD Jade Channel
Team song: Changing Sky
Duration: 26.5 episodes (sic: 26 episodes)
Mission objective: Eliminate moles, resist outside enemies, bring order out of chaos


*Commander Leung, please rest assure, Dou Bo, dressed in all black, is absolutely stealthily invisible! But please provide the list of moles! 

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@材叔 18:02：Everybody, please pay attention to the weather, when there is a thunderstorm remember to bring along an umbrella or wear raincoat.  Young children, don't be scared when lightening and thunder intermingled, only the bad people need to be scared.  If you are good, what's there to be scared of?

steven 6/21 18:31  : That's right, Uncle Choi!  Only the bad people will be scared of frightening thunder, So..that's (ji)..why (kam)..scared of (gen)..thunder (lui).... is this the answer to the riddle?

劉家豪GH 18:43  A masterful skill of roundabout propaganda, admirable, admirable


steven 18:45 I instantly burst out in laughter at seeing it, Ka Hou gor!!

材叔 18:46: Thank you for your attention, don't get to show support when time comes. The Dai Lo Yeh of  Leung Choi Yun (Leung Choi County)** aka Ka Hou Gor Returns to the 3 Kingdoms, good show!  

劉家豪GH 18:52 @steven: Can see you and Uncle Choi have heart, support Thunder.   (as in promoting Thunder (?))
steven 18:55 @劉家豪 GH 18:55: Than you, Ga Hou gor for your support and encouragement!


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 TN: Can't count on TVB to promote their series so Steven and Uncle Choi took it upon themselves to do the promotion.  TVB truly very bad to unfavored producers and actors and actresses.

* WORD PLAY: 只(ji)~咁(kam)~驚(geng)~雷(lui)~.
literal meaning = that's why scared of frightening thunder     
transliteration = "ji kam geng lui" sounds like 紫禁驚雷 title of series "Frightening Thunder of Forbidden City"

**Leung Choi County => word play as in The Gentle Crackdown 2 vs Uncle Leung Choi Yuen's name.

TN: I think their love of Chinese language and Chinese history truly bonded Steven and Uncle Choi together. 

Thunder: Uncle Choi's weibo

Haha! I think Uncle Choi is getting really excited about this series. He is rallying his troop on weibo, galvanizing them to look sharp on opening night. Hope the series won't disappoint.

6/19 19:38 Imperial Concubine and Chi Way Pavilion Imperial Guards, you're all very patriotic ya! News travels fast in the tiny Forbidden City, but where is the Emperor?

Ben Wong 20:27 : The Emperor went to a reunion! It's Father's Day ma!
Uncle Choi 21:29: Will not lit the fire on Father's Day but comes July 25 @ 8:30, no excuses.

Uncle Choi's missive to his troop.

6/19 18:33南沙群島* has being invaded by Vietnam and The Philippines, and Imperial Russia is covertly stealing the natural resources, and also vigorously instigating conspiracies and plotting schemes; the aggressive encroachments continue unabated; hope the national military get to work; including the Imperial Guards, to advance boldly and undaunted; let the Forbidden City sounds the frightening thunder to eliminate evil-doers.

Elaine Yiu: Good!

Ben Wong: 18:58 Uncle Choi, nei ho ye! Commentary plus advertising: Forbidden City sounds the frightening thunder to eliminate evil-doers. Do you concede?

Steven 22:19: Nip Dou Bo, here! At Imperial Uncle Choi's order, all Imperial Guards work as one to defeat outside enemies! "Forbidden City sounds the frightening thunder, all demons and devils panicked". Who's scared of whom? Charge ya!

Jack Hu 22:28: Here!

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Uncle Choi: 6/18 00:38 The characterizations of Thunder’s personas are basically inspired by history, while the details we inflated. Every person’s life is bound to that imperial city. Feudalistic and sinister, behind the splendor and a high moralistic platform, how to confront tyranny? Simply nerve racking, fortunately there exist weapons of justice as well as a blast of thunder to frighten off the demons. 

* Spratly Islands, disputed between China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam

weibo 5/28

uncle choi  5/28 10:13  Last night Siu Ma (Steven) shot Thunder mv. I had wanted to visit but couldn't because of a heavy workload of post production work.  Played the opening themevideo and listened to its themesong, its imposing grandeur is like the rainbow. A decade later masterpiece*.  Also want to thank Chi Wai, Chung Zai, Cheung Mei Yin et al group of contributors. The Forbidden City has lots of talents.

@枝Lam: 13:04 Within this decade your masterpieces are aplenty！

@馬浚偉  5/28 13:07  Knew that Uncle Choi was rushing the post production work, painstaking! But truly Thunder's script is very powerful. (not blowing own trumpet) plus its story and the real me has an inexplicable relationship, quite bewildering..... hehee! Yesterday mv shoot for the themesong, "Changing Sky" went very smoothly, Lord Choi, don't worry!

@馬浚偉: True, Ji Jie. Among 5 of them have Siu Ma (Steven)

*Means Uncle Choi's most satisfied series after 10 years from his last series.

weibo 5/22 gathering with Uncle Choi, Chi Lam

@林鳳翎: You all flattened me!

馬浚偉: True, lots of space! haha!

枝Lam: At that time, thought couldn't get into the frame even!  hahaha!

@林鳳翎    (Ling Ling) : Thank you to two beautiful men, Steven & Uncle Choi, for the delicious desserts, and also to beautiful woman, Ji Lam, for her companionship.  Next time when taking pictures no need to be so tightly packed ba.


回复 @馬浚偉:你們都把我夾扁了 //@馬浚偉:的確，空間還有很多！哈哈！ //@林鳳翎:謝謝兩位美男子 @馬浚偉 @材叔 的佳餚甜品，和美女@枝Lam 相伴，下次拍照不用這麼擠擁吧


13 mins ago Ji Lam Two men who 'love' each other  finally got together! 兩個相「愛」的男人,終於聚頭了！

tn: Wah! That's a big bucket of chicken wings.

L-R @枝Lam  (Ji Lam) ,  @林鳳翎 (Lam Fung Ling)  @材叔 (Leung Choi Yuen) @馬浚偉 (Steven Ma) 
7 mins ago.  Finally meet up with Uncle Choi!  And also with screenwriter, Ji Jie, who got 1.5 digits right, and with my most favorite female director, Ling Ling!  Wah! this team, full of warm feeling!  moved....

 終於和Uncle材見面了！還有中了1.5個字的名編劇枝姐和TVB我至愛的女導演翎翎！嘩，這個組合，充滿暖意！感動中...@材叔 @枝Lam @林鳳翎

Re: Steven referring to Ji Jie's previous weibo where she lamented that she only got 1.5 digit out of her lottery numbers right, and back to being a screenwriter and stopped dreaming.  The lottery winner will get 1billion HKD. 

tn: Happy for Steven and Uncle Choi.  An unbeatable duo.

weibo 5/21 uncle choi

5/21 10:35 @材叔  Since wrapping up Thunder I haven't seen Steven.  Feeling a bit dejected so can only watch him on Book of Words and Apprentice Chef.  He was great. His kind of scholarly look is so hard to find these days in 2011.  Refinement is inborn. Especially in ancient drama series, muscular men or overseas Chinese men are limited to only performing comedy.  uncle choi weibo

5/21 11:06  Steven Ma @材叔 Uncle Choi, I miss you too! These past months, Do Bo has been diligently studying the Chinese language and the Chinese cultures, and the culinary arts, hoping to be a master of pen and sword who can enter the kitchen and also be out in the reception hall*; hope to be an imperial guard who can be out in the battlefields so as to be able to repay my gratitude to Lord Choi for his patronage (知遇之恩)! P.S. This month's Do Bo will shoot Thunder's mv, at that time will sure to pay my respect to Lord Choi!

TN:
*入得廚房，出得大殿 = a person who is both a good cook and a good host. (A superior person)
**知遇之恩 = the kindness of recognizing sb's worth and employing him (idiom) / patronage / protection
Yay, Steven will shoot a Thunder MV.

Haha! Uncle Choi (Leung Choi Yuen is seriously missing Steven.)

Here I was commemorating 520 with my own adulation of Steven and there Uncle Choi was missing Steven and praising him to high heaven.  I wonder what brought on his post. Dissatisfaction with his cast for his new series in June?  Forgot who are in his cast.

weibo 2/10

18:02 
 DIL is the painstaking effort (heart's blood) of Uncle Choi and Siu Tung, and a novel experiment by the company. It is also a group effort put in by an ensemble of actors including Sonija Kwok, Bosco, Patrick Tang, Yan Yi  (tn: Joyce), Wah Goh, Ah Hai (tn: Koni), Mimi, Little Bee  etc and all other cast and crew participants! Don't say anything anymore about it being in a cannon fodder timeslot!  Our painstaking effort (heart's blood), so long the audience like it, so long there are people appreciative of it, it is enough!  I believe, what I have is faith!  I believe, so long the heart was in it, the audience would see it!  See you tonight at 8:30 pm.

19:29 Your words…touched me immensely!  As actor, it is so good to be able to discuss a character together!  Thank you, weibo; thank you, everybody!  Tonight, we’ll watch 7DIL together, ok?  Also, if you all have the time, do encourage Uncle Choi.  He is a good producer with heart and blood and ability!  Also: Sonija, Bosco, Yan Yee, Patrick, Mimi, Kwok Feng, Ah Hai, Tin Cheung, (Eric Li)  etc…. lots of good artistes…   

19:38 Uncle Choi: This is not a feuding series so it does not exude the smell of explosives.  It's for whiling away the time, to impart some levity and laughter on the absurdity of life.




2/10 13:54  Saw how big everybody's reactions to episode 12..all said Calvin was so bad ....en, sorry, but there is more to come...!  Yik Jo On

Steven's latter entries

16:47 Thank you for your heartfelt analysis and discussions, they are important primary materials for my self-evaluation of own performing skill.  Thanks!

15:40  Actually I also like Yik Jo On, this character.  Very challenging!  Actually, Yik Ji On is a very human character, his inner self is very complex; because of childhood experiences,  he has become distrustful of people, and is reluctant to reveal  inner feelings; furthermore, his handling of matters is only understood by himself! Of course, if you continue to watch, maybe you will understand his doings!  As to whether he is good or bad, tell me when you have finished watching the series ba!

15:14  Would you tell me what you see as Yik Jo On’s characteristics?  Regardless good or bad, just for discussion.

14: 50 Haha! Yan Jie (Eileen Cha Siu Yan?) Yik Jo On is not easy to see through.  

steven weibo

weibo 2/9 Sweet dreams

Steven's below weibo entry was posted to quell the rampaging rumors started by the Chinese wiki site with its 7DIL ending version, which of course, spread like wildfires all over the internet including baidu and weibo. I have not read the wiki ending (don't trust tvb series info on wiki at all) but those who read it were very, very upset (to say the least) because it has Calvin shot dead by Ah Lung, and etc. Furthermore, wiki has 7DIL down as a 19-episode series. Of course, the fans let Steven know of their distress.

2/11 22:59 Steven: 7 DIL is not 19 episodes but that next Friday starting 8:30 pm, its two episode (19-20) finale will be aired! Btw, the rumored ending posted online is not true, what's the truth then? Starting next Monday for 5 consecutive nights together we will, little by little, unveil. ~~~ Calvin


2/12 1:03 Uncle Choi's response to Steven's entry
These are two episodes that will leave the whole Hong Kong audience unable to catch their breath (gasping for breath). Don't be scared, don't cry.

Not sure what Uncle Choi meant.
這是令全港觀眾喘不過氣的二集 不要驚 不要哭


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tn: It is this kind of charming and gentlemanly looking conman and thief like Calvin that people, especially women, must be leery of, because a book cannot be judged by its cover.

Steven: 18:02 7 DIL is the painstaking effort (heart's blood) of Uncle Choi and Siu Tung, and a novel experiment by the company. It is also a group effort put in by an ensemble of actors including Sonija Kwok, Bosco, Patrick Tang, Yan Yi (tn: Joyce), Wah Goh, Ah Hai (tn: Koni), Mimi, Little Bee etc and all other cast and crew participants! Don't say anything anymore about it being in a cannon fodder timeslot! Our painstaking effort (heart's blood), so long the audience like it, so long there are people appreciative of it, it is enough! I believe, what I have is faith! I believe, so long the heart was in it, the audience would see it! See you tonight at 8:30 pm.


19:38 Uncle Choi: This is not a feuding series so it does not exude the smell of explosives. It's for whiling away the time, to impart some levity and laughter on the absurdity of life.

 

2/10 13:54 Steven: Saw how big everybody's reactions to episode 12, all said Calvin was so bad....en, sorry because there is more to come...! Yik Jo On


15:40 Actually I also like Yik Jo On, this character. Very challenging! Actually, Yik Ji On is a very human character, his inner self is very complex; because of childhood experiences, he has become distrustful of people, and is reluctant to reveal inner feelings; furthermore, his handling of matters is only understood by himself! Of course, if you continue to watch, maybe you will understand his doings! As to whether he is good or bad, tell me when you have finished watching the series ba!


1/26 Leung Choi Yuen: Did you all notice the bullet elevator in 7DIL that when it is raining outside, the passengers inside looking out at the outside world, how being thus confined their moods can be inadvertently affected by the weather outside feeling vulnerable. People are like this, looks very near but actually very far.

TNote: I’ve always appreciated the thoughts, the attention to details and heart Producer Leung Choi Yuen puts into his series to create evocative subtlety and meaningful scenes not just for entertainment but also to provoke thinking.
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2/9 23:14 No matter how strong the conviction is, or how indomitable the spirit is, there will come a time when people are physically and mentally spent.  Thus, why not loosen up oneself now; let oneself calm down; turn on some soft music; close the eyes; lie down;  erase all worries and anxieties from the mind; then inhale; in and out, gently; blank the mind;… go to sleep… here’s wishing everybody sweet dreams.

source: steven weibo