Third Time Unlucky?

Third time unlucky?
Local band Mi Lu Bing may break up if its third album tanks
By Kwok Kar Peng
November 22, 2009
 
 

IS LOCAL pop-rock band Mi Lu Bing on the verge of breaking up?

HOPEFUL: Mi Lu Bing at its new album launch. Band member Weiqi had looked glum during most of the press conference.
–PICTURE:
LIANHE ZAOBAO

According to a source, one of its three members wants out so he can pursue a more stable career.

Mi Lu Bing comprises Nic Lee, 25, a director at Echo Music, undergraduate Chan Weiqi, 24, and drums instructor Sam Wong, 23.

The band won the inaugural reality TV singing competition SuperBand in 2006 and has just released its third album, Meal For Three.

The New Paper met the boys on Tuesday when they held a press conference to launch their new album.

Nic and Sam looked like they were trying hard to suppress their excitement, and occasionally smiled and waved at their fans.

But Weiqi, who will graduate from Nanyang Technological University next May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in digital animation, appeared downcast and kept his eyes mostly on the emcee.

At one point, Nic leaned over, placed a hand on Weiqi’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. It was then that Weiqi smiled at the audience.

So is it true that one of them wants to quit the band?

The boys looked slightly baffled for a moment before denying the rumours. Everything had gone great during the production of this album, they said.

Sam told The New Paper: ‘Our passion is music. We had a chance to do our third album, so we took the opportunity. Then we’ll see what comes next. If it’s worth carrying on, we will do it.’

Weiqi said the band’s next step will depend largely on how Meal For Three performs.

‘We want to use the album as a litmus test to see what’s the next plan for us,’ said Weiqi.

Mi Lu Bing’s manager said they hope to sell at least 5,000 copies of the album, which would be considered a good result.

The band’s first album sold about 5,000 copies, when it was released soon after the band won the competition in 2006. Its second album, released last year, sold only 2,000 copies.

But a career in music is still the boys’ first choice.

‘If that doesn’t work, my Plan B is to do digital animation and modelling,’ Weiqi said.

Nic, on the other hand, has no alternative plan, saying that he had used his life savings and taken a loan from his father to become a partner of local music school Echo Music.

If there’s no dissent between the members and the band isn’t breaking up just yet, why the long face, Weiqi?

‘What bothers me is the Singapore mentality that foreign talent is always better,’ he said exasperatedly. ‘I hope Singaporeans will support Singaporeans.’

He was also exhausted from having to juggle work and school, he explained. ‘I’m a full-time student, but I’m behaving like a full-time artiste. My professors have sent me e-mails about my missing lessons,’ he said.

He’s also feeling the pressure from his university group mates to work on their final-year project.

But Nic said that the boys will continue to pursue their passion, even if there are obstacles.

He said: ‘I don’t think we will give up that soon… If there’s no one to record us, I’ll record us. When you reach a dead end, you move a few steps to the side and you’ll see another road.’

 

The NewPaper

BIG Hug From A 'GOOD GIRL'

BIG hug from a ‘GOOD GIRL’
She’s famous as a buxom pixie, but self-declared good girl Yao Yao covers up in S’pore
By Gan Ling Kai
November 21, 2009
 
 

THINK of Yao Yao and ‘baby face, big breasts’ comes to mind.

EMBRACE: Yao Yao, known for her baby face and ample cleavage.
TNP PICTURES: KENNETH KOH, JONATHAN CHOO

That’s the nickname the Chinese media across the region has given to this 19-year-old Taiwanese singer, whose real name is Guo Shuyao.

After all, countless photos of her with a come-hither expression, wearing revealing tops and squeezing her formidable 32E assets together can be found on the Internet, newspapers and magazines.

So when Yao Yao was in town for an autograph-cum-hugging session for fans last Saturday at IMM to promote her debut album Love’s Embrace, it became the talk of the town.

It was attended by a predominantly male 300-strong crowd, ranging from teenagers to senior citizens.

Yao yao at an autograph-hugging session to promote her debut album, Love Embrace.

Too bad then that her famous chest was covered up in a black T-shirt.

Toning down sexy image?

And when the Taiwanese media asked her recently if she would pose for lingerie ads, she gave an unexpected reply.

‘My mum won’t even allow me to pose for pictures in a swimsuit. I have a psychological barrier. I can’t shoot an ad wearing just lingerie,’ she said.

She even stepped on the toes of lingerie models when she explained her decision, saying: ‘I’m a good girl from an honest family. I stick to my virtues.’

That seems a bit rich coming from an artiste who rides on her sex appeal and was 25th on the Taiwan edition of lad mag FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women list this year.

So what’s happening, Yao Yao?

Is the teen sex bomb trying to tone down her sexy image now?

She and her bosom first rose to fame after she appeared in a Taiwanese video gaming ad earlier this year wearing a pink bustier and a short black skirt, and speaking with her trademark saccharine voice.

She also made appearances on Taiwanese shows Guess, Guess, Guess and Variety Big Brother.

In June, she was signed by Taiwanese label Seed Music.

Yao Yao told The New Paper last week in a separate interview that she is taking the advice of Taiwanese host Tsai Kang Yung on presenting herself to the media.

‘He once told me that I should learn to take one step at a time, and reveal my figure only in a way that’s suitable for my age.’

And she trusts her company will give her an image appropriate for her age.

Is she worried then that the public might find her autograph-cum-hugging sessions rather exploitative?

No, she said.

‘Hugging is a basic gesture of love. It’s a reminder to cherish the people around us. And hugging between opposite sexes is common in the West too. We should have a healthy attitude towards it.’

She said she has already hugged more than 2,000 fans and members of the media in Taiwan and Singapore. With promotional events to be held in China and Hong Kong, her target is to embrace 10,000.

Last Sunday, veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Jackie Chan was in town as a spokesman for gym chain California Fitness.

When quizzed by Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao about Yao Yao, Jackie said he didn’t know who she is.

But when reporters described her to him, the action star said: ‘It’s important to have real abilities. Otherwise, after you are done with your figure, what’s left of you?’

In response, Yao Yao told the media: ‘What Big Brother Jackie said is true! People around me have said I haven’t been showing other talents, other than having a figure.’

She admitted she doesn’t have much experience in singing, so she’s taking dancing, singing and piano classes – which she couldn’t afford when she was younger.

She told The New Paper she’s sad that some netizens focused only to her voluptuous body, yet added: ‘At least I learn something. It’s a reminder that I must develop fully as an artiste.’

Professional

To Yao Yao’s credit, the showbiz newbie’s attitude towards local reporters was professional.

After touching down in Singapore last Friday, she immediately spent three hours fielding questions.

During our interview – her ninth that afternoon – she was visibly tired, yet she morphed into a sunshine girl the moment she was in front of the camera.

She was coy when asked if she had a boyfriend.

‘I’m focusing on my work now,’ was all she would say.

Later, she revealed that she had three relationships when she was 15 and 16 years old, the longest lasting for a year.

And Yao Yao didn’t exactly have a charmed life in her youth.

Two years ago, her father died of heart failure. Her mum, a Myanmar-born Chinese living in Taiwan, works at a stall selling breakfast food.

Yao Yao, the eldest child, started working at the age of 15 and gives almost all her income to her mum to help support their family of four.

While she’s thankful she gets to travel across the region to promote her album, she’s trying her best to keep her family out of the limelight.

She has said on Taiwanese show Variety Big Brother: ‘I seldom go to my mum’s stall to help out recently, because she doesn’t like others to know Yao Yao is her daughter.

‘Even when we were seen together, she would tell others I’m her goddaughter.

‘I’m fine with it. If she’s happy, I’m happy.’
 

The NewPaper

CURVY MENDES CROSSES THE LINE

FIRST FASHION
CURVY MENDES CROSSES THE LINE
November 20, 2009
 
 

Wearing next to nothing save for a pair of skin-tight jeans, Eva Mendes sure turned up the heat in those steamy Calvin Klein Body ads.

PICTURE: AFP

But on the red carpet, she’s become more of a hot mess.

Could it be that the Hollywood actress is just one of those women who look better with fewer clothes on?

After all, Mendes, 35, isn’t afraid to admit that she uses her sex symbol status to secure film roles and has no issues with onscreen nudity.

She told Marie Claire UK magazine of her attirechoices: ‘I think it comes down to being voluptuous, and if your body’s a certain way, then things can go distasteful in a second. I have to walk a fine line.’

Too bad the curvy Cuban-American beauty crossed it while promoting her new movie Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, in which she plays the prostitute love interest of Nicolas Cage’s good-cop-gone-bad.

1 I’m not feeling this Armani Prive cut-out black gown Mendes wore to the Bad Lieutenant premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

From the strips of silk satin ribbon hanging down her thigh to the keyhole bodice to the rosette jewelled detail on her hip, there’s just way too much going on.

2 She attended the movie’s after-party at the Venice Film Festival in a pretty but strangely unflattering teal chiffon fringed flapper-inspired frock from Alberta Ferretti. And those clashing pale pink peep-toes are too distracting to ignore.

Did she get dressed in the dark or something?

3 Mendes literally lit up the Los Angeles screening in this rainbow-coloured plunging paillette dress from Chris Benz, teamed with black Brian Atwood Maniac platform pumps.

Sure, the piece brings some razzle dazzle to the event, but it sure ain’t making Mendes sparkle.

The awkward hemline does nothing for her hour-glass figure, and the material overwhelms her 1.68m frame and makes her look bulkier and shorter than she is.

This is a classic case of Mendes allowing the dress to wear her instead of the other way round.

4 I don’t care how sexy you are, going braless on the red carpet is a big no-no.

This crisp white button-down shirt and pleated black taffeta skirt combo by Donna Karan – with ablack beaded House Of Lavande choker – is Mendes’ failed stab at classy smart-casual sophistication for the New York premiere.

She left her top halfway unbuttoned for aglimpse of her cleavage, but ended up with a nipple slip.

But that wasn’t Mendes’ only fashion faux pas.

It seems she forgot to remove the labels from the bottom of the soles of her brand new stilettos, which were clear for all to see.

Seriously, who let her walk out of the house like this? Sack the stylist!

Jeanmarie Tan

GIVE AWAY

WIN FANTASTIC MR FOX MOVIE HAMPERS

We are giving away five sets of movie premiums for Fantastic Mr Fox, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

Each set contains an exclusive Mrs Fox apron activity set, clothing patches, a keychain and a lunch tin.

To win, call Infoline at 1900-9140801 and answer this question:

Who is the voice behind Mr Fox?

1. Matt Damon

2. Brad Pitt

3. George Clooney

The contest closes on Sunday at midnight. Each call costs 20 cents.

 

The NewPaper

Oh, Carol

FIRST FEATURE
Oh, Carol
November 20, 2009
 
 

You have to admit, Charles Dickens wasn’t a bad writer.

His 1843 novel A Christmas Carol is such a durable, powerful story that it can be adapted in the most bizarre ways and yet somehow retain its core humanity.

And ghosts are always fun.

Over the years, Hollywood has turned to the story again and again and again and again… and again.

From the Muppets to Matthew McConaughey, everyone has had a shot at learning the true spirit of Christmas.

The latest incarnation opens today, with JimCarrey starring as a CGI Ebenezer Scrooge.

Hopefully Dickens will refrain from rolling over in his grave as we take a closer look.

Jason Johnson

A Christmas Carol (2009)

You have to hand it to Robert Zemeckis. In the face of almost complete indifference to his CGI movies – The Polar Express and Beowulf – he just keeps making them.

Zemeckis’ A Christmas Carol stars Carrey as the voice of Scrooge, as well as the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come.

It’s a fairly straight-up adaptation of the classic story, but with that special Carrey magic thrown in. You know, the funny faces and stuff.

Welcome to Christmas in the Uncanny Valley.

The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

Okay, so here it is. You listening?

Everyone loves A Christmas Carol, right? It’s a classic.

So imagine, right, that Scrooge isn’t a miser; he’s a total babe hound. I mean, he’s going after anything in a skirt. Short skirts.

So anyway, these ghosts come – Past, Present and Future.

So now this guy – I’m thinking Matthew McConaughey – learns that there’s more to life than, you know, tail.

I’m calling it Scroogin’. But I’m open to other options.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

This is one of the truly well-loved adaptations of the story, which is strange and a little telling, considering there’s a pretend frog playing Bob Cratchit.

With Michael Caine as an unusually dapper Scrooge and, yes, Kermit the Frog as his long-suffering employee Bob, The Muppet Christmas Carol manages to mix music, slapstick comedy and the usual Muppet weirdness into an unusually effective Christmas story.

And is it just me, or is the Ghost of Christmas Past, voiced by Jessica Fox, kinda cute?

For a Muppet, I mean.

Scrooged (1988)

Leave it to Bill Murray to make an adaptation of the story that is simultaneously sardonic and touching.

He plays a loathsome TV executive who not only fires a guy on Christmas Eve, but goes out of his way to cancel his bonus.

He gives his girlfriend Ginsu knives as a Christmas present. He staples reindeer horns on a mouse for a TV Christmas special. See? Loathsome.

When he’s visited by his three ghosts, they give him the verbal and physical shellacking he so clearly needs.

Barbie in a Christmas Carol

It’s a great idea, actually. Any time you can replace an ugly old guy like Scrooge with a hot young blonde, you should just go for it.

Can’t wait to see the Barbie version of The Merchant Of Venice!

Ebenezer, kindly stand aside for the CGI dream girl Eden Starling, a Victorian diva who throws a hissy fit during the holidays, thus ruining Christmas for her fellow performers.

She’s visited by three pretty ghosts, who teach her that, like, it’s not okay to just go around ruining Christmas!

It’s the greatest story ever told.

GIVE AWAY

WIN A CHRISTMAS CAROL MOVIE PREMIUMS

We are giving away five sets of movie premiums for AChristmas Carol, courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures.

Each set contains a notebook, a money tin box and akeychain.

To win, call Infoline at 1900-9140801 and answer this question:

Who plays Scrooge in the movie A Christmas Carol?

1. Jim Carrey

2. Will Ferrell

3. Tom Hanks

The contest closes on Sunday at midnight.

Each call costs 20 cents.
 

The NewPaper

Sorry Dear, You Are Staying Home

Sorry dear, you are staying home
HK star Andy Lau keeps new wife indoors to stay out of media glare
November 18, 2009
 
 

HONG Kong superstar Andy Lau has barred his Malaysian wife Carol Chu from going out, Sin Chew Daily reported.

QUIET LIFE: Andy (with his wife Carol in an earlier photo) booked an entire cinema to watch a movie.
FILE PICTURE

The newspaper reported that an agreement was reached between the couple in the hope that media attention on their marriage would be played down.

Andy also recently made up to Carol by booking a whole cinema to watch the Michael Jackson film, This Is It, in Hong Kong.

The cinema’s staff members were stationed outside the building to ensure that the couple enjoyed the show without being disturbed.

Andy’s parents and 10 of his assistants also watched the film with the couple.

It cost about HK$5,000 ($900) to book the cinema, which has seats with massage functions, the report said.

After learning that reporters had gathered outside the cinema, the couple left by the backdoor, which led to the car park.

Andy’s love life has been in the news this year.

In February, he denied being married in an interview with Hong Kong’s Cable TV.

Then in October, Hong Kong journalists discovered marriage records from the Clark County Recorder’s Office in the US state of Nevada that showed the 47-year-old star had wed Carol in June last year.

Andy had used his stage name Andy Lau Tak Wah, instead of his birth name Lau Fook Wing, for the occasion, having changed his name formally many years ago, Hong Kong’s Apple Daily reported then.

Relationship made public

Carol is a 43-year-old former Malaysian beauty queen.

The report also speculated that as the acknowledgement date and marriage date in the records fell on the same day, the couple probably decided to get married on the spur of the moment.

They are said to have started dating 24 years ago, and had kept the relationship under wraps, though there had been widespread speculation in the media and among Andy’s fans that they were together and were even married.

In September Andy apologised for lying about his marriage, saying he behaved inappropriately for a public figure.

He confirmed the marriage in a brief message on his website, saying he did not announce the marriage because he wanted to shield Carol from the press, reported AP.

Andy said then: ‘My recent behaviour amounts to a lie. It disappointed many people. Because I’m a public figure, I think I should publicly apologise to everyone who believed me. I hope everyone will forgive me.

Critics contend that Andy lied about his marriage to protect his image as an idol.

One of Asia’s biggest celebrities, the star of Infernal Affairs and House of Flying Daggers has appeared in more than 100 movies since his debut in 1982.

Dubbed one of Chinese pop’s Four Heavenly Kings in the 1990s, he also enjoys a successful recording career.

He said on his website that he and Carol had married so they could try to have children through artificial insemination, which is only authorised for married couples in Hong Kong.

‘I don’t have any children. I don’t have any sons or daughters. The children you have photographed are the children of my relatives or friends,’ he said.
 

The NewPaper

SWEET AS CHOCOLATE

TAIWAN’S SEXIEST WOMAN
SWEET AS CHOCOLATE
Model-turned-actress Lin Chi-ling says reputation takes ‘a lot of maintenance’
By Sylvia Toh Paik Choo
November 17, 2009
 
 

WHY show cleavage and then cover it up with a wrap?

The hotel room was cold, xiao jie.

Three hot-blooded males and I entered the suite in Hong Kong’s Four Seasons for a quick interview with Lin Chi-ling, Taiwanese model-turned-actress who is voted one of Asia’s most beautiful women.

The guys naturally found her hot; I thought her impossibly nice.

She occasionally pulled the shawl across her strapless black-and-white print sheath of a dress.

We’d met in Cannes – her first outing – last year to promote Red Cliff, John Woo’s historical epic.

Critics and netizens were not kind. Adjectives ran the gamut from ‘soulless’ to ’empty vessel’.

She was just 30, playing the teenage beauty from Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. The casting incensed fans of the classic.

‘But she is inexperienced!’ they protested.

They doth protest a tad too much. She was nominated for a Hong Kong Film Award for Best Newcomer for Red Cliff.

Humbled, honoured, peers, yadda-yadda.

We met again in July this year at a Louis Vuitton party in Singapore.

She’d completed filming the Chinese action blockbuster The Treasure Hunter. Cluelessly, I’d asked if she was the treasure being hunted.

Squeals of unadulterated delight. ‘Oh, that is so nice, nobody ever said that to me before!’

The Chinese media wanted her sound bites, her minder led her away, but not before she sweetly said: ‘If you have any more questions, you can come and ask me any time.’

So here we were in Hong Kong, Chi-ling is the VIP guest at the launch of LG Electronics’ Chocolate phone in its Black Label series, and we can have 15 minutes with her.

Again the squeal: ‘Oh, how are you, nice to see you again!’

But enough about me.

Lin Chi-ling (nicknamed ‘ice cream’) is 35 this week, 1.76m in her stockings.

She left her native Taipei at 15 for further studies in Canada and majored in Western art, history and economics at the University of Toronto.

So she speaks pretty decent English, xie xie.

She returned East and in five years, 1999 to 2004, made her million New Taiwan dollars from catwalk shows and TV commercials and endorsements.

You name it, she slathered it on – milk foam bath, such-and-such yoghurt. Plus she was the It girl for China Airlines – the national carrier even sold her figurines.

These last three years, FHM’s (Taiwan) polled her the sexiest woman. This year Jolin Tsai and Megan Fox are runners-up.

On being a sex symbol, she said: ‘It can take a lot of maintenance, but I think it’s not the dress you wear, but how you talk, confidence.’

If your parents won’t let you have a copy of FHM, you can always get the 2010 desktop calendar of Lin Chi-ling.

Flavour of the year, out of favour on the Net?

That’s where she’s been accused of having had a bust job because she was seen coming out of hospital (she’d fallen off a horse), and rumoured to have had family debts cleared by then-boyfriend Jerry Yan (of boyband F4).

So are you really a damsel in distress in real life, like the characters you play?

No, no, the little girl voice fended off.

‘Movies are unconventional (existence), you discover a different side of yourself. Opposite, I am always saving people in real life.’

Like bailing out her brother when his cosmetics business went into the rouge?

Could you please ask her about the LG Chocolate, the agent/manager/minder interrupted.

Oh-okay, a girl like you, into gadgets at all? (One of the boys asked).

Oh yes, very much, she enthused, careful to look in the direction of her people when she named the iPod et cetera as well as her Chocolate.

And admits to a sweet tooth for white chocolate.

Watch yourself

And on this new handphone you’ll actually be able to watch yourself in the movies! (Look out, here comes another baby-voice squeal.)

Like The Treasure Hunter, how was Jay Chou to work with?

Chi-ling and Jay are currently two of Taiwan’s hottest headlining names. The Treasure Hunter, which opens in cinemas here on 31 Dec, is an action flick about buried treasure (no!) and the map keeper (no, really?) and his mentor’s daughter.

If you’re thinking Lara Croft: Tomb Raider… close.

‘Jay’s nice, he’s a joker, I didn’t have many stunts to do, but it was challenging,’ she said of the action set in the desert.

(If you study the movie poster, you’ll notice she has very big feet!)

According to media reports, she’ll be singing the ending theme song of the movie, titled Fly Me Away – music by Jay, lyrics by Chi-ling.

Jay – who also produced and played the Inner Mongolian instruments used in the song – decided to let her flex her vocal chops after hearing her hum away on the set.

Mr Wu Dun, chairman of Chang Hong Channel Film & Video, which produced the film, had said: ‘Chi-ling is a girl who’s very serious about her work.

‘Everyone felt her first recording was already very good. Jay also gave his okay, but she felt she sounded like a baby, so she requested to record once more to change the ‘baby voice’. She’s very professional.’

In defence of her second acting job, The Treasure Hunter’s director, Kevin Chu, has reportedly said she is ‘not a flower vase’ (Chinese equivalent of ‘not just a pretty face’.)

Her third acting gig will be in a comedy.

Personally she wants to work at getting rid of the vase label, pointing to the self-reliant Zhang Ziyi as role model.

If you could wish for an award, what would you like to win? (Another of the guys asked).

A flick of the tresses, a brief think: ‘I think I would like to have the happiness award.’

Awww, our turn to shriek.

At a recent Golden Horse Awards event which she co-hosted, the audience got a dose of her girliness.

She’d asked Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Andy Lau (separately) if she could give them a hug. Would you turn her down?

Boyfriends?

Giggle giggle, no time, and the minder called time out.

Talk is that the low-profile boyfriend is one Scott Qiu, a 36-year-old Taiwanese businessman – their families go back years, she’s fallen for him and he wants to marry soon.

The Qius are in sanitation, he’s been dubbed the ‘prince of toilets’. Win Lin Chi-ling and that’s a royal flush.

 

The NewPaper

Aggression And Beauty Rolled Into One

Aggression and beauty rolled into one
Our reporter gets a kick out of capoeira, to be featured in The New Paper Lifestyle Fitness workshop
By Shree Ann Mathavan
November 16, 2009
 
 

I’VE punched and kicked vigorously during the odd combat class at the gym.

FUN: Our reporter (in black) learning how to block, while Mr Santos executes a kick in a capoeira class.
TNP PICTURE: JONATHAN CHOO

I always feel clumsy when I throw my punches – more comedy club than nimble street fighter.

So, the idea of mixing martial arts with the fluidity of dance as it does in capoeira, the Brazilian martial arts form, appealed to me.

When the opportunity to try out the sport ahead of a capoeira workshop under The New Paper Lifestyle Fitness series on 21 Nov came up, I was game.

Capoeira instructor Silvano P Dos Santos, 30, from the Association of Capoeira Argola de Ouro Singapore, kindly took this rookie into a multi-level class at the Substation on Wednesday.

The group of about 10 students were of varying levels, with some just a month into the sport, while others were well-seasoned from years of practice, somersaulting and head-butting with ease.

They were all dressed in the association’s white T-shirt and pants, which I then realised made me stick out like a sore thumb in my all-black attire.

Before beginning the class, Mr Santos reassured me, saying: ‘Anybody can do capoeira, you just need time.

‘What’s hard for you to do, may be easy for somebody else and vice versa.’

Rhythmic movements

The class kicked-off with warm-ups and we did plenty of stretches.

Mr Santos then went through various drills with the class, but always adapting the moves to suit the different levels of his class.

Naturally, I had to start from the basics.

One of the foundation moves I picked up was the ginga, a move which requires you to rock back and forth while swinging your arms and moving one foot back and then forward.

It’s a natural, rhythmic movement which often serves as preparation for other more complex moves.

We then progressed to cartwheels, which are frequently used here as a form of evasion from attack.

Having not cartwheeled for a good decade, the idea of doing so was pretty intimidating.

But we started off with baby cartwheels where I simply planted my hands down and jumped my legs over before progressing to supporting more of my body weight on my hands.

Practices are sometimes done in pairs, so you face-off with a partner and start sparring.

During these face-offs, I learnt several ways of blocking and dodging my opponent’s attack by lunging sideways and lifting my hand up.

Towards the end of the class, we gathered in a circle clapping as students took turns to engage each other in a friendly fight. Here’s where you get to see funky head-butts, twists, elbow strikes, high kicks – it’s aggression and beauty all rolled into one.

Within 30 minutes of my two-hour long class, I was drenched in sweat and breathless.

Mr Santos said: ‘During the class, you have so much fun that you don’t realise how hard you are working.’

It was only two days later, with my butt and thigh muscles aching, that it sank in.

That, in my book, makes a successful workout.
 

The NewPaper

He's Mark Lee's Big Fat Conscience

Taiwanese comedian-host Nono stars in Jack Neo movie
He’s Mark Lee’s big fat conscience
By Gan Ling Kai
November 15, 2009
 
 

DO something bad and your big fat conscience will shout ‘No! No!’ into your ears.

That’s what happens to Mark Lee’s evil character in Being Human Being, director Jack Neo’s new movie slated to be released on 11 Feb next year.

His ‘conscience’ is played by hefty Taiwanese comedian-host Nono.

At 1.8m tall and weighing 89kg, he’s considerably larger than stick-thin Mark, who stands at 1.78m and weighs only 58kg.

Nono, 38, claimed that he put on 2kg due to the 20 crab dishes he ate during his two-week stay here.

He told The New Paper on Thursday at the set of Being Human Being: ‘Mark and (local singer) A-do have been feeding me every day.’

No wonder Mark’s ‘conscience’ weighs heavily on him in the film, where he plays an unscrupulous boss of a slimming centre who sells untested pills out of greed.

Not only does Nono’s character stand between Mark and his money-making ploys, he also shares the latter’s intimate scenes with his on-screen wife, played by local actress Yeo Yann Yann.

Other than frolicking under the sheets, the threesome will be sharing a bath scene in the movie.

Said Yann Yann, 32: ‘Let’s just say that Mark and I have seen each other’s naked truth a lot during filming.’

The skinny actress, who kept her underwear on during intimate scenes, was teased mercilessly by the crew.

‘They said Mark and I were very noisy while filming the intimate scenes because our bones kept knocking together,’ said Yann Yann, rolling her eyes.

On the love scenes with Nono and Mark, she said: ‘I felt like the patty in a hamburger when I was stuck between the two of them.

‘The top part of the bun was round and fat, while the bottom half was thin and flat.’

Despite their physical differences, 41-year-old Mark said he and Nono – whose real name is Chen Hsuan-yu – have much in common.

‘Both of us are comedians with ‘guai guai’ (Mandarin for weird) looks,’ he said.

Their on-screen chemistry stems from their friendship in real life.

The pair met about 10 years ago when Jack and Mark visited Taiwan for work.

Said Mark: ‘Big brothers Jack and (top Taiwanese host) Jacky Wu would be talking to each other, and ‘younger brothers’ like myself, Nono and Kang Kang would be chatting away.’

Both Nono and Kang Kang used to work for Jacky.

Now, Nono has carved out a flourishing career independently.

Must’ve been expensive for Jack to cast the renowned funnyman for his movie then.

Said Nono: ‘He brought me in with a ‘tian jia’.’

‘Tian jia’ sounds like heavenly price in Mandarin.

Almost immediately, he explained the ‘tian’ he was referring to meant ‘to add’, implying his pay was low and that Jack should have increased it.

Casting Nono in Being Human Being – which is in Mandarin and Hokkien and also stars Jeremy Chan, Tay Yinyin and Wang Lei – is part of Jack’s plan to market the movie in Taiwan.

He had asked Nono to ‘help him out and make do with the salary’ since it’s Nono’s first film outside Taiwan.

 

The NewPaper

Lights, Camera, Friendship

Lights, camera, friendship
Anita Yuen and Joe Ma now see eye to eye after filming new series
November 10, 2009
 
 

PLAYING the role of Cheuk Yat-Sam, a banking tycoon’s daughter in the Hong Kong drama series Born Rich, was relatively easy for Anita Yuen.

In an interview with U-Weekly, the 38-year-old actress said she shared several personality traits with her character. ‘Like Yat-Sam, I had a fiery temper in my younger days,’ she said. ‘I used to scold people and I didn’t think twice about their feelings.’

But the star of films like C’est La Vie, Mon Cheri (1993) and He’s a Woman, She’s A Man (1994) professed to have ‘mellowed’ of late.

Born Rich revolves around a romantic triangle involving Anita and actors Joe Ma and Gallen Lo.

There has been talk in Hong Kong that while she and Joe, 41, play lovers in the series, they do not see eye to eye off-screen.

Anita reportedly said before filming began: ‘When I first saw him (Joe), I seriously didn’t like him.

‘I watched a few of his television shows and I was unimpressed.

‘He has an air of arrogance.’

However, after acting with Joe, she gradually got to know him better and she said she found him to be quite an easy-going person, like her.

‘Both of us tend to look at the big picture. We don’t like getting caught up with the nitty gritty,’ she said.

‘Now that we are good friends, we can chit-chat and talk about personal stuff and family life.’

When interviewed, Joe, who used to be a policeman before he turned to acting, echoed Anita’s sentiments.

‘Before our collaboration on Born Rich, I had heard talk about how difficult she is to work with,’ he said, laughing.

‘Everything turned out to be untrue…

‘We clicked extremely well and we never ran out of things to talk about. Kids are our favourite topic!’

Anita has a 3-year-old son with her actor-husband Julian Cheung, and Joe has a 9-year-old son.

Filming for the series took place in Sabah and the trip was a memorable experience for both actors.

Anita used to think beaches were slightly dirty. ‘But the beach at Sabah is simply beautiful! The people are warm and the seafood is delicious,’ she said.

‘It’s definitely a place I’ll visit again with my family.’

Joe, on the other hand, used his free time between shoots to get a diving licence.

‘It was an amazing feeling, to be able to see corals and marine life up close.’

This article was translated from U-Weekly. For more news on Asian entertainment, get a copy of U-Weekly, out on news-stands today.

U-Weekly now gives you double the value. For only $2, you also get a special pullout focusing on real life people and their stories.

Remember to ask for your special pullout when you buy the magazine.

 

The NewPaper

Thomas' WAKE-UP CALL

Thomas’ WAKE-UP CALL
Dad’s death a reminder not to take mum for granted
By Kwok Kar Peng
November 10, 2009
 
 

TREASURE what you have because you won’t know when you’ll lose it.

That’s what local actor Thomas Ong says – and trust him to know what he’s saying.

He is hosting a new Channel U infotainment programme Diminishing Horizons, on which he visits 10places where ancient cities, tribes and traditions are vanishing from the face of the earth.

The 40-year-old is no stranger to personal losses.

Four years ago, Thomas lost his father. He died of colon cancer in his late 60s, a few months after it was diagnosed.

Thomas recalled how he had taken his parents for granted, going home to visit them only once a month because he thought they had each other for company.

He told The New Paper: ‘I was too busy making a living and I thought I had all the time in the world to be with my parents.’

He had to travel to China very often then for his corporate gift business. He was also acting part-time, doing about one local drama a year.

‘I was in Singapore when my father was admitted to hospital but he lost consciousness later. I had to make an urgent trip to China so I wasn’t with him at the moment he died,’ Thomas said.

‘I was a little sad about that but he wasn’t conscious then, so he also wouldn’t know who was beside him.’

Thomas also confessed that although he loved his father, a retired taxi driver, he wasn’t very close to him.

They were a traditional Chinese family where the children had to obey whatever their father said.

Thomas has three elder brothers and a younger sister.

He said his father was strict with him when he was naughty as a child, and would cane him.

Thomas moved out when he got a job as a flight attendant 20 years ago. He became a TV actor at 24.

‘My only consolation was that I travelled with him to China and Australia before he died,’ Thomas said.

He now feels that he should have spent more time with his father to understand how he was feeling in those last few years of his life.

‘He wasn’t the breadwinner of the family any more and some old folks may think they are useless already.

‘Of course he was respected, and my siblings and I loved him. But we were so busy that we didn’t show our feelings,’ said Thomas.

His father’s death served as a wake-up call for Thomas.

While in life, the late Mr Ong had taught Thomas to be honest and not to gamble, his death reminded the actor to treasure and show his love for his 71-year-old mother.

He now visits her at her home at least once a week and takes her shopping, to karaoke sessions, overseas holidays and interesting places in Singapore.

And when there’s a faulty lock or a blown light bulb, he is only a phone call away.

He even rents a place near his mum’s flat in Ang Mo Kio to be closer to her.

Why mum lives alone

His mum lives alone because Thomas, a bachelor, wants her to have her own life and be independent.

Thomas said with a sheepish laugh that he doesn’t say the words ‘I love you’ because he’s ‘paiseh’ (Hokkien for embarrassed).

‘But by calling her and checking on her, she knows that I love her. My siblings and I pretend to get angry when she doesn’t pick up her phone. She also knows that we are pretending too.

‘It’s a game we play,’ he added.

But doesn’t Thomas find it uncool or strange be seen out shopping with his mum?

He retorted: ‘I feel very proud to be able to do all these things with her.

‘I do what I think is right, not whether it’s cool or not. Indeed, people should learn from me.’
 

The NewPaper