Benny Chan Ho Man and Theresa Li Yi Hung - Madam Justice Pao promotion at Sg Wang Plaza (22 Jan 2011) - "包三姑外传" 宣傳 (陈浩民、李绮红)

What can I say ? This week has indeed been super productive for moi. 3 stars chasing activities in a row ! This more than made-up for my frustation of not being able to watch Kate Tsui in action (Autocity countdown) and the chance of a lifetime, getting a glimpse of Hollywood heavyweights like Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow, who were shooting the movie "Contagion" in my US office a few weeks after I left the place.

Okay, this event was a last minute thingy for me. WA !TV (one of the channels aired over Astro) specially flown-in Benny Chan Ho Man and Theresa Li Yi Hung to promote the Mainland produced period drama series "Madam Justice Pao" (yup,the dialogue is in Mandarin) and to be frank, wouldn't help much in terms of increasing viewerships nor subsribers. If Andy's Shaolin theme song was bad, wait till you listen to this drama's high pitched theme song (not to be mistaken with the one sung by Benny).

A small group of Benny's fans waited in front of the stage real early, with Benny's books in arm. I suspect some originates from China. Benny even performed a Mandarin song (live , mind you !) on that night. Benny still has the baby-face but I guess filming non-stop in China has taken a toll on him. He looks kinda dry/haggard. Suprisingly, Theresa ( a year older than Benny, at 41), is still in her element. Infact, she definitely looks way better up close and personal than in the idiot box. I was really irritated by her annoying character in tv series "My Better Half", where she paired up with Michael Tse. Seeing her flashed her sweetest smile during the event reminds me of the bubbly gal that won the 1st runner-up in 1994's Miss HK pagaent (where Halina Tam took the crown). Her incredibly svelte figure is testament of the long hours this workout fanatic put-in at the gym. Uh huh...she still talks with a funny Canto accent and a couple of time, she attempted to converse in Mandarin, too. As with all ex TVB artistes, you either choose fame (TVB) or fortune (Mainland).

Louis Koo - "All's Well Ends Well 2011" meet and greet fans session at Pavilion(21 Jan, 2011) 古天樂-"最強喜事"電影宣傳活動

Barely two days after going to Andy's function at Pavilion, I was back in the same spot again ! I was all hype up coz it's been literally centuries since I last saw the most lip smacking yummy tanned dude God has ever put on earth - Louis Koo. One thing about 古仔,just like fine spirit - he gets better with age !

Nursing an inflammed left eye and spending 3 figures at the eye specialist in PJ (stay away from Lim Eye Specialist!), it has not dampen my burning desire to see him at all. Unfortunately, Pavilion is not the best place to take pictures due to the line-up of CNY stalls concentrated in the centre court. To provent the stalls from being damaged, the organizers put-up barricades around the stage and beyond....bummer !

Compared to "Shaolin" event, this function seems to be on a grander scale. No expense was spared, the organizers roped-in a whole troupe of lion dance performers to kick-off the event. Hottie Louis and seasoned producer-cum-actor, Raymond Wong, were about an hour late but the moment Loius appeared, the wild screaming echoed throughout the hall. Even cheeky Louis couldn't help making a comment -" Huh ?! Why are there such a loud scream ? Did some get robbed ?" LOL !!

Louis' fashion sense can never go wrong. He wore a light blue shirt and a pair of black and white hi-cut sneakers to go with his faded jeans. Simple but in ! The games were also more interesting this round. Louis and Raymond wrote the first half of the chinese calligraphy and fans were asked to complete the rest. A lucky fan got the chance having Louis applied make-up on her ! BTW, Louis plays an effeminate make-up artist in the sixth instalment of "All's Well Ends Well 2011". The fan who partnered who Raymond ended in disastrous result - zombie look-alike.

The movie also marks the much awaited (well, depends on whether you are a fan or hater) silver screen come back of Cecilia Cheung. The cast line-up is kinda impressive - Lynn, Carina and Chapmah Toh. I know it's supposed to be a comedy but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the movie would be less "無厘頭" (nonsensical parodies). Last year, I was pleasantly suprised by TVB's "The house of 72 tenants" (七十二家房客), which suprisingly tickled funny bones without having to resort to slapstick type of comedy. I guess this year, it would be a battle of "All's Well Ends Well 2011" against "I love Hong Kong" (darn ! I missed the chance to catch Maggie Cheung and FAMA during their promo in Singapore last week). We'll find out when these movies open in local cinemas on Feb 3.

Andy Lau - "Shaolin" meet and greet with fans at Pavilion (19 January, 2011) 劉德華-"新少林寺"宣傳活動

Malaysia's most famous "son-in-law", Andy Lau, together with director, Benny Chan, were at "Pavilion", to grace the gala premiere for his latest martial arts flick, "Shaolin" (新少林寺). Jet Li's version suddenly came to mind. Although the storyline remains vague (I was still a tyke then), I remembered being so in awe of his skillful moves. Then again, Jet Li is a true blue shaolin kung fu practioner and Andy is just....well, Andy Lau, the hardworking and charismatic movie star. Having said that, with the festive season just around the corner, coupled with Andy and Nic Tse's star pulling power, I'm sure this movie will not fare too badly in the box office.

I'm most suprised to see the full force attendance of his Malaysian fan club - 華仔天地(all members are decked out in orange attire) - from kiddos to the middle age group ,with "Shaolin" fans in hand, all prep-up to welcome 華仔. I thought the numbers would have dwindled somewhat by now but it's still very much alive and kicking !

Andy didn't say much throughout the whole event. Put it this way - he was warm but in a cool and collected kind of way. After greeting the crowd and a short intro about the movie, a few pre-selected fans joined Andy for a short game session. Andy showed off a couuple of simple kung fu steps. The ones who imitated his moves best emerged as the overall winner. GSC also had two martial arts exponents doing their wushu stuff on stage, sort-of launching the movie. Before you knew it, the function came to a wrap as Andy had to rush to GSC cineplex for the premiere of "Shaolin." The organizer played the theme song on an endless loop and oh, boy ! I gotta say, the singing style and melody of the Mandarin number sounds way too outdated.

Ron Ng (吳卓羲) at Penang Christmas Charity Food Carnival (槟州圣诞慈善美食)- PISA ,26 Dec, 2010

Although the event was for a good cause (to raise funds for the needy and destitutes in Penang island), I couldn't help but feel that things were done in a shabby manner. The turnout was poor, considering the state govt and organizers spent 3 months (since late Sept) promoting the food carnival and charity banquet. Ron even flew to Penang to lend his support to this function back then. If the intent was to turn this into a yearly event, I'm not optimistic at all. The advertisement claimed that 100 food stalls featuring the best of Penang delicacies would be set-up but I beg to differ ! What met my eyes were worst than the food stalls you find in night markets. During the banquet, I was gobbling down clumps of shark fin soup (apparently way too much cornstarch)! Add to that, the whole ambience of the night felt like I was actually feasting in a down and out village, rather than a so-called international gourmet festival.

I was there for Ron, of course. I had expected banners and lighting boards but there wasn't any. I know he has a pretty strong following in KL and I thought many would make their way to Penang since this is a long weekend (X'mas) but.....none in sight. Poor Ron. All is not lost coz those in attendance gave rousing applause to Ron and I guess that kinda lifted up his spirit. The last I saw Ron in action was during "All About Men" concert and he looks a little too beefy then but ooh la la ! hottie Ron is back in shape ! In total, Ron performed 3 songs (grrr.....Thomas and Jack did 4 ! How can that be ??!!) and it was total chaos when Ron went down the stage during the final number - "Red Butterfly." It ended way toooooo soon !

Adrenaline rush, sweat and glory filled the air when local tenny bopper group - "Thomas and Jack"'s took to the stage. Young teenage fans went into a frenzy when the duo belted out their trademark bubblegum pop songs. No further comment - they are certainly not my cup of tea.

The last act for the night is Taiwan's very own Stevie Wonder - Ricky Hsiao (蕭煌奇). Many may not be familiar with his name but you may have heard of his song - "你是我的眼" (You are my eyes) which is popular in karaokes. He also happens to be the composer of Taiwanese pub queen, Tiger Huang (黃小琥)'s runaway hit - "沒那麼簡單". Not suprisingly, many Penangites knows the lyrics to his songs by heart, eventhough his albums were not officially released in Malaysia. Ah...the power and magic of on-line download.

I was all geared -up for the curtain call, hoping that all the artistes would appear once again but that wasn't to be ! I only saw a group of gals yelling out loud "吴卓羲" and Ron was already rushing out of the exit door. Darn !

Ray Lam - Ali Cafe Promotion at 1 Utama (《林峯Power Root Alicafe Malaysia Tour》)-16 Oct 2010

After 20 hours of flying, this event wasn't something pre-planned. Once again, it has proven that my stamina never falters when it comes to HK stars. Fighting jet-lag and being sleep deprived for the last two weeks, my body was begging to get a good rest but like a true blue starz stalker, my mouth uttered "yes" when a friend called to asked if I'm back in town and is game to catch Ray's Ali Cafe function.

While waiting for Ray to arrive,my eye lids became real heavy...luckily, I was all perked-up the moment Ray came on stage. By then, the queue to get his autograph (Ray is to sign on an Ali Cafe's eco bag, which I must add is more than nice) is too long to be seen. Can't blame them, afterall I tried to get the bag too after the event but ran out of stock.

When the two ladies from 988 radio station announced "Here's....Raymond", the dude was no where to be seen. Everyone was glancing side ways, up and down, wondering where would Ray be making his grand entrance. After a few false alarms, heartthrob Fung finally appeared, decked out in black attire. The already skinny Ray has lost even more pounds and wearing black only serves to make him thinner.
Having said that, dishy Ray certainly has not lost his sex appeal and is still pretty "yummy yummy", judging from the crowd's response. At one point, I thought that the organizer would halt the autograph session but kudos to the them, they allow every single one up the stage. They were also pretty accomodating when an auntie (around 60 years old or so), made her way to the stage, in a wheel chair. With the help of her relative/son, she mustered all her strength to slowly walked in baby step, up the stage. She actually went through so much trouble, just to get a glimpse of Mr. Lam for a few seconds and his autograph.

Ali Cafe has now expanded its presence to HK and China. Knowing the massive market that Ray has in the mainland, it's not suprising Ali Cafe is willing to fork-out 7 digit pay cheque to entice Ray to be their spokesman. Other than that, Ali Cafe has also launched its latest line of coffee beverage - their very own white coffee. Ray's new movie with Miriam will also be released soon. Wonder if there's gonna be any gala premiere for this movie in Malaysia. Ray will be swinging to our shores in Feb (save your red packets) for a concert at Sunway Beach in Feb 2011. The venue sucks. Since there are a few more months to go before the big day, I hope EEG makes a last minute switch to Genting instead. Also, fans better pray hard that the concert organizer is not Galaxie. If it is,it'll be double whammy (unsuitable venue and bouncer-style, yucky organizer).

Oh...on a side note, I read a comment in another blog that the auto-play songs in my blog is annoying and only noobs resort to this. Well, for one, I'm no noob in the cyber world and also, everyone has the option to put the music on silent mode. Besides, the songs on my play list are my favorites. Some bloggers have the mentality that just because they have privilege to attend functions with free invitations from Nuffnang/event organizers or recorded high hits in their blog,they have "arrived" in the blogging scene. How pathetic. My bank account numbers may be dwindling and enduring the long hours/hassle can be such a pain but at least, it's my passion. I don't blog about an event just because I was invited and had to suck-up to the organizer.