1998 News

12/11, 35th Golden Horse Award is only one day away. Based on a poll conducted by a Taiwan newspaper, Tony is the top vote getter for the Best Actor Award. He tops everyone with 70,000 votes. If the public have their says, Tony should be running away with the Best Actor Award. Carina has already arrived Taipei. Tony is still working on "The Glass Bottle" at the moment. He will be arriving Taipei on the 12th. After the award, Tony will finish up "The Glass Bottle". On the 28th, right after Christmas, he will start a new Wong Kar-Wai movie in China. Carina will accompany him to China. As much as I want to see him winning the Best Actor Award, realistically, he doesn't have much of a chance. Bear in mind, comedy never wins anything. So don't be shocked if Tony comes home empty-handed. But, I wish him the best of luck. Well, no matter what he gets, he will always have our votes. Isn't that right, Tony fans?

 

12/5, Carina held a private birthday party last night. Her birthday, however, is on 12/8, three days away. She planned to celebrate it early because it would be convenient to have the party on weekend. She invited more than 30 friends to the dinner party. Tony was standing quietly next to Carina during this short interview. Asked if he brought anything for her birthday, Tony smiled slightly but refused to say. Later, the reporter learned it's an expensive jewelry. Their party was interrupted bluntly when a group of taiwanese tourists caught sight of them and started asking for pictures and autographs. They left the restaurant soon after.

12/2, Carina's Birthday is just around the corner. She is planning a big b-day party, and Tony is going to take care the bills. Carina asks her friends not to bring any gifts, instead she urges them to chip in some money so she could donate them to a local charity. If you haven't heard this, Tony is considering doing a musical with Faye Wong. It's based on the original movie script "Chinese Ghost Story". Apparently, there is a little confusion with this musical thing. For some strange reason, two directors are interested in this musical. One favors Faye and Tony to star it. The other favors Leslie, the actress has yet to be determined. It's still unclear to me why all of the sudden people are all going crazy over the same script. Go figure. Tony has yet to make up his mind. One more thing, Tony will be attending Golden Horse Award around the mid-December.

11/18, Tony is filming "The Glass Bottle" at this moment. He hasn't decided if he is going to attend the Golden Horse Award. He said it all depends on his schedule. If he finds the time, then he will make the trip to Taiwan. The award is around mid-Dec. Asked if he has any confidence in winning the award, Tony said he has one-fourth of chance winning it. Thanks tony, we can do the math. There are only four nominees competiting for one award. Just when you think he has plenty trophies at home, here is another award for Tony. He is named the top ten Classic figures of Hong Kong by a magazine. I have no idea what this is based on. It's not based on longevity or achievements. But anyhow, it's an award. Yeah, they have tons of these in HK. My suggestion to Tony is that he should start building a trophy room if this trophimania continues. :)

11/12, Tony has successfully entered Japanese mainstream with two consecutive hit films, "Flowers of Shanghai" and "Happy Together". During an interview, he said he was pleased and extremely honored to be in both films. As a matter of fact, he said that he owed everything to the two directors of the film, Ho Shao-Shen and Wong Kar-Wai. Every time he worked with them, it's always a challenge. These two world-class directors have quite different styles. Wong puts great emphasis on creating and brainstorming in the middle of shooting. He is well-known for his fancy camera shots and the freelancing camera work. Wong often toys with his casts. His script is totally unpredictable, and he often changes the script during middle of a shooting. Sometimes, the outcome of the story can be drastically different from the original script that he handed to the casts. Meanwhile, Ho Shao-Shen is well prepared before the shoot. He loves to use long shots without any cuts in between, which give the cast the maximam freedom to express themselves. Tony said he had a lot of fun working with him. Therefore, jokingly Tony said that he wouldn't mind to jump into the sea if that's what Ho wanted him to do for his next film. 

Reactions from Tony after he was informed about his nomination for Your Place or Mine( formerly known as "Loving you 8 hours a day") in Golden Horse Award. When asked if he was disappointed that he wasn't nominated for "Flowers in Shanghai" (Hoi Seung Fa), Tony seriously said, "Actually either film is fine, because I did my best in every film. I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that small romantic films like "Your Place Or Mine" would earn a nomination because there aren't too many previous winners from this genre." Tony says that although "Happy Together" was a hit it didn't win an award last year in Golden Horse, so he is thrilled that "Your Place or Mine" was nominated. He said "Your Place or Mine" is a sweet love story and that he was surprised it was nominated.

11/3, Tony is nominated for the best actor award in the 35th Taiwan Golden Horse Award for his role in "Your place or mine". Both of his movies "Flowers in Shanghai" and "Your place or mine" are completing for the Best Film Award. Congratulations!

In November, Tony will work on Wong Kar Wai's new film which will also star Maggie Cheung Man Yuk and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The movie is called "Fa Yeung Nin Fa" (literally: Flower Like Years). Director Wong has locked himself for almost two months to finish up his script, but I wouldn't say it's the "final" script since Wong has alway been prone to the last minute changes.

 

Here I have included a brief article that I receive from a newsgroup some time ago. On location during "Your place or mine", Tony said the shoot has been very comfortable. His only complaint was mosquitoes visiting the countryside set. Covered in bug spray, Tony still attracted kisses from mosquitoes. First time playing an image designer, Tony did everything like Chang Suk Ping because he is the "example" he has the most contact with. "In real life I won't be in that business. I hate dressing up. It's too much trouble." Surrounded by two women, he couldn't avoid kiss scenes. What did Tony have to say about Choi Siu Fun and Siu Suen (the two lead actresses)? He seriously thought, "Siu Suen is real good, she is very cute; Choi Siu Fun is very tasteful."

10/16, Tony and Carina received the 12th best dresser award in HK. For the award, Tony put on his Versace suit, and Carina wears a evening gown.

 

10/15, "The Bottle" began shooting today at the Golden Harvest Studio. Tony, Jackie, and Hsu Chi all attended the opening ceremony. Here is another twist as to why Tony would want to honor a 11 year old contract. He did it to return a favor to the late Leonard Ho. Mr. Ho, the boss of Golden Harvest Studio, lent some money to Tony back in 89 when Tony went short on a house payment. They became good friends since then, but Tony never had the chance to pay him back, until now. Mr. Ho passed away last year, since they didn't really sign a real contract, it's just a mutual agreement, Tony would easily get by and nobody would know such thing had occurred. However, Tony felt compelled to fulfill the contract as well as paying a tribute to the man who had helped him in a difficult time. Golden Harvest Studio will be demonished next month. It's Mr. Ho's wish to shoot "Bottle" in this soon-to-be vanished Studio. After a brief visit with Jackie, Tony volunteered for a part in this film. FYI, he will be playing a Homosexual guy in this film.

10/14, Tony will be starring a new film called "Bottle" with Jackie Chan. It would be the first time he will be co-starring in a Jackie Chan movie. Surprise, surprise, the movie is supposed to be a mixture of "romance-action-comedy". So I figure Tony will take care of the romance part, Jackie will do the action, and the comedy job is probably left to the lead actress Hsu Chi. Tony is honoring a contract he has signed with the Golden Film Company some 11 years ago. Thus, he will only get paid $400,000 HK for this movie, one tenth of what he should be making today. Talk about honoring your contracts, Yikes!

10/10, Tony and Carina attended the HK premiere of "Rush Hour"(Jacky Chan's new movie). Tony's mother was also in attendance. Carina said she wasn't upset of losing her role to Anita. She was competing with Anita Yuen for the role in "Mulan". She plans to take easy for the rest of the year, and spends more time with Tony. 

10/2, Tony and Carina came to Taipei for the release of "Flowers in Shanghai". Carina attended the press conference wearing a sparkling 2 carat Diamond ring on the ring finger of her right hand. People immediately speculated there was a possible wedding purposal made by Tony. Carina quickly denied such thing. In response, she took the ring off her right hand and placed it on her left hand to demonstrate the truth. Carina did admit the ring was a gift from Tony, and she would expect a bigger diamond for the wedding. Later, they went to a talkshow, again faced with same question. When do they plan to get married? Instead dancing around with the questions, the host of the show went straight forward with her question. She asked," Tony, when do you want to have kids?" (it's one of the questions many are curious of.) Tony played around with the question, and finally said, "I don't have time for it now." Good answer, but not good enough to get the host off his back. The tension is building up. The host bounced the question right back by saying, "You don't need a lot of time. You are not the one who has to be pregnant." Now it's the Tony's turn to respond. Time for him to figure out a clever answer. Unable to find one, wearing a self-conscious smile, Tony turned around and pointed to Carina, "She doesn't have the time." Almost the same time, Carina fired back in laughs,"He doesn't have the time." Well, you get the pictures. The discussion was leading to nowhere. Finally the host had to let go the question without further embarrassing the guests. I almost translate the article word by word, cuz I think it's kind of funny. Can you just imagine how embarrassing this is? :) Anyhow, after the show, they went to Taipei's Warner Studio for the premiere.

I just gathered some review articles of "Your Place or Mine"(formerly known as "Loving you eight hours a day"). Based on what I read, it is a lighthearted comic. It's currently showing in HK. Director: James Yuen Category(IIA) Starring: Tony Leung, Vivian Hsu, Ada Tsoi, Vincent Fong.

 

On 9/23, Tony and Carina attend the premiere of "Loving you eight hours a day" in Hong Kong. Tony says he usually does not go to the movie premieres. For one, there are always lots of annoying crowds, and besides, he gets nervous watching his own movie. Tony has never gone to any Carina's movie premieres. One of the reason is that he doesn't want to watch the love scenes between Carina and other actors. Although he understands it's just acting, but he finds it unpleasant to watch. Tony believes attracting more audiences into the theater is the best way to save the dismal HK showbiz. He thinks by attending the premiere it will boost public interests as well as the attendances. Tony says it's a much better method to save the market than cutting back his own salary. As for his immediate plans, Tony will go to Thailand to promote "Longest Night" on the very next day. Later, he will go to Taiwan for "Flowers in Shanghai".

9/21, Tony met the press today for the release of "Loving you eight hours a day". Tony refused to comment on Clinton's sex scandal, cuz he said the public figures has no private life, that includes himself. He doesn't care if anyone digs out his past, since a grow man has to be responsible for his own action. He has gotten nothing to hide from. 

After coming back from Japan, Tony was back to work again, working on "Loving you eight hours a day". He will start on Wong Kai Wai's new movie on Nov. Then another Hou Shao-shen movie after that. The Vietnamese Filmaker Tran Anh Hong is also another possible director he will work with for next year. Tony said he plans to work three films a year, not overloading himself. Since he has a big following now, he wants to control the quality of his performance by limiting his workload. He wants to give 100% to everything he does. Most importantly, he does not want to disappoint his fans.

Tony went to Japan with the filmmaker Hou Shao-shen from August 26th through the 28th to promote "Flowers in Shanghai". "Flowers in Shanghai" is scheduled to premiere on October in Japan. 

8/25/98, Tony is in Korea at the moment to promote the premiere of "Happy Together". To relieve the diaster victims, Tony and Director Wong Kai Wai started a fundraising after they learned the flood had swept throughout Korea. They raised $10,000,000 Korean currency (approximately $10,000 US Dollars) in a 30 minutes media session. Tony even donated the blue jacket he was wearing; it was snatched at $5,000,000 by one of his loyal fans. Shown in the pictures, Tony was shaking hands with the fan who bought the jacket. She even gave her wedding ring to Tony as a gift to show her adoration. However, later Tony returned the ring back to her. I don't know what to make of that, it's way beyond my comprehension. It's definitely a crazy gesture, but nonetheless very lovely.... Another note: "Happy Together" was a big box hit on its debate. .

Please note this Correction: This is Seo-Young from Korea. I'm sending this mail to just correct some of the wrong parts of the articles about Tony's visit in Korea. :) I was really disappointed when one of my friends translated the article for me. They didn't raise that much!!! ^_^;;; I was there, and I remember the exact amount! They raised approximately 19500 HK dollars altogether, and Tony's gray(not blue...as you see in my pic..^_^) jacket was sold 3600 HK dollars. Tony's necklesses were sold, too and those were sold about 1400 HK dollars each. The most expensive item was actually one of the original posters of 'Happy Together'(That poster was a French one). One of the posters was raised about 10000 HK dollars. So approximately 3500000 won(Korean currency) was raised altogether and Tony and Wang Kar-wai added their own money, 1500000 won. So they donated 5000000 won altogether. (That's about 27500 HK dollars) So the article is totally uncorrect!!! And the woman who bought Tony's jacket didn't give her wedding ring to anyone! How crazy of her to do that!!! She was actually given about 20 minutes to have a chat with Tony(a special case however) when Tony visited Tae-ku(one of the major cities in Korea) -> She actually lives in Tae-ku and that day, she came to the Premium show which was held in Seoul. And that's why she was given a special date with him. :) During the chat with Tony, she was with her child, and how could she do such a thing.

 8/19/98, Currently Tony is still shooting the new movie "Loving you eight hours a day" in Hong Kong. He will go to Korea within a few days to promote the new release of "Happy Together" in Korea. "Happy Together" was prohibited to show in Korea for almost a year, only recently it passed the government regulation. Later, Tony will make a trip to Japan to promote the movie "Flowers in Shanghai". In an interview, Tony said after 16 years of show-biz, he had thought about retirement during the time he was shooting "The Grand Canal". The 16 years of show business had left him with many unforgettable memories as well as many painful experiences.

At the moment, 8/7/98, Tony is shooting a new movie called "Loving you Eight Hours a Day"(literally). Just reading the name, you can tell it's a love story. Since it's not an action packed movie, Tony doesn't have to worry about his back while shooting the film. How nice!

 

8/3/98, Tony made his first public appearance after his back injury in a Radio Promo. Tony said he took a hard fall while skiing in Japan, didn't think the injury was serious until he got back to Hong Kong. After a series of X-ray, a crack was found in the bone, thus he needs a minimum of 6 weeks for the bone to heal. The first couple weeks he couldn't move and had to lay on bed the whole time, but right now the injury has subsided. Although he can move around with no problem now, but he can't do any heavy duty exercises at the moment.

Bad news here. Tony was severely hammered by a waist injury that he suffered while skiing in Japan. Carina delivered the bad news when she appeared for her new movie promo on 7/25. Right now, Tony is recuperating through Acupunctures. Carina said Tony was able to walk and will need some time off to rest his lower back. Tony, wish you a speedy recovery!

I am pretty surprised to find out Tony and Carina were crazy on the World Cup Soccer. One of the articles said them inviting friends home to watch the World Cup together. They wore their favorite sports gear during the game, an act displaying their support to the team. Carina's favorite team are England and Italy. She is fiercely loyal to England. After England's defeat, she was crashed and shredded into tears. She went absolutely berserk, even more animated than Tony.Being a sports fan myself, I can identify with that. Aren't they a great couple?

 

Tony and Carina was back in HK on 6/28/98. The HK Golden Bauhinia Award staffs arranged a special trip to the airport. They presented the Best Actor and the Best Actress Award to Tony and Carina. Both are jubilated, especially for Carina after so many trying years. Tony said this was the best present he could imagine for his birthday. It's a thrill for them.

This just in. Tony and Carina were crowned with the Best Actor Award and the Best Actress Award in the third Annual Golden Bauhinia Award. However, both were not present to receive the award. Apparently they were in Japan during a business trip. Hey, a perfect present to celebrate Tony's 36th birthday which is on 6/27. Happy Birthday!!!

Tony and Carina arrived in Cannes on 5/20/98; their movie "Flowers in Shanghai" is competiting in this years Cannes Film Festival. Tony wasn't in a good mood when he arrived cuz their luggages were delayed in the transfer of flights. Everyone wants to know his thoughts on this year's Best Actor Award. Tony replied that he had not seen the movie himself. So it would be immature to speculate anything right now. He expected a very busy schedule in Cannes, starting with plenty of interview sessions. Good Luck, Tony!!! I am rooting for you! :)

That's Tony's mother on the left hand side of the picture. Chow Yun-Fat's mother was the older lady on the right hand side. Tony's mother and Chow Yun-Fat's mother were invited to a Hong Kong radio show on the mother's day. Tony's mom said Tony gave her a jade ring as the Mother's Day present. She did not ask him how much it costed. It's estimated to be at least one million HK dollars.(Hey, Tony has given his mom and Carina some very expensive gifts this year, Wow!!!) When asked about Tony's girlfriend Carina, Tony's mom replied that Carina would make a wonderful daughter in law.

On 5/4/98, Tony and Carina arrived in helicopter as the guests of honor of the Cable TV's Racing Day in Hong Kong. Tony told the reporters he plans to get married in 1999. However, Carina replied that marriage is not necessary as long as both of them are happy together. Maggie Cheung called Carina immediately after the HKFA to offer comfort. Carina said she was feeling much better now, and thanks for all the supports. A magazine reported that Tony gave Carina a diamond worthing more than three million Hong Kong dollars. Tony replied that as long as Carina is happy, he will be happy as well.

Tony visited Taiwan on 5/2/98 to promote his new movie "Longest Night". Tony shaved his head for this movie, and he said it was the third time in his career that he had to shave. The first time is "Duke of Mount Deer", and 2nd time is for "the Ghost story---part III". Tony jokely replied that he did not mind to shave his head. One of the benefits is that he can save shampoo with a bald head. Besides, he loves to surf, a bald head is convenient for surfing as well. As for the movie "Longest night", Tony said that he almost got burned in one of the scenes. One time when they were shooting a fire erruption in the kitchen, Tony's pants was almost caught in fire. Luckily, it was not serious. Tony was not hurt, but got a bit scared. After his winning of the HKFA's Best Actor award, Tony will make a trip to Japan to film his newest commercial. Since there are several movies waiting for him, he should be very busy in the next few months.

So, how did Tony spend his first night celebrating the best actor award? He did not attend the post-award party, instead he went with several friends, such as Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam and Carina Lau, celebrated privately. When asked why he was wearing sunglasses throughout the night? Tony said that he did not sleep well the night before, so he did not want to take off his sunglasses. Someone jokely said that Tony looked like Wong Kai-wai when he was wearing sunglasses. Tony laughed at such ridiculous comment. He responded that he had a love and hate relationship with Wong Kai-wai. Because Wong Kai-wai would never follow his own script, Tony had a very hard time in Argentina filming "Happy Together". However, they share an common understanding since they know each other for many years now.

Congratulationg to Tony!! Winning the best actor award in the 17th Hong Kong Film Award!!! Although I am hoping Carina would win the best actress so they can be crowned on the same night, but Maggie Cheung again beat out Carina for the best actress award. Tony looked very confident when he won the award. When asked how would he fare in this years Cannes, he said it had to do with alot of luck. So he is not going to worry about it.

No surprise here. "Hoi Siong Fa" (AKA flower on the sea) will be competiting in Cannes this year. Director Ho expects Tony and Carina both to be there for the award ceremony. The 51th Cannes Film Festival will open on 5/13. Another movie related news: tony's new movie "The longest night" was shown in Italy's film festival a few days ago. It received a standing ovation and an overwhelming positive responses from Italy movie critics.

Congratulations to Tony and Carina! Both are nominated to the 17th Hong Kong Film Award. Tony is nominated for the best actor award. Carina is nominated for the best actress award. The 17th HK film award is on this Sunday, 4/26/98. Tony will be giving out award for the best Art Direction and the best Custome Design, and, of course, competing for the best actor award.

Yet another rumor has hit between Tony and Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam. The HK East Touch Magazine took photos of Tony and Rosamund outside of a night bar on 3/7. Apparently, they were having a good time with a group of friends in the "97's bar". Later in the night, Tony drove Rosamund home. Rosamund claims there is nothing going on with Tony. She is a good friend of Carina, and Tony simply gave her a ride home. Personally, I think HK reporters love to gossip on everything. This is probably another example of making something out of nothing.

In a recent article, Tony said that he has almost finished with his new movie "Hoi Siong Fa" (AKA flower floating on the sea). He also plans to record his new album with his favorite producer Chou. :-) Great News!!! By the way, he plans to endorse credit card for a major HK bank. He is going to shoot the commerial later in the month. As for the rumored affair between Carina and a Taiwanese actor, Tony said that such rumor is crazy and stupid. He stayed with Carina the whole time when they were shooting the "Hoi Siong Fa".

Have you wondered why "Summer in Beijing" has been delayed for almost two years? Apparently, Director Wong Jia wai has yet to receive a pass from the chinese movie regulation agency.(Director Wong couldn't film in Beijing unless he receives the pass.) The article reported that the agency was not satisfied with Wong's script. Furthermore, the chinese agency also requested a change to the name "Summer in Beijing", since they feared it might have some political motives. Therefore, "Summer in Beijing" is still in a process of delaying til further action. If you have a chinese browser, read the post below.

Shown above, a picture from Tony's new movie "Hoi Siong Fa" (AKA flower on the sea). Tony and Carina both starred in this movie. However, they are not coupled with each other. Tony is coupled with a Japanese actress, and Carina is coupled with a Taiwanese actor. In this movie, they are required to speak Shanghainese. Since Carina is from Shanghai, she has little problems speaking. But Tony finds Shanghainese extremely difficult, so Director Ho changed Tony's character to a Cantonese Officer. This way, Tony won't have to put up with his poor Shanghainese. Director Ho filmed this movie without much cuts. He let the actors and the actresses expressing themselves in the flow of scenes. Everyone involved in the shooting had a great time. The staffs on the set reportly said that Tony and Carina treated each other like old husband and wife. They are very professional on the set.