Date: 28 02 02
Source: Apple Daily

Local singer’s concert karaoke vcds are sold at an average of HK$100 each, but recently a batch of goods from the Minaland are being sold at HK$15 each! The worst hit singers are Andy Lau & Kelly Chen. This will incur great loss to their record companies.

Kelly & Andy’s summer Fiesta concert vcd were sold at HK$48 & HK$ 49 respectively in the market. Despite such low prices, these few months on the market are goods from the Mainland, selling at HK$15 each.

Source: Oriental Daily/ The Sun

Since spotted drunk & blaming it on the betrayal of a close friend, Anita appeared for the first time yesterday, at a press con on her upcoming concert from 28 Mar to 1 Apr . She avoided all topics on the recent occurrences & any topic she does not feel like answering.

Reporter (R) : Heard that u were unhappy lately ?

Anita (A ): Happy ! I have no time to be unhappy .

R: Do u need friend to confine to ?

A: For what ? We are talking on concert today.

R: Have u quit drinking ?

A: We’re talking on concert today.

R: Will u invite Andy to your concert ?

A: (Appeared shocked) oor.. see if he has time, all the friends will be invited.

R: Is he your friend?

A: What do u say ? Today we’re talking on …

R: Is Leslie your friend ?

A: (Lively) Of course !

R: Why talking on Leslie u are so lively ?

A: (shocked) wah! How can u comment like that!

R: No, just want to know which friend betray u ?

A: Today talking on concert…

21th HK Film Awards will be held on Apr 21 at The Culture Center this year. List of nominations was released yesterday. Shoulin Soccer garnered the most nominations with 13, followed by Nan Yu with 11 & Man at 40 with 8 .

Sammi Cheng is nominated a record 3 times in the Best Actress category with movies LOAD, Wuyan, & Tong Ji Mi You.

LOAD is nominated in the Best Film category, together with SS, Man at 40, Nan Yu, & Beijing Le Yi Lu.

Andy is nominated in Best Actor category with movie LOAD, other contenders are: Stephen Chow (SS), Jacky Cheung (Man at 40), Hu Jin & Liu Yue (Nan Yu)
Johnnie To & Wai ka Hui are nominated in Best Director category with movie LOAD.

Lin Jia Tong is nominated in Best Supporting Actor with movie DOAD.

Andy’s song Kick Up A Future is nominated in Best Original Movie Song.

Source: Ming Pao

Recently a picture of a Japanese AV female artiste is widely circulated on the net. Her look is a duplica of Andy, & is called ‘Female version of Andy Lau’. Her eyes has the same brilliant bearings of Andy. Whoever see it will laugh , “So similar!” As Andy is not in HK, otherwise we can ask him what he thinks.

Source: The Sun

Nic Tse has been appointed as the spokesman for a health food for man, successfully ousted Andy Lau & Andy Hui as other artistes of choice. Accordingly he was selected for his youthful image. It was a 7gigit deal.

Organised by Mainland Hua Yi TV stn & American Times, 'Top 10 Asian Stars', Vicki Chow Wei emerged as champion with the highest votes. The other winners are Ruby Lin, Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Richie Ren, & others.

Source: Ming Pao

The highest grossing movie for Lunar New Year golden slot is Hollywood computer anime Monsters, Inc, which is still going strong at 25 mil .

2nd on the list is The Lord Of the Rings, followed by HK movie M A R M & F C S. The 4th movie is again a Western movie, Ocean's II. C O 2002 is at # 5 spot.

Western movies again dominate the market. HK movies are unable to retain its force as in the first half of last year. In 2001, Rush Hour Lunar New Year movie collected 30 mi, Wuyan collected 27 mil, S Soccer peaked in the summer holidays, hitting a record high of 60 mil.

Since then HK movies saw a decline. Harry Potter during Xmas period grossed 43 mil. Japanese movie Spirited Away collected 25 mil, ahead of DOAD which collected 10 over mil. The other HK movies such as 2002 & ROOT II were even worse.

The main problem with HK movies is not lacking in computer generated skill, but are lacking in inspiring the children, attracting the whole family as audience. The themes are lacking in creativity, M A R M was banking on Sammi’s popularity, in tune with general female population of wanting both love & money. Fat Choi Spirit is more lively & rich, box office subsequently is better than MARM. But mahjong as theme of course is not too fresh, & parents may not bring children along to see. CO with crazy period drama theme aims at the market in the Mainland, which sees a trend towards this genre. HK has already passed that stage.

A celebrity soccer match will be held in Korea at Seo gui Po, according to the local Mayor

[....Ha, humble me Katherine, Mayor of Andy Town,...v busy ]

The location is of mild climate & venue for few World Cup matches. Andy Lau, Ahn Jae Wook & Kim Hee Sun were said to be attending.

{Thanks to Veronica from Korea & Toshie Nishimura for the correct names]

Sandra Ng in her CR prg 'Wah Wah Got U' disclosed that during her flight to Berlin with Andy on the plane, Andy wrapped himself up with the blanket, including his head ! He was like a mummy. Sandra woke up quite early the next am she did not hear Andy snoring !!

[Sandra, take a picture next time!]

[Movie review on Fat Choi Spirit will not be re-translated. Briefly the review commends the movie suits all, including those who are mahjong non addict. (like me) ]

(Date info forwarded by May Lee, thanks.)

7th Golden Bauhinia Awards announced its nominations yesterday. Awards ceremony will be held on 17th of March.

Nominees for Best Actor: Lau Yue, Hu Jin, leads in the movie Na Yu, Stephen Chow, Andy Lau (LOAD) & Lau Ching Wan (La Braissie) . Andy said it is the 3rd time he is nominated, this year is special because many comedy movies are selected, proving the award is not only for arthouse movies.

Both FTK & LOAD are on Top 10 Movies list.

Headline/Source: Andy personally coached Latin dance (Sing Tao)
Sandra is happy to be with Andy (Oriental Daily)
Sandra & Andy happy & sad in Berlin. Likes to sleep with Andy, dislikes food on the plane (Apple Daily)
Sandra slept with Andy, laughing the whole journey (HK Daily News)
Andy & Sandra slept together on Valentine’s Day (Ming Pao)
Andy felt happy & excited (Ta Kung Pao)
Andy & Sandra signed on Berlin Wall (Stareastnet)

Andy had returned to HK from Germany . He will continue with his annual new year holidays, till beginning of March. Sandra has returned to C R to work & chatted in her prg her 2 happy days in Germany with her ‘lover’ Andy on Valentine’s Day, with Andy as guest.

She teased that finally she could be together with Andy on Valentine’s Day! (So what had 2 of u done?) “Of course we had done many things, but not sure if we had done too much on the plane, when we arrived, he told me to stay on the 6th floor, & he stayed on the 1st floor, a few floors apart.”

Andy retorted, “Is it? What were the many things done? I only knew the air-hostess were too shocked to have her, gave her good service, keep asking her this & that. I fell asleep, by the time I woke up, it is almost time there! So many airhostesses attracted by her, hahaha!”

2 movies from Teamwork , DOAD & FTK, were invited to be screened during Berlinale. Both were welcome by the audience & film distributors. Though screen time was midnight, it was a full house.

After screening Andy & Sandra invited comments from the house. Andy had never thought that the scene where he impersonated as Leslie & the BBQ dancing invited as much laughter & applause from the audience, just like HK viewers. This made him v happy. Some audience requested him to teach Latin dance on the spot. Some female fans complained that he dies too many times in the movies & wants him to have happier ending.

The audience included Germans, Some female fans screamed to see Andy, some could list out his previous movies, Andy was stunned.

2 days in Berlin was actually v relax. They toured the area, including Berlin Wall & tasted local delicacies. He signed on Berlin Wall too. But they don’t fancy Germany food a lot, esp Italian meal, it was most unforgettable.

Said Sandra, “So scary, we ordered a ham pizza, it was bigger than mahjong table, fell full even before eating! Other food was either pig’s throttle or stomach, eat till you are tired. Had tried German beer, but I don’t drink, so I cant tell the difference.”

Sandra heard that porno videos are famous in Germany, she asked Andy & Andrew to watch. But the 2 said they were not interested, so she went back to watch in hotel.

“$5 can watch for 24 hrs! But it was no good, cant even see the organs. No sound. The background was music, just an MTV ! When I told Andrew the next day, he said in between background music there were some sounds , finally I knew they watch secretly too, haha.”

18/2---I am back ! Haha~~~~~~ Not many people know I came back earlier, but still some fans got the news, came to the airport. After that went home immediately, had a good nap.

Movies for Lunar N Y are still having a tough fight at the box office. Animated movie Monsters Inc still going strong, raking in 17.4 mil after 9 days screening. M A R M collected 17 mil after 11 days, F C S collected 13 mil after 10 days, whereas C O grossed 11.7 with the same period of time.

M A R M seems to be slowing down, most important factor being affected by word of mouth. F C S by Andy finally has box office better than M A R M, believed due to more comical scenes.

Spokesperson for ChinaStar Ms Lee said,” Of course happy that the movie is getting better, proving this movie has good reputation, hope can reach 20 mil!”

Andy vying for Best Actor at Golden Bauhinia Awards

7th Golden Bauhinia Awards, organized by HK Movie Critics Association will announce nomination list today. Sources said Andy Lau, Stephen Chow & Lau Ching Wan will be contesting for Best Actor award.

D f al.com

17/2---Andy on his way home, diary stop one day.

On his movie F C S, Andy said though the movie was filmed within 3 to 4 weeks, it is not lacking in standard. He feels that box office for the movie should be quite good, no problem hitting 30 mil.

He develops phobia for mahjong after filming this movie. “3/4 of the time is playing mahjong. It was v rushed. Almost everyday was at mahjong table. Now still feel scared.”

But during lunar new year, almost all families use mahjong as entertainment, how can he be spared?

Despite the phobia, he still played with his parents. “In other days when I give them money, they wont take. So I use the opportunity to lose some money to them. They are v happy to take. For many years that is a way of giving them money.”

He is really a careful filial son.

What is the most happy thing filming F C S?

He is most happy to work with Wang Tian Lin.” Uncle Tian Lin gives me a lot of inspiration. His acting is good. I learn from him all the time. Of course, I’m also happy working with the other actors. We laughed everyday at the site. It is really a happy movie.”

He likened it to ROOT, as in mahjong, other than luck, it is also a game of the mind.

On his n y wish, Andy hopes to be healthy, & fans can continue to support him, & he is as popular as before.

16/2---Today attended an activity never ever had before, that’s after screening of DOAD at Berlin Film Festival, the organiser arranged a Q & A session. I stood in front of the screen together with Sandra & the director, discussed with the audience on the movie. This is the first time I took part in this type of big-scaled Q & A, felt v new. But the translators seemed more anxious than me, some questions by the audience were not translated out smoothly. Some audience after watching the movie, became interested with Latin dance, requested me & Sandra to teach them on the spot. We demonstrated some simple dance steps. Many locals like the movie v much. The response is also good. Though the trip is a short few days. feel worth it. Seeing my movie is so welcome locally, feel v delighted!

Date: 16 02 02
Headline/Source: Sandra & Andy went to Berlin on Valentine’s day (Sing Tao)
Andy set off to Berlin Film Festival only lacking Anita Mui (Oriental Daily)
100 over fans sent Andy off to Berlin (Apple Daily)
Andy prepared Valentine’s Day gift for Sandra (Ming Pao)
Andy Sandra attend Berlin Film Festival (Ta Kung Pao)
Andy received many red packets in airport (Sing Pao)

2 nights ago at abt 11+pm, Andrew Lau, Andy & Sandra set off to Germany for Berlin Film Festival which is from 6th to 17th Feb.

100 over fans were at the airport to send Andy off. As it was New Year & Valentine’s Day, they brought hongpaos, chocolates & other gifts for him. It was a busy sight when he arrived.

As he was in a hurry, he received the presents as he walked. But there were too many fans, he dropped a hongpao while moving his arm, luckily he was sharp-eyed & picked it up right away. Some fans gave him big teddy bear, he couldn’t bring up the plane, he gave it back the fans, not forgetting to console her, “When I return on the 8th I collect from you!”

Anita Mui was absent, rumor of discord again being raised.

But Andrew defended Anita,”She maybe busy with her own concert.” Andy who arrived at the last minute with Sandra, gave the reply,” Don’t ask such thing on new year day!” & hurried to the customs. When asked how he spent his Valentine’s Day, he said,”Going to the plane lor! Day time at home.”

Sandra like a winner, with a basket of chocolates & fruits on hand, walked in with Andy. She said the basket has everything. Everyone thought it was from her bf. Smiling, she said, “Andy gave it to me. He dotes on me.We came together ‘cos we stay on the same street, every time when there is activity, he will pick me up on the way. This basket is the only one for Valentine’s Day.(Cheng Ge Xin did not give? ) He is in America.”

Likuliku F C S collected 8 over mil, next to M A R M which grossed 12 mil, C O 2002 has 6 over mil.

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15/2---Today arrived in Germany, the weather was good on arrival. Coming here again, the scenery is still as beautiful. The first job was to be interviewed by the media. After that I visited Berlin Wall with Sandra. Due to time constraint last time, I did not visit Berlin Wall, made this special trip this time.Actually the Wall has little remains, also much graffiti on the wall, I too drew something on the Wall. What it it u think, wait to see the photos!

Andy as guest 2 nights ago at Haken Lee's concert, they sang a duet Days Together.

Today is the 4th day of Lunar N Y, Andy specially make-up as God of Fortune to welcome Year of the Horse. He rides an ‘iron horse’ or bicycle, holds a stack of notes on the hand, with computer effect as background to surge forward, v special God of Fortune indeed.

In Year of The Horse, the greatest wish for Andy is recovery of HK economy. He wishes all good luck in fortune & all the wishes come true.

He said, “if I am God of Fortune, I will make the economy of the World the best possible, & pass the benefit to the the 3rd world countries as well, so that there is no rich & poor, everyone has work to do & every home has no hunger.”

Lately Su Ming Fong predicted Andy’s fortune, saying that he is one who has the highest index of perseverance in time of adversity. Andy said Su is v accurate, he is never afraid of hardship, never afraid of failure. When faced with failure, he will recollect, & summon all courage again. He wont give up, work hard till he is successful. Andy too wishes every Hongkonger can be like him, never give up. In times of difficulty, continue to surges forward in Year of Horse. With the will of Hongkongers, he believes HK will be back to the previous state, attaining economy climax. “

2 days ago Andy conceded to request of fans & had a gathering with them at fan club. They met for a few hrs. The rest of the time Andy stayed at home to meet his friends & family. He won at mahjong game. As to how much, Andy said, “Don’t mention! Play with family members, we use v little, never use family asset, what my father loss is also my money, haha.”

Andy’s movies have a bounty harvest last year. His total earnings from movies, concerts & commercials is not less than 30 mil. This good boss had treated his staff to dinner on the 28th of Lunar calendar & had lucky draw, everyone was v happy.

His hongpaos for them when work resumes are also prepared. As to how much, Andy is not stingy, he promises they wont shrink. Instead there will be an increased. “Giving hongpao is a good omen, being able to give to others means I am fortunate myself, so I wont feel the pain.”

As for himself, the biggest packet he gets is from Mr & Mrs Heung, it is 8 K every year, from his parents it is $100 usually.

D f al.com

Wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day! Though it is Valentine’s Day, I am still working, but many staff accompany me, so I am not lonely.

You bet I can't draw a horse galloping across. Thus this simple drawing to convey my greetings to you. If u dont celebrate CNY, happy holidays, if not, a v happy Valentine day to u! Katherine
(wrong spelling now set right!!)

With 3 local movies hiting the screen at the same time this lunar new year, ‘Which movie is better’ has become a talking point on the street. The reporters made an impromptu survey at the cinemas yesterday, 2nd day of C N Y.

Qs were long outside the cinemas, many chose to watch HK movies. Comments on C O & F C S were not bad, M A R M still wins in drawing viewers. Ticket sale for Valentine’s D seems more active this year. Watching a love movie is still a fave for lovers. Comment on M A R M is just average.

One said, “I think this movie copies (?) at the beginning , the script is so so, not romantic enough. But those who like Sammi & Richie would go to support. “

Many feels C O is better than expected. Miss Ho said, “I came to support Tony Leung, never expected it to be so good, at the beginning it was not comical, but the part where Vicky & Chang Zhen imitated a soft drink commercial is v laughable, the romance is not bad. Faye Wong love for Tony made me cried. Good “

Gigi Leung make-up becomes a target for movie goers Mr. Zhen:” Gigi has acted v well, has put in effort. Andy playing mahjong at the beginning is full of character, on the whole it is v good.”

On box office, M A R M till leads. As to which movie will be first, result will be known on the 4th day of C N Y.

Source: Apple Daily
Headline: Andy’s future wife has fair skin

2 nights ago Andy was at C R ‘Wah wah Got You’ interview. The fortune specialist Su Ming Fong predicted Andy fortune from his character & time of birth.

Sandra the host asked on Andy’s marriage & the look of his future wife. Said Su, “Andy has strong marriage destiny when he meets 6 & 7, ie, in ’96, ’97, 06, 07. In ’01 there is a sudden period of love, gone thro some love, ’02 should be a normal year. His wife is one with ‘strong neck’ (?, literal translation, ...HAHAHA..., I dont know the meaning), a meticulous lady, is one who is fair-skinned, & coffee-colored hair. (literal translation)”

Andy sponsored firework pyrotechnics

Haken Lee’s 6 concerts in Coliseum kicked off last night. He is most happy that Andy came to watch. Andy had come 2 times, one at his rehearsal. He is v thankful to Andy. Other than giving him ideas, he sponsored a 6 digit sum of fireworks. This type of fireworks is first time appearing in Coliseum. Haken said the figure is not important, it is Andy’s concern that touches him the most.

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13/2---This am had a gathering with AWC members at AWC, everyone greeted one another, wishes each other success in the Year of The Horse! Played mahjong on the first day of C N nite, I won a game with 98 Fen (?). Haha! Though I spent a whole nite palying, but whole nite had won money.

12/2---Gong Xi Fay Cai ! Come a new year, wish everyone wish comes true, full of energy, happy & a smooth Year of Horse!. Hope you can continue to accompany me, advance together in the new year. Gong Xi! Gong Xi!

No news no diary.

Andy Lau wishes readers of The Sun Good Luck in the Year of the Horse, & all your wishes come true! The paper invited Su Ming Fong & 2 other experts to predict artistes luck in the coming year.

Andy, a v traditional person pays special attention to Lunar N Y. He accompanied his parents last night for the N Y eve. The custom he follows include bathing with pomelo leaves, & wearing red to signify good luck. He takes vegetarian meals on the 1st & 15th of lunar month. This 1st day of N Y he tastes vegetarian carrot cake made by his moher.

The fortune tellers predicted Andy wedding date in 2006 or 2007, on his wife: “Blonde hair, a thrifty & hardworking lady!”

Andy bursts out laughing with this comment, he said, “ Blonde? Is she a foreigner? Accurate or not? When I marry, I will tell the whole world! For a long time I have not had my fortune predicted. But hundred over want to predict for free for me each year. V funny, I wont bother, just don’t be guilt-conscious !”

Su Ming Fong also predicted Andy will remain to be popular till 78. Andy will still be at his peak in the next 10 years. But he should be in front of screen more, to prevent wasting of effort.

Su Ming Fong : ’02 to ’03 is still at career peak, continues to have breakthrough this year!

Mr Li: Andy continues to monopolise this year! Most important is not to be too rush.

Mr. Qi: Andy more suited to work outside homeland, result will be better than in HK!

Marry A R M continues to lead, collected 4.6 mil after 4 days, an average of 1 over mil a day. F C S collected 2.1 mil in 3 days, C O collected 1.6 mil for the same nos of days.

Source: Ming Pao dated 10/2
Headline: F C S extremely interesting ‘mahjong culture’ comedy

This is a lively interesting mahjong comedy, ‘mahjong addict’ will find it v entertaining, non-mahjong player will also break out laughing, because this film successfully portrays a classical HK style comedy, v heartwarming & yet funny.

Mahjong culture is deeply ingrained in the Chinese community, pop songs used mahjong as theme, HK movies have always included scenes of mahjong game, gambling movies were filmed time & again. But movies such as ‘God of Gamblers’, ‘Saint of Gamblers’ all based on poker cards. A movie like F C S based entirely, from beginning to end, on mahjong is v rare. The movie directed by Johnnie To, Han Jia Hui follows the layman path, winning in bustlingly colorful, also linking it to blood relations, love & many aspects of daily life in the society. Loss & gain in economy, also from mahjong testing a person’s character, that is quite of daily life affair & satirical in reality.

Successful in bringing out real life feeling

This movie is v cartoon, Andy as a chivalrous mahjong master, plying mahjong is like god-help, & his cards always good, from mahjong he meet friends, he is most helpful to housewives & neighbors, he can also use mahjong to cure sickness. Almost like a ‘mahjong Hunag Fei Hong’. This movie is actually imitation of Huang Hui Hong in his younger days, with a display of mahjong game at the beach, & singing mahjong song. It can almost parallel to Hui Kuan Jie’s ‘Mahjong Hero’ song 20 over years ago.

The mahjong game in the movie is like magic show, mystical & interesting. But there is no show of extra-terrestrial power. It shows mahjong is just a matter of luck. Andy from a loser, a mahjong addict to mahjong master, is a magical twist of fate. Later he lost his Lady Luck helping hand & loses every game he is in, is again back to rag. The movie intent shows the lead in times of smooth sailing is not conceited, in times of adversity is not daunted, a good character indeed. However heaven does not cut one path completely, but one has to have culture, one cannot cut all the others off completely, nor cut oneself off in total.

Full of satirical HK style

FCS cast is of all varieties. Louis Koo as younger bro of Andy, a good guy, insisted on not playing mahjong, study darn hard, became a professional , but under economy slump, is still a failure. Who is ‘good son’ & who is ‘bad son’ is hard to differentiate. This pair of brothers ever had luxurious bungalow, finally both ended up in public house sleeping on the rakes. This is satirical in HK style.

Huang Wen Hui acted as their demented mother is superb too. V comical & lively. Also had Wang Tian Lin, Lau Ching Wan acted as the baddie Mahjong hooligan father & son, always beat up people when lose & only want to win, bully the mild & afraid of strong. The more lovable is the god-sis Cherrie Yin who hasnt lost her conscience while helping the baddie. Interesting.

The most outstanding actor is the female lead is Gigi Leung. This time she unexpectedly appeared in many different looks, as policewoman, tax-collector, bosomy extrovert gal & svelte airhostess. Her love for Andy is wholehearted, but ‘low in taste’. The most exciting scene is when she helped to clean up her bf house, her taste is witnessed in full, is v realistic daily interesting affair.

Be it one agrees to mahjong or not, this movie is a good satirical to mahjong culture, also interestingly delightful.

D f al.com

11/2---New year is coming, first of all wish all of you a Happy New Year. Have a holiday today, stay at home the whole day, decorated the house to add new year feeling. Night time have a sumptuous reunion dinner with family members. Mother cooking skill is of standard usually. Most glad is to have all family members together, the heartwarming feeling is not replaceable by anything else.