The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio
The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio |
| Posted: 24 Nov 2012 11:56 PM PST Astro Hua Hee Dai celebrates its fifth anniversary with Hua Hee Family. ASTRO Hua Hee Dai is celebrating its fifth anniversary in a big way this month and the 24-hour Hokkien channel will be rolling out some new programmes, including the all-new family entertainment show Hua Hee Family. Hua Hee Family is a family-oriented variety show comprising Hua Hee Youngster, Hua Hee Mama and Hua Hee Papa. Hua Hee Youngster is an extension of the popular cooking show Hua Hee Makan and aims to dish out culinary tips and share special hand-me-down recipes of home-cooked Hokkien cuisine with the younger generation. Hua Hee Mama aims to make a difference in homemakers' lives and offers to boost their confidence with a makeover by helping them improve their self-grooming as well as culinary skills. Hua Hee Papa highlights the tools of the trade in household DIY by offering quick-fix tips as well as creative ideas to the men in simple handy work such as repairing household items and refurbishing old furniture. Each episode of Hua Hee Family is hosted by a Hua Hee Dai personality and some of the hosts include the "Hua Hee 5 Lucky Charms" – Freddie Ng, Allysa Law, Phoebe Yap, Jentzen Lim and Vicky Tan. The hosts make their way to their guests' houses in different states in the multi-purpose Hua Hee mini-truck. At a press conference held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Ng and Law shared their experiences shooting Hua Hee Family. A versatile stalwart in the local Hokkien entertainment scene, Ng, spoke of how much he enjoyed shooting a variety show like Hua Hee Family that took him straight into viewers' homes. "In Hua Hee Family, we visit people's homes and checks out their needs and try to fulfil them. For instance, in Hua Hee Papa, if there is a faulty appliance or leaky tap that requires fixing but you don't have the time or know-how, we will step up to the job. Our entourage will include a handyman who will provide tips while we attend to the repairs," offered Ng, who also plays the leading role in the long-running series Hua Hee Everyday. "I filmed one episode of Hua Hee Youngster, where we visited a young man in Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur, who was brought up by his father single-handedly after his mother passed away. His father prepared three meals for him every single day without fail. He wished to cook a few of his dad's favourite Hokkien dishes to show his gratitude so we made chai dao (salty stewed rice), assam hu (tamarind fish) and sambal sotong (spicy squid). "Coincidentally, I am good at cooking, so it was an easy episode for me to shoot," continued Ng, who is a deft hand at wokking up some fried rice, herbal soups, preparing bak kut (short ribs), and even making vegetarian char siu (barbecued meat). "It was the first time the young man had cooked for his father and his dad was really moved that his son's first culinary creations tasted like the traditional Hokkien fare that he is familiar with. It was also the first time the son said 'I love you' to his dad, and the first time they hugged each other," mused Ng, who felt is was a very touching episode. Law, who also features in Hua Hee Everyday and Home, shared how she filmed an episode of Hua Hee Mama in a fishing village at Kuala Gula in Perak. "Nowadays, lots of women go to work to help out with the family income. So, the young homemaker who featured in our show, was one of those rare ones who would even accompany her fisherman husband to sea to help out during his fishing trips. In addition to that, she had to cook three meals for 10 people and also guide her four children on their homework. "Although she was younger than me, she looked much older because she had no time to pamper herself. So, our shoot required more work as we had to give her a makeover and provide cooking tips. Village folks are also very adorable. When we prodded her husband to say 'I love you' to his wife after the makeover, he found it really hard to do so. Even the children would turn from chatty to teary when the cameras started rolling. It was quite a strange experience for me as city folk are not at all like that," Law concluded. Hua Hee Family will air on Hua Hee Dai (Astro Ch 333) at 9pm every Sunday, starting today. |
| Posted: 24 Nov 2012 03:36 PM PST Kay Kwok plays Thirteenth Aunt in the new season of Hua Hee Everyday. REMEMBER the beautiful Thirteenth Aunt in those Wong Fei Hung movies from Hong Kong? The new season of Hua Hee Everyday that airs on the 24-hour Hokkien channel, Astro Hua Hee Dai, will also be doling out the laughs by unveiling a hilarious new character played by local singer-turned-actress Kay Kwok (pic). In the fourth season of Hua Hee Everyday, Kwok will portray an emotional girl from China who constantly courts mischief and trouble with her uncontrollable nature. Her character will be introduced as the Thirteenth Aunt of village grocer Tan Kim Chui (Freddie Ng). Thirteenth Aunt makes her appearance when she is sent by her native Fujian family to further her studies in Malaysia in order to stem her trouble-making ways. At a press conference held recently in Kuala Lumpur, Kwok, who is the leading actress in Hokkien drama series Home, recounted how she made her debut in the TV series. "I play a rib-tickling character whose real name is Chia Kim Lian, but she insists on being called Jap Sa Ee (Thirteenth Aunt) instead. However, her nephew Tan Kim Chui flatly refuses because he thinks it will sound strange for a grown man to do so. He even keeps his distance to avoid acknowledging our family ties," shared the pretty Kwok, whose character is an ugly country bumpkin. "This girl actually means well and always tries to do good. Unfortunately, all her good intentions seem to get others into trouble and result in those around her getting hurt. So, people become very worried when she makes an entrance, and they even label her Jap Sa Diam (Thirteen O'clock), meaning ditzy girl," added Kwok, who started acting after winning the third season of Project Superstar Malaysia in 2008. It is Kwok's first time acting in a sitcom, and she says it is a big difference from the drama series that she had starred in. "In a drama series, the characters mostly behave normally and act naturally. For sitcoms, you have to exagerate every emotion and action. I was not prepared for such craziness, but I quickly got the hang of it. I hope viewers will have fond memories of my character," said the 26-year-old lass, who is now filming the fifth season of Hua Hee Everyday. "The directors seemed to think that I am a tough girl who can fight as they made me fight and gave me action scenes and expected me to do all my own stunts. I still remember having to hit a tree. Other action scenes I'd done usually employed camera angles and editing to achieve the effect the directors wanted. But this time, the director asked me to punch the tree twice with all my might. "I wanted to test it out first, but the director said testing would hurt so I should just do it and punch the tree as hard as I could. I did exactly as requested and everyone was shocked when I pounded the tree with resounding blows. Even the sound effects team was surprised at how loud it was. My hand was badly bruised," Kwok playfully groused, adding that her upcoming projects included shooting video clips for lunar new year songs. The new season of Hua Hee Everyday will air on Hua Hee Dai (Astro Ch 333) at 9.30pm every Sunday, beginning today. Astro Hua Hee Dai is now also available on Astro On-The-Go, where viewers can catch their favourite Hokkien shows via their smart phones, tablets or laptops). For more information, visit Astro Hua Hee Dai official Facebook pagefacebook.com/huaheedai. |
| Posted: 24 Nov 2012 11:59 PM PST Scott Woodward is adept at telling picture stories. PHOTOGRAPHER Scott Woodward fell in love with Asia during his very first visit to the continent more than a decade ago. He was then a college student when he followed his roommate back to Hong Kong during a semester break. Having never been out of Canada – it was just his second time on an air plane – Woodward wasn't quite prepared for the vibrant sights and sounds he encountered in Hong Kong. It was an experience that changed the course of his life. "I come from a little town in Ontario, Canada, where you see the same faces everywhere you go. Everyone looks the same and even the streets all look the same. My roommate Jamie used to regale me with tales about his life back home and his experiences around Asia – trekking in Nepal, attending a full moon party on some island in Thailand ... they all sounded so interesting and so different. "So, at the end of my first year at university, I borrowed US$1,700 from my father and went to Hong Kong with Jamie. It was an eye-opening experience. I was overwhelmed by the smells, the food and the energy of the people and I thought, 'Man! What a life Jamie had!' I was captivated from the moment I set foot in Hong Kong and I made a promise to myself that I would return," says Woodward in a telephone interview from Singapore. Woodward did just that after he graduated from university in 1996. He packed his bags and travelled all over Asia for a year. It was during this time that he developed a passion for photography; he wanted to capture and document all the places he visited and the people he met. "I learnt the basics about photography from my father who is an avid and accomplished amateur photographer. When I was a young boy, he taught me the fundamentals of photography – how to operate a manual camera, interpret light, compose an image, and so on. But I never really went into photography. Then, I came to Asia and there were so many interesting stories to tell. I met many different people with such different experiences. I fell in love with the place and also with photography because there were just so many wonderful photos to take." Soon after his year-long adventure, the 37-year-old Canadian decided to move to Asia permanently. He set up home and shop in Singapore, where he lives with his wife and has a photography studio in Chinatown. Woodward's favourite subjects to photograph are people and places. How fortuitous for Woodward then that his latest gig was to shoot a short series for the History channel titled Around The World With Voyager. In the series, Woodward travels on the John Walker & Sons yacht to five Asian cities and traces the evolution of the cities through the eyes of a local icon. The series sees Woodward visiting Mumbai in India, Taipei (Taiwan), Manila (the Philippines), Ho Chih Minh city (Vietnam) and Hong Kong where he not only captures the milestones in the development of each city, but also milestones in the lives of the icons he meets. "This show is really up my alley. It is partly a travelogue and partly a biography of the five icons. It's been wonderful to be able to spend time with these people whom I would never have ordinarily had the chance to meet. I get to listen to their stories, what inspires them and what makes them tick," he relates enthusiastically. Among the five icons Woodward took pictures of were Taiwanese entrepreneur/restaurateur Sean Xu An Sheng (he owns, among other things, Ma Shan Tung restaurant in Taipei), actor/director Stephen Fung Tak Lun from Hong Kong (he wrote and directed Hong Kong flick Heroes In Love which starred Nicholas Tse) and acclaimed Filipino director Brillante Mendoza (winner of Best Director for his film Kinatay at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival in 2009). "It's truly inspiring to follow these men to places that are important and special to them, places that have helped shape them. Obviously, it is quite an emotional journey. As they tell me their stories, they are reliving their experiences and it sometimes gets really personal and emotional. "For example, Sean took me to this beach where he meditates as well as the place where he shot his very first scene for his very first movie. This was a milestone in his life. "Mendoza took me to his university where he studied art. It was a very emotional moment for him as he stood in his old classroom. He really feels strongly about his homeland and it was very inspiring to be there with him. It made my job so much easier ... I didn't have to draw anything out of any of them and I got some brilliant portraits as they got lost in their memories," relates Woodward whose work has been featured in National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveller, Vogue and New York Times. He reckons that the show also fits his philosophy in photography, which he calls "choose your own adventure photography". Woodward explains: "When I was a boy, I used to love reading the Choose Your Own Adventure storybooks. They were my favourite books. In them, the reader is the protagonist and gets to make his own choices about how he wants the story to unfold. Readers are presented with a series of choices – and whichever one you take will lead you to a different adventure. That's the sort of approach I take with my photography as well. When this opportunity came up, it was perfect as it was like a Choose Your Own Adventure opportunity and I was interested in the adventure and where it would take me." Apart from his handy Nikon digital camera which he uses for most of his professional photography work, Woodward says he also takes many photos with his iPhone. "I enjoy taking photos with my iPhone immensely. It takes some great photos and sometimes it's easier ... people react differently when you approach them with a big camera, but it's easier with an iPhone. You know, I would love to do an entire shoot with an iPhone," he says excitedly. "Equipment does not make a photograph good or bad. It's the person. My tip to budding photographers is to pick a subject they love and start shooting. If you love what you are shooting, it will show. For me, it's people. I have immense respect for people who take pictures of running shoes or buildings or things but I prefer subjects that can speak and have character." Around The World With Voyager will premiere on History Channel (Astro Ch 555) tomorrow at 11pm. The series comprises five half-hour episodes that will be aired once a month until March. |
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