Tvb Weekly Vol.729

Crying out a Future
In this issue, Linda Chung has got to be the most popular!

In Yes Sir Sorry Sir, Linda plays the role of Miss Koo, who has a cool and composed outer appearance. Because she exposes the truth of Law Sir cheating on herself, she experienced the biggest setback in her life which resulted in an emotional meltdown, causing viewers to feel sad and sorry for her. This crying scene became the hot topic of the city, and netizens also excitedly buzzed about it, saying that Linda was like a goddess, and her acting skills were comparable to that of TV Queen.

A woman's tears are powerful and strong, and Linda has always been good at crying scenes, such as when playing the character of Sheung Joi Sum in Heart of Greed, Yu So Chau in Moonlight Resonance and so on, when she similarly cried her way to fame. This time, Miss Koo's meltdown started off a grenade-sized hot trend, opposite to Linda's expected response, oother than being grateful for being given the chance to be Miss Koo, she expresses her greatest gratitude to her viewers and their fervent support.

During the interview, Linda specially took photos with the crying face, but this time her cries were not ones of melancholy or despair, but that of gratitude for her loyal audience.

Captions:
Youtube viewership count was over 200,000
Continuing the trend set by Michael Tse as Laughing Gor, Miss Koo similarly started an upheaval among netizens, and the most-followed video on Youtube showing the meltdown scene attracted many viewers, Linda also called for more fans to watch [Yes Sir] using her tvb blog and on weibo.

tvb.com reputation was #1

Weibo comments exceeded 5,000

Linda expressed that Miss Koo's image was similar to that of Amagai Yuuki's in [Joou no Kyoushitsu], the cool image portrayed by her was likened to that of Miss Koo in the first segment of the series.

Famous Advertisements
When actors are portraying the passive characters, getting a popular character is an indispensable opportunity. Having been in the industry for 7 years, Linda frankly comments that she has been extremely fortunate, getting the role of Sheung Joi Sum in in 2008, and this year being able to act as the Miss Koo who was so well-received by viewers.

"When Producer Kar Ho Gor (Lau Kar Ho) first explained Miss Koo's character to me, I could already picture in my mind how to act out this character. Although I have always given others the feeling that I was the good girl next door, Jade girl, but when I first entered the industry, I tried many ways to fence myself up from others to protect myself, and the situation then was somewhat similar to that of Miss Koo not wanting others to know that her family had ties to triad societies. Miss Koo's personality traits are also somewhat present in my own character, so being given this role could be said to be the perfect match.

When I finished trying out for the character, I felt that this role would be great and well-received, because Miss Koo is very different from the Linda everyone is so familiar with. Initially, I thought there would just be a series of small fireworks, because recently my character as the model in [Twilight Investigation], which I thought was good, was not as widely watched because it was broadcasted over the Christmas vacation. Thus, the fireworks were not as spectacular, and this time although I had confidence in Miss Koo, I did not dare to express it."

Captions:
Linda received a countless number of positive comments online on her good acting skills, and it is not surprising that Linda, who usually takes things in her stride, says that she wants to win an award, because by doing so she would not be letting her fans, supporters, producer and people who helped her down.

Linda previously tried out many characters with tragic stories, above are a few standard crying scenes ([Twilight Investigation], [Legend of the Demigods], [Legend of Pusongling]), how many do you remember?

Miss Koo Trend
Linda predicted that Miss Koo would be well-received by viewers, but discussions regarding Miss Koo on forums, large-scale discussion sites, facebook and weibo far exceeded Linda's expectations.

"I didn't know it would be so spectacular! On the day that Miss Koo had her meltdown, I previously typed out a few words on weibo, and there were actually more than 4,000 fans who left comments, what an exaggeration! I read every single comment, and they felt that I was very pitiful, and did not want to see me so sad. Also, there were fans that said I was very pretty and different, but it was only the makeup, hairstyle and acting style that was different. As an actress, making the viewers unable to recognise you is also a sort of indication of success, and I feel very satisfied.

"Among the comments, I remember distinctively that some comments said that they did not previously take notice of Linda Chung, thinking that she had bad acting skills and only knew how to cry, but after watching this series, they started liking her, and felt that her acting skills have improved drastically. These comments make me feel very touched, because the character actually made others change their opinions about me. Actors are actually very pitiful people, if you click with your role, then you would know how to act it out. If you don't, then you just have to watch for the next script to come along. If the character has room for performance, it still needs to coordination with other actors, producer, makeup artists and hairstylists and so on, so being able to be such a well-received character is such a rare opportunity."

Next Stop, TV Queen
Netizens' power is really strong, Sheren Tang also received the 'TV Awards Ceremony Best Female Actress' award for [Rosy Business] thanks to her netizens' support. Miss Koo also received similar support online, and netizens hope that Miss Koo will become this season's TV Queen even more.

"When I heard that they wanted me to be TV Queen, I was so shocked! Really, I do wish that I could get an award this year, I am very satisfied with this year's results, being a supermodel in [Twilight Investigation] was another Linda, and a stark comparison to Miss Koo, and two different personalities from mine. This year, I was able to get 2 good characters, it could be said that I am quite confident of this year.

"However, when talking about TV Queen, I feel scared, because I still want to progress more, I feel that I have not trained to the extent of being able to control my character, but instead my character controls me, and I feel that I still have much to learn. Furthermore, it is still half a year to the Awards, and many more dramas and characters may display fireworks, if I get the honour of TV Queen I would of course be happy, but I am more confident in 'My Favourite Female TV Character'."

Captions:
Males were enthralled by Miss Koo's hugs of love, Linda said it was all due to Moses' cooperation, to create such a sweet scene, and she also said that the 2 popular favourite characters Sheung Joi Sum and Miss Koo were also filmed alongside Moses, so Moses may be her lucky star. Next time, she would have to look for Moses to be her partner, then she could continue sponging off his luck.

The crying scene seems like a continuous one, but it is actually split into 2 parts, with a break for supper in the middle. Linda displayed exceptional acting skills when she was able to keep the emotions of a meltdown to splice together the 2 parts.

Goddess Back into Position

Linda was chased into being regarded TV Queen, which she declined, but she accepts the nickname of Goddess by netizens because of Miss Koo's personality-- first cool, then later warm.
"Being called a goddess makes me very happy, actually when I was Sheung Joi Sum, someone called me a goddess, but these few years no one has repeated that. This time, being called a goddess brings different feelings, previously fans may have preferred my 'first love' feel, with the slightly youthful feel mixed in, but now they prefer my more ladylike, matured feel."

In another scene, Miss Koo wants Law Sir to give her another hug of love, making Miss Koo the ideal girlfriend for any guy. "Actually Moses' statement, "Another one?!" and hug of love were not in the original script, but because Moses and I have always been natural and comfortable partners in acting, we can add in more physical interaction with each other. Many girls are like that while dating, fierce on the outside but like a little baby when they go home. I am definitely like a little baby, very tender! (Will you have hugs of love) Haha! With anyone, my dad and mum, so I was able to get into the character."

Meltdown in Two Aspects

Miss Koo initially closed herself up, and subsequently was opened up by Law Sir to date in a sweet manner, and then when she realised that Law Sir was only using everything as part of his efforts to crack the case, the truth was exposed and resulted in Miss Koo's meltdown scene, making people feel for her. When filming this scene, her experiences could be likened to that of riding on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

"Because that afternoon, we first had to film the scene where I expose the fact that Law Sir and Miss Ho were going out with each other, then the 2nd scene was when Law Sir proposed to me, then the scene in which I scold Law Sir in the hotel, and then when we were in the bridal shop choosing wedding gowns, and lastly the meltdown scene. I was really nervous, and continuously communicated with the producer, asking him if we could shoot the scene from the corridor into the room in one take, and in the end we could not do so because of the positions of the camera, and needed to first film the portion in the corridor. Unexpectedly, we filmed over the estimated time, and filmed until I was just about to open the door before shouting 'cut', and taking a break for supper. After supper, I was worried that I could not keep myself in the emotional state, so before I filmed the scene where I entered the house, I first screamed three cries of 'go away, go away, go away!' After that, when watching the playbacks, it felt as if everything was taken in one shot, it was so magical. I believe that the script was written well, and the characters were well integrated, and very detailed, so I could get fully immersed in the emotions of Miss Koo, thus performing so naturally.

Captions:

After [Forensic Heroes II], Linda and Bobby Auyeung continued their fated partnership in the drama [Yue Fu's Hidden Dragon]. Linda's character here is similar to that of Miss Koo's, cool and composed but gentle, and she is a noblewoman from a reputable family.

Miss Koo and Kenneth Ma (who acted as Miss Koo's neighbour in the last episode) ended up together in conclusion, Linda thought of letting Miss Koo go crazy because of the extreme trauma suffered, but in reflection, fans would be extremely against that, so they kept to the original plan, and the last episode was aired satisfactorily.

Choosing their Own Endings

Law Sir and Miss Koo had such sweet experiences dating, and many netizens also hoped that they would become a pair in the last episode, or they would boycott the show altogether! Linda conversely held opposing views, "From beginning to end, Law Sir did not ever like Miss Koo, her goddess is Miss Ho, so Law Sir should not be blamed, whatever he did was because of his duties."
In the last episode, Miss Koo and Law Sir did not end up together, in the end Kenneth Ma acting as a neighbour started a new relationship with Miss Koo, and it could be said to be a complete conclusion. Actually Linda, Moses and Kenneth had formerly discussed an alternative ending that they chose.

"Before filming this show, I discussed with Kenneth and Moses, and because my character has not liked anyone for so long, only Law Sir was able to open up my heart, so we though Kenneth should wear something similar to what Moses does to appear in front of me. After further discussion with the producer, he said that that would be too much of a fairytale ending, and we actually just wanted to say that Kenneth could look like Law Sir but really love Miss Koo, I think if this version was to be broadcasted, the effects would actually be pretty hilarious."

A Great Difficulty

After the successful portrayal of Miss Koo, Linda continues filming for [Yue Fu's Hidden Dragon], playing the character of a good dancer, and accepting the biggest challenge of her 7 years since entering the industry.

"At first, when I heard that I was going to film this series, I was very unconfident, because I entirely do not know how to dance, but would try my best to do so. Filming was painstaking, learning the dance and filming it right on the spot, and I even needed to dance like a proper, good dancer. This is very different from filming fighting scenes, where there are camera angle tricks, substitutes, and martial art experts to help me, but dancing just counts of pure foundational skills, and you cannot depend on observing the people next to you, or watching movies to imitate the character.

"Additionally, I have always been wary of fainting spells, even when sitting on Ferris Wheels that rotate so slowly, I will feel so dizzy that I cry for help, so this time performing pirouettes and spins when dancing is very difficult. A few days ago, I filmed a scene with dancing in it, and I only spun 2 or 3 times, then had to stop and say a few lines to Myolie, and although I looked okay in front of the cameras, I was looking at Myolie who was rocking back and forth in front of me, I felt really giddy. Although I was not born with the ability to deal with this, I will overcome this obstacle with hard work; I feel this series would be the biggest challenge for me."

magazine scan credits: 心素如秋

Translated by Bell@lindachungthoughts