How to get in to the Entertainment Business?

[chatterbox]

Actors and actresses in TVB don't make much at all. They only make money from endorsements like campaigns and the such. That is why a lot of them film in China because they pay more there. Linda saved up A LOT in order to purchase her apartment. We're talking about living on a very very tight budget!

[charxyeung]

fee said:

HEy lil..

I'm pretty sure Leanne Li and fala chen only ake enough to get by because their not famous yet... Linda Chung + Bernice Liu are already buying apartments!

Leanne doesn't even have her own apartment! She lives in the ones TVB gives to their artistes. lil is right you do need sarcifice to enter this industry, she's right about Angela Tong (YING TING) do you mean lil? Life Made Simple is airing in Fairchild right now, please take a look at her role. and lil has another point, Linda and Leanne were living luxrious lives in Vancouver, they gave up everything just to be in the industry. Leanne and Linda do miss their family members (luckily Leanne's sister and mother is with er right now and Linda's mom does come once in a while)

bernice liu for an example was SO close to finishing her degree, 1 year to be exact. it can take up to years to get discovered in tvb, look at leanne, she's still kinda like a background artiste in love guaranteed and dicey business after 2 years (such as charmaine sheh, shirley yeung, tavia yeung, kevin cheng, raymond lam and soo much more) whereas linda's getting way more fame than leanne. melbourne, if you do want to enter the industry practice your cantonese!

not everyone can be in the entertainment industry, not only do you have to give up your luxrious life in your hometown you also give up your sleep, linda only sleeps about 2-4 hours a day (also from a reliable source). you can't gain too much weight because the press will tackle you, and if you're too skinny the press will also say you are anerxoic.

you don't get all you make. tvb takes about 10% + of your salary from ads. they don't really get a six figure sum.

once you're famous rumors come and you lose a lot of your time, but when you're not famous you wish you didn't join the entertainment industry.

so many artistes are aggressive out there for example fala chen, she did a lot of stuff to leanne to bump up her place.

don't get anything wrong i'm not against anybody or leanne li..i'm one of her biggest fans out there!

[missfan]

By the way, there is nothing wrong with competing in a pageant more than once. Natalie Glebova won Miss Canada only on second attempt and then won Miss Universe (last year). There was a candidate (about 10 years ago) who competed in Miss Hawaii 3 times before finally winning that title and going on to win Miss America.

So if you don't succeed the first time, try again.

I wish you the best of luck.

[fee]

char:

I'm really curious to what Fala CHen did to leanne to bump up her place?

to me, Fala does seem like the kind of person to "but chak sao duen" (do whatever it takes to get what she wants) as I have heard many testimonials from her old classmates about her (however, i do not know if they are that reliable as jealousy is human nature)

[charxyeung]

fee said:

char:

I'm really curious to what Fala CHen did to leanne to bump up her place?

to me, Fala does seem like the kind of person to "but chak sao duen" (do whatever it takes to get what she wants) as I have heard many testimonials from her old classmates about her (however, i do not know if they are that reliable as jealousy is human nature)

someone told me this a while ago so i'm not sure which function leanne and fala were at but i think fala and leanne were performing together and she kept onn trying to upstage her. fala does seem like "but chak sao duen"..

[js4]

charxyeung said:

dreamz said:

haha.. actually personally i feel that education can be deferred and resume later. in this industry.. i think youth is more important especially for the ladies.

degree is not exactly important. i guess artistes still get picked on with or without a degree.

seriously, if leanne or linda win MCI even before they went university, i think they will still be offered a contract. and this have nothing to do with there qualification.

different opinions. hope you guys would not mind. =)

i think one mhk didn't know any english for miss universe and when she came back to hk, the press taunted her like mad.

elva ni could have won the mci crown if she had better education. that's just my opinion. and yes nicholas tse was picked on because he didn't have a degree, there are a couple others but they aren't in my head.

melbourne, i say go for your dream since you do have a couple years of university

I don't really agree with the education thing, since Diana Wu won third place and she was just a high school student back then too. Besides, Elva and Diana are both in university now, so it wasn't as if they didn't want to pursue further education, but because they were both very young back then.

I think the press will taunt people for anything, not just education so it's not the largest factor. Twins doesn't really get too much criticism about their lack of education.

[js4]

And to add, I agree that being a successful entertainer in Asia has much more to do with how you deal with the press, executives, directosr, and market yourself rather than true talent. It's all about image, which is really dumb in my opinion since I don't really care about that stuff when I'm watching something, but apparently it's a huge deal.

I think to make it big, look at how people like Zhang Zi Yi act and you can get an idea of how to get it up there. She is very aggressive, but I've heard that she also works very hard to get to where she is, and that's the kind of attitude you gotta have. Being nice isn't going to cut it.

[charxyeung]

if only education wasn't important in vancouver. if you take a look at the past winners of vancouver 9 out of 10 of them are in university or graduated.

js4 is right, you have to be very aggressive to pump your place up!

[dreamz]

js4 said:

charxyeung said:

i think one mhk didn't know any english for miss universe and when she came back to hk, the press taunted her like mad.

elva ni could have won the mci crown if she had better education. that's just my opinion. and yes nicholas tse was picked on because he didn't have a degree, there are a couple others but they aren't in my head.

melbourne, i say go for your dream since you do have a couple years of university

I don't really agree with the education thing, since Diana Wu won third place and she was just a high school student back then too. Besides, Elva and Diana are both in university now, so it wasn't as if they didn't want to pursue further education, but because they were both very young back then.

I think the press will taunt people for anything, not just education so it's not the largest factor. Twins doesn't really get too much criticism about their lack of education.

yea.. agreed.. like i mentioned earlier, artistes get picked on for anything.. with or without a degree.. i guess that's just the job of HK Press

[melbourne2006]

Yeah I'm definitely ready to tackle with any criticisms that I might get. I'm mentally prepared for it. As for the sacrafice such as family and friends, they know how much this means to me and they support me 100%, and I know that IF I do go to HK to try my luck, I will miss them immensely, but knowing that they are supporting me will only make me more determined to succeed.

[rain]

The reason I believe an education is important is not for the immediate effect that it may or may not have on your success in the entertainment industry, but rather, it's effect on the person as a whole. Learning and knowledge (whether curricular or extra-curricular) will not only endow you with intellectual tools, but the emotional and psychological tools with which to live life to its fullest.

It is important not because it may offer a defense against the verbal ammunition of some petty HK journalists, who are simply a disgrace to their craft and kind, but because it will make Melbourne2006's experience in HK all the more enlightening, fruitful and rewarding regardless of outcome.

If I may borrow the words of the wiser and more experienced:

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
Wiliam Butler Yeats

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.
Joseph Addison

Melbourne2006, I wish you every success!

[rain]

Melbourne2006, you are to be commended on your determination. Hopefully, Hong Kong will allow you to blossom, grow and reach your full potential; it would be a terrible shame if it dampens your spirit. Let me know if I can help.

[charxyeung]

rain said:

The reason I believe an education is important is not for the immediate effect that it may or may not have on your success in the entertainment industry, but rather, it's effect on the person as a whole. Learning and knowledge (whether curricular or extra-curricular) will not only endow you with intellectual tools, but the emotional and psychological tools with which to live life to its fullest.

It is important not because it may offer a defense against the verbal ammunition of some petty HK journalists, who are simply a disgrace to their craft and kind, but because it will make Melbourne2006's experience in HK all the more enlightening, fruitful and rewarding regardless of outcome.

If I may borrow the words of the wiser and more experienced:

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.
Wiliam Butler Yeats

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul.
Joseph Addison

Melbourne2006, I wish you every success!

Rain is right, that's how I ttied to put it Guess i'm not very good with words.

[mhkgirl]

WELL SAID, Rain!

[rain]

Thanks Charmaine and mhkgirl. I'm glad to see that you value learning as much as I do!