Gallen Harbour

This is not a news article.

2008 has been bittersweet!  Very much so.

The year started out looking promising, with anticipation of a long-awaited TVB-home-coming.  But just before that, disaster struck.

• May 12th, 2008 came and claimed so many lives.  It also brought community together.  Each and everyone reached out, joined in, and helped in anyway they could.  After all, “Sichuan do not cry!”
• In retrospect, we should all have gotten the clue when Gallen said the following during an interview in Hangzhou: “Filming this ["Seven Days that Shocked the World"] has left some very strong feelings. Maybe I should not be so uptight with certain matters… Let nature take its course.”
• Mere days later, he broke hearts and shattered dreams by publicly announcing his divorce.
• How he felt and scoped with the situation?  Gallen bared his heart and soul in Be My Guest, a talk show hosted by TVB’s Stephen Chan.
• In this same talk show, he also addressed his joking remark regarding Jessica Hsuan, the utterly unexpected, singularly unreserved, and dangerously misinterpretable  “Why him?  Why not me?”.
• Meanwhile, the audience was greatly polarized with opinions spanning across the whole spectrum, from detest to adore, when it came to his TVB romantic tragi-comedy “When a Dog loves a Cat”.  However, one point has remained common:  Gallen’s ability to act out any role given to him, “MC” or not.  Bonus point for his fans and/or pet-lovers:  the simply adorable interactions among Gallen, Can Can the cat, and Siu Ba the dog.  Extra bonus point for his hardcore fans:  the silly but heart-warming themesong.
• And then there is something ahead for all of us.  For those who love (Gallen in) TVB dramas, “Grand Entrepreneur” seems enticing.  That, if all real-life financial and economical crises will have passed by the time “Grand” is aired!
• For those who love Gallen just about anywhere and/or are willing to venture, remember to catch “Zheng He”, “Perfect Ending”, and possibly even “Invisible Target” this coming year.
• Before we leave 2008, let’s congratulate Gallen again on his Outstanding Charitable Artist Award 2008.  May 2009 come with more exciting dramas.  Onscreen dramas only, please!

That, of course, was only the ninth bullet.  Gallen Harbour would like to reserve the tenth to mention a few special friends who have sailed by and helped GH to grow in many ways.  Sere, TkN, and Lavendar_Bluez, for your tireless endorsements, or should I say, for re-discovering GH.  TkN, Aeris, and MetalAZNWarrior, for your witty and creative works which have been my source of inspiration.  Rea, for touching my life (so briefly?  I sincerely hope not) in quite a special way.  Sehseh and TVB4ever, for setting great examples of perseverance.  Mouse and Piglet, for always being there for me.  [Timer beeps]  I know, I know, I’m running out of time, but to all GH’s friends and frequent readers, thank you and to you a Happy New Year.

See you in 2009!

Source:  sina

Brief summary:

Benny Chan’s “Invisible Target” (男儿本色) will see a TV version very soon, according to HK and China media.  To be produced by HK’s Universe , the drama will feature a strong cast line-up including Mainland King Liu Ye, Universe’s pillar Gallen Lo, and “ageless queen” Wang Yajie.

The drama will be directed by the same director of “Phoenix in Peony” (凤穿牡丹),  Tsang Lai Chun (曾丽珍).  The same production team behind “Phoenix” will be drafted for “Invisible” as well, including scriptwriters Zhang Xi (张希 ) and Wu Meng Zhang (吴孟璋).

Producer Tsang is known for her TVB classics such as “The Greed of Man”, “Blood of Good and Evil”, and “Justice Pao” as well as non-TVB works such as “Dream Links” (又见一帘幽梦, aka Dream behind the Curtain) and of course the most recent “Phoenix in Peony”. [Please see Addendum]

Filming for “Invisible” is expected to commence soon in Hengdian.

Addendum 01-02-2009:

Special thanks to hyn5

Please note that the director for the TV version of “Invisible Target” is 曾丽珍 (Traditional Chinese is 曾麗珍), who has recently won ‘Best Director’ for 《鳳穿牡丹》 (Mainland series) at 廣州“南方盛典”年度頒獎禮.  This director is NOT to be mistaken as TVB producer Catherine Tsang [曾勵珍] as reported in the article.

It is that time of the year when a cup of tea does not mean for the daily caffeine and antioxidant dosage, and snow does not mean four-hour long skating with Mr. Joe Black to get to work.

Rather, let us change into our cozy lounge wear, cup our hands around a warm mug of our favorite hot drink, and enjoy the wonderful dance of tiny snow flakes on the window pane.

Time to steal from our hectic life a moment to reflect.  For me, to appreciate.

Thank you all, for having made this past year a memorable year here at Gallen Harbour.  I thank you for your care and concern though hard times, as well as your constant support.

And I cherish your friendships.

Thank you and best wishes to you and your loved ones this holiday season.  Stay warm, be safe, and enjoy your break.  You know you earned it!

Photos:  Singtao (special thanks to TVB4Ever), on.cc, baidu, Xinghuanet, and Tom.com.

Please click on thumbnails to enlarge.

Blessing Ceremony for TVB’s 2009 grand “Grand Entrepreneur” was held today, December 22nd, at TVB City.  December 22nd also happens to be Ray Lui’s birthday.  Happy Birthday, Ray!  After Kenix’s and Gallen’s, Ray’s is the third birthday that “Grand” celebrated.

On a side note, Gallen’s goatee was absent!

Clip - Our special thanks to luckymeimei
Evidently, “Grand” has celebrated four, not three, birthdays so far. Jamie Chik Mei Chun’s birthday is January 5th. The producer has arranged for cards and birthday buns for both Ray and Jamie. Ray wished for a daughter, while Jamie wanted to send her birthday wish to friend Vivian Chow, whose wedding date is reportedly January 5th.

Source:  sina

Photos:  Sina, on.cc

Gallen Lo who has just finalized the divorce proceeding doesn’t seem to be so concerned about being lonely in life, as one night he was caught kissing married actress Anita Yuen not just once, but twice.  And while he said he quite enjoyed their kisses, his chest indeed became her sandbag.

As it turned out, Gallen Lo and Anita Yuen were just filming two kissing scenes for their TVB drama, “Grand”, in Central last night, December 19th.

[Spoilers ahead, read at your own risk] Continue Reading »

Is there such thing as a perfect gift?

Lunch conversations often end where they start - the question, multiplied; while group discussions dampen the most eager spirit with the ability to drift miles away off course.

Amid assignments, meetings, high-strung bosses, erratic holiday drivings, and something which is far more challenging than all of the afore-mentioned items - commonly known as dinner, I needed to find time to think about a perfect gift.

First and foremost, it must be something HE likes, such as:

Watches.  Rarely has we seen him without a wrist watch, so I guess he must love them.  He wore one when he was young, he wears one now.  He wears one when he’s happy, he wears them sad.  He wears them hip, he wears them cool…  He wears watches onscreen, and off.

They all look nice, but if you intend to ask me about models and brand names, I am afraid I will disappoint you, for I would not know the answer.

But learning about models and brand names for watches was the least of my problem.  I was struggling to figure out what message I’m sending off in a wrapped watch box.  Not much, except “Gallen, your time is…  running out!”  Where is the subtlety? Lols.

How about ties?

Assumption:  To Gallen, ties are and only are collectibles.

How can I be sure that stated assumption is accurate?  I couldn’t, could I?  There went the ties!

Well, enough fooling around.  Let me confess!  I have no intention of buying Gallen a gift, and simply wanted to show off some of his rather nice photos.

A gift to someone special must come from the heart.  There isn’t anything “off-the-shelf” that fits such description.

I attempted an MV, but tune after tune came out melancholic.  Teresa Teng’s “The Moon Represents my Heart” and Toto’s “I Won’t Hold You Back” are hardly appropriate for a birthday celebration. [And who to blame except the birthday boy himself?]

I turned then to a twinkle star…

A sincere wish!

Happy Birthday to you!

………………..  S t a m p i n g T i m e …………………….

Happy Birthday to our dearest Gallen!

Updates:
12.17.2008: Watch fellow artists including Wayne Lai, Kenneth Ma Kwok Ming, Derek Kwok, Sharon Chan, “Sam Gor” (Third Brother) Michael Miu Kiu Wai, Moses Chan, Christine Ng, and Nancy Sit wished Gallen a happy birthday. Clip made possible by gallenlo.net. Our special thanks.