1. Scene & Heard Page 18

“Rui En’s as warm as fire”

Story: Sarah Chang

As the jocular Fang siblings on The Dream Makers, Dennis Chew and Rui En have become TV’s best non-romantic couple ever. We speak to the actor-DJ about his crackling comedic chemistry with his onscreen sis.

8DAYS: People really love you as Fang Yuanren, the pesky tabloid reporter and elder bro to Rui En, in The Dream Makers.

Dennis Chew: I’m more surprised that I was offered a role so quickly after It’s a Wonderful Life. Fang Yuanren is actually a minor role but he’s quite a character. I think viewers like me because of my chemistry with Rui En.

Yes, you guys are really believable as siblings.

You think so too? I’m going to tell her! I think viewers like how real we are. In reality, you’ll always have a love-hate relationship with your siblings. You love them, but you’ll complain and quarrel with them.

How did that rapport came about?

I felt it during our first imaging session. We were supposed to take ‘family’ portraits that day. She probably knew that I felt awkward, so she cosied up to me and said, ‘You’re my brother!’. So professional! From then on, I called her Mei (Mandarin for ‘little sister’.) On the first day of filming, she easily ‘caught and bounced the ball’ back to me whenever I ad libbed. Such chemistry is very hard to come by.

How much of the lines were ad libbed?

Not much. The producers gave us free rein as long as we didn’t change the meaning of the lines. Rui En had bugged me to tie my hair in the same [Teletubby antenna-way] she does, and she played along when I added this impromptu scene where we ‘connected’ our ‘antennas’. We burst into laughter after the director shouted ‘Cut!’

It seemed as though you guys were already good friends before the show.

Yah, that’s what makes our chemistry even more impressive. I didn’t know her well at all [before this show.] We hardly talked when we saw each other around MediaCorp. I remember hosting the launch of her album when she first started out as a singer, but that was it.

Well, she’s known as an ice queen.

Sorry, no. To me, she’s as warm as fire. She’s misunderstood and I want to protect her because she’s just being professional at work. My elderly brother instinct is coming out. I really love her as a sister.

Do you guys still keep in touch?

Not so much. She’s too busy filming. I recently sent her an SMS to tell her how much I miss her and also to invite her to watch the musical Army Daze, but she couldn’t make it. I hope to meet her for a meal to catch up.

The Dream Makers 志在四方 is now airing on weekdays, 9pm on Channel 8.

Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, The Dream Makers 志在四方.

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Count on Singaporeans to scorn NDP songs. SundayLife! finds out why they draw strong reactions.

By Eddino Abdul Hadi

Home voted the most popular NDP song

Home has struck a chord with Singaporeans, going by a recent online poll where Straits Times readers were asked to pick their favourite National Day Parade (NDP) song.

The poll ran online from Tuesday and ended on Friday. Voters were allowed to choose only one out of 18 songs.

These include 1980s favourites such as Stand Up for Singapore and We are Singaporea. Reach Out For The Skies (2005), performed by Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah and singer-actress Rui En and composed and written by Elaine Chan and Selena Tan, the duo behind this year’s theme song, came in second with 223 votes, or 10 per cent of the total votes.

Source: The Straits Times

Categorised in EN, NDP 2005, The Straits Times.

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Who will Qi Yu Wu’s character Jason end up with? Rui En’s Fang Tong Lin or Jeanette Aw’s Zhao Fei Er? Television audiences will get to pick the right girl for Jason in the final episode of the blockbuster drama “The Dream Makers”.

Previous episodes of the blockbuster Mandarin drama “The Dream Makers”, about life in a fictional television station, have attracted as many as 982,000 viewers.

But the finale could well draw a lot more, as viewers will get to decide how the show will end.

In the drama, dashing director Jason (Qi Yu Wu) is stuck in a bit of a love triangle with bubbly variety show host Fang Tong Lin (Rui En) and the ambitious actress Zhao Fei Er (Jeanette Aw), but who will he wind up with?

Television audiences will be able to help him select Ms Right by voting for either Fang or Zhao at xinmsn.com.

Voting begins at 10pm on Friday, and will continue till 12pm on August 2, the telecast date for the series’ final episode.

The voting results will be shown at the beginning and end of each of the four episodes leading up to the drama’s finale, which will feature the ending that received the most votes.

The drama will apparently have a grand total of three possible endings, which will eventually be made available for viewing over MediaCorp’s Toggle personal entertainment service.

The Dream Makers 志在四方 is now airing on Channel 8, Weekdays at 9pm.

Source: Channelnewsasia

Categorised in channelnewsasia.com, EN, The Dream Makers 志在四方.

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1. Star Power Page 67

Our favourite celebs lend their names and faces to front beauty’s biggest campaigns.

Rui En for L’Oreal Paris Youth Code

Categorised in ELLE, EN, Endorsement, L’Oréal Paris.

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“Not only did he give me a lot of advice about acting and performing, he also shared a lot of valuable insights about life.”

Alien Huang (above with co-star Rui En) on veteran local actor Chew Chor Ming, whom he met while filming Joys of Life.

Source: The Straits Times

Categorised in EN, Joys of Life 花样人间, The Straits Times.

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Jason爱谁，由你来决定！

你希望Jason最后跟赵非儿或是方彤琳在一起？透过xinmsn的投选活动，你将有机会决定Jason的命运！

投选将从7月26日晚上10时开始，8月2日中午12时截止。

从《志在四方》最后第四集开始，每晚节目播放前和后都会显示最新的投选结果。获得最多选票的女角色，将在8月2日晚上9时播放的大结局中，与Jason成为一对。

投选免费，每人每天只能投一次票。

请透过MediaCorp ID（在此登记）或Facebook账号投票。

Who do you want Jason Lam to end up with? Zhao Fei Er or Fang Tong Lin?

Here’s your chance to decide Jason’s fate! Simply cast your vote here on xinmsn!

Voting is open from 26 July 2013 (10pm) to 2 August 2013 (12noon). Latest voting results will be shown at the beginning and end of ‘The Dream Makers’ in the 4 episodes leading up to the finale.

The female character with the highest number of votes will end up with Jason on the finale episode of ‘The Dream Makers’ shown on Channel 8 on 2 August 2013 at 9:00pm!

Voting is free and each person may vote once a day.

Users will need a MediaCorp ID (sign up here) or Facebook account to vote.

The Dream Makers 志在四方 is now airing on weekdays, 9pm on Channel 8.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in CH, EN, The Dream Makers 志在四方, xinmsn.

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1. Scene & Heard Page 28

A Dream ending

Three different endings were shot for The Dream Makers. Vote online for the one you want to see!

We guess the producers of The Dream Makers are just as undecided as we are about who Qi Yuwu’s Jason Lam should end up with in the drama. Why else would they shoot three different endings for the hit Ch 8 drama which has become something of a national obsession, thanks to its charismatic cast and riveting plot? (It’s not the first time multiple endings for Ch 8 drama have been shot.)

Ending #1 for The Dream Makers has Qi Yuwu’s character finding ever-after with Rui En’s Fang Tonglin. Ending #2 sees him reconciling with his ex-girlfriend, Jeanette Aw’s Zhao Fei Er. The third and final possible ending is a – let’s be honest – cop out open-ended one with no definitive answer as to which girl he finally chooses. So which finale will we get when the show climaxes August 2? The answer depends on whether you’re watching the show on free-to-air Ch 8 (you vote for the ending you want – yippie!) or on subscription channels Toggle, MioTV and StarHub (vague, inconclusive ending). Dramas on these latter platforms typically air five episodes ahead of its Ch 8 run.

Ch 8 viewers can vote from this Fri (July 26). The female character with the most votes – daily tallies will be shown at the start and end of the four episodes leading up to the finale – will end up with Qi Yuwu’s Jason. May the lady with the stronger fan base win!

Who will 715 end up with?

Should Qi Yuwu’s Jason end up with Fei’er or Tonglin? We help you decide.

Team Tonglin

Pros: ‘Cos they share a love for Wong Kar Wai and Penang Laksa. ‘Cos they seem to have much more fun together when he’s with self-absorbed Fei’er who’s about to go all Lady Macbeth (think assistant doubling up spies and rumour-mongering) on Tonglin.

Con: ‘Cos, let’s be honest, they’re nowhere as sweet and compatible as 715 and Jeanette…we mean Jason and Fei’er.

Team Fei’er

Pro: ‘Cos they were the sweetest TV couple ever before she went all scheming psycho bitch on us.

Con: ‘Cos she totally screwed him over when she dumped him for a rich dude. And ‘cos she gets really cloying when they’re together and there’s only so much of that we can take.

2. TV Synopsis Pages 126-127

The Dream Makers

The Dream Makers 志在四方 is now airing on weekdays, 9pm on Channel 8.

Categorised in 8 DAYS, EN, The Dream Makers 志在四方.

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By Gladys Chung

It comes as a surprise when actress Rui En says some of her favourite bags are brand-less canvas totes, and that she used to be a tomboy who hated dresses.

After all, the 32-year-old was dressed in a flattering and slinky Grecian-style toga dress for this interview and photoshoot.

And who can forget the beautiful plum Christian Dior tulle gown she wore at the Star Awards show in April, where she won her second Best Actress award. She also won that night for Favourite Female Character and Top 10 Most Popular Artistes.

“It was an Academy Awards-ready gown, I chose it just three weeks before the event, and I looked forward to wearing it.”

“It was ‘princessy’ but the dark colour made it classic and ‘me’.”

She admits she could have handled the dress more elegantly that night. She had seemed exasperated at times when she had difficulty moving about in the gown.

“It was lightweight but there were so many layers of fabric and I was kind of wrestling with it,” she says.

“But I promise I will get better at this.”

This disarming honesty and lack of pretension, on top of her pretty girl-next-door looks and acting chops, have won Rui En fans, as well as the attention of marketers.

In May, she was named one of the faces of the L’Oreal Paris Youth Code skincare range. She joins a roll call of A-list international celebrities, such as Gong Li, Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing, who also front the range of skincare.

The ambassadorship is apt as Rui En is a self-professed beauty junkie. She loves trying new skincare products and make-up and uses a different mask every night on her dry and intolerant skin.

To keep healthy and give her face that extra glow, she works out religiously with home videos. And every morning, she downs green detox drinks made from recipes she found on the Internet.

Rui En started her career in show business when she was 20. But the industry started to take serious notice of her only in 2011 when she won her first Best Actress trophy at the Star Awards that year for her role as a widow in the drama serial With You.

Rui En says the nomination in 2011 made her pay more attention to her clothes.

“It was the first time I had to dress up properly for an event and I had so many choices. I felt very lucky but confused too.”

“My sense of style was not set then, so it was just a whirlwind of trying on all sorts of outfits and just seeing what worked for my image.”

In the end, she picked a steel grey Hermes pantsuit, with a black belt tied stylishly and provocatively around her neck.

These days, she knows instinctively what she likes: “Nothing revealing, but classic, simple, clean and accessorised with diamonds.”

7 things in her bag

1. Soul by Ludacris headphones

This was a Christmas present I received last year. Its sound quality is good and it blocks out noise. I love music, and listen to everything from country to K-pop. When I’m travelling, I’ll plug into this and be in my own world.

2. Museli bars

I eat these when I am shooting and have to be constantly on the go. They are quite sweet and taste good, and they keep me from bingeing on the unhealthy stuff.

3. L’Oreal Youth Code prodigious rejuvenating pre-essence

I apply this essence on my bare skin and it helps everything else that I use later, such as serums and moisturisers, to be more easily absorbed.

4. Insect Repellent

This is an insect repellent soldiers use; I bought it from the army market in Beach Road. It is a must whenever I’m filming outdoors. It does not smell but is so potent that it is not safe to be applied on the skin. I apply it on the hem of my clothing instead and the mosquitoes do not come near me.

5. Memoirs of a radical lawyer by Michael Mansfield

I’m currently reading this for research purposes as I play a lawyer in the upcoming Chinese legal drama Sudden. Whenever I take on a new role, I will read about the character’s occupation as it helps me with my acting.

6. Creative electronic chinese dictionary

A friend gave this to me as a birthday present two or three years ago. It tells me how to pronounce Chinese words I’m unfamiliar with and their meanings.

7. Scripts

I feel naked without my scripts. This is for Sudden, which I am currently working on and which airs in September on MediaCorp Channel 8. I prefer physical copies because I can make notes in the margin.

Her bag

A fan gave this to me. I own about 20 to 30 canvas tote bags. I carry them around when I am filming or not working. For designer bags, my favourite is the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag because it is very versatile.

Source: The Straits Times, Asiaone, Diva Asia, Lollipop

Categorised in asiaone.com, Diva Asia, EN, Endorsement, L’Oréal Paris, Lollipop, Star Awards, Star Awards 2011, Star Awards 2013, The Straits Times, Unriddle 2 最火搭档 2, With You 我在你左右.

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By Joanna Goh

Drama vs Reality: How many of these (real-life) showbiz happenings in Singapore are you familiar with?

The Dream Makers is what we’d call the greatest form of flattery seen on local television as art imitates life in this Ch8 drama series. Several stories and scenarios featured in the show hit close to home with its spoof on personalities in the TV station and its reenactment of real-life celebrity gossips.

From Felicia Chin’s rumoured double-eyelid surgery to the highly-debated rivalry between the TV station’s top two Ah Jies Zoe Tay and Fann Wong: what you see happening in local showbiz is what you get on The Dream Makers – true story (minus the over-the-top bitchy catfights and what have you, of course).

If you, like us, are in the know of these buzzy headlines, chances are you’re relishing in the show two times as much as the uninformed average viewer. For those who aren’t familiar with these events featured in the show, we’ll do you a service and recap their source of inspiration. You’re welcome.

Fact #1
The plastic surgery denial: A throwback to Felicia Chin’s plastic surgery saga in 2009

Drama: A pretty well-known actress, who is supposedly an Ah Jie in-the-making, was quizzed by celebrity talk show host Yu Fan (Chen Han Wei) on the noticeable change in her facial features i.e., her once-mono-but-now-double eyelids. She played dumb and avoided answering his question and was eventually let off the hook.

Reality: At the peak of her acting career in 2009, Felicia Chin was once speculated to have undergone a boob and double-eyelid job. The actress was grilled about her rumoured enhancements on a (real) celebrity talk show called Celebritea Break, hosted by Guo Liang and Quan Yi Fong. She eventually cited the long-term use of the double-eyelid tape as the reason behind her current creased lids, and the case was eventually closed.

Fact #2
The friendship remark: A throwback to Zoe Tay and Fann Wong’s speculated rivalry

Drama: In her guest-starring appearance on a celebrity talk show, an actress, who is the station’s second Ah Jie (Silver Ang), referred to her non-existent friendship with the station’s top-billed actress (Dawn Yeoh) as one that’s based on a professional working relationship. In short: We’re merely colleagues, not friends.

Reality: 17 years ago, Fann referred to her relationship with Zoe as one of colleagues and not friends. Her remark – whether a Freudian slip or not – sparked a huge hullabaloo and many attributed two actresses’ endeavours to be the #1 Ah Jie in the TV station as the reason behind their acrimonious relationship.

Fact #3
Actress going bald for a role: A throwback to Cynthia Koh’s Stepping Out role in 1999

Drama: Dawn’s character was presented with a breakthrough opportunity to star in a cop drama series. She eventually turned it down as the show required her character to shave her head in the latter half of the story, much to her disgruntle. The once-in-a-lifetime role eventually went to Jeanette Aw’s character.

Reality: Only one local actress was brave enough to shave her head for a role and that’s Cynthia Koh. The then-newbie actress went skinhead for Stepping Out in 1999, a period series which told of the trial and tribulations faced by Chinese immigrants in Singapore during the 1920s. Her sacrifice did not go unnoticed – she was duly rewarded for her efforts in the following year’s Star Awards with a Best Actress win.

Fact #4
Calefares and not-so-famous actors, please move to the back of the bus

Drama: A C-list actress, Fei Er’s told to find a seat at the back of the bus because the front rows are reserved for actress of Ah-Jie levels only.

Reality: There are two sides of the coin to this: 1) For comfort reasons: we were once told that the front rows are usually occupied for the A-listers 2) For practical reasons: we were also told that cameramen and those handling equipment usually take up the front rows of the bus for easy loading and unloading. This tiny scene does carry a bit of truth in it, but the true extent of it really varies from person to person.

Fact #5
Unless you’re “one of us”, most reporters have limited access to the TV station

Drama: In most episodes, you’d see Dennis Chew’s reporter character, Fang Yuanren, enter the TV station at will and snap photos of its surroundings at ease. He’d even gain firsthand access to scoops overheard and seen from his time spent roaming around the TV station.

Reality: No such luck, security is tight within the TV station’s premises. Truth be told, unless you are an employee of the company, you can’t enter its building, offices and recording studios without a staff pass or a registered guest pass. And yes, we do have photography-restricted areas on the hill. You don’t want to be caught by our burly security guards doing something that’s prohibited.

Fact #6
Actress leaving everything behind to pursue a showbiz career in Hong Kong: A throwback to Ann Kok’s “move” to the island at the peak of her career

Drama: Now that she’s the station’s top-tier actress, Fei Er is offered a lucrative movie deal in Hong Kong, brokered by a director formerly from the TV station. Enticed by the prospect of growing fame in the region, she toys with the idea of “dropping off everything” to pursue what she thinks is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Hong Kong. (SPOILERS: We’re told Fei Er eventually leaves everything behind – her career, fame and life – and takes off for Hong Kong.)

Reality: Formerly dubbed the third Ah Jie in-line (after Zoe and Fann) back in the late 1990s, Ann Kok left the TV station to pursue acting opportunities in Hong Kong at the height of her fame in 2000. She came back three years later, after scratching the surface with one and only one noteworthy role in Everything Starts from Marriage, co-starring Alex Fong and Kristy Yeung.

Fact #7
Death in the TV station: A throwback to the tribute held in Huang Wenyong’s honour in April this year

Drama: In what is said to be the most somber episode on the series, a memorial service is held in honour of a well-loved artiste from the TV station (we’re not saying who!) who succumbed to a sudden illness.

Reality: In April this year, Singaporeans bade a tearful goodbye to one of the station’s first Ah Ge and revered actor Huang Wenyong, who passed away from lymphoma at the age of 60 years old. Less than a month later, veteran actor Dai Peng succumbed to the same illness and passed away at the age of 75 years old.

The Dream Makers 志在四方 is now airing on Channel 8, Weekdays at 9pm.

Source: Xinmsn

Categorised in EN, The Dream Makers 志在四方, xinmsn.

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