Categorised in EN, The New Paper.
Meek role was new for Rui En, who’s known for playing strong characters
By Marie Lim
April 12, 2011
SHE never knew she could be so gentle.
Well, neither did we.
Meek and mild is not what usually comes to mind when describing this MediaCorp Princess.
But for a few months this year, local actress Rui En was just that.
She plays a docile, easily manipulated character in her new drama The In-Laws — a quantum leap from her past roles in the almost 10 years she’s been with MediaCorp.
Rui En’s usual fare consists of a steady diet of confident, strong-willed characters, such as a police officer in Metamorphosis and Unriddle, as well as a strong, independent and highly educated single girl in The Dream Catchers and My School Daze.
Granted, her more recent roles as a tragedy-stricken widow in With You and a wealthy heiress who lost her inheritance in A Tale Of 2 Cities already marked a departure from her comfort zone.
But playing a damsel in distress? That’s a first.
“I don’t like to be bullied, I stand up for myself, I’ll fight back – so this is new for me,” the 30-year-old told The New Paper.
The In-LAws premiers on Channel 8 tonight at 9pm.
It revolves around the family strife that arises when a matriarch (Li Siqi) meddles in her children’s lives.
Rui En plays Jiazhen, her sweet and gentle daughter-in-law who suffers terribly at the hands of her devious sister-in-law (Cynthia Koh).
Rui En said: “I had to change a lot. How you are as a person has got a lot to do with how you act, and this is the first time I’m doing something that’s so different from (me).”
“The character is so pitiful, and there are people trying to get her all the time.”
It also meant changing everything about herself.
Softer expression in the eyes? Check.
Slower acting momentum? Check.
Sweeter tone of voice? Check.
Subdued body language? Check.
On her inspiration for her onscreen persona, she said: “I’ve been through this stage when I was in my teens. There are some girls who are very uncomfortable with themselves…”
She was so fully immersed in her role that when she first started filming, she would lapse into her soft-spoken mannerisms even when off the set.
She was convincing enough for her co-stars to threaten ti “break” her whenever they saw her in the character.
“Cynthia would say, ‘I feel like breaking you in half, why do you talk like that…” and I would be like ‘yay’, I was very successful,” she said.
She didn’t even recognise herself when she reviewed the film after a day of shooting to see how she could improve.
“I was like, ‘Who is this?’ Oh my God. I didn’t know I could be so gentle,” she said.
She added: “Hopefully I’m convincing as a damsel in distress.”
But Rui En visibly perked up when the second season of Unriddle – which is a step back into more familiar territory – was mentioned.
She said excitedly: “I’m totally looking forward to it.”
“I love, love, love those kinds of roles, and it’s comfortable for me – I don’t have to think, ‘Is my voice right? Are my eyes right?’ ”
“I enjoyed filming Unriddle quite a lot.”
She even told the director and scriptwriter that there weren’t enough action scenes in the first season.
“There’s gonna be more,” she said with a smile.
Unriddle 2 is due to begin filming in the last quarter of the year, but Rui En won’t have time to train and prepare for the more adrenaline-pumping scenes.
She will be heading to Kuala Lumpur in May for a Channel 8 martial arts production set in the 60s and will be there for three to four months.
“I guess I will take that as training,” she said, adding she’s ready conquer new territory.
“I think I’m ready for period dramas,” she said, breaking into laughter.
“Everything that is not me is a challenge, which I like.”
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in CH, Code of Honour æ£ä¹‰æ¦é¦†, EN, The In-Laws 麻婆斗妇, The New Paper, Unriddle 2 最ç«ææ¡£ 2.
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in EN, Happy Family 过好年, Ratings 节目收视率, The New Paper, Unriddle 最ç«ææ¡£.
Ms Kok Len Shoong and Mr Paul Yuen said the departure of some of MediaCorp’s elite stable of Seven Princesses has opened up opportunities for the Malaysians.
The Princesses are Fiona Xie, Felicia Chin, Dawn Yeoh, Jesseca Liu, Jeanette Aw, Joanne Peh and Rui En.
Only the last three are still with the broadcaster.
Ms Kok said: ‘Maybe young actresses are in greater demand because some of the Princesses left. Once they get more chances to appear on TV and produce good results, the public will notice them.’
She added that MediaCorp is always on the lookout for new talents, overseas and local.
Mr Yuen wishes more Singaporeans would take up acting and be less afraid to perform. He said: ‘Fewer Singaporeans are turning to acting professionally…
‘It shouldn’t be just about money or a person quitting acting because you don’t earn enough. If you have the talent and the passion, give it a try.’
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in 七公主 7 Princesses, EN, The New Paper.
But no elderly person living alone should be helpless when something happens.
By Kwok Kar Peng
DYING alone.
The thought of this happening to actress Rui En used to petrify her.
Ironically, it was a meeting with two elderly people who live alone that helped her get over that fear.
“After today, I realise there’s nothing much to be afraid of. It’s all a matter of perspective. As one elderly woman put it, it’ll happen sooner or later, so why worry now?†said Rui En, 30.
The actress, famous for her roles in TV dramas By My Side and Happy Family, met the two senior citizens when she visited the Lions Befrienders (Mei Ling) Seniors Activity Centre.
The visit was at The New Paper’s invitation as part of Project Helping Hands.
There, she sang songs, did a funny chicken dance and played games like Bingo with 40 seniors, most of whom live alone in rented one-room flats in the Mei Ling Street HDB estate.
She also prepared goodie bags containing rice, biscuits, drink sachets and Brand’s essence of chicken for each of the seniors. Ten members of her fan club RBKD also came along as volunteers.
One person who helped change her perception of growing old alone was Madam Chan Yit Yoong, 84.
The sprightly woman has been living on her own for the last nine years after her husband died in 2000.
She has an adopted daughter who visits her once or twice a month in her rented flat in Mei Ling Street.
Madam Chan may be alone, but she is far from being lonely.
She said she goes to the activity centre every day to eat, exercise, watch TV and play games with the other elderly residents and volunteers in the neighbourhood.
Despite the real danger of her falling sick at home with no one to render help, she told Rui En that she isn’t scared of dying alone.
“I’m so old already, something will happen to me someday, so there’s no need to be afraid,†the senior said.
Inevitable
What she said affected Rui En greatly.
She said: “The thought (of dying alone) isn’t that scary after today because I cannot prevent it from happening.â€
Rui En also met another lively senior, Mr Tan Ah Kaw, who is also known as the Handyman of Mei Ling Street.
When we visited Mr Tan, 80, his small flat was crammed with light bulbs, telephone cords and boxes of knick knacks.
He told us those were not junk. They are still in working condition and he hopes to give them on to people in the estate who might need them.
Though he has a wife, two kids and grandchildren living elsewhere on the island, he said he prefers to live in the flat which he’s called home for 29 years.
He shares the flat with a distant relative and visits his family once a month as he finds travelling a hassle.
“I told my wife and kids, ‘What do I do when you go out to work? I don’t want to stay home to watch the flat,’†he said.
“I would rather help my friends here buy their food, run errands, change their light bulbs or fix their faulty plumbing.
“I miss my wife, but I have no choice. I like it here where I have friends. Some people may win the lottery but I think I have everything already. I’m very satisfied.â€
The optimism shared by Mr Tan and Madam Chan surprised Rui En, who was impressed by their independence.
But as mobile as the two of them are now, the danger of an elderly person falling or getting sick at home with no one noticing is very real.
Though there are no official statistics to show how many elderly people die alone at home.
Past media reports indicate that there were at least seven cases of people whose decomposing bodies were found days after their deaths in 2009 and 2008. At least 45 elderly people died alone in their homes in 2007.
While Madam Tan appeared nonchalant about dying alone, she admitted that she would be very sad if it had happened to one of her friends.
Said Rui En: “Wherever possible, no elderly person should be left alone. I live with my 82-year-old grandmother and I cannot imagine leaving her to die alone…
“If you put yourself in that situation, anybody will be scared. That sense of hopelessness and desperation (waiting for help to come) is something people should not experience.
“But with motion sensors installed in their home, this can be prevented.â€
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in EN, RBKD, The New Paper.
Female celebs rock out in masculine frocks on the red carpet
23 December 2010
MAN up.
That’s what some foreign female celebrities seem to be doing as they ditch feminine frocks in favour of men’s suits on the red carpet.
Actresses such as Leighton Meester, Olivia Wilde, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Alba and Winona Ryder, and supermodels including Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn have been showing off their edgier side since last month.
Meester and Moss, for example, have gone the whole hog, teaming their suits with skinny ties.
Local TV actresses Rui En, Jeanette Aw and Jacelyn Tay have also opted for variations of this androgynous look.
But they are a minority among Singapore women who prefer safe sartorial choices.
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in EN, The New Paper.
By Charlene Chua
November 10, 2010
HE BELIEVES he’s a star-maker.
That’s why he doesn’t understand why he hasn’t been given the chance to make young talent shine.
David Gan, owner of Passion Hair Salon and ‘mother’ to some of MediaCorp’s biggest stars like Fann Wong and Zoe Tay, is upset that artiste managers are no longer sending their young MediaCorp charges to him for hair styling services.
A spokesman for MediaCorp told The New Paper in an e-mail: ‘There is no such ban on David Gan. In fact, our make-up unit is working with him on his salon’s sponsorship of services for (new TV drama) Love In Two Cities which is currently in production.’
Hype Records boss Ken Lim, who signed popular MediaCorp princesses Jeanette Aw and Rui En, said he believes hard work is what contributed to both their successes – and that should be what young artistes should focus on.
He said: ‘Rui En and Jeanette’s success did not come overnight. Between them, there’s been 20 years of hard work.
‘Whether a star makes it or not depends on more than just a hairstyle or looks as looks are subjective.
‘It’s all about their attitude and commitment to their work. You can have the best managers and stylists but there’ll be no point if you don’t work hard yourself.’
—
So who’s doing whose hair? Here’s a list of local celebs and their crimpers of choice
KIM ROBINSON
Haircut by Kim: $2,580
Haircut by stylists that do artistes’ hair: $238 – $700
Dai Yang Tian
Jeanette Aw
Rui En
Andrea Fonseka
Source: The New Paper, Asiaone
Categorised in A Tale of 2 Cities ä¹åœ¨åŒåŸŽ, asiaone.com, EN, The New Paper.
Categorised in EN, The New Paper, Unriddle 最ç«ææ¡£.
By Kwok Kar Peng
Pages 2 & 3
With Jesseca Liu quitting showbiz, is the whole ‘Seven Princesses’ thing passe?
It is time to “move forward in a new direction”, several of Mediacorp’s ‘Seven Princesses’ told The New Paper.
The original septet will be down to just four actresses with the impending departure of Jesseca Liu.
Jeanette Aw, Joanne Peh, Rui En and Felicia Chin remain.
Fiona Xie and Dawn Yeoh left the station last year.
The term Seven Princesses was first coined by a local Chinese entertainment weekly a few years ago. It was picked up by the media and became widely used.
Peh and Aw said the term was just a convenient and flattering way to classify seven actresses and to save people the hassle of saying all seven names.
But they added the label does not come with special treatment when it comes to roles.
Mr Paul Chan, vice-president of branding & promotion for Channel 8, feels “the existing four are the strongest of the seven and they are already at a level befitting the title of ‘New Ah Jies’.”
However, a veteran journalist (Ang Ming Hwa) in the entertainment beat believes the dispersing of the Seven Princesses merely reflects “the sad state of the local TV industry”.
Complete Article:
Source: The New Paper
Disclaimer: The scans are presented in the original colors of the printed article, no adjustments were made to the colors.
—
Page 23
Do They Have What It Takes?
Paige Chua
Source: The New Paper
Categorised in 七公主 7 Princesses, The New Paper.
