Rui En has been voted as the Readers’ Choice for The New Paper’s Flame Awards 2009’s “Babe of the Year”. Check out today’s The New Paper on why she claims she’s a Kopitiam girl instead.

BABE OF THE YEAR

‘I’m just a kopitiam girl’

The votes are in and here are the readers’ picks

28 January 2009
SHE scored an F9 in Chinese Language for her A levels.

And now she’s playing a Chinese language teacher in her next Channel 8 drama, My School Daze.

The New Paper’s Babe Of The Year, Rui En, seems to be doing the impossible these days.

She edged out Jeanette Aw, a hot favourite after the huge success of The Little Nyonya, to claim the coveted title.

The 28-year-old actress attributed her win to her ‘maturing’ fan base who ‘read The New Paper’.

She said: ‘The only other thing that I can come up with is that people appreciated my honesty when I gave that confessional interview.

‘And that maybe my story made an impact on them.’

She was referring to an interview that she did with The Straits Times last year in which she opened up about her parents’ divorce, her delinquent days and her dabbling with cigarettes and alcohol.

‘Tell all’

Rui En admitted that she made the decision to ‘tell all’ to make peace with herself.

‘I wanted a very public confessional because I wanted to prove to myself that I had moved on from all those bad experiences in my life.

‘I’m a lot at peace with myself right now. I never used to be able to feel happy with the small things in life but now I can.’

The pretty lass confessed that she hardly considers herself a babe.

She revealed that she’s actually a ‘kopitiam girl’ at heart.

‘Wait till you see me without this get-up (referring to her make-up and attire).

‘Basically I’m the shorts and T-shirt and slippers kind of girl. I’m the just-wash-my-hair and go to the kopitiam and buy kopi type,’ she said.

Most of the time, she said, she opts for the kopitiam instead of those ‘restaurants where they give you those small portions with a dribble of sauce’.

‘I’m the kind of girl that feels that non-hawker food is not real food.’

With My School Daze hitting TV screens in April, Rui En said she wondered if her junior college teachers would be shocked at her role as her grasp of the ‘Chinese language was very bad’.

As the interview drew to a close, the actress had just one question.

She asked with a laugh: ‘Are you sure you guys counted the votes correctly?’

Source: The New Paper

Previous article on Rui En’s nomination for the Babe of the Year 2009, is available here.

Categorised in Flame Awards, Flame Awards 2009, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

FLAME AWARDS 2009

SUGAR-sweet, chilli padi-hot or cool indifference? Does it really matter? HO LIAN-YI, CHARLENE CHUA and TAN KEE YUN tell you why these lasses are our nominees for Babe of the Year.

Rui En, actress/singer, 28

Claim to F(l)ame: Known as a non-conformist who is fiercely private about her personal life, Rui En made heads turn when she finally dropped her ice-queen exterior and opened up in The Monday Interview series of ST Life! in December.

The Story So Far: The confessional interview turned out to be a surprise.

More so because Rui En has gained a reputation for being cool and nonchalant.

She had been garnering rave reviews over the last two years for her acting, mostly in roles of strong, intense female characters, like a feisty cop in Metamorphosis and a selfless HIV patient in By My Side.

But fans knew little about her. Until the interview.

She spoke about her parents’ divorce, her ‘periods of delinquency’ when she dabbled with cigarettes and alcohol, the insecurity and emptiness that led to her hunger for fame and how she hated herself back then.

And ‘what touched me completely was the heartfelt response from readers and fans’ after the interview was published.

She said: ‘It crossed my mind that I’d be nominated for being honest, so this is something refreshing!

‘And of course, it feels great!’

Rui En does not rate her chances of winning Babe of The Year high at all.

‘I think this will be The Little Nyonya year,’ she said.

We certainly dig her candidness.

Next Change: Rui En stars as a bubbly and spunky aircraft engineer in the upcoming Channel 8 drama series The Dream-catchers, which opens on 4 Feb.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in EN, Flame Awards, Flame Awards 2009, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

26 October 2008

UNI HOTTIES

Some of the stars from Singapore’s local universities.

NUS graduates

Jacelyn Tay (former actress, now a spa owner)
Jeanette Aw (actress)
Tay Ping Hui (actor)
Jonathan Leong (Singapore Idol 2006 runner-up)
Adam Chen (actor)

NTU graduates

Joanne Peh (actress)
Stefanie Sun (singer)
Diana Ser (former actress and news presenter, was a Masters student)
Rui En (actress)
Vincy Chan (Hong Kong singer, Project Superstar contestant)

SMU graduates

Jade Seah (actress, model, host, and Miss Singapore Universe 2006 runner-up)
Dawn Yang (the blogger Clapbangkiss)

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

06 September 2008

Singer Hady Mirza gets anxious overswimming scene in debut acting role

sheela@sph.com.sg

HADY Mirza is going topless.

The 27-year-old Singapore Idol 2 winner, who is making his acting debut in the local TV drama Sense Of Home, had to do that for a scene.

He co-stars with actress Debra Teng and child actor Foo Fang Rong (Parental Guidance). They play a Singaporean mother and her 11-year-old music prodigy respectively in this four-episode series about Singaporeans living abroad.

Hady’s episode was shot in Budapest, Hungary, in June. In that particular scene, his character, Haikel, had to take the mother and child to a Budapest swimming pool that was carved out of an ancient Roman bath.

Sense Of Home, which premieres on Channel 5 on 14 Sep at 10pm, also stars Fiona Xie, Edmund Chen, Andrea De Cruz and Rui En, who travelled to countries like New Zealand, Vietnam and China to film the show.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Sense of Home, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

23 April 2008

tnppostwoman.com

In her last post, our Postwoman Jeanmarie Tan writes about US TV dance reality show Dancing With The Stars – which pairs celebs like Marie Osmond with professional dancers. The show has become a hit in the US and is now showing here in Singapore. But how about a local version, with our own celebrities?

Would you watch it ?
From Teo Yu Jie
I think a local version would be terrific! It would be nice to see celebrity couples dance, such as Fann Wong dancing with Christopher Lee. Other local stars I would also want to see are Zheng Ge Ping, Lin Xiang Ping, Rui En, Felicia Chin, Jeanette Aw and Gurmit Singh.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

17 December 2007

Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes

Kym Ng, Xiang Yun, Vivian Lai, Jesseca Liu, Ivy Lee, Quan Yifeng, Rui En, Felicia Chin, Huang Biren, Michelle Chia

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Star Awards, Star Awards 2007, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

STAR AWARDS 2007

Four princesses left behind as veterans sweep popularity poll

weeteck@sph.com.sg

aviswong@sph.com.sg

NOT all princesses are equal. Some are really handmaidens who have been perceived to be princesses because of very good publicity.

And some had the veil of royalty lifted at last night’s Star Awards 2007 at Caldecott Hill TV Theatre.

MediaCorp’s Seven Princesses didn’t make the impact everyone thought they would in the much-watched Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes list.

Only three – Rui En, Felicia Chin and Jesseca Liu – cracked the list of the year’s 10 most popular actresses.

Earlier on, the Chinese press had crowned them and four counterparts – Joanne Peh, Fiona Xie, Dawn Yeoh and Jeanette Aw – as the the next leading ladies of the station, or the Seven Princesses.

The most popular list is determined by telephone votes (50 per cent) and a public survey (50 per cent).

The three that got in were tactful when asked about their wannabe rivals’ defeat.

Rui En, 26, was shocked about the exclusion.

“Everyone of them deserves to be in it. But I guess they would take it in their stride as there’s still a long road ahead.

“Many people have been talking about the seven princesses getting too much exposure and that we will surely win, but the awards results have proven to be the opposite.”

Felicia, 23, said: “I’m very happy I did (get in) but I was surprised not more of us got in.”

She named Jeanette Aw as the biggest shocker.

“It just goes to show that nothing is 100 per cent.”

Jesseca, 28, added: “The results are quite surprising. I’m lucky to be in the Top 10 but I didn’t expect Jeanette and Joanne (Peh) not to be in.”

Former The New Paper New Face 2003 finalist Dawn Yeoh, 20, was another of the seven princesses who crashed out.

She also thought Jeanette was a shoo-in.

Dawn said: “I was seated next to Jeanette and when the presenters said it was someone with a two-word name (Jeanette’s Chinese name is Ou Xuan), I congratulated her.”

It turned out that two-word name was Kym Ng (Zhong Qin).

Dawn sheepishly admitted: “It was a bit awkward at first but Jeanette took it very well.”

On her own chances, Dawn said: “I’m new in this business. I’ll work harder and hopefully get in in the future.”

Jeanette, 28 reasoned: “How would it be possible for (MediaCorp) to allow all seven princesses to be in the Top 10? I’m happy for the three who got in.”

Joanne Peh, 24, said not getting into the Top 10 for a second year running is a motivation.

“It’s something you may wish to have but you won’t necessarily get it. But it doesn’t mean I will give up.

“It’s a motivating factor for me to work hard.”

Fiona Xie thought it was “inevitable” that she didn’t get in.

The 25-year-old said: “There are only 10 places and seven princesses plus the other veteran actresses.

“I don’t think this is a good measure of how much talent we have or how much hard work we have put in. It’s only a telephone game.”

The fate of the princesses last night was a subject of discussion among the artistes.

Kym said she didn’t expect to get into the Top 10, “but I was hoping”.

Kym added: “When the presenters were reading the list, I thought ‘already five aunties got in, I sure got no chance’.

“I was so surprised when they called my name.”

She joked: “I wouldn’t be just be disappointed if I didn’t get it, I would be devastated!”

Not getting into the Top 10 is not the end of the world.

Veteran Zoe Tay said: “These girls are under a lot of pressure, so let’s not put them under more stress. They should take not getting in as a push to work harder next year.”

So it was that this year, the young and the restless would have to wait.

Although the nominees for the acting and popularity awards were littered with newcomers, MediaCorp was indicating that veterans were the way to go.

Zheng Geping – a 20-year veteran – won his first Best Actor award; Yvonne Lim – with 10 years experience – took home a much-deserved Best Actress award.

The Best Supporting Actress was May Phua, also a long-time actress. And the experienced Darren Lim was named Best Supporting Actor.

Geping, 43, joked: “I guess at this age, if I don’t get it now, there won’t be many more chances. The others don’t have to be afraid as they have more chances in future.”

May, 30, was elated she won.

“After 12 years, I finally made it.”

Categorised in Star Awards, Star Awards 2007, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

18 September 2007

TVIEW

lianyi@sph.com.sg

METAMORPHOSIS
STARRING: Chen Hanwei, Terence Cao, Rui En, Yvonne Lim, Thomas Ong
SHOWING ON: Channel 8, weekdays, 9pm, starting tonight
RATING: ** ½

IN case you can’t tell from the very large number of gun-pointing and car-leaping in the trailer, the new drama Metamorphosis is all about action.

Woo hoo, right?

I love action. But I don’t expect a local TV production to have Donnie Yen standards of punch ’em ups.

Despite this, I expect some acting, and plot development, which isn’t at all obvious in Metamorphosis, especially its pilot episode, which is simply awful.

CRAMMED

The producers try to cram too much into 45 minutes.

The story – the first of three major arcs – is about how the death of a gang boss leads to in-fighting.

His former henchmen, now battling for the pai kia (Hokkien for bad boy) throne, are being murdered by a mysterious knifeman.

It’s up to CID officer An Xiao Qian (Rui En) and her team, dominated by brutish hothead Ouyang Li (Chen Hanwei) and the thoughtful Di Lun (Terence Cao), to find out what really is happening.

Metamorphosis adopts the shaky cam school of action filmmaking, which is rarely good for extended fight scenes.

The major fight of the pilot episode includes waving coloured fluorescent tubes in a dark alleyway.

Watching it from the perspective of a jittering camera, I thought I was going to get seizures.

The most hilarious part was when the producers set up a motorcycle to skid into some barrels, which resulted in a huge fireball.What was in the barrels? Heated petroleum? TNT?

The best action scenes are the ones that tell a story, guys.

And if you want to have action just for action’s sake, it helps if the audience can actually see what’s happening.

As for the acting? Not much of that, since it mostly consists of actors talking harshly to each other. Huang Yiliang is perfect as a sleazy gangster though.

Fortunately, the second episode gets a lot better, as the focus switches to the story and fleshing out of the characters.The star is undoubtedly Hanwei, who looks like he had fun channelling his inner Ah Beng.

UNCONVINCING

As a loving, friendly and witty psychiatrist, Yvonne Lim is a welcome diversion from the endless gloominess and tough-guy posturing.

Rui En has a bad deal though.

She doesn’t really get to do much other than look angry at people. She also looks a little too slight to be convincing as a leader of men.

So, a pretty poor start for Metamorphosis. On the other hand, there’s a good chance it could get a lot better.

After all, it does take some time for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly.

WHAT THOSE TICKS MEAN
***** Excellent
**** Good
*** Average
** Mediocre
* Don’t bother

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Metamorphosis 破茧而出, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

18 September 2007

BALLET isn’t one of the violent arts.

But it comes in pretty handy when you’re shooting fight scenes.

Rui En discovered that in Metamorphosis, where she plays a female cop.

“It really helped with the kicking. I was surprised I could kick so high,” said the 26-year-old actress, who joined a dance group when she was in primary and secondary school.

Metamorphosis marks Rui En’s first action role. She leads a team of men and gets to fire a gun.

Not what you’d usually expect from the typically “girlish” roles she’s used to.

To prepare, she underwent two three-hour long martial arts training sessions.

“I ached for two weeks,” she said.

And although there were “blood, sweat and tears”, she said she loved the experience.

“I had a lot of fun. I think I’m violent… I enjoy kicking things,” she said cheerfully.

Source: The New Paper

Categorised in Metamorphosis 破茧而出, The New Paper.

^ back to top

 

Newer entries - Older entries