[Grand News + Article] The Drive of Life Introduction -- 14/1/2007

TVB 2007 Grand Production: The Drive Of Life
Total Episodes: 60
Filming Date: November 2006 until May 2007
Airing Date: 1st of July 2007
Producer: Poon Ka Tuck
Cast: Raymond Lam Fung, Damian Lau, Michael Miu, Jessica Hsuan, Sheren Tang, Charmaine Sheh Shi Man, Myolie Wu Hang Yee, Joe Ma Tak Chung, Ron Ng Cheuk Hei, Gigi Wong, Feng Chao Feng, Toby Leung

Next year is the 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover back to China. TVB will be collaborating with China to film a sixty episodes series, Fung Wai Sui Yuet (temporary name), and the series will be filmed in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Canada. It will be scheduled to air in July next year in both Hong Kong and China.

Since At the Threshold of an Era, there hasn’t been another sixty episode series filmed in a long time. Seeing that next year is the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, TVB will be co-operating with China to film Fung Wai Sui Yuet. This series is also considered as part of the celebrations of Hong Kong’s handover back to China and both parties value this 2007 grand production greatly. TVB has also decided for Leung Ka Shu as the producer of the series, and will have highly promoted siu sangs and fa dans, namely Charmaine Sheh, Jessica Hsuan, Raymond Lam, Ron Ng and veteran actor Damien Lau to participate in this series.

Chen Dao Ming and Chen Bao Guo to also participate in filming

Due to the fact that this is collaborated between HK and China, there will be many of China’s artists. As a production of the Zhong Yang Channel, they successfully invited A-Class actors such as Chen Dao Ming and Chen Bao Guo to participate in the filming. The two will be portraying extremely important characters. It is reported that this series tells about three generations, with the background of the story being the manufacturing of cars. The chosen date of airing is July 1st, the anniversary of the handover, but if they cannot make it in time, then it will be aired on the National Day of China (WS says: that’s on October 1st), and also, the series will be airing together in Hong Kong and China.

It was reported that TVB extremely values this series and even though it won’t be airing until mid next year, they have already been preparing for a while, organising the script, choosing the characters, filming location, contacting China’s actors to discuss it and so on. Due to the fact that it is their first time officially co-operating with China’s Zhong Yang Channel, TVB must prepare an entire storyline and have had to contact the people in charge in China many times to discuss the story, before beginning the actual filming. As to the actors, they have to be discussed together by both parties and so till today, the cast is still not confirmed, and they would still be holding countless beatings.

As to the production matters of this series, the reporters have contacted the people in charge, but producer Leung Ka Shu is incredibly busy and has not yet responded. It is assumed that he has already begun the busy work of preparing for this series.

Many thanks to Winter_Stargirl for news translation.




Charmaine and Raymond may be working together again in 《風雲歲月》Fung Wan Shui Yuet. Tommy Leung Kar Shu has now replaced Poon Ka Tak as executive producer of this series.



Chen Dao Ming, one of Mainland China most established actor are also rumored to be casted.

*Updated* Ron Ng has confirmed taking part and he will be playing as a car racer. Filming starts October 2006 and end April 2007.

*Updated Aug 5th* Mainland actors Chen Bao Guo & Chen Kun has confirmed taking part. Gallen Lo will also be joining the cast.

*Updated Aug 6th* Charmaine Sheh, Jessica Hsuan and Myolie Wu will be taking part as well. The storyline will revolve around the shipping industry. Charmaine's character is a very strong-willed HK girl.

*Updated Aug 8th* According to today's Apple Daily, Joe Ma and Damien Lau will be joining the cast.

*Updated Aug 9th* Ray will be pairing up with Charmaine and Myolie. Source: Fung's Label.

*Updated Aug 12th* Jessica role will be a rich girl who run her family business.

*Updated Aug 30th* Joe Ma will be playing an honest businessman in FWSY. Filming expected to start at Sept 20th, 2006. Gallen has rejected TVB's offer.

*Updated Sept 1st* Florence Kwok, Matthew Ko and Toby Leung will be joining the cast - Toby will be paired up with Matthew.

*Updated Sept 10th* Charmaine's role is a realistic girl who loves money and will be a bickering pair with Raymond.

*Updated Sept 20th* Sheren Tang has confirmed joining the cast. She will be playing Michael Miu's wife and her daughter will be Toby Leung. Her role is also Charmaine's best friend. Source: Oriental Daily.

*Updated Sept 22nd* Costume fitting set on September 28th, 2006 (Thursday).

*Updated Sept 28th* Ray's character decription:
From 26 to 40 years old. In the beginning, he was arrogant and proud. Later, he met many setbacks and gradually matures.

Synopsis:
The story begins with Ray just returning from overseas. He is a proud person and his family owns a huge enterprise. His father is Damien Lau while his mother is Wong Shuk Yi.

At earlier stage, Ray was arrogant because he is very good at doing business and because of this there was a period where his family business flourished. This made him a little proud. However, his family bankrupted and he met many setbacks. He has to start from bottom again, and his character gradually matures. Along the way, he met with a lot of people who helped him.

Ray said that he is working hard to keep his hair long because he came back from overseas. He also have to speak Mandarin and he will have many scenes with mainland casts. In addition, he mentioned that this role was a very long and challenging role, but he will work hard on it.

Other cast involved: Power Chan, Kenneth Ma, Ellesmere Choi etc.

*Updated Sept 29th* Additional [The Changing Times] synopsis:

Damien Lau started his business via real estate investment. After his business deteriorated, he changed to car dealership business. His wife is Gigi Wong Shuk Yi, who bore him daughter; Jessica Hsuan and son; Raymond Lam. Raymond is in love with Charmaine Sheh, while his assistant Myolie Wu is secretly in love with him.

Ron Ng's father, Benz Hui is the supervisor for the automobile service department. Ron will sometimes secretly take customer's car for a race. Ron's mother, Mary Hon (盧皓月 Lu Ho Yuet) along with his half brother Joe Ma (born from different father) doted on him. On the other hand, Michael Miu and Sheren Tang's daughter Toby Leung is a reporter for an automobile magazine. One time, when sending her car for servicing at Ron's, she discovered that Ron droved her car, causing misunderstanding which later developed into romantic feelings.

Because this series revolves around history of the rise and fall of families, therefore the period is also very long. Ron will appear roughly after 20 episodes, and acting from 20 to 40 years old.

The chinese source is from Ron Cafes, while the english translation above was done by me. Kindly give due credit if reposted.

*Updated Oct 1st* Summary of characters and storyline (possible spoilers):

The storyline revolve around the struggles and conflict within Wah brothers, who run the automobile industry. There are 3 brothers, the eldest being Damien Lau, the 2nd brother a mainland actor and the third brother is Michael Miu.

Damien Lau (华文翰 Wah Man Hang) the eldest brother and wife Gigi Wong have two children; Jessica Hsuan and Raymond Lam (华振邦 Wah Zhen Pong).

Jessica character is very soft, highly educated and obedient daughter to Damien. However, she have a rebellious streak when it comes to relationship - she will have affairs with Joe Ma and Michael Wong Man Tak. Jessica thought she will be speaking Mandarin in FWSY, so she purposely bought a Mandarin learning set in preparation. She later found out that all her dialogues will be in Cantonese.

Ray will be involved in a complex love triangle with Charmaine and Myolie. In addition, there will be two more Mainland actors involved in the love quadruple.

Ray will be portraying from 26 years old to 40 years old. He is a bit worried that he won't look convincing as 40 years old.

Charmaine Sheh's role is a very filial, strong willed and ambitious girl. Her mother, Chan Mei Kei (衞長萍 Wai Cheung Ping) had an affair with Damien years ago and this has lead to conflict between her and Ray's relationship, causing them to break up. Ray later ends up with his secretary, Myolie (方秉怡 Fong Bing Yee) while Charmaine met Chen Kun (mainland actor).

Myolie's character is a very upbeat and happy girl. She will be Ray's secretary who is secretly in love with him. News said that filming for Myolie will start later as TVB wanted to give her more time to lose weight.

Michael Miu (华文碩 Wah Man Shek) and Sheren Tang (汪紹芬 Wong Siu Fan) will act as a couple, with Toby Leung (华清琳 Wah Ching Ling) as their daughter. Their marriage seems perfect from outside, but there's actually a lot of problems. Michael's character is a bit cunning and often act as a middle person between his elder brothers. It was also hinted that he is a playboy. Meanwhile, Sheren begins as a rich heiress, whose family actually own the automobile business in the first place.

Joe Ma will be playing a semi villain businessman. He is Ron's half brother. There will be a period in the series where Ron falls into coma and Toby will take care of him, with a lot of crying scenes.

New updates! According to TVB mag, Ron and Joe is actually born from the same mother (Mary Hon). Joe is actually Ng Wai Kwok (危天行 Ngai Tin Hang)'s son and there is possibility that Ron is not Benz's son after all. Ng Wai Kwok was once crushed by the Wah brothers, therefore he intended to seek revenge.

FWSY will be aired simultaneously by TVB and CCTV during prime time (usually 8-9pm). There will be an estimate of at least 140 million viewers. With outdoor filming in Mainland China and Canada, TVB plan to invest over HKD1 billion for production. As the story background involved with automobile industry, there will be a lot of beautiful cars featured.

(Note: The above will subject to change as the series has 60 episodes and script has not finished yet)

*Updated Oct 9th* The story revolved between the relationships and rivalries of four families lead by Damien Lau, Michael Miu, Liu Ging Sang (Mainland actor) and Chan Mei Kei. The main plot about the older generation are: Chan Mei Kei (as Wai Cheung Ping), Damien Lau (Wah Man Hang) and Liu Ging Sang (Wah Man Hung, the 2nd Wah brothers) were childhood friends and involved in a triangle relationship. After they grew up, Cheung Ping, Man Hang and his wife Gigi Wong (as Zhan Yan) were involved into another love triangle.

In addition, TVB offered almost all of their younger fadan and siusang to lead in the second generation: Raymond Lam and Jessica Hsuan will be playing as Damien's children while Charmaine Sheh is Chan Mei Kei's daughter. Because her mother spent her lifetime obsessing (心系 - sorry if I translated wrongly) Damien Lau, after Charmaine grew up she began to plan revenge on his family. However, she fell in love with Damien's son; Ray.

Charmaine Sheh will be portraying a strong willed HK girl who is bend on seeking revenge for her mother. Unexpectedly, she got involved in a relationship with the enemy's son; Raymond Lam. There were reports that Charmaine has recently broke up with her rumoured beau Benny Chan and Ray was asked of he was afraid of having rumours with Charmaine. Ray frankly said that he always took his female co-stars as male friends, so he's not afraid of rumours.

p.s. Character name update:
Gigi Wong as 湛恩 (Zhan Yan)
Liu Ging Sang as 华文鸿 (Wah Man Hung)

*Updated Nov 4th* During the interview on 《娱乐最前线》and《东张西望》, Jessica divulged a bit of her character storyline in [The Changing Times]. In the beginning, she was dating Michael Wong, but later found out that he has a wife. Michael also realized that he loves his wife the most, therefore they broke up. As for Joe, he has always admired her, but Jessica has no feelings for him until she broke up with Michael. Joe treated Jessica very well, so she slowly fall in love and eventually got married with him. However, after they got married, a lot of problems arise, mostly due to Joe turning bad toward the end. During interview, Joe also described his character as both good and evil. Translated from Baidu.

*Updated Nov 8th* Young mainland actor Feng Shao Feng (冯绍峰) will be joining the cast of TVB-CCTV 60 episode modern series; "The Changing Times". He will be playing one of the important character in the series; Tin Zhen Man (田振民). Translated from: Dailyvc.com

Note: If you have the time to 'copy and paste' my post(s), surely it won't hurt to take extra few seconds for proper credit. Thanks for co-operating.

*Updated Nov 13th* English title changed to "The Drive of Life". Source: TVB Sales Presentation Clip 2007.

*Updated Nov 24th* Charmaine's character name is 荣秀丰 - Wing Sau Fung while Ron is 冼介強 - Sin Gai Keung. Added filming updates.

*Updated Dec 15th* New synopsis will be added. Edit: Ron and Joe share the same father, but diferent mother.

*Updated Dec 23rd* Feng Shao Feng character name is Wah Zhen Man.

[Magazine Scans] Translations of Raymond Lam's and Myolie Wu's Interviews For The Drive Of Life By TV Series Issue 147 + The Drive Of Life Spoilers* -- 11/1/2007

[Click to Enlarge]

[Click to Enlarge]

p.s. The english title for [Drive] in Mainland China is [The Legendary Era].

Seeing Raymond Lam again, the only thing in my mind was his and Ron’s White and Black Double Ghost -- dance routine at the TVB Anniversary Awards Presentation. When I told him the truth, saying that it wasn’t bad, Raymond laughed embarrassedly and said that he only had three days to rehearse it, that if he wanted to learn dance properly, he would have to find a teacher to teach him. Thinking back to the kind joke that Liza Wang made just before announcing the winner of the Best actor award, Raymond had laughed out loud onstage. Now, he is still laughing silly, like a shy student who had just been praised by a teacher. When he speaks about his new character, he is still rational, and I admire his understanding of his character, no wonder he can play the character so comfortably. Raymond is talented; this year’s Anniversary Awards Presentation was just a show of his talent.

Dominating in The Legendary Era

In the sixty episode long collaboration between TVB and CCTV, The Legendary Era, Raymond has parts from the beginning to the end, it being a series about the story of a capable youth.

TV Series: Working with your buddy Ron Ng again, do you two have many scenes together?

Raymond: Everyone knows that we two buddies are on good terms (laughs). But this time we won’t have many scenes together, in the series we’re not really in the same group. From what I know, he will be appearing from episode twenty and onwards, we don’t see each other often. There are too many actors in this series; just the number actors playing members of my family are huge, and there are a lot of scenes taking place in the car factory. There are also scenes to be filmed in Canada and also Beijing. So speaking of relevance, his line hasn’t really got much to do with me.

TV Series: So then, in simple terms, what are the relationships of the people in your family like?

Raymond: The entire series is basically talking about the two generations of my family and how they go about creating a car kingdom. Damien Lau plays my father; his relationship with his two younger brothers isn’t that good. Michael Miu plays one of his brothers, he is my third uncle, and Liu King Sang plays my second uncle. The story tells of how the three brothers each went their separate ways and so the family is a bit separated, and then it was a dream that they all shared, a dream of cars that mended the relationships of all the family members. In between, a lot of things happened and every member of the family has his or her own story.

TV Series: When you were filming in Beijing, your hair was premed, now it is changed to this style, is it the difference between the earlier and later periods?

Raymond: Right, there are changes. In the earlier period my hair is curly. At that time I am more of a rich kid, more like a young master, so, ha ha (a silly laugh), that is why my hair was curled. Firstly, it will make me seem younger; secondly it is more… how do I say it? (Not as shaped?) What does not as shaped -- mean (Mimicking the accent)? (It means not caring about responsibilities and such). Oh, well he isn’t considered as not being shaped. (Still saying it? Sigh ~) The story starts off talking about how he really wants to do something, and plus he has the ability to. It’s only that if he does not want to do it, he won’t do it no matter what you say, but if he is interested in something, then he will work really hard to do it well.

TV Series: There’s a difference in your hairstyle between the earlier and later periods, it probably is the influence of his attitude?

Raymond: Right, there are a lot of changes to his personality. In the beginning he is not under any pressure and he also isn’t willing to face things that will trouble him. He has a lot of thoughts, but he doesn’t have enough experience in society and isn’t considerate enough in the things he does and therefore he will make mistakes. For example, he may start off doing one thing well, his ideas are all very impressive, but he is still missing a few things, and in the end, failed. He is very smart, that plus his effort and he actually does work hard, as long as he has an interest in it, he will work hard for it, but because of his lack of experience and other factors, and also one of his father’s enemies who schemed against him, he gives off the impression at the start that he can’t do things right.

TV Series: What made him change? Or when was a turning point for him?

Raymond: How do I say it? It was an effort of his father’s, or I should say, when his family practically went bankrupt. We only had a little bit of our business left, just some shares. Basically I had lost all our assets. Even though, I still didn’t completely understand, but I had just experienced a very serious shock, a large setback. It was the same in terms of romance. My relationship with Charmaine was troubled as well. But my father, after this big incident happened, still very patiently spoke to me about some things, and at that moment, I really felt that I had never cherished anything before and our entire family, even though we were not really bankrupt, was ruined, all because of me. My character is actually a little bit arrogant. Later, my father let me work for my second uncle. My father and my second uncle were both a bit contradicting, but now, compared to before, I have matured. When I started at the car factory, I always had ideas and also, my ideas and my tastes were correct. It’s only that I am rather quick with handling things and I was rather radical, and so they wouldn’t accept me. Especially since that factory was an old factory, and they wouldn’t accept any new changes, and what I wanted to do was to bring in new ideas in every aspect. But my second uncle is very laid-back and he knows what my thoughts are and agrees with them, it’s just that I haven’t been considerate about the feelings of others beside me. And so, I had basically changed. I know what I want now and in the later period, I had become someone much like Damien. In the past if someone made me mad, I would immediately retaliate, but after the incident, if someone angers me I would still retaliate, but I wouldn’t necessarily do certain things, I would still remember how things should be done. But in the later period, I slowly become more mature, if someone says something, I won’t give too big a reaction, I’d be more tolerant. Because this series covers a larger time period, and so there must be some growth and change, and it is for people to see how I slowly become better. In between, something does happen, making the character Wah Chun Bong slowly grow up, and in the end to support the entire family. This character is really difficult to play, because thee are so many scenes. I have different attitudes when facing different people. This character is actually very rich and my personality is colourful. There are many changes, they way he handles things will also be different depending on the time period, and so I will try hard to grasp the character because the times jump too much.

TV Series: What’s it like in terms of romance?

Raymond: In terms of romance, it’s with Charmaine Sheh and Myolie Wu. Myolie has always secretly liked me and she is my assistant. Charmaine is a smart girl and I think that she matches me well. Our characters are a bit like those archenemies that always fight. She is an agent, at that time I was doing business in real estate and we met each other. Also, this girl is very cool, and so, I pursued her and we both took turns playing each other (laughs). But her mother and my father have some connections too. It turns out that she had purposefully gotten close to me, but our feelings for each other are true. It’s just that there’s too much hatred between our families, but later, something happened that made us come together again. The scripts for the later half of the series aren’t out yet, but it should be that kind of, parting and coming together thing. Myolie had always been behind me, supporting me. I actually know that she likes me, but when a guy knows that a girl likes him, he can only pretend that he doesn’t care. (Then, do you have feelings for her?) No, there is none, but there’s this time that I used her as some sort of substitute, a little bit (a kind of a guilty expression). But it’s actually an ordinary thing, when a guy is hurt and there is someone beside you that really cares for you, you’ll start liking that person because of that. Because she is really pitiful, and she’s very nice, and so, and plus if you are always together with someone, you’ll start having some feelings for her, but then Charmaine re-appeared and it became a love triangle.

TV Series: You have parts from the first episode until the end, right?

Raymond: Right, it should be.

TV Series: Your character in Heart of Greed, the series you just finished filming, should be very different to your other characters in the past?

Raymond: Yeah (laughs), in Heart of Greed, I am stepping on two boats at once, really stepping on two boats at once, it’s true (laughs). (So you’re a playboy?) Ah (laughs), he originally had a really nice girlfriend, but then he and his girl friend’s good friend that is Yoyo Mung, are in a relationship. Actually when we were acting it, we both found it very difficult to bear, Yoyo and I would always be saying, God, it’s so hard to act, because we both disapproving of this character’s way of seeing love, and everyone always thinks, God, such a nasty pair, (laughs). But this kind of issue is very realistic; I believe that there are cases like these in modern society and it won’t be a small number, either. People nowadays don’t seem to see love as such an important thing, it’s like playing a game in life, it’s a type of society disease amongst young people. So when we were acting it, we would continually hypnotize ourselves, because even though it’s hard for you to get into something that you don’t agree with, you still have to act. After filming, we watched it ourselves and we would think, wah, I really want to hit myself. Wah, so obnoxious.

TV Series: What is the ending?

Raymond: In the end we both received deserved … (punishment?) Kind of, but it’s more of a mental kind of punishment. We all know who we should cherish the most. Then I realise that I was very wrong and in the end I know who I really like the most. And to be honest, this can be considered as the most hateful character that I’ve played, but I still like it a lot, because later he’ll become very touching, very touching. This character is probably the most touching of all the series, ancient series not included, that I’ve played. (He’s this bad but still touching?) I really don’t want to reveal it, I really don’t want to reveal it (laughs naughtily). And when I received the script, I really wanted to watch the ending, because when I was filming for it I was always thinking, how is this going to end? How is this going to end? And in the end when the scripts came out, the director asked me, Raymond did you see that ending? I said that I had, and then my hands started shaking, because I had only seen separate scenes, and not the whole thing. Some series, I think, how do I say it, sometimes when an actor receives the script, if he can picture it just from reading the script, and if you can say, God, there are actually scenes like this, you’ll be very happy and the director will be very happy. He said that he already has an idea of how to film it, and I said I had my idea too. (Did your ideas match?) No (laughs), we all gave our suggestions; I said this and that, then okay, everyone put in some ideas and we worked out how to say our lines and the director gave some suggestions as to how to actually act it out. And the producer was very pleased with the feeling the came out, and it wasn’t just that scene, it was all of those scenes, even though in the end I didn’t my character didn’t appear up till the last, fortieth episode, instead it was only thirty-six, or was it thirty-seven? But there was one scene where I didn’t appear at all, but my spirit was always there, really (profound laughter). I didn’t appear that episode, but the whole episode was about me. (Was it someone remembering you?) Something like that (Is it reminiscence? Faint ~ I’m so worried~) Ha ha, watch it when it comes out! I really liked those scenes, because you could demonstrate your ability, and that is what an actor wants the most. It’ll also make you cry a lot (laughs).

Next year is Raymond’s big year, and also a big year for his fans. Taking a count, he has, in total, five series to be released. When you guys see Raymond with personalities so different to one another, appearing before your eyes as fast as a space shuttle, please don’t faint!

TV Series: Your fans have dubbed next year as the Raymond Lam Year. Face to Fate, The Master of Tai Chi, The Legendary Era, Heart of Greed and The New Breath of Love all might be airing. Which character from which series do you have the most confidence in?

Raymond: Ah! Ha ha, hopefully they’ll all air! The Legendary Era is definitely going to air, a lot of people have already seen Face to Fate, Heart of Greed should be airing soon, but I don’t know about The Master of Tai Chi. All four series are different, that’s good, at least it won’t give people a mixed-up feeling (laughs).

TV Series: After La Femme Desperado, you’ve been filming a lot of modern series. Are you trying to replace the “Ancient Prince” image in the audiences’ minds?

Raymond: I never was an ancient prince (laughs). It’s probably because I have more ancient series. Ancient series have helped me a lot though; ancient series are more popular outside of Hong Kong. Airing more ancient series can introduce me to the audiences outside of Hong Kong, it’s a kind of practice (silly laughter), and actually modern series are harder to act, in ancient series there are more styles, and a lot of more techniques, modern is more based on reality, your lines, your language, and to have your acting natural but interesting to watch isn’t easy. And because modern series are very realistic, it’d be very hard to grasp, and so I find modern series harder to play. I don’t know why, but after La Femme Desperado, a lot of producers have asked me to film in modern series. This is a good thing, and also practices. I actually would rather film modern series, because wearing wigs in ancient series is very difficult to bear.

TV Series: Just before they announced the winner of the Best Actor award at the TVB Awards Presentation, was Liza joking with you only?

Raymond: Yeah, yeah (laughs). Because, yeah, ha ha, not only Liza, even I couldn’t believe it. This year, I didn’t have that many productions; I was already really happen that La Femme Desperado left a deep impression upon the audiences, and because so many audiences now recognize my character Chai Fun, this can be considered as one of my representative works, so I’m very happy.

TV Series: After this series, do you have any plans to work in Mainland?

Raymond: Not at the moment, because I don’t know when I will finish this series. To be honest I also want to go to film in Shanghai, hopefully next year I’ll get a chance to film with the cast and crew of The New Breath of Love again. We first have to wait for the results after The New Breath of Love is aired. They said that it should be pretty reliable, the production crew is pretty confident. I wonder if The New Breath of Love will air in Hong Kong. (It’ll air in Mainland, right?) It should. (Hong Kong will air it as one of their series bought from outside?) Hopefully I also hope that the Hong Kong audiences can watch this series, because this character is a little different to me (laughs).

TV Series: Do you have confidence in winning an award for next year?

Raymond: Next year (thinks), next year I want to get into Top 5 again (laughs). Hopefully when I get into Top 5 again next year, Liza won’t say that she didn’t think I would (laughs).

[Magazine Scans] Additional plot synopsis and interview with producer Poon Ka Tak:

1. [Drive] is both invested by TVB and CCTV. They have already created storylines for all 60 episodes, and now they're preparing the scripts. Because the scripts were written in Cantonese, therefore they will need to modify it for Mainland cast's version. He also added that there is no difference in the seasons, because they emphasized on July 1st, it shall be in summer.

2. Preparing for this series in very challenging as they're working with CCTV. The story is not just about HK handover back to China, but the changes over 10 years, how HK people reacted to handover, for example the immigrating trend, and also how people are now returning to HK. The script is more realistic view of HK. Also, the story revolves around the love and hate relationship of a huge family. The most difficult part is preparing two versions of scripts, one in Cantonese and the other in Mandarin.

3. At the moment, they have already finished filming the first 20 episodes. The manufacturing plans in Beijing almost appear in every episode. They also filmed in a old car parts plant in HK. Canada's part was to film the immigration trend pre 1997, with Michael and Sheren immigrating there. Tehy also filmed Chan Mei Kei part there, with her involved in a murder case. Her husband died, but no one knew the murderer. Seven years later, he was considered missing person and Chan Mei Kei can finally sell off their house. However, they end up discovering her husband's corpse and she was accused of murdering him. Damien and Liu Ging Sang then tried to rescue her. Later, she died and Charmaine feels her mother's death was caused by them. She was already dating Ray, who is Damien's son and a lot of events happened after this.

4. Ron's character was often manipulated. He has a very simple personality, not impulsive like his previous roles, but instead very understanding and easy person. He's not part of the Wah family, he is an illegitimate child, who share a same father but different mother with Joe Ma. He was born of Joe's father and his mistress, but he did not knew about this. Later, he found out that he was actually a rich man's son. He also knew who his real father is, he cared for him but pretend not to know their true relationship. He is a sensible young man. Ray doesn't have much screen time with Ron. Ray will have a lot of screen time with his first cousin, mainland actor Feng Shao Feng. Poon Ka Tak added that Shao Feng plays a very important character in the series and his father is acted by Liu Ging Sang.

5. During filming, he has warned Ray and Ron not to play around too much during filming. he doesn't mind them going out during resting time because actors need to de-stress too. He also added that it's common that the cast sometimes grouses their complaints to him, but it's alright because they will resume normal the next day. He think that pressure is necessary while filming a series, for example, criticizing "Just now you're not good enough, you should do this, etc. The way you do is not acceptable etc. etc." One example is Ellesmere Choi, who cannot sleep once PKT scolded him. Ellesmere Choi is a lively person but will turn quite in front of PKT because he's afraid of him. PKT joked: "We are like small kids. Acting is crazy. Audience are silly, while actors are insane! (Laughs)"
~~~~~~~~~~

Myolie just explained the love pentagon in the clip above. It seems that:

Myolie ---> Ray <---> Charmaine
Zhao Ke ---> Feng Shao Feng <---> Myolie

News translation below credit to Em:


Myolie Bears the Cold in Backless Dress

Myolie Wu took part in a costume fitting for her role in "The Drive of Life" yesterday, wearing a silver dress that reveals most of her back and legs. She says: "The story tells of me taking part in the Miss Exhibition pageant. I have been to the trade exhibition before but have never watched the pageant." She indicates that she will be filming at the exhibition centre next week and wearing such a skimpy dress, she is worried about catching a chill: "I am afraid of the cold! I have to cry in that scene as well because it tells of my character being attracted to Raymond Lam and he agrees to support her in the contest, but he goes missing afterwards and I am very upset. (Do you have any kiss scenes with Raymond?) I don't think so because I have a romance in the show with Mainland actor Feng Shao Feng."

[Article]阿佘當眾悔婚 林峰無面 -- 13/1/2007

小白屋布置成徐子淇的世纪婚礼般豪华。

林峰佘诗曼拍摄新剧的悔婚场面。

林峰佘诗曼对自己的婚礼各有不同憧憬。

昨日(1月4日)林峰及佘诗曼一 起到屯门黄金海岸酒店，替无线新剧《岁月风云》拍摄一场佘诗曼的悔婚重头戏，由于是豪门婚宴，所以现场也布置得十分壮观豪华，加上主景乃是用白色帐篷为主，俨如徐子淇的世纪婚礼一般。

这场重头戏除了林峰及佘诗曼外，更有宣萱、苗侨伟、胡杏儿、邓萃雯及数十名临时演员等，场面十分壮观。戏中提及佘诗曼为了替母亲讨回公道，要令林峰家族丢脸，因此刻意在婚礼上悔婚，没有穿上婚纱之余，更跑到台上说两家人从此誓不两立，期间她的演出更是表情丰富。

拍摄后，佘诗曼与记者谈到自己未来的婚礼时，她笑说：“一定不会像今日拍摄的情节，现实不会那样戏剧性的！”那会否像徐子淇般到外国行礼？佘诗曼说：“不知道，要视乎心情而定，不过一定会在妈妈定居的夏威夷举行，我喜欢简单的婚礼，会通知大家。现在讲太遥远了，找到男朋友才说吧！”

另外，带病上阵的林峰，拍摄全程声音沙哑，他说：“到时会再配音，刚才讲对白时也走音，幸好大家很专业，继续拍摄。”问到他有没有幻想自己的婚礼时，林峰当即表示希望像李克勤那样可以找到赞助，而这次的结婚戏也是入行以来第一次，想不到竟会结不成，但也不会怕会变成事实，因为距离结婚还很远。

P/S: The images are cool ^_^!!!

[Big News: HOT!!!] 阿佘駕寶馬車險撞到林峰 -- 13/1/2007

(星島) 01月 12日 星期五 03:30AM (綜合報道) 腾讯有清晰大图不过写明不能转, 地址如下: http://ent.qq.com/a/20070112/000133_2.htm

(星島日報報道) 別看佘詩曼嬌滴滴，她駕車時是令人聞風喪膽的「小辣椒」，昨日佘詩曼與林為新劇《歲月風雲》拍攝外景，劇情講述阿佘駕寶馬車險撞到林，但她險些弄假成真，教人替林捏一把汗，林亦高呼﹕「好驚呀!」

過往阿佘駕駛出事的都是寶馬車，巧合地昨日拍攝戲分的車輛屬同一牌子，而拍攝的劇情亦可謂開正她戲路。阿佘要扮作駕駛途中險些撞到林，開始前因車廂中的佘詩曼不用入鏡，只需工作人員駕駛便可以，可是林卻爭做「司機」，突然高呼說﹕「等我來啦﹗我知要乜。」他的技術很好，令拍攝順利完成。

而阿佘不甘示弱，未到她埋位時她同樣爭做司機，現場工作人員隨即進入戒備狀態，緊張地緊瞪阿佘，亦可能阿佘心情緊張，在兩次倒車時，一次險撞到路旁的路牌，要現場工作人員馬上喝停她，另一次則真的差點便撞到林，事後林亦頻呼好彩，不過其實也不真是很驚險，車輛與林間亦有一段距離，林在開玩笑說﹕「好驚呀﹗」但看得出他從容不逼的樣子，其實沒有半點驚慌。至正式埋位時，阿佘駕車掠過林身邊，亦無危險動作，拍攝非常順利。

昨日見阿佘駕駛並無留下任何陰影，她於2000年至02年期間，曾有多次撞車紀錄，最嚴重2次，其中一次她當時駕駛紅色寶馬在尖沙嘴為避的士剷向石壆，衝向安全島並撞毀交通燈柱，令她頸骨受傷。另一次則是她趕拍劇途中，駕駛黑色寶馬撞石壆，車頭損毀，幸而安然無恙。

佘诗曼多次撞车不怕受伤 争做司机险撞伤林峰

阿佘曾有多次撞车纪录仍自动请缨做司机。

别看佘诗曼娇滴滴，她驾车时可是令人闻风丧胆的“小辣椒”。佘诗曼与林峰1月11日为新剧《岁月风云》拍摄外景，剧情讲述佘诗曼驾驶的宝马车险撞到林峰，但她险些弄假成真，令人替林峰捏了一把汗，林峰也高呼：“好怕呀！”

林峰确有胆色，被阿佘差点撞到亦十分淡定。

工作人员做人肉挡箭牌免阿佘倒车时再生交通意外。

佘诗曼过往出事时驾的车子都是宝马，巧合的是11日拍戏用的车辆属同一牌子，拍摄的剧情也正是她驾车险出事。佘诗曼要扮作驾驶途中险些撞到林峰，开始前因车厢中的佘诗曼不用入镜，只需工作人员驾驶便可以，可是林峰却争着做“司机”，还突然高呼说：“等我来啦！我知道要什么。”他的技术很好，令拍摄顺利完成。

阿佘在车内凝重的查看路面情况。

佘诗曼也不甘示弱，未到她埋位时，她同样争着做司机，现场工作人员随即进入戒备状态，紧张地紧瞪着佘诗曼。也可能佘诗曼心情紧张，两次倒车时，一次险撞到路旁的路牌，要现场工作人员马上喝停她，另一次则真的差点便撞到林峰，事后林峰也频呼运气好。不过其实也不是真是很惊险，车辆与林峰之间还有一段距离，林峰开玩笑说：“好怕呀！”但看得出他从容不迫的样子，其实没有半点惊慌。至正式埋位时，佘诗曼驾车掠过林峰身边，也没有危险动作，拍摄非常顺利。

阿佘初次倒车已撞路牌。

曾撞车伤颈骨

11日见佘诗曼驾驶并没有留下任何阴影，她2000年至2002年期间，曾有多次撞车纪录，最严重的有2次，其中一次是她当时驾驶红色宝马在尖沙嘴为避的士铲向石柱，冲向安全岛并撞毁交通灯柱，令她颈骨受伤。另一次则是她赶着去拍剧途中，驾驶的黑色宝马撞了石柱，车头损毁，幸而人安然无恙。

P/S: Some Fung’s fans said that if Charmaine really knocked down Fung, then she must watch out. Huh... I thought that it was a real news; Charmaine really gave me a scare! Charmaine should learn driving more cautiously... keke...

MORE IMAGES:

P/S: The number “748” means “Go To Die”. TVB needs to change the plat number! ^_^

Original Newspaper:

[Click To Enlarge]

English Version Translation From The Beehive:

Don't think that Charmaine is just cute, when she drives, she's a "little pepper" that scares others. Yesterday, Charmaine and Raymond Lam were filming for "The Legendary Era", and the scene was about Charmaine driving a BMW, nearly crashing Raymond. However, she almost crashed into Raymond for real, the instructor was frightened for Raymond, and Raymond himself also said, "So Scared!"

In the past, the cars Charmaine drove that had car accidents were all BMW. IT was a coincidence that yesterday's car was a BMW too, and the scene is just like her past. Charmaine is supposed to pretend to crash into Raymond while driving. In the begining, Charmaine didn't need to drive, so the crew drove for her. However, Raymond wanted to be the "driver", and yelled, "Let me try! I know how!" His driving skills was good, so the shot finished smoothly.

Charmaine saw Raymond driving, so she wanted to be the drive too. All the crew members stared at Charmaine nervously, and Charmaine looked nervous. On the first time she backed up, she nearly hit the road sign, and the crew members quickly topped her. Another time, she almost hit Raymond. Afterwards, Raymond constantly said he was lucky, but it wasn't very serious, there was a distance between Raymond and the car, Raymond joked, "So scared!" Seeing his relaxed face expression shows that he wasn't even scared. When it was time to film, Charmaine's car successfully passed by Raymond, and was completely safe.

From yesterday, you can see that Charmaine is not afraid of driving. She had couple of accident records in the year 2000-2002. The most two serious ones were when she drove a red BMW in Tsim Sha Tsui and hit the traffic light on the sidewalk to avoid the taxi, that time, her neck was injured. Another time was when she was rushed to film, driving a black BMW, and hit the sidewalk. Her car was demaged, but she was okay.