TVB Celebrity News

Hacken Lee got his record company to invest 6 figures on a large cargo truck to promote for his new album Sinner (罪人). Yesterday on Haiphong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on the cargo truck, and the fact that it was Golden Week, the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui were packed. The cargo truck also did not park correctly on the street, when an uniformed police officer passed by, a parking ticket was given. The police broke off the crowd and later police cars came to the scene to direct traffic and put everything back in order.

Hacken's promotion turned into a 'quick flash party', where he rushed to do the ribbon cutting and signed autographs in just 15 minutes. Afterwards, he expressed through an interview: "I was suspecting we fell for a trap, did some Universal person called them to come and give us a ticket, thinking they could tag back my song 'sinner'?" He expressed that he has lost TVB's big help with publicity, so his company had to come up with other publicity tactics to make up for it. He also expressed that he's still not used to going on other TV stations to perform. He said: "Usually go to Tseung Kwan O, I'm used to their scent. I still have hope, I hope the issue can be resolved soon!"

Hope HKRIA and TVB issue can be resolved soon
The night before, when TVB was broadcasting a variety show and the show was cut half an hour short because the one scene showing Big 4 singers Alan Tam and Hacken singing was completely cut out, however, at the end during a big group singing, the close up shot of Hacken was left alone. Wonder if it's because Hacken is TVB's 'god son" that he got an advantage. Hacken said: "Really? It's really not false reputation, with only one shot is already good enough. I understand that there are rules, not broadcasting my parts is reasonable, but as far as I know TVB and Universal are still discussing, both sides have made concessions, hope we can be in harmony again within this year, good to shae hands again!"

TVB Foreign Affairs Director (Tsang Sing Ming) expressed that they had received a signal, at the time during the group sing, there was one camera angle on Hacken, but TVB considered that the show was not Hacken's personal show, so decided not to cut it.

Hacken Lee initially was comfortably shooting the MV to his new song Sinner at the book store, but then there was a sudden power outage, making the entire store very hot. The staff was so hot they had to take their clothes off, Hacken was forced to stay situated in oven-like temperatures to shoot the MV with emotions. He also needs to pretend that he's feeling very comfortable, challenging his acting skills. Once the cameras stopped rolling, Hacken's clothes were soaked in sweat. He initially wanted to thank the director for picking a place indoors to film the MV, but it turned to feel really cramped, no wonder Hacken joked: "I'm a hot dog, I'm edible!"

Hacken spent his free time buying a nature image gallery to give to his two sons, he said: "My oldest son likes to read books, he won't let go of the children books. My youngest son will stare at colorful photographs, so I often buy these things for them, especially panda books because they love National Treasure!"

Earlier, during the World Cup match between England and Germany, the English team was on the receiving end of a ‘bad call’ by the referee, incorrectly denying them a goal that should have been valid. As a huge soccer and English team fan, Hacken Lee left a message on his Weibo, saying: “If anyone out there is contributing money to beat up the referee, remember to include me.” Afterwards, Hacken received some criticisms about his comments, with people complaining that it ‘promotes violence’.

Yesterday, Hacken accepted an interview with Commercial Radio’s Eileen Cha. During the interview, he re-emphasized that he chose his words very carefully when he wrote that message, plus he specifically used the words “If anyone” [TN: implying that he is not specifically telling people to go beat up the ref.] . At that time, he was purely doing what any devoted soccer fan would do – venting his frustration at the referee’s bad call, except with some sarcasm and humor.

With regard to the criticisms of the comments ‘promoting violence’, Hacken replied: “If people feel that I am sending the wrong message because of this, then I apologize and will be more careful next time. However, I feel at that time, ‘in the heat of the moment’, it was an acceptable way to vent.” As for rumors of some people asking lawyers if these types of comments could be considered a ‘crime’, Hacken responded: “What? That serious? Is it something that one needs to be jailed for?”

There were also rumors that Hacken and his World Cup hosting partner Jan Lamb did not get along. Hearing this, Hacken laughed and stated: “When a program is popular, of course there are going to be all sorts of rumors surrounding it. If you were to ask Jan himself, he would definitely say that we do not get along and tell you to listen to the program to find out more – it’s a chance to promote the program.” Hacken indicated that he and Jan are the same type of people – outside of work, both are quiet and do not like to talk much. He reiterated that the 2 of them are very happy working with each other and are even looking at other opportunities to work together.

Since the news came out that Hacken Lee’s contracts with TVB and Universal Music expired at the end of March, he has been a ‘hot commodity’ among the record companies. Earlier, there were rumors that EEG purposefully sent Hacken’s good friend Joey Yung to try and persuade him to join their company; plus add to that Universal’s dispute with TVB over royalties, which had placed Hacken – known as ‘TVB’s god-son’ – in a difficult position. Nevertheless, despite the struggles, Hacken has decided that due to his deep-rooted relationship with Universal, he will renew his contract with the record company.

According to reports, even though Hacken’s contract with Universal expired in March, he still ‘owed’ the company several albums. With both parties agreeing on a ‘happy rate’, the album contract was extended as well. Universal’s Vice-Chairman Huang Jian Tao confirmed yesterday: “Yes, Hacken has indeed renewed his contract. The company was able to use its sincerity to convince Hacken to stay.” Hacken’s management company E.N.G. expressed that they are satisfied with the terms of the contract, saying: “Hacken’s collaboration with Universal has always been pleasant.”

Due to the birth of his second son, Hacken has been at home keeping his wife and sons accompany. Tomorrow, he will officially resume working and start recording for his new album. With Universal’s other front-line artists such as Jacky Cheung, Kelly Chen, and Kay Tse already making appearances on ATV and i-Cable, will Hacken be doing the same? His management company expressed: “Currently, there have not been any discussions about promotional opportunities yet. The priority is to first record the album, then later see which shows fit with promotional efforts.”

Known for being ‘crazy’ about soccer, Hacken was rumored to have signed a multi-million dollar contract with i-Cable to host the World Cup, however it is reported that for this year’s WC, i-Cable will not be hiring an ‘outsider’ for the job. In a surprising turn of events, Hacken has been reportedly hired by TVB to host their World Cup programming, despite his recent contract renewal with Universal. Asked if Hacken was granted ‘amnesty’ due to his good relationship with TVB, the station’s Manager of Production (variety shows and special events) Ho Lai Chun responded: “The host for the World Cup programming has not been confirmed yet; we are in contact with several people at the moment and Hacken is one of them.” As a huge fan of the Manchester United soccer team, Hacken will be attending the ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow for the specially-themed MU restaurant opening in Hong Kong.

In addition, with i-Cable being granted the exclusive broadcasting rights for the entire World Cup competition, there have been reports that the company has also bought out the rights to report on the World Cup in their news programs, which means that TVB and ATV would not be able to air i-Cable’s World Cup footage in their news programs -- they would only be able to air footage of the few games they are jointly broadcasting. This has sparked renewed talks between the paid TV provider and the 2 stations to hopefully come to an agreement that would work for all parties.

As “TVB’s god-son”, Hacken Lee’s position in the past few months during TVB’s dispute with HKRIA over royalties has been awkward at best. To avoid going against TVB, Hacken insisted on honoring his contractual obligations and therefore refused to be interviewed by i-Cable. However, with his TVB contract expiring last week (3/31) plus the birth of his 2nd son, Hacken decided to “break the ban” yesterday and accepted an interview with i-Cable.

Though the dispute between TVB and HKRIA over royalties is still ongoing, Hacken no longer has to bear the weight of ‘TVB contracted singer’, so he happily shared the joy of his son Rex’s birth with i-Cable. At the same time, he also accepted a telephone interview with TVB’s [Scoop] to share the good news.

During his interview with i-Cable, Hacken was asked whether he is concerned that doing this interview in Cantonese will affect his relationship with TVB. Hacken replied: “I have not thought about it; actually, the earth is turning every day and depending on which point it stops at, different things happen. Before, I was contracted with TVB so I had to honor my contractual obligation, however my contract ended on 3/31. I have not thought heavily about it – just let everything take its natural course…I’ll take it as getting to know more people.” (Will you be appearing more on i-Cable shows in the future?) “One step at a time.” (There were rumors previously that i-Cable offered you HKD$10 million to take on hosting responsibilities for the World Cup?) He laughed and replied: “Haha...if I sign on for 3 seasons straight, I can really afford to have more children…whether I’ll be the host or not, leave it up to fate.”

Asked whether he will try again to have a baby girl? Hacken said that it most likely won’t happen, as he feels that 2 children are enough so there are no plans currently for another one.

Hacken Lee and Emily Lo's second son was born last week. Hacken was very happy when he announced to the media. He told the reporters he calls his second "boss" Rex, but hasn't found a suitable Chinese name yet. He said Rex looks exactly like his first "boss" Ryan. Mother Emily and Rex have been discharged home. Hacken will be staying at home to look after the family. In May, Hacken will release his Cantonese album and also will continue his "Left Alan, Right Lee" concert tour.