Sparking an upcoming “television war” in Hong Kong, the newly established broadcasting station, City Telecom (CTI) held a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of its production facilities. Numerous former TVB artists, such as Felix Wong (黃日華), Maggie Cheung (張可頤), Frankie Lam (林文龍), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), John Chiang (姜大偉), and Yuen Wah (元華) attended the ceremony to support Ricky Wong (王維基), their new boss. At the ceremony, Felix and Ricky Wong held up a loin head for the opening ceremony. Felix quipped that CTI offered numerous opportunities while Maggie noted that a lot of freedom was provided to its artists. The weather was stormy yesterday, which sparked Ricky Wong to comment, “It’s a bit cold! I do not know whether the wind and rain are rising or whether Ricky Wong stirred the turbulent weather!” Indicating that filming will take place at real locations [as opposed to studio sets], Ricky stated that CTI dramas will cover diversified subject matter, instead of families fighting over financial assets and love series. Ricky was obviously ridiculing TVB for their poor sets and narrow subject matter! New Environment Is Less Restrictive Allegedly the “Number 1 Brother” at CTI, Felix Wong revealed that he signed a contract with CTI last week. His first CTI drama will be a science-fiction detective drama. Felix said, “The director said that the subject matter will be difficult to film because we do not wish to use too many computer-generated images.” (Are the scriptwriters and directors from TVB?) “I know all of them [from before], which makes it easier to communicate. The new environment has less limitations, allowing us to stretch our imagination.” Blasting TVB as “Totally Very Bad” in the past, Felix was asked how he would describe CTI, upon which he said in Hong Kong style English, “Can Do Independence.” Felix added, “Mr. Wong gave us a lot of room for the creative process, allowing us to work independently.” Asked if he had attempted to persuade good brother, Michael Miu (苗僑偉), to join CTI, Felix replied, “I think they have already discussed the matter. Everyone has their own preferences; he still has an outstanding contract with TVB and said that he will observe first.” As for “Number 1 Sister” Maggie Cheung, she indicated that she will start filming in the second half of the year, alongside Patrick Tam (譚耀文) and Prudence Lau (劉美君). Maggie said, “There is a lot of freedom working with Mr. Wong. There is no long-term commitment in the contract. Everything is based on a per contract agreement. If the experience of working together is positive, then we can collaborate again.” Asked if the terms were more attractive than TVB, Maggie said, “That is needless to say! We all understand that the system at TVB will not change overnight, while I need to find a suitable place to work!” As to whether she will collaborate with TVB in the future, it will be dependent upon destiny. Frankie Lam signed a two-year contract with CTI, which will allow him to spend more time in Hong Kong. Frankie praised the new company for its freedom. Attend as as a guest, former TVB scriptwriter, Cheung Wah Biu (張華標), alos admitted that he had signed a contract with CTI. Creds: Oriental Daily/Jstars