Wayne Lai (黎耀祥) revealed in an interview with Commercial Radio Hong Kong that TVB may have plans to produce a spin-off to The Confidant <大太監> rather than a sequel as reported earlier. On December 24, Wayne accepted an interview with Commercial Radio Hong Kong. He exclaimed that his last pay raise was in 2009, when he won TVB’s Best Actor for the first time. “I will be performing on some shows during the holidays, and these were offered to me a long time ago. I haven’t had a pay raise in several years! Of course I need one! I want to get a 20 to 30 percent increase on my salary. At least I’ll be able to catch up with the inflation.” “The Confidant” May Get Spin-Off It was earlier reported that TVB had plans to produce a sequel to The Confidant, in which the Li Lianying biopic will touch upon historical events such as Emperor Guangxu’s ascension, reformation, coup, and Empress Dowager Cixi’s death. Contrary to previous tabloid reports, Wayne expressed that no one has ever approached him about filming a sequel, but he has heard that TVB intends to produce a spin-off, The Great Five Eunuchs <太監五虎>, with Wayne, Raymond Cho (曹永廉), Raymond Wong (黃浩然), Power Chan (曹永廉), and Edwin Siu (蕭正楠), reprising their roles from The Confidant. Wayne Exchanged His Son For Award? Although Wayne has yet to get a pay raise for his third Best Actor win, he did reveal that he was given more open job offers. Several mainland Chinese production companies are offering Wayne some roles, and although Wayne is very interested, his schedule with TVB is completely booked until July 2013. “I guess I’ll have to leave that to fate,” Wayne sighed. Wayne also expressed that he hopes to have a chance to work with different directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors in the coming future. He hopes to consistently find breakthroughs in his acting. He avoids performing in the same role twice, admitting that he does not want the audience to stereotype him into a particular character. Earlier sources claim that Wayne was willing to exchange his son for the TVB Best Actor award. Wayne, who renewed his TVB contract for another two years earlier this year, exclaimed that there was no truth in the reports at all, and laughed, “I am not very valuable to the company. Moses Chan (陳豪) earns a lot of money through endorsements, Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) earns a lot from his mainland dramas, and Raymond Lam (林峯) is a three-of-a-kind. The money he earns in six months is more than what I earn in three years! The report that mentioned that I traded my son for an award is very problematic. If the company really wants to sign my son, it is me giving money to them, not the company giving me an award.” Wayne also refuted reports which claimed that he is planning to have another daughter, “I am too old now. I’ve given up that plan a lot time ago.” Wayne Hopes Oscar Leung and Kenny Wee Will Find Peace When a fight broke out between Eric Tsang (曾志偉) and Kenny Wee (黃浩) at a wedding banquet, Oscar Leung (梁烈唯), who was also a guest, supported Eric. Kenny decided to sue Oscar for defamation. Wayne sighed, “When it comes to gossip like this, I hope everyone will be able to be more forgiving and have more empathy. I hope everyone will be able to spend time happily and peacefully on Christmas.”
