Date: 10 Mar 01
Source: Apple Daily
Headline: Andy Lau interviewed by Reuters

Andy was interviewed by Reuters lately. In the interview, he indicated that there is a new movie for him to film soon, he is co-acting with Japanese male star Takashi Sorimachi, filming of this movie titled You & I will start middle of March in HK.

Source: Show 8

Nicky Cheung Kar Hui is holding a solo mini-show in Planet Hollywood soon. Nicky has many friends in the circle, he has invited Andy Lau, Nic Tse, Joey, Eason & others to attend. He will sing songs from these singers. Since Andy is invited to watch, why not invite him to sing? Nicky feels that the show is too small, if he has his own concert later , he will invite Andy Lau & Jacky Cheung as guests.

Source: The Sun

Coco Li in her Oscar countdown diary disclosed that she was 'nervous till her palms turned sweaty' on her encounter with Takashi & Andy. Andy Lau & Dicky Cheung were already seated when she arrived. They waited 1 over hour before the star for the night Takashi appeared. She was seated between Andy on her right & Takashi on her left. Takashi asked her many questions thro' an interpreter. She was asked what songs she likes to sing, why so nervous, if she like Takashi, She just felt nervous & lost. Andy Lau was beside her, looking at his handsome face, she was v anxious, because he is her idol since young, he is a v brainy person, not only v talented, also extremely friendly, he chatted with her & wanted to write lyrics for her. Her worship for him is eternal.

Diary from andylau.cc

8/3---Had an interview by the press in the office today, thought can be over v fast, but interview & photo taking took 2 hours.
After that stayed in the office to settle some office matters, because the new movie is starting soon, everyday the activity is packed to the full, wont have much time to go back office.

2 nights ago Takashi Sorimachi had his concert in HK Coliseum. The response was good, many in the circle attended, hundred over fans in uniforms flew over from Japan to render support.

Takashi strummed guitar as he sang displaying his multi-talents. In English he introduced Andy, guest for the night. The duo gave each other a brotherly warm hug. Andy's presence won loud cheers & applause from audience.

After Andy sang his song Chinese, with the help of an intepreter, Takashi wanted Andy to take care of him during filming of the new movie, Andy replied, 'ok ok!' & wanted Takashi to take care of him too when he goes to Japan. Takashi urged fans to support their new movie, fans applauded loudly in support.

Takashi was v high during his concert, he tossed empty plastic bottles to the fans, during encore he hurled his Taranwold jacket to the audience, one lucky fan became its owner!

After the concert, Takashi went to Tsim Sha Tsui Planet Hollywood to meet his fans. The fans were too enthusiastic, Takashi was not able to leave till 2 hours later.

Actually there was a post concert banquet for Takashi at 12 mn at Hon Hum Hai Yi Hotel, his delay led to a long wait by Andy, Dicky & Coco Li. Takashi had called to inform them that he would be late & wanted them to eat first, but they insisted on waiting. Takashi was v apologetic on arrival. Andy was full of attitude, he did not show any discontent, instead he appeared as cheerful & toasted happily with Takashi. As Takashi had to catch the 7am flight back to Japan in the morning, he had no time for food, without eating anything, he left after 15 min to go back hotel to rest.

Source: Show 8

Karen Mok is always linked romatically to names of the males in the circle, in a recent interview by Metro Radio, she used animals to describe her 6 male friends: Andy Lau, Stephen Chow, Wang Ping Yuan, Leo Ku, Leslie & Stephen Feng

Karen said Andy has the feel of 'Descendents of The Dragon' when he stands out, he is best described with Dragon, his achievements are representatives.

Diary from andylau.cc

7/3---HK Film Awards announced the names of nominees today . A bit disappointed, because AFB has only 3 nominations, As for the Best Actor Award, all those nominated are Best Actor before! I look up to Tony Leung Chui Wei, but of course I am also full of confidence.
Afternoon went back to office to practise songs for new Mandarin album. This time the title is more sensual & more sentimental, hope to give all a diferent feel!

20th HK Film Awards will be held on the 29th of April. This annual event had a press con yesterday to announce its nominations.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, other than Newcomer Award, swept nominations in 15 out of the 16 categories. In The Mood For Love has 12 nominations.

The most eye-catching category is the Best Actor award. All the 5 nominees this year are all winners of previous years Best Actor award . Andy Lau is again nominated for Best Actor award with his 100th movie AFB. Tony Leung Chiu Wei is nominated for the movie In The Mood For Love, he had won Best Actor Award 2 times before in HK Film awards, in addition to being winner of Best Actor in Cannes Film Festival. Francis Ng is nominated for the movie Liang San Bo & Juliet, is the newly-crowned Best Actor in Golden Horse Award & winner in Movie Critics Association. Tony Leung Kar Fei was winner of Best Actor in the 3rd & 12th HK Film Awards. Chow Yin Fatt is winner of Best Actor in 3rd HK Film Awards. This battle of the century will be held on the 29th next month in HK Tsim Sha Shui Cultural Centre. Andy commented it is like a battle among the horse kings.

AFB is nominated in 2 other categories: Best Cinematography & Best Editing Awards.

Needing You in nominated in 3 categories: Best Actress (Sammi Cheng), Best Movie & Best Director (Johnni To & Han Jia Hui)

Andy attended the event yesterday as guest to announce nominees for Best Actor category with Lor Lan. As it was strictly confidential, even Andy did not know the names. He was anxious with the announcement, he became speechless momentarily, the list had to be read out by emcee Qian Jia Le.

When asked on the chances of winning, Andy commented all are strong contenders, he feels Tony Leung Chiu Wei stands a v high chance, as he did not win in Golden Horse awards held recently in TW. Francis Ng acted well in Liang San Bo & Juliet too. He hasn't watched the movie by Leung Kar Fei yet. Andy also thinks Sammi Cheng will win Best Actress award.

On Best Cinematography award for AFB, Andy thinks Peter in another movie has high chance, they had cooperated in the movie '91 Condor Heroes before. He is happy AFB can be nominated for both & hopes they can win.

Andy at the interview expressed hope that he can get the award again, he even put the paper of the nominated list in his pocket to take home with him!

Chow Yin Fat said he is used to not having awards, he commented that Andy had won last year & so this year shouldn't be him.

Source: The Sun
Headline: Takashi Sorimachi concert kicked off last night

Andy was guest last night in T Sorimachi concert. He sang the song Chinese. After singing he hugged Takashi, saying, "Both of our English are not clear, call interpreter!" They talked courteously, abt 80% of seats were filled, atmosphere was good.

[Katherine would like to be there too...so is Norain...we like Takashi for his GTO serial!]

Source: Sing Tao
Headline: The 3 Kings commercial war

7th Top 10 Commercial awards will be held on the 30th this month. Andy Lau with Ericsson commercial, Aaron Kwok with Pepsi ad & Leon Lai with Stareast.com commercials were among the 38 nominated. Andy has the most nos of people as cast, Aaron has a female lead & an ape, Leon is alone. The trend shows Leon is leading by a wide margin...

For support please vote at : http://www.hkatv.com.

Diary from andylau.cc

6/3---Haven't met Sammi for a long time, met her today at the Best TV Programme Awards ceremony today, as guests to give out awards.
Also met many old friends that haven't met for a long time, such as Johnni To, we talked abt plans for the future, hope there is a chance to work together, film new movies for all to see.
After that I went to Takashi Sorimachi concert rehearsal, this is the first time he has concert in HK, also the first time we cooperate, hope it is fresh for all.

The largest movie-fans association in Japan, Cinecity, announced its Best HK movies & Best Actor/Actress awards lately. Leslie Cheung is winner of Best Actor award at No.1 & No.3 position. Andy Lau with the movie Running Out Of Time is at No.2 spot, losing by only a narrow margin. Stephen Feng & Chow Yin Fatt are at No.4 & 5 ...

Source: Ming Pao

Sammi Cheng in an interview by Ming Pao said that Andy Lau has not contacted her for the role in his musical Laing Zhu, added that she has interest in musical play, she can sing, can act & dance & will be able to assume the role well if she is selected...

Diary from andylau.cc

5/3---Rested for a period of time, today do some image make-up for the new movie You & I.
As a professional assassin, the image is multiple, maybe it is the school teacher, maybe a hawker on the street, hair maybe golden, coffee-color or grey, who will know!

After the movie What A Wonderful Life filmed in '96, latest movie starring Andy Lau & Japanese superstar Takashi Sorimachi You & I is coming to Malaysia soon for shooting!

Accodingly, filming of this movie will start in late March or early April in a few places in M'sia, but it is not known when the two will arrive.

The crew is scouring sites suitable for filming, expectedly in airport, MRT station, modern highrise bulidings, busy business areas etc. The scenes include actions & explosions, production fee is expected to be high.

Preparation for the movie is underway in HK at full-speed. Filming will start in Singapore in mid-March, & continue to M'sia.

The movie featuring 2 assassins is directed by Johnni To, is the first HK movie for T Sorimachi, & first cooperation between the two. The most difficult part for a Japanese artiste filming HK movie is the dialogue, but Takashi is v lucky this time, for in this movie he needs to say v little lines, the most difficult part maybe is only a few action scenes, comapred to N Fujiwara in CSF where she had to memorise English lines & actions, Takashi is more relaxed.

Andy Lau is taking it seriously on this coopeartion with Takashi, he had have a grand press con in HK & invited Takashi to local delights lately.

One is a Best Actor, the other is a Japanese superstar, shooting to be done in many parts of South East Asia, looks like this movie is going for hits.

[Andy Town: Calligraphic pic reads--- Ming Pao readers: To be able to share happiness with others is true happiness!!]

Source: Ming Pao

Andy Lau is usually fully loaded with work, but in X'mas last year, he attended a party organised for the cancer-striken children in Penisular Hotel. He was told beforehand not to wear black & not to mention sickness & pain. When he arrived he could see the children & their parents were cheerful, the children dont look like sick persons. This makes Andy realised that we have to be optismitic in our outlook, enjoy the days everyday.

Andy also feels the organiser for the event, Penisular Hotel, worth praising, they provided not only place, food, gifts, they also arranged the activity. This attitude of only giving & not receiving is hard to come by.

Diary from andylau.cc

4/3---It's almost 10 years that my house was renovated. Plan to do some renovation this year. Today discuss with my family members abt renovation matter. Actually we have seen different designs, but, if not too lavish, it is too artistic. There is no feeling of warmth of a family.
What will my future home be like? Of course clean & simple mainly.

China Star held a 18-table dinner 2 nights ago at Tsim Sha Tsui Fu Ling Men restaurant to thank the staff. Andy, the crowned movie king in Running Out Of Time, attended the occasion despite his busy schedule. Many other stars attended too.

At about 8+pm, Andy drove his HK$800,000 white BMW 735i series himself to the restaurant. Andy has someone to drive him around usually, it is rare to see he driving the car himself. He stayed for a while & left early at abt 9+pm as he had something to attend to.

He did not win any prize, the rest who stayed till the end of dinner went home happy with presents from the lucky draw, Anita Mui won a camera, Tsui Hsak & wife won Panasonic DVD, Cecilia won cash prize...

When asked abt the amount spent, Mrs Heung replied as long as everyone is happy it is alright. Needing U, R.O.O.T & Wu Yan all have outstanding results last year.

[Andy Town:...look from L, look from R, look from front, look from back, look outside car, look inside car...he just looks perfect!...Agree?? Dear friends, & Norain?? !!!]

Diary from andylau.cc

3/3---Today had a song-selection meeting, to choose 100 favourite songs for the concert. Now shall begin to select one by one, hope you can tell me asap in the message board, what type of songs you like to listen. After deciding on the songs, we shall start rewriting the songs & the scores, after that, no more changes.
As to the appearance this time: What to wear? What hair-style? Do I dye hair? What colour to dye? To invite guest or not? Not decided yet!

Karen Mok had invited Andy Lau as guest in the final number of her concert. She had said earlier Andy would appear, but there was no sign of Andy even when concert was nearing its end. Actually Andy was arranged to appear together with Karen at the 'encore' session. Their appearance set the boisterous audience to a new height, the atmosphere was raised to the peak.

Andy was in an all white ensemble, while Karen was fully wrapped in an evening gown. They sang 'Hurt' together. Karen nestled herself on Andy with her head on his shoulder. Andy gave Karen a kiss after the song.

Andy commented humorously, "Look like the material for all your costumes tonite is not more than this dress! I feel like becoming your male dancer & have the close body dance with you! His short is high up to the waist!.."

Karen retorted, "Then I shall invite you next time!"

Andy, faced the audience, "If I wear as sexy, everyone must shout louder!"

Karen followed, "Maybe better if you come without clothes!"

Andy said, "Many salivate on Karen Mok's beauty & figure, but in addition to this, I admire her talent & hardwork more! "

After that Andy left the stage...

Source: Apple Daily

Aniki Takashi is the spokesman for Ericsson in TW, he has gone to Shanghai these 2 days to film a new series of commercial. Andy Lau is the spokesman for Ericsson in China & HK, there is no continuation of contract after expiry. The author heard from friends in com circle that this is because in most of Andy's movies, the sponsors are from the paging co, these companies advertise another brand of cellular phone, the situation is thus embarassing.

Diary from andyalu.cc

2/3---Today is more free, afternoon invited friends for a few games of bowling, went for rehearsal for concert tonite. Really appreciate Karen Mok, other han her beauty & body,she is v absorbed in her work, she is determined & hardworking. This concert proves that many people support her just like me.

Coco Li in a public appearance yesterday was asked on her signing of contract with Andy's nmg. She answered lightly," I'm still negotiating with nmg, haven't signed yet, I too hope to cooperate with them! (It was said Andy did not sign Karen Mok because of you?) No such thing! I only negotiate with Li Xiao Lin on the contract, Andy Lau is only the partner & boss."...

Source: Central News

Karen Mok is holding her 2nd concert in Coliseum on 2nd of March, Andy Lau & Gigi Leung are her guests for the night. She said was able to have Andy because Andy has actively volunteered, she wouldnt dare to make the request...

Source: Kimo News

Coco Li has decided to join nmg company invested by Andy, all her overseas peformances will be handled by nmg. But there is a rumour lately that Andy's initial plan to sign up Karen had been scrapped because Coco Li gave the condition that she would not want to be in the same company as Karen, as their singing style resembles one another.

This gave Andy some headache. Finally Andy who feels that nmg future is in golobal market, since Coco is more well-known globally, has signed up Coco instead of Karen.

Source: Show 8
Headline: Coco denied requesting Andy not to sign up Karen

...Coco denied, "No, I am discussing with nmg, I am of different style from Karen, every singer has different feel, I like Karen a lot, it is alright to be in the same comapny."...

[...heeheee..another pic of Dicky for you, Veronica, so you know who he is now?..dont worry...I shall take them down later & put up more Andy's pic for you, okay....^_-, *wink*]

Source: Show 8

...Dicky has denied that he is the highest paid artiste, he said he is right at the end after a whole string of super stars such as Chow Yin Fatt, Andy Lau, Tony Leung...

ACTOR Andy Lau wanted to stage a world-class musical in Hongkong in August, but all he has so far is just a phantom one.

[pic on the right: Presidential music as Andrew Lloyd Webber on the piano and singer Jessica Simpson perform at the inauguration of President Bush. Inset: Lau. -- REUTERS ]

Lau revealed on Wednesday that he had asked Phantom Of The Opera creator Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the music for his musical, which will be an adaptation of the famous ancient Chinese romantic tragedy, Liang Zhu (The Butterfly Lovers). But the composer could not deliver the goods by the Chinese New Year deadline.

So, Lau said, he has had to postpone the launch of the HK$30 million (S$6.66 million) show to next year.

To fill his pre-booked August slots at the Hongkong Coliseum, the singer said he would use them for his solo concerts.

Lau, who has branched into artiste management, said Lloyd Webber had been awed when he heard the music that had been written so far for the love tragedy, such as the Butterfly Lovers Concerto.

He wanted to write new original music surpassing that for Lau's production, but so far had not found the inspiration.

Lau said he would write the lyrics for the musical. While he would not name the actors for the show, singers Anita Mui and Sammi Cheng are said to have been be lined up for the plum roles of the star-crossed lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

Side Track: for Andy Town only

[...your encouragement is much appreciated, thank you, dear friend!}

From Pol T :
Katherine, I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed your website and appreciate all the translated news (about Andy Lau) you have. I stumbled across your website a few days ago (searching for info on Storm Riders 2, which Andy is rumoured to be in) and found your website.
I must confess I do not read Chinese well (about 1/2 *smile*) so having the news in English is great. So far, I have read all the news after December and they were wonderful. I have always liked Andy as an actor and a singer, but it's difficult to gather much info on him because 1) I can't read all the words and 2) I do not have access to all the Chinese articles, magazines, etc. So I would like to convey my thought and thanks for a website well done. Please continue what you're doing and best of luck in the future. Sincerely, Pol.

[...I shall try my best to cut down on my atrocious errors, dear freind & all, thanks for bearing with them....I am sorry as I work everyday & always have no time to edit the text]

Diary from andylau.cc

1/3---andylau.com is one year-old! Though there was some delay at the beginning because of technical problems, the whole live chat bday party was finally done smoothly, everyone did not pose me with difficult questions.
Just when I was abt to leave the office, the staff told me there were a lot of people in the chat room, who because couldn't login to join the party were not willing to leave.
Since everyone is so happy, of course cannot leave me out. Oh my! Forgot my password, how! Have to for once use another name other than andylau to chat with all. For this time only, not again!

Andy was interviewed by Commercial Radio yesterday. He was nominated for the Best Actor category in Golden Bauhinia movie awards for his role in AFB. Andy said he is obviously v happy with the nomination, if he is an audience, he will think Andy Lau acted well too, he is quite confident.

Asked if he feels the pressure being nominated alongside Tony Leung & Francis Ng, Andy answered humbly that Tony has won Best Actor award in Cannes Film Festival, he is better & is a strong contender, he will take it easy with the matter.

andylau.com was one year-old yesterday. Andy had forgotten abt it until he saw the many congratulatory notes sent to him by the fans. He organised an online live chat with his fans from around the world, lasting few hours, with abt 5,000 fans in all.

5 fans born on the same day were invited to visit the company, one of them flew in from TW.

Andy disclosed that the dotcom will be revamped in May, each fan will be given an identity card nos. The fans can accumulate marks to make purchase in his dotcom & related sites. Fans will be able to leave message readily. To prevent undesirable elements from leaving lewd words, he has employed professionals working 3 shifts to check on the site.

Li An Sieu, a Taiwanese song writer who has cooperated with Andy many times before, has set up a website in TW. This website is v popular as the cartoon dragon can sing funny songs criticizing certain events, Andy said he has written the lyrics for the site before, but he wont said which songs he wrote. Maybe he will set up another dragon at his site to have some fun!

Takashi Sorimachi will hold his concert next Wed in HK Coliseum, nmg is the organiser of the event. Andy is the invited guest singer. Asked if he will give T S a treat? Andy said it depends on T S's schedule, he will congratulate him on his recent marriage to Nanako Matsushima.

Source: The Sun
Headline: 'No 2 Tigers in one mountain' to sign up with Andy Lau

When Karen Mok's contract with Rock Records was expiring at the end of last year, Andy Lau was v keen to sign her on, but the latest news was Coco Li was signed up by nmg, Karen Mok was thus 'left in the lurch'.

After opening of nmg, Andy has successfully signed up Dicky Chang Wei Qian.

[ pics of Dicky put up specially for you, Veronica. He is Dicky, an actor/singer from HK, crossed over to TW, became famous with filming of TV series. Pic will be removed later to save space,..]

Accordingly, Coco set her conditions before joining nmg, she refused to be in the same company as Karen, it is either one or none. Coco is more well known internationally, she will sing theme song of Crouching T H D in Oscar Awards, her image will help in the global expansion of the co...

Karen Mok's co had refused to comment on the matter quoting Karen is busy with her concert. Coco Li has not returned call at all. nmg personnel replied that it is not announced yet, not convenient to comment.

Headline/Source: Andy's farmer's car being used

The writer saw a black stout farmer's car passed by at Tong Lor Wan one night, on a closer look, it was Andy's car.

The driver was a middle-aged man, he parked the car outside the supermarket waiting for someone. A few minutes later, a couple looking like husband & wife, carrying a lot of shopping bags, with the help of the staff walked out of the supermarket to the car. As the bags were too many, despite the spacious car boot, they had some difficulty in closing it, it took them abt 5 min to close the boot!

[...v busybody, sorry for this report, dear Andy.]

Diary from andylau.cc

28/2---Went back to office today to prepare for the Live Chat tomorrow. Other than discussing on the run down, also think abt the backdrop & the topics. Actually I look forward to this live chat v much, because andylau.com is already 1 yr-old. We had a special bday party, invited a few who were also born on the 1st of March to celebrate & happy together! A bit anxious, no sure what type of friends will come tomorrow? What questions will they ask me?

In RTHK radio interview 2 nights ago, Andy revealed that the stage musical he has been planning for a long time is actually the known-to-all love story 'Liang San Bo & Zhu Yin Tai', or 'Liang Zhu'.

He has also disclosed that Andrew Lyold Webber, the renowned musician famous for his work in The Phantom Of the Opera, Cats & Evita etc is the master brain behind the writing of the theme song of 'Liang Zhu'. Andy has invested US$4 mil or HK $30 mil to enlist the help from him. Andy will write the lyrics himself.

Preparation has been underway since last year. Andrew has heard the original Liang Zhu songs, & he was v impressed, commented that it as an astonishing, world-shaking piece of work. He wants to write a song that resembles the classic. Andy agrees with his views. Andrew has listened to the songs one whole year, yet to have the inspiration to write a flawless song.
As he was unable to produce the work before Chinese New Year, the initial plan of staging it during the summer holidays has thus been dropped. If the work is not of international standard, Andy would rather put it on hold, hopefully by next year he is able to stage the musical. To take the place of booked Coliseum, Andy will hold concerts during this period of time.

To write a song of equal standard is not easy but Andy is confident as nothing is impossible.

Andy feels the production team is not a waste of money as the musical is just put on hold, Is he worried that somebody will hijack the plan & stage before he does? Andy replied that this story has been shown hundreds of times, he is not worried.

Why has Andy chosen this stroy? "Because Liang Zhu is a v deep-rooted story, & as this will be staged in many places, wearing of period costumes has more attraction than wearing western suits."

Many years ago Andy had scored full marks when he acted as Liang San Bo in his acting training days exam, he has special affection for this role.

Andy had said before that he might picked Anita Mui as his female lead. Now he is staging the classic Liang Zhu, to be compatible with Liang San Bo (acted by Andy), have stage experience, can cross-dress, can act as lively & yet mischievous student, & also as tragic lovers, be able to move audience, Anita Mui is most suitable, besides she has special friendship with Andy.

But when asked abt this, Andy appeared 'lost', he said the female lead will be decided only when the songs are ready.
Sammi Chneg is another likely candidate.

Source: Ming Pao/Oriental Daily

6th Annual Golden Bauhinia awards organised by HK movie critics will be held on the 18th of March.
Results of nominated movies & names were released yesterday. Results were said to be on the 'right track' this time. In The Mood for Love & Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon have 6 & 5 nominations each.

AFB & Needing You are 2 out of the Top 10 movies awarded.

Andy Lau is nominated for Best Actor for his role in AFB. The other nominated males included Tony Leung & Francis Ng. Through his assistant, Andy said he is happy to be nominated, & with the importance given to AFB.

Source: Apple Daily

Johnny To has plans to film a movie starring 2 fatty bom bom, Sammi Chneg is said to be the female lead, Johnny has Andy in mind but has not find out a way to make Andy fat. Shooting for Needing You II may start this year, with the original cast! But Andy has concert in August, time has to be adjusted.

Diary from andylau.cc

27/2---Went to Coliseum tonite, not to attend concert, but to rehearse, not for my own concert, but for Karen Mok's concert as guest. we will sing a duet, quite meaningful, guess what song is it? I Dont Love U enough? Why Loving You So Much? Or what??