Hoping to boost the quality of their dramas, TVB eagerly invited Film King, Anthony Wong (黃秋生), to film Lord of Shanghai <梟雄>. Arriving in Shanghai yesterday to film on location, Anthony was angered by TVB’s sub-standard hotel arrangements and that he was asked to pay for the expenses out of his own pocket. TVB has a policy of booking rooms at only three and four-star hotels when the cast and crew need to travel for filming. Each doubles room must contain two occupants, but TVB will not pay for the accommodations of the artiste’s personal assistant. Used to more generous arrangements while traveling for movie projects, Anthony complained of TVB’s policy, “You’re asking me to stay at a $150 HKD room? I’ve never done so in my life! Artistes are asked to share rooms, but my personal assistant is a woman. How can we stay in the same room together?” Anthony Refuses to Pay for 5-Star Hotel For greater comfort, Anthony decided to check into a five-star hotel instead. He said he had “discussed the issue with TVB beforehand” but was surprised he is now expected to pay out of his own pocket. “TVB wants me to pay the incremental difference? I’m staying [in Shanghai] for one and a half months, which would cost over $70,000 HKD. Should I bring all that money with me to travel?” Notified to film last-minute on the first day of his arrival in Shanghai, Anthony refused to budge until the hotel expenses are settled. He said, “What if I come back and see that they took all of my luggage away?” Since Anthony is grateful towards producer Amy Wong (王心慰) for recognizing his talent in his early career, he agreed to accept TVB’s filming offer and was not motivated by money. Anthony’s EEG manager, Mani Fok (霍汶希), explained that “five-star hotels, flying business class, and having a personal assistant on set are normal expectations” for a first-line actor. After Mani agreed to pay for the incremental hotel costs, Anthony resumed filming on set. Artistes Defend TVB’s Hotel Policy Despite Anthony Wong’s criticism towards TVB’s travel accommodations, the station’s artistes have learned to accept the hotel policy when filming on location. Kenneth Ma (馬國明) and Natalie Tong (唐詩詠) said that TVB’s policy has remained the same for years. Kenneth felt that the policy was reasonable, and said that TVB will give the cast and crew “pocket money” to cover additional expenditures when traveling. Natalie revealed that she normally pays the incremental costs to have her own hotel room when filming on location. Bosco Wong (黃宗澤) said, “Actually each filming location may have a different arrangement. Sometimes, there may be sponsors so it is easier to get our individual rooms. When I was filming Growing Through Life <摘星之旅>, I asked about the hotel arrangements beforehand. TVB has its policy, so I pay for my own room fees. It costs over several thousand dollars [HKD] in exchange for greater privacy.” While filming Limelight Years <華麗轉身> in Taiwan, Eliza Sam (岑麗香) revealed that TVB had covered her dining and hotel expenses. Eliza said, “I shared a hotel room with Candice Chiu (趙希洛). I didn’t find it to be inconvenient. As we portray sisters in the drama, it allowed us to be more immersed in our roles.” Creds: Oncc
TVB's should give better living quarters for their stars but Anthony is expecting too much. You don't need a 5 star hotel.
Anthony is after all a Movie stars. Winner of the Golden horse award. TVB want famous Movie stars to act in their TV series, must pay a bit more. Anyway, I stay in Shanghai before, their 5 stars hotel not expensive, about Sin$80 per night. for a 3.5 - 4 stars, it is about $35. To pay a 50 days stay in Shanghai, about S$4000. And to top it off, you can even bargain with the hotel for a 50 days stay, about SIN$60. Some more, can get good publicity for the hotel when the hotels says Hong Kong TVB use their hotel for location shoot. Got free dinners some more.
Antony is not doing charity work. TVB is a commercial enterprise. If TVB wants top billing then the perks go with the status of the actor. If they want to pay 3 - 4 star hotel rates, then stick to their regular actors. You can't have the cake and eat it.
He knew going to TVB and doing a drama there won't get him much money and the accommodations aren't going to be luxurious, so why bitch and moan about it even though he commented on that many times already, he's doing a TVB drama not for the money but a favor for someone. By now everyone knows what type of a person Anthony is, everyone would love it if TVB can give them the big bucks and all the best accommodations but reality isn't like that.
Can't or won't? He understood the $$$ is less and willing to accept the project. However, it is ridiculous to (1) share room with personal assistant that is a woman. This is afterall an entertainment industry. Can you imagine the gossip? Plus, this is a 1 1/2 months long; can you imagine the lack of privacy? (2) pay for your own room on business trips. The companies are required to pay for safe, clean and comfortable accommodations whenever you travel for biz. Don't expect me to go work for a company, help the company generate income; and jeopardizing my safety and comfort. That is a s***y company to work for if they don't care about their employee's safety. I don't know what kind of person Anthony Wong is; but, I do support his arguments. Just like another comment stated ... 3.5 billion company, and to me, refuse to provide the basic needs of the talents that will be generating more income for them. Simply wrong and unacceptable. Good for him for standing his ground.
It is obvious the money was negotiated upfront and he knew what he was getting into. You are assuming that the details are also known and that is a big assumption. How often when you negotiate for a job in a company do you ask about travel policies and hotel accommodation - maybe unless you are a travelling salesmen. He was doing TVB a favour but favour has limits. When you get to a certain status in any industry, the perks go with it. That is a given. Good thing he did not ask for a private jet.
Anthony wasn't required to share with his female assistance, he just made that statement. Still sharing with other artists can be an issue for some people who wants more privacy, especially for long period of times. I don't like a lot of there policies but you can't compare other business with TVB, they still probably use a lot of their old ones and they pretty much have a monopoly in HK so they can dictate a lot of their policies which save them a lot of money. I didn't assume anything, he said stuff like that all the time, he doing TVB shows, aren't for money, he knew the pay was low. I did say accommodations aren't luxurious. Of course, he didn't expect sharing a room with another artist and that he would have to pay for himself or extra if he wanted a room just for himself. The type of person he is, I'm sure he felt disrespected and those policies for top artists are a joke. I don't know what jobs you are talking but every company has their own policies and accommodations. Some are more detailed while others aren't. Sure Anthony has been in the industry for a long time and he should get some perks but don't expect TVB to give him too much of that. And you must be crazy if you think TVB would give him a private jet. Some of TVB's polices have been hated and cursed by so many staffs and artists over the years. Only few changes but still not enough to make everyone happy. As long as they have a strong foot hold on HK TV series, they don't need change as fast cause their aren't any serious threat to them now.
