In 2014, TVB’s two legendary fadans will bring their fight back to the TV screens. TVB’s first generation fadans, Liza Wang (汪明荃) and Angie Chiu (趙雅芝), will go head-to-head in Wong Jing’s (王晶) upcoming television drama, Across Heaven and Earth <風雲天地>. Liza and Angie’s “fight” started over thirty years ago, when the two starred in 1978’s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber <倚天屠龍記>, which also starred Adam Cheng (鄭少秋). In the series, Liza’s “Chiu Man” and Angie’s “Chow Chi Yeuk” fought intensely for the love of Adam’s “Cheung Mo Kei”, leading the actresses’ respective fans to clash with one another. The fight grew so intense that rumors of a real discord between Liza and Angie spread like wildfire. After collaborating in 1979’s Chor Lau Heung <楚留香>, Liza and Angie never starred in the same television drama again until this year, when the two were brought together again in a historic reunion to star in Wong Jing’s Across Heaven and Earth. Liza will star as Kwan Yeuk Nam, a very capable businesswoman who is caught between a large inheritance fight with her three sons, Cho Chi Wang (Kenny Wong 黃德斌), Cho Chi Yuen (Hawick Lau 劉愷威), and Cho Chi Ko (Edwin Siu 蕭正楠). Her husband Cho Wan Hon (Wayne Lai 黎耀祥) died at an early age, leading Nam to single-handedly raise her three sons. Angie stars as Mok Ngah Man, a famous barrister who was Hon’s lover and the biological mother of Nam’s oldest son, Wang. Liza rarely accepts filming offers, but was touched by storyline of Across Heaven and Earth, which prompted her to accept her role. She revealed that she was very surprised when she heard of Angie’s casting and was very excited to be working with her again. “I was one of the last ones to know about it, so it was a surprise.” Liza praised that Angie has become much more mature, calmer, and looks much younger than her age. Angie said, “It’s like meeting an old friend after a long time. It’s been a great collaboration.” Sunday, October 27 was the last day of filming for the crew. Liza had to shoot a crying scene – which she completed in one take – and Angie filmed a scene outside the Hong Kong High Court. Several dozens of fans from mainland China visited Angie on set, and to not disrupt the filming process, the film crew allowed the fans to cameo as news reporters interviewing Angie’s character. Liza received a standing ovation when she completed her crying scene in one take. It was said that the director originally allowed Liza to shoot the scene in several different takes, but Liza said no, insisting that emotional scenes would be more convincing if they were done in one take. For the scene, Liza also recited two pages of dialogue without any mistakes. Across Heaven and Earth is slated to air in 2014. Creds: ihktv
