2000AD Promotion at Plaza Singapura

29th January, 2000

 The Day is finally here, after 5 hours of waiting, the cast of 2000 AD finally arrives, one by one. James, whom I was there for, turned up in his usual beige and white outfit, with yellow shades. (Btw, his other fav colour is blue, for the clothes, I mean) He looked very normal, and somehow, I thought, he looked a bit tired too. 

He talked about his experiences in filming the movie, how he fluffed his cantonese lines on the very first day of filming etc...
Boy, was he funny! I found myself laughing heartily at that. Anyway, it seems that his cantonese is not bad now. He also said that he is not as big and muscular as many people may think he is, which I think is true. Although he may look big on TV and in pictures, he really isn't all that when you see him face to face. He's quite normal, maybe with a bit more muscles and a better bod than the average guy...that's all...haha (as if that ain't enough?!) Also, I had actually intended to ask him why is he so short? (don't ask me why...James, Vie21 *wink* you should know why) but didn't get the chance to.
Okay, enough of my crap. Anyway, after the interview, of course the other stars had their turns, but we wouldn't dwell too much on it here. Briefly, I'd say that Aaron Kwok knew his status as heavenly king, as he went on to speak non-stop till the hosts had to drop him a hint to stop...haha.

Talking about the hosts, well, I thought they sucked! The 2 of them just didn't know how to bring out the passion in the audience, and the whole time b4 the programme started, they just kept trying to act cute...doh. Also, they were totally biased, focusing their attention on the few foreigners and some guys there, forgetting about the rest. 
One of them would only give the freebies to guys she notices, and to the foreigners. She even pointed them out to each celebrity that came onstage!! can you believe that?! The celebs then have no choice but to say hello to them. At least that's what James did. As for Phyllis Quek, she just said "Oh..I don't know how to speak Japanese" and ignored them. I was laughing to myself. I think all the other locals deserve an equal chance man!! 

Thankfully, guess what James said when he was asked something about those foreigners? He said (in chinese), "I'm a Singaporean myself, and I would be happy enough to have local fans who support me." aww...isn't that sweet? at least he did not think like the hosts, who think that these foreigners are greater than locals. Did she really think that they came all the way here for the stars?? haha...
Anyway, I don't know if I was just plain lucky or something, but James sat directly in front of me during the autograph session. (I was in the front row) So, although I did not get their autographs, I managed to take quite a few pictures. In situations like this, you gain some, you lose some, I guess. you just had to weigh the pros and cons.

Well, I managed to take some pretty good pics, I should say and hand the card to him. Here's one for the record: Once during the autograph session, James saw me holding the camera, and intended to pose for a pic, even though I did not call out to him. 

 
That was really nice, wasn't it? I was looking thru the camera the whole time, and could see him looking this way. However, before I could snap, somebody walked through! James kinda strained his neck a bit, knowing that I haven't snapped yet, but still, I didn't make it...the person was too fast for my camera. argh...
Daniel Wu, sitting beside James, was also in front of me. That guy is kinda cute too, he grew up in the States, and is thus not very proficient in Mandarin. But still, due to the 2 hosts that could not speak English, he struggled on in mandarin, which, at least, could be understood.

Btw, during the autograph session, it was pretty interesting to watch James' reaction, while all the people around me were going "Daniel! Daniel!" James was oblivious to it all, pretending not to hear anything at all, looking bored sometimes. Then, the moment someone called out to him, he perked up immediately. It was kinda funny.

The other 2 stars are newcomer Gigi Choi and Andrew (Lian Kai).

 

Initially, I did not intend to bring a camera along, because a camera would just spoil the whole experience, it is not the same looking thru a lens and actually seeing it with your eyes! I learnt that at the millennium swing, and the whole feel was different! However, I thought that since this might be his last public appearance, I would be letting myself and all of you down if I did not take any pictures to keep as memories...So, I still brought my camera after all!

In final conclusion, I would say that the whole experience was totally awesome! phew, what a day!

 

Here are more photos :

 More of James on stage.
James while he was signing the posters.
and...looking bored? nah...this was taken just when it all ended.
L2.jpg (18192 bytes) Andrew and Gigi. Don't you think he looks like Yutaka from the beach boys?