12/27/2000, Tony and Maggie teamed up again in a commercial endorsing a Chinese red wine brand. The commercial took six days to shoot in Shanghai. Tony played a violin soloist. The commercial will be aired over a year of time in China. Tony and Maggie are paid handsomely for their 6 days of work, rumored to be 7 figures.
Tony's New Year Resolution? Make more money! He plans to work harder next year, and save as much as he can so he has the freedom to work whenever he wants and take off whenever he wants. Tony's tenative filming commitment for the year 2001: WKW's 2046, Tokyo Raider Sequal, Hou Shao-shen's Millennium Dance.
12/21/2000, Tony debuts with his third MTV "Ying Gai Kan Guo" of the album "tony leung in the mood for love." A few days ago, he held an autograph session in Hong Kong. It attracted hundred local fans, and a few oversea fans. Besides the usual flower bouquets Tony received, two gifts stood out: a diamond necklace, and a huge handcrafted fan. With the new album climbing up on the pop chart and nesting good sales number, Tony hopes to make more albums in the year 2001.
12/11/2000, Tony is named one of the Ten Best People of the Year by the Time Asia Magazine. To find out the other nine Best People, Click here
Quote from Time Asia: TONY LEUNG CHIU-WAI - Nice guys do finish first. One of Hong Kong cinema's most charming and gentlemanly stars, Leung won the Best Actor award at Cannes for his contemplative turn in Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood for Love. Although Leung openly concedes he doesn't always understandthe characters Wong makes him play, he has become something of a muse for the famously mysterious director. And Tony doesn't need to intellectualize his roles because he looks so good: the editors of People magazine named him one of the 50 Most Beautiful People of the Year.
12/11/2000, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Sandra Ng, and Francis Ng attended the 45th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in Hanoi, Vietnam last night. Despite the high expectation that among these four, at least one of them will walk away with the Best Actor/Best Actress Award, it's not meant to be. The Best Actor awarded to Choi Min Sik (Happy End) of Korea and the Best Actress awarded to Mai Hoa(A SandyLife) of Vietnam. In the Mood For Love took home the Best Cinematography andEditing.
The abbreviated winner list:
Best Picture: A Sandy Life, Vietnam
Best Director: Chan Zhi-Yong (LamentOf The Sand River), Taipei
Best Actor: Choi Min Sik (HappyEnd), Korea
Best Actress: Mai Hoa (A Sandy Life), Vietnam
Best Cinematography and Editing: William Chang (In the Mood for Love), HongKong
Seen above, Tony was seen biting his nails at the announcement of the Best Actor Award. Later, he learned he did not make the final round; he was not even nominated. The Asia-Pacific Film Festival has a long history of tradition in keeping the announcement of their nominations until the last minute. Despite the fact Tony lost again in Asia-Pacific Film Festival following the Golden Horse Award, He was a good sport about it. He said the essence of the film festival is not only about winning, it's about film makers getting together and supporting for the cause. He hopes one day Hong Kong will have chance to host the Asia-Pacific Film Festival.
After the award, Tony and Maggie graciously attended the post-award party. Among the star-gazers, many shouted "Leung Chiu-Wai," he was seen signing autographs for the fans. Many had known him from Cyclo (A French-Vietnamese film he shot in 1995).
12/8/2000, for those of you keeping track of the latest Tony romance, he attended Carina's 35th birthday bash last night. Afterward, he left the party holding hands with Carina in an unusual high profile fashion. Judging from their smiling faces, this should effectively eliminate any further gossips and put a stop to their possible 'breakup'.
12/5/2000, Tony's new MTV "Tiao Dou" is out. "Tiao Dou" was the second MTV made from the album "tony leung in the mood for love." The MTV was shot in Shanghai, mostly on a bus where Maggie and Tony laid eyes on each other. The neat thing about the MTV is that Maggie Cheung not only appeared on the MTV, she also volunteered for the Set Design. While directing the MTV, WKW made a cameo appearance in the MTV(a bus rider, see below).
A trivial note: Tony had a little car-accident yesterday. His car bumped into a gate blocker inside of a parking garage, and the hood suffered a little scratch(his black Land Rover, license plate 'TL 7'). Wow, HK dog teams (paparazzi) are so amazing! How did they dig out this news!