Saturday, 19th December 1998

Athena at Premiere
Athena first learned of what Wong Jing said, when she appeared at the premiere of Knight-Errant of Gamblers 1999 on Thursday night, that her moanings in her intimate scene with Andy Lau drove men crazy. Our poor Athena immediately became very uncomfortable and embarrassed. After taking some time to recover, Athena clarified that she did not moan. "I was only breathing heavily because I was exerting myself, since the script called for me to ripped Andy's clothes apart. It was almost like a fight."

"I had no previous experience and had been quite nervous before filming this scene. I had also taken all kinds of precautions, such as sealing the edges of my brassiere with tape. I was so happy that the first take was good. Otherwise it would have been even more awkward."

Athena did not forget to compliment Andy on his courtesy, "After the filming was done he blocked others from looking at me with his body and got some crew members to bring me my clothes."

After the shot, this was Athena's first glimpse of the scene. Her best friend Ada came with her to give her support. When asked whether she would do such a thing with her boyfriend in real life, Athena replied, "Being really physically intimate is not my cup of tea. I'll avoid it as far as I can. I remember, when I was still previously involved, that he tried to hold me tight one evening when we were on the dance floor. Almost instinctively I pushed him away."

"Physical intimacy is seen by many as an essential part of any relationship. Call me old-fashioned if you want, but I cannot accept that. Having a very physically intimate relationship would cause one to be overcome by physical urges and desires, thus losing one's head and being unable to see clearly the true character of one's suitor. Compatibility is essential."

Other news:
Athena is becoming increasingly distressed about her first ever personal concert. While spending most of her time preparing, practicing singing, rehearsing dancing, Athena has also been exercising quite a lot. "My coach thinks I'm physically fit enough, but my muscles aren't toned. So I am doing more exercises to tighten up my arm muscles."

There will be a mini musical play with Francis Ng in the concert. Athena disclosed that she'll have to get physically close with a male dancer and Francis. As her dance arranger had just inserted the parts in there she hasn't rehearsed those parts yet. "Maybe it's nothing to many, but it's already rather bold and 'hot' for me. I've already told my dance arranger that the guys are not allowed to touch me, only I them," Athena said with a big smile.

Athena was also quite upset by the paparazzi tailing her. "I really want to have my own private space and time, but there's nothing I can do if they choose to follow me around. However, I really hope that they will pay attention to the safety of themselves as well as those around them."

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following links:
Sing Tao (photo included), Ta Kung Pao, Ming Pao

Many thanks to you-know-who..:-)

Wednesday, 9th December 1998

Athena warms up Mongkok!
Athena appeared at Hong Kong Telecom CSL's Mongkok shop in a poster signing event for the Sharp sub-notebook computers she's promoting. When asked of her particular choice of autumn dressing, Athena admitted, "I didn't want to wear this low cut dress, but when it was time to go I could not find the one I was thinking of wearing, so I just threw this one on underneath my coat."

Thus our petite beauty was extra cautious. She stood all the way for the inevitable photograph session and kept her coat all buttoned up when she started to sign the posters.

Athena said it had been extremely meaningful for her to promote Hong Kong in Taiwan. She enjoyed it thoroughly, and she also got to sing a Teresa Teng classic, Man Bu Ren Sheng Lu (Strolling Along Life's Path). The only drawback was that she caught a cold.

Athena confessed that she filmed a very daring scene -- her absolute bottom line -- with her and Andy Lau in bed for Knight-Errant of Gamblers 1999 having only her underwear on. Needless to say the site had been completely cleared beforehand and furthermore, the studio took additional steps to protect her: no still shots for the scene, no reporters on site and de-emphasizing it from the oncoming promotions. "That was my first time doing this sort of scene and I was terribly embarrassed. Luckily, I had Andy to lead me through it."

Athena wanted to make it absolutely clear that she had agreed to take part in that scene only after she had thoroughly studied the script and she would seek to avoid such scenes in the future. "I am not going to take the 'sexy route' and I hope that this scene will not be used as a selling point."

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following links:
Sing Tao (photo included), Ta Kung Pao

Mostly ripped from you-know-where with some slight grammar and spelling corrections..:-)

Wednesday, 25th November 1998

Athena promotes Hong Kong
Appearing in a New Shaolin Temple luncheon yesterday, the exquisite beauty spoke of her tour to Taiwan to promote Hong Kong that will start on the 27th and last about 4 to 5 days. "I am greatly honoured to be given this chance and I have this great sense of duty", Athena declared solemnly, "It reminds me of my representation of my alma mater in public competitions."

The petite beauty won't be alone. Carman Lee (Little Dragon Girl) and Cheung Chi Lam will accompany her on the trip. One of the stopping points is the Hong Kong Carnival at the Sogo departmental store in Taichung, Taiwan. "One thing I will do is to sing a number of songs that is most representative of the Pearl of the Orient."

Athena expressed that New Shaolin Temple was a fabulous opportunity and one of the reasons is that she could work with the famous director Jacob Cheung, of Cage People fame. "I learned a lot from him. I kept going to Jacob for pointers about my character and he recommended me to watch films he considered good. I don't know if we will co-operate again, but I certainly hope so."

Other news:
Athena has finished filming Knight-Errant of Gamblers 1999 while the other film, Triad, is currently on hold. She intends to make use of this lull to practice for her Christmas concert. One thing she does is to swim to build up her endurance.

Athena is also excited about the recent re-run of Legend of Condor Heroes 1994 on TVB. The serial was a runaway hit in Taiwan (and Singapore I might add!). Athena hinted that she may very well take part in future TV serials, but it all depends on the whether there are good scripts available or not.

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following link:
Ta Kung Pao

Where else can this be from? :-)

Sunday, 25th October 1998

Happy Birthday Athena!
Here's wishing Athena a Happy 2Xth Birthday from me..hee..hee..and on behalf of all the Singaporean fans also of course..:-)

And specially dedicated to a certain SYT:

OINKOINKOINKOINKOINKOINKOINKOINKOINK! :o)

Thursday, 15th October 1998

Just a brief update...

Some sample T-shirt designs from the Chief Designer of our little Singapore fan club, Christina. You can view the designs below and any comments/suggestions/complains you have, please direct them to her..:-)

Back 1 Back 2 Front 1 Front 2

Note: For the front designs, it will be located on the left breast..the chinese font also not very nice..will be improved on..as for the back designs, the words in hanyu pinyin will be replaced with chinese chars..that's it, anything else please refer to the Chief Designer..

Tuesday, 22nd September 1998

Okay, thanks to a certain sweet-young-thing, all you non-chinese-reading people and those who know how but are absolutely pathetic at it (you know who I'm talking about..;>..) and those who are unable to get a copy of the Sisters' Pictorial, can now read the article..so without a further dose of my world-famous rubbish/crapping..here's the article..:-)

Athena sways to a Latin beat...
Ever since entering the entertainment circle, Athena has done many things, which include, acting, singing, and advertising..this time round, in conjuction with her first album in two years, she has learnt a difficult Latin dance, to dance to her song "Titita", her first time where she actually danced in front of the media.

Because of this, her company specially arranged for a pair of wooden clogs custom-made for her, but due to the clogs exerting pressure on her feet when practising, Athena has no choice but to take the clogs off, and wear them only when she dances in front of an audience.

Tanned Beauty
Although most female artistes are afraid of the sun, Athena begs to differ. Instead, she got a nice tan while filming her MTVs for the album. However, she did not mind, as she believed that a tan shows that she is healthy, and that is only natural.

In spite of the hot sun, Athena enjoyed herself tremendously, running wild on a deserted island and causing the directors to chase after her.

"Having played many different characters in my shows recently, I find myself being a little crazy, so it is lucky for me that I have the chance to film the MTV, to let myself destress, and have fun."

Striving for Perfection
Athena said that the reason for her releasing this album two years after the first, was to make sure that she will give her best to the world, so therefore, she has spent a longer time practising. She realizes that her techiniques are still rather raw, but she has been practising very hard, singing along with her Walkman, and the improvement has indeed shown in this album.

"Singing techniques are limited, but I think that the feeling of the song is also very important, and to sing the song, one must have that feeling in order to sing it well."

Indeed, for when she was recording the song "Living Room", Athena made the crew bring in a sofa into the recording studio, and make it like a living room, so that she could get into the song. This left the crew very impressed and admired her for her attention to details.

Breakthrough in acting
Both her roles in the serial "Heaven may cry" and movie "Midnight Gentleman" has cause many people to notice her, as she had a different approach to her acting. However, during the press conference for her new album, she has the following to say: "A lot of people think that it is a Catagory Three movie. However, it is not, as it is just an ordinary movie. "

The difference in the movie, say some, is her expression in the movie, and not what most people may think. This movie has hit the ten million dollar mark in HK, and Athena has expressed her happiness.

Revealing her beauty secrets
Athena's beauty is well-appreciated by all. She has therefore decided to let everyone into her "secret" of keeping beautiful, adding a photographic album to her CD. In it, readers will find out her little secrets on beauty, lifestyle, health and love. Inside are her unique views, and if you want to know how to be like her, read it to find out more..

Click to see the cover of the mag

Okay..that's it..not really a complete translation of the article but enough content to satisfy right?..hee..hee..not like it's my problem if you are not..well of course, I could ask the SYT to translate more but she's a busy little girl..and I'm a lazy bum..and exams are coming..and yah..hee..hee..just more excuses..;-)

Sunday, 13th September 1998

Athena big on Health
Attending the "Nutrition and Health Expo" yesterday, Athena looked exceptionally radiant after her three weeks of vacation in the US. "I am a healthy person. I like to sleep early and get up early, but I couldn't always do that while working. The most important kind of health you can get, I think, is that of your mind," asserted the Sunshine Girl.

So what did the petite beauty do during those three weeks? "Basically nothing." Athena said with one of her trademarked stunning smiles, "I caught up on my rest. Did lots of sightseeing, visiting scenic areas."

"One place I visited was like Shangri-La: very beautiful and serene, complete with a waterfall and crystal clear water. I actually tested the water, which was a bit cold. It's really a tranquil area where I could spend hours and hours."

Yes, but what about Las Vegas? On the 6th of September, at the Crystal Room of the Desert Inn Sheraton Hotel in Las Vegas, Athena performed on stage to a room filled to capacity with a large, anticipating crowd, according to a source (A fan has been kind enough to post some pics which he took of Athena there..it's up at the Athena Chu Discussion Forum). Understandably, the gorgeous artiste had been quite nervous well ahead of the date. This, together with a stomach virus Athena contracted in Las Vegas, caused her to shred the several pounds she had managed to gain on her vacation. Before that, Athena had also attended her cousin's wedding and raised funds in Oakland.

Did Athena have a change of heart after attending her cousin's wedding? "No, my cousin's wife, who was the real star of the banquet, forgot to throw her ball of flowers after the ceremony. Even if she did, I would have avoided it." Once again Athena reaffirmed her wish of not starting a relationship within the next five years.

When vacationing in the US, Athena watched television everyday. All the channels showed the news of Clinton's scandal almost on an hourly basis. The lil' angel also has her own view on this subject,"To err is human, and Clinton is just another human. Yes, he made his own mistakes, but I'm not sure if he should be impreached. My sympathies are with Hillary, however, as she's the real victim."

When asked of the question what she would do if she were the First Lady under this situation, Athena said, "I don't want to know, let alone to have any kind of relation with, a man like him."

After her trip to the US, Athena will soon be taking part in a new movie, Fort of Kowloon City. "The role is challenging so I can really try my best. I'll start by watching foreign films with a similar subject."

Reacting to a rumour about Pualyn Sun being ditched from the role by Wong Jing in favour of her, Athena remarked, "I don't know anything about it. I just came back, and I am only doing this as per my agency's arrangements."

Check out a healthy and radiant looking Athena!

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following links:
Ta Kung Pao, Sing Tao, Ming Pao

I not even going to say where I ripped this from..hee..hee..from the best site on the Net (next to mine of course!)..thanks Decipher old buddy!..and yah, this update is also specially dedicated to Kristina who is always conmplaining that I never update..:-)

Sunday, 23rd August 1998

Athena at the Bay
Athena has been staying at the San Francisco Bay Area for the first part of her vacation. Today the gorgeous artiste will help raise funds at the Oakland Chinatown Street Festival for the Asian Health Services Society, a non-profit organisation dedicated to assisting the new Asian, particularly Chinese, immigrants. Towards this end, Athena will sign and sell the personal photographs she has brought with her specially for this purpose at the booth of Hung Shing Martial Arts School at $10 each.

Three years ago Athena's mother had migrated to the Bay Area and subsequently informed the petite beauty that many new Asian immigrants lacked medical services. "Because of Mom, I'm now paying more attention to the issues of the Bay Area," said Athena.

It turns out that L&P, Athena's agency, participates in fundraising activities every year. "This is the first time for me, raising funds for charities in the US," the little angel continued, "This is very exciting. I don't know how I would feel facing a different crowd."

Totally ripped from Athena in Athens..thanks man!

Monday, 17th August 1998

My figure is fine exactly the way it is
My figure is just fine, declares Athena Chu.

The petite but busty Hongkong actress-singer adds that she does breast-massaging exercises but does not wish her bosom to be any bigger.

The sweet-faced artiste made these comments to a magazine which asked her to comment on "electrifying gals", Hongkongers' latest term for females with stunning looks and full figures.

Athena said, with her usual bluntness: "Breasts are just a part of a woman's body. Therefore, one shouldn't just notice that portion."

"One should be able to see beyond that. I dislike others to take note of my figure only."

Article was ripped of today's Life!(a S'porean newspaper)..you can also find it online here at the ST Interactive homepage.

Saturday, 15th August 1998

Athena confused?
On the press conference for Super Prankster held yesterday Athena disclosed that she has a crush on somebody. So who's the lucky man? "He's a friend of mine. I'm not going to tell anymore, because I won't even tell him." The petite beauty feels that it is only natural for a man to pursue a woman, and that a woman shouldn't be so forward. Most importantly though is that Athena herself can't tell for sure. "When I see him with other women I don't get jealous, so I am not sure if I really like him or not." Besides, as the Sunshine Girl said before, she needs an extended period of time for observations.

While Athena has no idea if she is really secretly admiring somebody, is she being secretly admired? "I suppose, but I can't tell which one." Which one? No wonder she can't tell, since there are hundreds of them out there... What about dating? "What dating?" Athena beamed, "Nobody's courting me."

Athena will spend the next five years focusing on her acting career, so she won't have time for much else. "I plan on not getting married during this time, but it is hard to say. For love is wonderful and you can't measure it by time alone."

Athena has just left for the US today, together with her parents. One reason of her trip is to attend her cousin's wedding. The other reason is to get some real rest. While lil' angel is there, she will also perform on stage at Las Vegas. She'll spend about 2 to 3 weeks in the US, and plans on visiting Hawaii if time permits. "I rarely have the chance to travel with my dad, so I'm especially happy about it."

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following links:
Ta Kung Pao, Ming Pao

Also, Athena has finished filming both New Shaolin Temple and Super Prankster. We hope she gets a really good rest in US..:-)

Okay maybe I am not that busy but I am still lazy..and I really don't see myself doing much translating during my school term..so that means that the above was ripped of where else?..Athena in Athens..hee..hee..I owe you big time Felix and yes, you can keep nagging me about my laziness..;-)

Sunday, 26th July 1998

Athena hopes to be in the sequel to Feng Yun
Asked if she will consider filming in the American version of God of Cookery [ 食神 ] if asked by Stephen Chow, Athena responded that she has no objections if the script is good and the part suits her. However, she will not actively promote herself for the role as she does not believe in getting opportunities by such means.

Athena was at the opening premiere of her idol's new movie. And who is this person that Athena admires so much? She is none other than Carina Lau. Athena thinks that her acting is great and she is really feminine. Everything that a woman should have, Carina has and this makes her unresistably attractive. As for Athena herself, she says that she is not as feminine as her idol.

That night, Athena was slightly red in the face because she had Japanese food with her manager and they drank a bit of Japanese wine. Even a teeny weenie bit of wine will get Athena's face all red so it is impossible for her to bluff anybody. Regarding the recent box-office busting movie, Feng Yun [ 風雲 ], Athena said that she really liked the movie and would love to have a chance to act in the sequel (should there be one).

Thursday, 23rd July 1998

Athena reveals just a bit..
In the filming of yet another Wong Jing movie, this one titled Super Pranksters [ 超級整蠱霸 ], Athena has to wear a swimsuit for a poolside scene. Athena asserts that she doesn't consider it a "sacrifice" to wear a swimsuit if the scene required it. Besides, everybody else is also wearing a swimsuit and she would stick out like a sore thumb if she didn't. Athena's swimsuit was slightly revealing with a low V-cut in front although she did use a scarf to wrap up the lower half of her body. It seems that Athena has been getting quite a number of offers for commercials that require her to appear in a swimsuit. So for now, she has to keep her beautiful figure under wraps so that she can retain the freshness of the appeal of her appearing in a swimsuit.

After finishing the filming for this movie, Athena will be flying back to China to continue filming for her new series.

Of course you must be asking where are the pics of Athena in her swimsuit..you can view the pics over at Athena Online or you can view the local copy I've got up here in the Photo Section..:-)

For the full article in Chinese (Big5), check out the following links:
Ta Kung Pao, Sing Tao

If you haven't noticed, I have been quite lazy in my translation of the article. You might like to check out a better version at Athena in Athens.

Thursday, 2nd July 1998

What you see is what you get
She was voted one of Hongkong's 10 most beautiful women recently. But don't call Athena Chu Yan a babe. She doesn't even think she's good-looking. "I am not pretty. I am a human being. Pretty to me, is a term used to describe dolls. I am not a doll," said the actress-singer, dressed in a knee-length, baby-doll white dress.