BEIJING, Dec. 9 -- It was lights, camera and action on November 24 in Shanghai for the mainland's first TV musical, Walk of Fame, expected to hit TV screens next summer.

    Sponsored by Starlight International Media Co. Ltd, the 20-episode TV series will feature some of Hong Kong's best including Jordan Chan, Eric Tsang and Ruby Lin. But these heavyweights will only be playing a supporting role this time because the real stars of the show are newbies Huang Yida, Yang Ziting, Lu Jiejun and Li Xuan.

    As a musical, the music in Walk of Fame is the key to its success. Singaporean music producers, brothers Lee Si Song and Lee Wei Song, were asked to contribute to the soundtrack. Some of today's biggest Chinese music stars owe their success to the Lee brothers including Gigi Leung, Jolin Tsai, and Stefanie Sun.

    15 songs written by the Lees will be performed in the musical.

    Famous Hong Kong directors, Andy Chin Wing-Keung and Raymond Yip Wai-Man head the team as chief executive producer and chief director respectively.

    Raymond Yip, who directed hits including Sixty Million Dollar Man, Those Were the Days, and Young and Dangerous, sees Walk of Fame as a detour from his usual work. "This is a totally new challenge for me, but I look at it as an opportunity. It is the first of its kind on the mainland, which means that its success or failure will have a huge impact on future TV series of a similar genre," Yip told Beijing Star Daily.

    "Huang Yida, Yang Ziting, Lu Jiejun and Li Xuan are the souls of the musical. This is good exposure for them. And, because they are new, their styles and creative sides will have more room to develop," Yip said.

    The concept for the musical was developed by Starlight, which wanted to create something that combined all the stylish elements of fashion, teenage life, pop idol culture and a musical.

    In 2003, Starlight introduced Talented Boys and Pretty Girls, the company's first so-called "stylish idol" TV series. It was a major hit, taking top spot in audience ratings.

    It was so successful that Starlight even registered the name "Talented Boys and Pretty Girls" as a fashion brand, a first for China.

    A starlight official said that they have similar plans for Walk of Fame in that they hope to start fashion trends with the plot, costumes, music and dance choreography.

    
(Source: China.org.cn)