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Mani Fok talks about her 16 years at EEG, she grew up with Nicholas Tse

by kelvin@multistars - 2nd September 2009

Source: Nanjing Daily

For Mani Fok, among the artists in EEG she had the deepest relationship with Nicholas Tse. When she took him under he wing, she was 24 and he was 16, through the 13 years, she's experienced his trial, his relationships and break ups, until he got married and had kids, from a uninhibited youth to a responsible father, from a show off artist to a hard actor on the silver screen, EEG started off as a one artist company and has become the strongest entertainment company in Hong Kong.

Xie Xiao: This year when the company signed Leo Ku, everyone was guessing if there would be a conflict with Nicholas Tse?

Mani Fok: Leo Ku is going the artist route, Nic is going the film route, I think there's not much conflict. I think they are both doing their own thing, there's no favouring of either one at all. If you were to say both were concentrating on singing then there might be a problem, but now the two are focussing on different points so there's no problem.

Xie Xiao: At the beginning when you worked with Nicholas Tse, he came out as an artist, why has he switched to movies? Has he discovered movies are more suitable for him?

Mani Fok: I think making records in Hong Kong isn't suitable for him, because you have to do promotion, you have to go on radio, you have to find topics to talk to reporters about everyday, you have to promote your new album, do lots of variety shows, you could say your schedule is full to the brim, he doesn't like this. But movies are different, even if you add on the premiere there's only about 4 times for promotion, he thinks public praise for a movie is already a promotion.

Xie Xiao: Among so many artists, would you say your relationship with Nicholas Tse is the deepest?

Mani Fok: I have more feeling with him, because I started looking after him when he was 16, it's as if I watched him grow up, now he's married and has kids, I think it's miraculous. During this process, I've watched his stubbornness, he hasn't changed in terms of a lot of things, but I can see a lot of sides of him that has become mature. I have a family feeling towards him, even calling each other brother and sister. He's very experienced and always thinks I'm the younger sister and him the older brother, there are a lot of things I don't understand. But I'm actually older than him by 8 years, how can I be younger than him? I still remember he asked me back then, how long have you been in the industry. I said 5 years, he said he'd been in the industry for 16 years! He thinks he must understand more than me, I said to him: "Well what do you want, brother Feng?"

Xie Xiao: At the time Nicholas Tse was an uninhibited person, how did you control him?

Mani Fok: Actually you can't use the word control, you should say how I got on with him, to gain that trust between one another. In fact as long as you have that trust between an agent and an artist, there are a lot less problems at work, artists have less "why" questions, even if you accept a commercial, he won't ask why the fee is so low, he will think it must be because it's a big brand otherwise I wouldn't have took it for so cheap. Or perhaps why this movie was accepted, he will think it must be because the director and the production of the film are good, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted it. That's why you must have that trust.

Xie Xiao: Like when Nic broke up with Faye Wong back then and got together with Cecilia Cheung, did you interfere?

Mani Fok: No, because we thought he was already very mature, he won't let it interfere with any of his work. At the end, when I thought he could control it himself, I didn't manage him.

Now at EEG Mani Fok is "Artist Management and Record Head Supervisor", for the man years of her "rise", besides her own charm, it has been from the "work" she had cultivated. Due to the fact she also started out as an artist, the age difference between them was also close, Mani Fok has developed a close friendship with her artists, Nic calls her by her nickname, Joey Yung calls her "Mom", Twins was also brought about by her, the only one which she still has regret over is Isabella Leung.

Xie Xiao: Is you management of artists a bit like a parent system?

Mani Fok: Yes, because the first artist in our company was 16 years old, he was Nicholas Tse. From this point onwards, we signed kids, if we didn't use a parent system, they won't understand, they haven't fully developed their minds. When artists first start we are especially strict, but now the company has taken off, I've gradually matured, we have a lot of agents helping out down there, so I don't have to watch it so strictly, we don't control artists who have grown up, but if they want to share it with me I'm very willing. I take them as my family, if anything major happened to them, I'll feel depressed in my heart and even go home to cry.

Xie Xiao: If the media asked you about your artists personal life, would you decline to comment or help them answer it?

Mani Fok: Usually I'll help them answer it, but if it's something really personal, like Nicholas Tse's other half Cecilia is also an artist, I don't want to affect her, and I believe Nic has the ability to answer it himself, then I won't help them respond.

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