The Amazing Race International Versions > TAR Asia
The Amazing Race Asia 2 Contestant/ Media thread
puddin:
WTG Terri & and Henry :yess:
on a side note ...Better call the spelling police :lol: "mush more intense"
georgiapeach:
Gotta watch out for that mush! :lol3:
banzai:
http://inquirerbloggers.net/couchpotatoes/2007/10/07/fire-and-ice/
Fire and ice
10/07/07
By Paolo R. Reyes
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—They may have been mistaken as “Team Africa” by one of the clueless Malaysian contestants, but retired US Navy senior officer Henry Reed, 48, and his strong-willed Filipina wife of 13 years, Terri, 44, are as Pinoy as they come — minus the modest, passive-aggressive personality, that is.
Super sat down with the outspoken husband-wife tandem and grilled them for a full disclosure. (Well, almost. We don’t want them to incur the $5 million penalty that’s cemented in their contract.) One thing’s for sure, these hard-nosed competitors are bound to generate some seismic shockwaves over the boob tube.
What made you decide to join the race?
Terri: It was my idea. I loved watching the show. So I asked Henry if we could. He asked me, “Give me 10 reasons why we should?” I was up till 3 a.m. thinking. Then I got out of bed, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote down: “P5 million. P5 million. P5 million …” There were 5 million reasons!
Did you have any kind of alliance with Marc and Rovi?
Terri: NO!!! No, no, no. That’s all I can say. And that you’re not going to be disappointed with the Philippine teams this season.
Henry: Alliances really don’t work. It’s such an individual thing. Unlike in “Survivor,” you don’t need anybody else for this game.
Did things get really nasty between the teams?
Terri: You’ll have to wait and see. But it got real nasty between me and Henry.
Henry: In our normal, everyday life, we fight a lot. That is the reality of it. [laughs]
Do you think you’ll be portrayed differently after the final edit?
Terri: I really don’t think so. You better agree with me, Henry!
Henry: It’s real fire, believe me. The only way they could change what really happened, through editing, would be to make us look boring and lovey-dovey.
Terri: I don’t think they’ll be able to find that kind of footage.
Henry: If they could stretch about 38 to 39 seconds of lovey-dovey moments, then hats off to them. There’s too much fire there! [laughs]
What was your edge over the other teams?
Henry: I guess being mature and being together for so long. I think we’re the oldest team.
Terri: Please. Don’t remind them!
Henry: When I was in the military, we traveled around the world. I trusted her to read maps and give me directions. She’s pretty industrious. When she’s focused, nothing is going to stop her. When we were in New York, she had to get some major dental work. The doctor told her she couldn’t eat meat for two weeks and she can’t talk for two days. On the way out of the doctor’s office, she’s already yakking “take me to Sizzlers to have a steak!” She don’t listen to anybody, and she’s always right.
How was your marriage after the race?
Terri: Same thing. Lucky 13. But we promised each other that after 49 years of marriage, he’ll have his “one minute” — a minute when he can have his peace and I cannot say a single word.
Henry: For one minute she can just shut the hell up. She can’t talk to me. She can’t yell at me. She’s just going to leave me alone for 60 seconds. I don’t think she’s going to be able to do it. It ain’t gonna happen! [laughs]
puddin:
Yet another Amazing Race
By S. INDRAMALAR
Viewers will be in for an explosive time when they tune in to the second season of The Amazing Race Asia.
What do you get when you pair up two ex-housemates who do not get along (one evicted the other from the apartment!) in a gruelling month-long race that is broadcast on TV? Fireworks?
And, what will happen if you put them together with nine other pairs, like a husband and wife with equally strong and sometimes contrasting personalities; two hunky but goofy guys determined to win at all costs; a couple of desperate housewives who dance non-stop; a pair of gorgeous but dogged sisters; a popular young actress and her beau; and a gorgeous VJ and her equally stunning best friend?
Look, Wu’s back: Host Allan Wu guarantees viewers an exciting race.
The answer is obvious: an explosive and sure-to-be entertaining second season of The Amazing Race Asia (Tara 2). That is what Michael McKay, executive producer and director of Tara reckons, at least.
“This race is very, very competitive. There isn’t a team on this race that could not win ? and they all believe they can win, too. We travel further and the pace is really fast ? there was even one time when we had to get Allan (Wu, the host) a police escort so that he could get to the pit stop before the first team arrived,” discloses McKay at the recent launch of the second season in Singapore last month.
Tara 2 will kick off on the AXN channel (Astro channel 701) next month with two teams each from Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, and one each from Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand all vying for the US$100,000 (RM350,000) prize money.
These 10 teams made the cut out of about 2,500 entries.
“We had to watch all 2,500-odd audition tapes. People got very creative and did all sorts of things to impress. There were teams that were unsuccessful in season one which sent in their tapes again.
“Unfortunately, what people do not realise is how important it is to choose the right teammate. Sometimes, when viewing the tapes we see a guy who we think is really suitable. Then we look at his team-mate, and well ? it just does not seem right,” says McKay.
Ready to rumble: Teams in The Amazing Race Asia 2.
Last year, Malaysian gals Tee Joe Jer and Zabrina Fernandez emerged champions in the first Tara in an alternatingly uproarious and nail-biting, teeth-gritting race. (Well, wasn’t it?)
Their victory prompted many all-girl teams to submit applications this year, observes McKay.
Incidentally, Zabrina is part of the production crew on the race this season and, according to McKay, she found working on the race even more challenging than being in it.
The first Tara attracted 15 million viewers across Asia – making it the most watched series of the franchise, beating all past seasons of the original US versions that were broadcast in Asia.
Will the second one be as popular?
Well according to McKay and Wu, there are blow-ups to look out for.
“The teams on the first series were friendly with each other most of the time ? you can be sure it ain’t gonna happen here.
“When the race is on, it is on and even if there is an alliance between teams you know it's only because it is mutually beneficial.
“And there are confrontations that are, even by the US (series’) standards, quite major,” reveals McKay.
Competitive or not, there is one glaring detail about this season’s competitors: many of them are celebrities or personalities in their respective countries and they are all either good looking or superbly fit.
Some of them have been featured on TV or in magazines.
Here is a sneak peek: From Thailand there is the beautiful Paula Taylor, who is a Channel [V] VJ and rising actress in Thailand and her teammate Natasha Monks; from Indonesia we have Kinaryosih, a very popular and beautiful actress who won the best supporting actress in Indonesia’s Citra awards (equivalent to the Oscars) and her correspondingly fine boyfriend Brett.
From the Philippines are TV host and editor Rovilson Fernandez and model and host Marc Nelson – two men so handsome you may actually hope they do not get eliminated just so they will be around, Malaysian sisters Pamela and Vanessa Chong (sisters of Akademi Fantasia season one winner Vince Chong) prove that you can have beauty and brains, Hong Kong teams (boast a French model and an actress among them, while the “Desperate Housewives” aka Dancing Mums from Malaysia are far from the stereotypical frumpy mums ? enough said.
Was this a deliberate move by AXN to attract more viewers?
“Not really,” says McKay. “For the Asian version of The Amazing Race ? we are competing in a different market place and I guess it helps if people know and can identify the contestants.
“And, being in the public eye, these contestants were not so uncomfortable having the cameras around them about all the time.
“However, not all are celebrities and it was not really a deliberate move.”
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/19/tvnradio/19046070&sec=tvnradio
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puddin:
Our femme fatales
Four gutsy ladies make up the two Malaysian teams.
For sisters Pamela and Vanessa Chong, getting picked to compete in The Amazing Race Asia Two (Tara 2) is possibly the most amazing part of the whole race experience.
“When we found out that we got in, it was ? it was better than falling in love. Really, it was,” says Pamela, 24.
The Strong Chongs: Sisters Vanessa (left) and Pamela were over the moon about being in The Amazing Race Asia 2.
“Yeah. Once we got the call, I was like, 'O my God. Is this real?' It was amazing,” adds Vanessa, 29.
If you think the Chong girls look familiar it is because they resemble their famous brother – singer and Akademi Fantasia (season one) winner Vince Chong.
As fans of the Race (both the American versions and the Asian one), the Chong sisters are confident that they will make a good team.
“We know each other really well and have known each other for ? 24 years! We each have different strong points and I think we complement each other. For example, Pam is stronger and is better at tasks that involve strength like climbing,” explains Vanessa.
Though they trained – they started hiking, jogging, swimming and kickboxing to build up their stamina – they are apprehensive about how they will perform in the race.
“We are confident by nature but sometimes you think you can do something and then, when the time comes you begin to have doubts.
“And, because the all-girl Malaysian team won the last time, there is some added pressure ? what if we don't do as well.
“But then we decided we are going on this race for ourselves. It is not like it’s the Olympics,” says Pamela. They also tag themselves as the “Strong Chongs”.
As the Chongs are a close-knit family, keeping their involvement in the Race a secret was quite a feat.
(To maintain the suspense, teams could not let on to anyone – family, friends or employers – that they were part of the Race until the entire race had been taped).
“We became really good storytellers. We told them we had to be in Dubai to train for an airline job,” says Vanessa.
Adds Pamela, “Our stories evolved along the way. When we told them that we could not bring our handphones and when they saw us packing our sneakers and sports attire they questioned us. We said that we had to do combat training,” says Pamela.
To explain why they had to remain incommunicado for a month, Vanessa says, “We said it was because we would be flying with celebrities and politicians and other important people ? so privacy was important.”
Prior to running the race, teams had to sign a confidentiality agreement with the producers, which, among other things disallowed them from revealing details of the Race (locations, participating teams and other details, especially which team won).
The fine for breaching the agreement is a hefty US$5mil (RM17.5mil)!
Hot mammas: Douglas (left) and Tan definitely challenge the stereotype of dumpy, harassed housewives.
With such a stiff penalty, keeping their mouths sealed was pretty easy, says Diane Douglas of the second Malaysian team, tagged the Desperate Housewives aka The Dancing Mums.
“When we came back a friend of mine offered to give me a platinum card if I told him who won ? and I told him that if he had US$5 mil to spare, I'd tell him right away!” laughs Douglas.
Cooking up an alibi for their month-long absence was simpler for Douglas and her teammate Ann Tan than for the Chong sisters.
“We just told them that we were going to Australia for a dance boot camp,” says Douglas, 33, who, being an Amazing Race fan, invited Tan to be her team mate.
The two dance enthusiasts are hoping to show other mums, housewives and everybody else that the fun does not stop when you have a family or children.
Unfortunately, they could not train or prepare much as they were only notified three days before they were due to leave for the Race.
“We basically had just enough time to sort out our family and work commitments,” recalls Douglas.
The duo, however, did not see this as an obstacle as “physical fitness was only one aspect of the race”.
“You don't really have to be super fit to run the race as there are other challenges that do not require physical strength alone.
“What was important was that we were willing to do anything ? dig trenches, eat anything, climb walls ?,” says Tan, who teaches dance at her studio in Kuala Lumpur.
“The best part about the race for the two hot mammas was the anticipation of what was ahead of them.
“We really had no idea what to expect ? we never know what we had to do or even where we would be headed.
“We had absolutely no clue what was about to happen and that was exciting. It was like an adventure holiday, but better because nothing was planned,” says Tan, 40.
“Yeah. I loved the adrenaline rush that I got throughout the race. It just drove us on,” adds Douglas.
Is the race really as intense as it appears on TV?
“It is 10,000 times more intense because one leg could sometimes stretch over two or three days. On TV it is all in one episode!
“Also, we only got 12 hours rest in between legs and we had to do our laundry, rest and do whatever else within that time before we were racing again. It was really intense,” says Tan, a mother of three children aged 16, 13 and two.
“Most times we don't have time to think about anything else other than the race.
“Many people asked if we missed our kids, and to be honest, maybe at night when we were resting, we did. But the rest of the time we had no time to miss anyone,” says mother-of-two Douglas.
Vanity had also to be left behind.
“Because we were on a race, we could not check in our bags. Our backpacks were our hand luggage as we had to be ready to dash all the time.
“So, because of the new (travel) requirements on the amount of liquid we could carry we had to limit what we could bring.
“We shared our shampoo, conditioner, suntan lotion and moisturiser and of course we had to leave our bath salts and face masks behind,” says Tan with a laugh.
So what can viewers expect on Tara 2?
“Look out for lots of action ... and humour too,” says Douglas.
http://www.star-ecentral.com/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/19/tvnradio/19135171&sec=tvnradio
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