The Dream Makers dominate the 20th anniversary of Star Awards

We had expected the 20th anniversary of Star Awards to be glitzy, of course. What we hadn’t counted on was the queen of Caldecott opening the show to a rock anthem. (That and a tedious memory game in the middle of the show that took up valuable acceptance speech time.) For a minute, we almost expected Zoe Tay to belt out Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. Instead she introduced — with some strange interpretive dance hand movements — familiar old faces that used to populate our TV nights, such as Huang Biren, Chew Chor Meng, Chen Hui Hui and Darren Lim.

Yes, it really has been 20 years since Star Awards first began in 1994. And the reels from previous editions only made us all the more nostalgic for some risk and colour in this year’s lacklustre fashion stakes (more of that on page 40); as well as pine for stars we wished could have graced this year’s show. We weren’t holding our breath for Xie Shaoguang, but it would have been awesome to see the likes of Ann Kok, Ivy Lee and Li Nanxing.

But in these 20 years, we’ve watched Pierre Png grow from the awkward potato he was when he first started on Channel 8 in 2001 to the confident, fluent-Mandarin-speaking — if majorly shell-shocked — Best Actor he is today. The Peranakan actor, who won for his villainous role as Heilong in The Journey: A Voyage, even told us he is “a hero” as he finally brought pride to his family and community for getting a Chinese award. “They said, ‘If Pierre can do it in Chinese, anyone can!’”

We’ve also all seen Fann Wong go from impetuous ingenue in a yellow raincoat (can you believe that was 1995?) to a beatific pregnant Madonna in Bottega Veneta. For all you kaypohs, here’s the low-down: No, the couple doesn’t know the gender of the baby, as Christopher Lee said they told the doctor not to tell them; no, she didn’t wear heels last night; yes, the baby already loves the limelight as it was kicking happily while Fann was presenting on stage.

The veterans figured strongly: It was Chen Liping who was crowned Best Actress for her role as a jaded television producer going through a marital crisis in The Dream Makers, beating sweet young things like BFF Rui En and hot fave Jeanette Aw. That makes her the third actress after Huang Biren and Ivy Lee to win the honour three times. Zheng Ge Ping also got some of the night’s loudest applause when he told the audience to keep voting for old fogies like him so they’d have a chance to go up on stage.

Nevertheless, it was also a great night for first-timers like Pierre. Guo Liang made history as the first host to win an acting accolade when he claimed Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dream Makers, and an emotional Rebecca Lim scored her first acting award for her supporting turn in the same series. Four out of the freshly anointed Eight Dukes entered the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes, including newbies Xu Bing, Desmond Tan and Zhang Zheng Huan; while Chris Tong and Ya Hui cracked the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes.

As with every award show, not everyone can be a winner. Guo Liang admitted he was disappointed at being left out of the Top 10. And despite being nominated “six or seven times” for Best Actress, the award proved “elusive” for Jeanette. But don’t feel too bad for her — the actress said backstage that she isn’t disappointed at all. “Liping is someone I respect a lot so I’m very happy for her. And many veterans said they were rooting for me.” Besides, she got her 10th Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste trophy, which means she’ll be an All-Time Favourite next year along with Vivian Lai.

The night’s biggest winner, however, wasn’t an actor. The Dream Makers, a show about making television, cleaned up with four major awards, including Best Drama Series. Because, as every star knows, all you really need to make it to the Star Awards are your dreams. That and a good dress.

Additional reporting by: May Seah, Zhang Weifang, Genevieve Loh, Alvin Chong, Christie Yeo, Paul Lim, Naadiah Badib and Ng YouQian.