Teresa forever
SEVEN YEARS after the premature death of Teresa Tang Lai-kwan, the Taiwanese singer's presence still graces the cavernous Lai Chi Kok office of TNT Production, the small Hong Kong-based company she started 16 years ago. Tang's music can be heard faintly in the background and a large glass showcase displays an array of dazzling beaded costumes the star wore during her decades-long career.
The office's staff of six are keeping a close eye on what will be their biggest project yet, the launch of Forever Teresa Tang, the much-talked-about musical based on the singer's life and career.
Even before the musical's curtain is raised, there is speculation about how it will fare. There has been much fanfare over the choice for the lead role. Faye Wong and Sammi Cheng Sau-man were rumoured to have been approached but the deal could not be sealed due to scheduling conflicts and fee demands (Wong allegedly asked for $5 million). Eventually, veteran singer Cass Phang Ling signed on for $900,000.
It's also widely touted Forever Teresa Tang is a money loser - the musical's $15 million cost, borne mostly by TNT Production, is unlikely to be recovered.
Tang set up TNT Production to manage her business affairs, such as music copyright and the occasional television appearance. But after the star's death, aged 42, her younger brother, Jim Tang Tsang-hsi, envisioned bigger things. Since he took the helm of the firm two years ago, Jim Tang is not only hoping to keep his late sister's fame alive, he also wants to take it even further than the singer would have imagined. 'I have a lot of things planned but we are taking it one step at a time because there were still so many loose ends when my sister died,' he says from his own office in Taipei. 'I want to make TNT into a multinational enterprise, starting with Hong Kong, Taiwan and expanding to mainland China.'
Posthumous fame can reign supreme in the entertainment industry as celebrities are often worth more dead than alive. Tang's brother can follow the examples of the estates of John Lennon and Elvis Presley, which through the shrewd management of the icons' savvy widows, Yoko Ono and Priscilla Presley, are some of the biggest money-makers in show business, with Elvis Presley Enterprises alone generating more than US$100 million (HK$779 million) a year.