By Hazel Tan

FANN & GAMES?

s it just me - or is someone playing a very clever game here?

Over the past month, Fann Wong's love life has been dangled before the media like a bait.

The media was promised that Fann was finally ready to spill the beans on her private life, her "boyfriend" and her other closely-guarded secrets.

She hasn't done that, of course. She even called off a press conference.

But look at the result of her silence - a lot of publicity in the newspapers.

So could this "Fann-will-talk, Fann-won't-talk" business have been stage-managed from the start to create buzz about her new movie, The Truth About Jane And Sam?

I love conspiracy theories, so here's one:
How do you promote a movie with a star known to be tight-lipped?

Create publicity out of nothing, of course.

I think that is what's been happening in this case. And it's not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Of course, the movie's co-producer, Raintree Pictures, denied that it had engineered Fann's latest "controversy".

Its press statement said Fann's private life would never be used to whip up publicity of a TV programme, album or movie." "An artiste's personal life has never been used for the promotion and publicity of a TV programme, album or movie."

Really?

But The Straits Times' Life! section reported that Raintree had promised its reporter an interview in which Fann would talk about her ex-boyfriend.

To this, Raintree clarified that Fann herself had offered to touch on the subject. But during the interview, she refused to give more details.

Next a press conference was called in which Raintree said that Fann would "reveal the TRUTH about some of the issues the media has been speculating about". Well, the only speculation about Fann in the media concerned her boyfriend.

She had kept mum about him, except to tell Life! that he was a "special friend" of 11 years.

The Chinese papers had reported that she had split with her long-time beau, a rich businessman who supposedly owns eight cars and is "fat, short and ugly".

Would Fann address this at the press conference? No way.

On the eve, the press conference was called off - because Fann didn't want to discuss her personal life.

Raintree later said this had never been the intention. Rather, the press conference was to address complaints by the Chinese press that Fann had been evasive.

Now something strange is going on here. Either Fann and Raintree cannot agree on what she wants to talk about - or both of them are laughing at us.

Because the cancelled press conference has generated more hype than anything she could have said.

And Fann is in the news without opening her mouth.

JOURNALISTS FEEL THEY WERE USED

Yes, the "will she, won't she" saga could have been a public relations stunt.

And the local press could have been taken for a ride.

"It could have been a beautiful publicity stunt, a 'managed' event to gain publicity for the film," said a public relations practitioner of 25 years' experience who works for a major consultancy firm.

"And you guys have written everything about her without her even opening her mouth."

"Who was it who said she would open up? (Raintree did) She can come out and deny that. There are a lot of question marks in the whole scenario."

Yesterday's Shin Min Daily News also posed the question if the entire sage had been staged.

But Raintree Pictures CEO, Mr Daniel Yun, denied it.

He told Shin Min: "The press conference was meant to close the gap between Fann and the press. Raintree isn't unhappy with Fann. Now, we are thinking of ways to protect her."

But some members of the Chinese press felt used.

Said a Chinese entertainment reporter: "The complaints about Fann were aired at a luncheon with Raintree. They asked us not to write about the discussion as it should remain behind closed doors. Why then did it become a press statement to Life!?"

Her colleague added: "We feel this whole thing was engineered to create publicity for her movie. Then they blame us for trying to force her to open up."