Movie Box Review

Juno Mak Chun Lung, Gary Chaw (Cho Gat) and Wen Chao earlier worked on the new film SIU SEUNG HUP. In the story Cho Gat tried to stop Juno from going for revenge, but Juno did not listen. Cho Gat got so excited that he and Juno struggled. Cho Gat who did not have much acting experience had certain difficulty with emotional scenes. With his not so fluent Cantonese, he had frequent bad takes with a few lines. However, co-star Juno did not mind at all as they were chatting and laughing.

Juno honestly said that when he acted with Cho Gat holding back laughter was hard. "We are both singers. Normally I would only run into Cho Gat at music scenes. Watching him act I have a very hard time keeping myself from laughing. His Chinese line deliveries are very funny as he

often switch words around. Cantonese has certain difficulties for him, like Japanese is hard for me. (Did you mind his frequent bad takes?) That's not important, acting can't always been one take." Producer Willie Chan Chi Keung also supervised the progress. Juno often watched the

playback with Chan Chi Keung.

SIU SEUNG HUP was Cho Gat's second film. In his first film ICE KACANG PUPPY LOVE he had no pressure due to the light subject, but this time he played a serious character. He was quite nervous. Off camera he often grabbed people around him to rehearse his lines, but due the shoot he still had troubles with them. He joked about his inaccuracy and would properly practice. Cho Gat in the film secretly protected Juno and had many action scenes. Before the shoot he deliberately practiced with the stunt team, which made him sore all over. He said, "I am afraid of clumsily hurting others, so I have to practice more. (Has your wife worried?) No, she has been very supportive of me. I know I have always wanted to make movies. This time I will stay in Hong Kong for a month. I haven't been home in 3 weeks already."

Juno in the film played Stephy Tang Lai Yun's bodyguard and had many dangerous stunts like explosion, gun fights, car crashes and building jumps. Juno truly to personally perform them as much as he could, his arm was even bruised from fighting. Has his girlfriend treated his wounds? He said, "No, we don't live together. We are busy with our own jobs and rarely see each other." Juno said that for a building jump, a stunt person fell from 30 feet above and was hospitalized with a dislocated cervical spine. At the time he witnessed the accident from above and he was still shaken.

Aside from the action scenes, Juno and Stephy also had romantic scenes. He thought Stephy was more mild mannered but he was able to get along with her. The more they worked together the better they got along. "We have an ambiguous relationship and almost kissed, but we haven't shot that scene yet. I don't know if we need to really kiss. (Has her girlfriend asked to supervise?) No." Juno said that most memorable was the emotional scene with Pat Ha Man Jik. They played mother and son and called each other Mommy and Son on and off camera.

Malay singer Ah Niu earlier brought his first film as a director, ICE KACANG PUPPY LOVE (CHOR LUEN HUNG DAU BING) to promote in Changsha. He not only talked about the production with Angelica Lee Sinjie, Penny Dai Pui Nei and other buddies but also conducted a small scale "first love girlfriend" contest. Among the three different style candidates, Ah Niu finally chose "Flower" candidate Xie Wenting as he thought her more mild mannered personality was right for the "first love girlfriend" image.

First time director Ah Niu claimed that he was not following the singer turned director trend as his initial dream was making movies. "My dream of making movies was before I became a singer, so when I had the ability to fulfill it I started to plan ICE KACANG." AH Niu stated that he chose "first love" as his first film topic because he felt he could make it well and be able to control it. "Actually what I want to remember with this film wasn't first love but a Malay small town." Ah Niu who grew up in a small town could only recall his childhood through photos and memories as small towns gradually vanished due to city development.

As for the group support of Lee Sinjie, Victor Wong (Bun Guoon), Gary Chaw (Cho Gat) and other "Malay Gang" all stars, Ah Niu was very appreciative and said that they all performed at a "friendly rate". Lee Sinjie even used her own experience to help Ah Niu with his script. She

wrote many of "Fighting Fish" lines in the film. Ah Niu honestly said that he is already thinking about his next film.

The new film ICE KACANG PUPPY LOVE was Ah Niu (Chan Hing Cheung)'s first film as a director and a star. In order to fulfill his film dream, he sold his house, used all of his life saving, and called in favors from Angelica Lee Sinjie, Victor Huang (Wong Bun Koon), Jasmine Leong Jing Yu, Gary Chaw (Cho Gat) and other superstars to perform. He honestly said that the pressure was enormous.

The film's background was the Malaysian countryside over a decade ago. The actors' costumes were very retro. Bun Koon slicked back his hair, wore flip flops and a gold Rolex, shaking his money maker while singing love songs; Cho Gat played a mobster who wore a loose and torn white tank top to bully everyone around. Yet the film focus remained on Ah Niu and the married Sinjie's 42 second long kiss scenes.

Ah Niu even revealed that once he was interested in Lee Sinjie. In high school they often participated in drama camp and have become friends for years. Lee Sinjie said that after many years she finally realized that Ah Niu was interested in her and she was surprised. The past crush became the female lead. Everyone jokingly yelled, "The director deliberately arranged benefits for himself!" Ah Niu said, "No! It was purely for dramatic effects!" Sinjie joked, "For this scene, my co-star is my good friend Ah Niu. Actually I was very nervous. Before the shoot I drank half a bottle of red wine before I was able to get into character!" Ah Niu replied, "Actually I drank the rest of the bottle!"

The "New Folk Song Prince", Malaysian singer A Niu appeared at a Mainland home shopping channel's 2nd anniversary celebration and talked about his upcoming debut as director, ICE KACANG PUPPY LOVE (CHOR LUEN HUNG DAU BING).

A Niu's debut as a director, ICE KACANG PUPPY LOVE, will be released in August. It will be a story about young people who grew up in a small Malaysian village in the early 90s. A Niu expressed that after a singing contest he became a singer, but ultimately he still had his movie dreams.

After years in show business and accumulating many friendships, A Niu finally had the chance to fulfill his dream and gathered all the heavyweight "Malay Gang" in the business. He invited Angelica Lee Sinjie, Gary Chaw (Cho Gat), Victor Huang (Wong Bun Guoon), Eric Moo (Mo Kai Yin), Penny Dai Pui Nei, Nicholas Teoh (Cheung Tung Leung) and others to guest star. A Niu even revealed details from the production. Speaking of Lee Sinjie, A Niu felt that she deserved her Golden Horse Best Actress Award as working with her he was able to get into character very easily. As for Jasmine Leong Jing Yu, A Niu felt that her eyes knew how to speak and thus arranged for zero line for her in the film. From the beginning to the end she expressed herself with her eyes. A Niu very much hoped that the audience would like the film and be able to support it at the cinemas!

As for the title, A Niu expressed that he wanted to describe first love with red bean ice. First love, like having red bean ice in the hottest afternoon, is sweet at first bite. Then some ice follows, so icy that it hurts a little. Yet very quickly it melts.