All eyes on this spy
Call Me Agent is a Cantonese spy movie made in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
WILL upcoming Cantonese spy movie Call Me Agent see the birth of a Malaysian James Bond?
Currently being shot in both Malaysia and Hong Kong, the movie is a joint production between Hong Kong’s Dramovie Group Limited and Malaysia’s Evo Pictures, with coordination by Teleview Sdn. Bhd.
Call Me Agent is co-directed by Hong Kong director Eric Lam (Final Project), who wrote the screenplay, and Malaysian director Michael Chuah (Special Forces), who also serves as producer.
The 90-minute Cantonese flick revolves around the musings of a young woman named Miu Ling who dreams of becoming a secret agent. One fateful day, she rescues an injured Agent Wing, who promises to make her his apprentice. From then on, her life is a rollercoaster of madcap adventures.
Cantopop singer Poyiu Wong of Hong Kong all-girl pop group Staries nabbed the leading role of Miu Ling, who imagines herself as a secret agent to escape from her humdrum existence.
Hong Kong actor Vincent Luk (Final Project) plays the outstanding Agent Wing who has seen better days and yearns for an ordinary life instead.
Malaysian singer Belle Lee has been cast as Agent Janli, Agent Wing’s love interest who also longs to escape her complicated life.
Meanwhile, Ipoh-born Hong Kong-based actress Mimi Chu (A House Of Happiness) plays Miu Ling’s mother, a widow who has worked tirelessly to support her family and raise Miu Ling after the premature death of her husband.
Veteran Hong Kong actor Gabriel Wong Yat San (To Love Or Not To Love) plays the main antagonist, the head honcho of a crime syndicate.
The movie commenced principal photography in Malaysia on Mar 15 and will be shooting on location in Hong Kong in May.
The young actors went through basic training in Hong Kong before taking on more intense training for action scenes under producer-director Chuah. “The action scenes are mostly gunfights with firearms like pistols and rifles and some hand-to-hand combat scenes. We hope to make it more realistic, so we decided to minimise the use of wirework,” Chuah said in a recent interview.
“Most of my films are set in Malaysia, and we seldom get the opportunity to see Hong Kong and Malaysian directors work together. Previously, I worked on films with Singapore
(Firefly) and China (Fist Of Dragon); this is the first time I am working with someone from Hong Kong, so it is something new for me as well,” shared Chuah.
He adds that they were showcasing Malaysia as a metropolitan location, so they planned the shoot around Klang Valley with scenes spread around Putrajaya, Port Klang and other picturesque locations in KL city.
According to writerdirector Lam, Miu Ling aspires to be a special agent because she wishes that she weren’t so ordinary.
“In reality, she is a very average person, a girl who has just graduated with no special skills, unlike some of her more capable peers with better results. Because of her love of movies, she thinks it looks cool to be a spy, so she continually dreams of becoming a special agent.”
Lam revealed that Call
Me Agent was partly inspired by his own childhood dreams, except he wanted to be a director, not a special agent. “When I graduated, I wanted to be director. But it was not an easy thing to do, as I had neither the experience, the finances nor the connections to go about realising my dream.,” he said. “While writing my script, I retraced my steps and recalled all the milestones that led me to be a filmmaker and making Call Me Agent, which is my second movie.”
Call Me Agent is slated for release at the end of the year.