Double whammy for film crew
‘Amazing Spring’ production team has to cope with fire and fake news
PETALING JAYA: The production team of a film being shot in Bandar Bukit Puchong in Selangor not only had to deal with a fire that broke out on set, injuring 31 of the cast members including Hong Kong veteran actress Sharon Yeung Pan-pan, but fake news as well.
Jack Lim, the Malaysian executive producer of the Chinese New Year movie Amazing Spring, said some foreign media reported that the crew had accidentally poured fuel on the actors, which led to the fire at about 7am on Monday.
The reports said the actors ran into the crowd, causing injuries to others too.
Denying the claims at a press conference yesterday at the Sunway Medical Centre, where the injured were sent, Lim said there were at least 10 cameras working on the scene that day.
After reviewing the visuals, he said they found that the incident happened in just two seconds.
They had planned to set three buildings on fire and the firemen on duty had ensured that the cast members stayed a safe distance away as there were worries that the buildings might fall on them.
“But what we didn’t expect was the fire to spread through the ground and reach the cast members,” he recounted.
As of yesterday afternoon, 13 cast members remained at the hospital for treatment for burns.
“We shook the hands of every family member of the victims and bowed to them. We apologised to them.
“They said it was okay as it was an accident,” Lim said.
The movie is scheduled for release next year.
Most of the victims are senior citizens with the oldest aged over 80.
Yeung, 59, a renowned action star, Malaysian actress Joey Leong, 24, and actor Cedric Loo, 30, are among those still warded at the hospital.
Dr Seow Vei Ken, head of the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department, said Yeung sustained 7% of second-degree burns on the left side of her face, her right arm and both her legs.
Leong had 5% of second-degree burns on both her legs.
“It will take about three weeks for them to recover,” he said at the press conference.
China Press reported that veteran actor Law Kar-ying, 72, escaped unharmed during the incident. He was back in Hong Kong yesterday.
The newspaper also said the team had got the Fire and Rescue Service Department personnel to be stationed on site when they wanted to film the burning scene involving three out of five wooden houses.
The blaze at one of the houses is believed to have burnt out of control.
Director Nick Wong expressed his highest respect to all the cast members, including Yeung and the senior actors.
“The production team could not thank them enough for their resilience,” he said.