Meet the warriors
James Lee’s latest film features some interesting talents from Malaysia and Singapore.
WHAT enters your mind when Kuala Lumpur’s Petaling Street is mentioned? Tourists and locals thronging a bustling street? The famous Hokkien mee and the herbal tea? Or the pirated DVDS and the counterfeit goods?
Through the lens of Malaysian filmmaker James Lee Thim Heng (of The Beautiful Washing Machine fame), the famous tourist location has been turned into a centre of intrigue and mystery. Set in 1908, Lee’s latest venture sees heroes of different backgrounds – Japanese spies and kung fu-fighting eunuchs – vie for a long-lost hidden treasure.
Along the way, an ordinary Hokkien mee seller Shi Du Yao (played by Singaporean actor Mark Lee), his wife, Zhung Li Chun (Yeo Yann Yann) and her cousin-in-law, Liu Kun (Namewee), get dragged into the treasure hunt.
That’s the premise of Lee’s Petaling Street Warriors, a Rm3mil comedy that also boasts lots of action which is choreographed by Hong Kong director Ma Yuk Sing (of The Storm Warriors and A Chinese Ghost Story remake fame).
Petaling Street was chosen as the setting because of its historical value and iconic status, said scriptwriter Lim Boon Siang.
“It holds a significant historical value for Chinese immigrants and there are interesting anecdotes related to the famous street. For example, apparently Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen (who played an instrumental role in the overthrow of China’s Qing dynasty) stayed there before.
“Most of us only see it as a place selling pirated DVDS! Hopefully this movie will remind moviegoers about its history,” Lim explained.
At a recent press conference to promote the film, it was apparent to all present that there was an unmistakable chemistry between leading stars Lee and Yeo, who had worked together in the Singaporean movie Being Human last year.
“I’m not very used to her two ‘volcanoes’,” Lee joked, referring to the two water bags Yeo had to stuff into her clothes to create a busty image for the role.
“They used cold water to prepare the water bags at 5am every day!” Yeo revealed about her rather “toilsome” costume regime. “Once I was doing a fight scene and one of the bags fell out from my sleeve and into my hand!”
Though they play husband and wife in the film, the duo share no kissing scenes.
“Although Yann Yann wanted to kiss me badly, I had turned down such scenes, because I was too scared that she might fall in love with me,” joked Lee, to which Yeo laughingly replied: “I already have.”
Instead, Yeo got the opportunity to get somewhat “intimate” with local actress Chris Tong, who plays Xiao Ju, a mysterious beauty armed with martial arts skills.
“I think I fell in love with Chris after shooting one particular fight scene!” Yeo quipped about Tong, who played her sister in 8TV drama series A Time To Embrace.
The fight scenes were apparently so intense that Yeo and Tong ended up with bruises all over their bodies and had to use make-up to cover them up.
“It was certainly a challenge. I lost 2kg shooting just one scene, which lasted 12 hours,” said 34-year-old Yeo, the winner of the Best Actress award at Ntv7’s Golden Awards last year.
While Yeo thanked Ma for stretching their potential and “making us look good in the fight scenes”, she admitted that she’s a little “scared” of him.
Lee interjected: “Don’t be fooled by Ma’s gentle looks,” he said, adding that the fight choreographer often “scolded” the cast on set.
Ma, who turned down two other China productions to do Petaling Street Warriors, adopted a quickpaced shooting style.
“The cast coped really well. They did 90% of their stunts by themselves,” Ma said.
Despite his tough-as-nails approach, Ma enjoyed whipping up mouth-watering dishes for the cast and crew, according to co-director and producer Sampson Yuen.
“He cooked porridge and boiled herbal tea. He also brought fruits and local delicacies like Ipoh’s salted chicken. He’s got a tough-guy exterior (when directing the cast), but then at other moments, he’s almost like a woman,” said Yuen, laughing.
Petaling Street Warriors features a plethora of vibrant characters. Among them, Ma Fu Yi, a Chinese eunuch highly skilled in martial arts.
Though he looked effortlessly cool playing the role, Frederick Lee (the younger brother of Mediacorp star Christopher Lee) admitted that he’s very nervous.
“Every aspect is new to me. I’m excited but worried at the same time, because it’s something I haven’t done before,” said the 35year-old, who has starred in local TV series like The Iron Lady and Glowing Embers.
For this debut film role, Frederick referred to different sources for inspiration.
“I heard Guns ’N’ Roses on the radio and it struck me that maybe frontman Axl Rose’s voice is the kind of voice I should go for. But I still ended up doing repeated takes, as it was hard to control my voice and remember the lines at the same time,” he said.
Apart from all the fight scenes and the action, the movie also promises to provide lots of laughs and some interesting extras. There’s even a talking parrot, which sent the production crew into panic one day when it disappeared from the set!
“It flew off and did not return. The crew tried to look for it and only found it in a tree nearby the next day. So we had to redo the scene,” said Lee.
Having starred in hit movies like Money No Enough 2 and Ah Long Pte Ltd, funnyman Lee, who started his showbiz career under Jack Neo’s tutelage, was impressed by the scale of production of Petaling Street Warriors.
“The kind of sets, costumes and the extras used, as well as the action scenes and the director’s style, are all different. I’m honoured to be part of this. Through the use of camera angles and lighting, we are portrayed as action heroes, even though we really are not,” he said.
He also enjoyed working with the local talents. “Malaysian actors work very hard and put in a lot of effort into enhancing their roles. They end up stealing the scenes sometimes,” he said.
The cast and crew hope that the movie will showcase what both the Malaysian and Singaporean filmmaking industries have to offer.
“The moviemaking business in the region is thriving. More filmmakers are shooting their movies here, for example, (Dante Lam’s) The Viral Factor (which was partially shot in Kuala Lumpur). Hopefully, through Petaling Street Warriors, we can show foreign filmmakers that our movies can be as good as theirs,” said Lee, expressing confidence in seeing the movie collecting more than Rm8mil at the box office in Singapore and Malaysia.
It’s also likely that Petaling Street Warriors will be shown in Taiwan, said Yuen, who is now in talks with foreign distributors. “Though the story is set in Malaysia, foreign viewers can still appreciate Petaling Street Warriors for its action, fast-paced delivery and relatable premise,” he concluded.
Petaling Street Warriors starts showing in cinemas nationwide tomorrow.