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SINGAPORE : Talk about life imitating art. Or is it the other way round?
In the new film "Happy Go Lucky", MediaCorp sweetheart Fann Wong plays a woman deemed to be a jinx by her father and sister simply because she was born on an inauspicious date.
In an eerie twist, Fann almost jinxed the entire shoot when, one day before filming was to begin, she contracted H1N1 and had to be quarantined for more than a week.
"I was having a runny nose that day, when I was learning how to do foot reflexology from a sifu (traditional master). But that night, I had a high fever - which we found out was H1N1.
"I had to take an MC for 10 days, and I felt really bad because I missed the first week of the shoot. That was very scary," said Fann.
Interestingly, having to deal with Fann's initial absence wasn't the most challenging part of making the movie, said director Harry Yap.
Instead, it was simply the presence of Fann herself that scared him.
"I'm a newcomer - this is my first movie - but Fann Wong agreed to be in it, so I had a lot of pressure to make sure it was good," he said.
"I had written the script and I was directing, so I had pressure to perform, to make sure every aspect was good."
Lucky for him, when Fann did eventually turn up for the shoot, things went swimmingly. "She was very good," said Harry. "She was helpful and had confidence in me and what we had to do, and that made it easier for all around, allowing me to finish the movie quite easily."
Of course, the question is, why would a big star like Fann want to work with a first-time director nobody had ever heard of?
"When I agreed to do this, it was to help him make that movie," said the 39-year-old actress. "I believe that there are not enough directors here in Singapore - the pool is very small - and I thought, 'Why not do this?' I hope that this may inspire other directors to step up and show what they have to the world."
And what Harry had to show was a film that speaks its mind on problem gambling. "I've not liked gambling ever since I was young," explained the 49-year-old director. "I don't buy 4D, Toto - I don't even know how to play mahjong. I do know a lot of people who like to gamble though, and the funny thing is even if they win a lot of money, they lose it very fast."
"There is a bit of a mission here, to warn people of the ills of gambling," he continued. "Actually, the script is based on real experiences. I know someone who won S$5 million, but within a year-and-a-half, he had used up practically all of it and had to start borrowing from others.
"Five million dollars! And he ended up with nothing!"
There's a scene in the movie where a fengshui master explains the art of gambling to you, Fann. What did you make of it?
Harry: He's really a fengshui master. He's from Macau.
Fann: Yeah, he was giving a lot of tips in the movie, right? Like where to sit and what not to do. The funny thing is when we were filming that scene all the crew was paying extra attention. I have never seen such an attentive crew - only that day! They had so many questions to ask!
So will you use any of his tips when you visit the IR?
Fann: Er ... maybe.
Fann, this movie is quite different from your other films like "Just Follow Law" and "The Wedding Game". Was it your intention to do something different?
Fann: Actually, it's not really intentional. It's just that they were asking for me to be involved and I was talking to the director and I felt that he was very passionate about the movie and movies in general. And being a part of the movie industry, too, it was more like if I like the script, then I'll help out if I have the time to help out.
Actually, I had already filmed two other movies. One is a romantic movie with Chang Chen, and the other is a feel-good movie, but this is the first to come out.
Would you two be interested in working together again?
Fann: I'm interested to look at his scripts because I heard that he has a lot of scripts at home.
Harry: Inside the fridge for many years ...
Fann: I've been eyeing them for a while.
Harry: I've always been interested in the movies. When I was younger, I was a manager of a cinema - my first job - when I was 20. And we had to learn all the operations, including how to work the projector. And I would watch the same movie 100 or 200 times.
But after watching so many, I started wondering what makes a good movie or a bad movie. And it was only about 10 years ago that I started writing my scripts. I didn't do it with the intention of filming, so I wrote all these scripts and kept them in my house. I think the worms have gotten to them already.
Fann, what's the best thing about being you right now?
Fann: It's not a best thing or not: I have no other choice. This is the only life I know. A lot people think it's very glamorous, but don't be fooled by it. We still work very hard. I try not to show all that though, because our job is to make the public feel good, to bring the "light" and not the "dark" side to them.
Once we are filming, we can sometimes go without sleep, which is torture for me! And you can't see your family for periods at a time. I guess what everybody says is that we have no life. But ... I'm doing what I like.
What's next?
Fann: I'm going to take a break! In the previous month, I was travelling a lot, so I think I want to stay put for a while. Don't know about after that. You don't really know, because your schedule changes very fast. I've already received scripts for TV dramas and movies, but I think I want to hang loose for a while.
Happy Go Lucky opens in cinemas on Thursday.
- TODAY/il
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