[2026.08.11] SISLEY CHOI GOES SHOPPING WITH HER EYES CLOSE FOR HER ROLE

The success of KUNG FU SOCCER has made Sisley Choi a "hundred million box office female star"

Louis Cheung and Sisley Choi are fortunate to work with elders and benefit a lot from it

Lam Tsz Chung praises Xue Ye (left) and Angel Woo for their efforts
courtesy of on.cc

Louis Cheung (left) and Sisley Choi (right) admit that to be able to participate in Stephen Chow's film is a very valuable opportunity

Sisley Choi is happy that her role Double Eight has left a deep impression on the audience

Lam Tsz Chung (center) says that newcoers Xue Ye (left) and Angel Woo (right) have their own characteristics
courtesy of mingpao.com

When Sisley Choi Si Bui posted a video to offer her services during the KUNG FU SOCCER (GONG FU NUI JOOK) public actress recruitment three years ago, she successfully caught Stephen Chow Sing Chi's attention and she was chosen to play the women's soccer team "Team Emei" blind masseuse team doctor "Double Eight". Although the role was not as heavy as the two lead actresses Zhang Xiaofei and Dilraba's, she repeatedly wrongly beat up the team leader in the film, and last minute replacement of the injured goalkeeper were the major scenes. Even though in the whole film she only has an one second shot that showed her entire face, her pain from getting hurt during wire work was rewarded. She was convinced that all of Director Chow Sing Chi's arrangements, and finally was praised as the actress who fought the most like Bruce Lee. She was very moved.

Being able to work with Chow Sing Chi is a dream for many actors. After this shoot, what was the difference between the real Sing Yeh and Si Bui's impression of him? She admitted that she had no special impression of Sing Yeh originally. Because in the past she could only know him from the movies, she was left with an image that was full of positive energy; after actual contact, she felt that he was a very warm person. "The first time we met was an audition at his company, we discussed for an afternoon. At the time they ordered take out, when I left he even said me if I had money for dinner at night and told me to take two hamburgers with me."

Choi Si Bui in KUNG FU SOCCER played the role of blind masseuse "Double Eight", she needed to wear sunglasses to cover her face throughout the whole film. She only had a second of close-up shot when she took off the sunglasses to show the true appearance. She admitted that she worried about covering her face throughout the whole process would make her hard to recognize to the audience, but eventually she chose to believe in the director's judgment. "Sunglasses is one of the characteristics of this role, one part of her soul. The director gave me one second close up shot, in which my face and eyes could be seen. It was also the glorious moment of "Double Eight" protecting the entire team, which already expressed that importance. In addition many viewers talked about it. Seeing the audience understand my feeling, I was moved. I have already been very satisfied." She continued to point out that this time playing the visually impaired person, she could not rely on the eyes to act. The difficulty has increased, so she tried to "close her eyes" to explore the role. Accompanied by friends she visited the shopping center to experience the subtle movements and body language of the visually impaired.

After the successful audition, Si Bui was immediately put into training. Because the role was mostly action and fight scenes, her arms were covered in scars, her finger was so injured that she needed a splint. During the shoot she was also injured from wire work. She said that she liked to stretch normally, but this year she felt discomfort on the left side of her body. After examination she was diagnosed with chronic inflammation of tendon, which it would take her a while to recover. Would she recover compensation from Sing Yeh? Si Bui laughed and said of course not, to be able to get this opportunity to perform has been her biggest harvest. As for Chow Sing Chi's praise as the actress who "fights the most like Bruce Lee", did it comfort her emotionally? She happily said, "Of course I am moved, grateful and honored. I know that the director has great admiration and respect for Mr. Lee Siu Lung. I can appear as his idol in this role, and he even recognizes my resemblance to Mr. Lee Siu Lung. I really don't know how to describe this joy!"

Since Chow Sing Chi gave this opportunity to perform, would she work for free if he would invite her again? Si Bui said without hesitation, "If you can work with your idol, salary definitely doesn't come first. However I have to making a living, support the family, maybe I would try to work hard and make money elsewhere, but Sing Yeh would pay, he is also a very good boss." So every time she started work, she would not rest when she was not in the shoot. She would stand by to watch Sing Yeh make the film and learn from it. Did she really want to be a "Sing Girl"? Si Bui said that she has wanted to, but frankly, in addition to sincerity it would also depend on fate and could not be forced. Would she be interested in becoming an "action actress", she laughed and said that she was not a professional martial arts level action actor and the real martial arts actors were very powerful. During the shoot, she asked many stunt team members about somersault and movement skills. She also wanted to ask them to teach her, but the response she got was that these needed to be trained from a young age and could not be done in a moment or three. However if the next film would still have a lot of action scenes, she would also do her best to train. She would not let injury leave any trauma, because as long as it was something she liked, she would not be afraid.

Cheung Kai Chung played the referee in KUNG FU SOCCER and only worked for two days. He had a lot of interaction with Chow Sing Chi. From their first collaboration he found that actually he was very polite. "I like to read reports about Sing Yeh, so I guessed whether he would be very mean. However actually Mr. Chow is very polite, always thank you this and thank you that. He even asked if I wanted fruit." When filming he would be very serious and persistent, so he could understand very well that newcomers who worked with him would easily get nervous. Were there any difference between Chow Sing Chi and his boss Louis Koo Tin Lok? He said, "Both of them are tough and responsible, the pressure they are both under is not something that ordinary people can imagine, and it inspired me to talk less and do more, and do what I have to do." The official he played faced seduction from female players. Cheung Kai Chung joked that his real life identity as a husband has kept the peach blossom at bay. "The entire industry knows I am already married, only my 9 year old daughter takes the initiative with me."

The Stephen Chow Sing Chi directed KUNG FU SOCCER (GONG FU NUI JOOK) was co-directed by SHAOLIN SOCCER (SIU LUM JOOK KAU)'s sixth brother Lam Tsz Tung. Lam Tsz Tung said that when shooting SHAOLIN SOCCER more than 20 years ago they had limited technology. This time KUNG FU SOCCER could even more maturely use special effects to shoot the soccer scenes, saving a lot of time from using film before. This time most of the scenes used green scenes, then added special effects in post production. All of the actors needed to rely on their imagination to act, often lost the sense of direction and needed to rely on the human brain to determine the marks and light position. However nothing was difficult for Director Chow Sing Chi, as he would only come out and ask whether the shot has been taken.

When SHAOLIN SOCCER became a big hit, Sing Yeh took everyone on vacation. Lam Tsz Chung due to work missed the opportunity. With KUNG FU SOCCER collecting in the mainland 2.2 billion yuan RMB, he smiled and said that this time he would have to turn into a few more meals right away. However, the film was released in Hong Kong without a Cantonese version. Lam Tsz Chung explained that th film already had different languages, including Cantonese, English, Korean and Japanese. It was not purely Putonghua movie. Thus they decided to retain the original version without any voice dubbing.

As for the Easter egg at the end of the film, Chow Sing Chi and Lam Tsz Chung sat in the stadium audience with their backs toward the camera. There was a empty seat between them, reportedly it was a tribute to the late Ng Man Tat. Lam Tsz Chung said, "We just left some space for the audience to imagine, when we were coming up with the script we already were really missing Brother Tat. We have thought about using special effects, but we thought the result would be too sad."

Lam Tsz Chung while evaluating "Sing Girl" Angel Woo revealed that her role of her "Mad Bill" was finalized earlier than the female leads. During audition she awas already "eye-catching." Angel Woo is an athlete, even revealing that she was Chow Sing Chi's wakesurfing coach and they have known each other for many years. She believed that she only caught Chow Sing Chi's eyes because of her "foul mouth". She still remembers on the day of the audition she went to tea with Mommy, suddenly she received a call from Chow Sing Chi to ask her to go to the audition. "I was dressed like a beggar, in flip flops, no make up and tanned like a boatman. At that time I was 10 pounds heavier, I just marched in, grabbed a script and auditioned." She thought that she would play a vicious gangster role, she did not expect that she was asked to shed tears in her first scene. "Playing 'Mad Bill' is a great contrast appearance wise, everyday at work I had to stay in the state of crying at anytime."

As for another "Sing Girl" Xue Ye, Lam Tsz Chung's initial impression of her was tall, no smile and a little "mean". Later he found that she was just "natural airhead". He himself could in no way interpret that kind of look in her eyes. When she became a "Sing Girl", she was only 18 years old. She was not clear about the contract duration because her parents signed for her. She did not know why she caught Chow Sing Chi's eyes. Xue Ye at first did not know who Chow Sing Chi was, later she found out that she actually has seen his performance in many movies. She said, "After joining the team, I slowly learn that he is a very powerful person." She said that pressure was certain when working with Chow Sing Chi, because she never had opportunity to act in front of so many people before; but she hoped to turn the pressure into motivation. When talking about working with Dilraba and Zhang Xiaofei, Xue Ye immediately got excited and said, "Ms. Raba is particularly beautiful, and I have also seen the movie of Ms. Xiaofei. Both are very friendly sisters, who have been very patiently teaching me. I remember in a scene, the captain brought me back and I was indeed a little nervous. Sister Raba was also there, they said that it is okay, don't be nervous, just play your part."

Lam Tsz Chung praised Dilraba and Zhang Xiaofei for being very cooperative and working hard during their performance. "They are thin and beautiful, especially Xiaofei, she really went all out every time, Her slap (Lay Zhang Yixing) was really hard. When she kicked the ball her entire person took off, so I was very worried about them getting hurt. Because of many close-up shots we couldn't use any stunt double. Xiaofei was injured in the middle of the film shoot, Raba was hurt when she first joined the training team. Angel Woo, Xue Ye, Choi Si Bui all have been injured."