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| The success of KUNG FU SOCCER has made Sisley Choi a "hundred million box office female star" |
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| Louis Cheung and Sisley Choi are fortunate to work with elders and benefit a lot from it |
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Lam Tsz Chung praises Xue Ye (left) and Angel Woo for their efforts
courtesy of on.cc |
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| Louis Cheung (left) and Sisley Choi (right) admit that to be able to participate in Stephen Chow's film is a very valuable opportunity |
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| Sisley Choi is happy that her role Double Eight has left a deep impression on the audience |
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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."
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