[2014.04.01] DANIEL WU BURNS UP 7 MILLION FOR THAT DEMON WITHIN

courtesy of on.cc

courtesy of singtao.com

The 2014 first large scale crime film THAT DEMON WITHIN (MOR GAING) will open next month. In one major scene the mentally disturbed Daniel Wu (Ng Yin Cho) was in pursuit of Andy Tien (On Chi Kit). Because they lost control on their vehicles they rammed into a gas station and exploded. Emperor Motion Pictures spent HK$3.5 million to construct a gas station to be destroyed during the shoot.

In the film THAT DEMON WITHIN the mentally disturbed Ng Yin Cho suspected a fellow cop On Chi Kit to be a traitor, thus began chasing him. Finally the vehicle lost control and crashed into a gas station to cause a big explosion.

For the scene the film company invested 7 million, 3.5 million was used to build an extremely realistic gas station.

Director Dante Lam Chiu Yin said that it was very hard to borrow a gas station for an explosion scene. "We spent a month to build the gas station, the gas pipes, signs, food, cash registers were all real. The beverage bottles alone numbered in 160 boxes." The gas station was so real that some drivers thought a real gas station was on fire.

Because the car crash had to trigger an explosion and almost destroy the entire gas station, signs fell, the roof caved in and glasses shattered. The director joked that after the shoot, the crew did not need to clean up because Ng Yin Cho and On Chi Kit destroyed everything.

Ng Yin Cho revealed that this scene was his final scene. He had to trigger all the emotions that he suppressed and accumulated since the production began, but as the same time had to keep the demon down as he tried to save On Chi Kit. Because of the explosion and subsequent fire, this scene at most could only have two takes. Emotionally he had to express polarizing performance, to Ng Yin Cho it was an extremely huge challenge. In the end he of course could complete it successfully.

On Chi Kit had to suffer a lot of physical pain. The fire was raging and next to On Chi Kit were many dangerous items like glass shrapnel, embers, and miscellaneous items. Although they took the full safety precautions the shoot was still dangerous. In the scene Ng Yin Cho dragged him out of the car window. After the shoot he realized that his back was all bruised. Yet to complete the shoot he tolerated it. On Chi Kit had to sleep on his front the next few nights.