ARTICLE
Judgment Day is Not Your 'Average Normal Local Film'!
By InCinemas / 19 Apr 2013 (Friday)
Judgment Day is definitely something different from your other local films. Focusing on the story rather than humour, producer Mark Lee hopes viewers will not only see the difference in story, but also the characters in the movie.
This time, Lee not only acted in the film, it is his first time as a producer, investing money after director Ong Kuo Sin told him about the story about ‘the end of the world’.
When ask if Ong got his inspirations from Hollywood movies like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow, he disagreed saying that it was shows like Love Actually and Valentine’s Day were actually his references of his movie. These movies talk about groups of stories celebrating a special day. He wanted the same over-arching theme but instead of an joyous occasion, he decided to go with the opposite, the end of the world.
(View Judgment Day review and trailer!)
There are four main stories in this movie, Lee together with Ong decided to talk about the more controversial issues in the world such as corruption, sex change operation, prostitution but leave out sensitive stories like race and religion. Lee felt that since these stories do exist, there shouldn’t be a reason to hide and avoid exploring it further. “As long as we do it truthfully with respect, I think it’s fine,” he continued.
(View showtimes for Judgment Day!)
Although Julie Tan maybe one of the youngest among the cast, she acts as a prostitute who could choose her ‘man’ to spend with, just before the world ended. The short bed scene with fellow Taiwanese actor Tender Huang was shot in a real brothel in Geylang. Prior to the shoot, Tan went around the area with her mother to observe and learn more about her character.
Taiwanese actress Alice Ko on the other hand was shock to see Singapore’s infamous red-light district area. ”Although I can’t really describe the feeling, the atmosphere at Geylang was unique and memorable for me,” Ko said. “I know there are a lot of good food places there!” Huang added.
The five days in Cambodia for the shoot between Chua Enlai and Rebecca Lim turned out as an experience for the both actors. Chua called it as ‘out of the comfort zone’ due to the extreme hot weather conditions and the rural culture they experienced. “They didn’t have toilets, or it was really far away and I had food poisoning during one of the days there,” Chua recalled. “I didn’t drink too much water the whole day in case I needed the toilet,” Lim added.
Viewers will see Chua in differently, out of his goofy, comedic roles many has seen him on television programmes such as The Noose. This is what Lee was going for, and was one of the reasons why he cast many comedians and stage actors in this show.
Judgment Day was John Cheng, aka Ah Nan’s last film before he passed away in January 2013. Many remembered him as a professional actor, a determined and kind person who requested re-takes to perfect his shots. Also, the last shot in the movie was a tight shot of Cheng, which was a coincidence creative call by the producers even before he passed away.
“When the director asked me if we should take it out, I told him there isn’t a need to because the story works and I feel very comfortable with it,” good friend of Cheng, Lee said.