Apart from the three male hotties (Eddie Peng, Choi Siwon and Shawn Dou) in acclaimed Hong Kong director Dante Lam’s sports-action blockbuster To The Fore, the film also features a range of picturesque locations such as the busy streets in Taiwan and Italy, stadiums in South Korea and Hong Kong, and a desert in China!
In an interview with director Lam and Korean actor Choi Siwon, who were in Singapore yesterday to promote the film, Lam shared with InCinemas that he ‘seriously considered’ Singapore as one of his key locations.
“I actually considered to shoot the film in Singapore, but because of budget constraints and the way the travelling (to the other countries) was planned, we didn’t manage to do it here,” said Lam, whom film credits include Unbeatable and That Demon Within.
He added: “The story is about a group of professional cyclists chasing their dreams and it is something similar to the Formula One race. If I wanted to showcase the authenticity of professional cycling to that extent, we needed to have them done at different locations.
I wanted the race to take place in the city, just like the Grand Prix in Singapore. To have an intense and exciting race in the bustling city is very cool!”
“Hopefully there will be a sequel and I really wish to film it in Singapore!”
(Watch the trailers for 'To The Fore'!)
Throughout their filming journey, Choi seems to getting along well with his co-stars Eddie Peng and Shawn Dou, even calling Peng his ‘oppa’.
Recalling their first encounter together, Choi and Peng first met on set at the 40-degree Kenting, Taiwan. Straight from his concert, a day before his shoot, Choi’s first scene was to do a dash for ‘more than six times’ (each being a few kilometres) while the cameras were rolling.
“I was overwhelmed when Eddie told me ‘That’s Dante’. He is a really good brother to me,” laughed the Super Junior member.
To prepare for his role as a pro cyclist, together with the cast members, they had to train for hours everyday, cycling up to 100km each time, with regular gym routines in between. It’s not wonder why the three male leads looks so good and fit in the movie! But sorry ladies (and guys), they won’t be any topless shots this time round, except for that one bareback shot of Siwon during the middle of the film.
Lam explains: “In Unbeatable (2013), there was a lot focus on the actors’ figures, and so I didn’t want that to be the same for ‘To The Fore’… I didn’t want bodies to be the highlight of the movie.”
“If this movie does well, I will come back (to Singapore) and take my shirt off,” Choi added. Fans, you know what to do!
To The Fore is now showing InCinemas!