ARTICLE
“Nothing has changed!” Said TV Veterans Chew Chor Meng and Chen Xiuhuan!
By Flora / 09 May 2017 (Tuesday)
Photo Credit: Golden Village Pictures
One of Singapore’s favourite on-screen couple: Chew Chor Meng and Chen Xiuhuan are finally back on screen as husband and wife, in upcoming local rom-com ‘Lucky Boy’.
During the 1990s, Chew and Chen were the on-screen golden couple, having paired in local Chinese dramas such as Heavenly Beings and Witty Advisor. 20 years later, they reunite as the parents of Wang Weiliang’s character in Boris Boo’s ‘Lucky Boy’.
Chen bowed out of showbiz in 1995 to be a full-time mother. She revealed at the press conference yesterday that she initially turned down this role as well.
“At first I rejected the offer, but after meeting up with the producers and director, they explained the story and character and I felt that it was so similar to me! I’m actually a very kiasu (afraid to lose out) mother in real life too.”
“I was so glad to be paired up with Chor Meng again! Even though we’ve not filmed together for a long time, we still had chemistry! I wasn’t too sure at first, but after the first day of shoot, it was so great! Just like in the past with those unforgettable moments… nothing has changed!”
Photo Credit: Golden Village Pictures
She added: “We have been friends for over 20 years now and so it’s rather natural that we hit it off when we are together.”
“Xiuhuan didn’t change much, she’s still as pretty as 20 years ago,” shared Chew.
Chen took about 9 days to film the movie, and during her downtime in between shoots, Chew and Chor will reminisce their old days and talk about their children. Coincidently, both of their daughters were Primary 6 at that time, and they exchanged stories like any other Singaporean parent.
“We talked about our kids and discussed a lot about their homework and school life, and our lifestyles as parents… like tuition teachers and examination papers,” quipped Chen.
Director Boris Boo shared that most of the incidences in the film were inspired by his past experiences.
“Of all the movies that I’ve done, you can say that this is one of the most personal films. In fact, this is also one of the hardest films I did. I was very afraid it wouldn’t be released,” said Boo, who directed films like “Taxi! Taxi!” and “Just Follow Law”.
He explained that there were many challenges throughout the making of the film. He said: “We were too ambitious and wanted to film a movie that spanned 40 years. Also, this movie a little different the films I’ve done, and is the kind of movie that Singaporeans may not be too familiar with… the genre is a little different from other local films as well.”
He added: “Audiences love slapstick comedies or horror films, so something like Lucky Boy is different and we were rather afraid if we didn’t grasp the right tone of the theme, the audience may not enjoy it… we tweaked the story so that there’s a balance of both comedy and the message of positivity.”
Lucky Boy also stars Wang Weiliang, Hong Kong actress Venus Wong, and Jeremy Chan.
Lucky Boy opens InCinemas 18 May 2017!