Production Talk - 'Twisted' by Chai Yee Wei

Twisted revolves around a soft-drugs dealer who banged up a young girl, a pair of con men who wants to turn over a new leaf, and 4 cabin crews whose lives were turned upside down over a fateful night of drugs and booze. This is a story of individuals whose fates intertwine and paths clash due to a series of twisted events. A funny and twisted tale of fate and coincidence is shaped based on the cause and effect of their actions.

Starring an interesting ensemble cast from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with the best comedic and acting talents from the region which includes Mark Lee李国煌 (Singapore), Zhu Mi Mi朱咪咪(Hong Kong), Calvin Soh苏智诚(Singapore), Randall Tan (Singapore), Linda Liao廖佩伶(Taiwan), Candy Lim林冰冰(Malaysia), and Joey Leong 梁祖仪 (Malaysia).

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Hi Yee Wei, please tell us a bit more about your upcoming film 'Twisted'
Twisted is a horror action comedy which consists of 3 different short stories strung together by a drug dealer character that is played by Mark Lee.


When did you start developing this?
Twisted was conceptualized a few months after Blood Ties was released. I was looking for an opportunity to do something other than just a another horror film, and was trying to see what has never been done before. That's when the idea of putting my experience of doing short films to good use. I've always been a fan of series like "Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits", "Amazing Stories" and "Tales from the Crypt", and I sought to create a version consisting of twisted southeast asian tales.

Was the film shot in Singapore?
The entire film was shot in Malaysia.

The film has a cast of veteran actors, was it difficult to saw these talents to this project? How much did yr experience of doing blood ties help?
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with these very talented actors and actresses. I typically only seek actors whom I have tailored the script for, for instance Mark Lee's character and Chu Mimi's characters were specifically written to fit their personas. Perhaps it is because of this, they were able to see something they could relate to and thus took up the project. Similarly, after I get to know my other actors better, I changed the script accordingly to make them more comfortable in their roles.

Experience from handling cast from different countries, helped tremendously in my 2nd feature. As usual I like to use new faces alongside very experienced ones, and so I have learnt to handle talents very differently based on their own experience level and they way they relate to situations and characters.

How was it like working with these veteran actors?
It can be liberating and also very challenging at the same time. Veteran actors have a lot of very good ideas when they come onto set, and some of these sparks are priceless as they are very spontaneous and you need to harness that. You need to create an atmosphere to allow them to experiment. The challenge for me is how do I channel their energy towards the direction I want and also to top their ideas with an even better one which would in turn generate more ideas ... but eventually contain them within the constraints that we have when working within a team.


Your first feature 'Blood Ties', was a serious horror film. How did it lead to this comedy-horror film?
I have always had an affinity for comedies. For those who has followed my career of doing short films, they would know that I have done only 1 horror short amongst my many comedic ones. So doing a horror comedy is a very natural progression for me. "Blood Ties" was a serious film and on set, everyone was very serious and tensed. For my 2nd project, doing a comedy horror helped to loosen me up as the atmosphere was much more jovial. It helps to keep my sanity in balance. :)


With the slight change of genre, what can fans of 'Blood Ties' anticipate?
It is quite a different beast from "Blood Ties", because I am aiming for a lower rating than M18 this time and targeting a much a wider audience.
So there will be less blood, but in turn, you get a lot more scares, more action, more surprises and much more laughters. Fans of 'Blood Ties' would also be happy to know that Joey Leong and Vincent Tee will have roles in this new film as well.

Style-wise, how would 'Twisted' differ from previous comedy films made by other local directors?
"Twisted"'s kind of comedy is much darker than any local films that has come before. I hope to reach both the heartlanders and the general audience with my brand of humor.

How would you define a 'Singaporean-humour'?
Comedies by local directors typically fall into the "Jack Neo styled" comedies or "the others". Recently, many comedies not directed by Jack Neo exhibit similar styles too like "Old Cow vs Tender Grass", "PCK the Movie" etc. Would I say that is the definitive "Singaporean-styled humor" - I would say YES to a certain extent. The way these movies are shot are very distinctively "Singapore styled" and you can't deny Jack was the pioneer of it.

However, "Jack Neo styled comedies" and (to a large extent) their jokes can only be understood by Singaporeans only and non-locals might not be able to fully comprehend or accept it. "Jack Neo styled comedies" are also proven commercially to be the more successful ones compared to "the others". But I believe many "other" local filmmakers (including myself) are trying to find a comedic formula that will allow our content to stay true to our own culture, while still be made accessible to non-local audience.


While planning for the film, did Mark Lee come to your mind as a first choice for casting?
When writing any story, I always use an existing actor as a reference, so that when I flesh the story out in my head, I can better visualize the emotions and situations. When I wrote the drug peddler character Ah- Guan, I had Mark Lee in mind playing it. To actually have him participate in the project when we head towards production was a miracle. It was like seeing your imagination come to life.


Any upcoming acting talents to watch out for in Twisted?
Definitely! Look out for Malaysian actors like Alvin Wong and Brandon Yuen in their first leading roles and Singaporean Cavin Soh as well as Tracy Lee in their first feature performances. I can't say how much I was impressed by their performance!


Share with us any interesting anecdotes that took place during production
The story writing process was the most tedious. But it could be due to my insistence on re-writing any characters for whom I didn't get my ideal cast for. I am in the business of creating illusion. I have to make sure the actor look and act in a way that is as close to the character that he is playing so as for it to be convincing or else, the magic of the movie will fall apart. So you either get very good actors who can fit themselves into any role or you make the role fit the actor.

As in any situation, you will always never get 100% of what you want. For instance in one of the segment of the movie, the main actor whom I wrote a part for dropped out a few weeks before production, and I was forced to rewrite the entire story (almost 50% of the whole movie) while doing my preproduction work and looking for new cast. It was extremely stressful. But in the end, I believe the result was a better film and story and I can't wait for the rest of the world to see it.


What is the budget like in producing 'Twisted'? How did you seek funding?
The budget for Twisted was about 700-800K. I was very lucky to have my producer do the fund seeking for me while I provide him with the ammunition (script, story, pitch) that he needs. This time, unlike 'Blood Ties', I could focus more on direction and story rather than just budget, which is a great thing.

You work pretty fast. Some of the NFFF films are not even out yet and you are on to your second. How do you achieve that?
To never stop pitching and coming up with new ideas. I am constantly working on a few stories at any one time because you never know which idea is the one that will hit the jackpot! You need the combination of a right story, matched with the right producer and the right investors in order for a project to get green lighted, and your ideas and stories are your ammunition! The more ideas you have the more chance you have at hitting the goal! Don't put all your eggs in one basket!

Keep a look out for Twisted's scheduled release in mid 2011!

Who's Shooting What? 2011: Chai Yee Wei

Director:Chai Yee Wei
Name Of Project: Twisted (撞鬼)
This is the second full feature by Chai after his well received Blood Ties, and production for the Mandarin movie will wrap in mid-December.

The movie revolves around a soft-drugs dealer who banged up a young girl, a pair of con men who wants to turn over a new leaf, and 4 cabin crews whose lives were turned upside down over a fateful night of drugs and booze. This is a story of individuals whose fates intertwine and paths clash due to a series of twisted events. A funny and twisted tale of fate and coincidence is shaped based on the cause and effect of their actions.

Gala Nights 2 : 'The Gang' Bang

For some reason, Maia resembles Roxie Hart from 'Chicago' the musical.

'My Gawd, I can't believe they invited these people!'

SINdie is part of 'industry' and not 'friends'...lol
Aishah from Substation gives a cheeky look, 'Blood Ties' director Chai Yee Wei looking like a secondary school student behind.

'Say cheese!' the photographer instructs the cast, who have not met all in the team until tonight because they appear in different scenes.

Grace and Jeremy take the quintessential photo with 'The Man' behind everything, Kelvin Sng (middle)

Notice the tattoo on her left arm. Could 'The Gang' spark off a comeback trend of full-body tattoos?

The Cathay Cineplex was awash with starsgazers. Two local movies were premiering at the same time - Kelvin Sng's 'The Gang' and Harry Yap's 'Happy Go Lucky'. It was nauseating trying to decipher where the stargazers were gazing. Of course, when Fann Wong made an appearance with a kooky-looking Christopher Lee, people flocked to them like bees to honey. But for the rest of the occasion, 'The Gang' maintained its glory with an event that reached new heights of grandiosity for short films. I (Jeremy) was getting a little worried for Kelvin for if the film itself would not live up to the hype (almost circus-like)in the run up to the screening. But thankfully, the film left most of the audience with nothing to say except words of congratulations in their different configurations.

LUNCHBOX 2 - Chai Yee Wei

Yee Wei sips his Coke Zero while he awaits to find what we have packed into his Lunchbox.

Friday 31 July, 8pm
Esplanade Library/Mrs Fields Cafe

Jeremy starts off by explaining the raison d'etre of LUNCHBOX… that it wants to explore what goes on behind the great minds of filmmakers and gets a violent reaction from Yee Wei

Yee Wei: Great mind! Please. You make me look like an obnoxious asshole. Haha.

Before we even get onto our first question, Yee Wei goes off-tangent onto talking about his idol Michael Jackson until Jeremy interrupts to say he is here for ‘quality control’ so we were all knocked back on track. Then Yee Wei sees the word childhood photo on our scrapbook under ‘requests’ and starts off in another thread of his own again!

When I was in primary school, I frequently took part in Chinese storytelling competitions. And the funny thing is I also got 2^nd Prize. That’s because I was very unconventional. I liked to add special effects and sounds to my storytelling. I guess it does not go down well with the usual scoring criteria. But my teacher liked me for that and often sent me for inter-school competitions. But I still like watching people’s reactions I entertain them, whether they are laughing or they get scared when I tell them ghost stories. I remember telling the story of ‘The 3 Little Pigs’ and I would start off with ‘Kok Kok Kok Kei!’

Assertive waitress (bordering on rude) interrupts our conversation as she served the tea. Our eyes roll for a moment.

Then when I reached primary 4, I started feeling more self-conscious. I don’t know why I started feeling so self-conscious, getting stage fright and all. I stopped telling stories. Then in secondary school, the entertaining people thingey in me came back so I joined the CLDDS which stands for er… er…. What’s that?Jeremy: Chinese Language Drama and Dance Society.

Elfe: Very long.

I did Chinese sword dance and then I was in choir for 3 years. Got to travel. I really enjoyed those days. Then when I joined the AVA Club, we did our first Orientation video using video cassettes! So those days very happy days for me. I did not do well in my studies in school so I have fond memories of these activities!

(pause)

I have always been a Cheeena boy. I didn’t speak English until I went to junior college. Though I was aware it was not hip to be so Cheeena and listen to 933 FM. Then I went to CJ (Catholic Junior College), everyone spoke English there. They were all from CHIJ Toa Payoh, SJI, all English speaking! So I had to force myself to start speaking English. And I had a girlfriend who doesn’t speak Mandarin. And I realized on thing, if your English sucks, then all your other subjects will suffer because everything else is taught in English. I really struggled all the way until I reached Uni.

Not afraid of 'hairy' issues

What’s the funniest rumour or remark about you?

I was pretty low-profile. I was a pretty ugly boy. Nobody cared about me (laughs). Though my girlfriend was pretty cute!

Any hobbies besides filming?

Yah I like Karaoke. I love singing. I like photography. Oh yeah, I do wedding videos. (Pause) Actually I didn’t think of becoming a filmmaker when I was younger because I am a typical Singapore. I am not even a film-major la. I am a business major. I wanted to do film only 3 or 4 years ago. You can call it an epiphany. I was 29 turning 30. (there he goes side-tracking again) You know, my family has always been doing business doing business so I naturally thought of pursuing a business path. CJC had accountancy. But I did badly. Then I ended up in the ‘scholar platoon in the army. In all 160 of them in the platoon, I was the only one who did not make it to University. I remember the day we went to collect our A level results, we took the RPL (topless boat) back to Singapore from Pulau Tekong. The scholars all around me were complaining how many As they missed getting and I was miles apart from them. And they still asked me ‘Are you ok? How did you do?’ So I said ‘2 A’. They said ‘not bad’. Then I said ‘2 A level pass la’.

Someone turned off the lights on Yee Wei.

But later on, things got better. I went on to do my TOEFL in army and then entered University of Michigan. I studied very hard then. But that was not enough. I was being assessed even for my participation in class. There was definitely a change in pace. But I liked it. Those were the happiest times of my life. But towards the end, I started to fear again cos this is it… no more school holidays, no more skipping of school, no more chao keng…. this is the real world. So that was really an interesting juncture in time. Then I would say the other juncture is when you have a mid-life crisis.

I started a business, failed in it, went to work, saved enough, came back and did another business which is the current ‘Curry Favour’ restaurant. This business did eventually get profitable. But something was still wrong – I was still not happy. So I started questioning myself why. While all these were happening, I had already been doing wedding videos at the side and for fun. I started asking myself why can’t I extend this interest of mine, So 3-4 years ago, I started making short films. One thing led to another. And now ‘Blood Ties’.

Proud father of his baby 'Blood Ties'

Anyway, would you starve for art?

Cannot la. You need to find a middle way. Look at Buddha, he starved, starved, starved himself in order to find out the meaning of suffering. But he soon realized h could not do this because he would starved himself to death and not learnt anything. One day, he was meditating and still starving, he realized someone was pulling a boat with a rope. If pulled too tight, the rope will snap, if too loose, the boat will float away. So, the middle way is the key. So he realized the important thing is to keep himself in the right state, right mind in order to achieve what he really wanted and be able to focus clearly on your goals. It is certainly not true, that if I don’t starve, I will make very lousy art.

Yee Wei marvels at the kiddy grub we packed into his lunchbox.

Will I work for my art? Yes. Will I starve for my art? I would say not very wise.

We adjourn to Mrs Fields Cafe, also in the same building as the library was closing. Yee Wei goes on to share some unforgettable moments from his work as a wedding videographer.

There was a couple. The husband’s mother had Alzheimer. But the wife accepted the family. You can tell that he is very grateful that his wife do not question. One of the most memorable moments was when he entered the room to receive the bride who was waiting by the bed he got down on his knees and took out a lyric sheet and sang the song ‘The Young Ones’. And when he sang the verse ‘to live and to love, while the flame is strong, for we may not be the very young ones very long’ the whole wedding had a different level of meaning to me. It was very emotional. That was one of the most touching moment.

There was another couple that I shot. Everyone else wasn’t happy that they were getting married. The bride was probably in her late forties. The groom was probably in his late thirties. I had a feeling that the groom might be younger than the bride. There were three other eighteen to nineteen year old kids who were actually the son and two daughters of the bride. One of the daughter was very displeased with the wedding. Over at the groom’s, his eighty year old mother was up since five in the morning doing all the preparation while four of her elder sons did nothing to help. They even came late because they couldn’t be bothered and you can tell why the mother loves the groom more than the others. After I shot their wedding the boyfriend of one of the bride’s daughters came up to me and was grateful that I shot all the happy moments in the wedding because he said it mattered most to the bride and groom knowing that everyone else was against their wedding yet they went through all the odds to make it happen. When you see that kind of tension in the family and how much they still are together it makes you realize how strong their relationship is.

These are all stories that interest me. As a filmmaker you get moved and interested in stories like that. You don’t know what the guy over there is reading but there’s probably a story behind it. Those stories that I’m most interested in are those from people that are seen as underdogs. For example, it was past midnight, I saw an aunty selling tissues at a kopitiam. I asked her to sit with me to have chitchat. She was very puzzled. I asked her why is she doing this and where are her children. At that moment, she told me no and not to let her children know.

From that statement you know that she doesn’t really need to do this and that she is only doing it for self-worth. She didn’t want her children to know so as not to shame them. It reaches into something very human about it just by that one statement she made. You can start extrapolating what is behind her story. You can imagine how her son is like, how she probably is and living that kind of life. It doesn’t have to be a woman selling her body. This is a similar double-life story and I’m surprise that no one has done a story or a documentary about these aunties. None of our filmmakers are covering things like these. Why? We are covering things that are petty and not so important. I always question why are we not reflecting more of our lives.

Do you reckon that most filmmakers, half the time, they try to be more original than the other, that’s why they don’t want to submerge into these everyday people?

I don’t think its not because they don’t want to. I think it’s simply because of age. It’s not an important thing that they see or affect their lives at this moment. You can tell that things are starting to change. Young filmmakers produce films that are closest to their hearts - things that affects them directly. In their films you can find typical lines like “What about me?” You can find this line in a lot of Singapore’s short films. We are still at our infancy of our film industry. It has been neglected for way too long and we’re just starting up now, all trying to play catch up. We don’t even know what is a Singapore film. We look at Korean films – the way they dress, their architecture, you know it’s Korean as well as Japan, Hong Kong, China and Malaysia – are all distinguishable. Singapore doesn’t really have that “Singapore look” yet. We are still searching for that. although, ‘881’ does have a very ‘Singaporean look’ to it. Jack Neo’s films reflect our society a lot and that is why his film sells because local people see themselves in it. As much as local filmmakers like to dismiss it for artistic reasons, you can’t deny that a lot of his films reflect the common Singaporean.

To be honest, I am a Jack Neo fan. Maybe as a filmmaker he does not have the traditional training and that is why his films does not have those taste. He hasn’t been train as a filmmaker. His strength is his dialogue. Hi story-telling skills may be all over the place but he has very good dialogues. People can relate very well to his films. He is part of Singapore film history. Royston has his own style so does Jack Neo. Royston’s films have high aesthetics and visual design. Eric Khoo is very strong in his ‘moments’. He is able to capture very intimate moments and allow people to ponder on it.

Is it true that many filmmakers have some kind of obssessive fixation on certain films that they would watch it over and again? (Read an interview in which Royston watched Rule #1 several times)

What is an important essence that you need to have in your film?

Other than feeling entertained I do hope viewers leave the cinema with questions. If people do leave with questions pertaining to things in general or the things that I reflect in the film, thatn I would have achieved my goal. I am a curious person and love to ask questions but in our society we don’t ask too much questions. But through films I am able to raise those questions. I think, as a filmmaker, it is my responsibility to reflect the time that I am living in now. I don’t have to do it directly. I can sugar coat the issue but not address them directly.

It’s all about expressing one’s thoughts or opinions though a medium. Books, music, writing poetry – it’s just a different way of expressing themselves. For example, maybe your uncles and aunties might express themselves through karaoke? It’s a way of expressing themselves.

I know you did a short film called Lao Sai. Captivating title. Tell us about it!

It’s very stupid. We spent $300. It was Vesak Day, I grabbed five of my friends, we rece the toilet around our place. We went to the shopping mall, haven’t started shooting the security guard came. I went down to look for the Supervisor and bribed him with $50. He told me we’ve got half an hour. We quickly shot and left. Had chicken rice and went for a spa after that. We actually got a boom mic but we realized that the mic wasn’t on when we watched the tapes. So the audio was like shit. My friends and I we acted in it. We won cash vouchers. After that we joined Fly By Night and won Merit award. Subsequently I made two more short films, which was just for practice I don’t show it to anyone. Then finally, I made a short film to see if the concept can be made into a full-fledged film. One of the mentors whom I chose as a mentor that I did not approach for help, watched it and wanted to go for the idea.

Yee Wei is one of the most prolific filmmakers in Singapore, having made several shorts which include Lao Sai, Blood Ties (short film) and My Blue Heaven. Blood Ties was his first feature film that has already ended its run. But I bet you can watch out for the DVD soon!

Learn more about Blood Ties here.

Snapshots ii from gala premier 'Blood Ties'

Chai Yee Wei (director) with main casts from Blood Ties

Grace, Li, Yee Wei, Jeremy

Production Talk - 'Blood Ties' by Chai Yee Wei

"Blood Ties The Movie" will be Yee-Wei's directorial debut for a full length feature film which is also written by himself. Though it has just been a short 4 years since he actively pursued a career in filmmaking, Yee-wei has quietly built up a body of works that showcases his talent in telling interesting stories through the film medium. His passion in telling stories which draws on inspiration from things around him pushes him to explore different topics and genres as evident in his earlier works. "I am a curious person by nature. And I seek to use film as a medium to ask questions and explore situations which would otherwise be difficult to do so in real life."

Taken from www.bloodtiesthemovie.com

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Grace (G): I know that you had made a previous short film, Blood Ties which was screened during 2007 and this upcoming debut Blood Ties is a longer version. Can you tell us the difference for both films?
Yee Wei (YW): Well... the premise is the same. A murdered cop, returns on the 7th night of his death to possess his little sister to exact revenge on his murderers. Other than that, the story is totally different. Many people thought the feature is a longer version of the short film, but it is actually not true.

Jeremy (J): Have you always wanted to make Blood Ties as a feature even when u shot the short?
YW: Yes. I always wanted to toy with the question of "If you could return on the 7th day of your death, what would you do?” So when I wrote the short film, it was sort of a litmus test for me to see if the idea was novel enough to be made into a commercial film. And true enough, after the short film was made, a few production houses asked me if I was interested to turn it into a full length feature.

G: Have you had any personal incidents of supernatural sorts? What inspired you to think about that question?
YW: No direct experience for myself, but my mother and my family did. And it was somewhat related to the "touqi" (7th night) myth. My grandfather after he passed, on the 7th night, the family prepared food offerings on the altar. And one of my aunts put powder on the floor. At night, one of my aunt heard foot steps, and chains being dragged. Then she peeped into my grandfather's bedroom and saw the rocking chair that he used to sit on rocking by itself. And there was smoke in the air. My grandpa used to rock in that chair while smoking his pipe. The next morning, the rest of the family saw footprints on the floor. The rice in the bowl on the altar also looked like someone had pressed on it.
J: Very vivid memories indeed.
YW: It was a family story… since everyone's involved. I was too young to remember ... so my aunts and my parents told it to me.


J: How long did you take to shoot this?
YW: It was a 20 days shoot.

J: I am amazed at the visual treats in the trailer!
YW: ... There will be more. I was trying hard not to reveal too much


J: How did you manage to pull so many strings for the film? I mean I saw Kenneth Tsang (veteran), lots of realistic shooting scenes, explosions and amazing production design!
YW: Wow ... where do I begin? Maybe let me share the part with respect to my crew. The Director of Photography Derrick Loo and the Art Director Zoe Chu, they were both on working in those respective positions on the short film as well. I thought since me, as a first time director am given the opportunity to direct my first feature, I should let 2 new talents give it a go too. Maybe that's why they worked really hard for this.
For Cheng Pei Pei, she was pitched the idea at least a year before production. And she had seen very early drafts of the script. The latest script caught her interest and timing was good, so all fell into place. For Kenneth Tsang, he said he wanted to do his part for the Singapore film industry, and again, timing was good. Did you know he's a Singapore citizen by the way?


G: That's nice! I didn't know that! Would you say this is your dream project?
YW: I would say I HOPE that this is the start of my many dream projects to come.

J: What are the marketing plans in store for this?
YW: I can't really disclose too much at this at this point.


J: What would you say will make this stand out from the horror movies we know?
YW: It is more a supernatural thriller piece. But I would say audience might be surprised by the amount of human drama that can be injected into a cross genre piece like this. I hope people will come out thrilled and moved at the same time.

G: Do you think the film would be produced differently if it weren't funded under Singapore Film Commission Fund?
YW: No. In fact, I was surprised SFC hasn't interfered or influenced the creative process at all. I was glad I am able to craft a film for the international market in mind, without concerns that I have to serve only the local market. In fact, the SFC investment is a huge help in terms of production and marketing!


G: Blood Ties was screened during Cannes Festival. What were the responses like?
YW: Blood Ties was not screened at Cannes. It went to the market to garner sales interest. And we got some pretty good responses from overseas buyers.

G: Can you share with us, what kind of films you like?
YW: It is all these simple questions that are the trickiest. Can I say who's films I enjoy?
G: Sure!
YW: I enjoy films from directors like Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, Alex Proyas, Sam Raimi and Sidney Lumet. And films acted by Tom Hanks as well. But generally, movies with a great story and with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

G: Any advice for aspiring filmmakers out there?
YW: Hmm ... Tell stories that are closest to your heart. And keep practicing!


G: Last but not least, any final words, anything you'd like to add on for Blood Ties?
YW: Oh yeah... we're giving away Blood Ties movie Posters for people who send in spooky stories they've heard or experienced. A Blog will be launched soon with these stories there. The top 10 stories will also win a pair of tickets to the gala premiere! Send the stories to stories@bloodtiesthemovie.com!

And the posters are while stocks last ;)

Watch the trailer here

Blood Ties will be released in Singapore on September 10