Shopping and kissing
By Mayo Martin, TODAY | Posted: 29 June 2007
1058 hrs
SINGAPORE : Kym Ng gets her first feature film and her first
kiss. On screen, that is.
At Thursday afternoon's press conference for the new movie Gone
Shopping, she was asked to describe co-star Adrian Pang's kissing
prowess.
"He has got a very thick and long tongue," the 30-something actress
said in jest. To which Pang hastily clarified: "It was very
sanitised."
Ng shares her first onscreen kissing scene done in three takes
with her fellow MediaCorp artiste in the debut feature film by
award-winning short film director Wee Li Lin, 34, which hits local
cinemas on July 26.
Gone Shopping, which Wee describes as a "satirical drama", centres
on three disenfranchised characters who look for comfort in malls.
Ng plays Clara, a 40-year-old tai-tai who rekindles a romance with
Valentine, Pang's character who works at Tang's.
Newbie actor Aaron Kao, a La Salle-SIA graduate and former student
of Wee, plays his namesake reluctant to join the workforce, while
seven-year-old Sonya Nair bested 70 others to debut as Renu, a
latchkey kid. The cast also includes, among others, Chen Shu Cheng,
Magdelene Tan, Selena Tan, Brandon Lee, Chermaine Ang and Cheryl
Miles.
The movie, produced by Kismet Films and distributed by Golden
Village Pictures, is the first full-length feature film for Ng, who
said she does not have the makings of a tai-tai. "The spirit is
there
but not the money," she said.
Pang, 41, described his character as "a jaded loner." He appears in
five scenes, and wears a moustache.
"It's a blink-and-miss performance. My moustache does all the
performing. And my lines are in Chinese, some more," he
joked.
The movie is trilingual, with scenes in English, Mandarin and
Tamil.
Wee, who won a best director award at the 1997 Singapore
International Film Festival for her short Norman On The Air,
completed Gone Shopping in 31 days over a couple of years. It was
shot at Tang's, Marina Square and Mustafa Centre. Certain scenes
were also shot at Far East Plaza, Paragon and Suntec City.
Thursday, Golden Village Pictures managing director Kenneth Tan
announced that the company will be signing up for the movie's
sequels. "How can anyone say no to a movie about Singapore's
national obsession?" he said.
Several props and wardrobe used in the movie, including three
dresses Ng wore, will be auctioned online on eBay. Proceeds will go
to The Substation, where Wee has screened most of her short
films.
A trailer of the movie can be seen on
www.goneshoppingthemovie.com.
- TODAY/rose
