Said director Joyce Lee, “We’ve been developing FAT HOPE for about two years now. It’s a very bold and adventurous undertaking—a concept that has never been seen or done on such a big scale in Singapore before, which makes it all the more fun to attempt. We’re very excited to be working with some of the most talented, passionate local and international cast and crew who are committed to bringing this film to life.”
Through a light-hearted and witty manner, FAT HOPE aims to address the twin universal themes of beauty and slimming that resonate with both local and global audiences. It is also one of the first local films to incorporate special effects makeup, which is integral to the story of a supermodel turning fat overnight. Collaborating on the project are the Academy Award-winning special effects makeup team of Darkest Hour, Mad Max: Fury Road and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales as well as renowned Taiwanese production designer of Cape No. 7 and Café Waiting Love.
The concept of FAT HOPE came from Lee, and was developed further with veteran local scriptwriter Rebecca Leow 洪汐. This is the duo’s second collaboration, after working together on Lee’s first film YOUNG & FABULOUS, which became a Singapore box office hit. On the story concept, Lee commented, “I guess you can say that a part of myself is in this story. All these years I’ve been so focused on building my career that I’ve spared time for little else. We tend to equate things like success, beauty, fame and money with happiness, but after achieving all that, are we truly happy? What we hope to express through FAT HOPE is that sometimes it is the simpler things in life that can bring you the greatest joy.”
An aloof, demanding supermodel turns fat overnight from a social media curse, and as she scrambles to lose weight to make it for a big fashion campaign, she begins to realise there is more to life than just glamour and success, and that happiness can come in different shapes and sizes…
Today, I'll be attending it with my friend, Kim! Cant believe I forget to talk selfie with him @__@
Our host for today!
When the stars all arrived, we were surprised to see 2 Taiwan celebrities to take the lead roles for this movie. Welcome of cos!
Here arrives our secretive main leads!
For this, Lin travelled to Los Angeles to do a life cast for the fat suit she would be wearing in the movie. She described the whole experience, “During the life cast, I couldn’t open my eyes or speak at all. All I could hear was my heartbeat and breathing. It felt like I was diving under water, and like I was all alone in the world.” The actress added that she felt a little nervous when the mould started to set in and the temperature within started to rise as the space got smaller. Huang chimed in, “It’s so cool, though. In fact, I suggested before to the director (Joyce) to film a male version of FAT HOPE. I really want to try on the fat suit.” Huang plays the role of musician-cum-pub owner Nathan, and also Lin’s love interest in the movie.
We see some familiar faces that had previously worked with Encore Films for their 1st movie~
Liu Ling Ling, who plays the supermodel’s mother Goh Lee in the film, said she feels “fortunate” to have a beautiful on-screen daughter, and, she will “go all out” for this film. In FAT HOPE, Goh Lee owns an old-fashioned HDB hair salon, which will be specially built for the film by renowned Taiwanese production designer of Cape No. 7 and Café Waiting Love. The director strove to retain certain characteristics from the actors, so the characters they play would be authentic. In a similar vein, Lee also refined Abigail Chay’s character Cai Piao 彩票嫂 , after an incident, “Initially the character was named Chun Hua 春花. When Abigail came for the audition, she gave me a TOTO ticket. I thought then, she should just be herself, she should be Cai Piao 彩票嫂.”
With Henry around, the moment he takes the mic, everyone laughs~ He is so good at it. Audiences can expect a lot of lively banter between Liu and her salon regulars in the film, played by Hong Hui Fang 洪慧芳, Wang Lei 王雷, Henry Thia 程旭辉 and Abigail Chay 谢季. Said Thia during the press conference, “The director said she created my role Lagger 慢三拍 for me, because I always NG during shoot.” As the name suggests, Lagger is always a few steps behind in any conversation, much to the dismay and amusement of those around him.
A very cute and bubble Priscilla went for a image makeover for this role too!
In the weeks leading up to the shoot, the actors will be prepping heavily for each of their roles. Jeffrey Xu, who will be playing a shampoo boy at the hair salon, mentioned that he will be taking hairstyling lessons. Priscilla Lim--Huang’s sister in the film who is a K-pop dance instructor--will be undergoing dance classes. Besides Priscilla, director Lee shared that Liu Ling Ling, Hong Hui Fang, Henry Thia, and Wang Lei will all be taking dance classes as well to prepare for a scene in the film.
After this, we had separate interviews with them, a little recap on the messages shared:
Priscilla : Shared a lot of in depth thoughts and feelings with the director about the insight of being on the plump side. She went for a makeover to suit her character to have that extra Kpop edge in her! Bubbly and cute personality sending happy vibes around her.
Liu Ling Ling: Believed a lot in the bonding between characters, she is already trying to connect with Lin online and creating the mother-daughter bond for the role. Strongly believes that sparks will fly for this team!
Lin: The hardest part will be the physical strength demanded for this role. It was hard to move about and sometimes suffocating. She is willing to take the challenge for this and give in all her for the role.
Alien: He jokes that his role is just to be charismatic and comfort the girlfriend with strength and warm provider to her. But he also know that there are many small key factors and moments that keeps her going to achieve her goal.
Henry: He jokes that its really not easy to act lagger! And he is taking up dancing classes for his scenes! He claims he may be old on the outside, but he is definitely young on the inside!
Jeffrey: To prepare for the role, he actually went for full day training at an actual hair salon! He is the小鲜肉 in the salon. He used to be overweight, but due to his passion for basketball during school days, he shed them all.
Abigail: A very sweet lady who gave out lottery tickets to everyone for luck! "FAT HOPE A Meaningful Heartwarming Comedy about Having Hope in the Midst of Adversities".
It was so funny, lots of laughters about the fat suit!
Managed to take some video during the invterview~ Need more battery!! Actually took more videos, but cant all upload here...shall work on it and post on Youtube with the link later!
Also my little apprentice and helper for today! I had to shuffle between the ballrooms to interviews, and its really important to have an assistant around for help~
She took a selfie too!
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