During the site visit for upcoming film "Petaling Street Warrior" in Siputeh, Ipoh, Cinema Online met up with the CEO of Juita Entertainment Sdn. Bhd. and also the producer of "Petaling Street Warrior", Sampson Yuen. With 30 years of experience under his belt, Yuen is recognised as a key player among the regional entertainment industry.
In 2007 Yuen moved to Malaysia from Hong Kong, and spearheaded the extremely successful Singaporean film "Ah Long Pte Ltd". The film took in an impressive S$5 million at combined box offices of Malaysia & Singapore, and was the highest grossing Chinese movie in Malaysia. Yuen's latest effort will see him dabbling in films once again to strike gold with "Petaling Street Warrior", the first ever Kung Fu comedy film to be shot and produced completely in Malaysia.
Interview conducted recently at "Petaling Street Warrior" shooting site in Siputeh, Ipoh.
Hi, Sampson Yuen! Can you tell us how long have you prepared or had the intentions to make "Petaling Street Warrior"? Actually, me and director James Lee have already been preparing for over a year to make this film. James Lee was the person who first came up with the idea of making a modern Kung Fu film set in Petaling Street. I thought that many people could make such a film, so I suggested in changing the timeline to 1908 to make it an ancient Kung Fu film.
What is the genre of this film?
"Petaling Street Warrior" is a Kung Fu comedy film. I believe that it's the first film with such a genre in Malaysia and also Singapore. It's going to be quite an interesting film. (Laughs)
Can you tell us the production budget for this film?
Sure. We are expecting to spend RM3 million to make this film. RM3 million is not a small amount in Malaysia. However, it's a lesser budget than my previous films in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Why are the streets of Siputeh, Ipoh chosen to be the shooting site of "Petaling Street Warrior"?
When I first came here, I noticed a lot of ancient buildings on the streets. Some of the buildings show the dates that they have been built on the top. I even saw a building with a big "1900". Even more interesting, I found out that Dr. Sun Yat-Sen (Sun Zhong Shan) has been here before. This place has a lot of historical value therefore I was impressed with the environment.
Do you think that the preparations for the small details such as the roads and buildings have been done well especially for a movie that's set in ancient times?
Well, I must admit that there are many small details that need to be taken care of, but I can say that we have prepared it quite well. We have the buildings here painted so that they can be fitted into the timeline we have set for this film. Besides, we also sprayed sand on the tar road to cover to make it look old. We want to prevent any modern stuff from showing up in this film.
How did you manage to get action director Ma Yuk-Sing to participate in this project?
We are old friends and have known each other for a long time. He's very good in directing action stunts. When he knows the storyline of a film, a lot of ideas come bursting out of his mind. He then uses his spontaneous ideas to make the action in the film way more interesting.
Thank you Sampson Yuen and good luck with the filming!
Thank you!
"Petaling Street Warrior" is currently in production and is scheduled for Malaysian & Singaporean release next year!
