H O O K E D - Linger with Vic Chou

Linger with Vic Chou

Written by Yeo Zhi Qi

Arriving half an hour late in casual jeans, matched with a tight fit black jacket, Vic Chou, or more affectionately known as Zai Zai, smiled apologetically, as his eyes darted between the media and the emcee of the press conference for his debut movie, Linger.

He is shy, and exudes a boyish charm as he attributed the delay to the rain. It is easy to tell why he is a natural draw to the opposite sex.

Beyond his shy demeanor, Zai Zai was chatty and frank during the press conference, held at KBox K Union in Cathay Cineleisure, Orchard.

When asked why he chose to do the movie Linger for his debut, he explained that he was building a "good acting foundation from drama serials" two years ago, and just when he felt that his preparation was sufficient (for the big screen), the director came to him with the script, and he decided to give it a shot.

Of Johnnie To, Chou expressed that even though he appears fierce, he is actually very nice. Zai Zai also confessed that the director, "like [him], doesn't like to talk much."

Candid and friendly, Chou did not find it stressful working with veteran Chinese actress Lee Bing Bing, as he revealed brazenly that he likes Lee's big, expressive eyes, and "a bit of excitement" would help to make his career less dull.

Describing his co-lead as "serious", "dedicated" and "very professional", he felt that working with her was a very relaxing experience, as she was constantly guiding him. Her professionalism was exemplified in their first scene together, which incidentally, was also an intimate bed scene, as she told him to do whatever he deemed fit, without bothering if her hair was messy.

Linger speaks about the union between a couple - one being a spirit and the other, a human being. When posed the question of whether he believes in ghosts, he pondered for a moment, before revealing himself to be a rather rational person.

Yet, he believes that "there's a lot of things in this world that cannot be explained by science." Striking a balance between both extremes, he added that while he is curious, he respects these things, though he is not overly superstitious.

        Bursting into laughter, he added that filming the scene, where he had to 'lie' in a coffin, was not difficult for him because he loves experiencing new things and felt that it was a "fresh experience" for him. Well, it did help that the coffin was actually set upright for the camera angle, and technically, he was standing in it.

        A hidden truth about this 27-year-old pop idol is his forthrightness. Contrasting with the introverted, Prince Charming image that the media usually paints of him, he talked about his most difficult scene in the film with honesty.

        Recounting the scene at the beach, he explained that the tide was low at the point of filming, so instead of being out in the sea, he had to alternatively row the boat on the sand.

        Taking a moment to recollect his filming experience, he laughed and admitted that the production crew criticized the rhythm of his boat rowing as being mechanical and unnatural. He then added that his flaw in acting lies in his inability to "make something fake look real."

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When quizzed about how he went about fitting into his onscreen persona's (Dong) aggressiveness, he revealed that he tried to understand his character in order to understand the various emotions within Dong.

Sounding almost like a veteran actor, he added, "Understanding his character helps me get into the character." hooked

Wanna know how good is the movie? Check out our review on Linger here!

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Written by Guest on 2008-04-02 09:04:29
:zzz :grin

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