'We could eat anything for free': Mark Lee on whole floating market in Thailand being booked to film new movie Number 2
Mark Lee said that the filming process for Number 2 completed smoothly.
PHOTO: Instagram/Mark Lee
PUBLISHED ONSeptember 14, 2023 8:12 AMByYeo Shu HuiFor local actor Mark Lee, his first filming experience in Thailand brought him a series of unforgettable memories, from fun and happy moments to pain and horror.
The 54-year-old was there to film the sequel to local comedy movie Number 1, named Number 2, which wrapped on Aug 12. The movie is expected to be released next year.
'Everything you like, you could just order'
Speaking to AsiaOne recently, Mark recounted his experience when the production team booked the whole Hat Yai Floating Market to film a chasing scene in August.
Mark said that the scene involved him sitting in a tuk-tuk, a motorised three-wheeled rickshaw, while being chased by two bad guys at the night market. The scene involved over 200 actors and extras and about 80 staff members in total.
He said: "That was one of the scenes that I was most excited to shoot, because we had to sit in the tuk-tuk that was driven by a stuntman and it was not within our control."
Besides having a stuntman who specialises in driving the vehicle, Mark also had an interesting finding - the stuntman studied in Singapore when he was young and grew up watching Mark's shows.
He added: "He studied in a school in Ang Mo Kio when he was young and can speak English, Mandarin and Hokkien."
As there were no language barriers between them, Mark added that the stuntman was able to communicate his plans very clearly to him.
"He would tell us what he was going to do later, that I needed to hold on tight because he would move the car this and that later. He told us everything very clearly so it was really enjoyable," he said.
Mark also shared that the scene was shot in about one to two hours with seven cameras in total - six cameras inside and outside the vehicle and one helicam (remote-controlled mini helicopter).
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He said: "When we saw the playback, we realised that all the shots could be used as they were filmed beautifully, and there were crowds and a whole stretch of boats parked by the river which provided a good background. I feel very excited about it because it is a really nice shot."
In addition to the good filming atmosphere, Mark said that because the production team had rented the whole market, they could eat anything they wanted there without paying.
He shared: "When we filmed that night, there was no dinner break, so we could go to any stall in the floating market and eat anything for free, things like satay, grilled meat, desserts, drinks and fishballs. Anything you like, you could just order. There were about 20 to 30 small boats. It was quite free-and-easy."
Mark captured the moment in his Instagram post on Aug 4, where he walked down the floating market with more than 20 colourful boats lined up at the boardwalk, selling a range of delicacies, such as luk chup (a fruit or vegetable-shaped mung bean dessert), mango sticky rice, fried food, skewer food and coconut water served in a bamboo tube.
'That's how it is sometimes during filming'
At the beginning of the production of Number 2 in July, Mark injured his right wrist in Thailand while rehearsing for a fight scene. When we asked him about it in the recent interview, he said that he is alright now although the injury left a scar on his wrist.
He added that when he filmed Number 1, he dislocated his right ring finger in a fight scene.
Mark shared: "The actor used his hands to defend and hit my ring finger. I heard a crack and my finger flipped and 'faced the sky'. I was shocked, but it didn't hurt yet at the time, so I quickly pulled it back to the original position. It started swelling later and I went to a Tit Tar practitioner the next day.
"Until now, the shape of my finger still has not returned to its original position but it is still functionable. But no choice, that's how it is sometimes during filming."
'Oh my god, something is wrong somewhere'
Mark also recounted a spooky encounter while they were filming at a police station in Thailand.
He was chatting with another actor in their resting room, when he saw the door of the room opposite theirs opening on its own without any breeze.
"I thought that someone was coming out of the room, but it was dark inside and I knew. I thought to myself, 'Oh my god, something is wrong somewhere'" he said, adding that he left the room immediately because he felt "uncomfortable".
Mark then told his personal assistant and other actors and staff to leave the room, which had smelled strange when they first entered it.
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When they checked with the staff at the police station later, they were told that the space behind the building where they filmed is where they placed the vehicle wrecks that were in serious or fatal accidents.
Despite that, Mark said that everyone was fine and filming went on smoothly. He added that no matter day or night, they would light some incense and pray first whenever they reached a filming location.
He said: "I don't care whether it is real or not, or whether anyone believes it or not, I would light some incense first."
Although Mark said that he had a good experience during filming, he missed his children very much while he was away from them for a month.
He shared: "We can video-call each other when I am overseas, but if I didn't hug them, it does not count. I can ask them how they are doing, whether they have done their homework and all that, but it is really different for video calls.
"When I get the chance to hug them and hold their hands and have meals together with them, it really feels better."
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