Filming has just commenced for a new drama that takes place in Singapore and Japan. Lost And Found is an international co-production between Singapore’s Mocha Chai Laboratories and Empire of Arkadia, and Japan’s TV Man Union and NHK Japan.
It stars Singapore’s Chen Hanwei and Shawn Thia, and Japanese actress Anna Yamada (Golden Kamuy, Faceless).
Helmed by director Chai Yee Wei (Wonderland, That Girl In Pinafore) and Japan’s Yoshihito Okashita, the story follows Thia’s character, an introverted gamer who goes to Japan to hunt for his online girlfriend when she disappears. He teams up with his gaming partner (played by Yamada) to solve the mystery, but they soon become embroiled in a dark world of crime that takes place in the intersection of digital and physical worlds.
Thia’s character has a strained relationship with his father, played by Chen, whose methods of showing concern rub him the wrong way.
It is their second time working together, Chen said. And he’s found that the young actor, who's known for appearing in Titoudao, has matured, especially after getting hitched one year ago.
“Back then, his acting was quite raw. Now, he’s married and has grown up. He has opinions about delivering dialogue. Actors should have opinions, and discuss them with the director.”
Lost and Found cast members Shawn Thia, Anna Yamada and Chen Hanwei on set in Singapore. (Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
Additionally, working with a Japanese director and crew has been a new experience. “They are very focused,” he observed. “When watching actors perform, their facial expressions mirror the actors’. They get very involved. And, their standards are very high – one scene can have up to eight takes.” Additionally, “They emphasise very natural acting. In the last few years, I have been going in that direction myself, so I hope to reach a certain standard.”
The social issues tackled in the series are poignant for Chen, most recently seen in the Mediacorp drama The Gift Of Time. “Games should be for leisure, but now, they can be used to cheat people of their money and their emotions,” he mused. “A simple thing can become a scary threat.”
Growing up, the 56-year-old recalled, “we played games like Octopus tag; we caught frogs; we flew paper planes. These days, games are about killing and burning.” On social media, “Comments are left mindlessly”. “People have changed,” he said. “I think society has become ill.”
He doesn’t play online games because he’s observed a friend descending into obsession with gaming, he shared. “He would play all day until 4am, in the same spot, not moving. It’s not just bad for your body, it’s bad for your mind, your soul and your relationships. It’s scary.”
In fact, he doesn’t even enjoy texting. “Young people don’t even type, ‘OK’, they just type, ‘K’! It’s cold. I still prefer chatting face to face, putting the phone away. If you’re discussing personal issues or seeking advice, it’s better to do it face to face, or at least over a voice call, because over text, you can sometimes misunderstand someone’s tone.”
(Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
He’s also been targeted by scammers through text messaging apps, he said. “Someone called me and said, ‘Mr Tan! Long time no see.’ I said, ‘I’m Miss Lee.’ They said, ‘Sorry, Miss Lee, I made a mistake.’ That’s when I knew it wasn’t legit.”
His colleague, actress Hong Hui Fang, was nearly scammed, too, he divulged. “Someone pretending to be her friend called her and asked for a transfer of money. They sounded exactly like her friend. She was going to make the transfer, but she forgot the amount, so she called her friend, who said they hadn’t called her. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it’s something that shouldn’t have happened.”
On one occasion, he tried to order fish from his usual supplier, but was treated with suspicion. “Turns out, these days, many people are placing orders and not collecting them or paying for them.”
His father was also targeted by scammers, he shared. Chen stopped his dad as he was on his way out of the house to meet someone at a gas station to give them money after receiving a phone call. He believes his father was hypnotised over the phone, he said.
Even in real life, scammers abound.
“I encountered a face-to-face hypnosis scam once, in the carpark at Paragon shopping mall,” he told us. “It was a couple with a baby, driving a fancy Mercedes. They said, ‘You’re Chen Hanwei! How lucky we are to run into you!’ I stopped to say hi, never imagining that they could be harbouring bad intentions."
In their car, “they had many bottles of red wine. They said their restaurant had just closed down so they were giving the wine away, and offered to give me some. I said, ‘No, thanks. I don’t drink.' They said, ‘Take some! Yesterday, we ran into Chen Liping and gave her two bottles. She gave us S$100 in return.’ Then, for some reason, as we were talking, I took S$100 out of my wallet and gave it to them. It was really strange.”
After the conversation, Chen went upstairs to the mall and found a wine shop, where he thought to have the bottles of wine he’d been sold appraised.
“The moment I walked in and the boss saw me holding those bottles, he laughed and said, ‘Oh, another one.’ He told me that those people use hypnosis to scam people of money, and that each bottle actually cost only S$5.”
But, how does the “hypnosis” work? Apparently, “some scammers use their voice; others can use scents,” he said. “If you’re alone or abroad, and someone approaches you, you must be very careful.”
Take it from Chen, who “learned a lesson the hard way.”
Continue reading...
It stars Singapore’s Chen Hanwei and Shawn Thia, and Japanese actress Anna Yamada (Golden Kamuy, Faceless).
Helmed by director Chai Yee Wei (Wonderland, That Girl In Pinafore) and Japan’s Yoshihito Okashita, the story follows Thia’s character, an introverted gamer who goes to Japan to hunt for his online girlfriend when she disappears. He teams up with his gaming partner (played by Yamada) to solve the mystery, but they soon become embroiled in a dark world of crime that takes place in the intersection of digital and physical worlds.
Thia’s character has a strained relationship with his father, played by Chen, whose methods of showing concern rub him the wrong way.
It is their second time working together, Chen said. And he’s found that the young actor, who's known for appearing in Titoudao, has matured, especially after getting hitched one year ago.
“Back then, his acting was quite raw. Now, he’s married and has grown up. He has opinions about delivering dialogue. Actors should have opinions, and discuss them with the director.”
Lost and Found cast members Shawn Thia, Anna Yamada and Chen Hanwei on set in Singapore. (Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
Additionally, working with a Japanese director and crew has been a new experience. “They are very focused,” he observed. “When watching actors perform, their facial expressions mirror the actors’. They get very involved. And, their standards are very high – one scene can have up to eight takes.” Additionally, “They emphasise very natural acting. In the last few years, I have been going in that direction myself, so I hope to reach a certain standard.”
The social issues tackled in the series are poignant for Chen, most recently seen in the Mediacorp drama The Gift Of Time. “Games should be for leisure, but now, they can be used to cheat people of their money and their emotions,” he mused. “A simple thing can become a scary threat.”
Growing up, the 56-year-old recalled, “we played games like Octopus tag; we caught frogs; we flew paper planes. These days, games are about killing and burning.” On social media, “Comments are left mindlessly”. “People have changed,” he said. “I think society has become ill.”
He doesn’t play online games because he’s observed a friend descending into obsession with gaming, he shared. “He would play all day until 4am, in the same spot, not moving. It’s not just bad for your body, it’s bad for your mind, your soul and your relationships. It’s scary.”
In fact, he doesn’t even enjoy texting. “Young people don’t even type, ‘OK’, they just type, ‘K’! It’s cold. I still prefer chatting face to face, putting the phone away. If you’re discussing personal issues or seeking advice, it’s better to do it face to face, or at least over a voice call, because over text, you can sometimes misunderstand someone’s tone.”
(Photo: CNA/Dillon Tan)
He’s also been targeted by scammers through text messaging apps, he said. “Someone called me and said, ‘Mr Tan! Long time no see.’ I said, ‘I’m Miss Lee.’ They said, ‘Sorry, Miss Lee, I made a mistake.’ That’s when I knew it wasn’t legit.”
His colleague, actress Hong Hui Fang, was nearly scammed, too, he divulged. “Someone pretending to be her friend called her and asked for a transfer of money. They sounded exactly like her friend. She was going to make the transfer, but she forgot the amount, so she called her friend, who said they hadn’t called her. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it’s something that shouldn’t have happened.”
On one occasion, he tried to order fish from his usual supplier, but was treated with suspicion. “Turns out, these days, many people are placing orders and not collecting them or paying for them.”
His father was also targeted by scammers, he shared. Chen stopped his dad as he was on his way out of the house to meet someone at a gas station to give them money after receiving a phone call. He believes his father was hypnotised over the phone, he said.
Even in real life, scammers abound.
“I encountered a face-to-face hypnosis scam once, in the carpark at Paragon shopping mall,” he told us. “It was a couple with a baby, driving a fancy Mercedes. They said, ‘You’re Chen Hanwei! How lucky we are to run into you!’ I stopped to say hi, never imagining that they could be harbouring bad intentions."
In their car, “they had many bottles of red wine. They said their restaurant had just closed down so they were giving the wine away, and offered to give me some. I said, ‘No, thanks. I don’t drink.' They said, ‘Take some! Yesterday, we ran into Chen Liping and gave her two bottles. She gave us S$100 in return.’ Then, for some reason, as we were talking, I took S$100 out of my wallet and gave it to them. It was really strange.”
After the conversation, Chen went upstairs to the mall and found a wine shop, where he thought to have the bottles of wine he’d been sold appraised.
“The moment I walked in and the boss saw me holding those bottles, he laughed and said, ‘Oh, another one.’ He told me that those people use hypnosis to scam people of money, and that each bottle actually cost only S$5.”
But, how does the “hypnosis” work? Apparently, “some scammers use their voice; others can use scents,” he said. “If you’re alone or abroad, and someone approaches you, you must be very careful.”
Take it from Chen, who “learned a lesson the hard way.”
Continue reading...