Filming for Jay Chou’s new movie put on hold

Taiwanese singer-actor Jam Hsiao was reported to have landed the lead role in good friend Jay Chou’s upcoming movie, Ping-pong brothers. However, filming had to be stopped and re-done as issues regarding the script and funding arose.

Things have not been going well even since the beginning, when the shoot began in July. Crew members were firstly deemed unsuitable and had to be replaced. The backdrop also had to be changed midway so different scenes could not be linked to one other and were unsuitable for use, pushing the initial completion date backwards.

It was also reported yesterday that more money was required to fund the added CG effects which were to allow the storyline to flow. This addition also caused everything to be on hold and scenes having to be retaken, putting crew’s effort of three months to waste.

However, Jam’s manager Summer Lin clarified that the movie was not short of investors and that the “script was very well-liked and the crew also had faith in the movie.” She also added that the shooting was already one-third completed and had no fixed background so there were no issues of connecting scenes. Rather, the crew were just taking a break as modifications were being made to the script.

Summer also blasted Ping-pong brothers spokesperson Xi Ai’s claim that the delay of the movie was due to “the cast”, to which Summer said the response was outdated.

The movie is set to be an inspirational movie about romance and brotherhood, while also incorporating the sport of table tennis. Jam had to make many sacrifices for this project, practising table tennis for four hours a day as well as having to appearances in two television series and 30 performances.

Another notable face that appear alongside Jam will be Chinese tennis table star Wang Ma Long, who was invited to make a special guest appearance.

Photo: PBE Media

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