|
''The Best Bet'' () is a Singaporean comedy film written and directed by Jack Neo and distributed by MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. The film stars Richard Low, Mark Lee, Christopher Lee, Chen Liping and Joanne Peh. Released in cinemas on 9 June 2004, ''The Best Bet'' earned over S$2.5 million. The film was nominated for Best Original Film Song at the 2004 Golden Horse Awards. The film portrays the lives, struggles and adventures of three friends who are addicted to gambling. They place a joint 4D bet; when they win, one is tempted to keep all the winnings to himself. This satirical comedy touches on gambling addiction and the consequences of one's actions. The success of the film spawned a television series of the same name which aired on MediaCorp Channel 8 on April 2005 and ran for 14 episodes. Four of the five lead actors except Joanne Peh continued to star in the television series. Several other new actors were added to the leading cast including Dai Qianyun as Mark Lee's idolizer, and Cheryl Chin as Mark Lee's and Christopher Lee's love interest. ==Production== In 1996, director Jack Neo became a gambling addict and spent over S$1,200 a month on 4D bets. Frustrated with losing money and feeling dependent on the gambling, he successfully kicked the habit in 1999 with the support of his wife. As the release of the film coincided with an ongoing debate on whether to set up a casino in Singapore, Jack Neo commented that "we should warn people about the ills of gambling, because it is always a cycle."〔Sherwin Loh, "Money Never Enough", The Straits Times, 9 June 2004.〕 When writing the script, Jack Neo decided to change his style, reducing the amount of comedy in the film, and adding more drama. However, after negative feedback from focus groups and concerns from the Board of Film Censors that ''The Best Bet'' promoted illegal gambling and the speaking of dialects, he reversed his decision.〔〔Ong Sor Fern, “Scream king”, The Straits Times, 22 August 2005.〕 ''The Best Bet'' was produced by Raintree Pictures on a budget of S$1.5 million.〔http://www.sfc.org.sg/docs/1991to2006.pdf〕 Besides writing and directing, Jack Neo composed the songs, together with Mark Lee, who sang them.〔 The production crew included Daniel Yun as executive producer, Titus Ho and Chan Pui Yin as producers, Michael Chua as cinematographer and Mo Ju Li as music and sound director.〔(The Best Bet )〕 Filming started on 4 March 2004 and finished on 28 April. On the first day of filming, Jack Neo, Daniel Yun and the lead actors participated in a prayer ceremony at the hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10. As 59 people had placed winning bets at nearby 4D outlets, Jack Neo commented that "this place is very wang (lucky) and this matches my movie."〔Stephanie Hua, "Best Bet on Jack Neo's latest movie", The Straits Times, 5 March 2004.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Best Bet」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|