Kheng shared that what made the project special was that writer and director James Thoo gave the cast a long leash to develop their individual characters.
“The script was amazing to start with, but we had a lot of slack to really own our characters and play them. Mine was a supporting role, but the amount of dialogue we had about the character, his motivations and his quirks was enormous, and you never get that really from a project,” he said.
In a weird twist of life imitating art, The Sandbox was an actual stunt training studio run by Goh, and it closed down last week.
“It was a very special place for people to dream that you could create a stunt community in Singapore, and they’re good at what they do,” Oon lamented, pointing out the movie’s overarching theme of how small businesses and creative enterprises struggle to thrive.
“There are a lot of things we’re willing to sacrifice in the name of pragmatism, but, how much joy and creativity are we losing? I wish we had more fertile ground for that to blossom, because the world is richer for it.”
That said, “the movie actually gives me so much hope,” she added. “I was like, ‘Can I please have a copy so I can watch it when I get sad?’”
That’s an argument in favour of the power of art to effect change. What else in the world needs saving? Oon, Kheng and Hartono describe the superheroes they think Singapore needs.