Malaysia's renowned online creative team Dissy is in the midst of filming their 2026 Lunar New Year movie, Parasite Underclass. Mark Lee is once again showing strong support by joining the cast, revealing that he plays a “tough” gang leader in the film, with both action and dance scenes. He joked: “Maybe it's because Dissy helped me earn a bit of pocket money last year, so this year they're out for my life.” He then laughed and said: “I have more scenes than last time, but my pay is less than before. I don't even know why.”
In a joint interview with media on Wednesday alongside fellow leads Brother Bill, Pei Yong, Adeline, Big Hee, and Ye Zhaoming, Mark Lee stated that in recent years, his criteria for taking on a movie are that the script must be complete, detailed, and exciting: “I feel Dissy has learned from past experience, and this time they put a lot of effort into the script—it’s written very well, and I personally like it a lot. The movie has a lot to offer and will bring audiences many surprises.”
This year, It's Your Teahouse grossed 13 million MYR at the box office, topping Malaysia’s Lunar New Year movie rankings. Mark Lee is equally confident about Parasite Underclass: “The chances are quite high. We won’t say we’ll be No. 1, because I hope every New Year film can do well, so Malaysian and Singaporean cinema can thrive and keep making movies. The script this time is very good. I don’t dare guarantee the box office will be even higher, but it should be about the same as last year.” He also humorously teased Pei Yong: “All of us contributed to the 13 million, but Pei Yong alone is responsible for 5 million, so this year we estimate the box office will reach 18 million.” Pei Yong playfully added: “If the box office isn’t as expected, I’ll invite everyone in Kelantan to watch the movie!”
Mark Lee revealed that the production cost for Parasite Underclass increased by 1 million compared to It's Your Teahouse, bringing the total investment to 3 million MYR: “This time, we have over 40 shooting locations, so rental and filming time are both sizable expenses.” He emphasized: “To create quality visuals for a movie, adequate funding is needed. Higher costs spent on production is a good thing.” When asked who earned more between him and Pei Yong, Mark Lee immediately shouted: “Definitely Pei Yong!” Pei Yong quickly denied it and joked about making public the accounts. Mark Lee teased, “Am I scared of you? Go ahead!” He then explained seriously, “It’s not that I don’t dare to share. If I made it public, I’d get scolded by a bunch of Singaporean film companies because I’ve never gotten a pay like this!” He further joked: “My company partners are all wide-eyed in shock—how did I end up with this kind of pay?”
When asked about Chu Haoren’s recent controversy for goofing around while filming a video during the national anthem (with Pei Yong also appearing in the clip), the film crew initially declined to comment with, “It’s unrelated to the movie.” However, Pei Yong smartly redirected the question to Mark Lee: “There’s no question Brother Guohuang can’t answer, right? What do you think about this incident?”
Mark Lee responded: “Everyone loves their own country, but some people are used to casually filming and aren’t that sensitive, so they didn’t realize the national anthem was playing. This is a good negative example, showing everyone that national anthems and flags should always be respected. Even when you’re in another country, you should show respect when you hear their national anthem. I think that’s what matters most.” He also expressed understanding toward the pressure on those involved, but hoped everyone could learn from this. Pei Yong nodded in agreement and said: “Brother Guohuang’s answer is mine as well.”