Joel Chan Sacrifices for Art in 'Mom, Getting Married Again!' Reveals His 'First Bite'

TVB Best Actor Joel Chan is one of the investors of the Lunar New Year movie Mom, Getting Married Again!, which will have its nationwide release on the first day of Chinese New Year, February 17. He admitted feeling nervous and pressured: “The hardest thing right now is not knowing if audiences want to watch Mom, Getting Married Again! We put a great deal of heart into it, hoping to make a truly fun-for-the-family CNY film that blends Hong Kong and Malaysian styles. Whether or not viewers will like it is our biggest challenge—so I suggested personally coming back on the first day of the New Year to thank audiences in person, hoping to move everyone with sincerity.” For the sake of comedic effect, Joel Chan even made his 'debut butt bite' on screen, joking, “I'm sacrificing for the sake of art!”

Mom, Getting Married Again! is directed by Malaysian director Chan Lit Chean and stars Joel Chan, Oscar Leung, Bob Lam, Elena Kong, and Malaysian actor Jack Lim. Oscar Leung was not only a lead actor but also took part in the scriptwriting. At a press conference on the 9th, the main cast shared filming anecdotes and behind-the-scenes challenges, sparking plenty of laughter.

Joel Chan, Oscar Leung, and Bob Lam all expressed their love for Malaysia, calling it their 'second home.' Oscar Leung revealed he comes to Malaysia almost every month and stayed for over a month while filming last year, so much so that he didn't even call home. Joel Chan even joked he hopes to buy property in Malaysia in the future, while Bob Lam said during promotions in Penang and Ipoh, he fantasized about living there and even sent photos to show off to his wife. Elena Kong remarked this was her happiest filming experience in recent years and praised the director and team; she even joked she was about to immigrate to Malaysia, “because the lifestyle, climate, and food here are all just too attractive.”

The movie's funniest and most eye-catching scene is Joel Chan biting Bob Lam's butt! Bob Lam called out Joel Chan and Oscar Leung's “perverted idea,” exclaiming, “What kind of person thinks up a scene like this—did you ever ask if I was actually willing? I thought it would be faked, but Joel Chan actually bit down. If I hadn’t cleaned my butt well that day, how scary would that have been!” Joel Chan replied while laughing, “I don’t care whether you wanted it or not, I just had to make the scene effective.”

Asked by media “who sacrificed more for the butt-bite scene,” Joel Chan declared, “Of course I did! It was a sacrifice for art!” Bob Lam immediately chimed in, “Be clear who sacrificed more!” Joel Chan shouted back laughing, “Definitely me! I didn't even care about the smell, I just went for it. This was my ‘first ever butt bite’!” Their lively banter had everyone laughing.

Promising Box Office, Crossdressing Run Around Pavilion Mall

Faced with the fierce Chinese New Year box office competition, the leads also joked about earnings. Oscar Leung said he’s “bad at maths” and leaves the accounting to Bob Lam. Bob Lam responded humorously, “RM 200-300 million! Just kidding—the higher, the better. As long as we make the top three in the New Year releases, we’ll be satisfied.” He admitted, even if they don’t completely break even, as long as they can get into the top three, investors, bosses, and the team will all be happy.

After the press conference, Joel Chan, Bob Lam, Oscar Leung, Elena Kong, Jack Lim, and director Chan Lit Chean showed up at Kuala Lumpur’s Pavilion Mall for a fan meet to boost publicity. Joel Chan’s stylish lion drum performance had everyone chanting “Prosperity, Fortune, Wealth!” The crowd was full of enthusiastic fans and the atmosphere was electric.

Afterward, the cast each introduced the characters they play and urged the audience to support the movie by buying tickets. Oscar Leung, in his first screenwriting role, said that if the box office is good, the original cast would produce even more work together. He declared, “If the box office is great, me, Joel Chan, and Bob Lam will put back on the ‘cleaning company pretty girl’ outfits from the movie and run three laps outside Pavilion Mall!”

Bob Lam jumped in humorously, “Just the two of them, I never agreed to this!” He then added, “I plan to wear the bunny girl costume from the film.” As soon as he finished, there were screams and cheers from the crowd. At the end of the event, the stars came down from the stage to hand out red packets and interact closely with fans, making for a festive, lively scene.