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Ah Boys to Frogmen

SINGAPORE — Waking up at 7.30am to take the shuttle bus to Sembawang Camp, where the press conference for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen was held, was the most difficult thing I had to do today (Aug 26).

Director Jack Neo with his frogmen. Photo: Golden Village Pictures

Director Jack Neo with his frogmen. Photo: Golden Village Pictures

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SINGAPORE — Waking up at 7.30am to take the shuttle bus to Sembawang Camp, where the press conference for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen was held, was the most difficult thing I had to do today (Aug 26).

“Why!” I shouted at no one in particular, waving my fists in despair as I rolled reluctantly out of bed and changed out of my pyjamas. “Why does life treat me so!”

But, as I learned later in the day, there are actually some things in the world that are more painful than getting up early to interview celebrities.

Take Joshua Tan, Tosh Zhang, Wang Weiliang, Maxi Lim and the rest of their brethren for example. The actors have been working very, very hard for the last six weeks in preparation for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen, the sequel to local director Jack Neo’s Ah Boys To Men and Ah Boys To Men 2, which grossed a whopping S$14 million combined at the box office. Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen places the boys in an alternate universe — instead of going to Pulau Tekong for their Basic Military Training like they did in the first two movies, the Ah Boys will be posted to one of Singapore’s toughest combat units, the Naval Diving Unit (NDU).

And to ensure that they become fit enough to play the elite naval divers of the NDU, the boys have to undergo physical training as well as a strict four-month diet consisting of boiled foods — which explains why, when we saw them today, the actors looked visibly thinner.

“We have been eating purely for nutrition, and not for taste anymore,” Zhang said. “We are sick of chicken, broccoli and asparagus.”

Ah Boys actor Bunz added: “After two weeks of dieting, I felt like vomiting at the sight of chicken. In the end, we just forced ourselves to eat the chicken by swallowing it to water. It’s the fastest way to get in shape, and we don’t have a lot of time before filming begins.”

It’s all in the name of authenticity, said Neo. The director has been working closely with the Ministry of Defence and Republic of Singapore Navy since June last year to do research for Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen, which also stars Wesley Wong — the son of veteran Hong Kong actors Melvin Wong and Angie Chiu — as well as Ailene Tan, Irene Ang, Richard Low, Wang Lei, Chen Tian Wen, Charlie Goh, Jaspers and Hanrey Low, among others.

“There has been a lot of bad press about Neo doing this movie on the NDU,” said actor Justin Mission, who also stars in this movie. “I know a lot of my friends were also in the NDU before and they said, “you guys are just a bunch of clowns, you are not going to do this right, you are not going to do justice to the divers”. So to be honest I think we — Jack and his team — are putting in a lot of effort. We want to do justice to the Naval Diving Unit because these guys are seriously the elite. And I think with all the effort these guys have put in, I think we are really going to put NDU in the spotlight and let them be recognised, because they are a true force that has been silent all these years.”

But if there is one person who is having difficulty keeping up with the demands of the training, it’s Maxi Lim.

“Dieting is my biggest problem because I have a sweet tooth,” said Lim, who sheepishly admitted that he broke down and ordered a family meal of fried chicken and soft drinks from a fast food chain, and sent photos of his meal to his co-stars via group chat. “When I walk past Starbucks for example, I’ll go in to take a look. I was going to buy milk tea from the vending machine yesterday, but Weiliang saw me and asked me to stick to plain water.”

Joshua Tan is also all ready to put an end to his diet and he intends to do so the very minute filming ends.

“I’ve been planning this for a long time,” he told reporters excitedly. “The minute they say cut, I will have my burger, my chips and a cold glass of beer standing by. With chilli and mayonnaise. After that I’ll go home and take a shower, and eat roti prata, dhal and ice cream. And then next day, I’ll fall sick!”

Ah Boys To Men 3: Frogmen is slated to be released in February 2015.

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