Gillian Chung

Gillian Chung coming to Malaysia

By Fiona Ho

Hong Kong actress Gillian Chung is coming to Malaysia on July 8 to promote her new film, The Fantastic Water Babes.

The stunning 29-year-old plays a teenage girl in the romantic comedy.

After a painful break-up, Gill (Gillian Chung) tries to drown herself. But her suicide attempt leads to an encounter with a "water deity", who rescues her. She emerges from the incident believing she has gained some special powers.

Determined to win her boyfriend back, Gill becomes obsessed with beating Fay, her romantic rival in a swimming competition. The teenager goes on to "kidnap" a swimming champion who ends up becoming more than just her coach…

Much unlike her previous cinematic roles, the fresh-faced star gets to show off her funny side in the film.

Gillian Chung stars in the romantic comedy, The Fantastic Water Babes.

"I’m actually quite funny in real life, so it wasn’t really a challenge," she said.

Gillian also poked fun at her co-star Stephen Fung’s character in the film.

"He cross-dresses in some scenes. I never thought he would do that. He actually looked quite good as a woman," she said jokingly.

The cheeky actress even took pictures of Stephen dressed as a woman while he was sleeping.

It certainly looks like Gillian had a lot of fun playing the impulsive teenager, but the actress has come a long way since.

Originally scheduled for a 2008 release, The Fantastic Water Babes had to be postponed due to the Edison Chen sex scandal two years ago.

"I feel bad for everyone involved in the making of this movie," she said.

“But they’ve never given up on me, so I will not give up on myself,” she added.

Hunky Stephen Fung cross-dresses in the comedy.

Director Jeff Lau, in particular, has been unwaveringly supportive. In fact, it is widely known that Lau, notorious for his trademark wacky humour, treats Gillian ‘like a daughter’.

"I call him ba-ba (daddy)," she said.

“He really took a risk with me. He gave me an opportunity when everyone else hesitated. This really touched me. I would like to tell him that I love him very much.”

The slender beauty also professed her ardour for her Malaysian fans.

"I miss the people there. I think Malaysians are very friendly," she said.

"I also miss the grilled chicken wings in Malaysia. I always go to Wong Ah Wah (at Jalan Alor) every time I go there."

Gillian Chung will be at Times Square Hotel and Berjaya Times Square this Thursday.

To her fans, she said: “I hope you can come and support me.

The Fantastic Water Babes also stars Alex Fong, Eva Huang and Tian Liang . It opens at cinemas nationwide starting July 15.

Published June 4 2010