24 November 1999 | The New Paper

These sequence shots capture a glimpse of the drama unfolding at Boat Quay during the shooting of the $8.5 million movie, 2000 AD. EDWIN YEO is your guide.

IF you're wondering why the film AD 2000 cost US$5 million (S$8.5 million) to make, just visit their set in Singapore right now.

On Sunday afternoon, the crew, which numbered about 80, closed off Market Street and gathered around 30 extras to make UOB Plaza look busy.

In that scene, Heavenly King Aaron Kwok had to steal a police car to give chase to some baddies.

More than half the crew have been flown in from Hongkong, as have much of the equipment.

They later moved to North Bridge Road and temporarily closed it to shoot a car chase scene where Aaron and the baddies drove against traffic.

The stunt drivers expertly weaved their way through oncoming traffic. Those last-minute swerves and near-misses which you will see onscreen come Chinese New Year when the movie opens are as real as it gets.

So real, in fact, that a minor accident happened when one of the stunt drivers miscalculated the timing. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The real jaw-dropping scene, however, came on Monday morning, when the car chase took a collision course with diners at Boat Quay.

Coming through the tunnel beneath North Bridge Road, the cars flew through the air, landed with sparks and crashed through tables, chairs and a few stuntmen dressed as waiters along the walkway of Boat Quay.

The stunt, which would cost something like $50,000 to perform, was executed with such precision that no one was hurt, save a few chairs and plates.

In a close-up shot, Aaron demonstrated his driving skills as he personally drove at high speed through the narrow walkway while plates and cups were thrown at him.

He succeeded without much fuss.

He had revealed to The New Paper on the set earlier that he had driven at speeds exceeding 200 kmh before, but only on the race track.

While the scene seemed fast, Aaron revealed that it wasn't really beyond normal driving speeds.

"I didn't even have to go into third gear," he said. He has impressed even the crew with his driving skills.

A member of the crew told The New Paper that Aaron had performed some stunt driving in a scene shot earlier. "He's a very good driver," he said.

The singer-actor told this reporter earlier that this film, a collaboration between Singapore's Raintree Pictures and Hongkong's Media Asia, is the most action-packed film he has ever been in.

"I'm doing far more real action than I have ever done before," said Aaron. Shooting continues until mid-December.