Lulu, let's make a movie

Lulu, let's make a movie

In a thick mainland accent, Miss Winifred Lim waxed lyrical about the hard journey from her "home" in Sichuan to Singapore.

And she said she did it just to meet her hero Lulu and to explore business opportunities with the Chinese KTV hostress.

Her audience lapped up the performance, clapping to cheer her on.

Miss Lim is not from China, nor is she looking to cash in on the KTV scene.

But she could end up realising her dream of working with Lulu, the fictitious character played by Michelle Chong in the Channel 5 comedy sketch show, The Noose.

Miss Lim, 28, was one of the dozens who turned up at Bugis Junction on Saturday to audition for a part in Chong's production, Lulu The Movie.

KTV hostress Lulu beat Chong's other character, Barbarella (a Sarong Party Girl obsessed with Caucasian men), to be in the movie.

Lulu was chosen by hundreds of fans through a social media poll.

Chong, 37, who was judging the auditions, told The New Paper: "Lulu came out tops in my survey.

"I think she's more relevant than Barbarella because there are a lot more foreigners in Singapore. When I decided to do a movie, I wanted to do one that people wanted."

'MOCKUMENTARY'

Set in the form of a "mockumentary", or fake documentary, the movie is slated to begin filming in the last quarter of this year and to hit the big screen in 2015.

It will have reactions from people and scripted reactions from actors, Chong said.

"The fun part is, you won't be able to tell what is real and what isn't," she added.

At a public audition on Saturday, hundreds gathered to watch as about 50 hopefuls lined up to impress Chong with their comedic chops.

The selections were held as part of the celebrations for World Intellectual Property Day 2014. (See report at top.)

The women read for the part of Lulu's best friend, while the men had to act like a guy who was upset that his girlfriend had spent too much on branded goods.

Though both characters are yet to be confirmed for the movie, Chong said they were a way of testing the hopefuls to see how well they could improvise.

And they left the crowd in stitches.

All put on accents, which ranged from Chinese, Filipino, French - some unrecognisable - while hamming it up.

Miss Lim, who recently started a dating agency, was one of the crowd favourites.

LIKES MAKING LAUGHS

With a big "auntie bag" and a sparkly headpiece, she earned big laughs with her spot-on Chinese accent.

"Michelle is my idol and it was humbling to meet her in person," she said. "I've done impersonations of The Noose characters for my friends and I like making people laugh and bringing them joy,"

Another crowd favourite was a man in his 30s who wanted to be known only as Mr Lili. He had the crowd roaring with laughter when he did his routine as a diva in a powder blue suit decorated with Care Bears stuffed toys.

He said that he joined the contest to showcase his comedic talent.

Mr Lili added: "I loved the audience's response to my ad-libbing, I forgot the script when I got on stage because I still get stage fright."

But time constraints meant that only the first 15 people were allowed to go on stage and read the scripts they were given.

The rest were asked to leave their contact details and would have private auditions with Chong later on.

As for the creator of Lulu herself, Chong said she was pleased with the talent she had seen, adding: "Singapore's got talent".

This article was published on April 28 in The New Paper.

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