The Making of “Death by Zero”
Premiering today, Death by Zero <殺手> stars Moses Chan (陳豪), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Ali Lee (李佳芯), Katy Kung (龔嘉欣), Samantha Ko (高海寧), and Elena Kong (江美儀). Unlike any other TVB production in the past, Death by Zero centers around a group of professional contract killers. Speaking about the making of the series, producer Joe Chan (陳維冠) shares the inspiration behind the drama and complimented the cast for their breakthrough performances.
As a fan of the popular movie Leon: The Professional which follows the conflicts of an assassin, Joe was inspired to make Death by Zero to explore a similar theme of redemption. He explains, “The movie centers around bout Leon’s encounter with the little girl, Mathilda, and how he gives up his own life in exchange for hers. Besides helping her fight off the villains, he uses the money he earned as an assassin to put her through university. I really liked this theme of redemption and that’s why I decided to film this series.”
Breakthrough Performance from Cast
Unlike medical dramas where it is possible to consult a professional in researching for the script, it is extremely difficult to find information on actual contract killers and how this profession operates. The ideas and characters were developed based on imagination and theories at times.
Relying on three-time TV King Wayne Lai to add some liveliness to the dark theme, script editor Choi Ting Ting (蔡婷婷) revealed, “We wanted to write a character with depth and a great backstory, such as how he became who he was and how much money he accepts for a killing. Because Wayne has a lot of experience in playing these types of roles, we believe that he could bring a little comedy to this negative character and hope viewers would not be too depressed when watching.”
In contrast to her previous roles, Katy Kung portrays a psychotic killer named Dark Angel with many action stunts and fight scenes. One scene particularly stood out in Joe’s memory because Katy had numerous outtakes. He disclosed, “She was in tears at the end because of how many times I had to call cut and made her redo the scene. There was this one scene that was particularly challenging and when she wasn’t able to do her part, she became really frustrated. Of course, I naturally became very angry as well.”
The crew was able to arrange Elena Kong to meet with a sex worker so the actress can have a deeper understanding of how the profession works and portray her character, Lulu, with greater depth.
When asked if viewers would be highly disapproving of the drama’s dark themes centering around death, Joe exclaimed, “Creative artistes shouldn’t worry too much. They should only keep one belief in mind – if you have a good idea, go for it. I learned this from my seniors Jonathan Chik (戚其義) and Wai Ka Fai (韋家輝). Trends are started by creators and not based on what viewers want.”
“Death by Zero” Trailer
Source: Hket
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Interesting premise so far. I have to suspend my disbelief (and morality) with all this killing, even if they were bad guys.
Wayne is fun and will get to show off his acting. This is the only type of role I like to watch Moses in. He looks good and intimidating. Elena is always awesome. Tvb did not hold back with her scene, so that may be controversial.
But I am most excited about seeing Ali again. She’s so adorkable so far.
I am waiting for a few episodes yo be out before starting but I am so excited for this!
The action sequence looks so good and Moses looks perfect for his role here. This is probably the only series in which I like all of the leading actors/actresses
Watched the premiere tonight! So far so good. I love the entire cast. The theme for this series is dark but they made it light and comedic which is refreshing. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. And I really like what the director said about using their creativity to set the trend vs following what viewers like aka following the trend. I have given up on every single cop series because they put the undercover aspect into it every single time. Stop trying to milk the same concept 100 times. Instead, directors, producers, script writers, use your creativity and produce something fresh and innovative instead. Perhaps that is why the Barrack o’Karma show was so well received and even the Life After Death show with Frankie and Priscilla. HKers are yearning for fresh new content. Hopefully the rest of the series doesn’t disappoint.
@gnomageddon I love the cast too! I wish Samantha Ko was a 殺手. She has the look for it! I agree that TVB needs creative ideas. That’s why The Exorcist’s Meter is so popular. I know people who dont watch TVB but watched The Exorcist’s Meter because they enjoy supernatural. If TVB can keep it up with these refreshing stories, then there’s a chance for success.
the show is surprisingly good, it’s not filmed like the typical tvb style. hands down on wayne lai’s acting, marvelous!!
Watched the first episode…looking good especially Wayne Lai.
Comedy injected into a action drama….more of Mosses to come
*spoilers ahead*
I just realised Moses’ character is named Zero. And the title of the drama is “Death By Zero” which just illustrates the people he has killed as an assassin!
Watched the first episode so far so good! I got a bit uncomfortable at the beginning of episode especially at the scene where Wayne is touching up that woman and doing almost everything except the nasty. Definitely 18+ for sure. I don’t know how a kid would handle that. Also wonder what his wife was thinking when she saw that on screen loool.
Wayne is very good I like how he brings the comedic side in a rather dark drama. Moses looks hella cool in this role. Funny he’s a barista in drama and character – seems like it was the perfect role for him!
Also Ali! Aw she looks so funny and cute.