{"id":21755,"date":"2025-09-14T11:29:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T11:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/21755\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T11:29:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T11:29:08","slug":"actors-austin-lin-vivian-sung-trade-romance-and-comedy-for-disaster-action-movie-96-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/21755\/","title":{"rendered":"Actors Austin Lin, Vivian Sung trade romance and comedy for disaster action movie 96 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINGAPORE \u2013 Their flicks usually deliver the giggles and feels, but their new project is set to bring the thrills.<\/p>\n

Taiwanese actors Austin Lin and Vivian Sung have helmed some of Taiwan\u2019s biggest romance and comedy films, such as Marry My Dead Body (2022), Till We Meet Again (2021) and Our Times (2015).<\/p>\n

But the suspense-filled 96 Minutes is a different beast. <\/p>\n

Opening in Singapore on Sept 25, the disaster action thriller revolves around a high-speed train moving from Taipei to Kaohsiung with a bomb on it. Its title comes from the travelling time between the two cities.<\/p>\n

Lin plays a bomb disposal expert, while Sung portrays his wife, a fellow cop. Speaking to The Straits Times in a Zoom call from Taipei, they shared the challenges they faced in a genre they were not accustomed to.<\/p>\n

For both stars, 96 Minutes marks their disaster action movie debut, but they also knew when to take it easy when the cameras stopped rolling. <\/p>\n

Lin, 37, said: \u201cDuring breaks, we would eat snacks and talk rubbish. Because the movie is already very tense, letting loose helps us return to ourselves, which in turn lets us get back in character when needed again (more easily).\u201d<\/p>\n

The shoot reportedly took place on a sound stage built to resemble the interior of a high-speed train, with more than 700 LED screens on both sides depicting the changing cityscapes outside.<\/p>\n

Lin, who was born in Taipei, said: \u201cThe set was so detailed and realistic, I felt like I was on the real thing. Nowadays, when I take the actual high-speed train, I catch myself thinking, \u2018Oh, how come I am back on set again?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there is his three-minute fight scene. \u201cI\u2019ve never experienced an action sequence so difficult. It was so challenging to film,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Three months before the shoot, he had already begun training for it by learning the choreographed moves. \u201cBut I really like the final product. I was very into it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Taiwanese actors (from left) Lee Lee-zen, Austin Lin and Vivian Sung spoke with The Straits Times from a media preview in Taipei on Aug 20.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: KILLERMUD FILMS<\/p>\n

Getting to portray a policeman for the first time also felt very exciting, he said. \u201cMy character is not just a clear-cut hero. Like any normal person, he has his secrets, fears and insecurities. That was what attracted me to the role.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lin has played \u201csofter\u201d characters in the past, such as the concerned younger brother of a woman who finds love on a dating app in Salli (2023). He also played an effeminate gay ghost in the hit comedy film Marry My Dead Body, which scored him a Best Actor nomination at the Golden Horse Awards in 2023.<\/p>\n

His current role is very different from previous ones. \u201cIt is a totally new, tough guy image. I guess this is the dream of many male actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Austin Lin said his character in 96 Minutes is very different from his previous ones, calling it a new tough guy image.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: KILLERMUD FILMS<\/p>\n

For Sung, this is her first time playing a character who is married from the get-go. <\/p>\n

She played the devoted lover of a deceased man in the hit romantic fantasy-comedy Till We Meet Again, as well as a hair salon apprentice in Miss Shampoo (2023). Her career-making turn was as an awkward schoolgirl in\u00a0the teen romcom Our Times, which topped Taiwan\u2019s box office that year.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old said: \u201cIn the past, my characters would usually be in the early stages of dating or that ambiguous phase where she does not know if there is a romantic attraction or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 96 Minutes, what is special is that our characters are past that passionate stage. They have been through ups and downs together. But their bond is powerful, and exceeds the fiery, exciting early stages of attraction.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prepare for the role, Sung spoke with female police officers to understand their duties and daily lives. \u201cContrary to how movie action heroes always seem so brave and righteous, I realised many of these women also have their tender side.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To prepare for her role as a police officer, Vivian Sung interviewed female police officers to understand their duties and daily lives.<\/p>\n

PHOTO: KILLERMUD FILMS<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would say that in front of their husbands, they are still \u2018little women\u2019 and might behave in a flighty manner.\u201d <\/p>\n

So, Sung also tried to incorporate some of these less serious aspects in her performance, saying: \u201cTo me, this allows the character to seem more human.\u201d<\/p>\n

96 Minutes opens in Singapore cinemas on Sept 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE \u2013 Their flicks usually deliver the giggles and feels, but their new project is set to bring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-21755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}