Published on February 19th, 2012 | by Prometheus0
Wongfu-lly accused? Are you really a nice guy? WongFu Productions visits Malaysia to kiss and tell.
Bring about the rib-tickling asian-american vloggers of YouTube, and put them together in a studio and this is what happens – epic mayhem by the name WongFu Productions. And they’ve not only taken over the cyber-world, they’ve invaded Malaysia too.
To clear the rumors of the pending invasion to be true, we’ve sent out our correspondent to cover the event. Here is her report:-
“The event was scheduled to start at 7PM but when we reached Taylor’s Lakeside Campus one hour early, we were greeted with a throng of people waiting to get into the hall. There was a general buzz of excitement as girls and guys alike gushed over which Wong Fu guy is the most good looking, which short (video) they loved the best and how they got to know about WFP.”
“A quick chat with a couple who was also present revealed that they have been here since as early as 3PM, queuing up for the meet and greet, poster in hand, and cameras snapping away at the boys.With a huge smile on her face, first-year medical student from IMU, Michelle shared with us how she got to say hi to Wesley and give him a hug during the “Meet & Greet” session which twitter.com/WongFuPro tweeted was “one of our hugest meet & greets ever!” [link]Even though the fans gathered pretty early, it was a very well-mannered crowd and everyone was just genuinely excited for each other being there to meet one of the most down-to-earth and charming online celebrities of our time.”“The doors to the Multi Purpose Hall finally opened at 730PM, and we entered the hall one-by-one after getting our little ticket punched by the security personnel. Wong Fu here we come!!!Seats were filled almost instantly with fans and supporters. Camera flashes was bursting everywhere as if it was Christmas, while fans holding their precious autographed posters, awkward animals as well as guys and girls wearing t-shirts from areyouaniceguy.com - an online store that was a spin-off from the success of Wong Fu’s short entitled “Just A Nice Guy”.Another 30 minutes passed and as the crowd got a little restless, the lights went dim and our emcee for the night, Jin from Hitz.fm introduced the opening act, first of a line-up of local talents – Once Upon A Time There Was A Sausage Named Bob a local indie band and a strong female vocalist Esty who had a voice of an angel that gave us goosebumps. We almost fell in love with her.”“… followed by Shawn Lee – who represented Malaysia for Beatbox Battle World Championship, emerged Best 16 and was the youngest among the group.There was a minor glitch in the sound system as Shawn started his performance but it was rectified shortly and he went on the impress the crowd with top hits such as Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.”“Two dance groups, ECX and F.I.X, then took onto the stage with sick dance moves both in their own unique styles that got the crowd cheering louder and louder.It was especially entertaining when Dennis Yin from ECX did a little runway stint which he was famous for and ending his catwalk with the bold statement “I AM NOT GAY” which had the crowd bursting in laughter.”“And then… it was time, for the main event; Wong Fu Productions!The crowd literally went wild, screams from every corner of the hall and cameras flashing as pretty boys Philip Wang and Wesley Chan took the stage.Ted Fu, the other guy in the trio, on the other hand could not make it for this trip due to unforeseen circumstances but nonetheless, he was there with us, in video form!”“All the way in L.A., Ted did some Photoshop work and compiled a video specially for the fans at the event depicting himself in awestruck mode – visiting Batu Caves, the Twin Towers, meeting up with the Prime Minister as well as enjoying a relaxing time at a fish spa, with pink polka dot bikinis! His short video ended with a heartfelt greeting and appreciation for all the support that WFP in getting from Malaysia which elicited a resounding “awww…” from the crowd.Phil and Wes went on to share about WFP’s humble beginnings, how they met each other in UCLA – Wes and Ted were apparently very good at making videos, Wes was the creative one and Ted had the best camera in class, so Phil decided he needed to be friends with them and eventually, all the stars in the universe came together and they became really good friends who worked really well with each other. After their graduation, the trio decided to continue doing what they were passionate about, which is making videos.”Thus, Wong Fu Productions was born when Wes, Phil and Ted made the decision of their lives – to pool together their resources to purchase a really good camera. They even took pictures of themselves gathered around the computer, about to click the purchase button!”“Throughout the session, Phil and Wes lived up to their online personas as they were very real, funny and down-to-earth as well. The camaraderie between the two was entertaining to watch and they did not actually come with a script of what they were going to say, so it was just a free and easy hangout time between us and the guys.Shortly after the brief session of talking about WFP, they showed a couple of shorts which more or less displays the diversity in their work – from a simple production that took a couple of days with a few friends and no crew (Shell) to a full-fledged music video for Lee Hom (Still in Love with You) which marked one of the biggest productions in WFP’s career”“The boys came back onstage after the videos to share a little of their views concerning what they do, who they are and also addressed some wayward fans who write in to them asking, “How do I become famous like you guys?”“Its never about the fame” Wesley explained as they revealed the early days of Wong Fu when they had to take up odd jobs just to make ends meet and to have WFP running. ““Ultimately its was the passion they had for their work that drives them to continue making shorts that touched people’s lives and make them exchange “awws”.The fame as well as their store areyouaniceguy.com was a byproduct that was an unexpected surprise, as people who liked their videos shared with their friends and they shared with their friends and as a result, more people got to know about them. “Fast forward to the present, the guys shared a little bit of what they are currently working on – Home is Where the Hans Are – a 3-episode web series intended to be made into a TV series if it takes off well.At the time of the event, Episode 1 and 2 has already been released but the last one was still in the works… so lucky us, we got to watch the entire Episode 3 way ahead of everyone else, the rough cut version!The verdict: It was funny! Of course, when Wong Fu is in it, its bound to make you LOL, at least it does for me.. =)After the little sneak preview screening, it was time for a close – but not before a Q&A session.”“The guys took turns to pick a member of the audience and the chosen fella gets to shout their question out from where they were seated.A couple of highlights:One guy asked if WFP are open for internship applications to which Phil answered, “Are you going to be in L.A.?” and then to everyone’s amazement, the guy stood up with a letter of application in his hand!The guys were impressed and Phil exclaimed after taking the letter, “Now that’s a go-getter we have here! We promise you, we will definitely look into this.”Wes picked a girl in green shirt and she asked, “Is Wes dating Cathy?” [editor's note: the actress in Shell] and both the guys responded with a mysterious “The answer is out there.. somewhere in the internet. If you look hard enough you may just find it.”At the end of the event, Jin the emcee came back onstage and the guys conducted a lucky draw which entitled a whopping TWENTY VIP guests to join Philip Wang and Wesley Chan for brunch the next day.Needless to say, the winners were ecstatic as their ticket numbers were called out one by one.”“All in all, it was a really good event and the guys from WFP was blown away by the support and energy from their fans in Malaysia. So awed that they promised to come back again, next year!The event organizers closed the event by calling for a group photo – all the media people gathered onstage, Phil and Wes took their positions in the middle of the stage and the thousand-strong fans clamored to the middle of the hall so they can fit in the group photo.”“The crowd dispersed after that, satisfied smiles on their faces and fingers forming the now famous Wong Fu 4 Lyfe symbol…”“The End.Cheers, Nicki”