Matthew_07
Most of the FT editors are from the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Tell me some interesting facts about Asia, or particularly, your country, Singapore.

Singapore is a tiny island nation located at the southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia. We were a British colony and (briefly) part of the Federation of Malaysia before gaining independence in 1965. Singapore is situated just north of the equator, so it's generally quite hot and humid all year round. I think there was a documentary on BBC that said that people who live near the equator tend to live more 'in the moment', possibly due to the lack of any real seasons. I don't know how true that is, but the description does seem to fit many Singaporeans!


gentlegiant17
What do you feel are the pros and cons of living in Singapore?

Well, the weather is great if you like the idea of an endless summer. Personally, this is more of a 'con' for me, as I'd rather be too cold than too hot – you can always bundle up to keep warm in the cold, but there's not much you can do when it's sweltering and you're out and about. Another disadvantage is that it can feel a little crowded here – we have about 5 million people occupying 202 square miles. After Monaco, Singapore is the most densely populated country in the world.

One major advantage of living in Singapore is that it is a truly multi-racial and multi-cultural society. Most Singaporeans are descended from immigrants who hail from various parts of Asia, and each group brought their own culture, cuisine and practices when they came over. Add to that the vast number of foreigners who live and work in Singapore today, and you get an idea of the kind of diversity that exists in such a small country.


Matthew_07
You've played a lot of movie quizzes. In your opinion, what makes a good movie?

When I think about the films that I like and admire, it's hard to pinpoint a common thread that ties them together. I think that a good movie is one that has at least one aspect – be it a theme, a plotline or even a character – that you as the audience can relate to and identify with on a deep, personal level. I think that a film will only resonate and stay with you long after you have watched it if you are able to make that kind of connection with it, whether consciously or unconsciously.


CAGuy0206
What is your overall favorite film?

It tends to change over time, but I have a real fondness for the 1957 version of "12 Angry Men". I first saw it when I was in the equivalent of Grade 10 in school, after my English teacher recommended it to my class. I may have been the only student in the class who sought out the film and watched it! I remember being struck by how powerful the movie was, and how it didn't drag, even though the whole movie was essentially 12 men locked up in a room, arguing with each other. Parts of the film may seem a little dated now, but it's held up incredibly well, all things considered.


gentlegiant17
Which film director, dead or alive, would you like to meet the most? What would you ask them if you had a single question?

I think it would be interesting to spend some time with Alfred Hitchcock. I would ask him who, from the list of actors and actresses currently working, he would cast in "Vertigo", "Rear Window", "North by Northwest" and "Psycho" if he made those films today.


gentlegiant17
Which film actor/actress, dead or alive, would you like to meet the most? What would you ask them if you had a single question?

I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Jodie Foster, not just as an actress, but as a director and producer as well. She has starred in so many of my favourite films, so I would want to ask her how she chooses her projects.


Matthew_07
Being one of the editors in the Movie category, what is the most interesting thing that you have encountered?

This is probably true for any category on Fun Trivia, but I find it interesting how easy it is to tell when a quiz author has a real interest in the movie(s) they are writing about. It always helps when an author has some enthusiasm for their chosen subject matter, and this shows through regardless of their writing skills. As editors, we can always help an author with their writing or with the site guidelines, but we can't come up with quiz questions for them. It's always a joy to see a quiz come back with that rare spark of inspiration that only happens when the author has a real affinity for what they are writing about.


Pagiedamon
What was your reaction when you were asked to become a FT editor?

After I got over the initial surprise at being asked to be an editor, the first thoughts were doubts over whether I would make a good editor. My experiences with the editors had been nothing but positive, and I felt that I had some big shoes to fill. Hopefully I am living up to everyone's expectations.


Pagiedamon
What is your real life occupation?

I’m a lawyer – I practised as a litigation lawyer for several years in a law firm, and now I am working in-house in a multi-national corporation.


Pagiedamon, CAGuy0206
What do you like to do when not Fun Trivia editing?

In case it wasn't obvious already, I enjoy watching the occasional movie or two. Or ten.


skunkee
Where are you planning to go on your next vacation?

Seoul. The trip will be with a group of good friends from college. We haven't gone away together for many years, so I'm really looking forward to it.


ing
Do you have any habits that are so annoying they even annoy you? (sometimes I snore so loud I even wake myself up!)

I can get impatient with people, usually family members or close friends that I know really well. I think that it's human nature to take those who are closest to you for granted, and I guess I am guilty of that from time to time. That's probably my worst habit.


skunkee
If you were an animal, what kind of animal would you be?

I guess I should pick something noble or majestic, or an animal at the top of the food chain, but I don't really have any strong views on this. I don't think I would mind what kind of animal I was, so long as I didn't have to predict the outcome of sports events, or anything like that. I don't think I would like all that pressure!


skunkee
Cats or dogs? Why?

Dogs, definitely. I come from a family of dog-lovers. My mom used to have 19 dogs when she was growing up, and my uncle used to breed German Shepherds. I've been around dogs all my life, and I think that they are incredible creatures. That said, my sister has five cats, and after getting to know them, I'm starting to warm up to cats.


skunkee
What's your favourite room in the house (where you go when you want to be alone)?

The study. It's where I can find all the distractions of modern life – my computer, the Internet, my books and music.


skunkee
What, in your opinion, was the greatest thing before sliced bread?

I would have to say the invention of music. If you asked me to pick my desert island discs, I would take music over movies any time – as much as I love watching films, I just can't imagine life without music.


ing
Wonderful as it is, FT isn't perfect. In the proverbial ideal world, what would you change about it?

I feel that the best thing about Fun Trivia is the community aspect of the site, but being an Internet community, it lacks the immediacy of real-world relationships. It's an unavoidable problem, but that's the one thing I would change about FT.


ing
What question were you dreading being asked? (it's alright, you won't have to answer it now...)

Anything to do with math? It's a well-known fact that most lawyers cannot count. If we could, we probably wouldn't be lawyers!


Thanks to all who participated.

I've heard many things about the very strict laws they have in Singapore. Have you encountered any? How do they fit in to the day-by-day of ordinary folks there?

Terrific interview, jmorrow ! And you're right (in my humble opinion)! 12 Angry Men was an incredibly good film, for sure. For anyone who wants to see it (in the US, anyway?) it's airing at 8PM Eastern time on *Turner Classic Movies*. No commercials, unedited .

He is a pretty interesting dude, isn't he?

Sorry for the tardy reply – it took me a while to notice that my interview had been posted, and even more time after that to sit down and work out a response to the comments.

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Going off this, jmorrow, what range does the temperature stay in? Where I am in Texas, it can get down near 0°F in the winter (however, this isn't often - it did get to 13°F this past winter), and it can get well over 100°F during the summer.

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Those are some pretty extreme temperatures in Texas! It can get that hot in Singapore during the months of June or July, but the daily temperature here typically ranges between 24 to 32 °C, or about 75 to 89 °F. Having said that, we've been having record-breaking rainfall in Singapore this past week, with many areas subject to flooding, so it hasn't been very hot so far this July. I think the weather is getting more and more unpredictable as the years go by, as we've never really been hit by serious floods during a non-monsoon period before.

Quote:

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I've heard many things about the very strict laws they have in Singapore. Have you encountered any? How do they fit in to the day-by-day of ordinary folks there?

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We do have some strict laws, but I don't think that they really affect the day-to-day lives of people here all that much. We have mandatory death sentences for serious crimes like drug trafficking and arms offences, and heavy penalties (jail terms and/or fines) for all the other usual crimes. Our laws against vandalism (which provide for caning) and the sale of chewing gum have received quite a lot of publicity in the international media, but these are just isolated examples that don't represent the typical prosecution for criminal offences in Singapore, so again people here don't really give them a second thought.

A lot of the heavy penalties are there as a deterrent more than anything else, and for the most part they seem to work, as there aren't really any 'no-go' areas in the city (even at night), and our crime rate is relatively low. I think most people here accept the stricter laws as a trade-off for the enhanced safety and security that they bring.


Thanks again to Pagiedamon and everyone who contributed questions for the interview! And thanks for the info about "12 Angry Men" screening in the U.S., Gatsby! I hope that those who haven't seen the film managed to catch it when it aired.

Great interview.

Being a movie buff, are there any movies you have watched being filmed in Singapore?

Have you tried your hand at home made movies?

Hey there, Bx! Nice to see you back in the interview 'game'.

I've never tried making any home movies – I'm still figuring out how to use all the functions on my still camera, so I don't think I'll be moving on to a video camera anytime soon. I'm quite content to remain part of the film audience for now.

As for movies filmed in Singapore, I've seen my fair share of locally made movies, but few of them have left any lasting impression. There have been some Hollywood and UK productions over the years that were at least partially filmed in Singapore, but I think I have managed to miss most of them. I think it would be too distracting to watch a movie that was filmed in your own country or home town – I imagine that you would be too busy trying to recognise the streets or buildings to concentrate on the movie! I remember watching "Anna and the King" and spotting many Singaporean and Malaysian actors scattered throughout the movie (it was filmed in Malaysia, as the Kingdom of Thailand refused to give the filmmakers permission to film there), and I kept thinking to myself that very few of the extras with speaking roles in the film were Thai.