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Jack Neo has been a hot topic around town thanks to the chatter surrounding "Ah Girls Go Army".

The director made a well-timed appearance on "Hear U Out", a Mediacorp talkshow hosted by Quan Yi Fong.

During his episodes, Neo delved into his beginnings and some of the challenges he faces in making movies.

Movies that 'don't contain much artistic value'

For a start, Neo revealed a softer side to him, saying that he has yearned for an award that seems out of reach: the Best Comedy Performer.

Many of these were swept up by his protégé Mark Lee.

But Neo doesn't blame Lee—he felt that it was poor timing for himself, as the category was introduced only when his heyday was over.

The director added quite sombrely,

"I also told myself to stop fantasising about clinching any awards for my movies, because my movies don't contain much artistic value.

I simply want to tell a story that everyone can understand and enjoy in the cinema. Support from the audience is the greatest accolade to me."

Quan said that for someone in the entertainment industry, Neo's movies are a "must-see".

Other artistes that she asked had apparently agreed with her, and the director expressed his gratitude for that.

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However, eyeballs do not necessarily translate to earnings, according to Neo.

For instance, "Money No Enough" was a box office hit, but the director said they did not receive any profits, save for their basic pay.

This means no dividends for those who had worked on the project, despite the film doing well.

Neo said that he has always faced this problem at work, as he just wanted to make a movie and never gave much thought to the money-making aspect.

Everyone was simply happy to see their faces on the silver screen, he elaborated.

When Quan remarked on the budget for his movies, Neo explained that he had difficulty getting funding at first too, as it took time to earn trust.

The director acknowledged that "Ah Boys to Men" was a major production and provided some backstory on how the series was birthed.

For the 45th anniversary of National Service, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) had approached Neo to edit their "Every Singaporean Son" YouTube series into a movie.

However, Neo candidly told them that it was hard for him to do so, as the content was not aligned with his style.

Instead, he offered to shoot a new movie, assuring the ministry that he would secure funding, and only needed them to loan him equipment like rifles and bombs.

Neo's experience in the military came in handy for the production, and he believed that that was one of the reasons MINDEF trusted him with the movie.

The director also felt that the first two instalments of "Ah Boys to Men" had better ticket sales, partly because they had a higher degree of authenticity from the props used.

The two movies were shot on a total budget of S$3 million.

The third production was even more complex, so it wasn't easy to break even despite it doing decently in the box office, Neo said.

He explained that it's challenging to make money from movies—a S$1 million production needs S$3 million to break even, so only revenue beyond that is considered profit.

“It’s hard to turn a profit, so many of our movies receive financial support from the government,” Neo said.

According to Neo, this is also why ad placements are also "unavoidable"—where does one get a few million to make a movie?

From sponsors, who help to balance out the costs, Neo answered his rhetorical question.

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do it."

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Top image via MeWATCH