Malaysia: Last News

FINAS) has partnered with the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) for the inaugural Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab). An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences. It aims for each project to deliver a package of script, budget, financing plan, dossier and pitch-ready materials at the end of the program.

It was five years ago when Pan-n-Ice landed in Manchester, taking a spot within Selfridges’ food Hall at The Trafford Centre. And today, they launched a second parlour at Manchester Arndale, keeping queues of hungry shoppers happy with their unique ice cream and frozen yoghurt rolls.

Tiger Pictures Entertainment has acquired worldwide distribution rights outside of mainland China for hit sci-fi comedy film “Moon Man.“ The film, which has collected some $430 million at the Chinese box office to date, tells the story of “the last human in the universe” as an astronaut finds himself stranded on the moon after an asteroid wipes out life on earth. It is directed by Zhang Chiyu, who previously directed 2017 sports comedy hit “Never Say Die.” It was produced by Mahua FunAge, a consistently successful comedy production firm. FunAge’s “Goodbye Mr. Loser” and “Never Say Die” starred Shen Teng and Ma Li and “Moon Man” brings together the comedy duo once again.

EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Dunstan, the writer of Saw 3D and Saw VI, is set to direct the horror flick All My Friends Are Dead. Film Mode Entertainment and Roundtable Entertainment will launch sales on the project at the Toronto Film Festival.

Their names are not carved on the city's Cenotaphs like their brothers in arms who fell in the First and Second World Wars. But they too paid the ultimate price for serving their country.

EXCLUSIVE: Global Screen has sealed a fresh round of deals on the 3D-animated feature My Fairy Troublemaker, about a mischievous, rookie tooth fairy who gets stuck in the world of humans on her first mission.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jack Neo, who is by far Singapore’s most commercially successful filmmaker, has begun production on “King of Musang King,” a comedy that he envisages being ready for release at Chinese New Year in January. The narrative gives prominent position to durians, the smelly Southeast Asian fruit that most people either love or hate. Neo (“Money No Enough,” the “Ah Boys to Men” franchise) will co-star, direct and produce through his J Team Productions. The film will be presented by J Team, mm2 Entertainment and Cathay Cineplexes. The story revolves around a man (played by Mark Lee), his abandoned Malaysian wife (played by Yeo Yann Yann), and childhood friend Mao Shan (played by Jack Neo).

East Kilbride restaurateur Darren Tao has been served a string of industry award nods.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indonesian producer KawanKawan Media, which has Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” in competition at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons strand, has a raft of projects on its slate. The company, led by Yulia Evina Bhara, scored a hat trick of wins at Locarno over the last few years with Yosep Anggi Noen’s “The Science of Fictions” (2019), Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Whether the Weather Is Fine” (2021) and Ming Jin Woo’s “Stone Turtle” (2022), and won an award at CPH:DOX for Fanny Chotimah’s documentary “You and I” in 2020. Noen’s “Gaspar,” which is set in the Javanese city Semarang in 2032 and is an adaptation of Sabda Armandio’s novel “24 Hours of Gaspar,” has just wrapped production. It stars Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon, Laura Basuki, Sal Priadi, Kristo Immanuel and Dewi Irawan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Korean and two Indian movies make the cut in the Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents main competition section. Thet are joined by one each from Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Germany. The section has a track record of making significant discoveries among new Asian films and directors.The selected titles are eligible for multiple awards, including the New Currents Award, the FIPRESCI Award, the NETPAC Award, and the KB New Currents Audience Award. The selection comprises: “Ajooma,” directed by Hu Shuming (Singapore-Korea); “Blue Again” from Thailand’s Thapanee Loosuwan; “Hail to Hell,” by Korea’s Lim Oh-jeong; “Memento Mori: Earth,” by Vietnam’s Marcus Vu Manh Cuong; “No End,” directed by Nader Saeivar and flying the flags of Germany, Iran and Turkey; “A Place Called Silence,” by Malaysia’s Sam Quah; “Shivamma,” fromIndia’s Jaishankar Aryar; Japanese director Kubota Nao’s “One Thousand and One Nights”; “A Wild Roomer,” from Korea’s Lee Jeong-hong; and The Winter Within,” directed by Aamir Bashir, and structured as a co-production between India, France and Qatar.

Fugees cancelled their 25th anniversary tour celebrating second album ‘The Score’ not due to COVID-19 concerns, as originally stated, but member Pras Michel’s ongoing legal issues.A story published on August 29 by Puck‘s Eriq Gardner details Michel’s indictment for his alleged role in the claimed criminal conspiracy surrounding Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, and the significant jail time Michel may face for his connections with fugitive businessman Jho Low.Low is currently wanted by authorities for allegedly masterminding the theft of some $4.5billion US from 1MDB into his own personal accounts. Low has long denied any wrongdoing.

In January, Fugees announced the cancellation of a slate of reunion shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of their seminal album The Score. In a statement, the band blamed COVID-19: "The continued COVID pandemic has made touring conditions difficult, and we want to make sure we keep our fans and ourselves healthy and safe." However, a new report published in Puck News claims that the legal troubles of Fugees's Pras Michel were the cause of the canceled shows.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Smart phone usage is key to music listeners in parts of East Asia, but only a minority of users are committed subscribers to streaming services. That apparent contradiction may explain the rise of mini-subscriptions in the region. “Some 81% of music listeners in Malaysia use smartphones as their go-to music listening devices in a typical month, yet only 31% of music streamers in Malaysia pay for a streaming subscription,” says new report from consultancy firm Luminate. The firm’s latest Music 360 Study examines music consumption habits and preferences in a selection of Asia-Pacific markets, including South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, but excluding China, India, Singapore and Australia. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Michelle Yeoh will receive the Toronto International Film Festival’s inaugural Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award. The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award recognizes a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact for women throughout their career. The award, sponsored by Bulgari, will be presented at an in-person gala fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. “Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Her screen work has spanned continents, genres and decades. This year she delivered a performance in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ that shows her limitless abilities.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film studios in Asia-Pacific are expanding the scale of their operations and want location incentives to keep pace. “Incentives are fundamental, they are an expectation [of production managers] and having one is no longer a USP,” said Rashid Karim, CEO of Iskandar Malaysia Studios. He was speaking at the Content Asia summit conference in Bangkok on Thursday. The IMS facility opened ten years ago around the same time as Malaysia introduced a location production incentive scheme. These days, the scheme offers a generous 35% uncapped rebate. But since the scheme launched, rival locations in the Asian region including Thailand, India and Mongolia have launched or are in the process of launching rebate schemes.

Holly Jones After its debut at  Sundance in January, where it earned the World Cinema Dramatic Competition award for directing, Ukrainian wartime drama “Klondike” nabbed top honors for best international film at the Chile’s 18th Santiago International Film Festival (Sanfic).“Klondike,” written, directed and edited by Ukrainian filmmaker Marina Er Gorbach (“Omar and Us”), tells the story of expectant couple Irina and Anatoly who live in the village of Grabove, near the Russia-Ukraine border during the high conflict that coincides with downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The couple faces devastation up-close as Irina refuses to relocate, even as troops close in.Best director went to Chile’s Roberto Baeza for his documentary effort “Punto de Encuentro,” a gripping portrait of filmmakers striving to recreate the story of their fathers, tortured and imprisoned under the dictatorship.

President Zelenskyy Comedy ‘Servant Of The People’ Remade In Poland

Michelle Yeoh has been making movies in Hollywood for decades, like 1987's Easy Money, 1997's Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and 2018's Crazy Rich Asians.But before she hit the silver screen, the star was a beauty pageant contestant, which she discussed in the September issue of Town & Country magazine, which is on newsstands August 23.'I'm a little competitive by nature,' the School For Good And Evil star shared about winning the 1983 Miss Malaysia pageant at age 21 before joking, 'I think the judges were blind.' A classic: Michelle Yeoh has been making movies in Hollywood for decades, like 1987's Easy Money, 1997's Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and 2018's Crazy Rich Asians. She talked her career to the September issue of Town & CountryYeoh's mother is the one who entered her in the contest. When asked if her mother takes credit for her career, Yeoh says, 'All the time! She always tells me, "It's me, I created her, I gave her this," and I'm like, "Yes, Mom."' Her second pageant was Miss World, where she walked across the stage wearing a traditional gold and green costume.She did compete again after that.  Beauty babe: efore she hit the silver screen, the star was a beauty pageant contestant In the center: 'I'm a little competitive by nature,' the star shared about winning the 1983 Miss Malaysia pageant before joking, 'I think the judges were blind' Good mom: Yeoh's mother is the one who entered her in the contest.

One of Hollywood's most successful stuntmen has died. Dave Lea, who worked as a stunt double for Michael Keaton on Batman and Batman Returns passed away Saturday.

One of Hollywood's most successful stuntmen has died. Dave Lea, who worked as a stunt double for Michael Keaton on Batman and Batman Returns passed away Saturday.

A dark comedy dealing in the disturbing subject matter of domestic violence is taking audiences by storm in India and beyond.