NOTHING INTERESTING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

Below is the list of films scheduled for screening under the Finas wajib tayang window:

Salam Cinta from MIG bows in this week. Followed by horror flick (so what's new right?) entitled Hantu Air. Comedy is still the choice of new producers and RR Empire is will be releasing Halim Munan contesting a local Cantonese flick called Kepong Gangster for box office coins.





Astro Shaw who has been quiet this year, releases Untuk Tiga Hari, followed by another MIG release with a cute title "Aji Noh Motor" (another rempit themed comedy?). Untuk Tiga Hari may be the only movie that may be raking better numbers - directed by Afdling Shauki, the trailer looks impressive.



This is then followed by a KRU Release Hantu Kapcai. Would this film be the best performing movie from the KRU brand?
The year ends with a strangely titles movie Sofazr The Movie Jiwa Kacau, from Nusan Bakti Corp.





What happened to Tanda Putera, the multimillion Ringgit Tun Razak bio pic from Shuhaimi Baba? Are the rumours that it is back to the editing room true? Pesona Pictures have been very quiet about their flick which was actually screened to VIPs some time back already.

Uwei's Hanyut may take some time before reaching our screens. Knowing Uwei, he might want to take the film onto the international film festival circuits first before releasing it over here. Maybe he is worried that Hanyut might go the way of Bunohan, appreciated and respected overseas but ignored locally.

And where is KL Gangster 2? It is not ready yet even after a year in post? What is Syamsul doing with the movie which according to reliable sources have passed way over the RM3 million mark in terms of costs already expanded.

I wonder what's FINAS's take is on all these.

There is a lot of talk amongst the feature film producers' and directors' circles that FINAS is now a domain that belongs to documentary film makers. Those in the feature film industry are just bystanders and are treated as second class citizens.

Is there truth in this? The total money that FINAS has spent on documentaries has not been officially released yet, but monies or grants for feature films have not reached many producers and filmmakers. Only a selected few has received millions in grants for feature films. But if I were to base ringgit value against per minute of screen time, FINAS actually recognises documentaries as being more valuable.



Understandably, the KP is a documentary filmmaker (is and not was) because his works are still making the festival rounds and also his short films, and one cannot blame him for putting Malaysian documentaries on the international film map. If that is the legacy he wants to leave behind when his contract ends in FINAS, that why knock it? If he feels that documentaries are the better medium in which to introduce Malaysian filmmakers to the world, it in within his right to do so.

If you are a feature film maker like me, that's just too bad. We have to approach producers like David Teo and other who believe in his 'box office formulas' with titles like CEO Rempit, or Bini Bini Hantu Gangster or Kapchai King to move forward in our careers as filmmakers.

Wonder if there's any more free money left for the so-called Filem Negarawan announced by FINAS sometime back. Was Tanda Putera a benificiary of the grant? Was Hanyut the other beneficiary? Did KRU also receive grants for 29th Februari? It would be nice if FINAS be open about who has received grants or loans from them. At least we can track where the money has gone too - whether it has gone to films that breaks the box office or break their bank accounts.

HALF WAY THROUGH THE YEAR, MALAY MOVIES FACING BAD TIMES

The hoopla celebrating last year's box office hits have long gone and mostly forgotten as producers bite their fingernails and shitting bricks and they look nervously at all the numbers that are being posted on the box office charts.

Since I last wrote, not many movies have broken the RM1 million B.O. mark.

Below are the numbers as posted on Finas's website.

	29.	JALAN KEMBALI	SKOP PRODUCTION	80	28	4.98	Selesai Tayang
30.	14.06.12	JIWA TAIKO	NUANSA PRODUCTION	64	21	0.62	Selesai Tayang
31.		AIR MATA IBU (MANDARIN)	SHINNING PRODUCTION	50	21	0.07	Selesai Tayang
32.	21.06.12	HANYA AKU CINTA KAU SEORANG	METROWEALTH PICTURES	46	21	0.18	Selesai Tayang
33.		MAEL LAMBONG	EXCELLENT PICTURES	77	33	4.88	Selesai Tayang
34.	28.06.12	BAIK GILER	LAYAR DIMENSI	54	21	0.38	Selesai Tayang
35.		AKU, AKU DAN DIA	TAYANGAN UNGGUL	53	21	0.16	Selesai Tayang
36.	05.07.12	8 JAM	METROWEALTH PICTURES SDN BHD	79	28	2.30	Selesai Tayang
37.	12.07.12	MOMOK - JANGAN CARI PASAL	GALAKSI SENI SDN BHD	40	21	0.13	Selesai Tayang
38.	26.07.12	KARMA REBORN (KANTONIS)	GENIUS PARADE	41	19	0.24	Sedang Tayang
39.	09.08.12	HANTU GANGSTER	PRODIGEE MEDIA SDN BHD	99	5	1.18	Sedang Tayang

As you can see, only three movies have broken the RM1m barrier and that was Skop's Jalan Kembali with nearly RM5 million, Excellent Picture's coemdy Mael Lambong at RM4.9 million and Metrowealth's action movie 8 Jam at RM2.3 million.

Namwee's Hantu Gangster is however tracking well in its first weekend taking in RM1.18m from 99 screens and is still being screened.

Two non-BM movies, Air Mata Ibu and Karma Reborn didn't even make it past half a million in takings. Karma has only recouped RM240,000.00 and Air Mata Ibu faring worse with only RM70,000 in box office takings.

Tayanga Unggul who has not been aggressive in the cinema circuits of recent fell flat with Aku, Kau dan Dia, a love-story which only garnered RM160,000.00.

Worst performing movie in the last two months was M.Jamil's Momok - Jangan Cari Pasal which sputtered with only RM130,000.00 in ticket sales.

Will movies like Sam, another Skop release and directed by Yusoff Haslam's other son Syafiq, be a hit? It opens this week. Another horror movie Seram Sejuk will definitely live up to its name for the producer as they await the viewers' verdict next week as it goes out against Malaysia's first 3D movie by KRU Films entitled 29 Februari. I really hope these people know what they are doing because I hardly see promotion being done for these titles.





Another big movie Tanda Putera by Shuhami Baba under her Pesona Films stable which is still awaiting release and is already courting controversy. However, controversy good or bad usually works well for a movie. Having said that, Dalam Botol also courted controversy and fell flat.



How long too can Metrowealth keep churning out flops? Can two B.O hits cover losses from ten flops? Or does David Teoh know something that others don't? Can they just survive on Adnan Sempit 2's RM6 million  B.O.? To date, their movies are averaging RM1 million in box office this year. If not for Sempit 2, their best performing movie would be Nongkrong and 8 jam whilst their worse performing release was Hanya Aku Cinta Kau Seorang which made less than RM200,000.00.

With this kind of numbers coming in, I hope Uwei and his producers are confident of recouping their investment for HANYUT in overseas markets because (and I hope I am wrong) I doubt local viewers will flock to see his biggest, his most ambitious and his most expensive movie yet. BUNOHAN at least was well received overseas.



Meanwhile, did anyone notice that Grand Brilliance did not release any titles so far this year?

THE SECOND HALF OF 2012 - NEW GADO GADO IN THE HORIZON

It's more than a month past the half way mark of 2012. I am still in Sabah half way through my Pangazou series - a tough, if not my toughest ever shoot for TV. Decades ago, I did a massive 26 episode epic for RTM entitled Melaka, even built a junk for the arrival scene of Hang Li Po in Port Dickson, but we were shooting in Peninsula Malaysia where logistics for local production (even then) was accessible. Here in Kota Kinabalu, things are different.
As much as I want the Sabahans to experience my kind of production, I too am being educated on how to shoot in Sabah.
Nevertheless, I hope to wrap in three weeks time. Insya'Allah.
Meanwhile, I am looking forward to my next production - the return of Gado Gado.
Gado Gado the comedy series is dear to me. It was my first successful television series - ran for five seasons on RTM. Apart from Othman Hafsham's one-off special entitled Bunga Bunga Berguguran (I think that was the title) it was local television's first sketch based comedy series (the first episode was shown about a month or two before the first episode of Jangan Ketawa on TV3).
When I started Double Vision way back in 1990, one of my wishes was to make a sketch based comedy series the likes of Monty Python and Not the Nine O'clock News. My early pitches to stations didn't work as they either didn't know what I was talking about or they weren't really sure if it would work. At that time, only sitcoms were being produced.
Nevertheless, we decided to do a special - called TV Gila (a slight hint to the TV station I once worked with).
In the special we spoofed the Hindi classic Bobby, TV commercials, highbrow literary folks and others. It starred Ebby Yus, Jalil Hamid, Ebby Saiful, Den Wahab, Sabree Yunus and Imuda. Harun Salim Bachik, Isma Aliff and Sheila Rusly came on board when the series was confirmed.
When we first screened it for a private TV station, it was rejected and I was completely disheartened.
I went back to my editing room, and re-edited it and re-titled it Gado-Gado - a rojak of things in half an hour.
The new version found its way to RTM and surprisingly it was accepted.
A full season of 13 episodes were ordered and we went straight into production.
The rest was history - Gado Gado became one of RTM's most popular and at the same time most controversial comedy series ever. It ran for five seasons. I directed the first four seasons whilst Harun Salim Bachik directed the final season.
RTM did not stop the series, we did. We found that we ran out of ideas and we were told not to make fun of other races, not make fun of politics, not make fun of P. Ramlee, not make fun of the news etc. So we decided to take a hiatus - a long one.
Since then I have always thought of bringing Gado Gado to the big screen, but I was just too plain scared.
Last year, I met up with a couple of top Astro executives who were surprisingly Gado Gado fans. They asked if I was willing to bring back Gado Gado to Astro.
I told them I would think about it. It has been some time since I did comedy. The last being a telemovie entitled Aku Nak Jadi Hero..Tapi Takut starring Harun Salim Bachik - a Gado-Gadoesque telemovie inspired by the movie the Adventures of Waldo Mitty.
Furthermore, I don't know if viewers want to see Gado Gado again because in Astro, there are a lot of sketch based comedies - featuring artistes like Mamat Khalid, Khir Rahman, Awie Wings, Achong and a whole load of other actors. Even the humour magazine Gila Gila has been turned into a sketch based comedy series.
Would Gado Gado be able to compete? Would it be different from the other sketch based comedy series?
We shall see.
By the way, I have accepted the offer to produce Gado Gado Version 2.0 for Astro. It will be telecast in January 2013. I will begin shooting the series after Raya Aidilfitri.
Keeping my fingers crossed.

I'M BAAACCCKKKK!!!!

There's good new and there's bad news. The good news (for me) is that I have decided to continue with this blog. The bad news is (for me again) is that the reason I am continuing this blog is that my plans to publish a local Malaysian cinema industry magazine has been put on hold. Furthermore, knowing that my blog actually attracts more than 80,000 views and reads mean that quite a number of people actually want to know what I think about (the local film industry)...either to know more about the industry or to find fault with my writings and attack me. Whatever the reasons are, whether you find my new postings interesting, educational, nauseating, humorous, boring, irritating or even pointless; the good thing is that you actually read it. So, having said that. Currently, I am in Sabah in the midst of my own television production Pangazou, a 13-episode drama series based on Tan Sri Herman Luping's novel of the same name. However, due to various reasons, I cannot and will not write about the production in this blog. Maybe at a later time, maybe just before the series is telecast will I write about it.
For the past few months, ever since my last posting, many movies have been screened and the trend seems to bode fairly unhealthy news for producers....suddenly, cinemagoers are not going to the cinemas (to watch local movies). This seems true as shown by the numbers being posted in Finas's website. Box-office takings have not improved and have stagnated significantly. Since mid March this year, only two local movies has broken the RM2 million Ringgit mark. Most are struggling to even break the RM1 million mark. Currently, only Shamsul Yusof's Jalan Kembali (BOHSIA 2) is coining well with well over RM4million in B.O. numbers and is still being screened. The other movie that has taken more than RM2 million was Nongkrong. Dain Said's critically acclaimed Bunohan, one of the better movies produced this year,did not click with the local audience and only managed RM780,000.

Another 'serious' movie Chow Kit, only garnered RM450,000.00 whilst Mantera, the Transformer-wannabe movie, only managed RM350,000.00.

Two highly anticipated movies, Hoore! Hoore! and Jiwa Taiko, are also not tracking well. Still in the cinemas, the numbers that have been posted is a little disappointing for the producers.

Saw Teong Hin's Hoore! Hoore!, a brave musical based on the songs of the late Sudirman, has only taken RM350,000.00 whilst Osman Ali's Jiwa Taiko, starring Bronte Palarae, has so far only boxed in RM450,000.00 (note: Jiwa Taiko has only been screened for 6 days when this number was posted). The latest attempt to add Indonesian flavor into local movies by casting a top Indonesian actress (Olivia Jensen), a movie titled Gerimis Mengundang, directed and written by prolific director Ahmad Idham, has after 19 days on the screen only posted RM220,000.00.
What happened? Are moviegoers feeling jaded with the themes and subjects offered to them by producers? Are the movies so bad that they cannot get good word of mouth publicity? Since Bunohan's release, 20 titles have been screened to date, the total box office takings of the local releases is just over RM23 million. If I assume that every title produced costs RM1.5 million (totalling RM31,000,000), that means the industry has lost easily RM9 million. This would be worse if we consider 50 percent of the takings are taken by the cinemas. Which means that the nett takings of the 21 titles since Bunohan only took in Rm11.5 million ringgit. If I take this figure, the producers have lost a total of RM20 million. These are serious numbers that we are looking at, especially when for the past two years, investors were thrilled to see local movies taking in excellent grosses at the cinemas.
I did not write this post with much glee (as some would think) or ill will. In fact, it is written with much trepidation. As a producer myself, I would like to see my fellow producers rake profits with their products. A fairly boisterous and prosperous industry means a ready pool of eager investors for us to attract.
If the numbers remain stagnant and if more movies fail to make money this year, it may be a tough 2013 for a lot of film makers. No film maker would want that.

THE END

It was fun whilst it lasted. Writing has always been a passion. Something that makes me feel whole. If I write, I know I am alive...but only if what I write makes sense. Of recent, it hasn't. Not in its content, nor in spirit.
Maybe I need a break. Maybe I need to stop. Maybe I've lost it.
Whatever the reason is, anak wayang ends here.
In hindsight, I wished I had taken more time to post my thoughts.
I also wished I had the balls to also speak what was really on my mind. Even with muted words, I have irked a few. Well, I hope it's a few. If there were more, you have my apologies. So you can imagine what would have happened if I had disregarded decorum and just put some people in their rightful place.
Anyway, if there was anyone who thought that the reason for me starting this blog was to be well known, I have to say that they are way off base. Even when the anonymous comments, some of which I published and some of which I didn't, accused me of trying to hang on to my father's coattails, I really couldn't give these anonymous cowards a damn because those who know me, know that this is not nor have ever been the case.
I write because I love to write.
And I write what I see; I write what I know. Sometimes, it hurts others, but I cannot allow that to prevent me from doing what I have to do. Which was to set some things right, whenever or however I can albeit in measured terms.
I truly have to thank everyone who dropped by to read my blog and I do appreciate your kind words. Don't ever believe any writer who says that they are happy to write for an audience of one, and do not need compliments or in my case, criticism or condemnation.
As writers, we want to be read or heard. Our words mean nothing if it is never read. The world would not have changed if the words of Lao Tze, Socrates, Marx, Plato, Shakespeare, Gandhi and many others remained bound and hidden between covers, unread. This is of course not to say that my words are in the same league as these wise men, but if any of my writings and jottings did make my reader pause and think, and even elicit a small Ahaaa!! from them, I would be totally elated.
So, without much else, I bid all of you adieu, and selamat tinggal.
Goodbye.
Elvis may have left the building, but for Anak wayang, he fades to black.
The End.

A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT THE RECENT FFM

I won't delve into the recent FFM fiasco lah. Eventhough many of my readers and fans want my take on it, I would not offer my in-depth analysis of something that creaks and rattles every year.

If I did I would be repeating myself. It's the same thing over and over again, and I have already said my peace on FB about the quality of the jurors. The results of the recent FFM reflect the quality of the said jurors.

What I would like to repeat is that I still despise the racial separation of films in the festival.

It is called Film Festival Malaysia not film festival berbahasa Melayu.

So, you really cannot fault any movies made in Malaysia, by Malaysians, for Malaysians, and then tell them their films cannot qualify for the main awards. WTF.

I mean lets be frank about Merong Mahawangsa, Having watched it, I am quite sure there was more English dialogue than BM dialogue. Heck, even the Chinese princess and her maid were speaking the Queen's English.

So how do you justify MM for winning so many awards including the biggie Best Film Award?

If Great Day or even Homecoming, both which had more Mandarin dialogue than BM, were in cinematic terms a better movie than MM, shouldn't they be declared Malaysia's best film?

Or does FINAS want the non-BM films to start their own festival and chuck out the Bahasa Malaysia movies?

And how would we feel if these non-BM films win big in overseas film festivals and yet the BM films like Majika or MM do not win at any prestigious film festival overseas?

Won't the foreign film press make fun of our cinema industry? And are we happy when they they accuse our film industry as racist? Do we need another black mark in the global arena?

Now, if it is at all possible, can the people who organise the festival tell me, if I decide to make a movie like The Artist (a Cannes award winning favourite and now an Academy Awards hotshot), what category would the film be categorised in?

For those in FINAS who don't know about The Artist, it is a movie shot without dialogue.

Now, if I were to make a movie like that - with no BM dialogue, there's no English dialogue, and there's no Chinese dialogue. A silent movie as such.

It is bona fide Malaysian movie. Let's make it more interesting. I fill the movie with a hundred percent non-Malay actors, funded by Chinese producer, with Chinese psyche and cultural references. Tell me oh organisers of FFM, where would this film stand in competition?

Confused? Scared? Create another category for silent film?

Rules of festivals can be changed lah. Mistakes can be made and always happen. Only the Quran cannot be changed.

So, come on folks, stay with the times. Cinema is moving fast and it is borderless. The only language that matters in making movies is the language of cinema. Full stop.

FOOTNOTE: Are FINAS and the persatuans doing anything about the influx of foreign workers in our cinema industry? These includes actors, stunt directors, producers and directors. Are their paperwork properly done and legal? Do they pay government taxes? Do they have active work permits? Do we still need them?

NERVOUS NUMBERS FOR LOCAL PRODUCERS AT THE BOX OFFICE

Last month (November) after the mid year euphoria of local movies chalking up excellent coins - KL Gangsters pulling in RM11 million, Hantu Bonceng raking in RM8.5 milion and Bini-biniku Gangster tallying RM4.7 million), the box office report for October and November aren’t flattering.

The biggest earner is the horror-comedy Alamak Toyol! which to date has taken in RM3.5 million.

Sadly, scraping the bottom of the barrel were Abuya (RM210,000) and Apa Tengok Tengok (RM190,000).

The surprise B.O. showing of November would be newly crowned MFF Best Film Director Shamsul Yusof’s Aku Bukan Tomboy which is finding it hard to repeat the RM11 million taking of KL Gangster. The gender-bending rom-com took in only RM1.5 million though most pundits expect it to break RM 2 million. This box office taking will hardly cover its reported RM1.5 million production cost.

Only two other movies (apart from Tomboy and Toyol) recouped more than RM1 million at the box office. They are horror fare Al Hijab (RM2.3 million) and Klip 3GP (RM1.2 million).

Even the CGI fest Libas, produced and directed by Jurey Latif (who won Pengarah Harapan award at the recent MFF for this film) which bowed in on Sept 29th and entered the October screening window only managed to scrape in RM1 million at the box office.

The average total in box office takings for the 8 movies screening from October to November is just shy of RM9 million. This averages RM1.15 per title. Not a good average for the Malay film industry.

Producers and directors of Ombak Rindu (Osman Ali) and Misteri Jalan Lama (Afdlin Shauki) will be nervously checking the box office tally, as these two films bowed in at the end of November and their fate will only be known by year's end.

From what I heard, tearjerker Ombak Rindu is expected to do excellent business and may even break the RM5 million which is unusual for a drama-tearjerker. Misteri Jalan Lama is said to have been a casualty.

Next up would be Datin Ghairah, Songlap, Satu Malam Kubur Berasap and Papa I Love You, which would fill up the 2011 Malaysian movie slate.

Let’s see if the year ends with a bang or a whimper.

(All numbers are taken from Finas’s website at http://finas.gov.my/index.php?mod=industry&sub=cereka&p=Filem2011)

FOOTNOTE: You really can’t trust foreign newspapers these days or you wonder where they get their facts from. Read these headlines from theguardian UK – “Malaysia's first gay film is a controversial hit” and AFP –

“Malaysia's first gay film a box office hit”:

The following is an excerpt from the AFP report – “Malaysia's first gay-themed movie has been a hit at the box office but an official from the conservative Islamic party Thursday called for it to be banned despite its anti-homosexual ending.

"Dalam Botol" ("Inside a Bottle") raked in one million ringgit ($330,000) in the first five days, making it a local hit, the Star daily reported, despite Malaysia's conservative views on homosexuality.”

If this is true then Finas’s box office report must be false. Which is which? In the Finas website where I get all my box office information, Dalam Botol only took in a little over RM500,000.00. Not the million ringgit taken in five days as stated in the AFP report.

This does not make Dalam Botol a hit at all, even in local B.O terms.

If the foreign press are faking their reports, they then have another agenda which is to say that maybe gay themed movies are accepted by local film viewers. Hmmmm...if this is true than it is a sad state of affairs for professional journalism.