Malaysia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

ASTRO singer Cha Eun-woo has made his solo debut with his first mini-album, ‘Entity’.ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo co-wrote all six songs on ‘Entity’, which is led by the single ‘Stay’. Along with the release of the project, the K-pop idol also dropped a cinematic music video for ‘Stay’.According to a statement by his label Fantagio, ‘Entity’ is meant to represent Cha Eun-woo’s resolve to “live honestly while accepting all of [him]self”, per Korea JoongAng Daily.This weekend, Cha Eun-woo will kick-off his solo 2024 ‘Just One 10 Minute: Mystery Elevator’ tour with a show in Seoul, South Korea.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated across the globe and largely underpinned by themes of hope and reunion. Known to many as Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year is also celebrated by many different countries throughout Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It is also celebrated in other countries where there is an established Chinese community, as the holiday brings together family and friends to celebrate the start of another year.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has landed the Sundance Film Festival buzz title documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. The film premiered January 18 at The Ray Theatre.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Three Japanese films enjoying their world premieres, along with festival favorites “City of Wind” and “Solids by the Seashore,” are set to appear in the 13-title competition section of the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. The event will be held March 1-10 at venues including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, T-Joy Umeda and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. The opening and closing films will be announced in early February. The 19th edition of the festival, which will eventually contain 55 feature and short films, is set to also include three special programs – a “Thai Cinema Kaleidoscope,” “Taiwan: Movies on the Move,” and “Special Focus on Hong Kong” – as well as its regular Spotlight Section on underrated Asian films and the Indie Forum of more challenging and innovative works. The competition titles are: “City of Wind,” by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir; “Fire on Water,” by Malaysia’s Sun-J Perumal; “Hyphen,” by The Philippines Joy Arnaldo; “The Lyricist Wannabe,” by Hong Kong’s Norris Wong; “The Missing,” by The Philippines’ Carl Joseph E.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Philippines president Fernando “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. faced criticism from his constituents over the weekend for using the state-funded presidential helicopter to fly over the traffic jam caused by a Coldplay concert Friday night (January 19) in order to attend the show himself.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

IU has announced her 2024 ‘H.E.R.’ world tour, featuring dates in Asia, Europe and the US.IU’s newly announced 2024 ‘H.E.R.’ world tour will kick off on March 2 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea, where she will play four shows over two weekends. During the same month, the singer will also perform two shows at the Yokohama Arena in Japan.The K-pop idol’s upcoming world tour will then head to other countries and regions across Asia, including two shows in Taipei, Singapore and Jakarta in April, followed by two Hong Kong shows in May.In June, IU will host one concert in the Filipino capital of Manila, alongside two concerts in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A couple avoided NHS waiting lists by getting a dental appointment 5,900 miles away in Thailand. Jamaica Kelly, 23, decided to tie in an appointment at the dentist during her five-month backpacking stint with her boyfriend, Sam Austen, 23.

Lawyers for Malaysia’s ex-prime minister Najib Razak are trying to get Netflix documentary Man On The Run taken off the platform due to what they describe as “sub judicial and contemptuous” content.

Taiwan’s government has suspended its Taiwan International Co-funding Program (TICP) in a move that appears to signal a change in direction towards more mainstream projects. 

Naman Ramachandran Malaysia‘s Skyzen Studios has unveiled the first trailer for Sun-J Perumal’s sophomore feature “Fire on Water” (“Neer Mel Neruppu”), which premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Harbour strand. Set over 20 years, the film follows Karthi, an aspiring filmmaker who has performed the gamut of roles in commercial television and film, from assistant director to editor to sound recordist.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Mark Francis, a veteran TV and streaming executive in Asia, has joined Indonesia’s Vidio streaming platform as its chief content officer and strategy officer. The appointment comes as the platform repasses 4 million subscribers and reclaims a lead in the Indonesian streaming market. Based in Jakarta and reporting directly to CEO Sutanto Harton, Francis is expected to oversee the freemium streamer’s content strategy and programming.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Really, a company that creates augmented reality content for theatrical release movies has hired veteran media executive Peter Gaida as its chief commercial officer in Asia Pacific. The appointment is part of a wider expansion into Asia by the AR company. Founded by media entrepreneur James Andrew Felts in 2017, Really creates “highly functional, large-scale AR content” that it delivers weekly.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor M. Raihan Halim’s “La Luna” will close the 53rd edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam, which has also revealed the lineup of its Tiger competition section, a platform for up-and-coming filmmakers, and Big Screen Competition, a program for more established talent. “La Luna,” which has its European premiere at the festival, is a comedy about a conservative Malaysian village shaken by the arrival of a lingerie store.

TikTok’s ‘Add To Music App’ is set to roll out to users in 19 more countries worldwide following its launch last month.Last month, TikTok announced a new feature that allows users to directly save sounds from the app to their streaming platform of choice.Users in the US and UK can already utilise the feature now, which allows fans to save music they’ve discovered to Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.The social media platform has now announced plans for it to be available in the following countries: Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, UAE, Argentina, Colombia, The Netherlands, Turkey, South Africa, Vietnam and the Philippines.“Add To Music App has been designed to help music fans capture songs that they love on TikTok in the moment of discovery, and to easily save the song to their preferred music streaming service to enjoy whenever they like,” read a statement from the video sharing platform.The feature can be used by tapping on a sound which is listed below a user’s name, then hitting ‘Add to music app’, where you can choose your preferred streaming platform.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian streamer Stan has acquired rights to both seasons, totaling 20 episodes, of the Malaysian adaptation of Scandinavian crime series “The Bridge.” The agreement, brokered by Lyle Bettson-Barker, SVP Australia and New Zealand from Banijay Rights, represents the first time that Stan has acquired a Malaysian drama series. The Asian version of “The Bridge” was initially commissioned by Viu and HBO Asia in 2018, after Double Vision, part of the Vision New Media group, introduced Viu to the format. It broadcast to across 23 territories in the combined footprints of Viu and HBO Asia and was also shown on Viu in South Africa.The title has garnered more than 20 regional awards and nominations across its two seasons, making it the most awarded drama in Malaysian history. Season one faithfully follows the original show, and sees a dead body found on the border between Malaysia and Singapore, necessitating an investigator from each country to work together to solve the crime.

Naman Ramachandran The Singapore Film Commission (SFC) celebrated its 25th anniversary during the 34th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) with a lavish party attended by the great and the good of the industry. Though the local box office for Singaporean films has yet to regain its pre-pandemic heights, they are doing well internationally with 2023 alone seeing selections at all the top festivals, including Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Busan and San Sebastian.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore‘s Robot Playground Media (RPM) and Valencia-based co-producer TV ON Producciones (TOP) have commenced production on animated feature film “The Violinist,” it was revealed at the Asia TV Forum and Market. The film was unveiled at a presentation attended by the representatives of Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Spanish Embassy in Singapore.

Lucinda Chua has shared a surprise EP called Reclaiming the Rose, her first follow-up to her debut studio album, March’s YIAN. The three-track tape follows its predecessor’s glacial, haunting aesthetic, adding spoken-word poetry to the London artist’s already-rich palette.

The third annual Red Sea Film Festival handed out its Yusr Awards on Thursday night, with Zarrar Kahn’s In Flames taking Best Feature and Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher scoring a pair of wins including Best Actor for Saleh Bakri. See the full list below.

The 1975‘s Matty Healy and Ross McDonald shared a kiss onstage during Good Vibes Festival earlier this year.The confirmation – per the New Straits Times – comes after the Malaysian government announced that concerts must have a “kill switch” to cut off performances that break guidelines. At the time, the government was also debating on whether international performers should also be banned from performing in Malaysia.Now, however, the ban is being ruled out, with Deputy communications and digital minister Teo Nie Ching announcing in parliament that local music fans and other international artists should not be punished for one band’s actions.“The 1975 flouted several guidelines and we are in the midst of strengthening the guidelines to avoid reoccurrence,” she said.

WEtv has added another reality series to its books.

Amber Liu, a member of K-pop girl group f(x), has announced new dates for her upcoming 2024 ‘No More Sad Songs’ world tour.Today (December 5), Amber Liu revealed the new Asia, Australia and New Zealand legs of her upcoming 2024 tour. It’ll feature four shows in Asia – in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore – alongside two Aussie concerts and one New Zealand performance in February and March.In addition, the f(x) singer also announced that indie pop singer-songwriter Marielle Kraft will join her on the North American leg of the tour, which features eight shows across January 2024.

Naman Ramachandran Creative Stew is unveiling an eclectic TV and film slate at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market (ATF). Creative Stew, a decade old Malaysian content production company with operations in Singapore and India, is best known for “That Cover Girl,” the first Malaysian original series on Prime Video, which is a hit for the service.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 has struck off the coast of the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

Naman Ramachandran Yosep Anggi Noen, whose “24 Hours with Gaspar” premiered at Busan and is playing at the Red Sea and Singapore festivals, has lined up his next movie, an untitled horror film. The film is produced by Palari Films, the Jakarta-based production company behind Edwin’s “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash,” which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2021. Noen is no stranger to Locarno glory himself, having been nominated in 2012 for “Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses” and in 2016 for “Solo, Solitude” and scored a special mention in 2019 for “The Science of Fictions.” The untitled horror-drama-thriller film, produced by Palari’s Muhammad Zaidy and Meiske Taurisia, will unite acclaimed actors Happy Salma and Putri Marino for the first time.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese feature “The Mimicry” was named best picture at the first edition of the Cinema at Sea – Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival. The festival ran Nov.

Janine Stein “Tiger Stripes”, the opening film of this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), was “kind of a joke that became something very, very close to me and ended up being this film,” Malaysian filmmaker, Amanda Nell Eu, said during Thursday night’s opening ceremony. Speaking to a packed theatre before the screening, Eu said her inspiration had been puberty mixed with her sense of humor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese films “Trending Topic” and “The Invisible Guest” will be given theatrical releases in Malaysia and Singapore in the coming month. This step follows agreements between Chinese streamer iQiyi and Malaysian cinema chain GSC and Singaporean distributor Clover Films.

Chinese streamer and producer iQiyi is joining forces with Malaysia’s GSC Movies and Singapore-based Clover Films to handle theatrical distribution of its Chinese-language films in their respective territories. 

China-set drama Stonewalling, co-directed by husband-and-wife team Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji, won best narrative feature at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, which is celebrating its 60th edition this year.

Myah Ross Monroe’s House of Love 

Coldplay show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which gives organisers the power to pull the plug on the concert if the band misbehaves.The new addition of the switch comes ahead of the British pop band’s show at the Bukit Jalil stadium tonight (November 22), and allows organisers to cut the show instantaneously if the band makes any controversial comments or actions while on stage.As confirmed by Malaysian communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, if used, the switch would cut off the power to the instruments, sound systems and other equipment, and was agreed to by the concert’s organiser Live Nation.Fahmi, however, said he does not foresee any instances of the Chris Martin-fronted band stepping out of line while mid-performance, particularly as the members have openly voiced their support for those in Gaza amid the Israel-Palestine conflict.“The prime minister has also said the band you know, is very supportive of Palestine. So, we are upbeat about the concert today,” Mr Fahmi told reporters in the Malaysian capital (via The Straits Times).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section has joined forces with The Philippines for the latest edition of its Directors Factory professional training program. Operating since 2013, when it kicked off in Taiwan, the Directors’ Factory works with a new partner country each year to mentor eight budding filmmakers who are preparing ambitious first or second feature projects that they will make in pairs. The four resulting co-written and co-directed short films will be screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight (aka Quinzaine des Cineastes) in May. Four pairs were selected in Manila in October: Eve Baswel (Philippines) and Gogularaajan Rajendran (Malaysia); Maria Estela Paiso (Philippines) and Ashok Vish (India); Arvin Belarmino (Philippines) and Lomorpich Rithy (aka YoKi) (Cambodia); Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan (Philippines) and Tan Siyou (Singapore). They have now begun writing their screenplays and are expected to shoot their films March in Dapitan, a city in The Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula, known for its many shrines and as the place of exile of Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal. These days it is a hub for domestic and international tourism. Post-production of the four titles will then be hosted in Quezon City, which seeks to become the new film capital of the Philippines and where many of the country’s post-production houses are already based. The program is operated and co-produced by Epicmedia Productions of The Philippines and Dominique Welinski, founder and curator of DW (France).