Malaysia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

French studio Federation’s new theatrical sales arm Ginger & Fed and Paris-based genre specialist WTFilms have unveiled a slew of AFM deals for apocalyptic thriller Survive.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Auto-bio Pamphlet,” a Marathi-language film that is both a love story and a rage against class divisions, will open the 18th edition of the Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival later this month. The festival will close with the world premiere of spy thriller “13 Bombs in Jakarta.” JAFF run Nov.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Adele Lim, the screenwriter behind “Crazy Rich Asians” and Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” animation, says that the opportunities for Asian filmmakers are growing as Hollywood is becoming more receptive to international talent. “[In Hollywood] I felt that I was disadvantaged, coming from Malaysia. It is not the cultural nexus,” said Lim, whose infancy was in Malaysia, before her family moved to the U.S.

Adele Lim, screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians and writer-director of Joy Ride, talked about the realities of bringing Asian stories to mainstream global audiences in a panel, ‘Asian Rising Power in Hollywood’, on the second day of Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF). 

IVE have announced the stops and dates for their upcoming 2023 to 2024 ‘Show What I Have’ world tour.Today (November 8), IVE announced the dates for the upcoming Asia, US, Europe, Latin America and Australia legs of their 2023 to 2024 ‘Show What I Have’ world tour. This comes just a month after they kicked off the tour in October with two shows in Seoul, South Korea.The K-pop girl group will kick off the Asia leg of their newly announced tour in November 2023, with two shows in Yokohama, Japan.

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy once missed his mother Denise Welch’s wedding to support The Rolling Stones.Welch made the revelation during this morning’s (November 6) episode of Loose Women and said that it was ahead of her third wedding in July 2013 when she received the call from her son.“Matty, my Matthew, he missed my wedding to Lincoln [Townley],” she said (via Hello!). “I remember when he called me I was doing a play, and he said, ‘Mum, what would you say if I told you I can’t make your wedding.’“This was ten years ago.

As Made In Chelsea returned to our screens last month, after a dramatic summer away in Corsica, the new series hasn't only brought a fresh batch of drama but also new cast members, including Lauren Sintès. So far on the latest series, Lauren has caught the eye of a few boys and sparked a row with Willow Day over Harvey Armstrong. Harvey and Willow appeared to be building a stronger connection while away in Corsica, but upon returning to Chelsea, Harvey seemed to lose interest in Willow and it wasn’t long before he set his sights on Lauren.

controversial set at Good Vibes Festival, where lead singer Matty Healy criticised the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws and kissed bassist Ross McDonald. Shortly afterwards, the set was cut short citing “non-compliance with local performance guidelines”.

The Star.The offending kiss, between The 1975 vocalist Matt Healy and fellow band member Ross MacDonald, sparked controversy in the conservative, majority-Muslim nation. Healy, who identifies as straight but has reportedly engaged in similar actions during other performances, kissed MacDonald following a rant against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws.As a result, the remainder of the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur, where the band was playing, was canceled.The festival organizer, Future Sound Asia, blamed Healy for the loss of money stemming from the cancellation and demanded that the band pay $2.6 million in damages.Future Sound Asia also claims the incident has damaged the public’s opinion of the Good Vibes festival, potentially affecting future ticket sales if more conservative concert-goers refuse to spend money.The 1975 has also been banned from performing in Malaysia as a result of the incident.Teo noted that police officers are conducting background checks on foreign artists before allowing them to perform in the country.

Eric Nam has broken his silence after facing backlash over liking a post about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.Earlier this month, Eric Nam had liked an Instagram post that had talked about taking a neutral view in the wake of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Soon after, the singer faced criticism by fans who were unhappiness over his alleged stance, per Koreaboo.In a new statement today (October 30), Eric Nam addressed why he liked the Instagram post, saying that he “believed [that it] expressed a position of anti-violence, anti-hate and was against intolerance”.“My liking of that post was a reaction to waking up to devastating news, as someone who has always been pro-human, pro-peace, and for love and equality for all,” he added.“My heart is broken for the Palestinian and Israeli families that have been ripped apart by violence and are facing unimaginable loss,” he continued.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Boutique sales agent, House of Film has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Asia, to represent the Malaysian mythical horror film “Curse of the Totem” (aka “Sumpahan Jerunei”) from Produksi Seni Duapuluh-Duapuluh SDN BHD. Based on the 13th Century Borneo sacrificial rituals, “Curse of the Totem” tells the story of Dr.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Six film projects currently at development stage have been selected to take part in a workshop session as part of mylab+@Jogja next month. The six share a common characteristic of Indonesian co-production and a recurring theme of luminescence. “This theme underscores the importance of having the distinctive light of Asian cinema arise from its own characteristics.

Naman Ramachandran Chinese superstar actor and producer Fan Bingbing will be the 2023 recipient of the Singapore International Film Festival‘s (SGIFF) Cinema Icon Award. The festival will screen three of Fan’s films, curated by her – the recent “Green Night,” “Buddha Mountain” and “Double Xposure” – and the star will walk the red carpet on opening night, Nov. 30.

Ed Sheeran has announced the cities, dates and venues for the highly anticipated Asia leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x’ tour.Ed Sheeran will hold a total of nine concerts across Asia, from January to March 2024. It’ll kick-off in late-January with two show in Japan, before heading to Taiwan and Southeast Asia in February.

Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu has distanced herself from the cut of her feature film Tiger Stripes, which is being released theatrically in Malaysia on October 19 for one week in an Oscars-qualifying run. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amanda Nell Eu, director of breakout film “Tiger Stripes,” has disowned the censored version of the movie that launched in her native Malaysia on Thursday. “I do not stand behind the cut that will be shown in local cinemas […] the film that will be shown in local cinemas is not the film that we made, and it is not the film that won the Grand Prize of the Critics Week in Cannes,” said Eu in a statement (see below for full letter). The debut feature had received wide acclaim as the first Malaysian film in many years to play in Cannes, the first by a Malaysian woman director. It won a prize as best picture in Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar, will be the opening film of the Singapore International Film Festival and has been selected as Malaysia’s Oscar contender. Pitched somewhere between a coming-of-age drama and a body horror movie, the film tells the story of a 12-year-old who becomes the first among her friends to reach puberty.

Prakazrel “Pras” Michel has entered a motion for a new trial, claiming that his lawyer blew the closing arguments at the original hearing by relying too much on artificial intelligence to craft his final pitch.

Fugees is asking for a new trial in his money laundering case after claiming that his lawyer created a “failed” closing argument with generative AI.In April this year, Michel was convicted for his involvement in a billion-dollar Malaysian money laundering scheme.As reported by Reuters, however, a brief filed on Michel’s behalf has requested a retrial on the grounds that the musician’s previous attorney David Kenney reportedly used the AI program EyeLevel.AI to create the closing statement.According to the brief, filed by Michel’s new legal representation team at ArentFox Schiff: “Kenner’s closing argument made frivolous arguments, misapprehended the required elements, conflated the schemes and ignored critical weaknesses in the government’s case.”It continued: “The AI program failed Kenner, and Kenner failed Michel. The closing argument was deficient, unhelpful and a missed opportunity that prejudiced the defense.”Kenner has not responded to the brief.

National Geographic has given a green light to No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski, a docuseries hosted by the Queer Eye star, from Gordon Ramsay’s Studio Ramsay Global.

IMAX is continuing its expansion in Malaysia and its partnership with Golden Screen Cinemas, pacting for six state-of-the-art IMAX with Laser systems. The agreement will cover five new locations including the Aurum TRX in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, and one upgrade to the Southkey Megamall location in IOI City Mall. With the new deal, IMAX has now completed 13 signings for its systems this year in Malaysia, making it the top international growth market for IMAX in 2023 to date.

Lauren Mayberry covered The 1975‘s ‘Paris’ during her show in Paris last night (October 15).The Chvrches’ frontwoman performed the song – lifted from the band’s 2016 ‘I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It’ – at the La Maroquinerie towards the end of her set.Much like the original track, Mayberry performed it at the same gentle tempo. You can listen to it below.The song was part of her current European tour which kicked off last week.During her set, she also performed Madonna‘s classic hit single ‘Like A Prayer’, which the Queen of Pop herself sang during her first night at The O2 in London over the weekend, along with a host of solo tracks she has been playing throughout her tour.The singer also performed her new single ‘Shame’, which she released last week.

Kim Jong-un is alleged to have executed a general by 'throwing him into fish tank full of deadly piranhas' - in an act reminiscent of a James Bond film. The unnamed general was accused of planning a coup against Mr Jong-un, the Supreme Leader of North Korea, but ended up as the latest victim of the newly-developed execution method.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is towering over the global box office with estimates of $126 million to $130 million in its first weekend of release. It’s a seismic start for any concert film, but this is particularly impressive because it was announced just six weeks ago and unspooled on the big screen with minimal marketing dollars. “The Eras Tour” which is produced by Swift and distributed by AMC Theatres, collected a projected $31 million to $33 million from 94 international markets.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Facing tight budgets and continued uncertainty in the entertainment sector, buyers at this year’s MipJunior are expected to largely stick to tried and true IP, but many still see opportunities for exciting original content. In addition to presenting the hottest new kids’ shows from around the globe, MipJunior, which runs Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Tiger Stripes,” the Malaysian coming-of-age, body horror film that debuted in Cannes’ Critics Week section has been set as the opening title for this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (Nov. 30 – Dec.

The 1975‘s Matty Healy has hit out at The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas‘ comments about their LGBTQ+ stance in Malaysia.It comes after the 1975 were banned from Malaysia after their set was cut short during day one of the Good Vibes Festival on July 21, when Healy criticised the Malaysian government for anti-LGBTQ laws during their headlining set.Healy also kissed bandmate and bassist Ross MacDonald on the lips onstage before their set was cut short.The cancellation resulted in The Strokes’ set being pulled from Good Vibes and led to Casablancas sharing his own thoughts on Instagram.He wrote at the time: “it def helped the white outsider awareness yes, for sure… i felt the same. had no idea.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Some twenty aspiring film projects have been selected to participate in the inaugural edition of the Qcinema Project Market (Nov. 18-19) that this year represents and expansion of the QCinema Film Festival in The Philippines’ Quezon City. The selected titles include development projects by several of East Asia’s better known independent and art-house directors and projects.

Matty Healy delivered a lengthy speech regarding The 1975’s recent ban from Malaysia during a show in Dallas on Monday night (October 9). In July the band were ejected from the stage during a set at Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes Festival and subsequently banned from returning to perform in the country after Healy spoke out about the government's anti-LGBTQ laws and kissed his bandmate, Ross MacDonald.

The 1975‘s Matty Healy has delivered a lengthy speech regarding the band’s recent ban from Malaysia for criticising the government’s LGBTQ+ stance at their show in Texas last night (October 9).The band were banned from Malaysia after their set was cut short during day one of Good Vibes Festival on July 21, when Healy criticised the Malaysian government for anti-LGBTQ laws during their headlining set at Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes Festival.Healy also kissed bandmate and bassist Ross MacDonald on the lips onstage before their set was cut short two songs later – just seven songs into their setlist – and it was announced that the band were, from then, banned from Malaysia.Future Sound Asia (FSA), the organiser of Kuala Lumpur’s Good Vibes Festival (GVF), then demanded the band pay RM12.3million (£2,099,154) in damages after Healy‘s “indecent behaviour” caused the cancellation of the festival, with artists and vendors complaining of lost earnings. The Malaysian LGBTQ+ community also condemned Healy over his actions, arguing that: “Foreigners don’t get to come in and shit on us and tell us how to do things, especially when they only make it worse for us”.During the band’s set last night, ahead of their performance of ‘Love It If We Made It’, Healy gave his views on the incident and spoke about in great length.Matty Healy’s full speech on Malaysia incident in Fort Worth tonightThanks to Emily and talktorossabouit#The1975 #SATVB pic.twitter.com/1DfP18kXND— The 1975 TH (@the1975_thteam) October 10, 2023Matty Healy’s full speech on Malaysia incident transcribed by 1975Archives #The1975 #SATVB pic.twitter.com/lkhBcBKXxF— The 1975 TH (@the1975_thteam) October 10, 2023“Alright ladies and gentlemen,” he began.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese actors King Jieh-wen and Hsueh Shih-ling and Indonesia’s Angga Yunanda are set to star in “Malice,” a multinational Asian thriller that will shoot next year. The film’s producers, actors and government backers presented the fully-assembled package to press and industry on Monday at the Busan International Film Festival. The film, pitched as “a road movie at sea,” is a dark tale of three men who put out to sea in search of a particular, large swordfish that had been rumored to have died out.

U.S. producer E. Bennett Walsh, who has made films including Mortal Kombat, Meg 2: The Trench and The Kite Runner across the APAC region, says he’s got his eye on Japan and Korea as the next hot destinations for footloose Hollywood productions.

Taiwanese actors Jieh-Wen King and Hsueh Shih-Ling and Indonesian actor Angga Yunanda have been cast in Lim Lungyin’s action adventure Malice, an amitious co-production between Taiwan, Czech Republic and Indonesia.

Naman Ramachandran The enduring popularity of the Asian LGBT and horror genres and the relationship with giant streamer Netflix were among the topics of discussion at a lively panel focusing on distribution at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. “I hate the fact that all the producers want to work with Netflix, it is also killing international sales as well. Because if all the big titles go to Netflix, it leaves very little room for independent distributors,” said Chen Shao-Yi, general manager at Screenworks Asia.

Naman Ramachandran Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is set to continue its already extensive investment in Indonesia. The company will announce a slate of Indonesian films imminently. It is also planning to produce films and series that can be remade in other international territories, said Justin Kim, head of international productions at CJ ENM, which has production and distribution businesses in Indonesia.

Academy Awards. The film had its debut in the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes film festival in May and was directed by first-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. The announcement was made on Thursday by Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil following selection by the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS). The film was a eight-way coproduction involving companies from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Indonesia and Qatar, and emerged from a succession of labs, project markets and international funds. Since winning the Grand Prix at the Critics’ Week, “Tiger Stripes” has been a popular choice on the festival circuit, with stops so far at Neufchatel, The Hamptons, Sitges, London, Fantasia, Taipei and next week’s Pingyao events.Dir. Amanda Nell Eu. International sales: Films Boutique. All submissions and materials for the 2023 race must be received by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences by 5 p.m. on Oct. 2. And films must meet all the qualifying conditions between Dec. 1, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2023. A shortlist of 15 will be announced on Dec. 21. Final nominees will be announced on Jan. 23, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024. Argentina, the South American country with the best Academy Awards history, has chosen as its Academy Awards submission “The Delinquents,” Rodrigo Moreno’s incorrigibly playful heist movie, which world premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard, delighting critics.

The 1975’s future is looking pretty “indefinite.”