Malaysia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Vietnam has banned commercial screenings of Warner Bros’ Barbie due to a scene that depicts a map of the South China Sea with the “nine-dash line” that is contested by the Vietnamese government. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Warner Bros. Discovery will rebrand its kids’ TV channel Boomerang to Cartoonito in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, with effect from July 28. The company said that the “switch is a result of positive feedback to the Cartoonito-branded block on Boomerang and Cartoon Network launched in 2022, and is focused on being more inclusive to pre-school aged viewers.” Sources close to the company explained that the move is “part of a big regional and global commitment by WBD to preschool content.” It follows Cartoonito rebrands and launches in other international territories including EMEA and LatAm.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The government of Malaysia said Friday that it will prosecute Meta Platforms for the failures of Facebook to comply with its requests to remove content. In a statement, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission said that Facebook “has recently been plagued by a significant volume of undesirable contents” relating to the aspects of “race, royalty, religion, defamation, impersonation, online gambling as well as scam advertisements.” It said that it had asked Facebook to remove some content.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The members of the international juries that will decide the Magnolia prizes at the ongoing Shanghai Television Festival were Thursday made to do double duty as speakers in public masterclasses that were open to a generation of aspiring documentary and animation makers. David Stephan, jury president in the animation category, along with fellow judges Spencer Ooi and Jia Fou, spoke at length about getting their starts in the business and finding inspiration. “When I studied animation, I didn’t have a textbook available. I saw extremely limited things, so I did further research to make myself understand what I was doing in such a career,” said Jia.

Stephen Rodrick Trauma television used to be simple. When I was a kid, the world united for news of the 1987 rescue of Baby Jessica, a Texas toddler who fell down a well in her aunt’s backyard. There were interviews with pastors, drilling experts and second cousins. Then, we cut back to desperate rescue workers digging under klieg lights. The rescue was the thing. (Jessica was rescued and was rewarded with an audience with, uh, Ronald Reagan).  Modern coverage is now more intricate and morally dubious. 9/11 saw somber reporting on vigils and ash-covered New Yorkers desperately looking for loved ones. But it also featured Donald Trump on the phone as the towers smoldered. He bragged that he now owned the tallest building in Manhattan. This was both gross and untrue, a prophecy of things to come.

PCCW and Canal+ have announced a strategic partnership through which the French media giant will become a significant minority shareholder in PCCW’s Asian streaming service Viu. 

The Locarno Film Festival will fete multi-award-winning Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang with an Honorary Career Leopard award at the upcoming edition running from August 2 to 12.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Barbarian Invasion” director Tan Chi Mui from Malaysia scored a top result from the SIFF Project Market. The market is a component event of the Shanghai International Film Festival, which wrapped up over the weekend. Tan’s “All About Yuyu” was named as the “recommended project for creativity” at the project market’s closing event. The project, which is already being structured as a Malaysia-China coproduction, is a story that combines contemporary wuxia (heroic martial arts) with youth elements. “I want to make a modern wuxia film to recapture the magical feeling I had when watching films during my childhood,” she told local media.

Aisling Bea inspired Kodaline’s Mark Prendergast to go solo in new solo outing, Man Alive.Prendergast has now shared the debut single of his new solo project, ‘Be Someone’ that you can listen to below.According to a statement, his friend, actor Aisling Bea, proved to be “a pivotal influence for him to take Man Alive to the wider world.”A statement revealed that “he played her an early version of ‘Be Someone’ when they were in Los Angeles in 2021, and her belief in the project really pushed him to make it happen.” It also noted that she encouraged him to change the first provisional name he had for his solo project, ‘Blood Type’, telling him it was “shit and doesn’t match your music.” Eventually, he went with Man Alive.Speaking about his new single, Prendergast said: “‘Be Someone’ is about a long-distance relationship falling apart, and how when you’re with somebody, they make you feel like a certain type of person, but then when you end the relationship and you’re by yourself, you always become a completely different person.”A statement added that the break-up, followed by lockdown, inspired Prendergast to write, record and produce a catalogue of songs from his home studio.You can listen to the song here:Earlier this year, Kodaline announced a tour of Asia this autumn, where they will travel to Singapore, Philippines, Taipei, Bangkok and more.They will kick off the tour September 5 in Singapore and then play shows in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Seoul.

Sony’s biggest hit of the summer, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, won’t be getting a release in the United Arab Emirates, Deadline has confirmed. The pic was set for release on June 22 in the Gulf region.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The International Olympic Committee said on Thursday that Swiss-based, Chinese-owned Infront Sports & Media would handle broadcast right sales in much of Asia for the next series of Summer and Winter games. The deal covers 22 territories including Afghanistan, Brunei, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam – but not China, Japan or South Korea, and runs 2026-2032. That means it will cover the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Summer games. The 2030 Winter Olympics, which have yet to be allocated a host, and all Youth Olympic Games during this period will also be covered.

J. Kim Murphy “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” will not be released in the United Arab Emirates after failing to pass the country’s censorship requirements, Variety has confirmed. A scene featuring a poster in the background of the frame that depicts the transgender flag and reads “Protect Trans Lives” is said to be one of the concerns that prevented a release from being approved, sources said. The United Arab Emirates ban comes only a week ahead of the Sony Pictures film’s intended release date in the region of June 22. However, it isn’t uncommon for the country’s censorship board to axe the imminent release of films featuring LGBTQ+ content. Another animated film faced a similar predicament last summer, when Disney and Pixar’s “Lightyear” was not released in the country due to a scene depicting a same-sex kiss between two lesbian space rangers. The “Toy Story” spinoff was also banned from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Malaysia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong icon Johnnie To will head the jury of the sixth edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) next month. Other jurors include: Truong Ngoc Anh from Vietnam, Ryuichi Hiroki from Japan, Zizan Razak from Malaysia, and Eric Khoo from Singapore. The event will open with the world premiere of “Eraser,” directed by Mark Lee See Teck. The Malaysian film features the final on-screen appearance of the late Adibah Noor, a beloved Malaysian gem known for her timeless charisma. MIFFest will play “See You at the Rally,” directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Kanny Chang as its closing title. The festival is set to take place at LaLaport BBCC from July 23-29 and will play a total of 42 films from 15 countries.

2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has stoked outrage in Malaysia and Singapore — but the US comedian who told it isn’t saying sorry.Jocelyn Chia, a Boston-born, American-Singaporean stand-up comedian, performed the bit at Manhattan’s Comedy Cellar back in April. This week, social media users were incensed after the club posted a clip of the joke in which Chia made light of the historical tensions between Malaysia and Singapore.The now-viral joke dives into the historical separation of the two nations, noting that Singapore has become a “first world country” while Malaysia has remained a “developing” one.She then likened the split to a romantic breakup and imagined Malaysia trying to woo Singapore back, saying that it hadn’t visited because “my airplanes cannot fly,” she said in the video clip, adding: “What? Malaysia Airlines going missing not funny?”She then quipped, “Some jokes don’t land.” Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China, in March 2019 when it disappeared with 239 passengers aboard.

A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts.” The 10-episode series is based on Chinese-American author Ying Chang Compestine’s bestselling 2016 YA book. Episode 1 of the anthology, titled “Egg Fried Rice,” is currently in production as a pilot order from Singapore’s national media network Mediacorp, and is due an early 2024 release. The project was one of the winning pitches at Mediacorp’s Content Development Pitch 2022 competition, which was part of Creatives Assembly, the company’s annual call for content ideas.

SPOILER ALERT: The 20th season of “Top Chef” is in the books, marking the first time the show has been filmed entirely abroad. Tonight’s finale was held in Paris after a season spent entirely in London. The milestone 20th season featured 16 of the greatest competitors from “Top Chef” iterations around the globe facing off.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S. film and television content captures 30% of viewing time in key Asia-Pacific territories, according to a new research report by consultancy Media Partners Asia. Korean product takes 40%. The study “U.S. Content in the Asia Pacific” tracked the video consumption behavior between January and March this year of some 40,000 consumers in ten Asia-Pacific markets: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Australia, a $2.2 billion SVOD market, exhibits the highest reliance on US entertainment with 72% of measured SVOD viewership, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines where U.S. content accounts for 40-50% of viewership on average, with Indonesia close behind at 35%.

Fugees hosted a surprise reunion as part of a Ms.

Creative Artists Agency announced on Monday that the eighth edition of CAA Moebius, their annual screening series showcasing diverse student filmmakers from around the globe, will return as a live event from June 7-8.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Coldplay — along with Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and others — are among the most environmentally friendly major touring artists in the world, and the group has provided an update on the sustainability initiatives in their “Music of the Spheres” World Tour, which began in March 2022 and has so far sold more than 7 million tickets. According to the report, the current tour: – has so far produced 47% less CO2e emissions than their previous stadium tour in 2016-17; – 66% of all tour waste has been diverted from landfills;

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Malaysian National Film Development Corporation (FINAS), the government-backed agency that oversees the country’s film industry, has dismissed its CEO Nasir Ibrahim after less than two years in the job. It follows the return of Kamil Othman who was appointed chairman in February.

Michelle Yeoh never dreamt she’d become an acclaimed Oscar-winning Hollywood star.

Agence France-Presse news agency, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs admitted to seizing “22 Swatch watches with LGBT elements” at one outlet.According to the notice, the seizure was justified by the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984, a law that has been criticized as draconian for allowing the Home Affairs Minister to censor or restrict news or information if doing so is deemed to be “in the interest of security or public order.”A ministry official, who did not want to be named, defended the seizure to the U.K.-based newspaper The Guardian, saying the watches bore the letters “LGBT” and had six colors instead of the seven that naturally appear in a rainbow.Swatch Group Chief Executive Nick Hayek expressed concern over the raids.“We strongly contest that our collection of watches using rainbow colors and having a message of peace and love could be harmful for whomever,” Hayek said in a statement. “On the contrary, Swatch always promotes a positive message of joy in life. This is nothing political.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Tiger Stripes,” the debut feature of Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu, won the Grand Prize at Cannes’ Critics Week, the Cannes sidebar dedicated to first or second films. The prize was awarded by a jury presided over by Audrey Diwan, the Venice prizewinning director of “Happening.” The French Touch Jury Award went to Belgian director Paloma Sermon-Daï’s “It’s Raining in the House,” a film about adolescence, while the Revelation prize from the Louis Roederer Foundation was handed out to Jovan Ginic, the actor of Vladimir Perisic’s “Lost Country.”  The SACD prize, meanwhile, went to “Le Ravissement” by Iris Kaltenbäck.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Alireza Khatami and Ali Asgari‘s “Terrestrial Verses,” the sole Iranian film premiering in Cannes’ Official Selection, has been acquired for distribution in key European territories. Represented by Films Boutique, “Terrestrial Verses” has been acquired for France (ARP Selection), Benelux (September Films) and Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen). All three banners are leading distributors in their respective territories. Those deals were closed following the film’s well-received world premiere. “Terrestrial Verses” marks the first collaboration between Khatami and Asgari, who are both acclaimed directors.

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has responded to calls for the band to cancel their forthcoming concert in Malaysia.It comes after Nasrudin Hassan, the leader of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), recently called for their show in Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium Bukit Jalil on November 22 to be cancelled.“What does the government want to nurture a culture of hedonism and perversion in this country? I advise you to just cancel this group’s performance in Malaysia. It brings nothing good to religion, race and country,” he said.Following Hassan’s call to cancel the show – which would be the band’s first-ever in the country – several government ministers rebuked the protest.Now, Martin has stepped in to address the row in an interview with Malaysian national radio station HITZ.“Every time I meet Malaysian people, I feel such a sense of love and warmth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amanda Nell Eu’s “Tiger Stripes,” which had its premiere this week in Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is being celebrated as a punchy female-driven debut feature and as the first film by a Malaysian woman director in any section Cannes. The story focuses on a small group of 11 or 12-year-old girls. When one of the friends enters puberty she finds her body changing in unexpected ways. Relations with her friends and family start morphing too. Eu’s finished film straddles the metaphorical drama and body horror genres. “Tiger Stripes” is also a triumph for the now highly-developed global network of project markets, talent development programs, script and production workshops (often labelled as ‘labs’) and grant schemes. These are intended to encourage diversity and nurture film-making talent in countries where that is a rarity or where commercial films crowd out more experimental art-house titles.

Amazon Prime Video has announced its first slate of Malaysian content and localized user experience, including its first Malaysian Originals, romantic drama series That Cover Girl and action film Budak Flat.

CANNES (Reuters) - Gong Li, one of China's best actors, told Reuters on Wednesday that Michelle Yeoh's recent success at the Oscars and Golden Globes was particularly encouraging for Asian actors. "Since the beginning of the epidemic to now, in fact, the film industry has not been so vibrant, not like it was before, so her award is also an encouragement," Gong said.

The use of body horror allegories in cinema to address the physical, physiological, and mental changes brought on by puberty could hardly be called original. However, by delightfully and intelligently remixing symbols and metaphors Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu refreshes the concept in her zesty debut feature “Tiger Stripes.”  The term “body horror” could in fact be considered a misnomer in this case, as our fierce lead protagonist Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) doesn’t undergo anything as monstrous as growing a car in her belly or a biogun out of her hand.

While Southeast Asian films have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival many times before, and even won the Palme d’Or, there’s an energy around the region this year that we haven’t felt on the Croisette at previous editions. 

Super Junior, is set to go on tour this year.Super Junior D&E – comprising Donghae and Hunhyuk – announced their upcoming 2023 ‘DElight Party’ world tour today (May 15) through the duo’s newly opened social media accounts.The pair’s 2023 world tour will kick-off with a two-night concert in Seoul, South Korean on June 24 and 25. Following which, Super Junior D&E will head on the Asia leg of the tour over the next three months, including shows in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and more.In their official announcement, Super Junior D&E also said that more dates will be revealed in the future.

Charna Flam International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) and Women in Animation (WIA) have announced the selection of the five delegates of the second edition of the Stories x Women program. Stories x Women’s works to support and provide opportunities for African, Asia-Pacific Islander and Latin American women animators who want to tell their authentic stories. The program is sponsored by the Walt Disney Company, with additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment. The five are “Superpunk” (Brazil) led by Mirtes Santana and Guilherme Petreca, “Negocio de Brujas” (Chile) led by Paulina Sanhueza Meléndez and Alejandra Jaramillo Fanta, “Nerea” (Dominican Republic) led by Fabiola Contreras Rosso and Arima Léon, “The Golden Pig” (Malaysia) led by Hwei Ling Ow and Kate Goodwin and “Papo Hapo” (Türkiye/Kenya) led by Irmak Atabek Ndungu and Mbithi Masya.

with a sizzling Saint Laurent dress; and now fans are in a tizzy, as this season’s second half hasn’t even been shot yet.But right now, Asbille has more pressing concerns. “We need shelves!” she says, gesturing at the wall behind her, blank but for a dangling electrical cord. I’ve reached her on Zoom at her new place in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Debut feature “Tiger Stripes” has already amassed several firsts – it is the first Malaysian film in Cannes for several years and director Amanda Nell Eu is the country’s first female helmer selected for a festival appearance – and it is now releasing its first trailer. The film, which will play in the Cannes Critics’ Week section is the tale of an 11-year-old girl who starts to experience horrifying changes to her body. Eu says that the film is both a metaphor for issues of female identity and the arrival of puberty and also a body horror entertainer. “This comes from my dark sense of humor. People always label young girls as little monsters. They say that teenage girls are emotional or crazy or hysterical. So, my thinking was ‘why don’t I tell a story about a young girl who actually does turn into a monster’ and let me show you what a monster is. It is a metaphor and a genre film,” she told Variety.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After reaching a fresh peak of 4.6 million net new customer additions in the final quarter of 2022, boosted by the FIFA World Cup soccer competition, premium subscription video growth in Southeast Asia slowed sharply in the first three months of 2023. Research from consultancy and advisory firm Media Partners Asia and its consumer use unit AMPD, showed only 300,000 net new subscriptions between January and March in the five principal markets of Southeast Asia – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The study focused on premium VOD streaming and SVoD, while excluding YouTube, TikTok and other social video platforms.