nazrey
October 29th, 2004, 04:38 PM
Malaysia Goes Hollywood
by Tony Smart
The world-class filming facilities in Malaysia’s new E-village are ready, waiting for the Hollywood megabucks to arrive.
MALAYSIA has opened its very own entertainment city, a kind of Malaysian Disneyland/Universal Studios. Known as ‘E-village’, a hip name that is short for entertainment village but which also conjures up immediate visions of the Internet, the complex is located just outside of Kuala Lumpur in a new township called Dengkil.
Dengkil itself is to be found just south of Cyberjaya, the country’s version of California’s Silicon Valley, in what is known as Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) for the entertainment and multimedia sectors. And E-village is the flagship project of the MSC. It has been designed, as YB Dato’ Amar Leo Moggie, Malaysia’s Minister of Energy, Communications and Multimedia, said at the signing ceremony “to be conducive to the development of high value creative content to meet the demands of Internet users, filmgoers, television audiences, computer games enthusiasts and educationists.”
http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/images/e-village_soundstage.jpg
The Studio Precinct includes world-class sound stage facilities for film production
Opened on September 8th by Malaysia’s Prime Minister, YAB Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, E-village stands on a 2,000 acre site that will be developed over three phases. Phase One, which comprises the Studio Precinct, a 131 acre complex of eight 70 feet high studios and related multimedia facilities, is complete. The Virtual Studio and Sound Stage offers world class facilities that can provide any international film producer with some of the best production resources and cutting-edge technology available. In particular the Sound Stage offers sound engineers and directors acoustic qualities to die for, whilst the state-of-the-art air-conditioning system ensures silent climate control all year round. The entire Studio complex already ranks as one of Asia’s largest studios and E-village can also represent any film company interested in filming and sourcing equipment, crews and locations in Malaysia.
Phase Two, which will begin early next year, is the Disneyland phase and will comprise wet and dry theme parks, a tropical forest, lakes and hotel accommodation. Other planned attractions include a convention centre, mini Malaysia and a virtual theme park, where you can get rid of any last remaining grasp of reality you might have had.
Phase Three, which should be finished by 2007, will include residential areas, shops, health farms and handicraft centres.
http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/images/e-village_themepark.jpg
Phase Two of the E-village will introduce theme parks and other attractions
As well as attracting foreign film-makers, E-village is also expected to give the Malaysian film business an economic and creative boost, just as the building of the Sepang F1 motor-racing circuit did for the nation’s auto industry. “With E-village,” said Dr Mahathir at the launch, “Malaysia makes its full-scale entry into the film production and entertainment industry. Apart from the first-class production facilities, E-village will be positioned as a competitive alternative to the more established centres of the world.”
At the moment, neither Steven Spielberg nor George Lucas has expressed any interest, but enquiries have been received from the Hong Kong and Indian film industries and, with Malaysia currently such a cheap place to live and work in, it cannot be long before Hollywood comes knocking at the door of E-village.
Already the country as a filming location has been attracting major Hollywood movies, such as Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Mrs Michael Douglas (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Anna and the King with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat. With the E-village Studio Precinct open and ready for business, it is now possible to shoot entire movies in Malaysia, including editing, post-production and all sound effects. Once studio heads in Hollywood become fully aware of Malaysia’s E-village, cost-conscious American producers should be drooling at the possible budget savings.
Which leaves us with the intriguing prospect of La-la land coming to Lah-lah land. Hollywood insiders have long called their town La-la land, a reference to the prevalent mild insanity within their community and a pun on the initials of Los Angeles. And Malaysians use the word ‘lah’ at every opportunity, as in ‘OK, lah’, ‘Nice dress, lah’, ‘See you later, lah’, etc. Is this some form of subliminal seduction on the part of Malaysians, laying the groundwork to make Hollywood feel at home in E-village? We shall see. At the moment, the Malaysian entertainment industry, and its economy, wait with bated breath for the arrival of the Hollywood megabucks. Hopefully this is one offer the American film industry cannot refuse.
source:http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/200012_contents.html
by Tony Smart
The world-class filming facilities in Malaysia’s new E-village are ready, waiting for the Hollywood megabucks to arrive.
MALAYSIA has opened its very own entertainment city, a kind of Malaysian Disneyland/Universal Studios. Known as ‘E-village’, a hip name that is short for entertainment village but which also conjures up immediate visions of the Internet, the complex is located just outside of Kuala Lumpur in a new township called Dengkil.
Dengkil itself is to be found just south of Cyberjaya, the country’s version of California’s Silicon Valley, in what is known as Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) for the entertainment and multimedia sectors. And E-village is the flagship project of the MSC. It has been designed, as YB Dato’ Amar Leo Moggie, Malaysia’s Minister of Energy, Communications and Multimedia, said at the signing ceremony “to be conducive to the development of high value creative content to meet the demands of Internet users, filmgoers, television audiences, computer games enthusiasts and educationists.”
http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/images/e-village_soundstage.jpg
The Studio Precinct includes world-class sound stage facilities for film production
Opened on September 8th by Malaysia’s Prime Minister, YAB Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad, E-village stands on a 2,000 acre site that will be developed over three phases. Phase One, which comprises the Studio Precinct, a 131 acre complex of eight 70 feet high studios and related multimedia facilities, is complete. The Virtual Studio and Sound Stage offers world class facilities that can provide any international film producer with some of the best production resources and cutting-edge technology available. In particular the Sound Stage offers sound engineers and directors acoustic qualities to die for, whilst the state-of-the-art air-conditioning system ensures silent climate control all year round. The entire Studio complex already ranks as one of Asia’s largest studios and E-village can also represent any film company interested in filming and sourcing equipment, crews and locations in Malaysia.
Phase Two, which will begin early next year, is the Disneyland phase and will comprise wet and dry theme parks, a tropical forest, lakes and hotel accommodation. Other planned attractions include a convention centre, mini Malaysia and a virtual theme park, where you can get rid of any last remaining grasp of reality you might have had.
Phase Three, which should be finished by 2007, will include residential areas, shops, health farms and handicraft centres.
http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/images/e-village_themepark.jpg
Phase Two of the E-village will introduce theme parks and other attractions
As well as attracting foreign film-makers, E-village is also expected to give the Malaysian film business an economic and creative boost, just as the building of the Sepang F1 motor-racing circuit did for the nation’s auto industry. “With E-village,” said Dr Mahathir at the launch, “Malaysia makes its full-scale entry into the film production and entertainment industry. Apart from the first-class production facilities, E-village will be positioned as a competitive alternative to the more established centres of the world.”
At the moment, neither Steven Spielberg nor George Lucas has expressed any interest, but enquiries have been received from the Hong Kong and Indian film industries and, with Malaysia currently such a cheap place to live and work in, it cannot be long before Hollywood comes knocking at the door of E-village.
Already the country as a filming location has been attracting major Hollywood movies, such as Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Mrs Michael Douglas (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and Anna and the King with Jodie Foster and Chow Yun Fat. With the E-village Studio Precinct open and ready for business, it is now possible to shoot entire movies in Malaysia, including editing, post-production and all sound effects. Once studio heads in Hollywood become fully aware of Malaysia’s E-village, cost-conscious American producers should be drooling at the possible budget savings.
Which leaves us with the intriguing prospect of La-la land coming to Lah-lah land. Hollywood insiders have long called their town La-la land, a reference to the prevalent mild insanity within their community and a pun on the initials of Los Angeles. And Malaysians use the word ‘lah’ at every opportunity, as in ‘OK, lah’, ‘Nice dress, lah’, ‘See you later, lah’, etc. Is this some form of subliminal seduction on the part of Malaysians, laying the groundwork to make Hollywood feel at home in E-village? We shall see. At the moment, the Malaysian entertainment industry, and its economy, wait with bated breath for the arrival of the Hollywood megabucks. Hopefully this is one offer the American film industry cannot refuse.
source:http://www.sojourn.com.my/archive/2000/12/200012_contents.html