Double Vision (Malaysia), the production arm of Vision New Media, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures (Singapore) and Scorpio East Pictures (Singapore) is pleased to announce their collaboration to produce Jack NeoÂ’s first-ever black comedy action film, Ah Long Ltd (working title). The Mandarin film, which has a budget of approximately RM $3million (S$1.2million), will be concurrently released in Singapore and Malaysia in the fourth quarter of this year. Veteran Hong Kong producer Sampson Yuen will be overseeing the production.
Ah Long Ltd takes a close look at the triad world and illegal money-lending business in Singapore and Malaysia. Audiences can look forward to Jack NeoÂ’s signature jokes in this light-hearted and humorous black comedy that makes fun of the money-lending business and the rivalry between competing triad gangs in the two countries.
With this collaboration, the three companies aim to gain a foothold in the Asian Chinese-language film market. Ah Long Ltd is Double VisionÂ’s first foray into film production, and the second Jack Neo film that Scorpio East Pictures is participating in. The film also marks the seventh time that MediaCorp Raintree Pictures and Jack Neo are collaborating. The two long-time collaborators have scored some of the highest grossing films in Singapore, such as I Not Stupid and I Not Stupid Too.
Executive producer duties will be undertaken by Lim Beng Teck of Double Vision; Daniel Yun, MD of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures; and John Ho, CEO of Scorpio East Pictures. The parties sealed their partnership at a signing ceremony cum press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
Says Low Huoi Seong, Chief Executive Officer of Vision New Media: “We are very excited about our first foray into film production. Over the last twenty years, Double Vision has grown into one of the leading television content producers in Malaysia, and we recently spread our wings to other countries in the region. As a natural progression to this, the movie industry was always going to be the next big opportunity for us. Over the years, we have been approached to participate in many projects, but we have been patient in finding the right project with the right partners and the right team. I am excited at the potential of this project, and am pleased to say that it was worth the wait!”
Daniel Yun, Managing Director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures says: “I have always encouraged Jack Neo to look beyond our shores and we have worked hard together to have his films travel beyond Singapore. As a result, the I Not Stupid franchise’s next installment will be shot in China, with partners from China and Hong Kong. Ah Long Ltd builds on this and starts another crucial partnership between us and Jack Neo. Raintree Pictures has been exploring partnerships with movie companies in Malaysia, and working with Double Vision is indeed a very good start!”
John Ho, Chief Executive Officer of Scorpio East Pictures added: “Following the runaway success of I Not Stupid Too, we have come to realise that good partnerships are essential for a film to succeed. We are very pleased to expand our investment horizon for film production beyond Singapore to the region, and we are excited to work with Jack Neo once again. We believe that this action comedy, with its strong cast and appeal of hilarious storyline and martial arts elements, will strike a chord with many local and regional audiences.”
Ah Long Ltd brings together the best of creative, acting and production professionals from Malaysia, Singapore and the region. The partners are confident that this Chinese action black comedy will delight audiences with its different approach and break new grounds in filmmaking for the two countries.
