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CANNES, France : The Cannes film festival got off to a glitzy start when it was officially launched on Thursday, with celebrities, industry-types and star gazers gathering on the French Riviera.
A-listers like Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Madonna, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem are just some of the stars expected to walk the red carpet of the 61st edition of the prestigious festival.
And as Cannes swells to a cinematic orgy of over 200,000 participants and film buffs, an announcement was made and an idea tossed about: Is Singapore setting up to be the Hollywood of South-east Asia? It’s a far-fetched idea, but one that’s been given a recent boost with the entry of two players to the local world of filmmaking by the latter part of the year.
At the ongoing Marche du Film (Cannes Film Market), Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj announced that he will be setting up Hyde Park Entertainment Group’s Asian office in Singapore by the third quarter of this year.
With it comes a filmmaking fund worth between $75 million to $100 million, which will be used to produce or co-produce three or four movies annually. The films will be a mix of Hollywood films and cross-cultural productions.
Two days earlier, local company Axxis, which is part of the Cannes contingent led by the Media Development Authority (MDA), also revealed plans to set up a mega-media complex.
The Axxis, to be launched in October, will house offices for film professionals and companies as well as an entertainment centre that includes a five-dimensional Cineplex.
Details will only be announced in October, but such a cineplex goes beyond the three-dimensional element (where cinemagoers don special glasses to watch movies). It will also incorporate the sense of smell and touch into the experience.
Both companies have yet to announce exactly where these will be set up. Axxis marketing head Stanley Toh said “it is a huge investment” and that is expected to be completed by 2011.
Amritraj, who produced movies like :Bringing Down The House and Raising Helen, added, “Singapore is the perfect city to base our new Asian offices. Asia has wonderful talent and facilities, along with great growth potential.”
Hyde Park has already been active in filming movies in Asia, such as Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
Based on the videogame franchise, is in production and stars Smallville hottie Kristin Kreuk and Oscar-nominee Michael Clarke Duncan, along with Singapore’s Edmund Chen and Hong Kong’s Josie Ho.
The MDA’s chief executive officer Christopher Chia described it as a “great coup” for Singapore: “It will undoubtedly attract more exciting film projects and talent and sets the stage for greater collaboration between Singapore media companies and Hyde Park Asia.”
This comes on the heels of recent updates regarding a Hollywood flick that will be partly filmed in Singapore.
Dutch director Jan de Bont has come on board to helm Point Break: Indo, the sequel to the 1991 action flick starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.
De Bont is known for helming action movies like Speed, Twister and the second Lara Croft flick. The movie is being produced by international media company RGM Entertainment, which set up itsregional office in Singapore three years ago.
Axxis also announced on Wednesday it has several projects in production including four live-action/computer-generated feature films valued at over $135 million.
Axxis CEO Benjamin Toh added, “Singapore will be the ultimate media destination for businesses and consumers.” - TODAY/ar
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