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SINGAPORE : MediaCorp Raintree Pictures turns 10 years old on Tuesday.
Channel NewsAsia's Lynlee Foo sat down and spoke to Raintree Pictures' Managing Director Daniel Yun on The Big Picture, a fortnightly news segment on the arts and entertainment scene, and finds out what's ahead for the company.
Foo: It has been 10 years for MediaCorp Raintree Pictures. What has been the most satisfying and what was the hardest?
Yun: The fact that we are still around and finally getting support from places that matters, like our senior management, certain quarters in the government, the creative quarters in Singapore, and the fact that we had a movie called "I Not Stupid", a musical work called "881", our own horror hit like "The Maid", - these are milestones in their own right.
Then (there had been) one flop after another. (That) was a time when it was very trying because the money was not coming and ... viability was really top priority. I mean, should we close down, should we just wrap up a movie?... We are still in a tunnel but there's still light at the end of the tunnel... We are not really viable yet but we see the light in individual projects which we've made money on and it's clearer now what we need to do."
Foo: Is this very struggle, the thing that keeps you going, that challenges you?
Yun: What keeps me going is really the ultimate medium for creative people, and for me, it's the challenge of making something creative and commercially-viable. You have to see it from their (creative people) point of view. For example, before "881," you can't (tell) that the film would look like this, that the film will have Hokkien songs. How do you distill that and turn it into a commercial commodity that people will go and see? I think that's what working with the creative people and adding value is all about.
Foo: You've worked with a number of creative types - Singapore filmmakers like Royston Tan, Eric Khoo, Kelvin Tong. Do they tend to make films that they want to make, rather than those that are commercially-viable like you said?
Yun: I think we started out not really understanding the creative types. I think it's very easy to say "these are the creative types, deal with them." But I think if you get close to it and you're working with the creative issues then you understand that an under-developed market is really a market where creative people make personal films. As far as they are concerned, they have done their part. Now that's when you balance the commercial with the creative, you balance art with business.
Foo: Raintree Pictures have produced many movies from "I Not Stupid", "Homerun" to the more recent grittier movies like "Protege", "The Tattooist" and "One Last Dance". What's next for Raintree? Will we see a political movie in the future?
Yun: It takes so much to make a film and if we're going to be really serious about this business, we should push the envelope creatively, in terms of subject matter. "Money No Enough 2", which is coming up soon, is hitting screens 10 years after the first one came out. But it's a different film. It's pushing the envelope in terms of telling the story not just about not having enough money but also the idea of being poor.
As far as political films are concerned, we've been nurturing a film called "1965." It is a film that talks about the people who found Singapore, about our Minister Mentor, and the political people who helped make Singapore what it is today. I think a lot of people will be wondering why we are making a film like that, if we will be tripping over OB (out-of-bound) markers, or tripping over areas that are sensitive.
We're not people who make films just for the sake of creating a talking point. If we are going somewhere that's more sensitive, we'll tread carefully. But the more important thing is to get it right... You want to do the right thing as a serious filmmaker, but that's not necessarily the easy thing to do. Doing the right thing as a serious filmmaker means you need to start doing things that are not so easy, like making a political film or a film with political content. You need to tread carefully to get the sensitive aspects done. I think the Singapore environment and system is mature enough to want something like that.
Foo: 10 years have passed since you set up Raintree. What is your vision for the next 10 years?
Yun: I think what you would see from now on will be bigger films that are driven by us and for a change, (the bigger) companies will be investing in these films. For example, "China Rose" or "Chinese Rose", we're looking at film companies from Asia to invest in this film.
Previously, we've invested in "The Eye" and "Infernal Affairs 2"... But this time around, we have a film by Kelvin Tong called the "Monsoon Murders". It's a film that you can't make anywhere else except in this part of the world. It is set against the colonial times of Singapore, and it's very interesting, very tropical. And it's really like "Memories of A Murder" meets "LA Confidential," but Singapore-style or Southeast Asian style. And I think our filmmakers are ready. It's good enough of a film for filmmakers and film companies to invest in. And that would be a major change. We would not be questioning if our movies would travel, it would definitely travel.
Foo: How close is Raintree Pictures to getting an Oscar nomination or even an award?
Yun: Every project has a potential of a break-out hit. If I tell you that it is another 5 years down the road, I think that's not being responsible. But I would say is that from now on, every project (we're undertaking), we will be working towards that.
Raintree Pictures’ latest film "Money No Enough 2" will hit the big screen in Singapore on July 31. - CNA /ls
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