Twitch-O-Meter: Stefan’s MEGA-ToM! (Twitch-O-Meter turns 50, part six)

1. Royston Tan

His latest movie this year, 881, which touched on the local subculture of “Getai” (song stage) was a blockbuster, raking in more than S$3.5 dollars in box office receipts, propelling him into the rare ranks of Singaporean filmmakers whose >movies had crossed the million dollar mark.
Known for more arthouse and edgy fares in his older works like 15 and 4:30, Royston’s next project is going to be the biographical telling of the life of Rose Chan, a stripper who lived in the 50s in Singapore/Malaysia. More song and raunchy dance routines perhaps? Only time will tell.


2. Eric Khoo

Eric’s been doing a lot more producing than directing, with the last feature film he directed being Be With Me which opened the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight. He’s credited with putting Singapore back on the cinematic map with his works like Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys.
Having used Mandarin and its dialects, and an almost silent movie in Be With Me, his next movie will take on another linguistic turn and having it made in Tamil, entitled My Magic, about the father-son relationship between a magician and his son.



3. Tan Pin Pin

Tan Pin Pin’s documentaries so far have struck a chord with local audiences, playing to sell out crowds in a one theatre limited run.
Her latest, Invisible City, will be screened at Berlinale Forum Section next year, so those of you who will be there, do check it out and find yourself discovering a little bit more of our island city from the past.



4. Jack Neo

Arguably the most commercial movie producer-writer-director in the last 10 years, his movies have consistently crossed the million dollar mark in box office receipts, with his uncanny knack in tackling heartland issues and infusing inoffensive socio-political commentary into the narrative of his films. His recent setting up of a film studio, Neo Studios, show his rather shrewd business acumen, and ambition in making inroads to the Chinese market, paving the way for local films to bigger markets and opportunities.
His next movie, at this time of writing, is likely to go head-to-head with Stephen Chow’s highly anticipated CJ7 over the 2008 Lunar New Year period (in Feb) here in Singapore, and it remains to be seen whether his seemingly “My Wife is a Gangster” styled movie starring Fann Wong (his leading lady from Just Follow Law), can go one on one with aliens from outer space, and who will flinch first.


5. Kelvin Tong

He made one well received horror movie The Maid, which earned him an entry into the elusive “Million Dollar” directors group here, but followed that up with the pretty dismal effort Men In White, a horror-comedy which wasn’t really frightening, nor funny, even though it tried.
His next movie, Rule #1, is currently under post-production, a supernatural thriller starring Ekin Cheng and Shawn Yue, shot in Hong Kong, and due for release in March 2008.

Related Links

• Joey's MEGA-ToM (part one)
• Todd's MEGA-ToM (part two)
• Ardvark's MEGA-ToM (part three)
• Collin's MEGA-ToM (part four)
• Kurt's MEGA-ToM (part five)
• Timo's MEGA-ToM (part seven)
• Peter's MEGA-ToM (part eight)
• Swarez's MEGA-ToM (part nine)
• JMaruyama's MEGA-ToM Aftershock (late submission)