RM20 is a big move!

Would the top grossing "Jangan Pandang Belakang" have made even more at the box office if Hollywood movies are more expensive to watch?

27 Dec – Metrowealth head honcho David Teo was unaware of the RM 20 per Hollywood ticket move and calls for a proper sit-down to discuss the merits of such a policy before diving headlong into it.

He is referring to the pending proposal to the Malaysian Film Development Corporation (FINAS) by the Malaysian Film Producers Association (PFM) to jack up the ticket price for Hollywood movies to RM 20, which was reported earlier in the week in the local press.

Speaking via telephone to Cinema Online, the prolific producer, who is also part of FINAS, said: "This is a sensitive issue so let's not get carried away. It involves a lot of competing interests. They had a meeting but I was totally unaware that this was brought up because it wasn't in the agenda, and I couldn't attend it because I was busy. Being one of the most active film producers in the country, I urge everybody to consider this deep-reaching move thoroughly because it involves introducing an artificial element into the competition and it changes market dynamics greatly."

Teo is the man behind two top-grossing movies in recent years ("Jangan Pandang Belakang" 2007, "Congkak" 2008) that flew in the face of popular assumption of poor box office performance by local films, as they stood neck to neck with Hollywood releases and gave them a good run for their money.

He declined to state his stand on the matter at this point in time, on whether he welcomes such a move, which has already been reportedly lauded by other filmmakers and producers such as Afdlin Shauki, Shuhaimi Baba and Ahmad Puad Onah.

Meanwhile, Cinema Online forumers continue to fiercely vent their disapproval of the move and the thread is growing longer by the hour.

Cinema Online, 27 December 2008