8 Sep - The director of "Mat Kilau" prequel, Areel Abu Bakar recently confirmed that his service was no longer needed by Studio Kembara, despite already completing 90 percent of the project. The director, who was seen promoting his latest film, "Walid", stated that the company decided to halt filming without any reasons back in April, despite the project nearing completion.
"I was asked to attend a discussion, which was attended by their lawyer. I asked why but they can't answer me. Let them resolve it first before I make any statement. But if they make no attempt to explain, then I will release an official statement," he said.
Areel also added that he had told the company that he would rather not have other people coming in and resuming his work, and that they have to start from scratch if they want him gone. "You can't just retouch other people's work. If it doesn't do well, it will be my name on the line," he said. As for rumours that the conflict sparked due to his supposed failure to manage the budget of the movie, Areel said that he is not the producer. "When it comes to money, it is the responsibility of the production. We didn't extend filming days and I was even able to cut the cost by filming 68 days from the 75 days as scheduled," he said.