Movies: Mawi set for silver screen
Meor Shariman
Aug 11:
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...but can AF3 winner do a ‘Tsumawi’ at the box-office?, wonders MEOR SHARIMAN.
THE ‘Akademi Fantasia 3’ fever is finally over and the graduates, just like their seniors, now have to face reality.
There’s no denying that the latest winner, Mawi, became a household name, even before he was crowned champion in last Saturday’s Akademi Fantasia 3 final concert.
He has legions of fans that helped him get 58 per cent of the votes for the final concert – which was a total of 986,000 votes!
That’s a remarkable figure, and his enormous popularity has caught the attention of many film producers who want to cast him in their movies.
Some may even pay Mawi an A-list salary to help boost the appeal of their films.
And knowing how hot their star is at the moment, Maestro Talents & Management will surely put a heavy price tag on Mawi. Just like it did on earlier AF stars like Vince, Khai and Zarina. But reality bit them deep – none of the films parading AF stars struck it big at the box-office.
Here, we look at how those films featuring AF stars fared commercially.
* TAYANGAN Unggul roped in AF1’s Nana for a cameo role in the action-packed Gangster directed by Badaruddin Azmi.
The RM1.8 million film collected RM2.8 million in ticket sales. But Nana isn’t the reason why people saw the film – they wanted to see if Gangster can live up to its billing as Malaysia’s first big action feature.
* IN Potret Mistik, Khai of AF2 was paid a huge sum for just a small part. Directed by Professor Madya Abdul Razak Mohaideen and produced by Metrowealth Movies Production, the film was seen as a test of Khai’s drawing power. The RM1.2 million film only broke even at the box office.
* CINTA Fotokopi clearly shows that AF stars can’t get their voters to fill up cinema seats.
Produced by Metrowealth Movies Production (MMP), this film had four AF stars in it.
Director Abdul Razak Mohaideen banked on Khai and Zarina, with help from Bob and Adam, to carry the film.
The producer thought Khai and Zarina’s on again, off again relationship would prompt their fans to catch the movie.
It’s learnt that Maestro’s asking price for Khai to star in the film was in the range commanded by stars like Yusry KRU and Rosyam Nor!
MMP agreed to pay Khai that much but Cinta Fotokopi ended up MMP’s most under-performing film.
* SKOP Productions lured AF1 winner Vince Chong to be the hero of its inter-racial love tale, Sembilu 2005. The company also casted Khai in the supporting role.
Director Datuk Yusof Haslam made it public that he hoped Vince’s popularity would draw the non-Malay audience. The RM1.2 million film made less than RM2 million.
* ZARINA’S popularity soared when she was ousted from AF2 and it landed her three roles.
The first was the disastrous Cinta Fotokopi. Then, Zarina was paid a huge sum to star in Pontianak Menjerit, produced by ME Communications and Skop Productions. And she sure wasn’t worth it as Pontianak Menjerit only grossed RM1.1 million.
* IN Gol & Gincu, produced by Red Films, Zarina and Anding were cast to help sell the film to a mainstream audience.
The film opens today and we’ll know by next week whether this will be Zarina’s third flop in a row or not.
* LATER this month, Linda Nanuwil’s star power will be tested in Gila Gila Pengantin Popular, produced by Skop Productions and Ace Motion Pictures.
Datuk Yusof Haslam rates Linda highly but will the fans who voted for her in AF2 see her as a movie star?
* SOON, Metrowealth Movies Production will gamble on Adam’s popularity to help turn its teen romance, Main Main Cinta into a hit. Adam is no doubt one of the more high profile AF2 stars but is that a box-office guarantee?
* TAYANGAN Unggul has Zahid and Farah in cameo roles in its comedy, Man Laksa directed by Mamat Khalid. The two AF2 stars play singers in the film set in the ’70s. Will that get the AF2 voters excited now that most of them are into the ‘Tsumawi’ fever?
Finally, this is the grim reality – both Zarina and Khai have not received any acting offers after the failure of Cinta Fotokopi.
The offers have also dried up for Vince, who was much in demand after being crowned AF1 champion, after Sembilu 2005.
At press time, both David Teo and Datuk Yusof Haslam admitted they would not feature an AF star in their films anymore. For them, it’s safer to bet on proven screen stars like Erra Fazira, Saiful Apek, Juliana Banos and Rosyam Nor.
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/MM/Thursday/Entertainment/20050811112949/Article/index_html
