Johor set to become Malaysia's movie capital

JOHOR BARU: The development of Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Iskandar Malaysia will position Johor at the forefront of the local creative industry and transform it into Malaysia's movie capital, says its chief executive, Michael Lake.

He said that while Pinewood was marketing Malaysia as a destination for film-making, it was also promoting it for companies to set up their infrastructure as well.

"Johor is going to be the real beneficiary economically of what we're doing here," he said.

By the end of 2013, he said, the development of Pinewood, a studio complex located on a 20ha site in Nusajaya at the heart of the Iskandar Malaysia Development Region, would have created 1,500 jobs in an export-oriented industry, while financing from overseas over the next decade was estimated to be around RM1.8 billion.
It will be the largest independent integrated studio facility in Southeast Asia, offering state-of-the-art film stages, TV studios and post-production suites from early 2013.

Pinewood will have two television studios, both 12,000 sq ft in area, with seating capacities of 600 and 800 people, respectively.

In addition, there will be five film stages covering a total of 100,000 sq ft, two 20,000 sq ft stages, two 15,000 sq ft stages and a 30,000 sq ft stage.

The largest stage will have a water tank for productions involving work on or under water.

"This is not just about building the facilities in the hope that people will come, it's about building a big creative industry in Malaysia," said Lake, adding that providing training and opportunity were also Pinewood's key goals.

Shamsul Cairel Abdul Karim, a local filmmaker at Maskarya Sdn Bhd, described the entry of Pinewood as a breath of fresh air because, besides offering new jobs, it would enable Malaysian film-makers to take advantage of its vast experience.

"It knows the tricks of the trade well, which means it can do things much better from a technical perspective and, in turn, push forward local content and production," he said.

"Pinewood will be a one-stop shop. A producer could walk up to the front door with a script and leave at the end of the production with a file ready to go to the broadcast television or the cinema," he said.

"What we are doing is laying the foundations of an international industry. We have started marketing in the US and Europe, and have received lots of interest out of India about filming here," said Lake.

Bernama